last stop : explode into colors + quasi at the doug fir

Welcome home Quasi and Explode Into Colors. The last stop on a tour that took them from PDX to SXSW and back was thankfully at home. While Explode Into Colors left their rougher times on the road, Quasi may have experienced their roughest right at home on Saturday at the Doug Fir. Shredding and screaming since the early ’90s, you are bound to have an off night–at least it happened in front of your most loyal fans and friends… or does that make it all the more frustrating?

The set started off smooth for Quasi as guitarist Sam Coomes’ sandpapered vocals burst with fervency as he perched atop a speaker and flicked licks across the cheering crowd on “Repulsion” off their latest release, American Gong. Complemented by drummer Janet Weiss’ vox from behind her kit, Quasi’s mid-90s sound could almost be called vintage these days. The rebellious, indie rock’n'roll trio from Portland played songs from their last 15 years with rapid, punky instrumentalization and surging folky electricity...

---
Read the rest on OMN.

home from sxsw : quasi + explode into colors at the doug fir

The showcases are over, the street corners are considerably less crowded, and the bands are on their way back home from SXSW. Using the time on the road before and after the jaunt to Austin, most bands make a few stops along the way. On Saturday, March 27th, our indie rock darlings return to Portland for their homecoming showcase… at least that was the plan.

Both trios, Quasi and Explode Into Colors, played official SXSW showcases on a tour that saw them hit 15+ cities planned around their time in Austin. With two decades of gusto behind them, NW indie-staple Quasi showed their “rebellious, anti-corporate, loud rock’n'roll, peppered with pop harmonies, shredding guitar solos, hum-able bass lines and long drum fills” (according to drummer Janet Weiss in an interview with Spinner before SXSW) to a crowd at the Gibson Guitar Showroom that was record by Seattle’s KEXP and is now streaming on NPR.

OMN spoke to the bombastic rhythm makers from EIC just after their gigs at SXSW and a trip into Monterrey, Mexico for the MtyMx Fest. But then Explode Into Colors blew a tranny somewhere in Oklahoma and got stuck in San Antonio…

---
Read the rest on OMN along with tour notes from EIC.

my top fives of ‘09

my top fives of ‘09 : http://tinyurl.com/yzecqnc

explode into colors’ awesome party lives up to its name (and then some…)

http://tinyurl.com/yetxgyv

q/a : explode into colors + may ling before saturday’s awesome party at doug fir

http://tinyurl.com/yjoojgl

playing portland's workshops, retail + grocery outlets

The Penny Jam makes awesome videos of PDX artists playing under bridges and on overpasses, in empty museums and cupcakeries. They've got a whole host of stuff including The Dimes, Explode Into Colors, Mattress, The Ascetic Junkies, Celilo and more.

They're up to 26 videos that you can download while checking out photos from the shoots. (Some of them even did that sweet May Ling video I posted yesterday although it wasn't meant to be that public, yet.)

A year ago, Starfucker (now PYRAMIDDD) performed "Dance Face" at Rudy's Barbershop.