PORTLAND, OREGON-BASED POP-ROCK OUTFIT, SIMPLE SWEET CELEBRATE THE RELEASE OF THEIR DEBUT, SELF-TITLED FULL-LENGTH CD, JANUARY 7TH IN LOLA’S AT THE CRYSTAL BALLROOM.

On January 7, 2012, Portland, Oregon-based quartet – Steven Dolbey (vocals, guitar), Justin Hart (vocals/guitar), Rob Throckmorton (drums) and Rob Obregon (bass) – will celebrate the release of their debut, self-titled full-length at Lola’s at the Crystal Ballroom.

Other bands TBD.  Cover is $5.00.  Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm.

Simple Sweet’s debut is a collection of ten breezy, warm pop songs that also hint at the collective members’ rock band pasts, Simple Sweet is a band that can create groove-laden songs with hooks, while always making sure the songs’ edges are sharp.

Meeting via a mutual friend, Steven Dolbey (vocals, guitar) and Justin Hart (guitar, vocals) originally intended to record a few of Dolbey’s songs at Hart’s home studio, with Hart producing them.  However, with the two collaborating on Dolbey’s songs, soon they found themselves writing together, and things began to take shape.

Even at this point, however, they were merely consumed with making demos – for fun.  The result, their self-titled debut showcases the quartet’s ability to shoot straight from the hip, creating an honest, mature pop-rock sound that is equal parts guitar-driven hooks and heart-on-the-sleeve integrity.

The album carries a varying style of melodic rock including “Weightless,” a spill-over pop number that is a rock song at heart, but fits in comfortably on adult alternative radio as well.  Meanwhile, “Simple Life” is straight-ahead guitar rock, soaked with Simple Sweet’s sugary melodic glow.

Other album standouts, such as “Something Sweet,” finds Simple Sweet pulling no punches, creating one of the loudest songs on the record.  Then there is the fierce, fiery power-pop of “Summer Song,” complete with crunchy guitars and a hip-shaking rhythm section.

The band gets tender on the ballad-esque “The Light,” a poignant, heartening song that shows the band can write slow, simmering folk-pop as well as they can rock.

From the opening of “Rain,” the album’s lead song, Simple Sweet demonstrate they can play rock music with hooks and a gorgeous underbelly.  Ending with “Sunny Days,” a song that would have fit in perfectly with the 90s alt. rock explosion, the album is a journey of rock music that is unabashed in its love of melodic pop and guitars.

Music aside, the album is also strong lyrically, filled with hope, love, depression, loss, and searching. Whether it’s the story of lost love during a natural disaster (“Rain”), remembering the carefree days of your youth (“Summer Song”), filling holes in your life with drugs and alcohol to find acceptance (“Weightless”). Or just trying to get along with someone in a relationship, whether it’s a lover or a friend (“Something Sweet”), Simple Sweet is able to craft songs with depth and a story behind them.  All while combining them with hook-laden, driven melodies that make you want to dance and sing along, without over-saturating you with sweetness to the point of forgetting the meaning behind the songs.  Not an easy task, especially considering one of the biggest obstacles coming into this record.

Hart and Dolbey had been front men in all their previous projects.  The two had never collaborated in prior outfits, other than allowing band members to accompany them on their songs.  This time around, though, they had to learn to trust each other, give up on some of their own ideas in favor of the other’s idea – choosing what was better for the song, not the ego.  In the end, it helped both grow tremendously, not just musically, but personally as well.  And helped them write a stronger album, one they are much more proud of than previous accomplishments.

Not bad for a band that began recording something with no plan and no expectations, just two new friends, creating music for fun, and helping each other become better songwriters.

Check out Simple Sweet online at:

http://www.simplesweetmusic.com

Poor Boy’s Soul is Trever Jones, who makes bone-rattling acoustic stomp music for those pissed off and left behind. Songs on Outlaw Blues such as opener “Burn Down This Old House” or “Movin’ To The City” are caught up in the currents of fate and myth; gratifications and torments of the flesh; today’s news and tomorrow’s final reckoning. It is the perfect drinking music for a sobering nation, full of kick drum, tambourine, and the chattering riffs of an old National guitar.

This is no bullshit stripped down rock, made to look fans in the eyes and not relent, whilst enjoying a whiskey, created by a guy who loves underground hip hop, Woody, and Son House, and doesn’t like to talk to cops. “When I was 10 years old I got my first guitar and that is when I really knew that I wanted to be a musician,” Jones says. “At first I played metal and thrash, then on to punk. When I was nineteen I started traveling around the country hitching and riding trains. So I bought a cheap acoustic and started learning folk, bluegrass and blues from folks on the road. That’s when I started developing the style of music I play now.”

Poor Boy’s Soul officially started in 2008, when Jones was winding down Portland band Biketramp. “The name Poor Boy’s Soul comes form a line in an old time song called ‘Wild Bill Jones,’” Trevor says. “In the song a fella is defending himself and his girl from Wild Bill and he ‘pulls out his gun and destroys that poor boy’s soul.’ And I just love that line.” When he took his second album Everything I Had out on tour, he’d made the decision to go one man band. “I want to reach as many people that I can with my music and keep doing it till I get too old to hold my guitar. And of course make a bit of dough doing it! I don’t want to be a rock star,” he says. One listen to the festival-filling blues-punk come-on overflow of “54 Ways” though, it sounds like it’s going to happen anyways.

Jones finds inspiration in gaunt blues shaman Mississippi Fred McDowell in rants like “You Gotta Move.” Keeping his rocking spare like the original bluesmen, just his nimble grind on the six strings, spasms of laughter and disgust in concert with his fellow wayfaring souls. “That’s when I finally learned how to yell!” he sings (“Nails In The Pines”). His clap and rasp-along rockers have the barest whiff of Waits, because it seems as though Jones is more like a character in one of the down-bound train songs the king of the sad noise is growling about. Jones music is without kitsch, much bar-room sentimentality, or layers of sound affects.

The new release ends on the lovely, terrifying rant “Annalisa”: “You’re stronger than those demons in your head,” he sings. “That is the most different song on the album. It is also the most intimate song too. It is about my sister. She has had a lot of road blocks thrown up in front of her over the years. She has risen above so much and the song is for her and about her. I really feel that lyrically it is one of the best songs I have ever written. It is really a song that comes from my heart, straight to a person that I care for dearly. And I want her to live a better life than the one she was given.

“Songwriting for me is many different things,” Jones continues. “Sometimes it’s a release. When I need to get something off my chest or I am just so overwhelmed with life. So I pick up my guitar and let it come out.” “Annalisa” shows a singer-songwriter as deft as Springsteen, but with many more butterfly knife-sharp poetic details in the wide-open lyrics.

“I am inspired by a little voice in my head that tells me to keep going and to get these words and songs out of my skull. And if I stop I would most likely go crazy. The process of making and performing music seems to me to be like breathing,” he says. He also loves reading books on history, and telling from the topical insouciance of his lyrics (and his love for Dead Prez’s “Let’s Get Free”), has a thing or two to say about politics.

“I think that it is very important to keep politics in music and for artists of all types to challenge the norms of society,” Jones says. “Music that moves me challenges me to think of the world in another way. My favorite musicians are all revolutionaries. We live in a world full of isolation and selfishness. I believe it is our job as artist to pull people out of the modern-techno make-believe world: Facebook, Twitter, and Google news.”

For many years Trever Jones was a farmer in southern Oregon on a small scale organic farm. That may be why his music sounds like it’s made by someone who’s gotten his hands as dirty as his honest thoughts. “Well, I recorded and released my own album because that is the only way I know how to do it. I have no record deal and didn’t want to wait around for somebody to tell me it was time for me to record. I never wait for people to tell me it is time to do anything.” He knew he could produce a great album and he did just that

Currently featured in Performer Magazine http://performermag.com/2011/10/03/spotlight-poor-boys-soul/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=spotlight-poor-boys-soul

AND featured in back to PRINT issue of MAGNET next month!

• http://thevinylanachronist.blogspot.com/2011/09/poor-boys-souls-burn-down-on-cd.html
• http://trainwreckdsociety.com/2011/07/23/poor-boys-soul-burn-down-album/
• http://www.recorddept.com/2011/10/poor-boys-soul-burn/
• http://marqueemag.com/2011/10/01/quick-spins-29/
• http://www.poprocketpress.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=39&ArticleID=160
• http://exystence.net/blog/2011/09/06/poor-boys-soul-burn-down-2011/#more-15968
• http://jacksonnyc.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-withtrevor-jones-aka-poor.html
• http://ninebullets.net/archives/poor-boys-soul-burn-down

BURGERVILLE RECORDS/SHAKERS’ SESSIONS LAUNCH PARTY:  November 15th at Hawthorne’s Burgerville

Artists to perform:

Early Saturday morning (july 30th) Joey Lomelo passed away in his sleep. Joey a metal music fixture in Portland was loved by all who knew him. He was much too young to be leaving us. Guitarist extraordinaire Joey made his Mark playing and teaching.

Notice there has been a time change

‎****TRIBUTE TO JOEY LOMELO****
Sunday, August 14th
*5 pm to 12:30 am*

BIG DADDY’S OT
10514 NE Fourth Plain Rd.
Vancouver, WA 98662
(360) 892-5047

There will be ample opportunities for ALL who would like to share and pay their respects to Joey on open mic throughout this TRIBUTE.

Any other info about services I will post when I get it.

Joey’s Facebook Page

For info and complete lineup and schedule, go here.

The Oregon Music Hall of Fame (OMHOF) has just announced the inductees for 2011. These inductees will be honored at the 5th Annual Oregon Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Concert, to be held Saturday, October 8th at 7pm at the Newmark Theater.

This year’s inductees are:

ARTISTS

DHARMA BUMS: Jeremy Wilson (vocals, guitar), Eric Lovre (guitar, vocals), John Moen (drums, vocals) and Jimmy Talstra (bass) formed the Dharma Bums in their hometown of Silverton in 1986. They soon made their base in Portland and went on to release 3 albums and play over 200 dates a year during their 6 year run in the US and Europe. The band helped lead the way for the alternative rock explosion in Portland in the ‘90s. All 4 have continued playing music and in 2010 they did a reunion show to a full house at the Crystal Ballroom and released an album of unreleased material.

JEFFREY FREDERICK AND THE CLAMTONES: Jeffrey Frederick started the Clamtones in the late ‘60s in Vermont but soon morphed the band into Automatic Slim & the Fat Boys. In 1975, at the urging of Robin Remaily of the Holy Modal Rounders, Jeffrey moved to Portland and started a new version of the Clamtones. The Clamtones included Dave Reisch (vocals, bass), Robin Remaily (guitar and mandolin, Teddy Deane (horns & woodwinds), Richard Tyler (piano) and Roger North (drums). The band morphed into Les Clams and later included Turtle Vandermarr, Kevin “Bingo” Richey, Lex Browning and Jim Boyer. The band developed a reputation for being “one of the best bar bands in the country”. In 1997, Jeffrey passed on but left a legacy of music that is still being released.

SEQUEL: Sequel was one of the most popular bands in Oregon in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.  Sequel’s harder rock sound combined with great vocal harmony and songwriting led them to become one of the top-drawing bands in the state, playing back-to-back clubs every week. The band consisted of Greg Georgeson (guitar, vocals), Todd Jenson (bass, vocals), Dave Wall (guitar, vocals) and Grant Roholt (drums). Their 1982 debut album was a staple on KGON. In 1983 they recorded the follow-up. Elektra Records asked them to shelve the album, as they were interested in signing the band and releasing it. While waiting for all the Elektra decision makers to give the green light, the band ended up breaking up. In the last decade the band has reunited to do a few shows, including a packed house at the Roseland and opening for Loverboy.

NORMAN SYLVESTER: Norman Sylvester has been has been playing the blues a long time. His band has been together since 1985, delivering good-time original blues music around the NW at both clubs and festivals. Norman, known also as the Boogie Cat, has been featured on over a dozen records, including on his own Boogie Cat Productions label and the Rose City Blues Festival album. Norman has also been a great supporter of community projects and events, where he and his band help spread goodwill through their music. He’s also a winner of several Cascade Blues Association Muddy Awards, including the Back What You Believe In award.

WHEATFIELD: Wheatfield began as a folk-duo in 1971 with Pete Wolfe and Will Hobbs. Within the year they added a bass player, lead guitarist and drummer and went on to be one of the most popular bands in the state, as well as playing the entire NW and British Columbia. Their style branched out to include influences of rock, folk, bluegrass, country, rock and even jazz. In 1980 they released their first full-length album, produced by longtime Steve Miller harmonica player Norton Buffalo. That year KOIN TV ran a prime time TV special on the band that was shown all over the state. In 1982, the band broke up, although they still kept doing occasional reunions. They are now back as an active band and released a new album in 2010.

SIDE PLAYERS

PHIL BAKER: Phil Baker has played with some of the best.  He toured with Diana Ross for 9 years. He has played with Eddie Harris, Joe Henderson, Diane Schuur, Les McCann, Tom Scott, and Ernie Watts among others. He even took the stage with Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and Linda Ronstadt years ago during the prestigious “Motown 25” special. For the last 6 years, he has been the bass player for Pink Martini. Over the years, Phil has taught hundreds of students and put on dozens of clinics. He also writes a monthly column for Bass Musician magazine.

SAM HENRY: Sam Henry has been drumming in bands in Portland for 4 decades. He has played in The Wipers, The Rats, Napalm Beach, Poison Idea, Snow Bud & The Flower People and Morgan Grace, among others. His bands were a staple at Portland’s legendary Satyricon. Though some may think of Sam as Portland’s quintessential punk drummer, he has also played funk with Shock, 1930s swing jazz with the Stolen Sweets and even country roots music with Michael Dean Damron, as well as most every other genre of music. Sam is also a music instructor giving drum lessons to many up-and-coming musicians.

INDUSTRY

BOB ANCHETA: After building his own radio station as a teen in the attic of his parents’ house, while still a senior in high school, Bob began his real radio career in 1970 on Portland’s legendary underground music station KVAN-AM. This was followed by a stint at KQIV-FM, Portland’s only ever quadraphonic radio station. In 1977 Bob joined KGON-FM, spending 18 years on air at his powerhouse station. One of his great attributes was knowledge of the music and artists he played. His on air talking was as exciting as the music he turned people on to. He went on to Earth 105. Today you still hear Bob every Sunday with his Blues show on KINK-FM. You may also hear his voice work on many stations from his company Internet Jock. Bob was also the stage manager for the Paramount Theater in the ‘70s and manager of the band Sequel.

GEORGE TOUHOULIOTIS: To quote George Touhouliotis, “I had an interest in the culture of music. Not the music, per se, but what the bands represented. That was the beauty of the punks: they were real.” George gave Portland a club called Satyricon. George opened up Satyricon to bands that, in many cases, could not get gigs in the other rooms in town because they were playing music out on the fringe. George and the Satyricon became the second home for both the musicians who played there as well as the fans. Portland bands like the Wipers, Dead Moon, The Dharma Bums, The Crazy 8s, The Jackals, Napalm Beach and Poison Idea played there. National acts like Nirvana, Foo Fighters and Flaming Lips also played gigs there.

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

ESPERANZA SPALDING: Esperanza Spalding taught herself violin and within a year was good enough to earn a spot in the Chamber Music Society of Oregon. At age 15, she became concertmaster. After switching to bass and attending Darrell Grant’s music program at Portland State, she enrolled at Berklee College of Music. In 2005, at age 20, she became the youngest instructor in the school’s history. She has released 3 albums, with her second release, “Esperanza”, being on the jazz charts for 70 weeks. Her 2010 release, “Chamber Music Society” became a hit with both fans and critics and landed her an appearance on the Grammy Awards as well as a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

THE 5TH ANNUAL OREGON MUSIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTION AND CONCERT

The 5th Annual Oregon Music Hall of Fame Induction & Concert will be held on Saturday October 8th at 7pm at the Newmark Theater. This year’s master of ceremonies will be the ever-colorful Tony Starlight. The sponsors include Berkley North Pacific, Elliott Powell, Baden & Baker Insurance, KINK-FM and Portland Music Co.
There will be 3 musical performances by former OMHOF inductees, all favorites of the ‘80s.

Johnny & the Distractions – Johnny & the Distractions tore up the NW clubs in the early ‘80s. Their debut album was a favorite on KGON, and A&M Records soon signed the band. They toured across the country with bands such as Tom Petty, Asia and the J. Geils Band. This will be a rare reunion for the band.

The Crazy 8s formed while the members attended college at Oregon State in the ‘80s. They quickly became one of the most popular bands in the NW and began touring all around the country. The 8s released 5 albums in the ‘80s as well as an album in the ‘90s. After doing a sold out reunion show, the band has been seen doing occasional shows again.

Nu Shooz – One of the most successful bands to ever come out of Oregon, Nu Shooz released a 7” single of “I Can’t Wait” in 1985. The song was played heavily at Portland Radio and an album was released. A remix version of the song became a hit in the Netherlands and led to a contract with Atlantic Records. The single reached #3 on the Billboard Charts, #2 on the R&B charts and #1 on the dance charts, and the album “Poolside” was certified Platinum. The follow-up single went to #28 on the charts. The band was nominated for a Grammy for best new artist. Their second Atlantic album also yielded 2 successful Billboard charting singles. This will be the first-ever reunion of the band, which ended 20 years ago.

Tickets will be on sale at all Ticket Master outlets and the PCPA box office July 22nd. There is a special pre-sale on July 20th and 21st. A special password will be available Monday July 18th at omhof.org. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. VIP tickets, which include prime seating, after-induction party and poster, are $90 in advance.

CD RELEASE SHOW: July 29th at Mississippi Studios

Read SP Clarke’s review of  ”World so Sweeet”

July 29, 2011, Portland, Oregon’s own Rachel Taylor Brown will celebrate the release of her seventh studio album, World So Sweet.  Also on the bill are The Brothers Young, plus special guests.  Tickets are $10.00 in advance and $10.00 at the door.  Doors at 8:30pm, show at 9pm.

When asked to describe her music, Taylor Brown jokingly suggests, “Pith Rock; sharp ‘n’ pointy!  Or spongy and permeable!”  She starts to laugh. “Pith ‘n’ Vinegar Rock!  No, wait: there’s that horrible thing they do to frogs in a lab, that’s pithing.  Maybe Igneous Rock is better.”

Talk to those who know her music, though, and other descriptions come up. “Unsettling but addictive.” “Good stories.” “Unpredictable.” “Arresting.”  ”Dark, funny, sweeping, panoramic, pretty, ugly, complex, moving.”  And, “You can dance to it.”

But to fully grasp and understand World So Sweet and Rachel Taylor Brown, you have only to listen to the record.

“I realized in retrospect how dark these songs may come off. I wish I could explain better how they make me feel hopeful,” explains Taylor Brown.  ”I always feel better when dark things are out in the open instead of hidden away.  Looking at the scary stuff makes me more appreciative of the beauty in the world, makes me feel like my feet are on the ground.” She continues, “I think it helps that you can dance around to many of them. I can see someone getting down to one of these songs and never knowing what the hell I’m singing about.  I like that the songs can be enjoyed on that level–it makes me feel sneaky.  Lyrics are very important to me but I know a lot of people don’t listen to them, especially now.  It’s interesting to see who notices the words and who doesn’t.”

It’s that love of life, humor, curiosity, basic compassion, and a healthy dose of skepticism that fuels Taylor Brown. It’s heavily reflected in everything she does, including the thirteen tracks found on World So Sweet.

“I love the people I love, and the beautiful world,” she continues.  ”I’m fortunate.  There was a time I didn’t want to be around.  Now that I do, it’s sweet, every day; even when it’s horrible.  There are birds.  The world is sweet, even though it’s awful.  That prayer I had to say when I was a kid: ‘Thank you for the world so sweet, thank you for the food we eat, thank you for the birds that sing, thank you, God, for everything.’  I’ve always loved that prayer, even though I don’t believe in the God part anymore.  I love anything that reflects even some little awareness that we’re living with a whole lot of other creatures and that we’re just one bit of the whole thing.”

Rachel Taylor Brown might best be described as a dubious but hopeful observer who watches the world and the people of the world destroy and create beauty daily, just one witness who can tell a story through song.

“These songs are about the usual mundane things that seem to preoccupy me; how great and how awful people are and how beautiful and ugly the world is,” she says.  ”There’s huge scope in that.  I know I have a comfort level with some of the things I write about that others may not have, due in large part to my own history.  I’m not thinking of how it may hit anyone else when I’m writing.  I’m usually surprised when my husband or some other listener points out that it’s maybe hard to hear.  I really believe in letting a song be what it wants, though.  And I guess some (ok, a lot) of my songs want to be peppy tunes about the worst of human nature.  I have to say, though, I find that contradiction very satisfying.”

For all the hurt and pain in the world, like all of us Rachel Taylor Brown goes on.  Creating music that is equally pretty and haunting, sometimes simple but sometimes epic, the perfect strange cocktail of darkening doubt, lightening hope and “it’s got a good beat, you can dance to it.”  Music that’s meaningful but catchy, a paradox of everything the world has to offer.  With World So Sweet she brings to the surface good and evil, creating an album that is as rich as it is sparse, dense as it is airy.

Curious, I looked up “pithy.”  The thesaurus reads: “succinct, concise, compact, to the point, epigrammatic, crisp, significant, meaningful, expressive, telling.”  ”Pith” means “essence, fundamentals, heart, substance, core, crux, gist, meat, kernel, marrow, weight, depth, force.”  ”Pith Rock” is a weird and awkward moniker for her music, and maybe a little too close to “piss” said with a lisp.  But, you know it kind of fits.

MP3s:
“Taxidermy” – http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/pr/freemp3s/racheltaylorbrown_taxidermy.mp3
“How To Make A World Class Gymnast” – http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/pr/freemp3s/racheltaylorbrown_howtomake.mp3