Author. Educator. Musician.
Let’s get something clear right off: Josh Ritter is the best singer/songwriter on the scene these days. Best is a slippery term, but I stand behind my diction. Argue as you probably should with such a bold statement, Ritter is the man who gave us “The Temptation of Adam” (Historical Conquests) and “The Curse” (So …
Continue reading “Album Review: The Beast in its Tracks, Josh Ritter”
This is a question I’ve been asking myself and fellow musicians for years. I’ve heard emphatic yes’s from musicians who claim it gives their talents an enthusiastic crowd they might not otherwise have access to. I’ve also witnessed colossal rants from song-writers who demand that the tyranny of the Clash be ended because it waters …
Continue reading “Is the Clash of the Titans Good for the Portland Music Scene?”
Confession: I don’t have the stomach for jam bands anymore. Growing up and going to college outside of Burlington, Vermont makes this a hard thing to confess. I gave up smoking weed before leaving VT for Maine, so that might have something to do with it. Mostly, though, my musical palate has changed. I care …
Continue reading “Concert Review: Trey Anastasio Band at the State Theater, Portland (1.20.13)”
In the summer of 2007 on a campus in the Bread Loaf Wilderness in Ripton, Vermont, I inadvertently incited an argument between two writers. While discussing Edwidge Danticat’s The Dew Breaker in a fiction writing workshop run by the patient and at times clairvoyant Patricia Powell she noted that Danticat’s book was a novel that …
Continue reading “What the Concept Album Can Teach Short Story Writers”
The Coloradas, by The Coloradas Released December 2011 We are in a full-on Folk/Bluegrass Renaissance. From internationally successful acts like the Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons to the glut of talented Americana bands here in the Portland area, it’s clear that this Americana movement is running at full tilt. Add to this revival The …
DAVE PATTERSON 