AltWeeklies Wire
How Brent Knopf Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Songnew

Under the moniker Ramona Falls, Knopf has created an eclectic collection of avant-pop songs that, on the surface, sound similar to his work with Menomena.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
08-26-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Mudhoney Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary With a Pub Crawlnew
While grunge died in the ’90s, Mudhoney lives on, adding subtle melodic elements to its arsenal but never gunning for a more commercially viable sound.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
02-04-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Portland Experimentalist Finds Inspiration at the Skating Rinknew

Portland musician Ethan Rose is a geek for antiquated instruments. His latest effort is made chiefly from an 86-year-old Wurlitzer organ at Oaks Park Skating Rink.
Willamette Week |
Robert Ham |
01-21-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Cajun Gems' Ben Whitesides Has a Long History of Bright Futuresnew
Amid false rumors of the Joggers' breakup, Whitesides recently began focusing on the Cajun Gems for the first time in years. Armed with a huge batch of songs, built from "days' worth of riffs and rifflettes" on his computer, Whitesides is now readying tracks for both the Joggers and the Cajun Gems.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
12-17-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Longtime Portland MC Mic Censhaw Finally Makes a Solo Standnew
Sure, his name is in the liner notes for experimental hip-hop projects Hungry Mob and Suckapunch, and more traditional beats-and-ryhmes duo the Cleveland Steamers, but Thinking Out Loud is the first full-length album the MC has ever released under his own name.
Willamette Week |
Casey Jarman |
11-12-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Blue Horns' Attention Span is Short; Its Songs are Even Shorternew
The band's self-titled debut, out this week, is full of catchy, throwback rock; at eight songs and just over 30 minutes, it's sequenced like the vintage LPs the band reveres.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
11-12-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Portland, Blue Horns
Grey Anne's Debut Sparklesnew
Anne Adams is sort of the Cinderella of the Portland music scene. She's a fascinating and mercurial personality, as direct and sharp in person as she is charming and personable when she performs.
Willamette Week |
Brandon Seifert |
11-05-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Jared Mees' Songs Have Humble Beginnings, But Grand Finalesnew
Mees' songs grow out of the hook, but sheer viral catchiness isn't what he seeks from them: He wants songs you relate to right off the bat.
Willamette Week |
Brandon Seifert |
10-01-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Former Team Dreschy Kaia Wilson Talks About Her Solo Albumnew
Wilson, legendary frontwoman of Team Dresch and the Butchies, launched her newest solo album four months ago, but the CD-release show has lingered till this week, and her upcoming tour is as part of Amy (Indigo Girls) Ray’s band.
Willamette Week |
Jay Horton |
09-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Godmakesmonkeys, Kaia Wilson
The Fli Boiz are Portland's Cool Boys with a Twistnew
The duo's uncanny resemblance to the Cool Kids, two '80s-enamored MCs from Chicago who have recently hit the big time, is difficult to deny. But where the Kids avoid the bling of hip-hop's hedonistic side, the Boiz embrace it.
Willamette Week |
Sarah Moskowitz |
09-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Fly Bois
Final Warning Returns to Portland After a 22-year Hiatusnew
More than two decades after a "chemicals"-related breakup, FW is about to play Portland one last time.
Willamette Week |
Nathan Carson |
09-17-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: punk, Final Warning
Talkdemonic's Latest is Also Its Bestnew
It has taken three Talkdemonic albums to lay the right balance of the elegant and the explosive on tape.
Willamette Week |
Casey Jarman |
09-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Talkdemonic, Eyes at Half Mast
Eternal Tapestry Sheds Layers, Finds Itself in the Processnew
In the past three years, Nick Bindeman and fellow guitarist Dewey Mahood have carried ET through numerous lineup changes and shepherded its sound through an equal amount of variation.
Willamette Week |
Robert Ham |
09-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Shaky Hands Want You to Reconsider 'Rock'new
The Shaky Hands happen to be Portland's best rock band, a reputation cemented with their jubilant new record Lunglight—a joint release between Holocene Music and Kill Rock Stars.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
09-03-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
VJ-turned-archivist Dan Woods Tapes Men That Make the Whole World Singnew
The Ponyrock zine founder as compiled the ultimate indie rockumentary with no background in journalism or filmmaking. Then again, the unaffiliated press shouldn't land a chat with James Murphy in the first place. Nor Sonic Youth. For Kraftwerk, the New York Times should doubt its chances.
Willamette Week |
Jay Horton |
08-13-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews