Ramona Falls on the PlayLive Stage Today!

Brent Knopf has accrued a lot of overtime at his job. At least from my point of view… I’m thinking about how many hours a week I spend at the office (I’m paid hourly, they cap me at 40). So when I consider doubling my workweek, besides feeling exhausted, I feel amazed to hear Knopf assert in a recent OregonLive article that he spends 80 hours a week or more working on band projects. Even for a prolific and devoted artist, that level of involvement and intense dedication has the potential to result in a serious case of burnout. Apparently not so for Knopf. As one-third of Portland based Menomena, several years ago he decided to branch out with Ramona Falls (because one band is just never enough), a new side project he named after a waterfall near Mt. Hood. Now releasing their second album Prophet, the band is nearing the end of this summer’s West Coast run and will be hitting the road again soon after for 12 more dates in June.

PlayNetwork is quite happy to be bringing our first artist on the Barsuk label to the PlayLive stage. Unfortunately for Brent Knopf, record labels don’t pay you based on the amount of hours a week you spend working on your art. But they do sign you based on your talent, dedication and vision, and so all that hard work has clearly paid off for both Ramona Falls and Barsuk. And if you want proof that those extra hours are a value add to the finished product, check out this video showing off the packaging and album artwork for Prophet.

Gabriel Marowitz, Associate Music Supervisor
PlayNetwork

Kore Ionz: Reggae Today! On the PlayLive Stage

With the weather being so incredible this past week, a few things come to mind: beaches, cold beer, and reggae. I can’t think of a better band to bless our stage this Wednesday than Kore Ionz. The band’s members seem to be a human melting pot from all walks of life, coming together for the love of reggae and music in general. With the reggae scene in the Northwest being small, Kore Ionz has built a surprisingly large local fan base, representing the genre to the fullest with uplifting melodies and world beats.

They’ve taken their positive message off the stage as well, making regular appearances at fundraisers, schools, and juvenile detentions centers. The band even donated half the proceeds from their 2008 release Half-Hour Revolution to the Service Board, plus volunteering their time and expertise to Arts Corps (who PlayNetwork has also partnered up with), both Seattle nonprofit that supports youth programs. I, for one feel extremely lucky to live in a city where bands like Kore Ionz care and connect with the community in so many ways. Should be a fun show!

Michael Beres – Client Coordinator
PlayNetwork

Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo…5th of May…what does this mean? To me, when I was a child, I just saw my family drinking margaritas and cervezas and having a good time on this date every year. I also thought this was Mexico’s Independence Day for many years, but it’s not. This date is actually important to the United States as well; and no, I’m not drinking right now. You see, Cinco de Mayo is the date when Mexican troops stormed and defeated Napoleon’s French invading army in the battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862.  Napoleon III and France wanted to invade and defeat Mexico so they could get to the vulnerable United States who was already weak from its own Civil War.

So now you say “Where does the music come into play?” Here is the best part. After Mexico defeated the French, many Mexican rancheros that fought in the war brought out their acoustic guitars and started singing and playing festive songs in a style that would later be known as Mariachi. For our clients on this holiday we’ve developed a Cinco de Mayo program that has a bit of everything that is festive from Mariachi, Rancheras, Cumbias, Salsa, Tejano, Banda and more with the likes of Mariachi Sol de Mexico, Gloria Estefan, Flaco Jimenez, Juan Gabriel, Vicente Fernandez and a few other surprises that’ll have them dancing on the tables. We hope that they and you will be taken to a place this Cinco de Mayo where you can let you hair down, pop open a cold one and say “Salud!” or drink one of your favorite tequilas and yell “Viva Mexico!”

Alex Espinosa – Associate Music Supervisor
PlayNetwork

Horse Feathers Fly In For A PlayLive Performance

Horse Feathers is an indie/folk band born in Portland Oregon with a smooth and elegant sound.  Their albums could be strictly instrumental, stripped of vocals, and still be just as enjoyable. With spring upon us, their 2010 release Thistled Spring comes to mind. If I had to choose a soundtrack for the season this would be an excellent choice. The pianos and strings paired with Justin Ringle’s haunting voice in the title track remind me of the changing seasons. And that’s what Horse Feathers does for me, their music paints a picture and instills me with emotion. Their newest release “Cynic’s New Year” is a bit more upbeat than some of their previous work, but is just as melodic and layered. The track “Fit Against the Country” (listen here) is perhaps my favorite, with lyrics like “Nearly every day, we earn a lower wage/ To tell you what we’re made of, or a wage is what we’re paid/ It’s a hard country we’ve made.”, Ringle sings words of the common world, creating comfort and instant relatability.

Horse Feathers is an especially unique group, as they dont fit perfectly into any one genre, instead teetering on the edge of many genres, courtesy of the talented multi-instrumentalists that make up this group. We’re excited to welcome them to the PlayLive stage this Friday! I’m sure it will be a performance to remember and a great way to kick off our weekend.

Here’s the title track from their 2010 release “Thistled Spring”

Michael Beres – Client Coordinator
PlayNetwork

French Invasion…Housse de Racket Takes the PlayLive Stage!

Although today’s PlayLive guests, the French Indie Electro-Rock duo Housse de Racket were born and raised over 5000 thousand miles from our PlayLive stage, in a suburb of Chaville (France), the band member’s Pierre Leroux and Victor Le Masne developed and initial friendship over a T-shirt with Seattle ties.  Back in the 90’s the two teens who had previously snubbed each other in passing, sparked up a conversation when a Pearl Jam T-Shirt worn by one of the members, attracted the eye of the other. They began discussing Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain, and the Seattle music scene; a musical kinship which led to a friendship, and eventually a band.

Starting out as in-demand session musicians-for-hire with local bands such as Air and Phoenix, Housse de Racket were first brought to the fore as featured artists on a Maison compilation release; curated by French electronic label, Kitsune. The Maison series featured such artists as Bloc Party, Cut Copy, and Simian Mobile Disco, and also help break such bands as Two Door Cinema Club. In 2008 Housse de Racket released their debut album Forty Love, and embarked on a relentless world tour playing over 200 shows from Lisbon to Tokyo and Berlin to Beijing.

Now in 2012, the band is once again stepping out from behind the scenes with their sophomore album, Alesia. Attempting to further solidify their own identity and avoid being lazily lumped in with their contemporary friends, Air and Phoenix, the band recruited none other than Phoenix producer Philippe Zdar to produce their new record. After all, the band joked, “who better than Phoenix’s producer to keep us away from the sound of Phoenix?” Their excellent new album Alesia was just released March 13th, and while the album reveals a band that clearly took notes during their apprenticeship with their country’s biggest synth pop icons, it also reveals that House de Racket is doing things their own way, and show enough potential to suggest that one day, they could well become just as influential themselves.

Today’s PlayLive show is a must see, and you can also catch the band tonight on Capitol Hill at Chop Suey (tickets are still available). For more info on the band, you can visit their official site, as well as follow them on Facebook and Twitter (@HousseDeRacket). Also be sure to check out the songs Chateau (below) and Roman, which are both featured on their new album.

Blake Kirpes – Associate Music Supervisor
PlayNetwork

A (Tour) Van Down By The River

Doing the tour thing from coast to coast in a van is a way of paying your dues in the music world of rock-n-roll.  Everyone from Elvis to the Rolling Stones has done it and I’m sure countless of musicians will continue the tradition in the future.  I remember in my early twenties riding along with a friend’s band doing the California stretch in a week playing in five towns and taking turns behind their trusted van only to stop for food, beer and the occasional bathroom stop (in my case, we used the old milk gallon trick).  Paste magazine has posted an article where nine bands ranging from Maps & Atlases to Cursive tell their stories of the joy on touring in a VAN!!!

Alex Espinosa – Associate Music Supervisor
PlayNetwork

Making An Impact At SXSW

With SXSW happening but once a year, flocks of musicians and bands make their trek to Austin, Texas for the one-off chance of making an impact on the thousands in attendance.  Once such act; La Vida Boheme who hails from Caracas, Venezuela made that impact at this year’s SXSW music festival two weeks ago.  Being dubbed as the next big thing in the Rock En Espanol movement with influences ranging from 80’s punk to Electronic Dance music, La Vida Boheme tore through their set at The Parish dressed all in white with blue and green paint splattered all over them.  Their latest release “Nuestra” on Nacional Records, received two Latin Grammy nominations for best rock album as well as one for best rock song for “Radio Capital”. Led by singer Henry D’Anthenay, these guys are making people take notice not only for their eclectic shows but also as a staying powerhouse in Latin music.  NPR Music put out their “Possibly Life-Changing Music Discoveries from SXSW 2012” and La Vida Boheme made that list with flying colors, no pun intended.

Alex Espinosa – Associate Music Supervisor
PlayNetwork