Movin' On Up!

Yo, we're moving on up in the world. By June 1, 2008 we should be successfully settled in our cool new homestead in St. John's in North Portland.




We're definitely a little sad to be leavin' our great ol' hood in NoPo though - no more Fat Cobra, no more New Seasons and yo, hasta la vista to the Taco Cart. Sad. We've had many a good party on Ainsworth & Interstate too. As the folk at Fat Cobra might say: Fondling memories... sigh...

So, the good news is that this new pad we're moving into is pretty dang amazing. It's the old Columbia Sportswear warehouse that has been turned into some office spaces. Looks like there are some pretty interesting companies out there and of course our mates Burnside Distribution are coming along too. Our new address will be:


Cravedog, Inc.
Cathedral Park Place
Suite #284
6635 N. Baltimore St.
Portland, OR 97203



It's right by the Willamette River, so come by and bring your kayak.


On another note, the absolutely amazing PDX FILM FEST starts tonight. Gonna go check out the opening party and a documentary on avant-garde composer, singer-songwriter, cellist and disco producer Arthur Russell. Gonna be good. Check out the full schedule and read more about it here: www.peripheralproduce.com/pdx_fest/2008/

Here's what we listened to in the office today: Not WOXY!, Indie 103 in LA, some seriously crazy oldies from Radio Orenovscotia, David Holmes and some good ol' Primal Scream. Speaking of which, we leave you with the appropriately titled 'Movin' On Up" from the Scream right here courtesy of the Selective Service blog.

Until next time!
MF

Happy Monday

I saw MGMT at Doug Fir on Tuesday, Earth Day, actually. I was a little wary, due to a negative show review I read in the Portland Mercury (last week's "Once More With Feeling" column, if you care to check it out at www.portlandmercury.com). I must admit, it took me a little while to get into the set, perhaps because I was hoping a delirious and slightly freaked-out stage persona would reveal itself in the form of the frontperson, Andrew Vanwyngarden (pictured). 

There was no banter between songs, disappointingly, but the songs themselves were tight. They were also a bit without spontaneity, kind of canned (which is surprising, given their lush and freaky sound)...until the last song before the encore. I didn't catch the name of it (anyone who did, leave a comment!), but it was an at least 15-minute opus that called to mind Led Zeppelin, the Doors...and I don't remember what else, because my mind was pretty blown. It didn't seem like crappy noodling, either, it seemed like the first time during the set the band actually enjoyed themselves. At the end of the song, a dude up front in the audience handed Mr. Vanwyngarden a crystal, which was pretty cool. Mr. Vanwyngarden seemed truly appreciative. It was a very nice exchange to witness.

The next best part was during the encore, during their final song, "Kids."  The band passed out what seemed to be Doritos (I wasn't lucky enough to get any...but then again, I didn't trust that they weren't coated in Liquid Sunshine) to the audience, whilst singing the lovely and fitting lyrics, "enjoy yourself, take only what you need from them." There was a point at which the guitarist was strumming his guitar with the Doritos. Here's the song. It's so sweet. I borrowed it from musicunderfire.blogspot.com, which has a really cute Arbor Day 2008 mix. 

What we're listening to at officetoday: Patrick Wolf, Jamie Lidell, Andrew Bird, new Portishead, Sufjan Stevens, Panda Riot

Til we meet again~

AR

Crushing on Hot Chip

Hi Everyone!

Forgive me if I am gushing, but I am still on a high from the Hot Chip show that I caught on Wednesday night at the Crystal Ballroom here in Portland. I was totally blown away! I attended the show with bf Robert and our friend Lucas. From beginning to end, it was an amazing performance. The whole crowd was into it and I was able to feed my urge to dance. Literally, you don't understand, I am still sore from dancing.

If you have not heard of Hot Chip, go check them out. They hail from England and their most recent album "Made in the Dark" is amazing. Very cool to dance to and the beats are just super cool. 

All in all, it was a really cool week. Aside from the brown bottle flu (as Matt Gannon calls it), I feel great. "Lost" is back with new episodes and my first official concert experience in PDX was a thrilling success. Here is the video for Hot Chip's "Ready for the Floor". Have a great weekend!!

MC

Three pronged blog attack!

OK, trying to cover a lot of ground here today, so read onwards...

1. LONG LIVE THE JIM
Went to the Portland Timbers’ home season opener this last Thursday. We’re talking Soccer here – or if you’re anywhere else in the world, “Football.” Pretty kickin’ game with Portland beating Puerto Rico 1-O. It was Timber Jim Appreciation & Retirement night. Ol’ Jim is the crazy Timbers’ Lumberjack team mascot. I used to watch this fella back in the old NASL days when my family had season tix (Timbers 1975 to 1982). They used to play against legends like Pele, Georgio Chinaglia and Franz Beckenbauer, among others.

Jim wielded a chainsaw, marched around, scaled a massive telephone pole and led some awesome English like chants. Strangely entertaining.




Anyway, it was a semi-nostalgic night with him retiring and all and I thought I’d throw down an MP3 of the Timbers theme song ‘Green is the Color’ from back in the day courtesy of some of the Timbers Army. Long live Jim and “Go Timbers!”

2. DOIN' CRIME, DOIN' TIME!
Our charitably adventurous employee Alex Richardson went to jail last week. We were pretty bummed, but when we found out it wasn’t really jail we were relieved. She was raising funds for Muscular Dystrophy and she did an awesome job. Raised over $300 on very short notice! They took her to “jail”, where she needed to raise some $$ for “bail,” so to speak, so that’s what she did. Way to go Alex!


3. RECORD STORE DAY, YO!
Lastly, it was Record Store Day last weekend. I hope you all went out and bought some records and CDs. Who says CDs are fading in popularity anyway? Total baloney. Cravedog is making thousands of CDs every day for an absolute ton of artists. Have a look at what a couple of shoegazer mates had to say about record stores courtesy of recordstoreday.com...

Mark Gardener (Ride)
“God only knows what I would be doing now had it not been for the records that l have discovered and loved as a result of buying records and being turned on to new music from independent record stores. If we lose the independents then we lose a total culture of people who are aware that all the interesting bands and music start at this place and are fed by music lovers directly on a personal level rather than a sea of corporate mediocrity.”

Adam Franklin (Swervedriver)
"For me and a lot of people music itself is a visual thing, and browsing in a record store can be a multi-sensual experience; not only are you half listening to what's playing over the store's speakers and half earwigging on people's conversations or trying to make out what the girl with the headphones on at the listening post is listening to, but also album and CD sleeves are catching your eye along with the posters on the walls and the books on display. In other words it's a rather more gratifying experience than sitting at home on your computer clicking on the screen. Hey, you might even strike up a conversation with the girl with the headphones on! Support your local Indie Record Store!"

What we listened to today in the office: Far out psychedelic pop folk music from the B-Music record label. Check out this track from one of their artists, The Flower Traveling Band. The track is courtesy of the cool Scottish based blog Plain or Pan?
That’s all for today.

Thanks for reading/listening.
MF

Am I Nuts?

I think I'm sick today... I just got through all my emails and proofs. Graphics are relentless. I think I'm going nuts.

If you haven't seen this, you really should.

It looks like I'll be MCing an event down at the Ash Street Saloon on wednesday evening.  It is tagged "THE GREATEST SHOW OF THE NIGHT ON EARTH!!!" I was in a band once called Bohemian Onslaught. We broke up in March of last year.  This band has spawned three other groups: Don't and Triplet, Party Country, and The Golden Greats. They will all be playing wednesday night.  Cravedog just manufactured the Golden Greats release, "Great Moments in New Directions" a few months back.  So... Dance baby, and party all night!

Matt

Hi, how are you?

I am Alex. Here is today's Friday Celebration Picture. It is from the video game The Sims. 

Tonight Daniel Johnston will be playing at the Wonder Ballroom at 8 pm here in Portland. I will be in attendance, as well as Matt (Gannon, our graphic designer). I am so excited to see Mr. Johnston. I'm sure many of our fair readers have seen the film "The Devil and Daniel Johnston." I would highly recommend you take a trip to your local video store or Netflix account if you have not. Check out this song--it's he and Yo La Tengo (recorded via telephone!) doing Daniel's song "Speeding Motorcycle." I pulled this from www.boogiewoogieflu.blogspot.com, which is a cool record collector blog.

Speaking of Matt Gannon, he had a show of his own last night. His two bands Drats!!! (myspace.com/drats) and Lord Master (myspace.com/lordmasterpdx) played at Rotture. Some of our buddies over at Burnside Distribution went and had a great time. I was playing pool, and losing, unfortunately, so I did not make it. But Drats!!! always puts on a great show.

In other music news, we've been listening to the dopest new band from Brooklyn. They're called Chairlift, and here is their song "Evident Utencil (MGMT remix)". It's from the rad (and pink) blog www.schitzpopinov.blogspot.com.

Finally, MGMT is playing a sold-out show at Doug Fir in Portland on Tuesday, the 22nd. I have tickets and I am stoked.  MGMT's album "Oracular Spectacular" is unreal.  In fact, I'll save my poetic waxing for my next post, after I've seen them live and my mind has, presumably, been completely blown.

What are we listening to in the office: Natalie Portman's Shaved Head, Kylie Minogue, and The Go! Team.

Adios for now, and Happy Friday!

AR

Cheesetastic!!

Sooooo....

I was a little unsure and uninspired of what to write about for the blog. This was mostly due to the fact that one of my contact lenses fell out and my eyesight has been shot all day. Anyways, as we were passing a Taco Bell, Alex suggested that I write about the cheesy potatoes  aka " The Fiesta Potatoes" that I am currently obsessed with. Honestly, if you have not tried these, go now!! They will change your life. Im serious. This blog will still be here when you get back and I promise you that you will find it even more enjoyable than usual as you are scooping potatoes topped off with sour cream, cheese, and  3 packets of hot sauce ( my own addition) into your mouth while reading about Cravedog. You will thank me later.

So staying on the subject of cheese, My bf Robert offered to make me Macaroni and Cheese. No, not the type from the box, the home made kind. Please, I have my standards. 

Anyway, occasionally when bf Robert has a day off, he will offer to make me this heavenly dish. This has been happening for almost 2 years. When I got home, it was just as I expected. No carb fest in sight. Still after much pouting and multiple rolling of the eyes, word on the street is that it might happen sometime soon. Still, when it comes to homemade macaroni and cheese, do not toy with a man's emotions. You are asking for it!

Now for the bad cheese. I don't know if it is the fact that I am getting old but as I was working out last week, a really annoying teenybopper techno song came on the radio. I jokingly said to bf Robert, " Ugh who is this? Hannah Montana?" Lo and behold while checking out the top singles on Itunes a day later, there it was. It really was a song by Miley Cyrus. Don't get me wrong,  I have nothing against the girl. I imagine my nieces going crazy when the song comes on the radio, begging their mother to turn it up real loud.  As for their old cheese loving uncle, all he wants is to never hear that song again and for a big fat bowl of mac and cheese with a side of cheesy potatoes.

 

Now onto something that is not cheesy but very exciting.

Earlier this week, we got a chance to listen Ferron's new album "Boulder", which Cravedog helped press. This album is produced by the awesome team of Bitch of Bitch and Animal and JD Samson of Le Tigre. Here is a clip of Ferron and Bitch performing together. The song is called "Girl on a Road".

Till then, take heed of my words and rush over to Taco Bell. Chat with y'all later.

MC

A BELATED HELLO FROM TX!

So, Cravedog went to SXSW in Austin, Texas last month and had a blast. So much fun and so many adventures that it took this long to actually put some thoughts to paper - or should I say, to keyboard. Not gonna try and tell you about EVERYTHING, but just a few highlights.

First off, bands we saw and loved: DeVotchka, The Black Angels, The Helio Sequence, The Raveonettes, The Nightmarchers (ex Rocket From the Crypt), The Upsidedown, She & Him, Elf Power, Longwave, Akron/Family, Jenny Wolfe, Shout Out Louds, Scotland Barr, Supersuckers, The Bleedin' Bleedin's, My Brightest Diamond, Blitzen Trapper, Freddie Steady 5, The Radar Bros. - there were definitely a few more, but I can’t actually remember them right now.

Have to say that She & Him (pictured) were pretty unbelievable at the Merge Records showcase at The Parish. Our good mate Mike Coykendall plays guitar and keyboards in this band that features M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel (She & Him – get it?). I felt like I was spending an hour back in the 60’s listening to Ronnie Spector fronting The Zombies, The Beatles or even Ronnie’s band The Ronettes - nice countrified/psychedelic/poppy edge. She & Him’s debut album, of which Mike C engineered/mixed/played on, sounds like a total throwback to this era. Amazing production with two amazing voices. 100% Wonderful.

Another live show that stood out was The Upsidedown at the Dream Machine party at Jaime’s. (the margaritas at jaime’s = very yummy, very sexy). A little biased with The Upsidedown because my record label released their debut album, but they truly blew Jaime’s outdoor roof off with their psychedelic and dark-hearted brand of musical trickery. The Upsidedown play a cover of Spaceman 3’s ‘Losing Touch’ and they honestly own it. Seriously, it sounds better than Spaceman 3 could have ever played it. My opinion. The Upsidedown played more shows down at SXSW than probably any other band this year. I think it was like 8 or 9 shows or something. Crazy.

The other live show that stood out for yours truly was The Helio Sequence at the Under The Radar party (pictured). A Portland band with the loudest and most surreal sounds ever to come from only two people. They’ve got the melody to go with it too. I sat next to a fella named Ray Weikel on my connecting flight from PDX to San Jose on the way down to TX. Ray just happens to be the father of Benjamin from Helio. Great guy – had a pretty interesting conversation about the future of music/downloads/etc. with him. Ray wasn’t even going to SXSW – he was on his way to his co’s Silicone Valley HQ in San Jose. Small world – Ray also knows more about the music industry than probably anyone I met during SXSW. Go get the new Helio album. It’s really good. T’was also one of the albums Todd just got with his Jackpot gift cert we gave him for his b-day last week. Happy B-day month Todd!

Speaking of airplane adventures – I coincidentally sat next to Lou from Chores and A Weather fame on the way back to Portland. Another top notch gent that I was hoping to catch up with down in Texas, but completely missed. Funny how these things work out. I mean, out of the 100 or so people on the plane, he was seated right next to me. Cravedog manufactured Chores' album a few months back. Chores also played our summer warehouse party last year. Very good! Not to mention that the other band he’s in, A Weather, is being romantically stalked by the press and radio right now.

OK, that’s all from Texas. Until next year! In the meantime, this is what we’re listening to in the office today: KEXP, songs from the new Black Angels album, Doves, Yeasayer. The Portland Cello Project - fresh off the presses; we just manufactured their CDs. Amazing - a who's who of Portland musicians incl. Adam from Weinland, Gideon Freudmann, Laura Gibson, Loch Lomand, Nick Jania, among others. Go buy this CD. We all love it. They do a cover of Britney's song Toxic that blows Ms. Spears away. We also listened to The Dry County Crooks - another CD we just pressed. Produced by Jeremy Wilson. Pretty kick a rock n' roll, ala The Clash and Social D.

MF


The Upsidedown: Airplane Eyes

Spring is Here!!

Spring has finally arrived here in Portland, yet that pesky rain still lingers. Still, there are lots of new things happening here at Cravedog that we are all really excited about. 

First things first, this is our first blog. Yes, it's true! We have decided to join the blogging world and in doing so are hoping to keep everyone updated on what is going on in our world. We hope to keep you posted on our current projects, music news, and anything else we find interesting.

 At the same time, we want to know what is going on with you. What would you like to see? What bands do you think are hot? What is your favorite movie?  We want feedback!!

One thing we want you to check out is our specials page on our website. Lots of cool deals and promotions going on!! You can even link onto our website from here.

Well that is all for now. We will be updating our blog posts quite frequently so please come and check it out. Lots of big news coming!! Thank you and catch y'all later!!!

-MC