Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Primal stream therapy, May 20 -- and an announcement!



It's beginning to look a lot like Phase 1 of reopening in Central Oregon, at least judging from Bend's music scene.

Musicians have started dusting off the digital cobwebs and going back to what they do best: live, in-person performances (remember those?). The moratorium on large events until September still stands, but with businesses opening up, some have tapped local musicians to start providing live soundtracks again.

I've come across at least two: Pete Kartsounes will perform from 5-7 p.m. Sunday at River's Place, while Eric Leadbetter will play the patio at CHOW from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Both shows will have social distancing guidelines in place, including limited capacities, spread-out seating and frequent sanitizing between guests.

The streams will continue though. The Worthy Roots Relief Fund fires back up at 6 tonight with Guardian of the Underdog's Jeshua Marshall and Seth Acquarolo (link). As always, $5 from every Worthy six-pack sold on show day goes to the relief fund, which benefits musicians and behind-the-scenes workers during the pandemic.

Bend art-rock project This Island Earth, the songwriting project of Elijah Goodall, has entered the streaming realm with FIELDS, a monthly stream available through YouTube and Patreon (link). Catch the first stream at 8 p.m. Saturday at the above link. As the name suggests, Goodall will broadcast from natural spaces, fitting considering his heavy use of field recordings and found sounds throughout This Island Earth's oeuvre. It's free to tune in, so tune in.

Announcement

If this edition of Primal Stream Therapy looks short, that's because the rest of it is coming to your eyeballs tomorrow via GO! Magazine. The paper tapped me to come back and write a weekly column about the goings-on in the local music scene, much like I did before this pandemic thing started. This week's column will include more details about Kartsounes' return to live performance and how River's Place intends to handle social distancing, so check it out tomorrow.

To be clear, I have not yet been hired back; I am working for The Bulletin and GO! Magazine on a freelance basis. That said, you can still find reviews, interviews and more right here on this blog moving forward.

And I'm always looking for tips. Got a streaming show, a socially-distanced show, a new album, single, EP or video to share? Send it my way. Is there something you'd like to read about music-related on this blog or in GO! Magazine? Tell me that, too. Comment below or email: brian.mcelhiney@gmail.com.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Primal stream therapy, May 13

Places are slowly opening up -- including, possibly, Deschutes County as early as Friday -- as pandemic lockdowns ease across the country. But while you may be able to go to a restaurant or a public park again very soon (while social distancing and wearing your mask, of course), concerts are still in limbo with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announcing a moratorium on large gatherings until September at least.

All that to say, live streams aren't going away anytime soon. And musicians are looking at other ways to support themselves, stay creative and stay sane in these frightening times. So without further ado, welcome to this week's primal stream therapy.




Studio streaming

Usually I start these columns off with real-world concert cancellations, but that's depressing.

Instead, let's kick off with some good news. When all this started, Grange Recorders studio in Sisters and Bend pop-up show organizer The Whippoorwill hosted a live stream from the studio March 14 featuring Erin Cole-Baker and Micah Peterson. The next weekend, Alicia Viani and Mark Karwan streamed a show from the studio, with donations supporting the artists and Thrive Central Oregon. Then Brown issued Oregon's stay-at-home order, putting the kibosh on future studio streams.

That is, until Saturday. The Parnells -- Casey, Whitney and Corey -- will test the waters with Grange Recorders' first live stream show since March 20. The Americana group and offshoot of Precious Byrd will take the virtual stage at 6:30 p.m.

Grange owner and founder Keith Banning found a way to socially distance at his studio while hosting these shows. Namely, they won't be in the studio -- a space about the size of a large garage -- but rather in the airplane hangar on Banning's property, he said. The hangar, which in less pandemic-fueled times served as a Crossfit and weightlifting gym, offers 2,000 square feet of space -- plenty of room for four to five musicians and engineers to maintain safe distances.

Banning said he is talking with Whippoorwill founder Erik Fossmo to team up once again for benefit streams. If this weekend's stream goes off without a hitch, Banning anticipates hosting at least one live stream a week.

"If the artist demand is enough, I'll run three or four streams a week," Banning said.

Stream the show Saturday from The Parnells' Facebook page.

Answer the call

In other musical news, Bend Roots Revival and Bend Music Collective will team to put out a compilation of local musicians to be titled "High Desert Calling." The Bend Music Collective is a group dedicated to promoting "creative personal and professional growth and leadership of all artists," per the Facebook post announcing the compilation, which you can read here.

Project manager Jeshua Marshall, of Guardian of the Underdog, Larry and His Flask and many more groups, is asking for submissions of original songs (they can be previously released or new) to bendmusiccollective@gmail.com by June 11 for a projected July 11 release date. Include the name of the artist and links to a website or social media pages. The compilation will release online for free, with streaming revenue going to the artists, per the post.





We're still Worthy

This weeks' Worthy Roots Relief Fund live streams include Travis Ehrenstrom at 6 tonight (link) and country group Appaloosa at 6 p.m. Saturday (link). As always, $5 for every Worthy six pack sold on concert day goes to the relief fund, which benefits the artists performing as well as behind-the-scenes folks in the music and arts industries.

Also, be sure to check out the ongoing Honey Brunches live streams from roots/country duo Honey Don't. Find the stream every Saturday at 11 a.m. on the Honey Don't Facebook page. The duo has been donating a portion of their tips to Eric Leadbetter's St. Charles Meal Mission, and have also been giving away prizes to listeners (streamers?).

Meanwhile, in the "real" world ...

... there's concert cancellations. A lot of them. Les Schwab Amphitheater, Clear Summer Nights at the Athletic Club of Bend and Bend Radio Group's concert series at Oregon Spirit Distillers have all been scuttled this summer.

Clear Summer Nights plans to reschedule this year's acts for next year, according to a post on the website. That includes Ben Harper's now-postponed June 20 date. Online tickets will be automatically refunded, per the website, while those who purchased tickets at Newport Avenue Market will need to return them to the market for refunds.

Over at Oregon Spirit Distillers, country singer Colter Wall has canceled his July 15 show. Online tickets will automatically be refunded; physical tickets can be returned to the distillery for a refund. Visit bendticket.com or oregonspiritdistillers.com for more information.

Les Schwab cancellations and postponements are slowly trickling in. The season is a no-go, but the venue must wait for individual artists to either cancel or postpone before refunds can be issued. So far, the following shows have canceled:
  • Bob Dylan and His Band, June 4
  • Michael Franti & Spearhead, July 17
  • Vampire Weekend, Aug. 9
  • Bend Brewfest, Aug. 13-15
These shows have postponed, although new dates have yet to be announced (the original show date is listed):
  • Brandi Carlile, May 23
  • Primus, Wolfmother, Battles, July 29
  • Slightly Stoopid, Aug. 8
So far, only Dave Matthews Band has announced a rescheduled date: Sept. 8, 2021. Visit bendconcerts.com for more information.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Primal stream therapy, May 6

Welcome back to primal stream therapy. And apologies for the longer-than-usual radio silence; a pandemic is great for draining motivation. Never fear, because some cool things are coming down the pipeline.

Cancellations

But first, the bad news. Country singer Margo Price canceled her show scheduled June 16 at Oregon Spirit Distillers. The show was the first scheduled concert in KSJJ 102.9-FM's country concert series at the distillery. Refunds are available at the distillery for people who purchased tickets in-person; online tickets will be automatically refunded. Visit bendticket.com or Oregon Spirit Distillers' Facebook page for more information.

Dave Matthews Band rescheduled its entire summer tour for next year, including its show at Les Schwab Amphitheater slated for Sept. 9. That show has moved to Sept. 8, 2021. All previously purchased tickets will be honored at the new date. Visit bendconcerts.com for more information.

MTV Bend

A screenshot from Dr. Green Dream's "Coronavirus" video.


Speaking of pandemics draining motivation, Dr. Green Dreams recently released a live music video dedicated to the stir-craziness we're all experiencing thanks to Oregon's lock down. The song, which I'm assuming is called "Coronavirus," gives listeners some (mostly) good advice on what to do in a pandemic, while lamenting that we can't see our friends and family in person and that we've all watched everything on Netflix. The song itself goes from a laid-back, reggae-funk groove into a hardcore breakdown at the end -- a good aural illustration of our collective descent into pandemic madness. Check it out on their Facebook page here.


A screenshot from The Leadbetter Band's video for "Shivers."


Blues-rock trio The Leadbetter Band dropped a new music video for "Shivers" from its self-titled debut album. The song, one of the album's riff-ier rockers, celebrates getting back to nature and its awe-inspiring beauty, and the video fittingly splices footage of Bend's outdoors with the band performing outside and in the studio. The video, filmed by Brent Barnett of Future Filmworks before the lockdown began, is available on the band's website, ericleadbettermusic.com, or on Facebook.

Shows to stream

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the live streams. Of course there's the Worthy Roots Relief Fund streams, which continue at 6 tonight with violin and fiddle prodigy CJ Neary and guitarist Richard Taelor (stream here). Acoustic country rocker KC Flynn is up at 6 p.m. Saturday (check that out here). As always, Worthy Brewing will donate $5 from every six pack sold on concert days to the Worthy Roots Relief Fund, benefiting musicians and industry workers affected by the pandemic.

Once-and-future Bendite Erin Cole-Baker, who recently moved back to the area after living in New Zealand for many years, will play a livestream concert with her husband and musical collaborator, Bruce, at 6 p.m. Saturday. Check out the event page here. The duo also recently submitted a video of the song "Future Us" for NPR's Tiny Desk Contest, which you can check out here.

There's more coming, so stay tuned. And if you know of a video, stream, album -- anything musical in Central Oregon that I've missed, really -- drop me a line in the comment section or email: brian.mcelhiney@gmail.com.

Friday, May 1, 2020

Happy Bandcamp Day: Five artists to check out



Happy Friday, happy May and most importantly for the purposes of this blog, happy Bandcamp Day.

The website, which allows independent artists to stream and sell their albums, EPs, singles and other merchandise online, waived its share of revenue on sales through its platform March 20 to help artists affected by COVID-19. It recently announced it would do it again May 1, June 5 and July 3.

Today's the day to get on the site and support your favorite artists. But before you download that Metallica or U2 album (are they even on Bandcamp? I didn't check), check out what your neighbors are doing on the site. Here are five picks in no particular order to help get you started.

(Five picks, quarantine top fives ... why is this blog so obsessed with fives, you may ask? "High Fidelity," that's why.)


"Till the Feeling's Right," Erin Cole-Baker



Folk-rock-pop singer-songwriter Cole-Baker recently returned to Bend after many years living in New Zealand, where she stepped away from music for a time and started a family. Looking to get back into performing, she recorded "Till the Feeling's Right" in New Zealand in 2017, and spent a good portion of last year touring around the U.S. with her family in an RV.

The record finds Cole-Baker experimenting with electric guitar and a full band, while dealing with the uncertainties of returning to music, taking care of her family and her travels across the U.S. and world. The full-band recordings give Cole-Baker's songs and already powerful voice that extra push over the top.


"Creature Comforts," The Roof Rabbits



I've sung the praises of The Roof Rabbits over at GO! Magazine on more than one occasion, so this entry probably comes as no surprise to regular readers. I'm linking to the band's first album, "Creature Comforts," an angry yet contemplative blast of indie-punk that stands alongside the best rock 'n' roll breakup albums. The album was easily my favorite release of 2018 and is still one I revisit frequently; check out "Baby Blue Mercury" and "Mayday," a perfect diamond of crystallized anger and regret.

However, you'd do well to check out the March EP "Arizona," too. With expanded musicality and lyrical focus and longer songs, the set is the next logical step in this trio's evolution.


"Rainmaker," AM Clouds



Readers who followed me from GO! Magazine know that AM Clouds is my other favorite local band, for many of the same reasons I love The Roof Rabbits (it all boils down to big hooks and bigger guitars). "Rainmaker" blends '60s pop and psychedelia with more modern indie rock sounds, while songwriter Bruce Moon contemplates life, love and longing in the digital age and beyond.

The title track and closer "Almost Her" are highly recommended. The former starts in easy-going pop/rock territory before devolving into a psychedelic jam, while the latter is a country song until the squalling guitars come in to obliterate the ending.


"Head On," "This is (Not) All There Is," "What Comes After," Mosley Wotta



Bend rapper, poet and visual artists Wotta dropped a new track, "Head On," in mid-April that fits in rather nicely with his EP from earlier this year, "This is (Not) All There Is." The track rides a jazzy keyboard line and trap beat as Wotta urges that "it's OK to not be OK, it's OK to rebound." The track's underlying frustration suits this new quarantine paradigm perfectly.

Check it out and also check out "This is (Not) All There Is," as well as last year's de facto comeback album "What Comes After" -- two records that address themes such as family, racism, fear of the "other" in general and empowerment, but take very different journeys to get there. Wotta has been donating proceeds from his album sales during the pandemic to organizations and causes including Bend's firefighters; check him out on Facebook for more information.


Bonus: Immune Friction



OK, not from Bend, not even close, but this grunge-surf-punk duo is well worth your time anyway (full disclosure: they're also two of my best friends in the world, and my band used to play with them on the East Coast when I used to do stuff like that). Based in Bennington, Vermont, Immune Friction -- guitarist/songwriter Chris Dayton and drummer Justine Curry -- mix esoteric wordplay, ethereal harmonies and sludgy riffs into songs that perfectly balance naivete and darkness. I've linked my favorite song of theirs, "Mountain View Wind Farm," from their first album, 2011's "The Markets Never Sleep."