ALL THINGS MUSIC
PAGE 4 • GO! MAGAZINE
listen live
Thursday 4/8
Now & Then: Michael Shane and Derek Michael Marc
will perform hits from six decades; 6-8 p.m.; River’s Place,
787 NE Purcell Blvd., Bend; go.evvnt.com/762061-0
An Evening with The Kicks: Singer-songwriter
Kelcy Lassen will unveil her new project; 6-8 p.m.; The
Brown Owl, 550 SW Industrial Way, Bend; go.evvnt.
com/762045-0 or 541-797-6581.
FRIDAY 4/9
Joel Chadd: The folk artist will perform with Darin
gentry and Kerry Sheehan in an intimate performance
live-streamed from The Commons; 7:30-8:30 p.m.; Bend;
go.evvnt.com/762118-0
SATURDAY 4/10
The HWY 97 Band: The classic rock band will perform;
2-5:30 p.m.; Pump House Bar & Grill, 8320 U.S. Highway
97, Terrebonne; go.evvnt.com/755281-0
Continued from previous page
(For most of last year I wrote a weekly col-
umn in GO! on a freelance basis, and since
February I was back on staff.)
I have accepted a job at another newspa-
per back East, but not writing about music
this time. I will miss this with all my being,
but it is time to move on.
Thanks to everyone at The Bulletin for let-
ting me do my dream job again. Extra-spe-
cial thanks to Julie Johnson and Denise
Costa for hiring me, Jody Lawrence-Turner
for being an awesome editor and sound-
ing board, and David Jasper and Makenzie
Whittle for being the best co-workers I could
ask for. More thanks to the incredible musi-
cians, music venues, promoters and behind-
the-scenes folks that make the music happen
and welcomed me into their world. And
thank you for reading GO! Magazine every
week; this doesn’t work without you.
I could tell you about my favorite inter-
views. Robert Plant is up there, so is Steve
Miller — took three years to get that one.
“Weird Al” Yankovic, Antonio Sanchez,
Judy Collins, Kandace Springs, George Win-
ston. I know I’m leaving people out.
I could tell you about my favorite shows.
“Weird Al” again. Deftones and Mastodon.
Black Mountain. The Claypool Lennon De-
lirium. Mike Watt. D.O.A. The Rev. Horton
Heat. Supersuckers. That 1 Guy. I know I’m
leaving stuff out.
But instead, I’m going to tell you a ram-
bling story. Indulge me, one last time.
When I was 14 years old, I watched Cam-
eron Crowe’s semi- (or mostly) autobi-
ographical film “Almost Famous,” about a
music-obsessed, 15-year-old kid who tricks
Rolling Stone into sending him on the road
with a fictional ’70s rock band, Stillwater.
The film changed my life and set me on the
MUSIC & MORE AT LOCAL NIGHTSPOTS THIS WEEK
Jake & The Tri-County Roamers: The local band will
perform on the brewery’s patio; 4-6 p.m.; Silver Moon
Brewing, 24 NW Greenwood Ave., Bend; go.evvnt.
com/762650-0 or 541-388-8331.
Countryfied Live with Shannon Bex: The
country band will perform on the outdoor
stage; 6:30-9:30 p.m.; $15; General Duffy’s
Waterhole, 404 SW Forest Ave., Redmond;
eventbrite.com
Music on the Lawn — Eric Leadbetter: The local rock
artist will perform; 5-7 p.m.; On Tap, 1424 NE Cushing
Drive, Bend; go.evvnt.com/762688-0
SUNDAY 4/11
Saturdays in the Yard with Bill Powers: The local
roots singer-songwriter performs; 6-8 p.m.; Bunk+Brew
Historic Lucas House, 42 NW Hawthorne Ave., Bend;
go.evvnt.com/762785-0 or 458-202-1090.
Crescendo: The Northwest trio will perform covers of
popular songs on the restaurant’s patio. Reservations
recommended; 6-8:30 p.m.; Sisters Depot, 250 W. Cascade
Ave., Sisters; go.evvnt.com/762778-0 or 541-904-4660.
Spring Sessions — The Mostest: The jam band will
perform live on the outdoor stage or watch the stream
on the Worthy Facebook page; 6-8 p.m.; Worthy Brewing
Company, 495 NE Bellevue Drive, Bend; go.evvnt.
com/758322-0
The HWY 97 Band: The classic rock
band performs; 3-6 p.m.; General
Duffy’s Waterhole, 404 SW Forest Ave.,
Redmond; go.evvnt.com/755275-0
Redmond High School Jazz Band: Join Ben
Lawson, the director of Redmond High School’s
jazz band, for music, memories and the meaning of
being a part of a jazz band; 4-5 p.m.; online; go.evvnt.
com/762000-0 or 541-312-1032.
Bill Powers: The local roots-rock artist will perform;
6-8 p.m.; River’s Place, 787 NE Purcell Blvd., Bend;
go.evvnt.com/762063-0
TUESDAY 4/13
Thanks to everyone at The Bulletin for letting me do my dream
job again. Extra-special thanks to Julie Johnson and Denise Costa
for hiring me, Jody Lawrence-Turner for being an awesome
editor and sounding board, and David Jasper and Makenzie
Whittle for being the best co-workers I could ask for. More
thanks to the incredible musicians, music venues, promoters and
behind-the-scenes folks that make the music happen and
welcomed me into their world. And thank you for reading GO!
Magazine every week; this doesn’t work without you.
music-journalism path (along with Nirvana,
of course, which I mentioned in a column
just a few weeks ago).
The music reporting the film depicts no
longer exists, really, though I wish a band
would invite me on the road as a fly-on-
the-wall writer. But so many moments have
stuck with me as I’ve plied my trade as a
music journalist for real.
Most of those moments came from the
late Philip Seymour Hoffman in a brilliant
performance as equally brilliant music jour-
nalist Lester Bangs. There is one quote to-
ward the end of the film that has always
stuck with me. The 15-year-old main char-
acter and Crowe stand-in, William Miller
(Patrick Fugit), calls up Hoffman’s Bangs
as he struggles to write his cover story for
Rolling Stone. The jig is up: The magazine
knows he’s a green kid. Perhaps worse, he’s
become close to the band — too close.
“The only true currency in this bankrupt
world is what you share with someone else
when you’re uncool,” Hoffman-as-Bangs says.
“My advice to you? I know you think these
guys are your friends. If you want to be a true
friend to them, be honest and unmerciful.”
These are words I’ve strived to live up to
in my decade-plus as a music reporter, first
THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021 • THE BULLETIN
in upstate New York and, since June 2015,
in Central Oregon. You can be the judge of
how “unmerciful” I was (I generally think
I’m kind of a wimp), but being honest has
always been my mantra, whether I’m writ-
ing about the singer-songwriter who haunts
open mic nights or Robert Plant performing
at Les Schwab Amphitheater.
Also, I am deeply uncool. There’s a reason
I write about music instead of play it.
Wait a second.
I do play music. Did you know that?
Some of you did, because I played some
open mic nights when I moved here. And
when I was music reporting in New York,
I played in a noisy, grungy, power-poppy
punk trio called The Hearing Aides for
about five years. (We even released three al-
bums recorded with the mighty Don Fury,
a hardcore punk giant known for his work
with Agnostic Front, Gorilla Biscuits, Hel-
met and many more).
But I stopped playing those open mic
nights soon after moving here. I don’t want
to go too deep, but most of it had to do with
anxiety.
The other reason ties back to “Almost Fa-
mous.” Throughout the film, the members
of Stillwater refer to Miller as “the enemy.”
Stacie Dread & Mystic of Broken
Down Guitars will perform
live 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at
Worthy Brewing in Bend.
Submitted photo
An Evening with Pete
Kartsounes: The folk artist will
perform; 6-8 p.m.; The Brown
Owl, 550 SW Industrial Way, Bend;
go.evvnt.com/762047-0 or 541-
797-6581.
WEDNESDAY 4/14
Spring Sessions — Stacie Dread & Mystic of Broken
Down Guitars: The local duo will perform on the
outdoor stage or watch the stream on the Worthy
Facebook page; 6-8 p.m.; Worthy Brewing Company,
495 NE Bellevue Drive, Bend; go.evvnt.com/758324-0
Miller even calls himself this in a memora-
ble scene. It speaks to the idea that neither
camp trusts the other; the journalist is there
to be objective, the band wants “sanctimo-
nious stories about the genius of rock stars,”
as Bangs puts it.
I struggled with this in New York, too. I’m
the enemy! I can’t be a musician and be a
music journalist. How does that work?
In New York, it worked because I was in a
much bigger market. In Bend, I work for the
daily newspaper. That’s singular, daily news-
paper, not one of many.
I was not the only music journalist in Bend,
obviously, but I was high profile enough to
where I didn’t feel comfortable playing my
own music, in any capacity, when my job was
to write about everyone else’s music.
Turns out, a pandemic really changes
your perspective. Sometime in January, I
wrote my first complete song in more than
five years. And then, I wrote another. And
another, and another, and a bunch more.
And then I wrote an entire musical with
Alec Kerr, my college friend and fellow jour-
nalist at the Conway Daily Sun in North
Conway, New Hampshire.
If I have one regret about my time in
Bend, it’s that I didn’t share the noise that’s
in my head with you guys. I’d apologize,
but I think some of you might be grateful I
didn’t. (If you must hear it, you can search
for The Hearing Aides online.)
But maybe I won’t have to regret that ei-
ther. Due to the ongoing pandemic, I actu-
ally don’t know when I’ll leave Bend. And
I’m itching to play.
I hope to see live music soon. I hope to
see all my musical friends onstage, in person
again (crap, the enemy made friends). And I
hope to be on a stage again, at some point.
I hope.