Raf Spielman (Eggy Records, The Woolen Men) is one of our favorite people in Portland music. We were thrilled when he agreed to make his more experimental project, The Polyps, a part of our May 2011 event.
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Following years of work in secret, it's time for Banana Stand's public debut. But, we need your help!
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The Angry Orts - Live from the Banana Stand.
The Angry Orts raised the temperatures of both our crowd and our basement when they brought their garage pop to the 'Stand in late-November last year -- even before they played their "fast, sexy shit," as frontwoman Sara Hernandez noted.
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Comprised of Quinn Mulligan on guitar and vocals, along with Evan Hailstone and Dane Brist on drums, Fanno Creek is a magic trio of talent and adorableness. Seriously, they're like the music equivilant of fucking unicorns. And by that, we mean unicorns who are fucking. So, get ready to be super gay about it, bronies.
How long has the band been together in its current form? How did it come together?
Evan Hailstone: The band's been together in it's current form since late 2009 but it really started a bit earlier than that, in 2007. Quinn and I had been in a blues based rock band in high school which carried on through our first two years of college -- I played rhythm guitar and he played lead, but we rarely sang, and when we did it was backup. The band was slowing down and Quinn began writing, singing, and recording his own songs which were very stripped down and honest, and it turned out he had a great voice. Hearing those songs inspired me to try writing and singing a few songs myself and a short while after that we started playing together. We would basically get together after work to drink and smoke and unwind and we would end up practicing songs for hours. Our first gigs were open mics and house parties in Forest Grove, where we would both play acoustic guitars and scream all of the lyrics -- it was all a very liberating thing and we didn't really care where it was going, it was just fun and it felt right. It was a couple years later in 2009, when Dane joined as our drummer, and everything just came together; he really helped shape our songs a lot and brought an amazing energy to the table.
Read more »![Video: “Grizzly Bear” [Live] by Animal Eyes](/media/ed_cache/84764692e1fc89884755fb5a225c2b66cc6bfbb3.jpg)
We're pretty fucking lucky to be in the same neighborhood as bands like Red Fang and Typhoon, because we can hear them practice new material on the way to get burritos, but we're even more amazed that places like PALS Clubhouse and Ghost House are right around the corner. Both homes are full of some of the best people we've ever met, and we consider them to be, dare we say it, friends. We've got a lot of things planned for this summer, so watch for news. Until then, please enjoy a music video for "Grizzy Bear" [Live from The Banana Stand] that we're releasing in collaboration with Ghost House. (Click on through to see the video.)
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We first heard of The No Tomorrow Boys while hanging out with some super rad music foik over at the house of And And And drummer Bim. Fellow drummer Jimmy seemed like a rad dude, but we had no idea that the band was so incredible. Dirty rock & roll is one way to describe the group's sound. Authentic, but out of time. The trio of Danny Dodge, Jimmy Beat, and Matt Mayhem will clock you in the face, and then buy you a shot to celebrate. The guys answered some questions over email as they prepare to come in for a live recording later this month; we can only assume they were wearing leather jackets while doing so.
How long has the band been together in its current form? How did it come together?
Danny Dodge: We've been together for just about a year. Jim and I go back about a year and a half. I had a crude formation of this band while in Seattle, but they weren't a good fit, so I brought all the songs I wrote to Portland and started on a new line-up. That's when I met Jimmy.
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A relatively new band, Alaskan transplants Animal Eyes have quickly became one of most popular independent live acts in Portland. Comprised of a varierty of instruments, some not usually found in a standard rock and roll band, members Tyler, Sam, Figley, Have, and Colin will no doubt continue to win over listeners with their blend of psychedelic, folk, jazz, blues grass, and pop. Whatever you genre you care to call their tunes, Animals Eyes is assurdedly Pacific Northwest Rock. We spoke to Tyler about the band in preperation of their secret live recording with us in March.
How long has the band been together in its current form? How did it come together?
We've been together almost a year now. Colin (bass player) moved down first, expecting to get an English degree, and then we all came down for different reasons. But all with music in mind.
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They had me at "the name of this song is 'I'm Your Dad.'"
Booked following an epic PALS Clubhouse event, at which the force of their rocking spurred the fighting-est mosh pit I've ever seen at a house show (1), we knew we were in for a good set at our October 21st, 2011 secret event. We were not disappointed. Sons of Huns - Peter Hughes (guitar and vocals), Shoki Tanabe (bass and vocals) and Ryan Northrop (drums) - delivered blistering, face-melting rock that shook the 'Stand and its audience for nearly an hour. Our recordings of their performance then benefited from a great mixing and mastering job by Pat Kearns and Mark Brachmann at PermaPress Recording. The resulting live record is an excellent document of one of our favorite up-and-coming bands, and one which we're proud to maintain in our archive and make available to you for the low-low price of pay-what-you-want.
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DoublePlusGood is known for playing some of the best dance music in the city of Portland, and for good reason. While many dance acts heavily rely on only electronic beats and effects, the power of DoublePlusGood comes from vocalist Erik Carlson and drummer Andy Nelson. The band has been performing for years, but Carlson was a fearless performer before starting DoublePlusGood as well in places like Eugene. We're supremely excited to host DoublePlusGood at The Banana Stand, and in preperation for the secrete recording event, Carlson was kind enough to answer some questions via email.
How long as the band been together in its current form? How did it come together?
DoublePlusGood the band has been together in its current form for almost three years. I was playing solo for about three years before. Before our release show I had another drummer who had to quit suddenly due to jobs and other bands. Andy stepped in, and has been playing ever since.
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We're back with another Top 10 post, and this one is pretty much a dick move, bro. We asked the random people who pass through the Banana Stand which bands they assume are probably really good, but for one reason or another they just can't seem to give two shits about.
We'll attempt to determine just why the bands on this list are so fucking unimpressive to the people that hang out with us.
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Talkative - Live from the Banana Stand is our first release of the 2012, and can be downloaded in its entirety for pay-what-you-want on January 10, 2012. We're very proud to start off what we know will be an incredible year with a such a talented up-and-coming band. We hope you enjoy. Be sure to look back here every couple weeks for more album releases.
We didn't know what to think once we realized how many different sounds we needed to record when Talkative started the night on May 28th, 2011. The band had driven up to Portland and were playing along side the relatively standard three-piece group The Polyps, and the drum and guitar duo known as The Blast Majesty. Luckily, the added effects and time taken to set up all of the different microphones, direct-input signals, guitars, and drums were well worth the effort as Talkative easily became one our favorite recordings from the year.
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