Eleven heavy-rock bands are now vying for A $10,000 PRIZE being offered up by 106.3 THE BONE, the local radio station where you normally hear classic rock from the '70s, with a sprinkling of Alice in Chains and modern hard rock. You can go towww.boneradio.com and vote for one of the 11 bands who've already been included in the ROCKME PROJECT, which is a compilation album with a total of 15 songs by those bands. The top three vote-getters will play a Bone holiday show in December. The winner of that rock-off-of-sorts will be given $10,000. That's not bad scratch if you can get it. We've got DEAD SEASON as favorites, with LOKI, BIG COFFIN HUNTERS, and CIVIL DISTURBANCE also looking strong.
Congratulations to SPARKS THE RESCUE, who've won a pretty big-deal contest sponsored by MTV and a shampoo company. That puts the video for "Autumn" on MTV (we're not sure when or where, exactly, since they don't actually play videos on MTV, but MTV says, they'll "be sure to let you know"), and gets the boys invites to something called the WOODIE AWARDS, of which we've never previously heard. Also, their winners-write up refers to them as Portland's "best-kept secret." Maybe they called people up in Oregon? Seems like they're known pretty well in these parts.
STATION 85 will be releasing an EP, Mr. Automatic, with a show at the Empire, October 23. A follow up to their full-length from 2007, subFM, the project began with 10 tracks and an eye toward home recording. It finished up as five tracks supported by help from JONATHAN WYMAN. A jammy, improvisational kind of band, Station 85 promise this disc is more tightly focused and polished than anything they've done in the past.
Portland ex-pat JEFF BEAM has a new record out, Portraits of Poor Traits, and he wants to give it to you. Check out www.myspace.com/jeffbeamrocks and you'll likely find a link to a free download. It features NAYTHEN WILSON on horns and sometime Rustic Overtone LAUREN HASTINGS on violins.
PETE WITHAM and the COZMIK ZOMBIES will release the brand-new Full Tilt with a show at the Empire, October 30. Produced by HAAKON KALLWEIT, who also lends his talents on bass, it's a rootsy, rockabilly stomp that features Witham, who played lead guitar for SPOOKIE DALY PRIDE for a couple years, drummer PER HANSON, rhythm guitar man STEVE DUNPHY, and knob-turning by JONATHAN WYMAN.
