If you’re not Australian, you probably haven’t heard of Megan Washington, the superstar singer-songwriter from Brisbane. Well, listen up, because your life will be greatly enhanced if you do. Especially lucky are those who get to see her live (she’s currently touring with Kaki King). Megan Washington has a story for every song, and she
Start your weekend off with a selection of music from artists featured this week on BestNewBands.com “Heat Wave” – Princess Pangolin In this week’s BackStory installment, Julie Carpenter of Princess Pangolin shares the story behind “Heat Wave.” This song started with the pizzicato violin riff…I started playing that and humming the melody. It was one
What surprises most people about Kaki King is her size. She’s not a tall girl, and it’s a wonder how her small hands manipulate the guitar like they do. Since meeting her back in 2008 at Outside Lands while running around with the BoingBoing crew, I have yet to see anyone who is as gifted
Saturday night at the Tonic Lounge marked a comeback of sorts for Portland’s Mental Hygiene. In their first show since last year, Mental Hygiene has added two new members to the lineup (rhythm guitarist Onyx and bassist Mary Steele) and now rock with a fuller and more cohesive sound. The girls pleased the crowd with
Start your Friday off right with a selection of music from this week’s featured artists on BestNewBands.com “Get What You Want, Get What You Need” – The Ascetic Junkies Liz Livengood caught up with a few members of this Portland-based band after their show at The Woods last weekend. Here’s some of the interview in
When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with making mix tapes (weren’t we all?). My best friend had one that her parents had made. The A side was titled Irretrievable Youth. It was full of fun, upbeat songs, like “Bitchin’ Camaro” by The Dead Milkmen, basically songs about living life to the fullest and
After their outstanding performance at The Woods last Sunday night, I headed out back with Kali and Matt (and later Graham) from Portland’s The Ascetic Junkies. We chatted for a bit, about musical guilty pleasures, Boston vs. Portland and other miscellany. Check out my video interview with The Ascetic Junkies below: In addition to being
Bedroom-crafted tracks meet otherworldly vocals in an exciting new noise pop duo from England, Echo Lake. Echo Lake’s debut EP, Young Silence, is a dreamlike trip through strange worlds. One track can sound like you’re floating through the air on a cloud, while the next feels like floating through a vast undersea landscape. I’m not
Portland’s Mississippi Studios was packed last night for the Nicole Atkins/Cotton Jones show. People who showed up early enough to see The Ascetic Junkies open were the lucky ones, though. In spite of their austere-sounding name, The Ascetic Junkies play with pure hedonistic abandon. They’re a pop band. Or are they a bluegrass band? They
Oh, Rocky Votolato, your beautiful voice and sweet songs have been missed. We wondered where you had gone. Your last album, The Brag And Cuss was quite somber, but we loved it all the same. Now we hear that you were feeling low and took a break from the world, quite literally. You did a