Rivers and Roads

Every year I do this and every year it never gets old for me. For you the reader maybe, but for me... never. So, by all means please excuse this "I moved to Oregon Spam" to be exactly that, but for any one else... it's more or less the story of me, of independence, of adventure, exploration and knowing that life really could be better. Today is my Independence Day. The day I celebrate four years of living out here in beautiful amazing Portland Oregon. And... to help celebrate, yes... I will drink coffee, yes I will have a beer, and I will also get my library card. That is how I will celebrate!

Also, yesterday I bought a surfboard... so that makes me a little more Oregonian. All I need now is the wetsuit and I'll be set! In case you haven't heard, our coastal waters here are a little chilly. Speaking of which, today is one of the first warmer days in quite a while. However, in true Portland fashion I am layering by wearing a hoodie from a local brewery, Hopworks... whom just celebrated their 3year anniversary yesterday. As well, I am staying true to my Ohio roots by wearing a Cincinnati shirt to celebrate Opening Day for Major League Baseball (which in Cincinnati is a pretty big deal).

And, today I also celebrate four years of my Brandi Carlile video for The Story, for being filmed and being such a big hit on YouTube. You know it's got over 1,856,444 views? If only I had at least, a dime for every view I'd be a very happy camper by now. And that doesn't mean that I'm not currently a happy camper, it's just that I could probably also "afford" a camper... as well as a owning a house! And, in a very fitting move, Sara Ramierz from Grey's Anatomy is singing that song on a special musical episode of the show tonight! Make sure you tune in! Me personally, I'll be carb loading for my massive stage race in The Dalles this weekend. That's pretty Oregonian right? Bike racing.

Oh, and the photo that is posted above is my photo for the Portland Timbers, Portland's newest Major League sporting team (the only other one currently is the Blahzers). This winter they had quite a notable ad campaign that featured everyday Portland residents and soccer fans wielding axes and logging equipment. Even though some people complained that the ads were vague and didn't make sense (who are these people, they aren't even players or attractive models...) seemed to have missed the boat on the whole campaign. Because that's the point. Those people aren't "special"... they're just like you and me. And that's what makes Portland and soccer in Portland so special... especially before the season has even begun, we don't go to the game for the players (who are the players right now anyways?), we go for each other. It's the event, it's the spectacle, you, me... all of us, we are the Timbers Army and we want soccer to be big time in Portland. And it will be. It will be big, just like the ads of the everyday soccer fans suggest. And the people who don't like it... well, I suspect that it's just cause they are Blazers fans. And so, I digress, the second part of the ad campaign was to let people come in and get their "Timbers photo" taken for free. From here, people could download them and use them as profile photos or whatever on facebook. More free advertising for the Timbers. From there, they selected from the thousands of photos, the Top 100. Then, they invited the people to vote on their favorites (more free advertising) to be added on billboards. Results were talied yesterday and well... I didn't win... I didn't expect to, but it was fun to be in the Top 100. In fact, my gf Sam has the photo as her iphone screensaver. We were at a Chris Pureka concert this week and some girl behind Sam leaned in over her shoulder and said... "nice Timbers photo". To which Sam replied... "thanks, it's my girlfriend." Bam... more free advertising.

Anyways, I digress on this whole post in fact! So... to get back to the topic at hand.... yes, moving to Oregon. And here is the spam I promised you:

2010: 3.31.07. It talks about the significance of a certain show I went to go see at Mississippi Studios and what has happened since.

2009: She Flies With Her Own Wings. A condensed story of what brought me out here.

2008: One Year in Oregon Review.

2007: Oregon Trail: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 4.2

(some of the links were not working)

I think next year I should take this day to go climb a mountain or something.... ;)

Top 5 for Fall....

It's that time again my friends... time for seasonal record playing! Basically, my buds at the Buzz About wanted to know what albums have been getting heavy rotation on my ipod this fall and in no particular order... here they are.

Lissie: Catching a Tiger

This album is the ying to my yang. It's a little more poppy than some of the music I find myself returning to over and over, but I can't help it... I love Lissie. This album is a little different than her earlier releases with some tracks like Stranger having a little more of a 60's swinging vibe. If that's not your jam it may throw you off a little, but don't worry - Lissie comes back into her own with tracks like Bully, In Sleep and When I'm Alone. Overall, a perfectly good album to whittle away the days of pumpkin carving and spiced cider.

Chris Pureka: How I Learned to See in the Dark

Okay okay.... so this album came out late spring of this year, but I can't think of any more time of year when its songs are more apropos than fall, especially with titles like Song for November, Hangman and imagery like haunted barns and sinking ships. This is one album that when no one else is around, I blast at full tilt... letting all the feeling and emotion from Chris's music just seep in. As opposed to her earlier albums, Chris is playing with a full band on this one and it helps adds a darker, more dynamic sound that really pushes a musical threshold doubled with lyrics that can just cut right through you. I could listen to this or any thing Chris has released for that matter, every day and never grow tired of it. Favorite track from this album: Shipwreck.

The Head & the Heart: The Head & the Heart

I first ran across this amazing five piece band out of Seattle last month when they opened up for Fences at Mississippi Studios here in Portland. Normally, the opening band on a bill has the smaller audience... so I was thinking that I could arrive right about show time and stand towards the front with no problem at all. And boy... I was wrong on all accounts. Seriously, the venue was packed for these guys (and gal) and I mean... people came for THEM - it didn't take too long to see why. Bright, poppy, catching, with highs and lows and dramatic climaxes to songs that keep you coming back for more, throw in a florish of instruments and a dash of Americana... and you've got yourself a pretty amazingly new band to delight your head and your heart with. I hardly ever buy a CD at a show... but I loved these guys so much I walked out with their CD in hand. It's been on heavy rotation ever since. My two favorite tracks are: Down in the Valley & Lost in My Mind.

Fences: Fences

To start off, I've been a fan of Fences/Chris Mansfield for a while. Maybe it's because he cut his teeth with the material for his new album (produced by Sara Quin... you know, from Tegan and Sara) for a bit up and down the PNW coast and I saw them pretty much every chance I got. So, to hear the material that I've listened to and watched live come to full fruition on a disc, it's pretty sweet. Especially when you layer in some Sara singing background vocals in songs like: My Girl the Horse. Aside from the song "Girls With Accents" I'd suggest that you not listen to Fences when you want to get pumped for an evening out on the town... it's best to stick with the Lady GaGa for that, but when you want to listen to an album and really feel the music, pop in Fences self titled debut album. Expect to hear a lot more from him.

Band of Horses: Infinite Arms

Granted, their album Infinite Arms came out this early summer, but I've just now recently gotten around to digesting them. Maybe it's the slower pace of fall and desire to listen to more layered sounds, like burying myself under blankets and sweaters to keep out the on coming cold, this album and the whole BOH discography are racking up the play counts on my itunes. My favorite from the new album is: On My Way Back Home.