Cherry City Music Festival THIS WEEKEND!!

Well, it seems another year has pasted and if you are like me you have been out of the loop regarding all things Salem and Music. Luckily it is already that time of the year again. The one local festival that compiles a large chunk of Salem's local talent and puts it all in one jam packed weekend!

Yep, Cherry City Music Festival is upon us. It is now time to set aside the chores and busy work to go out and experience the ever evolving Music life here in Salem. Without further a due...

Here is the line up through out town this weekend:

2012 Schedule

Papa G’s Blacklight Bar
4/5/
7p-9th Step
8p-Jesse Tumalo
9p-The Squirmin Hermans

10p-
4/6
7p-Abadon
8p-The Rise & The Fall
9p-Security In Numbers
10p-The Jesus Rehab
4/7
7p-Skatterbomb
8p-At Dusk
9p-Hip Hop Show

Magoo’s
4/5
9p-The Radio Giants
10p-The Blue Bonics
4/6
9p-The Brothers Bror
10p-The Gusto Brothers
4/7
8p-The Oregon Valley Boys
9p-The Rub Ups
10p-Goldfire

Brown’s Towne Lounge
4/5
8p-Foxtrot
9p-Manic
4/7
8p-Vintage RnR
9p-Kopath Bear

Governor’s Cup

4/6 Redwood Son

Venti’s Cafe (Downtown)
4/5
8p-Carissa Bones
9p-BobbiLynn Forbus

4/6
9p-The Weather Machine
10-Michael Hamlin Taylor

4/7/
8p-His Name Shall Breathe
9p-Travis Nutsch

ƒ/stop Fitzgerald’s
4/5
9p-Kalaloch

4/6 Hatty Birthday

4/7
9p-Higgans and Merryweather
10p-Succulent Dish

Boon’s Treasury
4/5/
9p-Michael Dean Damron
4/6/
9p-Bethany Randall & Guests
4/7
9p-The Student Loan

Capitol Mall (Papa G’s Back Up)
4/7
Noon-5p. Mob Royalle Hosts Hip Hop at the Capitol Mall
w/Charles Wayne, Devitto P, KRYPTiC, D-Voo, DJ Roz.

The Gilgamesh Lounge
4/5
8p-Kory Quinn & The Comrades

4/6 ($5)
8p-Sad Face
9p-Symmetry/Symmetry

4/7
8p-The Folly
9p-Jettison Bend

The Triangle
4/5
9p-Outerbanks
4/6
9p-TKO Project
4/7
9p-Kalico
10p-Red Hook Gypsy

CCTV Live Broadcast
4/5
6p-The Faux
7p-Foxtrot
8p-Mayflies in April

4/6
6p-His Name Shall Breathe
7p-Manic
8p-Kopath Bear

4/7
12p-Gobel Warming
1p-The Folly
2p-The Vultures
3 Juan and Javier

Clockworks
4/5
7p-The Faux
8p-Chemical Smile

4/6
7p-ccmf Open Mic

4/7
7p-Rich McCloud
8p-Mayflies in April

Christo’s Lounge
4/6
9p-Cherry City Deadbeats, Natalie Laswell and Marc Short acoustic

4/7 ($7)
9p-Kris Orlowski

Cascade Baking Company
4/7
11:30a Jazz Trio

Your Place
4/6
9p-Full Force
4/7
9p-Full Force

*Highlighted in Red are shows I recommend checking out

Don't take my word for it. check as many shows as you can and let me know who you thought was worth a second mention.

Well, what are you waiting for start preparing your plan of attack, then get out there and experience it all!!

- Alva

Saturday Night Live

This weekend, I decided, would be spent at home with the family, to do family things and to relax. I did, however, make an exception for one event in Salem Saturday night. Rishloo was finishing up their tour in Salem and choose Symmetry/Symmetry to celebrate with at the IKE Box . So after little deliberation I drove over to catch Symmetry/Symmetry's set.

I walked into a coffee house filled with some of Salem's best dressed Hipsters and the occassional goth/metal kid, Symmetry/Symmetry had already taken the stage for sound check. There was very little preparation and then they started.
-The set began with an ambient intro accompanying Daniel Jones' long drawn, uniquely melodic vocals. It was a good precursor for the songs to follow. The show moved seamlessly from song to song.
-Andrew Quackenbush's drumming was careful and delicately placed. His technique was enjoyable and added a great dimension to the bands over all aesthetic.
-Keys and electronic rhythms were almost constantly present.
-Guitar work was meaningful, adding strong accents and punctuations to every song. Guitarist Joel Uram's vocals complemented, harmonized and occassionally lead various tunes throughout. There was lots of movement around the stage as Joel and Daniel swapped instruments for various songs.
-Mark Cleaver the newest member(but by no means, a rookie) brought light, simplistic bass lines that added well to Symmetry/Symmetry's already established sound.

All in all, the songs almost forces you to move your body, close your eyes and take it all in. Symmetry/Symmetry is a group of equally talented musicians blending their creative takes on all things current in indie. Reminescent of Menomena, it was a winning performance through and through.

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Special "Halloween/Fall in Salem" Blog

Need somewhere to go to feel like a "halloweenie"? Thanks to Extreme Makeover, you do now! Along with brand new dorm rooms, Extreme Makeover did a complete over haul of our "Nightmare Factory" with the aid of legendary spookster Rob Zombie.

This will be the attraction of the season in my opinion. It already was one of the best "haunted houses" in Salem, but now with House of a Thousand Corpses creator, Rob Zombie, on the scene it is the place to be for a good scare.

Not into wetting your pants?

Just north of Salem is the age old tradition of the Pumkin Patch. Check out Bauman Farms! With hay rides, Hot cocoa, corn mazes, and a kid zone, this is where you want to be if you have a larger family looking to get out the house and enjoy some fall time merriment. Don't be lead astray by the over the top animated website, this place has the right stuff.

And let's not forget the Trick or Treating. My picks for Salem's hottest trick or treating spots this year:

Chapman Hill in West Salem
D St., east of Downtown
Inside North Salem High School

So go and haunt the streets of Salem this fall because there is lots to see. Maybe you can let me know of any sweet treats you discover while out and about.

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Vintage Clothing Giveaway

Yup, you heard right! And, boy, did I luck out yesterday when I accidentally stumbled into this amazing event.

I stopped into the Coffee House Cafe (to drop off flyers for a show my band will be playing this Saturday) and noticed they had just put out the chalk sign and were writting on it. I paid no mind. When I was finished hanging up the flyer I discovered they had opened up what seemed like an old ballet room in the back and dumped on the floor thousands of random vintage clothes/items in rows... unfolded, unorganized, stacks of clothes and hardly a soul around. I went to the girl who was writing "Vintage Clothes Giveaway" on the chalk sign and asked if this could be true, and she answered me, "Yep, we get boxes and boxes of overstock vintage clothes from an online company and so we give 'em away, once a year, to lighten the load." I walked back in and went to town! Minutes after the sign was complete people started swarming in with disbelief. I snagged: one sweet belt, two vintage sweatshirts, lined navy blue windbreaker, a Members Only jacket, and a pair of tweed slacks... for FREE! It was brilliant. and so I say this, Thank you Salem and thank you Coffee House Cafe for making my fall/winter clothing collection a whole lot cooler.

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Middle of the Road

On a small city block between High and Liberty on Chemeketa, every Wednesday From May to October, is a little treasure dubbed Wednesday Market.

White tents line the street and the smell of fresh cooked meats rise up like a smoke signal calling locals in. This is one of our many treasures. Lucky for me, I work just down the street and very often find the time to walk up and down the aisles of Wednesday Market to say "Hi" to the regular vendors and greet the new ones. Vendors with fresh meats, locally grown eggs, and family farm vegetables along with local florists and jewelers, make this a great place to go on my break to clear my mind and take me away from it all.



I would say, in most situations, that this place lacks in variety and could use some expansion. But truly, I feel Wednesday Market is just right. The perfect fit for the middle of the work week, in the middle of the city, during the middle of my day.

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This Space Vacant

I've been watching as "The Space", Salem's iconic music venue, has struggled to stay afloat since it's birth. Noise complaints were hitting The Space and hitting it hard. So it came as no suprise to me when I read that The Space had closed down.

For over two years, The Space and Salem's Music Scene were one in the same. Massive Moth, a band Doug Hoffman (owner of The Space) had established in Salem, was well know, well respected, and rightfully so. In my mind Doug, along with a small handful of others, is Salem's musical front-runner. So when The Space lost the battle with it's neighbors and had to shut down, there was a literal silence in Salem. There has been a Facebook page dedicated to the revival of The Space already built titled "Save The Space" as well as others waiting on the call from Doug himself who had sent a email stating that he has his eye on downtown Salem for a new potential location.

The outlook on music life in Salem is not bleek, however. New places like Clockworks and Wasteland are growing in popularity and bands are coming out and making a splash. The battle of The Space is viewed by many as a crippling blow, but we will most certainly press on.

Best of luck Doug,
Alva

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For more about Doug's band Massive Moth visit: Massive Moth's Profile

One Year Strong

Ever since moving down to Salem one year ago, I have been on the hunt. Searching for Salem's music/art community. I've prowled the streets looking for a tune, unique and alluring, that Salem claims as it's own. I have found that through the cracks of Salem's deep concrete walls and streets, oozes something vibrant and pulsing, asking kindly to be seen, heard, embraced. I have been scratching at the walls in a desperate attempt to uncover what it is. I have seen shades here and there in places like the Wednesday and Saturday market, it's hue a cold chilled breathe beating out of local music venues like the Ike Box, Clockworks, and The Space.

I have designed this Blog, really, just to trace my thoughts back to one place, but also to see if it will maybe blossom and take Salem's music/art scene with it into something thriving and alive, something we can gladly embrace and call our own.

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