E*Rock

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And I never hesitate to...nevermind Holocene has Ratatat a week from today (edit: less than a week!). This is possibly the best show so far this month in the PDX. Info: Ratatat E*E*Rock - [Live] DJ Hot Air Balloon In lieu of the series of exclamation points which could just as easily serve as notice about this show, we'll try to contain [...]

Nine Inch Nilina posted a photo:

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Welcome the sexxxy Panther duo back to the USofA tonight, as they rock Backspace (along with Copy and DJ Hostile Tapeover). The dudes just returned from a tour of Japan (the above photo is proof of that), and after the show they will make the audience sit Indian style on the floor in a semicircle as they regale everyone with tales about all the crazy shit you can get from vending machines. God, I love Japan.

MP3:
Panther - Diamonds, Violence (E*E*Rock Remix)

Ambient music is a lot of things for a lot of different people: A bedtime treat for indie rockers, fodder for art installations, a refuge for otherwise nonmusicians to dabble in making their own music. To E*E*Rock, from the sound of "Exexpat," ambient music is an opportunity to play with soundscapes and mood music, moving [...]

Perhaps the craziest thing that has yet or will ever happen in Portland (until the big earthquake comes, at least) is happening this Saturday...and Sunday at Hippodrome (315 SE 3rd, between Oak and Pine). To mark the release of Strategy's Music for Lamping and the Ambient Not Not Ambient compilation (both on E*E*Rock's Audio Dregs label), the venue will host members of (really deep breath) members of "Strategy, White Rainbow, Valet, Jackie-O Motherfucker, Grouper, Fontanelle, Yellow Swans, Cexfux, Panther, Plants, Nice Nice, Rob Walmart, Argumentix, E*E*Rock, Watery Graves, (plus 45 bands TBA)." So, you know, pretty much every Portland musician who has ever touched a keyboard and/or grown a beard. From 5 pm Saturday to 5 pm Sunday, your brain best be ready to melt. E*E*Rock, the man behind Audio Dregs and much fabulous artwork, made this promotional video for the event: 24 Hour Concert & Vibe Zone_May 03, 2008! from Audio Dregs Recordings on Vimeo. At his blog, E*E*Rock (who uses the word "vibe" more than the anyone ever) also notes that he and Adam Forkner, the man behind White Rainbow, had just "picked up supplies to build a 12 foot geodesic dome in the space as well." Serious. If Ornette Coleman was still in town he'd be all over this thing. Now, if you're gonna enter the Hippodrome's magic dome, you best prepare. Other than drugs (and you don't really need drugs?crazy ambient and experimental jam music + audio/visual effects + a 12-foot geodesic dome is pretty much drugs in itself), water and Emergen-c (that's a drug) wil...

You want to Keep Portland Weird? You got it, buddy. Fresh on the heels of E*E*Rock and White Rainbow's 24-hour Vibe Zone party, the St. Johns No.Fest sent out a press release earlier this week that?while somewhat difficult to navigate?got our experimental music motors running and our experimental music tastebuds tingling, as well as our [...]

It's not a stretch to call this new E*E*Rock-directed Panther video "highly-anticipated," as even Billboard magazine and Reuters had questions regarding how the director and artist would outdo Panther's previous video (the Whitey-directed cardboard-themed "You Don't Want Your Nails Done"). Panther's Charlie Salas-Humeras (weird to have to say that, but Panther is a two-piece now) made the smart move and told Billboard that another hit video "would be nice, but I'm not concerned." And that, my friends, is how Portland rolls. It's nice to have hit singles, elaborate videos and GRAMMY awards for best packaging (I'm still bitter), but whatevs. Here's the new video: See? It's nice. A nice, fun video with cool art (presumably hand-drawn by E*E*Rock). Maybe it won't burn up the MTV2 rotation, but it's nice. And I'd argue it's a more interesting song than "You Don't Want Your Nails Done," which helps keep the ol' attention. "Violence, Diamonds" reminds me of Squeeze. And I love Squeeze. I bet Salas-Humeras could KILL "Tempted" at karaoke. The folks over at MTV2s Subterranean blog (where this video premiered) had this to say about Panther and Portland: Are you already aware that every good indie rock video being made today comes straight out of Portland? We did a quick tally in our head and Portland has taken over Seattle and NYC but is still trailing behind London, where they spend lots of money on all kinds of insane stuff. London spends like Kanye when it comes to music videos. But London's all "oooh, I'm London!" while Portland's like...