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
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 
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.
