The Autonomics « Frequency blog: Music news and reviews from Bend and Central Oregon, by Ben Salmon

Posts Tagged ‘The Autonomics’

This week in GO! Magazine’s music section

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

This week, there are a couple of bigger names playing shows in Central Oregon, and you can find more on them below.

But for my main music story this week, I decided to focus on the South Carolina roots/jam band Dangermuffin, which is playing out at Black Butte Ranch on Sunday.

I chatted with Dangermuffin’s Dan Lotti about his love for Bend, the influence of living in a coastal town, and getting tagged with the jam-band label.

“We feel like it’s just really eclectic music, and I think sometimes we get grouped in with the jam thing, simply because of the eclecticism,” he said. “We don’t mind being included in the jam-band conversation, because I think what you find there within that community are true music fans.

“Those are the kind of people we want to reach out to and connect with anyway, so we don’t really look at the jam-band thing as being a four-letter word,” he continued. “We’re happy to just be a part of that community, and if that’s where we’re finding a niche, then we’ll take it.”

Oh heck … just click here and read it all.

Three other shows this week I want to highlight:

–Post-grunge heroes Everclear are at Century Center tonight. I couldn’t decide what to write about them, so I just wrote this.

–With Lucy Woodward on board to fill in for China Forbes, Portland’s Pink Martini returns to Les Schwab Amphitheater Saturday night.

–Portland-based roots-rock kingpin Lewi Longmire brings his namesake band to Redmond tonight for a free show at Music in the Canyon. Fans of Neil Young, Tom Petty and The Band take note.

Elsewhere in this week’s music section: Tornado Rider plays The Horned Hand, The Autonomics kick off Parrilla Grill’s Show Us Your Spokes series, just-crowned Last Band Standing champ Necktie Killer visits Silver Moon, folkie Carinne Carpenter does two nights at Scanlon’s, the Jazz at Joe’s series hosts the Warren Rand Quartet, and JazzBros! return to McMenamins.

I didn’t even have room for Cherry Poppin’ Daddies at Munch & Music, Franchot Tone’s free Summer Sundays show, The Whiskey Rebellion at Silver Moon and several other things. The summer music season is really getting busy, folks. Go support your local bands, venues, events and promoters!

Tags: Carinne Carpenter, Dangermuffin, Everclear, JazzBros, Lewi Longmire Band, Music in the Canyon, Necktie Killer, Pink Martini, Show Us Your Spokes, The Autonomics, Tornado Rider, Warren Rand Quartet
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This week in GO! Magazine’s music section

Saturday, June 11th, 2011

(For the second week in a row, I forgot to post this on Friday. My apologies to the events that already happened … on Friday night.)

Two shows to kick off summer series, two album release events, two benefits for people halfway across the country and one farewell by an old favorite. It’s a crowded music section in GO! Magazine, as usual. Here’s what’s in there:

–The Clear Summer Nights concert series kicks off Thursday with singer-songwriter Brett Dennen and opening act Dawes.

–Bluegrassy Americana family band The Chapmans comes to town Sunday to start off the free Summer Sunday Concerts series at Les Schwab Amphitheater.

–Local folk-pop songstress Erin Cole-Baker celebrates the release of her fine new album “Big Sky.”

–On Saturday, the Rise Up Spring Jamboree doubles not only as a heck of good time, but also an EP-release show for former Bendites (now Portlanders) The Autonomics. (And … oh yeah … a closing set by Larry and His Flask.)

–Northwest acoustic Americana band Misty River is saying farewell (for now, at least) with a show at The Old Stone in Bend.

Elsewhere in this week’s music section, we’ve got all the details on Australian guitar wiz Tommy Emmanuel at the Tower Theatre, Portland Americana act Redwood Son at McMenamins, two house concerts featuring three fine songwriters and two separate dinners/concerts to benefit the tornado-ravaged folks in Joplin, Mo. Plus a Last Band Standing update.

Have an awesome weekend everyone!

Tags: Brett Dennen, Erin Cole-Baker, Misty River, Redwood Son, The Autonomics, The Chapmans, Tommy Emmanuel
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Have you heard this new EP from The Autonomics?

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

If not, you should.

It absolutely smokes.

Frequency and its big print sister, GO! Magazine, are longtime fans of The Autonomics, a powerful rock trio that formed a few years ago in Bend and moved to Portland last year. Click here to read about how they blew my mind at the 2009 Bend Roots Revival, or here to read my feature story on the band from January, 2010.

Anyway, the fellas are back with a new EP called “Hot Doom” and did I mention it smokes? Because it does. It’s a huge step forward for The Autonomics, and if you like catchy, buzzy, urgent rock ‘n’ roll, you need to hear this. It’s terrific. I’d say more, but I’m saving it for this Friday’s GO! (The band is playing an EP-release show Saturday at Century Center as part of the Rise Up Spring Jamboree.)

Stream or download all five tracks at the band’s Soundcloud, below, or visit their Bandcamp.

Latest tracks by The Autonomics

Tags: The Autonomics
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This week in GO! Magazine’s music section

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Lap steel guitar wizard Robert Randolph and his Family Band will bring their gospel-blues-rock to Bend on Sunday. My colleague David Jasper spoke with Randolph about the past and present of sacred steel music.

“There’s a history of our church … which goes all the way back 70 years,” Randolph explained. “In those days in the south, guys couldn’t afford organs and pianos in church. The thing was basically to buy a lap steel guitar because they couldn’t afford” organs. “And this basically turned into a historical thing. It reached me, and it’s reaching kids younger than me.”

“You see, long before me, there were some guys that played who would have been huge rock stars — just as big as Muddy Waters and those guys in the ’50s, ’60s and into the ’70s. And those guys just weren’t really allowed to leave” the auspices of the church.

“It was a much different time then. By me being younger, and things sort of changing within the organization, it was sort of my focus to really go out there” and share the music with the world at large, he said.

Click here to read the whole thing.

Elsewhere in this week’s music section: The Builders and The Butchers roll into McMenamins, Person People and Empty Space Orchestra play B.I.G.S.’ big fifth birthday bash, the Sagebrush Rock Festival goes down in Christmas Valley, and Intervision visits Sunriver, plus the latest on locals Franchot Tone, Tuck and Roll, The Dirty Words and The Autonomics.

And last but not least, the 4 Peaks Music Festival happens this weekend, but thanks to a last-minute change of plans, the article in the paper has the wrong venue. So click here to get up-to-date info.

Need more? Visit The Bulletin’s complete music listing.

Tags: 4 Peaks Music Festival, B.I.G.S., Franchot Tone, Intervision, Robert Randolph, Sagebrush Rock, The Autonomics, The Builders and The Butchers, The Dirty Words, Tuck And Roll
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This week in GO! Magazine’s music section

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Aphrodesia, an Afrobeat (and so much more) band based in the Bay Area, will kick off the 20th season of Munch & Music Thursday. I spoke with bassist and bandleader Ezra Gale about the rising profile of Afrobeat in America.

“I think (Afrobeat) is definitely more in the mainstream consciousness than it was when we started doing this,” Gale said via telephone Monday. “Where I live in Brooklyn, there’s now at least three or four young Afrobeat bands who are playing (in the style of genre godfather Fela Kuti), and I remember when Aphrodesia first started, as far as we knew, it was us and (New York’s) Antibalas. It really was this new thing. Nobody knew who Kuti was, and we were playing this music that felt obscure.

“It’s important to keep it in perspective, because there are things that are pushing it into the mainstream (such as the Kuti-focused “Fela!” Broadway musical), but at the same time, when you talk about most people in this country, most still have never heard of it, really,” he said. “So us Afrobeat musicians kind of live in a bubble. To us, it may seem sort of played out and passé, but in fact, it’s still new to probably 98 percent of people.”

Accompanying the Aphrodesia story are a few words from Munch & Music founder Cameron Clark on what two decades of the popular, free concert series means to him. I hope you’ll click here and read it all.

Also in the music section this week:

New recorded music just keeps on coming from Bend’s ridiculously productive scene. This week, I wax poetic about the new album from Sara Jackson-Holman (“it’s an aural tractor beam, drawing me in over and over again”), who’ll hold a CD-release show Monday, and The Autonomics (“bruising rock ’n’ roll that draws influence from both modern and classic sounds”), who’ll celebrate their new EP with a show tonight.

Elsewhere, we’ve got all the details on the Breedlove Festival, a concert and barbecue at Maragas Winery, Lisa C. Pollock’s Indie Freedom Tour at Silver Moon Brewing, Eric Tollefson and the Show Us Your Spokes lineup, Curtis Salgado and the Picnic in the Park lineup, folk singers Kasey Anderson and Anastacia, and a scaled-down Pinback returning to the Domino Room. And as always, you can find lots more in The Bulletin’s complete music listing.

Tags: Anastacia, Aphrodesia, Breedlove Festival, Curtis Salgado, Eric Tollefson, Kasey Anderson, Lisa C. Pollock, Maragas Winery, Munch & Music, Picnic in the Park, Pinback, Sara Jackson-Holman, Show Us Your Spokes, The Autonomics
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This week in GO! Magazine’s music section

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Hey there, folks. Shorter update this week than usual because I’ve got a brand new baby at home and am a tad busy. For that same reason, it may be a bit quiet around here for a little while. This is our first, so I expect a sharp learning curve and reduced time for blogging.

Anyway, the cover story in GO! Magazine this week is about the Procession of the Species parade happening in downtown Bend Saturday, but it’s worth noting that this week’s local live-music opportunities are a veritable procession of the species, too.

We’ve got sweaty punk-blues (Hillstomp, Cicada Omega), a gathering of sweeping, celestial rock bands (Empty Space Orchestra, Hypatia Lake, Water & Bodies), cosmopolitan folk-pop artists (Bruce Cockburn, Catherine Feeny, Anastacia), garage-y indie-rockers playing for charity (The Autonomics, We Are Brontosaurus), a collective of electro-thump DJs celebrating a birthday (Slipmat Science), a couple of big-name Christian pop-rock acts playing worship songs (Phil Wickham, Leeland) and local hard rock (Stillfear, Audiolized), plus hip-hop (Afroman) and a roots-rock guitar hero (Tony Furtado).

Whew! Think about it — that’s kind of an abundance of riches for little ol’ Bend in the middle of April, don’t you think?

So go poke around the music section until you find something that sounds interesting. And if that doesn’t work, you can always check out our complete music listings. (Also, if you search this blog for Cicada Omega, Empty Space Orchestra, Water & Bodies, Catherine Feeny, Anastacia or The Autonomics, you’ll find more about each. There’s a little search box in the upper left-hand corner. Try it!)

Just for fun, here’s a video of Hillstomp in action.

And here’s one of Hypatia Lake.

Tags: Anastacia, Audiolized, Bruce Cockburn, Catherine Feeny, Cicada Omega, Empty Space Orchestra, Hillstomp, Hypatia Lake, Leeland, Phil Wickham, Slipmat Science, Stillfear, The Autonomics, Water & Bodies, We Are Brontosaurus
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This week in GO! Magazine’s music section

Friday, March 19th, 2010

First things first:

Tonight, there are a whole bunch of ways to help the people of Haiti in downtown Bend. The centerpiece is a concert at the Tower Theatre featuring David Jacobs-Strain, Rootdown, Reed Thomas Lawrence and Eric Tollefson. There’s also a pre-party before the show at the Astro Lounge, and an afterparty happening at the Liberty Theater. Get all the details by clicking here.

The Portland Cello Project will bring its blend of classical music and pop-culture know-how to McMenamins Old St. Francis School next week. I chatted with PCP founder Douglas Jenkins about the group’s repertoire, which features … well, just read on:

“If (audiences) leave with … a lot of confusion, I’m fine with (that),” Jenkins said. “Like, ‘Why did Arvo Pärt come after Britney?’”

Pärt is a contemporary, minimalist classical composer from Estonia. And, yes, “Britney” is Britney Spears, the pop tart-turned-tabloid star whose Grammy-winning 2004 hit “Toxic” is the most-requested song in PCP’s repertoire.

It’s that mishmash of a repertoire, combined with PCP’s classically-trained chops, that has made the group an unlikely breakout star on Portland’s overflowing music scene. According to www.portlandcelloproject.com, PCP’s material includes everything from Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Outkast to Bach, Beethoven and Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla.

In between, there’s Michael Jackson and Led Zeppelin, Pantera and Pink Floyd, ABBA and A-ha, plus Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses and Metallica, theme songs from films (“Star Wars”), television shows (“Star Trek”) and video games (“Super Mario Bros.”), Portland-based indie faves like The Builders and The Butchers, Weinland and Laura Gibson, and original tunes, too.

Intrigued? You should be. And you should read the whole thing here.

Elsewhere in this week’s music section: Mark Schultz and Point of Grace, The Irish Rovers, Little Fish, Audiolized, The Autonomics, and a busy week at Silver Moon Brewing & Taproom, including Nettle Honey, John Cruz and a “Herstory” open mic to benefit the Human Dignity Coalition. And you’ll always find lots more in our complete music listings.

Tags: Audiolized, Bend For Haiti, John Cruz, Little Fish, Mark Schultz, Nettle Honey, Point of Grace, Portland Cello Project, Reed Thomas Lawrence, The Autonomics, The Irish Rovers
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Drive-By Review: The Autonomics at JC’s

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

If I heard correctly from my driver’s seat in a parking space along Franklin Avenue, The Autonomics did a little of “Sexual Healing” straight into a sliver of “No Woman, No Cry” straight into a bit of “Wagon Wheel” last night. It was a perfect capture of this hyperactive local trio, delivered in their charmingly tousled way. (Much more on the band here and here.)

One guy clapped along, his face lit by the glow of the television mounted in the corner. Another guy — over by the shuffleboard table — engaged in some headbanging. The cigarette crew out on the sidewalk seemed unfazed.

That's the head of The Autonomics' Dan Pantenburg, to the left of the skier, and framed by the window of my 2003 Honda Element.

That's the head of The Autonomics' Dan Pantenburg, to the left of the skier, and framed by the passenger-side window of my 2003 Honda Element.

Tags: The Autonomics
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January 8 in GO! Magazine

Friday, January 8th, 2010

After a holiday lull in Central Oregon’s live-music options, things are cranking up again at local venues. This week, we have a few things you should consider checking out:

-The Autonomics are young, hungry, and ready to take their music to another level. Read all about them here, and then be sure to catch them this weekend (or next), because they hope to move to Portland later this year.

-Finn Riggins is quickly becoming the chief ambassador for Idaho’s crop of new, young indie-rock bands. They’re in Bend next week for their third local show in six months. (Click here to download a song from the band’s new album, “Vs. Wilderness.”)

-Seattle’s The Missionary Position swaggers just like a band called The Missionary Position should.

-Call all your hardcore friends, kids: Liferuiner is coming to town, and they’re bringing a bag full of aural bricks with ‘em.

-Vaudeville and ragtime are touchstones for Oregon’s own Unkle Nancy and the Family Jewels, who’ll play at Silver Moon Brewing & Taproom tonight.

-Attention all reggae-heads: California’s Mystic Roots will return to town on Thursday, and they’re bringing their hip-hop-flavored sound with them. Also on the bill: Monk, K-Boy and MC Mystic. All reggae, all night.

As always, that’s not all that’s happening out there, so click here to see all the options in The Bulletin’s online calendar. And if any of those links up there take you to a paywall, you’ll either need subscribe to the paper’s Web site or pick up a print copy of today’s edition of The Bulletin.

Tags: Finn Riggins, Liferuiner, Mystic Roots, The Autonomics, The Missionary Position, Unkle Nancy
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The 10 best concerts of the year in Central Oregon

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

I’ve gone on and on about my favorite recordings of 2009 here and here, but live music is the backbone of any good scene. Here is a look back my 10 favorite shows of the past 12 months in chronological order, with excerpts from reviews already published in The Bulletin or on Frequency.

Moon Mountain Ramblers, Jan. 24, Tower Theatre

(The Ramblers) were terrific. Their arsenal of stringed instruments rang out crisp and clean. The mix was perfect, with percussionist Dale Largent complementing the pickers nicely. Vocally, the harmonies were shipshape, and I was surprised by guitarist Matthew Hyman’s strong voice. I didn’t realize he’s that good of a singer.

As for the set list, the band flitted back and forth between its favorite styles, from Hyman’s twangy ballads to bassist Dan McClung’s jazzgrass instrumentals to mandolinist Joe Schulte’s more rock-influenced numbers.

One highlight was my co-worker Jenny Harada’s song for her brother, Jason, who died last summer, called “Chasing The Sun.” I’m sure there were dry eyes in the house, but they weren’t mine. Another highlight was a new Schulte song built on a weird, ominous groove and featuring a wicked Largent drum solo, like old-time music meets heavy metal. A genre was born just then, I think: doomgrass.

We also got a raucous cover of the old Stealers Wheel hit “Stuck In The Middle,” a perfectly plaintive version of “Restless,” and what may be the Ramblers’ new signature tune, “Let It All Be Good.” In the latter, when Schulte sang “You’re dancing to our music till your toes start to bleed,” I scanned the wiggly bunch up front to get a glimpse of life imitating art.