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THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021 • THE BULLETIN
talent
Pete Kartsounes makes music despite setbacks
BY BRIAN MCELHINEY
The Bulletin
W
hen the going gets
tough, the artists get
going, and Pete Kart-
sounes may be Bend’s best example of that
statement.
Mangled cliches aside, Kartsounes — this
week’s featured artist in The Bulletin’s Cen-
tral Oregon Creative Artists Relief Effort —
has been one of Central Oregon’s most visi-
ble musicians during the pandemic (not that
he was any slouch before). He was one of the
first to jump on live streaming, maintaining
an impressive weekly (or more) schedule for
10 months with his Coffee and Tunes sets.
When not navigating virtual shows or
Zoom music lessons and workshops, in-
cluding two recent ones with Sisters Folk
Festival, he found plenty of time to cre-
ate. Last year he released two albums, the
stripped-down “Out Here on My Own Vol.
1” in August and the meditative, instrumen-
tal “Mindful Muse” in October.
“There’s obvious setbacks, but as we look
back at a year — I mean, even looking back
six months — right away I accepted the
challenge and went forward,” Kartsounes
said. “And I haven’t really slowed down; I’ve
actually sped up. When it comes to creativ-
ity and what I’ve produced over the last year,
it’s definitely by far more than anything I’ve
produced in many years put together.
“There’s the obvious setback of just the
The Bulletin
and Scalehouse,
a collaborative for the arts, have
joined together to raise donations to
help Central Oregon’s creative artists —
musicians, visual artists, performers and
creative workers — by offering grants
and a platform to bring attention to local
amazing talent. This is a crowdfunding
effort with a first-round fundraising goal
of $40,000. To make a tax-deductible
donation or apply for a grant, go to
bendbulletin.com/talent.
Bulletin file photo
reality itself, with the fear and the worry
of moms, dads, family members getting
sick, or losing friends,” he continued. “I’ve
lost a handful of … friends that were from
COVID, and losing musical heroes to
COVID. So there’s those obvious setbacks,
but personally in my creative life I’ve been
thriving more than ever.”
Kartsounes stepped away from live
streaming recently to focus on a new project,
DJPK. Using a looping device he received
from his girlfriend for Christmas, Kart-
sounes has been creating lush, improvised
compositions with layered electric bass, elec-
listen live
WEDNESDAY 3/24
Spring Sessions — Real Time with Benji
Nagel & Jenner Fox: The duo will perform
live on the outdoor stage or watch the
stream on the Worthy Facebook page;
5:30-7:30 p.m.; Worthy Brewing Company,
495 NE Bellevue Drive, Bend; go.evvnt.
com/742723-0
An Evening with Mike Waylock: The
multi-genre artist will perform; 6-8 p.m.; The
Brown Owl, 550 SW Industrial Way, Bend;
go.evvnt.com/752271-0 or 541-797-6581.
Pete Kartsounes performs for The House Concert for the Central Oregon Creative Artists Relief Effort.
tric guitar, keyboard plug-ins and more.
“It’s fun. I do it about three to five hours
every day, trying to get my artistic approach
with it quick,” he said. “So when I am per-
forming live, no one’s standing around
waiting for me to do something. I’m mak-
ing music out of thin air, all improv, and it’s
pretty thick with sounds.”
Like most musicians, Kartsounes took a
financial hit during the pandemic. He re-
ceived some help from the Worthy Roots
Relief Fund last summer, and has managed
The rockabilly-Americana band will
perform; 6-9 p.m.; Silver Moon Brewing,
24 NW Greenwood Ave., Bend; go.evvnt.
com/755447-0 or 541-388-8331.
Victory Swig: The rock-pop-folk band will
perform; 6-8 p.m.; River’s Place, 787 NE
Purcell Blvd., Bend; go.evvnt.com/755454-0
Sleepless Truckers: The outlaw country
band will perform; 7-10 p.m.; The Horseshoe
Tavern, 410 N. Main St., Prineville; go.evvnt.
com/755511-0 or 541-447-9932.
THURSDAY 3/25
High Desert Nights feat. Mark Quon
and Special Guest: The local musician will
perform on the outdoor stage; 6-8 p.m.;
Bunk+Brew Historic Lucas House, 42
NW Hawthorne Ave., Bend; go.evvnt.
com/756160-0 or 458-202-1090.
AJ Croce Livestream Series: The musician
An Evening with the Silvertone Devils:
Reporter: 541-617-7814, bmcelhiney@bendbulletin.com
MUSIC & MORE AT LOCAL NIGHTSPOTS THIS WEEK
will perform a retrospective of his 30-year
career with his touring band; 5:30-8 p.m.;
$15; online; go.evvnt.com/756048-1 or 541-
317-0700.
FRIDAY 3/26
to stay afloat with music lessons and help
from his fans. He said he is honored to be a
part of CO CAREs.
“All I do is create, whether it be videog-
raphy — I’ve been making a lot of videos
lately — or music, or even a whole new per-
sona and reinventing my musical self,” Kart-
sounes said. “As long as I stay productive, I
feel like whatever gives, whether it be God
or the universe, I feel like I can make my
way with my art if I just keep giving it.”
DJ Chris: The DJ will play a variety of music
from the ‘80s to today; 8-10:30 p.m.; Double
J Saloon, 528 SW Sixth St., Redmond;
go.evvnt.com/756144-0 or 541-923-1868.
SATURDAY 3/27
Superball: The classic rock band will
perform; 1-3 p.m.; The Horseshoe Tavern,
410 N. Main St., Prineville; go.evvnt.
com/755509-0 or 541-447-9932.
Larry Carlton Master Class: The blues, jazz
and fusion artist will host a live, interactive
master class via Zoom with 20% of the
ticket purchase going to support the Tower
Theatre’s education fund; 3-4:30 p.m.; $89;
online; go.evvnt.com/756055-1 or 541-317-
0700.
Spring Sessions — Shane Brown: The
folk artist will perform live on the outdoor
stage or watch the stream on the Worthy
Facebook page; 5:30-7:30 p.m.; Worthy
Brewing Company, 495 NE Bellevue Drive,
Bend; go.evvnt.com/742725-0
Joel Chadd Trio: The folk trio performs;
5-7 p.m.; On Tap, 1424 NE Cushing Drive,
Bend; go.evvnt.com/755470-0
Saturdays in the Yard with Loose
Platoon: The Delta blues band will perform
on the outdoor stage; 6-8 p.m.; Bunk+Brew
Historic Lucas House, 42 NW Hawthorne
Ave., Bend; go.evvnt.com/756141-0 or 458-
202-1090.
The HWY 97 Band: The classic rock
band performs; 5-8 p.m.; General Duffy’s
Waterhole, 404 SW Forest Ave., Redmond;
go.evvnt.com/755273-0
Sleepless Truckers: The outlaw country
band performs; 7-10 p.m.; Pump House Bar
& Grill, 8320 U.S. 97, Terrebonne; go.evvnt.
com/755512-0 or 541-548-4990.