Portland Music Board

2009 Holiday Events Guide

administrator — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:06:36 +0000

Ah, the sentimental season.

Cricket on the hearth. Tubas in the square. Lights on Peacock Lane. Storm on the prowl.

Hold on. Which of these things is not like the others?

Bingo: “Storm’s Holiday Ordeal,” the new season’s greeting of a variety show from Portland rock goddess Storm Large, threatens to kick the stuffings out of Santa when it hits the stage for two performances Nov. 27 at the Aladdin Theater. The effervescent Ms. Large has ambitions eight miles high, and whatever dreams she inspires among her fervid following of headbangers, theater nuts, metrosexuals, gay scenesters, West Hills nightcrawlers and the underground intelligentsia are unlikely to involve Bing Crosby crooning in a Vermont ski lodge.

Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2009/11/2009_holiday_events_guide.html

Analysis: Weighing Fair Trade As It Hits Portland Music Scene

administrator — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:03:54 +0000

Fair trade music has come to Portland, Oregon. A group of musicians has organized to establish guidelines for paying live musicians and has received some local coverage at the Willamette Week (seen via Nashville Cream, which has a lively comments section on the topic). The 200-plus members of Fair Trade Music seek a uniform basis for determining payments to performers.

The concept of “fair trade” for music has been bandied about in Portland for a couple years, but the movement is now starting discussions with clubs in hopes of setting a fair wage for all performing musicians, whether they be union or non-union workers. Borrowing the fair-trade concept from the practice of paying a certified fair wage to farmers of products such as coffee, Portland’s Fair Trade Music would rate venues and clubs based on their audience capacity and type of liquor license to determine a fair pay scale for musicians.

Read more: http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3ic70c81ff95d140b92b40f51d30c0812d

Tuned to a musical life

administrator — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:02:58 +0000

Q: So, what does Marco Polo do?

A: Marco Polo is my vehicle for several musical services. I tune and repair pianos, and convert vinyl to digital, and do musical outreach and education. I’m the drummer for the Chapparals – I’m always available as a studio musician – and a member of the Portland Music Foundation, and I’m the public information officer for the Maine Songwriters Association.

My wife, Kathy, works with me in all aspects of the business. Her title is executive vice president; she handles the administrative work, including public relations.

Portland Music Awards hit high notes with reporter-musician

administrator — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:02:00 +0000

Jay Haser.

He is what Portland music is all about.

As the bassist for songstress Debra Arlyn, Haser bobbed and bounced to the music when on stage at the second annual Portland Music Awards last week. Debra Arlyn, seated at the piano, gave Alicia Keys a run for her niche – flawless, pouncing on high notes; whispering soulful low notes.

But it was the look on Haser’s face at the opposite end of the stage during the four-minute performance that sold me. He looked so genuinely happy playing bass.

Read more: http://www.lakeoswegoreview.com/opinion/story.php?story_id=123379173475379300

Eccentric Cellos

administrator — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:00:24 +0000

Since Doug Jenkins finished his cello studies at the UO a few years ago, he’s been enriching the Portland music scene with his pop band Bright Red Paper, his work with some of the region’s finest indie acts (Weinland, Musee Mecanique, Point Juncture, WA) and, maybe most surprisingly, the Portland Cello Project, which has garnered national attention for Jenkins’ inventive, multi-cello arrangements of everything from Beethoven and Bach to Britney Spears and Led Zeppelin.

Read More: http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/12/24/music3.html

Congratulations Music Spectator!

administrator — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:58:47 +0000

After that slow-moving trainwreck that was the Portland Music Awards, it was decided that we should probably cease making fun of Craig Marquardo and his narcissistic voyage into insanity (and bad musical choices), Music Spectator magazine (“The Magazine for the Portland Music Scene”).

Now that the magazine has returned from its extended hiatus, Marquardo is back to releasing this absolutely baffling rag with regularity, even declaring it the “2nd largest magazine in Portland,” a statement which is most likely as truthful as his comments about his “oldest friend” Sting (“I plan to spend some time with my friend Sting… We have been friends for 20 years”). But when dealing with the Smashmouth-soundtracked nonstop spiral of delusion that is Music Spectator, it’s best not to question how a magazine with 5-6 ads (a few of which are most likely trades) can support a supposed 50,000 circulation.

Some retailers give vinyl records a spin

administrator — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:56:23 +0000

This spring, an employee intending to order a special CD-DVD edition of R.E.M.’s latest release “Accelerate” inadvertently entered the “LP” code instead. Soon boxes of the big, vinyl discs showed up at several stores.

Some sent them back. But a handful put them on the shelves, and 20 LPs sold the first day.

The Portland-based company, owned by The Kroger Co., realized the error might not be so bad after all. Fred Meyer is now testing vinyl sales at 60 of its stores in Oregon, California, Washington and Alaska.

Other mainstream retailers are giving vinyl a spin too. Best Buy is testing sales at some stores. And online music giant Amazon.com, which has sold vinyl for most of the 13 years it has been in business online, created a special vinyl-only section last fall.

The best-seller so far at Fred Meyer is The Beatles “Abbey Road” album. But musicians from the White Stripes and the Foo Fighters to Metallica and Pink Floyd are selling well, the company says.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jun10/0,4670,VinylRetailers,00.html

People in school

administrator — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:55:27 +0000

Maria Alonso Martinez, a junior at Westview High School, recently received an Outstanding Student Leadership Award for making a difference in her school by volunteering and/or work experience.

She was among three Beaverton School District students recognized March 7 during the 18th annual Cesar E. Chavez Leadership Conference at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.

On April 5, the Cesar E. Chavez Leadership Conference Planning Committee organized a fund-raising dinner, auction and dance at Willamette University to support the organization’s scholarship fund, which awarded more than $500,000 to Latino high school students for continuing education.

Read More: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/argus/index.ssf?/base/news/120914947180910.xml&coll=6

Round 2 of programs by Portland Music Foundation

administrator — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:50:00 +0000

The Portland Music Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing the local music scene, will hold its second round of educational programming at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the St. Lawrence Arts & Community Center. The session, which is free, will include nine veteran music-industry members. The series is presented in collaboration with the Maine Center for Creativity.

Read More: http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ME&p_theme=me&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=12014D015D7C3BA8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD

Portland Music Board

administrator — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 14:14:09 +0000