* february lfi. 2001
22
CHICKS WITH PICKS
PHOTO BY MARY GUÍTRON
Continued from Page 21
The whole affair is— how shall I say?— intimate.
Touchstone is a great place to play.
“Enough of that love jazz; let’s talk about
“Not only is it an inspirational place, it’s
real life,” Hale chuckles, then glides into a
really great because it’s so small. You can fill
story-song about mothers and fathers.
the room; it’s intimate,” says Juliet Wyers, a
Although 1 sense strains of Joni Mitchell
performer who also teaches a songwriting class
melodies in her music, the songwriter con
in Portland. She recently played a gig at
structs beautiful guitar lines and metaphorically
Touchstone to a standing room only crowd; as
rich lyrics. Hale’s fingers know the neck of the
a special treat, she also invited some of her stu
dents along to perform,
guitar like a woman
knows the touch of her
i i I / r.
|
.1
i r
Wyers’ take on song-
lover, and her voice is
w riting is quke iyn caiiy
butter, dammit, butter.
¡“
u . 'lX « r
Why would Hale
pass a whole Saturday
“ ? ; ehtw^ tsvou're say
night playing music for
a
small
group
of
" On her four-song
strangers? Probably the
demo CD, Wyers shows
same reason dozens of
equal amounts of
other performers grace Touchstone with their
ambiance and attitude with rich songs such as
“Light Moving Across You” and “Bully on a
own music every single weekend: the intimate
Bad Day.” Her next gig at Touchstone is set for
nature of the venue.
April 13.
The hub is the creation of Becky Bilyeu.
She started becoming a well-known face in
Kim Rheul not only shares a similar song
writing philosophy as Wyers, she has the same
Portland’s lesbian community when she ran the
Sacred Grounds coffee shop in the converted
garage of It’s My Pleasure in 1998. It was there
Maria Webster
she began playing host to live music by local
performs original music
lesbian performers.
in many styles
In early 1999, she jumped at the opportuni
ty to buy the humble business space at 7631
N.E. Glisan St., a small building that had been
occupied in the past by a dentist’s office and a
chiropractor. Bilyeu— not only a devoted pro
prietress but a talented artist— transformed the
building into the cozy haven it is today by giv
ing it a pink-tinged paint job and by hanging
up women-positive inspirational art.
She named the joint Touchstone because
she “carries” rocks that are soothing to the
touch. Appropriately enough, the shop feels
like a blissful marriage between the natural and
material worlds, a healthy mixture of indoors
and out. The ceiling of the main room is paint
ed to look like a partly cloudy sky. W hen the
weather is warm, some musicians perform in
the real outdoors: the not-so-Secret Garden.
Bilyeu admits to loving all forms of creative
expression, which is why she puts so much
effort into Touchstone’s live music scene. She
says her booking philosophy is casual. “I’m not
a professional judge,” she says. “If a performer
believes she can get up in front of a group of
people, I’ll give her a chance to play.”
She recommends Touchstone’s open mike
night for people who might not want to com
mit to playing for an entire evening, however.
Bea Simonds serves as the host Thursdays
between 7 and 9 p.m.
Regular performers list several reasons why
Hale s fingers know the neck of
the guitar like a woman knows
the touch o f her lover, and her
voice is butter, dammit, butter
Rene Corbin dishes up her Celtic tunes at Touchstone
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