TLE @ Stumptown 08 by G-Force

Call me biased but TLE hit Stumptown with a double dose of cool this weekend... and if being a former roommate of owners Jared and Bri Mees, curating TLE's art collection, or having a G-Force designed T coming out sometime this summer under the TLE banner makes me biased  then yeah I guess I'm biased  . You don't have to take my word on how cool the record label turned media collective in NW Portland is just ask all the old and new fans we met at Stumptown this weekend. We were even getting shout outs from none other than Top Shelf publishing! Stumptown has been described as everything that Comic Con used to be. Comic book artist and publishers from all over the nation descended upon Portland for 2 days of comic madness. There are lectures by some of the top dudes in the industry as well as portfolio reviews and the opportunity to pitch your creations to many of the big and little publishers in the business. Needless to say after two days I am on total visual overload,but it was really cool. One cool thing was to meet  under ground comic icon Craig Thompson and the awesome Tara McPherson. Someone should have warned McPherson though that in Portland when you are put into a room next to a DIY star you are going to have a lot of time on your hands no matter how much publicity you've had in Juxtapoz. The mainstream artist will always loose out.... Portland loves their underground stars. Poor girls line was put to shame by the ridiculous line to meet and greet the author of "Blankets". That however gave me the opportunity to go over and talk it up with the gorgeous printer made famous for the rad posters she has done for some of the music industries biggest names not to mention the simultaneously innocent and creepy paintings that has been collected into a book put out by DH Press. I bought one of the books and got it signed by Tara herself. Pretty rad no matter what Mr.O has to say about it. All the feed back from fans was really uplifting and we weren't alone either. Friends like Brian Oaster , the guys at Pony Club, and the always rad collective Robopocalypse were all partying it up with the Empire. Till next time kido's 

This Just in from the Fist-By G-Force

Why the hell am I always last to see amazing shit like this! Good buddies "The Righteous and Harmonies Fists" shot a music video that was directed by the best beard in Portland David Nuss. All I can say is enjoy! Click Here to see!

"Old Mees Power" by G-force

So I'm going to pretend that people actually read this blog and live by the "If you blog it they will come" way of thinking. This was quite the musical weekend for me. I had the pleasure of seeing Old Money, Jared Mees and the Grown Children, and Cat Power all in the span of a single weekend!
Let me start by admitting that I am not a music crtic nor do I claim to be one. I just like music so if your going to be all pissy about my comparisons or how I describe a performance too bad, but hey thanks for stopping by.
Friday night I went to the Old Money ( http://www.myspace.com/oldmoneygals ) show at Ash St.( www.ashstreetsaloon.com )and as always the lovely ladies keep getting better and better. However they were not the Fem Five that they usually are. Sans Chipper the girls called in the Bass stylings of Jared Mees to pitch hit while she was out of town. They delivered a great performance with a sound reminiscent the likes of Rilo Kiley or Cowboy Junkies yet still maintaining an identinty that is purely their own. Oh yeah and they are always the best dressed band in Portland. ( apart from Sexy Pants)
Saturday night Jared Mees and the Grown Childrens semi-acoustic set at the Funky Church ( www.funkychurch.com) was a welcome breath of fresh air after I had my mind violated by "Cannibal Holocaust" at the Hollywood theater. Jareds cleverly woven lyrics and hard to ignore staged presence is wonderfully complimented by the soulful sound of Meghan Spears and her magic tambourine. Not to mention Jordan Dykstra's skillful viola contribution rounds out this heavy hitting trios rock injected blue grass sound. I wasn't too sure about Jordan's move from behind the kit to the viola but mark my words Portland we haven't begun to witness the shear genius acts this kid has yet to commit.Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/jaredmees .
Lastly, I have a crush on Chan Marshal! Who wouldn't her voice is hypnotizing and as the songbird of Cat Power she makes everyone stand in awe and utter to the rafters "Chan be thy name!". All except the dipshit that sat behind me. The dude kept yelling out nonsense and awkwardly dancing with the girl he was with. A part of me wanted to pop him in the face but I couldn't look away from the stage. The band was amazing each musician playing their perspective instruments flawlessly. The show ended with the longest outro I've ever heard. After which an equally impressive encore intro followed by four additional songs! I wasn't complaining but you could tell the band was visibly tired by the end of it. In the end it was a really good show and I would definitely like to see Chan Marshal again.  Some people just have the ability to hypnotize you and this girl definitely has it.