We arrived in Portland at just about midnight on the evening of July 20th, rested for a day and a half, played a show at Mississippi Studios on the 22nd, and left that night to head down to California for the Awesome Vistas show at the Mission Creek Festival. I was sorry to miss PDX Pop Now, but we had some nice beach time and rad shows with Sic Alps, Linda Hagood, Inca Ore. Chen Santa Maria, Perfect Teeth, and Radar Bros.. (in that order and I am forgetting to mention some I'm sure.. sorry..) This was Tom Greenwood, Danny Sasaki, and I in California.. we weren't doing JOMF, but Tom and Danny were doing a band called "Tom Greenwood" and I was playing Dragging an Ox through Water sets.
And Europe was great. We droooooove and droooove. Thanks to everyone everyone.
I'm playing a show next Wednesday (8/12) at Holocene which I was asked by Gina to curate. Decided to make it a benefit for Yellow Brick Road, because it's their 25th anniversary. I'm very excited about it.. Salt Orchard (snare drum and vocal duo, members of Xh and The Better to See You With) and Operative (Scott Goodwin from Bonus, sawtooth waves, live drums I'm told by Jed and Spencer) will both play, as well as Dragging an Ox through Water (me), and label owners from local labels like Below PDX, Together Tapes, Eggy Records and Distro, and Awesome Vistas will DJ from their catalogs between, before, and after sets. Liz Harris (grouper) will show some video work.. and there will be a wearable sculpture procession / fashion show curated by Dana Dart McLean with works by Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Storm Tharp, Alicia McDaid, Loyal Mantooth, members of Oregon Painting Society, and many more along with some choreography by Jane from Janet Pants Dans Theatre. Real strange free-associatively gathered together world kind of night! Please come!
also: tonight! I am playing with Scott Kelly from the band Neurosis who opened my metal eyes when I was really young and also with Bird Costumes, with whom I have played countless Food Hole and basement shows and sometimes even shows in other cities, but with whom I haven't played in way too long.
and: I am gonna be heading down to SF for a really short trip at the end of the month to perform on the 30th as part of John Gruntfest's Raven Free Orchestra. I met John Gruntfest through my Thicket bandmates Ben Kates' and John Niekrasz's organizing efforts with the Portland Creative Music Guild. He and his "Greatest Little Big Band in the History of the Megaverse" are some of the most inspiring and creative lifer-musician-practitioners I've ever met and I'm incredibly honored and excited to get to play as a part of this large ensemble! mark your calendars, Bay Area.
