The Bouncing Souls have never been in the New Yorker. The NJ band that has been kicking their singular brand of angular punk-anthems for upwards of 15 years now, are not necessarily what you would classify as critical darlings, but they have something more tangible. The boys have an arsenal of songs that no one in the North East corridor can deny, tracks like Sing Along Forever, Kate Is Great, or The Freaks, The Nerds, And The Romantics are as potent as anything to come up from the NJ boardwalks. All offer a glimpse of the spark that makes The Bouncing Souls such a cultural enigma; their simple straight-ahead love of the live set and steadfast dedication to their rabid devotees.

Willamette Week's MusicfestNW is pleased to announce the following bands that will be participating in this year's festival (listed below).  Be sure to keep checking musicfestnw.com for updates, additional bands, and the final schedule which will be available in the next few weeks.  For more information, including audio and video of bands that are playing this year's MFNW, be sure to explore the various links on the left hand side of the page. 

Wristbands for this year's MFNW, held September 3rd through 6th, are now on sale for $50 and guarantee you no cover admission to all MFNW clubs during the annual 4 day festivity held in Portland, Oregon (age and capacity restrictions may apply).  Be sure to check musicfestnw.com/tix for all the details about wristbands, tickets, and this year's special VIP pass.
 
•    Vampire Weekend
•    TV on the Radio
•    Mogwai
•    Hot Water Music
•    Del the Funky Homosapien
•    M Ward
•    The Helio Sequence
•    Xavier Rudd
•    Old 97's
•    Menomena
•    Polvo
•    Nada Surf
•    The Cool Kids
•    The Whigs
•    Jedi Mind Tricks
•    John Vanderslice
•    Dan Deacon
•    Seaweed
•    The Night Marchers
•    Blitzen Trapper
•    The Builders and The Butchers
•    Deerhunter
•    Steel Pole Bath Tub
•    Trans Am
•    Mirah
•    Fuck Buttons
•    Centro-Matic
•    Crooked Fingers
•    Bobby Bare Jr.
•    Monotonix
•    Fucked Up
•    Poison Idea
•    Matt and Kim
•    Nebula
•    These Arms are Snakes
•    Old Time Relijun
•    Colour Revolt
•    Death Vessel
•    Witchcraft
•    Stevie Jackson (of Belle and Sebastian)
•    The Blakes
•    The 1900's
•    Forro in the Dark
•    Bodies of Water
•    Rupa and the April Fishes
•    The Joggers
•    Supernova
•    Oxford Collapse
•    Calvin Johnson
•    Pierced Arrows
•    U.S.E.
•    Blue Giant
•    Shaky Hands
•    Port O'Brien
•    The Mommyheads
•    Totimoshi
•    Sleepercar
•    Space Cookie
•    Akimbo
•    Past Lives
•    The Muslims
•    Pwrfl Power
•    The Devin Phillips Band
•    Kaia
•    Starfucker
•    AND MANY MANY MORE!!!!

Questions??? Call Willamette Week at 503-243-2122

In the packed confines of clubs around their hometown of Chicago and throughout the world The Cool Kids' irresistible, hooky rhymes and club cramming beats seamlessly bridge the old and new schools of hip hop while assuring them a sure-fire path to world-wide attention. In their short amount of time as a duo The Cool Kids have been featured in Rolling Stone, XXL, The Source, Spin, Paper Magazine, CBS News, The New Yorker, The Fader, and on the cover of The Urb - all without a single release to their name!

Chuck Inglish (23) and Mikey Rocks (20) met on MySpace in 2005 while Chuck was attending Illinois Art Institute in Chicago and Mikey was still in High School. In August 2006, under a year from their formation, the duo began performing at venues and parties around the city. They grabbed the attention of breakout DJs Flosstradamus, who were responsible for a much-hyped monthly dance night at the Town Hall Pub in Chicago. They invited The Cool Kids to appear and word of their energizing performances spread quickly. In March 2007 The Cool Kids joined Flosstradamus and other Chicago artists for a show at SXSW. Following this performance and an appearance at the WMC in Miami with A-Trak, The Cool Kids began grabbing the attention of national media.

After hosting reviews of several of their mp3s, Pitchfork offered The Cool Kids a coveted spot at the 2007 Pitchfork Festival, where they shared the stage with De La Soul and Clipse. Impressed by their talents, DJ Benzi gave the duo space in a track entitled "Getting It" where the two decidedly hold their own pitted against Lil Wayne, one of the most inventive, competitive, and successful MCs in the world.
         

Their songs "Mikey Rocks" and "88" have been featured in the HBO series Entourage and the game NBA Live08, respectively. The video for the debut single "Black Mags." was featured on MTVu's Freshman Five. They concluded 2007 with a 30-day, sold out tour with M.I.A., bringing their tally of performances to over 150 for that year.

Early on The Cool Kids established their own "Creating Art for Kids Everywhere" recordings - the label under which the duo have written, record, and produced all their own music. Initially, the duo planned to release their own album on C.A.K.E. in July 2007. Due to such tremendous success in such a short period of time the release date was pushed back. "We thought we'd only need to press up a thousand CDs at best," said Mikey. "But when we started getting messages from Sweden, Iceland, France and Germany we knew this may be bigger than we can handle at this stage." Last October The Cool Kids signed a deal with Chocolate Industries. The highly anticipated debut EP "The Bake Sale" is expected early Spring 2008 on C.A.K.E. / Chocolate Industries.

The Hawk is Howling is the sixth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Mogwai, expected to be released on September 22, 2008 through Wall of Sound, Play It Again Sam, and Matador in the UK, Europe, and the USA, respectively.

The album was recorded in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire at Chem19 Studios with producer Andy Miller, whom the band had previously worked with on their early releases from 1997—1998. Mogwai recorded the album from September 2007 to February 2008, mixing the album in March with Garth Jones at the band's own Castle of Doom Studios in Glasgow.

"Keeping track of the distinctions between Centro-matic and South San Gabriel could be a full-time effort, if one were so inclined. Based in Denton, Texas, Centro-matic once titled an album South San Gabriel Songs/Music, only to give a splinter faction of the participating musicians—meaning Centro-matic and more friends—the name South San Gabriel and release that album in Europe under the new band name. South San Gabriel includes the four core members of Centro-matic, plus additional members, but we’ll get to that shortly. You might be inclined to say that Centro-matic material tends to be more rockin’, with SSG its mellow, literary counterpart, and Will Johnson’s solo material as…well…usually (how shall I put this?) skinny-dipping in the abyss—but it would be a gross oversimplification. Each of these projects shares all of the aforementioned respective qualities and more. What is distinctive about the release of Dual Hawks is that we get the chance to hear side-by-side the various ways in which Centro-matic and South San Gabriel complement and play off of each other—sort of the full-length equivalent of a split single.

Named for a model of an Italian accordion, Centro-matic began as little more than a home-recording outlet for Will Johnson’s unstoppable muse. Redo the Stacks (1997) was primarily the work of Johnson, with soon-to-be Centro-matic members Scott Danbom on violin and Matt Pence in the recording engineer’s seat. The band soon grew to become a more collaborative effort, with Danbom (“the pride of Ponca City, Oklahoma”) on keyboards, bass, and vocals, as well as the occasional violin, Pence on drums and production/engineering duties, and Mark Hedman on bass and guitar.

The head wound may have been a setback (as the name of Johnson’s music-publishing company implies), but it was by no means the expiration of Will Johnson’s songwriting prowess. Far from it. Over the past decade, we have been treated to—I hope I get the count right (or that somebody who hasn’t been drinking the tequila Will brought over fact-checks this thing)—nine Centro-matic albums, four EPs, five singles, two South San Gabriel albums, two Johnson solo efforts (as well as a tour-only release)—every one a Maserati. Some bands focus on quality; others on quantity. With Dual Hawks, the respective bands prove once again that they are one of the rare breeds who can do both. Catchy hooks, wiry guitars, harmonies and handclaps, splendid string and horn arrangements, and songs so well written and produced they will make indie-rockers of lesser mettle go home and cry.

I had the good fortune of spending some time on the road with these folks a few years back, and let me tell ya, in this business we call “show,” you meet some characters (not all of whom you’d feel comfortable having over for a barbecue). What struck me about Centro-matic and Co. was not simply that they are extremely talented musicians, producers, and arrangers, or that they are road-seasoned to the point of seeming incapable of performing a stale, by-the-numbers show, or that they consistently (and as frequently as their label will permit) put out stunning and at times breathtaking recordings, or that they are among the finest people I’ve been given the opportunity to know—but that they are all the encapsulation of of these things and more. Every day. Centro-matic and South San Gabriel are, in a word, exceptional (in all senses of the term). I would tell you more, but I don’t want to ruin the thrill you will get when you put Dual Hawks on for the first time. And I can guarantee you, it won’t be the last."

Edward Burch / Austin, Texas
February 2008

One of the great indie rock bands from the 90's are back and visiting Portland, OR. as part of MFNW 2008. The last time the dudes from NC visited our town was at The Satyricon and they performed one of the best shows that year and we expect the same this time around. Please check back for where and when Polvo will be playing for MFNW 2008.

Both alarming and charming, Polvo's eclectic sound and style is absolutely unmistakable. It could be said that Polvo was the guitar band of the nineties, and that sentiment still holds true today. The band truly existed on its own island, somewhere between the Eastern Indian Peninsula and the Aleutians?which left a lot of space to roam around.  What's more, Polvo was not only unique but prolific, putting out one or two releases a year during the band's initial lifespan.

Polvo didn't just spark after a night of drinking too many PBRs at some rowdy house party.  Dave Brylawski (vocalist/guitarist) and Steve Popson (bassist) have been friends since they were nine years old.  In 1986, Brylawski met Ash Bowie (vocalist/guitarist) and Eddie Watkins (drummer) while attending the University of North Carolina.  With Popson a mere 20 minutes down the road at NC State, jam sessions were frequent and developmentally pointed. In late 1989, with reasonable goals in mind – to perform at local rock venue the Cat's Cradle and to put out a seven-inch record – Polvo took the first small steps to making themselves one of the quintessential indie rock bands of the era. Eight years, four full lengths, three EPs, and yes, several seven inches later, the quartet agreeably disbanded in 1998.

Over the next ten years, the members remained close while attending to their own personal interests in separate careers and musical outlets (Popson and Brylawski are also currently members of Black Taj). Periodically, they discussed reuniting to perform, but it wasn't until 2008, when Polvo was asked to perform at the Explosions In The Sky-curated All Tomorrow's Parties Festival, that the band decided the time was right to play again (with ex-Cherry Valence drummer Brian Quast replacing Watkins). The band things one huge festival at a time. Along the way, though, they'll likely pick up where they left off in '98: revisiting old jams, enjoying lifelong musical connections, and rocking the bajeesus out of anyone who's lucky enough to see them play.

Furthermore, Polvo will take you to the blacktop AND take you to the hole. They are one of an elite few bands that not only play together as a band, but also as a ball team. Yeah, they got game. They got skills. You'll be moving in slow motion.

"In Alaska, you either get wasted or you get creative. In the case of Alaskan transplants the Builders and the Butchers, the latter’s begun to pay off. “You have blistering cold and 24-hour darkness,” says drummer Ray Rude of winters in Anchorage. “You just sit inside.” “There’s just a lot of really crazy people up there,” agrees frontman Ryan Sollee—whose own brand of craziness, which includes berating audiences through an old bullhorn, has earned the Builders and the Butchers a fanatical local following.

But Sollee’s music hasn’t always been so well received here. When he moved to Portland in the fall of ’03, his post-punk outfit the Born Losers went from playing to hundreds in Anchorage to scraping up crowds of 30 here—if they were lucky. The fiery-haired singer, whose close-set eyes and pointed voice make everything he says degrees more intense, quickly realized the Losers were “very run-of-the-mill.” “Moving to any big city from a small place, is…awful,” he says. “[You think], ‘Everybody in my small town loves it, so people who are really into cool music will like it, too.’ Well, not really.”

But people do like the Builders and the Butchers. A lot. “I feel like a lot of our success is owed to Portland being really accepting of strange things,” Rude explains. “People have gotten so sick of seeing the same style of band.”

Sollee, who recently quit his day job as a Columbia River fish biologist to focus on the band, pens songs on such macabre subjects as bloody-handed murder, coal mines, lake-bottom burials and vampires. Though he claims Portland winters are “like a step less depressing than [those in] Anchorage,” the just-turned-30-year-old hasn’t had any trouble continuing to unearth dismal themes. On “Ten Miles Wide,” for instance, he sings, “You’ve got to bury, bury/ Bury your dying mother/ Bury your dying mother/ In the ground, ground, ground.” And the subject matter doesn’t get much sunnier from there.

But Sollee’s maniacal stage presence—not to mention live antics like passing out tambourines, washboards and Little Tikes tom-toms to the crowd—breathes such life into his creepy words that crowds can’t help but sing along. He assaults listeners with what Rude aptly describes as a “force-you-to-listen-to-me kind of voice.” And the band—rounded out by Salem native Paul Seely (trumpet, percussion), Harvey Tumbleson (mandolin, banjo) and bassist Alexander Ellis—backs Sollee’s revivalist fervor with stomping rhythms, rustic string arrangements and shouted backing vocals—all brought to a rolling boil.

The full package has proven positively rousing: At the March 2007 CD release show for the Builders’ self-titled debut, they abandoned downtown venue Valentine’s altogether, leading the crowd right into the street where everyone sang, “Find me, oh find me/ In the air, Lord, in the air,” to random passersby and Voodoo Doughnut patrons. A congregation was born.

But despite Sollee’s reputation as an ecclesiastical band leader, the group’s leery of being pegged as religious—or gimmicky. Over PBRs at the Night Light Lounge, bassist Ellis, who bears a slight resemblance to Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood, says, “I don’t like to think of us as a religious band…but I think we might get mistaken.” Sollee chimes in: “We’re not praising any specific thing, let’s just say that.”

What the Builders are doing is creating a mood of redemption. “If you listen to old Depression-era bluegrass and blues music,” says Sollee, “[the themes are] actually the same.” And just as the Builders—who drop influences like David Bowie and R. Kelly as easily as American bluesman Leadbelly—embolden listeners to experience a sweet rock-’n’-roll release, gospel music has been giving Americans hope for centuries. Decemberist Chris Funk, who’s producing the band’s sophomore follow-up, says they recorded a few songs in a “burned-out Masonic temple” with a live gospel choir: “It was killer.”

Because the Builders originally began busking unplugged on street corners, outside proper venues and in bus-stop shelters—where there was “no wall,” as Sollee puts it, between them and their audience—they all agree when Ellis says, “I really like playing when you’re eye-to-eye with the audience.” Rude puts it even better: “Or inside the audience, just people making music for people.” That casual approach, which includes considering too much practice an “Achilles’ heel,” according to Tumbleson, defines pretty much everything the band does.

But their trial-by-fire nature doesn’t translate to cockiness. Sollee even says he considers himself “the worst guitar player in the room at all times.” “All the people I go to for inspiration don’t have classically good voices,” he adds. “None of ’em. But they’re all voices I absolutely love—because they’re weird.” Bundled up on the Night Light’s outdoor patio, Rude tells Sollee: “I applaud your weirdness.” So, apparently, does Portland."

"We are proud to announce that the new album from seminal rapper, hip hop icon, and founding member of the mighty Hieroglyphics crew, Del The Funky Homosapien. The 11th Hour, will be released on Definitive Jux on March 11th, 2008. Del is an artist who helped set standard for a new mold of MC/Hip Hop artist in 1991 with the release of I Wish My brother George Was Here, and shortly after with No Need For Alarm in 1993. His last solo album, Both Sides Of The Brain was released in 2000 on Hiero Imperium, the label he founded with other members of his Hieroglyphics crew.

Dels impact on the music world did not end with his solo work of even the albums his label released. At the beginning of the new millenium Del branched out and through his work with Dan the Automator on the Deltron 3030 record and later with the Gorillaz multi platinum first album (and on which he voiced the hit single, Clint Eastwood, Del continued to push the boundaries of the art of MCing and proving that talent and versatility could make rap relevant outside the traditional boundaries of genre.

When asked about working with Def Jux, Del commented: I look at this as an opportunity to spread the gospel a little thicker. El-P and I have known each other for a long time and I respect what he does. I see Def Jux out there doing their thing, I think we can help each other build new audiences. Im looking forward to working with El-P and Def Jux on future projects as well.

El-P added, Del is and always has been one of my favorite artists and people. Its amazing to get a chance to release Dels vision on Jux. The 11th Hour 100% Del. Conceived and produced completely by the man himself. My hope is just to get the record out to as many people as possible and to support the legacy Del and the whole Hiero Imperium have created. Hes one of hip hops true originals and a legitimate leader of the new and true school that we all love."