So, I’ve been busily working away at OPB (and LOVING it!), but to the neglect of this blog/podcast. I apologize for that, but in the meantime, here’s the latest fruits of my labors there:

opbmusic.org/performances/101-Maria-Taylor

I’ll be making an official announcement regarding the future of this show in the coming weeks. I’m sorry I haven’t been good about getting back to you if you’ve asked me about it, it’s been in limbo for a while.

Hope you enjoy the session!

Some good news about the economy, however anecdotal: You can still have a job which involves some of the most amazing musicians on the planet coming to your place of work, and playing music in a room occupied by only you and they. The latest fruits:

http://opbmusic.org/performances/87-Ra-Ra-Riot

I guess the good news for everone else is that it’s free to listen to. Be sure to check out the Performances section of opbmusic.org for lots of other great bands.

Also, this weekend on In House: Jeremy Petersen talks with Colin Meloy about the new Decemberists album, Hazards of Love, and then we play it in its entire 58 minute glory (the way it was meant to be heard). That’s this Saturday night on OPB and opbmusic.org.

I’ll be posting a new show here on Wednesday or so, but I to invite you to check out the latest two in-studio sessions I’ve done at opbmusic: Point Juncture, WA and Blue Giant.

Both are Portland bands.

Point Juncture, WA is a four-piece, fronted by Amanda Spring, who also plays drums. Their 2005 album, Mama Auto Boss, still makes it into my player pretty regularly. Their recent follow-up, Heart to Elk, does not disappoint.

Blue Giant is a new band, started by Kevin and Anita Robinson, who have made music as Viva Voce for years. They recently started writing songs with a more southern feel, and recruited friends to play them with them. The results are fantastic.

Enjoy!

 

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Ah, to be 20 again.

Actually, I take that back. I hated turning 20. I actually really enjoyed turning 30, but 20 meant that I was no longer a teenager, but I had nothing to show for it. I hadn’t yet moved away from home, and had no real idea of what I wanted to do with my life. By 30, I had, and I did.

But to be 20, and to not only know what I wanted to be doing, but actually doing it, and not just doing it, but really excelling at it–ah, to be that.

That is The Old Believers. They moved to Portland from their hometown of Kenai, Alaska after graduating from high school just two years ago. They’ve just released their second EP, Eight Golden Greats, which Casey Jarman of the Willamette Week describes as “crushing, refined Americana pop…The songs are unapologetically romantic, but investigate romance with the same fearlessness that the Believers explore the studio.” The Mercury’s Ezra Ace Caraeff calls their music “soulful country, vintage dustbowl storytelling.”

The duo, Nelson Kemph and Kelly Boyle, were kind enough to come to KPSU and perform some songs. They’re currently on tour, and will play Pickathon on August 2nd and 3rd.

The Old Believers: myspace

*Also, a technical note: If my voice sounds echoey during the interview portion of this show, it’s not because I didn’t properly turn down the reverb on the mic I was using while the Technical Director had stepped out for a staff meeting. It’s because my golden throat makes even the smallest studio sound like a cathedral.