ENTERTAINMENT
Saturday, April 7, 2018
East Oregonian
Page 3C
Swilling bourbon and Rockwell tunes
S
ome music is meant to be paired with an
alcoholic beverage. For a Saint-Saëns
concerto it’s a glass of Bordeaux. For
Pantera it’s Jagermeister. Imperial Twang, a
Wheatstock Hefeweizen. For the Parrotheads
out there, it’s margaritas and piña coladas to go
with their beloved Jimmy Buffett.
In the case of Bourbon Rockwell, his name
is enough of an indication of what you should
be swilling while listening to
his ragged country tunes. I
should know — I once spent
an evening at my dining
room table with the man
trading songs, discussing
what makes a song, and
polishing off a bottle into the
wee hours of the morning.
It was actually a single malt
J.D.
scotch, but any whisky will
Kindle
do.
Comment
This past month, the
La Grande-based singer-
songwriter quietly released a sparse album of
folk-country tunes. Sonically, “All The Stars In
The Sky” features only an acoustic guitar and
Rockwell’s whiskey and cigarette marinated
voice. It would make for a fine companion to
be drinking bourbon (or a single malt scotch)
with at the dining room table come 3 a.m.
Originally from Baltimore, Rockwell (born
Will Gillespie) had the musical upbringing of
a down home country boy where hootenannies
were the traditional family bonding activity.
“I remember sitting in my grandfather’s
Photo contributed by Brittany Lind
La Grande-based singer-songwriter
Bourbon Rockwell recently released “All
The Stars In The Sky.”
basement with my grandfather, six aunts,
uncle, mom, great-granddad and grandma,
who’d all be sitting around playing guitars
and singing,” Rockwell said. “It was pretty
simple boom-chicka-boom-chicka, ‘You
Are Sunshine’ stuff but that was the family
activity.”
Rockwell also had exposure to more
contemporary folk music.
“I had a John Prine songbook. It had the
diagrams that show you where to put your
fingers for the chords — I could never read the
music. Growing up
with the album, I
knew all the songs
so I taught myself
to play guitar with
that.”
Those meat and
potatoes influences
shine through on
Rockwell’s songs.
A few of them
have an Appalachian folk vibe — between
its jig rhythm and timeless lyrics, “Where
The Flowers Grow” could be mistaken for an
imported Scottish ballad, the wistful waltz,
“Nowhere To Go” is solidly in the tradition
of the Carter Family standard “I Don’t Feel
at Home in This World Anymore,” and “Into
The North” is a droning minor-key ballad a la
“Black Jack Davey.”
Music worth drinking whisky to must
have some hard travelin’ stories behind it.
At the age of 19, Rockwell embarked on a
life on the road that led him to play with a
performance art drum corps ensemble in the
deserts of Arizona, taking his trio Mold On
Rye (a psychedelic-bluegrass-punk group?)
on a songwriting sojourn to the Canary
Islands, back to Maryland to work as a TV
news anchor (you wouldn’t think it possible
seeing current pictures of him with his curly
hair and beard), and finally to the Willamette
Valley region where he fell in with a rough and
tumble punk-country scene. The recent rapid
gentrification in Portland persuaded Rockwell
to head in an easterly direction.
“I came out here because my country band
in Portland, The Darlin’ Brothers, split up and
the drummer and his brother moved out to
Baker City. I sorta got pushed out by yuppies
and condos and cost of living and all that stuff
and decided to come out to Eastern Oregon to
play music.”
Although not a solo show, Rockwell’s next
regional gig is a performance with the freshly
reunited Darlin’ Brothers at Side A Brewery in
La Grande. His next solo performance will be at
Heppner’s Ruckus In The Boonies festival where
Rockwell will be right at home in the mixture of
bluegrass, crust-punk and alt-country.
“All The Stars” is the one a handful of
debut releases from Huevos Records, a newly
founded record label/artist consortium who
claims its offices are located at the bottom
of Henry Hagg Lake near Forest Grove.
Rockwell has an extensive backlog of songs
— he is said to possess 8-10 albums worth of
material — and will be heading back into their
recording studios next month to begin work on
a follow-up album that he hopes to release by
the end of this year.
That being the case, I best keep my liquor
cabinet fully stocked.
A toast, to Bourbon Rockwell!
“All The Stars In The Sky” is available to
stream for free at www.huevosrecords.com.
■
James Dean Kindle is a Pendleton musi-
cian and executive director of the Oregon
East Symphony.
WHAT TO DO
Festivals
Adams Day
Contributed
“From Maxville to Vanport”
features a musical presen-
tation
incorporating
the
stories of two unique towns
in Oregon’s history.
Presentations share
history of Maxville
and Vanport
Several community-guided
musical presentations
incorporate the stories of two
unique towns in Oregon’s
history — Maxville and Vanport.
Featuring poetry by Renee
Mitchell, music by Ezra Weiss
and video by Kalimah Abioto,
“From Maxville to Vanport”
includes musicians from the
Portland Jazz Composers
Ensemble. Area presentations
include:
•Thursday, April 12 at 7:30
p.m. in Loso Hall at Eastern
Oregon University, La Grande.
(Free).
•Friday, April 13 at 7 p.m. at
the OK Theatre, 208 W. Main
St., Enterprise. ($20 for adults,
$15 for seniors and veterans and
$10 for students).
•Saturday, April 14 at 5 p.m.
at Baker City Heritage Museum,
2480 Grove St., Baker City
($50, which includes dinner).
Maxville and Vanport both
had significant multicultural
populations at a time when
Oregon was particularly
unfriendly to non-white
residents.
Maxville came into existence
in 1923 when logging camps
and mills were sprouting
throughout Eastern Oregon.
With the stock market crash of
1929, the lumber market hit a
slump and the town declined.
By 1933, Maxville became a
ghost town. Vanport was built
in order to provide housing for
the influx of workers coming
to the Kaiser Shipyards during
World War II. Although assured
the dikes were strong and safe,
on May 30, 1948, a railroad
berm on the edge of Smith Lake
was breached. The floodwaters
destroyed Vanport.
For more information about
the presentations and a link to
tickets, visit www.pjce.org.
Bluegrass band
performs for
fundraiser
KENNEWICK — A
fundraising event for the
Sacajawea Bluegrass Festival
and Dutch Oven Rendezvous
will feature a concert by the
Badger Mountain Dry Band.
The event is Friday, April 13
from 7-9 p.m. at The Hidden
Scene, which is above Artmil
Design, at 5601 W. Clearwater
Ave., Unit 109, Kennewick.
The cost is $10 per person.
The Badger Mountain
Dry Band has been playing
progressive and traditional
bluegrass for more than 25
years. Their eclectic song
choices, tight harmony singing
and inspired instrumental work
offers an enjoyable experience
for music fans.
For more information,
contact Reade Obern at reade.
obern@gmail.com, 509-492-
1555 or visit www.mctama.org.
•Saturday, April 14
•Adams
www.cityofadamsoregon.
com
Free admission. A celebra-
tion the opening of the Triangle
Little League season. Activities
include a fireman’s breakfast,
parade, pie sale, vendors and
baseball games. (541-566-
3410).
Base of the Blues Bash
•Saturday, April 14; 5 p.m.
•Milton-Freewater Communi-
ty Building, 109 N.E. 5th Ave.
www.baseofthebluesbash.
com
$50. Dinner will be served at
6 p.m.. followed by a live auction
at 7 p.m. and dancing at 8 p.m.
with the Gary Winston Band.
Also features local wineries and
breweries.
BMCC Arts & Culture
Festival
Community theater
to stage ‘Baskerville’
WALLA WALLA — The Little Theatre of Walla
Walla is holding auditions for the farce “Baskerville:
A Sherlock Holmes Mystery” by Ken Ludwig.
The play requires four to six male actors and one
to four female actors. Additional backstage crew
will also be needed. The auditions are Tuesday,
April 17 and Wednesday, April 18 from 7-9 p.m. at
1130 Sumach St., Walla Walla. Those planning to
audition should arrive a few minutes early to fill out
paperwork. Actors will rotate through reading from
some short scenes provided.
“Baskerville” will be directed by Whitman
College professor emerita Nancy Simon. The
production will be staged June 1-2, 8-10 and 15-17.
For more information or questions, contact
509-301-5527 or bradley.nelson@ltww.org. For
more about the theater season, visit www.ltww.org.
•April 16-19
•Pendleton and Hermiston
campuses
www.bluecc.edu/community/
diversity-at-bmcc/arts-and-cul-
ture
Free. Features guest speak-
ers, presentations and communi-
ty barbecues.
Chocolatier, 1925 Main St., Bak-
er City
www.petersonsgallery.net
Free. Features the paintings
by Baker City artist and author
Nancy Coffelt. Runs through
April 30.
Spring Fever Pub Crawl
“H2O Today”
•Saturday, April 28; 4-10
p.m.
•Pendleton
www.facebook.com
$15/early sales. Sponsored
by the Pendleton Downtown As-
sociation to benefit the Oregon
East Symphony.
Art, Museums
& Authors
Louise Bourgeois
•Tuesday-Fridays, 10 a.m.-4
p.m.; Saturdays, noon-4 p.m.
•Pendleton Center for the
Arts, 214 N. Main St.
www.pendletonarts.org
Free. Exhibit features works
of Louise Bourgeois (1911-
2010), a French-American artist
whose work explores themes of
childhood, domesticity, family,
gender roles and sexuality. On
loan from the collection of Jor-
dan D. Schnitzer Family Foun-
dation. Runs through May 5. To
arrange after hours group view-
ings, call 541-278-9201.
“Touch the Sound”
•Monday-Thursdays, 9:30
a.m.-1:30 p.m.
•Betty Feves Memorial Gal-
lery, Blue Mountain Communi-
ty College, 2411 N.W. Carden
Ave., Pendleton.
Free. Featuring the work of
Yelena Roslaya, the exhibit in-
cludes an installation of sculp-
tures that function as drums.
The hands-on show encourag-
es viewers to interact with the
pieces. Gallery also open by
appointment by calling 541-278-
5952. Runs through May 3.
“Nancy Coffelt
and Easter”
•Tuesday-Sundays, 10 a.m.-
6 p.m.
•Peterson’s Gallery and
•Monday-Saturdays,
10
a.m.-5 p.m., regular hours
•Tamástslikt Cultural Insti-
tute, near Wildhorse Resort &
Casino.
www.tamastslikt.org
$10/adults, $9/senior citi-
zens, $6/youths. The traveling
exhibition from the Smithsonian
Institution explores the beauty
and essential nature of water,
the challenges of maintaining
global water sources and pro-
moting conversation. Runs April
6-July 14.
First Draft Writers’
Series
•Thursday, April 19; 7 p.m.
•Pendleton Center for the
Arts, 214 N. Main St.
www.pendletonarts.org
Free. Features Clemens
Starck, an award-winning poet
who considers Pendleton one of
his old stomping grounds. Also,
short open mic readings from
the audience.
Open Regional
Photography Exhibit
•Saturday, May 5; noon-4
p.m., accept entries
•Friday, May 11; 5:30-7 p.m.,
opening reception
•Pendleton Center for the
Arts, 214 N. Main St.
www.pendletonarts.org
$10/adults; $5/youths entry
fee per piece of art. Cash priz-
es awarded. Visit the arts center
website for details on entering.
The exhibit runs May 11-June
29. (541-278-9201).
Music
Brass Fire
•Saturday, April 7; 7-10 p.m.
•Red Lion, 304 S.E. Nye
Ave., Pendleton
No cover. Features regional
horn band, playing the music of
Santana, Chicago, Elvis, Earth
Wind & Fire.
Oldies Night in
Milton-Freewater
•Saturday, April 7; 7 p.m.
•Wesley Methodist Church,
816 S. Main St., Milton-Free-
water.
Free. BJ the DJ spins tunes of
Linda Ronstadt. Snacks available.
Notorious 253
•Saturday, April 7; 8 p.m. No
cover
•Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wild-
horse Resort & Casino, off I-84
Exit 216, Mission.
SprinG FlinG
•Saturday, April 7; 9 p.m.
•The Pheasant Blue Col-
lar Bar & Grill, 149 E. Main St.,
Hermiston
No cover. A night of music
and dancing. Formerly known
as the Reggeaton Party, the fun
continues with dancing music
with Diego.
Badger Mountain
Dry Band
Smith/McKay
Karaoke
•Wednesday, April 25; 8-10
p.m.
•Great Pacific Wine & Coffee
Co., 403 S. Main St., Pendleton
No cover. All ages. Ex-
Gourds co-frontman Jimmy
Smith and bluesman Pat McK-
ay bring their power duo that’s
as full as a 4-piece with drum
stomping, guitar banging and
vocalizing.
•Fridays; 9 p.m.
•Midway Tavern, 1750 N.
First St., Hermiston
Open Mic at GP
Theater, stage,
film & lectures
•Thursday, April 26; 7-9 p.m.
•Great Pacific Wine & Coffee
Co., 403 S. Main St., Pendleton
No cover. All ages are wel-
come during the last Thursday
of each month. Bring your instru-
ment, voice, family and friends.
Night life
Karaoke w/DJ David
•Saturdays; 8 p.m.
•Riverside Sports Bar, 1501
Sixth St., Umatilla
Saturday Trivia Nights
•Saturdays; 9 p.m.
•Midway Bar & Grill, 1750 N.
First St., Hermiston
No cover. Join in for trivia fun
and a chance to win prizes. Also
features DJ music.
Comedy w/Alex Elkin
•Saturday, April 7; 5-8 p.m.
•Sub Zero Restaurant &
Lounge, 100 W. Highway 730,
Irrigon
$13/18-and-older, $18/VIP.
Ages 18 and older for comedy
show. Lucky Coyotes finish out
the night for the 21-plus crowd.
(541-922-4374)
Oregon Lottery Party
•Saturday, April 14; 5-7 p.m.
•Midway Bar & Grill, 1750 N.
First St., Hermiston
Free. The Oregon Lottery is
bringing free games (and prizes)
to town, including a Video Lottery
group game. One lucky player
will win a $100 Visa gift card.
Wino Wednesdays
•Wednesdays, 2-6 p.m.
•Echo Ridge Cellars, 551 N.
Thielsen St., Echo
Karaoke at the Packard
•Friday, April 13; 7-9 p.m.
•The Hidden Scene, 5601
W. Clearwater Ave., Unit 109,
Kennewick.
www.mctama.org
$10. Benefit for the Sa-
cajawea Bluegrass Festival
and Dutch Oven Rendezvous
features the progressive and
traditional bluegrass band who
has been playing for more than
25 years.
•1st/3rd
Wednesday,
9
p.m.-midnight
•The Packard Tavern, 118
S.E. Court Ave., Pendleton
No cover.
Funk Factory
•Thursdays; 8 p.m.
•Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wild-
horse Resort & Casino, off I-84
Exit 216, Mission.
No cover. April 12: Rich Wil-
liams, Ryan Reaves; April 19:
Don McEnery, JR Berard
•Friday, April 13; Saturday,
April 14; 8 p.m. No cover
•Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wild-
horse Resort & Casino, off I-84
Exit 216, Mission.
Wasteland Kings
Thirsty Thursdays
•Third Thursday; 6 p.m.
•Midway Bar & Grill, 1750 N.
First St., Hermiston
No cover. Hosts a local
brewery offering tastings.
LOL Comedy Jam
•Thursday, April 19; 7 p.m.
•40 Taps, 337 S.W. Emigrant
Ave., Pendleton
No cover during Live Music
Thursday.
Wine tasting
The Wiz Kid
•Fridays; 8 p.m.
•Riverside Sports Bar, 1501
Sixth St., Umatilla
•Friday, April 20; Saturday,
April 21; 8 p.m. No cover
•Wildhorse Sports Bar, Wild-
horse Resort & Casino, off I-84
Exit 216, Mission.
•Fridays, 4-8 p.m.
•Sno Road Winery, 111 W.
Main St., Echo.
Karaoke w/DJ David
DJ and dancing
•Fridays, 8 p.m.
•The Pheasant, 149 E. Main
St., Hermiston
Cimmi’s Late Night Mar-
tini Lounge
•Fridays; 9 p.m.-midnight
•Virgil’s at Cimmiyotti’s, 137
S. Main St., Pendleton
No cover. Features martinis,
mixology and music.
“The Last Hot Lick”
•Saturday, April 14; 3 p.m.
•BMCC Bob Clapp Theatre,
2411 N.W. Carden Ave., Pend-
leton
$12/general, $8/ Round-Up
and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame
members. Advance tickets avail-
able at the Pendleton Round-
Up and Happy Canyon Hall of
Fame, 1114 S.W. Court Ave.,
Pendleton (541-278-0815). The
film, which includes scenes shot
in Pendleton, Rufus, Wasco and
the Painted Hills, stars Jamie
Leopold and Jennifer Smeija,
two Portland musicians. A per-
son attending the screening will
win a new Pendleton Woolen
Mills Bucking Horse blanket.
Auditions for “Basker-
ville: A Sherlock Holmes
Mystery”
•Tuesday, April 17 &
Wednesday, April 18; 7-9 p.m.
•Little Theatre of Walla Wal-
la, 1130 Sumach St.
www.ltww.org
Free. Play requires 4-6 male
actors and 1-4 female actors.
Additional backstage crew also
needed. (509-301-5527)
Hot tickets
•Umatilla County Fair main
stage performers (cost TBA).
Reserved and premium seating
going on sale soon. Watch for
details in upcoming edition.
•Blue Oyster Cult (April 20,
$24-$59) and Hal Ketchum
(May 26, $25-$45), at Wildhorse
Resort & Casino. Buy tickets for
the 21-and-older shows via the
Wildhorse Gift Shop or www.
wildhorseresort.com
•Eagles. May 5, Moda Cen-
ter, Portland. Tickets ($59-$400)
via www.ticketmaster.com
•Summer Concert Series:
Hunks the Show (June 2, $29-
$65); Kim Russo: The Happy
Medium (June 16, $65); Naugh-
ty by Nature, hip hop party w/
Sir Mix-A-Lot & Tone Loc (July
27, $49-$99); and Ramon Ayala
(July 28, $49-$129) at Wildhorse
Resort & Casino. All shows are
21-and-older, except the hip hop
party, which is 18-and-older.
Tickets available via the Wild-
horse Gift Shop or www.wild-
horseresort.com
———
Want to get your event list-
ed in our calendar? Send in-
formation to community@eas-
toregonian.com, or c/o Tammy
Malgesini, 333 E. Main Street,
Hermiston, OR, 97838.
MOVIE REVIEW
‘A Quiet Place’ is an intoxicatingly creepy thriller
L
et’s start with a popcorn
warning. If you’re bringing
your usual tub of multiplex
popcorn into “A Quiet Place,” just
be aware that you’ll be hearing
every single crunch.
That’s because much of John
Krasinski’s ingeniously creepy new
film, in which he stars alongside
his real-life better half, Emily
Blunt, takes place in virtual silence.
This is a movie about a world
where noise gets you killed. In fact,
if you ate popcorn IN the movie,
you’d quickly be dead.
Krasinski, in his third feature
outing as director, has a lot going
for him here: An inventive premise,
a terrific cast featuring two
extremely effective child actors,
and the always superb Blunt,
who can register fear, joy, love
and anxiety in one scene without
needing to utter a word. He takes
all this and runs with it, producing
a taut, goose-pimply thriller that
earns its jump-out-of-your-seat
moments and only occasionally
strains its own logic — and then,
who really cares? It’s a monster
flick!
We begin on “Day 89.” But
what exactly happened 89 days
ago? Our first clue is that there’s
nobody in the streets of the
desolate town where the Abbott
family — Lee, Evelyn and three
young kids — makes a precarious
shopping trip. The most obvious
clue is that the family cannot
speak, or make a sound. They
communicate in sign language, and
“A Quiet Place”
★★★☆
PG-13, 90 minutes
walk barefoot on soft sand and dirt
so even their feet won’t give them
away.
An early, shocking tragedy
makes it clear what they’re up
against: evil, hungry monsters who
consume anyone who catches their
attention with sound. Soon, that
fateful Day 89 skips ahead to Day
472. The monsters still rule, and
now Evelyn (Blunt) is pregnant. As
the family goes about its soundless
daily routines, one wonders how
they’ll possibly bring a baby into
the world without making noise.
Krasinski and fellow screen-
writers Bryan Woods and Scott
Beck are cleverly tapping into
universal parental angst here. First,
childbirth, already pretty darned
painful and stressful, is made even
more difficult — you can’t even
scream! And how on Earth can you
keep a newborn from crying? More
broadly, there’s the constant fear
for Lee and Evelyn that any daily
task can lead to an errant noise,
and quickly, death. What’s worse
than feeling like you can’t protect
your child? “There’s nothing to
be scared of,” Lee tells young son
Marcus reassuringly as they leave
the house. “Of course there is,” the
boy replies., correctly. — Jocelyn
Noveck, AP