Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts

I reviewed the debut album from Portland's own Chinatown Dance Rock band, The Slants, and posted it on NW Noise about a week ago. I was pleased with how the review turned out and got some great feedback from it (including from the band) so I decided to post on my personal blog. Enjoy and be sure to check out the cd.


"Being the chief resident “Asian expert” of NW Noise, it only makes sense for me to review the debut album Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts from Portland-based Chinatown dance rock band, The Slants. While the band’s name may raise a few eyebrows, their music is sure to gain attention based its own merit. Living in a town where “everyone is in a band”, it can be difficult to find a lot of diversity within the local music community. However, The Slants are unlike anything I have heard in the Portland scene, and as much as I love the “Portland sound,” in this case, that’s a good thing.

Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts opens with traditional Asian music, kicking into “Sakura Sakura” in which lead singer Aron proclaims “We sing for the Japanese and the Chinese and all the dirty knees.” Band founder Simon Young’s bass skills shine on “Love Within My Sins” and Jonathan plays some tasty riffs on “I Want Everything.” Jen Cho and Gaijin ensure there’s plenty of rocking synth goodness throughout to keep all the New Order fans in the house very happy and AC keeps the beats coming. Aron’s vocals reminded me quite a bit of Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode and even Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran, a big plus. Jen Cho adds her lovely backing vocals to a couple of tracks as well (admittedly, I am a sucker for a girl with a beautiful voice). Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts gets you dancing from the opening track and keeps you moving until the closing “Vice Versus Virtue.”

The band’s originality receives much appreciation from this reviewer and the strength of the music proves that this is more than just some novelty band. Though the music is promoted as having an “Asian twist,” with the exception of the opening track and a few song titles, the Asian themes are subtle. Many of the lyrics focus on the challenges and identity issues an Asian growing up in American society faces, but they could be adopted by anyone who at one time or another has felt slightly out of place in this world. Heartache and heartbreak also are prevalent themes of the music. My only complaint with the album is the songs don’t differ too much from themselves, but overall this is a solid debut from a talented group of musicians.

The Slants have received press from multiple sources, including NPR, MSNBC, and The Asian Reporter. They also have shows booked across the globe in the coming months, including a few anime conventions, not too shabby for a band that celebrated their first birthday just a little while ago. There are still opportunities to catch them here in Portland though, including a “Welcome Home Show” at the Mt. Tabor Legacy on Sept. 19. I hear these guys put on an exceptional concert and I’m looking forward to checking them out.

Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts will be available nationwide on Sept 16, 2008."

Oktoberfest!

Widmer Brothers celebrates its 4th annual Oktoberfest tomorrow (Sat. Sept. 6) at their Portland brewery. I went to last year's event with my roomie and had a great time and this year promises to be even better. Great beer, great food, and an excellent music line-up. The lovely Debra Arlyn will perform, as well as new friends of Northwest Noise, Tea For Julie (check out the TFJ audio interview that took place in my basement here). This will be my first time watching the guys perform and I'm stoked to see them. TFJ takes the stage at 8pm; still waiting on a time for Debra. Also performing are Keegan Smith and the Fam, Those Darn Accordions, and Colin Lake and Wellbottom.


Admission is free this year! Though sadly the beer is not. The brewery is located at 929 N. Russell St. and there is a Max stop within walking distance. Stop by, get your beer and brat on, and enjoy some tasty music.

More info at www.widmer.com.

Update: Debra Arlyn starts playing at 6pm. Also, the pictured hookah above is only used for smoking flavored tobacco and not illicit or illegal substances.

Way To Normal

Much respect to Ben Folds. Rather than have someone leak his new album Way To Normal online before its release, he decided to leak it himself. Only it isn't the actual album, rather a "fake version" of the new release.

Recorded in one night in Dublin, the fake version of Way To Normal contains 6 songs that will not be on the actual album, and three songs that will, albeit in a different form, including the first single "You Don't Know Me" with Regina Spektor. Although much more foul-mouthed and slightly more goofy than a typical Ben Folds release, the songs don't feel too far off from the real thing (this is the guy that told an ex to "give me my money back, you bitch" on "Song For The Dumped", after all). The tracks are quite enjoyable. My favorite of the fake tracks is the piano ballad "Cologne", which briefly discusses the crazy female astronaut in diapers driving to kill a lover's new girlfriend incident. Other than the overly cheesy background choir (which gives this version away as the fake), it is a great song with a beautiful melody.

The songs are so well done that it passed for the real album online for some time, until Folds last month gave the real scoop to the media. Bravo to Folds for combating internet piracy in a truly unique way and giving his fans more music for free. Even more kudos in that the fake release has got me excited for the real album, out later this month; I haven't been this excited for a Ben Folds album since he was still with the Ben Folds Five.

You can check out the fake version of Way To Normal yourself here. He is also releasing one song for download per week on his MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/benfolds.

Feed The Animals

With all of the entertaining I've been doing at the new place, one album has received a good amount of play time on the ol' iPod, Girl Talk's Feed The Animals. I am constantly asked who the artist is or where one can pick up the CD. Well, it's time for me to give the artist and the album the credit they both deserve.

Girl Talk is Pittsburgh mash-up DJ, Gregg Gillis. Feed The Animals is his latest creation, over 300 music samples condensed into 54 minutes of danceable music. Highlights for me include Eminem's "Shake That" over the piano melody of Yael Naim's "New Soul", Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" over the opening guitar riff of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under The Bridge", and in the closing minutes of the album, Huey's "Pop, Lock, and Drop It" over one of the 80's ultimate power ballads, Journey's "Faithfully". The music serves as a hip hop history course, using rap from the past three decades and mixing it with various rock and pop songs. Gillis does an exceptional job blending the samples together and, as mentioned, it always gets a response from its listeners.


Gillis received much attention from the distribution of the album as well. Like Radiohead's In Rainbows, Feed The Animals is available through a "pay what you want" system. You head to the website, type in a price you are willing to pay, click, and the album begins downloading. Those opting not to pay anything need to select a reason, which include "I can't afford to pay", "I don't really like Girl Talk" and "I don't value music made from sampling". As a member of Northwest Noise, I selected the "I am part of the press, radio, or music industry" option.

Being someone that is fascinated with new marketing strategies related to music distribution, I'm willing to give music marketing pioneers a chance on their music. Lucky for me, most of these new strategies come from my some of my favorite bands: the already mentioned Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails (who released their latest album The Slip online for no charge), and The Smashing Pumpkins, who announced today that they are releasing their new single "G.L.O.W." on the new Guitar Hero game. But I'm also willing to take a chance on artists I am unfamiliar with that chart new terrain in promoting their albums. Girl Talk is one of those artists and the risk, although free for me, has paid off. And I've introduced Girl Talk to at least a dozen of my friends, getting the music out there, which hopefully in the end will pay off for Gillis as well.

Quick plug: anyone interested in new marketing strategies in music should check out my friend Ryan's blog at http://www.petmarmoset.net/blog/. He does an excellent job discussing new ideas and being as he is someone heavily involved in both marketing and music, I highly respect his opinions and ideas. It's definitely worth taking a look. Bonus, he tells you where to find the best nachos in town!

You can download the Girl Talk album yourself at http://74.124.198.47/illegal-art.net/.

So Effing Cool, I Had To Share

Anyone looking for someone to do graphic design for them really should check out the work of my good friend, Leslie. Simply put, she is incredibly talented. Here is an amazing drawing she did for some party invites, featuring yours truly (I'm in the middle and look far more bad-ass in the pic than I do in real life).

And another drawing from the same invites featuring Portland musician, Brandon Chandler.

I can't recommend her enough. If you need some design work done, message me and I will forward on to her. She ain't so bad on the eyes, either. :)

Winslow Homer

While I was bumming about the biggest musical loss in my life since Kurt Cobain passed, The Dimes quietly posted a brand new demo via their MySpace page. The track is called "Winslow Homer" and it once again shows why they are one of my favorite bands.

The track can be streamed here: http://www.thedimes.com/music/Winslow_Homer.m3u

Click and enjoy.

Leroi Moore 1961-2008

Yesterday, Leroi Moore of the Dave Matthews Band passed away. He was 46.

I met Leroi in the late 90's after my first DMB concert. He was a shy, quiet person, but very nice. The music he created with DMB has meant so much to me. I will miss him very much, as will thousands of other fans. The music will not be the same with him gone.

Defeated By The Heat

Anyone in Portland this past weekend knows how unbelievably hot it was. Too, too hot. It was difficult to find the motivation to do anything but sit in my slightly-cooler-than-the-100-degrees-outside basement and try not to move. Sadly as I sat in the sweltering heat, pissing and moaning, I realized the Las Vegas-ian in me may be completely gone. It's been a long time since I lived in the desert and already my immunity to the blazing sun has left my body.


Luckily, a couple of friends played shows that helped serve as a distraction from the extreme warmth. Ehren Ebbage played another happy hour show at the Alberta St. Pub on Thurs. There's not a whole hell of a lot more I can say about Ehren; every one of my friends know that I think he is an incredibly talented musician. I was fortunate enough to introduce him and his music to a few of my friends at this show. Once again, Ehren played a solid set and even threw in a cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U" for good measure (my friends also know I love my Prince...). Nice thing about Alberta St. Pub, in addition to the talent, is that their happy hour runs until 7:45pm and the food is actually pretty decent. Unfortunately, the staff is less than accommodating. They were rude to some of my friends and, in an unforgivable move, were rude to the evening's talent. Online reviews also note the same thing: good food, horrible service. One would assume in a service industry this is something they would address. However, one would assume incorrectly in this instance. I'll give them one more shot, but treating an artist that brought in the majority of their patrons for that evening with any disrespect at all is unacceptable.


On the other end of the spectrum, the Buffalo Gap has always provided me exceptional service. They have a late night happy hour menu every night with good food for $2.95, including some killer BBQ pork tacos that I highly recommend. On their musical menu last Saturday evening was a new friend of mine, Brandon Chandler and his band The Revival. I've really been getting into his first album After All This Time (Leslie writes a great review of the album at http://deludedsecretary.blogspot.com/2008/08/review-brandon-chandler-revival.html) and I'm looking forward to the release of his second album later this year. Brandon and his band played an excellent set and I am looking forward to seeing them again in a month at a very special gig that some of you will also join me for.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you have an opportunity to catch a live show from either of these artists, jump on it.

Madison Mercy

Many congrats to my step-brother, Justin (yes, I have a brother whose name is also Justin; my folks were highly unoriginal), and his wife, Cara, on the birth of their daughter, Madison Mercy. Madison was born at 3:45am on 8/4/8 weighing in at 7lbs 12oz. She is a beautiful girl and a very welcome addition to the family.

Casa de Bondioli, Greif, y Pederson

Finally got moved into the new place. The whole process has kept me quite busy over the last week, but it has been well worth it.


The house is in the Hollywood District and is massive; way more space than my two roommates and I can reasonably justify having. Four bedrooms, a few bonus rooms, 2700 square feet plus a giant basement.


It is the perfect house for entertaining. We've already had a ton of people stop by to visit. It's what I've always wanted, especially after being in West Linn for a year and a half where no one wants to drive all the way out.


Petey has a ton of room to run around and play. That should help him get some exercise in and lose some of this extra baggage he's been carrying around. People probably think I've been trying to fatten him up for a meal this coming holiday season.


I feel incredibly blessed to call this place my home with two exceptional roommates, and one slightly overweight rabbit. I'm already looking forward to all of the good times that we will host within these walls.

Ehren Ebbage Interview And Album Review

Anyone who I have a had a conversation about music with in the past few months has heard me mention Ehren Ebbage. Ehren is an incredibly talented singer/songwriter that just released his debut full-length album Ten Cent Souvenir. He also just happens to be a member of my favorite Portland band, The Dimes. Before that, he was in Justin King's band, my favorite Eugene artist.


A couple of weeks ago I finally had the opportunity to interview Ehren at the Doug Fir with Gears and Leslie. We discussed his new album, his time with The Dimes, his experience with Epic Records, and his other band, The Floydian Slips. Johnny Clay of The Dimes also joined us to ask his band mate a couple of questions. The interview can be found on the Northwest Noise page at http://www.northwestnoise.com/interviews/ehren-ebbage-interview.

Leslie also reviewed Ten Cent Souvenir for the website. However, I have to say that I disagree with her on the song "Snakes," which happens to be one of my favorite tracks on the album. It's a beautiful track and I love the honestly in Ehren's voice. It's her first review for the site, so I can't give her too hard a time about it. :) http://www.northwestnoise.com/reviews/ehren-ebbage-ten-cent-souvenir

Ehren plays regular solo gigs at the Alberta St. Pub and the Buffalo Gap. If you haven't seen him yet, do yourself a big favor and check him out. He is also an active blogger and writes about his experiences as a struggling musician. The link is to the right in the "Respect" column, or you can link to it here: http://ehrenwords.blogspot.com/.

Brandon Chandler & The Revival

While at the Debra Arlyn show at the Doug Fir this past week, I had the opportunity to meet another talented musician, Mr. Brandon Chandler of Brandon Chandler & The Revival.

Gears actually bumped into Brandon in the bathroom of the Doug Fir and convinced him to meet the rest of the Noise Boys. That certainly brings a lot of concern for Mr. Chandler's decision making abilities, but he had just given an amazing performance, so I decided to let it slide, this time.

Brandon Chandler & The Revival reminded me a lot of Jason Mraz, only with a lot more soul (and a lot less annoying, IMO). I really enjoyed his set, as well as the tracks he has posted on MySpace. He is in the process of recording his second album, to be released later this year. In the meantime, his first album is available on iTunes and CDBaby and his song "Until The Whiskey Wears Off" can be found on the just released Kink FM Plug In Portland Local CD Sampler.

NW Noise plans to interview this talented artist upon the release of his second album, but you can check out some of his tunes now at http://www.myspace.com/brandonchandler.

I Bet I Could Get Petey To Do That

He already eats my books and my baseboards. Adorable.

Plug In Portland, Where Everyone Is In A Band

This week, Kink FM released their Plug In Portland Local CD Sampler and I have to say I am pretty excited about the track selection. Many of my favorite local bands are included on the CD, including The Dimes, Intervision, Oh Darling, Jasmine Ash, and Brandon Chandler, who I had the pleasure of meeting last night at Debra Arlyn's show at the Doug Fir.


The track list is as follows:

1. The Dimes * Paul Kern Can't Sleep
2. Dirty Martini * Waiting for Magic
3. Intervision * All I'm Thinkin About
4. Courtney Jones * Awake & Dreaming
5. Justin Klump * No More Decembers
6. Amelia * The Great Escape
7. Echo Heltrom * Davy Jones
8. Jasmine Ash * Fall (Hidden Fortress Remix)
9. Brandon Chandler * Until the Whiskey Wears Off
10. Breanna Paletta * Follow Me Home
11. Derby * All or Nothing
12. Julia Dawn * Beautiful Lie
13. Jacob Merlin * Donut
14. Oh Darling * Blind Spot
15. Stephen Ashbrook * 21 Young
16. Beth Willis * Nothing
17. Throwback Suburbia * Circles
18. Alex Arrowsmith * The Zaps
19. Lindsey Pool * Conversation
20. Cronin Tierney * Burning Bridges

The CD is available at no charge at all Kink FM events this summer, including Noon Tunes, Bridgeport Village Concert Series, and Kink Friday Early Escape Cruise (I will be picking up my copy when The Dimes play Bridgeport Village at the end of the month). Burgerville restaurants will also carry the CD starting next week, however I believe there will be a charge involved for those copies.

In other local music news, MTV gave Portland some love earlier this week when they ran a segment on the local music scene this week. As Mr. Wines noted in his blog, the news clip seems to focus on a certain niche within the Portland music scene, not entirely reflecting the immense musical talent we have in our fair city (http://www.petmarmoset.net/blog/2008/07/17/mtv-news-everyone-in-portland-is-in-a-band/). Anyone involved in local music scene knows there is much more to the Rose City than pop punk for jaded teenagers. Of course, MTV has been more focused on promoting Heidi and Spencer of The Hills than promoting actual music for a few years now, so I suppose I should be happy that they gave some local bands any attention at all. Though I would have loved to see some of my favorite local bands get some love as well.

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All Of The Hard Work Is About To Pay Off

For the past few weeks, the boys of Northwest Noise have been working diligently on a new project, our first CD release, a live album from the lovely Ms. Debra Arlyn recorded last December at the Doug Fir Lounge during the NW Girls Make Noise show.

To say the album has been a huge undertaking would be quite the understatement. However, we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and we are very excited to have this project available to everyone.

Debra Arlyn Live At The Doug Fir will be released this Friday. The initial run will be a limited edition release with each CD personally autographed by the 2008 Portland Female Artist of the Year winner herself. The album features tracks from all three of Debra's albums, as well as two covers, "Too Good To Be True" and "I Want You Back." Those of you at last Decemeber's show know that this was a truly memorable performance; Debra showcased exactly why she is one of the top live acts in the Northwest.

Debra Arlyn and her band are joined at the Doug Fir on Friday, July 18th by Scott Fisher & 1AM Approach and Brandon Chandler & The Revival. Show starts at 9PM and tickets are $15 ($12 if purchased in advance). The NW Noise Boys will be at the show with the new album, so stop by and join the party, complete with air conditioning, tasty beverages, and great local music.

At What Point Is It Considered "Obsessed"?

Saw The Dimes twice this past weekend. Two times in less than 24 hours. Once Friday at 9:30PM, then again Saturday at 4:30PM. I'm not ashamed to admit it, though I'm convinced the guys think that I'm stalking them ("Oh hey, it's you... again..."). I've seen them close to a couple dozen times in the last year and they have quickly became my favorite Portland band. The new music they are working on is incredible. Standout tracks for me include "Paul Revere", "Clara Barton", and "Evangeline". I wonder how I can obtain some of the new music. I'm not sure if I can wait until their new album is released, though the guys were nice enough to tide their fans over with an EP in April. Unfortunately, I'm an impatient person and the EP just fueled the fire even more for my need for the new tunes.

The Dimes played at the Doug Fir on Friday night. My favorite Portland band, my favorite Portland venue, double bonus for me. After enjoying a juicy Fir burger (I do mean that literally, and not as the obvious double entendre), I headed to the green room with Gears and Leslie to interview the newest addition to the band, Mr. Ehren Ebbage.


I've been a fan of Ehren's for awhile, since he was the guitarist in Justin King's band. He recently released his debut full-length album, Ten Cent Souvenir. I've really been digging the album the more I listen to it. I recommend checking it out. It's not flashy; it doesn't stand out right away. But it rewards repeated listening. Ehren is an exceptional story-teller in his songs and it's been very cool to get to know this talented musician over the last few months.

Johnny Clay of The Dimes joined us for a new segment that Gears and I refer to as "Hot Artist On Artist Action". You'll have to listen to the interview to get the scoop on that. It is hot action though; that's all I can say. I'll post a link to the interview as soon as it is up on NW Noise.


The Dimes are playing Bridgeport Village's Summer Concert Series on Thursday, July 31st. I was really impressed with the concert series when I checked out Intervision there last Thursday. In addition to being a free show with some of the area's best talent, there's plenty of free sample food and drink to enjoy from the mall's vendors. Show starts at 6:30 and goes until 8:30PM. You know I'll be there. I'll be the guy the band is desperately trying not to make eye contact with.

My Dearest Lisa

I know you were at the local Barnes and Noble this weekend promoting your cd of children's music. I wanted to be there. I was planning on it. Alas, something came up and I was unable to attend. I'm sure you understand, being a fellow bunny lover. In the end, it was probably for the best. Might have seemed a little creepy to have me hanging around while you sing songs to the kids. I promise next time you are in town, we will meet up.

Love,
Justin

Justin Royce: SECRETS!

1. I throw away pennies. I hate them. HATE THEM!

2. I can't blow bubbles with my gum. I've tried, I can't.

3. I like John Mayer. I just do.

4. Touching foam makes me cringe. Not styrofoam, but soft foam, like they use in bed mats. Just thinking about it makes my hair stand on end.

5. As much as I piss and moan about my ex leaving me with the bunny, I really, REALLY love the little guy.

Boo to Sprint

Sprint has been a constant thorn in my side since I switched to them as my cell phone provider (thanks for setting me up with them, Krake!). I have had multiple problems with them, as has my roommate and just about everyone else I know that is a customer of theirs.

That said, my phone is not working, yet again. Please message or IM me if you need to get a hold of me and I will give you an alternate cell number to call (don't want my internet stalkers to track me down, otherwise I'd just post it).

Weekend Music June 10-11, 2008

It's another busy weekend of music as two of my favorite local bands are playing shows in the Portland area.

First up, Intervision, laying the funk in your ear holes at a free show at Bridgeport Village on Thursday, July 10th at 6:30PM. It's forecasted to be a sunny day for this show, making it a nice way to spend a summer's eve. Bonus, you can pick yourself up a new Rubbermaid storage bin at The Container Store while you are there.

Photo by Shawn St. Peter

The Dimes rock it at the Doug Fir on Friday, July 11th at 9PM. The Dimes are previewing songs from their in-the-works second album, focusing on the people and history of Boston. The new material ranks among their strongest work yet (my review of a recent show featuring the new songs: http://www.northwestnoise.com/reviews/the-dimes-bring-new-england-to-mississippi-studios). Gears, Leslie (new addition to NW Noise), and I will be interviewing Dimes guitarist and solo artist, Ehren Ebbage, before the show. I've been a fan of Ehren's since he played in Justin King's band and have got to know him over the past few months. The guy is a class act and I'm looking forward to rapping with him this weekend. His new solo album, Ten Cent Souvenir, is a delicious slice of Americana. Bay Area band The Mother Hips also plays. Tickets are $15.

Photo by Dave Getzschman

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