see night is a San Francisco 4-piece—fronted by Linda Sao with drummer Cory Aboud, guitarist Pat Andrews, and bassist AJ Marquez—bringing a dynamic show that alternates between hard-driving and dreamy. Cathartic songs delivered with haunting vocals, swelling drums, and atmospheric guitars straddle somewhere between ‘90s indie rock and woozy shoegaze.
After sn's two self-released EPs, stateside band tours, and EU/UK solo tours, the band’s first vinyl was put out by Pavement’s Bob Nastanovich—the “Eloquence” 7-inch on his Brokers Tip Records. 2022 saw the band touring (again) with Vancouver's The Pack a.d. and planning the release of a Nashville-recorded album of pandemic bedroom songs. see night has opened for Bonnie Prince Billy, Widowspeak, The Pack A.D., The Builders and The Butchers, John Vanderslice, Jenn Champion, Sunwatchers, Upset, David Dondero, Rogue Wave, Lady Lamb, and more.
Some kind words from kind people we admire:
"The music is glorious." —Bob Nastanovich (Pavement, Silver Jews)
“I was mesmerized the entire time”—Doug Martsch (Built to Spill), after Boise Neurolux show
"A stunner, dreamy, strummy, and psychedelic, moody and melancholic...equal parts Pixies/Breeders pop smarts and shoegaze-y Mazzy Star haze...slow building to something much more epic, maybe like a girl pop Godspeed...with a lush sonic palette and a propensity for epicry" —Aquarius Records (Andee Connors/A Minor Forest)
"Head-on, severe, and cool folk rock with an indie stylee" —Record Grouch (Jim McHugh, Sunwatchers)
ALL AGES | TICKETS $25-28 | Doors 7PM, Show 8PM
Free parking is available in the lot across the street until full.
Back by popular demand after last year's sold out performance, The Music of Twin Peaks invites you to step into the Black Lodge, take a seat in the Red Room and sidle into a booth at the Double R for a slice of true 90s nostalgia. This homage pays tribute to the musical mastery of vocalist Julee Cruise and the sublime work of composer Angelo Badalamenti.
Experience the world of Twin Peaks with songs from the soundtrack plus ethereal originals performed live by Rachel Brashear, a Portland-area musician described as American Gothic meets American Songbook. Brashear will be accompanied by a cast of local luminaries in the theatrical setting of the Alberta Abbey. Support act Dream Date perform lush, lulling soundscapes inspired by 80s balladeers, reverb and pretty lights.
Musical guests accompanying Brashear include Aaron Tomasko, Rivkah Ross, Kyleen King, Ben Landsverk, Raymond Richards, Kate O'Brien, Adriana Wagner, Matt Sulikowski and additional muses.
All Ages | TICKETS $8-10 | Learn more here.
Mississippi Records Music & Film Series 20 Year Anniversary Celebration Presents:
Off The Charts – A Documentary & Song Contest with Live Bands
On Thursday, February 23rd, Mississippi Records will be showing an excellent and touching documentary about the song poem industry called "Off The Charts." Trust us, it's a stunner. After the movie, five bands will interpret song poems written by YOU.
Bands playing are -
- Roman Norfleet And Be Present Art Group
- Lavender Flu featuring Lilly
- LOX
- The Grand Style Orchestra
- Cruise Control.
- Each performing one song poem. A celebrity panel of judges will pick a winner.
This is Mississippi Records' second Song Poem contest. The winner last time had just been out of prison for a week when he spied our ad for the competition at an unemployment office. While he had never done any creative writing, he decided to give it a go because he could use the prize money. After he won, he proclaimed, "I now know who I am. I am a poet." Hearing these words was perhaps the most moving moment of my life.
See you on February 23rd!
TICKETS | $20 advance, $25 day of show $30 21+ Reserved Balcony
Shades on and shirts unbuttoned, Magic City Hippies generate the kind of heat that could've powered a high seas yacht party in the seventies or shake a Coachella stage next summer. If the trio-Robby Hunter, Pat Howard, and John Coughlin-stepped off the screen from some long-lost Quentin Tarantino flick in slow-motion (instruments in hand), nobody would question it. Embracing everything from AM radio rock and poolside pop to nimble raps and salsa, they lock into an era-less vibe with no shortage of psychedelic funk or hooks. The three-piece deliver the kind of bangers you can play on the way to the party, during the party, and to smooth over the comedown as the sun comes up.
As the guys so eloquently describe it, they "give people a choice to enjoy this on the surface level, feel funky in their bodies, and dance...or go deeper into the music."
As legend has it, the origin of Magic City Hippies can be traced back to Robby's days of permit-less busking in Miami. Eventually, Pat and John proved to be better accompaniment than his loop pedal, so the trio played regular bar gigs and built an audience locally. They formed as Robby Hunter Band, released the Magic City Hippies album, and adopted the title as their name. That LP gained traction in 2013 with syncs on The CW's iZombie and Showtime's Ray Donovan. On its heels, 2015's Hippie Castle EP catalyzed their breakout as "Limestone" piled up over 21 million Spotify streams followed by "Fanfare" with another 20 million Spotify streams. They toured endlessly and moved crowds at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Hulaween, Okeechobee Fest, Electric Forest, and Austin City Limits, to name a few. Along the way, the band also picked up acclaim from Relix and OnesToWatch as they dropped the fan favorite Modern Animal in 2019. When the world shutdown, the boys settled in different parts of the country (Rob "doing his Johny Mayer thing" in Bozeman, MT, Pat in Los Angeles, CA, and John still in Miami). Remotely, they wrote what would become their third full-length album, Water Your Garden, out January 2022. As things opened back up, the musicians put it all together in person.
Armed with singles such as "Queen," the falsetto-spiked "High Beams" [feat. Nafets], "Diamond," and "Ghost On The Mend" Magic City Hippies are ready to heat up their next chapter now.
Remembering to Remember: Experiments in Sound
CURATED BY ROYA AMIRSOLEYMANI AND FELISHA LEDESMA
- Exhibition Dates: February 17 - March 19, 2023
- Opening Reception: Friday, February 17, 2023, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
- Gallery Hours: Friday, 12:00–6:00 pm / Saturday & Sunday: 12:00–4:00 pm
- — Modified Hours: March 3 & 4: 5:00–8:00 pm / March 5: 4:00–6:00 pm
- Live Performances: March 3, 4, & 5
- Workshops: February 18, March 6, and other various dates and times.
*Masks are required while indoors at PICA.
During your waking or sleeping life, bring yourself to attention with the thought “remembering and remembering to remember.” You might find yourself listening backward in time to a sound that you didn’t know that you heard! — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening: A Composer’s Sound Practice (2005)
Curated by Roya Amirsoleymani and Felisha Ledesma, Remembering to Remember: Experiments in Sound is a multifaceted program of 15+ international, national, and local artists spanning six live performances; five newly commissioned multichannel compositions; four film/video works at the intersection of sound and moving image; and one month of artist residencies, community workshops, and public engagements.
The container for this breadth of programming is an exhibition that will be on view at PICA from February 17 to March 19, 2023, with an opening reception on Friday, February 17, 2023, 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Artists include Adee Roberson, Alison O’Daniel, bone lattice, Crystal Quartez, Hiro Kone, Kite & Robbie Wing, Lucy Liyou, Nivhek, Nyokabi Kariũki, Reese Bowes, Saint Abdullah, Sholeh Asgary, Synth Library Portland, Takashi Makino, and Tomoko Sauvage.
Remembering to Remember is a collection and collision of impressions and inquiries. It recognizes the rich histories and vibrant communities of sound art in Portland while offering a dynamic experience of new and recent work in experimental sound across forms by artists from around the world.
WORKSHOPS
Saturday, February 18, 2023 / 5:00-7:00 pm: Listening to Nonhumans (Heard and Unheard) / Kite & Robbie Wing
Monday, March 6, 2023 / 6:00-7:00 pm: MAJLES / Sholeh Asgary
February & March / Various Dates and Times: Synth Library Portland Workshops and Drop-In Hours
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Friday, March 3, 2023 / 8:00 pm: Lucy Liyou (San Francisco, CA), Nivhek (Astoria, OR)
Saturday, March 4, 2023 / 8:00 pm: Crystal Quartez (Portland, OR), Hiro Kone (New York, NY)
Sunday, March 5, 2023 / 6:00 pm: Nyokabi Kariũki (Maryland/New York/Nairobi), Sholeh Asgary (Oakland, CA)
ACCESS NOTES
The exhibition and performances in Remembering to Remember: Experiments in Sound contain sounds at a range of volumes and frequencies, some of which might be challenging, uncomfortable, or unfamiliar to some visitors and attendees. The sounds in the multichannel installation and live performances are experienced throughout the room, while the film and video works use individual headphones. Free earplugs will be available at the entrance to the gallery and for live performances. You may exit and re-enter at any time at no cost.
To request or inquire about access needs for the exhibition, performances, and/or workshops in Remembering to Remember, please email madison@pica.org. For ASL interpretation, audio description, and/or other forms of access that require advance scheduling, please submit a request at least two (2) weeks in advance of the date you require accommodation so that we can do our best to meet your needs.
Masks are currently required in the gallery and for all live performances at PICA.
NOTES ABOUT THE WHO CARES CLOCK
Conceived of and edited by PICA’s Artistic Director & Curator of Visual Art, Kristan Kennedy, The Who Cares Clock is a time-based print project released at random, for free, and only through the mail. For Remembering to Remember, Kennedy will release a special, limited edition postcard of sound work by artist and curator Felisha Ledesma, which will be playable by turntable. Stay tuned for an announcement of this project’s near-future release and instructions for how to request a copy.
PICA is sincerely grateful to Paul Stewart, Eric Daubney, and the whole team at Genelec for their generous loan of high-quality speakers, subwoofers, and related equipment for display of the multichannel sound commissions in this exhibition.
TICKETS
Thursday, February 16th
7:00 PM - 8:15 PM: Young Gunz
8:30 PM - 9:45 PM: Sophisticated Ignorance
10:00 PM - 11:30 PM: YHTBT Live Podcast with Niles Abston
Friday, February 17th
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Smoke & Mirrors Live Podcast
7:00 PM - 8:15 PM: The Blackonteurs
8:30 PM - 9:30 PM: Nile Abston’s Big A$$ House Party
10:00 PM - 11:30 PM: Red Light Special
Saturday, February 18th
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM: A Drunken Night Out Live Podcast
7:00 PM - 8:15 PM: Proud & Out Loud
8:30 PM - 9:45 PM: Ladies Run This Mutha
10:00 PM - 11:15 PM: Dirty Angel All Stars
Sunday, February 19th
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM: 4 Black Dads Live Podcast
7:00 PM - 8:15 PM: Minority Retort
8:30 PM - 9:45 PM: House of Hyjinx Heavy Hitters: Best of the Fest
TICKETS | $39.50 advance, $45 day of show, $49.50 21+ reserved balcony
The Charlatans UK
The Charlatans have reached a higher state of grace. Twenty-seven years since they first bagged a Number One album with 'Some Friendly', they're still achieving fresh career highs, dreaming up new music that redraws their own map, increasingly assured of who they are as a band.
Their trajectory has few parallels in British rock, and it's all set to continue with the release of 'Different Days', their brilliant 13th album, which finds them never more forward-looking, yet equally never more self-defining, or relevant.
RIDE
One of the leading lights of the early 90's shoegaze scene, Ride reformed in 2014, releasing their first album in over 20 years in 2017. 'Weather Diaries' was produced by Erol Alkan and greeted by a raft of critical and commercial acclaim, reaching number 11 in the UK album charts. It also saw Ride reunited with Wichita Recordings' Dick Green and Mark Bowen, who worked with the band during their early years on Creation Records. The follow-up, 'This Is Not A Safe Place,' came together in a matter of weeks at the end of 2018 and start of 2019, the sound of a band embracing their new found creativity and rejuvenated dynamic. As well as working with Erol Alkan for a second time on production, their sixth record also saw Ride reunite with sound engineer Alan Moulder, who is on mixing duties for this fourth Ride record, following 'Weather Diaries,' 'Going Blank Again' and their 1990 seminal debut album 'Nowhere' (an album whose artwork is wonderfully echoed on the cover of 'This Is Not A Safe Place'). 'This Is Not A Safe Place' charted at UK #7 on release in August 2019, the band's highest chart position in 25 years.
Ride are currently working on new material, as well as touring 'Nowhere' for its 30th anniversary throughout 2022. The band's classic Creation Records albums 'Nowhere,' 'Going Blank Again' and '4 EPs,' the first collection of Ride's early EPs on one record, will be reissued on vinyl, cd and digital 4th November by Wichita Recordings.
FREE | All ages until 9pm | ADA accessible
In the cold winter months of 2014, XRAY.fm's DJs took to the airwaves for the first time. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we're gathering with our friends at Hey Love on February 9th to celebrate 9 years of community, creativity, and the love of music.
Featuring live sets by XRAY's Thursday night DJs:
DJ hell books - Record Lections
DJ Morning Remorse - Meaningful Connections
+ special guest DJ Doctor Robot - XRAY Board President Dr. H.E. Hinson & intermittent co-host of Circa Rad !
We'd love to cut a rug with you! All are welcome.
And for those who can't make it in person, we're live broadcasting from the party so you can still dance, dance, dance, dance, dance to the radio. Tune in!
FREE EVENT | All ages until 9pm | 832 N. Beech St | ADA Accessible | Indoor/outdoor on covered heated patio
Stormbreaker Brewing is celebrating its 9th anniversary, and all are welcome to join the party!
Featuring Meet the Brewer tastings of two special release anniversary beers – a four year Barrel Aged Belgian Golden Strong Ale and Cloud 9, a special IPA hopped in 9 different ways – as well as tastings of a collaboration whisky, Barnstormer, distilled by Stone Barn Brandy Works from 2-5pm.
From 3-5pm, a balloon artist for the kiddos and the young at heart.
And from 5-8pm, don't miss live sets from XRAY DJs DNA (Beautiful Music), Jason Urick (Galaxy My Dear), and DJ Womb Service (Much Finer)!
FREE | Feb 3-11 | ALL AGES | At sites throughout Portland, with anchor locations* at Pioneer Courthouse Square, World Trade Center, and Electric Blocks
The Portland Winter Light Festival (PDXWLF) is Portland’s premier outdoor winter art activity that transforms, illuminates, and animates Portland’s nighttime urban landscape.
The Portland Winter Light Festival (PDXWLF) kicks off its most significant and dynamic festival with a full roster of over 100 works of art. The free, all-ages outdoor festival will take place February 3 - 11, 2023. Returning for the festival’s eighth year is Presenting Sponsor is PGE, with additional critical support from Prosper Portland, Downtown Portland, Travel Portland, and more. The PDXWLF 2023 theme is “The Light of Stars.” Admission is free.
More information: www.pdxwlf.com | Facebook | Instagram
*(Anchor locations will only be operating on weekends, 6 pm - 10 pm Friday and Saturday nights, February 3 - 4 and 10 - 11.)
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
PDXWLF 2023 will feature major anchor art sites with large-scale interactive art and performances and pop-up art in storefronts, retail spaces, front yards, and public spaces throughout Portland. Guests are encouraged to embrace this citywide art scavenger hunt and visit as many locations as possible! Anchor sites are open only on the Friday and Saturday nights of February 3-4 & 10-11. Many pop-up installations will be viewable from the street throughout the eight-evening event. Visitors are encouraged to check the times before heading out.
Festival highlights include --
Mechan 42: Space Explorer, PDXWLF’s first formal artist commission by local artist Tyler Fuqua. This 16’ tall space robot will be displayed at Salmon Springs Fountain throughout February.
Pioneer Courthouse Square: Featuring the return of Fire Art to the festival after a two-year hiatus! Portland’s living room will be filled with fire sculptures, interactive art, ice sculptures, pop-up performance, food carts, and more. The site will feature an opening night fire performance on February 3rd; stay tuned!
The World Trade Center: Featuring two levels of interactive light art, a water vortex, Pop- up performances, opportunities for hands-on art exploration, food carts, and more!
Electric Blocks at SE 2nd and Clay: Featuring large-scale projection mapping, the silent disco dance party, interactive art installations, food carts, and more.
Pop-up light art installations, projections, sculptures, and more throughout the city!
“Now, more than ever, we need art and creativity to help us celebrate the special vitality that makes Portland unique and gives us a reason to come together for some fun and levity after a few hard years,” says Portland Winter Light Festival Executive Director Alisha Sullivan. “We are honored to work with so many incredible artists, venues, businesses, and organizations that bring this citywide event to life. It is a collaborative effort, and we can’t wait to fill Portland with light art again in February!”
A History of North Portland Music with Calvin Walker & Bobby Smith
Beaverton City Library, Beaverton
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. | Free and open to the public
Portland musicians and Albina Music Trust founders, Calvin Walker (XRAY FM Board Member) and Bobby Smith (former host of Night School on XRAY) will discuss the vibrant Black music culture of North Portland from the 1960s through the 1980s and the political and cultural changes that immobilized it. This event is part of Beaverton City Library’s One Book, One Beaverton community-wide read program.
All Ages | 4:00 PM | TICKETS | Pay-what-you-want ($5-$100)
Portland Lesbian Choir is proud to continue its 37th season with Breaking the Ice, a one-act showcase of some of PLC's finest singers. This concert is designed to allow our singers to share their talent and some of their favorite songs with you, our amazing audience. There will be PLC soloists and small groups singing about Winter, relationships, and uncomfortable situations!
Please join us at 4:00 pm in the Alberta Abbey at 126 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211. All ages are welcome.
Doors open at 3:00 pm, and the show begins at 4:00 pm. Free parking is available in the lot across the street until full. Food and beverages will be available for purchase from Alberta Abbey. This venue is ADA compliant and ASL interpretation will be available during the concert.
COVID Policy: Masks are strongly encouraged for our audience members.
Tickets are available in a "pay what you want" format at $5, $15, $25, $50, and $100. All ticket prices include general admission entrance to the show. Purchase tickets here. Come enjoy some of the best PLC has to offer!
FREE EVENT
Portland based DJ Ambush and DJ Klyph bring an evening celebrating Golden Era and inspired hip hop to the White Eagle. Come through for this FREE event and hear classic cuts and remixes while grabbing a hot plate and cold beverage. You can dance if you want, but this night is about the head nod. "It's not a party, it's a vibe".
2 DJs | 4 Decks | Straight Boom Bap
Facebook Event Page: https://fb.me/e/3iZjKp0pH?mibextid=RQdjqZ
Tickets | $15
A platform for Reggaeton, Latin house, Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata to thrive.
A place for all that love latin music.
World Arts Foundation Inc.’s annual tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
January 16, 2023 | 1pm - 4pm | All ages | Free with suggested donation (Details below)
Highland Christian Center | 7600 NE Glisan St. Portland, OR 97213 | Masks required
Since
1976, this family-friendly event has celebrated Oregon’s African-American community. The program honors
pioneering activists, community leaders, artists, musicians, and youth whose efforts have left lasting impacts in
Oregon’s African-American community.
Here’s a link to a historical film documenting the program’s legacy.
This year’s program will feature performances and speakers including DaNell Daymon & Greater Works, Senator Margaret Carter, Arietta Ward, and Alonzo Chadwick. Lifetime achievement awards will be presented to Dr. Shon Neyland, Lakayana Drury, Candace Avalos, David Ferguson, and Dr. Steven Holt.
Additionally, the event’s Victory Village marketplace houses vendors, regional agencies, and artists.
Admission is free with a suggested donation of five dollars or five cans of non-perishable food items. This event is family-friendly.
Masking is required for entry.
XRAY is honored to join the other vendors, orgs, and artists at this year's event. We invite you to join us!
Oregon Humanities Presents
Conversation Project: Music as a Tool for Justice with Donavan Scribes
Beaverton City Library, Beaverton
6:00 to 7:30 p.m. | Free and open to the public | Register here.
Music is instrumental in shaping a place. It’s one of the most explicitly human things we can experience. In this conversation, we will look at the history of Black musicians in shaping the story of Oregon. Participants will have opportunities to connect with each other through dialogue.
Donovan Scribes is a writer, artist, producer, and speaker native to Portland. His work has appeared in The Skanner, Street Roots, the Oregonian, and other publications. His platform Gentrification is WEIRD! is dedicated to elevating and capturing Black Oregon history and shaping its future. He also has a clothing line, Ignorant/Reflections.
Learn more about Oregon Humanities' Conversation Project here.
TICKETS | $35; $40 day of show. Reserved balcony + early entry into Lola’s Room: $75; $80 day of show
Featuring Karma Rivera, DJ Spare Key
Digable Planets burst onto the music scene in 1993 with their Grammy-winning single, “Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”. Made up of Ishmael Butler (Butterfly), Craig (C Know/ Doodlebug) Irving, and Mary Ann (Ladybug Mecca) Vieira, the trio carved out a unique style of jazz-informed Hip Hop. Shortly after, Digable Planets followed up with their debut album, Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time And Space), an ambitious offering that Pitchfork praised as “a world within a world, complete with its own language and monuments.”Melding Jazz samples, and complex rhymes that touched on everything from the nuances of city life (“Where I’m From”) to abortion rights (“La Femme Fetal”), Reachin’ was a rich and vibrant artistic statement as well as a huge commercial success (RIAA certified gold).
Digable Planets immediately followed up with Blowout Comb, a bold and colorful meditation on Black liberation. While the album did not initially reach the immediate commercial successes of Reachin’, the album has aged beautifully, influencing future generations of Hip Hop heads, young Jazz musicians and Afrofuturists. The trio spent the 2000s establishing their own individual creative voices with Butler’s Cherrywine and Shabazz Palaces projects, Mecca’s work with BROOKZILL! And C Know leading Cee Knowledge & The Cosmic Funk Orchestra.
In 2015, the group embarked upon a string of wildly successful live shows and has been very active as a tight touring unit ever since. In 2017, they released Digable Planets Live, a live album that showcases many gems from the group’s catalog as well as the trio’s skill at rocking the crowd with a live band. A pioneering act that continues to cast a considerable influence, Digable Planets have left an indelible mark on music. Nearly 20 years after their debut, their music still shines and the group continues to bring their celebrated stage show to excited crowds around the world.
DEC 30 TICKETS | $30 GA, $45 Two-Night Pass
DEC 31 TICKETS | $30 GA, $45 Two-Night Pass
21+ ONLY
Ring in the new year at Doug Fir with Ural Thomas & The Pain and Hillstomp teaming up for a joyful night of dancing, cheer, and glitz. Tickets on sale now! ✨ 🎊
Universally recognized as one of the most exciting singers remaining from the original soul era, 82 year-old Ural Thomas and his band The Pain just released their third LP "Dancing Dimensions." Thomas initially made his name in the 1960s with stone cold soul classic releases like "Pain Is The Name of Your Game," "Can You Dig It," "Deep Soul," and his 1964 recording debut with The Monterays "Push - Em Up." After a musical journey that commenced in his native Portland, Oregon, and led to Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and New York, sharing stages with everyone from James Brown to Stevie Wonder to Otis Redding to Etta James, Thomas became disillusioned with the music business and returned home to the city of roses at the end of the decade - where he continues to reign as Portland's uncontested Soul Brother Number One.
Hillstomp sounds like a boom box blasting from a shopping cart. Two madmen have strapped an engine to the cart and it’s too big and running too hot. They've got a banjo and a megaphone, a washboard and a kick drum. They've stocked the cart with guitars, buckets, car parts, and microphones and they are hurtling towards a blown out bridge while the bad front wheel flaps manically. The fools think they can jump the bridge and land safely on the other side. They are very wrong but no one has told them because...well, they just seem so happy. And there you are, bouncing alongside them and deep down you hope they make it. Hillstomp is folk music in its purest form – from loud and gritty, to intricate and poignant, and most importantly, always heartfelt and true.
DEC 30 TICKETS | $30 GA, $45 Two-Night Pass
DEC 31 TICKETS | $30 GA, $45 Two-Night Pass
21+ ONLY
Ring in the new year at Doug Fir with Ural Thomas & The Pain and Hillstomp teaming up for a joyful night of dancing, cheer, and glitz. Tickets on sale now! ✨ 🎊
Universally recognized as one of the most exciting singers remaining from the original soul era, 82 year-old Ural Thomas and his band The Pain just released their third LP "Dancing Dimensions." Thomas initially made his name in the 1960s with stone cold soul classic releases like "Pain Is The Name of Your Game," "Can You Dig It," "Deep Soul," and his 1964 recording debut with The Monterays "Push - Em Up." After a musical journey that commenced in his native Portland, Oregon, and led to Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and New York, sharing stages with everyone from James Brown to Stevie Wonder to Otis Redding to Etta James, Thomas became disillusioned with the music business and returned home to the city of roses at the end of the decade - where he continues to reign as Portland's uncontested Soul Brother Number One.
Hillstomp sounds like a boom box blasting from a shopping cart. Two madmen have strapped an engine to the cart and it’s too big and running too hot. They've got a banjo and a megaphone, a washboard and a kick drum. They've stocked the cart with guitars, buckets, car parts, and microphones and they are hurtling towards a blown out bridge while the bad front wheel flaps manically. The fools think they can jump the bridge and land safely on the other side. They are very wrong but no one has told them because...well, they just seem so happy. And there you are, bouncing alongside them and deep down you hope they make it. Hillstomp is folk music in its purest form – from loud and gritty, to intricate and poignant, and most importantly, always heartfelt and true.