finding the right path on ages and ages' 'divisionary'

Ages and Ages' Tim Perry and Rob Oberdorfer. Photo by Alicia J. Rose.

"We all have our own vision of what the right path is and which key fits," says Tim Perry sitting in the living room of his NE Portland house.

He's just grabbed a copy of his new record, Divisionary, from the vinyl-filled shelf adjacent to his front door. Flipping it over, he shows me the pile of keys.

"In my mind, it's kind of overwhelming—if you're looking for the right one you might have to search for a while," the Ages and Ages' band leader and songwriter explains. "That said, there's also a lot of different locks in the world and locks represent different doors that open different paths to go down."

This new record is Ages and Ages' second but it's not just simply the next Ages' album—it's a meditated step forward in the band's story. It furthers their individual narrative and experiences as well as the ideologies that Ages' want to share with the world. It also represents the challenges that the group faced to create this record.


Musically, Divisionary once again balances Ages' ability to instill a joyful folk sound amongst underlying complexity. Dividing the sonic space between upbeat singalongs and seriousness, the lyrical half represents the latter. Acknowledging his pop sensibilities, Perry says he writes the songs he does "because they get stuck in my head," but an intimately meaningful message is an integral part of the process.

---
Read the rest on Vortex Music Magazine.

farewell, the woods

Sadly, it's official. The Woods is no more.

Riding my bike by there today was bittersweet, just like the last song of Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside's set on Saturday night. Seeing a hodgepodge of chairs and couches sitting behind the locked, black iron gates made me fantasize that a resurrection was still possible.

But the facts are that the property is owned by Claybourne Commons, LLC, which was looking to raise the rent while the owners of The Woods, Ritchie Young, Vivien Lyon, and Yoni Shpak, would've liked a rent decrease. This effectively pushed the music venue out as Claybourne Commons currently hopes to redevelop the land, pushing the former funeral home, built in 1928, back half a block with plans to use the new real estate on SE Milwaukie for storefronts.

After two-and-half years of Bingo and Bourbon, Baby Ketten Karaoke, soul night with DJ Cooky Parker, and intimate concerts--one of my most memorable was an evening with The Robinsons and Y La Bamba--it was all destined to end on Saturday, January 7th.

But not without a free show. And a great, local line up to boot: Brothers Young, AgesandAges, and Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside.

A line stretched around the block all night long, and the place was packed well-past the supposed 300 person capacity. Familiar faces from the PDX music scene abounded with the likes of Lewi Longmire, Jim Brunberg of Mississippi Studios, the boys of Lone Madrone, music video director Alicia J. Rose, all of the brothers Young (how many are there anyways?), Dennise Kowalczyk of KZME, and the brothers from Rose City Live (who have a great gallery of photos up) all wandering around throughout the night.

---
Read the rest on OMN.

best of 2010... now, what's next?

Since many of my most-prized local memories of 2010 (Y La Bamba, Pickathon, Tu Fawning, Billygoat, PCP, and more) are so well documented by a slew of OMN staffers with (dare I say?) impeccable taste, I give you 6 non-local shows that blew my mind in ’10:

1. Sufjan Stevens at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Friday, October 29th.

2. Jónsi (of Sigur Rós) at the Roseland Theater on Tuesday, April 13th.

3. Major Lazer and Big Freedia at the Roseland Theater during MFNW on Thursday, September 9th followed by Big Freedia live at Sassy’s (the strip club).

4. Janelle Monáe wowing a sold-out (for of Montreal) Roseland Theater on Thursday, October 28th.

5. Peter Hook & Friends at the Doug Fir Lounge playing Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures in its entirety on Thursday, December 9th.

6. The Flaming Lips at Eugene’s McDonald Theatre on Wednesday, September 29th.

Followed by epic festival coverage at PDX Pop Now!, MFNW, and Sasquatch. And since I just can’t resist… here are some locals who deserve love from the last year: Climber, Reporter, Soft Metals, Remix Artist Collective, The Angry Orts, The Ascetic Junkies, Strength, Pegasus Dream, Menomena, and Seattle’s Brent Amaker & The Rodeo and Hey Marseilles. I mourn the end of Explode Into Colors but look forward to more creative and bombastic incarnations. To anyone I’ve forgotten, I apologize but I hope to see plenty more of you in 2011.

But why look back when you should be looking forward? Here are the best, local musics that you’ve likely enjoyed this past year but I am anticipating even brighter futures (and fresh, alphabetically organized, full-length albums) in 2011:

1. AgesandAges’ debut album Alright You Restless due February 15th, 2011 (via Knitting Factory Records).

2. The Blow returns to the NW with new material and eventually a new album.

3. Deelay Ceelay took the last half of the year off to hit the studio and are now mixing things.

4. Red Fang’s Relaspe Records debut due in early 2011.

5. Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside have kept us waiting for a better part of the last year but their debut album is coming.

6. Starfucker’s second album (performed and recorded under the name Starfucker and no other name, abbreviation or derivative) out March-ish (via Polyvinyl).

7. Lastly, Vanimal has only a demo EP thus far but we’re excited to hear what’s next.