Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013, February 16, 2001, Page 23, Image 23

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    fnhrinrji 1fi ~nm
warm feelings toward
Touchstone as a place
to play. “It’s homey and
conducive to telling
stories. As a performer,
it’s nice to play where
people are there to lis­
ten. It’s like a living
room,” she says.
Rheul, a 24-year-old
who organized a suc­
cessful benefit perform­
ance for the No on 9
Campaign at Touch­
stone last year, is a self-
described folk musician
who writes about heart­
break, traveling and
“whatever’s happen­
Ajay gives it her all
ing.” She’s particularly
attuned to the female focus at Touchstone.
“It’s nice to play where people aren’t looking at
your breasts,” she says. Then, on second
thought, she adds, “Well, maybe they are!”
Ajay, the ubiquitous one-named Touch­
stone favorite (rumored to have her fans sitting
on each other’s laps while she plays), says the
coffeehouse is particularly intimate compared
to the bar scene. “It’s hard to play bars as a solo
musician. Nobody’s there to listen to what’s
going on.” She adds, “A t Touchstone, people
come to see what’s hap­
pening.”
Ajay is a percussive
guitar player who mod­
estly describes her
music as “the usual ‘my
heart got broken’ kind
of stuff.” She says she
writes about her
dreams, love, relation­
ships, “stuff I’d like to
do.” Ajay is proud to
write music to which a
large group of people
can relate; she says her
music works regardless
of race, gender or orien­
tation.
According to Beth
Ramsey, one of Touch­
stone’s employees, the shop has begun to
attract a diverse group of customers. “It’s get­
ting more and more crowded,” she says. “Even
straight couples have started coming on week­
ends." O n the evening of Hale’s performance, a
harmonious mixture of women and men situate
themselves comfortably near each other.
Rene Corbin, a performer who plays at
Touchstone on the first Saturday of every
month, says the main reason she digs the cof­
feehouse is because she usually plays with a
group, and it’s a good place to focus on her solo
work. “The folks there tend to be a supportive
group. I can have personal contact with people
there; I can play without a mike,” she says.
Corbin’s spin on music is quite a traditional
one: She plays old melodic songs from the
British Isles but with her own arrangements
and interpretations “to keep it interesting,” she
says. Her interest in traditional music lies in its
universality. “We haven’t changed much in
300 years,” she says. “The rich are still rich, the
poor are still poor, the rich still have a handle
on who’s rich and who’s poor.”
Although she doesn’t categorize her music
as “womyn’s music,” Corbin supports Touch­
J w t mm
stone because it is a woman-run business.
Bilyeu’s booking policies clearly don’t dis­
criminate in the gender department— a glance
at the Touchstone live music calendar shows a
spattering of male performers. But she has
remained true to her sisters since the Sacred
Grounds days. Coming up in the next few
weeks, Touchstone will play host to Maria
Webster, Allyn Roberts, longtime favorites
Pam and Maggie, Loma Miller, Chris Blount,
Maureen Kelly and regular performances by
Corbin and Ajay.
Bilyeu admits running Touchstone is more
of a joy than a chore. “I’m lucky to be able to
do this,” she says. “I get to see my friends all
day. It’s very homelike; people make them­
selves at home here.”
Girlfriends, one thing is for sure: This ain’t
no Starbucks. j n
K aty D avidson is a musician who digs
neo-m etal prism rock but plays epic folk ballads.
(Editor’s note: Only part o f this is true.)
"Not only is it an inspirational
place, it's really great because it's
so small. You can fill the room;
it's intim ate," says Juliet Wvers,
a perform er who also teaches a
songwriting class in Portland.
She recently played a gig at
Touchstone to a standing-room-only
crowd; as a special treat,
she also invited some o th e r
students along to perform.
Auto, Home, Life & Business
Look G ood
Feel G ood
“Your Independent Insurance Agency"
[!□□□□
Elliott, Powell, Baden & Baker, Inc.
Schedule your appointment
today with:
la p
L is a C o s t e l lo
503 - 256-3700
REY REECE DEALERSHIPS
ISUZU-VOLKSWAGEN-USED
IH E B i
H artford
M arc Baker • M ary M iller
Downtown Portland
(5 0 3 ) 227-1771
www.epbb.com ___________
122nd & East Burnside
www. reyreece. com
vdublisac@hotmail.com
Full body waxing
Facials
& Make-overs
Private Room
— Safe & Friendly
For Men & Women
DOWNTOWN AT 927 SW OAK
The NW’s best selection o f gay erotica, including:
• Every erotic photo book and art book in print
• Every book o f erotic fiction and nonfiction
can G inny
503 / 653-3597
•Foreign and domestic mags, always at 10% off
•Vintage physique photos and magazines
1 1-6 MON-SAT. 12-6 Si N. 226-8Id 1