Category Archives: Blog

What’s happening at Aural Pleasure

8.1.14: Wild and Scenic | Roman Tick | Fringe Class

wasrt8-1-14FRIDAY, AUGUST 1st

doors @ 8PM, music @ 9PM 
$5 at the door

text LEVEL B to 24587 for updates & giveaways

http://wildandscenicband.com/
http://romantick.bandcamp.com/
http://fringeclass.bandcamp.com/

 

Roman Tick:

The real mRoman Tickagic is that there’s room for everyone in Roman Tick, band members and listeners alike. Each track offers a taste of variety, from spirited keyboards to jazzy bass lines, without sounding fussy or manufactured. OPB Music’s Arya Imig writes, “With wiry guitar lines and thrusting synth hooks and rhythms, Roman Tick wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack of a classic 80’s John Hughes film. Through their lyrics they communicate both confidence and fragility because let’s face it, sometimes that’s all we have.” The convergence of the band members’ diverse backgrounds – classical piano and heavy distortion and cigarette stained vocals – creates much more than a hollow gesture to the past. Instead, with Roman Tick there is a refreshing element of a band making music for the simple pleasure of the journey, and the invitation to join is extended to everyone. Music> http://www.romantickmusic.com/index.html

 

Wild and Scenic:

wildandscenicWild and Scenic formed in October 2012 in Portland, Oregon.

Members Thomas Prather and Cort Corino have been performing together since 2003 and have been members of the bands PDEX and Alien Funk Squad as drummer and bass player, respectively. In fall 2008, Thomas shifted his focus from drumming to playing guitar and writing original music. Cort soon joined and the makings of Wild and Scenic began.

Several years passed by while life played it’s course, but in the fall of 2012 Cort, having just moved back to Portland, and Thomas again began writing together and this time meant it to be serious. Ethan Novikoff auditioned for the new project one month later and was hired on the spot.

As song writing progressed through winter 2012 and on into 2013, the trio’s sound began to take shape….

Wild and Scenic released their first demo, Crosstides EP, on April 29th, 2014.

7.12.14: Hustle & Drone, Daniel Rafn, Roman Tick

hddrrt7-12-14

Up and coming side project of former Portugal. The Man member, Ryan Neighbors joins with another Salem/ Portland electronic songster, Daniel Rafn and Salem buzz band- Roman Tick for a nonstop night of big sounds and art rock dance songs!

 

 

 

 

Hustle and Drone:Hustle and Drone

Blending synthesizers, heavy bass, and intricate harmonies into well crafted pop songs with a strong emphasis on a great live show. The band formed in early 2012, released an EP later that year, toured Europe in March of 2013, and has been hard at work finishing a full-length record titled ‘Holy Land’.

Music> http://hustleanddrone.bandcamp.com/

 

Daniel Rafn:

danielrafnDaniel Rafn was born and raised in Salem, Ore. and grew up within a tight-knit community of artists and musicians, including childhood friends Rocky and Eric of Wampire, who were in the art pop quartet Root Villa with Daniel a few years back. While also influenced by 1980s synth pop, Daniel finds equal inspiration in entities as disparate as Chopin and Drake. Daniel’s full live band has reverted for now back to a solo format, performing live using voice and sampler. He has released two albums under the former moniker D.S.R. (“Vocals,” 2005 and “The Wayfarer,” 2009). His 2013 album, “Now The Branches Are Coming Into Leaf,” continues his earnest exploration of masculine/feminine dynamics, romantic love, and the mysteries of the natural world. Music> http://danielrafn.com/

 

Roman Tick:

Roman TickThe real magic is that there’s room for everyone in Roman Tick, band members and listeners alike. Each track offers a taste of variety, from spirited keyboards to jazzy bass lines, without sounding fussy or manufactured. OPB Music’s Arya Imig writes, “With wiry guitar lines and thrusting synth hooks and rhythms, Roman Tick wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack of a classic 80’s John Hughes film. Through their lyrics they communicate both confidence and fragility because let’s face it, sometimes that’s all we have.” The convergence of the band members’ diverse backgrounds – classical piano and heavy distortion and cigarette stained vocals – creates much more than a hollow gesture to the past. Instead, with Roman Tick there is a refreshing element of a band making music for the simple pleasure of the journey, and the invitation to join is extended to everyone. Music> http://www.romantickmusic.com/index.html

6.21.14: Bonafide | Superchurch | A Collective Subconscious

10428040_335528733261439_1477985239563493850_nSATURDAY, JUNE 21st
Doors at 7PM, Music at 8PM
$7 in advance/$9 at the door
ALL AGES & BAR with I.D.

text LEVELB to 24587 to receive text alerts!

A COLLECTIVE SUBCONSCIOUS
(ACS) is an instrumental post-rock band from Portland, Oregon. Having been compared to musical acts such as Mogwai, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Jakob, Tool, and Isis, A Collective Subconscious bring their own unique style of vast, atmospheric, heavy, and melodic instrumental post-rock. On stage, ACS delivers an intriguing array of sound and live video that’s complimented with themes of social commentary, nature, industrialism, and the abstract.

https://www.facebook.com/acollectivesubconscious
http://www.reverbnation.com/acollectivesubconscious
http://acollectivesubconscious.bandcamp.com/

BONAFIDE
A band spanning generations and sonic landscapes. Bonafide is made up of the father and son rhythm section of Andrew and Scott Quackenbush, playing lead guitar and co-writing the tunes is Adam DeBates and rounding out the quartet is Elvicious Cash on lead vox and rhythm guitar. They’re keeping the dream of the 90’s alive in song, and flannel.

https://www.facebook.com/bonafideband

SUPERCHURCH

A three-piece band from Salem with
Derek Vaslev – Guitar/VOX
Jordan Dent – Bass/VOX
Trask Schulte – Drums/VOX

https://www.facebook.com/pages/SUPERCHURCH/688420714548391

6.20.14: Lemhouse and the Sublimities | The Schumann Frequencies | Bubble Cats

10447530_335523986595247_5973303424410901762_n
FRIDAY, JUNE 20th
Doors at 7PM, Music at 8PM
$7 in advance/$9 at the door
ALL AGES & BAR with I.D.

text LEVELB to 24587 to receive text alerts!

MARK LEMHOUSE
Genre-defying, Handy-nominated explorer of Americana, Blues, and any other roots music style that strikes his fancy, Lemhouse has a distinctly contemporary songwriting voice filtering the emotion of Hank Williams Sr. through the attitude of Tom Waits.

http://marklemhouse.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-american-yard-sale

THE SCHUMANN FREQUENCIES
Melodic fuzz-laden indie brilliance that will leave you swerving to inspired tunes and staring at your laces with a smile. Fine products of Chicago, Maine, and Oregon vintage underground roots that are bound to spark nostalgia.

https://www.facebook.com/theschumannfrequencies/app_6452028673

BUBBLE CATS
Hiss’ “Forever Alone” examines the dilemma of a lovesick Medusa with haunting guitar effects during the verse, à la early Pixies, then buckles into a ’70s chorus brimming with spot-on harmonies. “Safe Word,” an S&M fantasy tune from Purr, is a busy swing number bustling with peppy drums, jazzy guitars, and trumpets. On both songs, the band showcases their technical dexterity, which is one of Bubble Cats’ more immediately notable attributes.

“I just like playing badass shit,” says Riggs. “Back to not being perceived as a joke band, you walk this line. I don’t want people to be depressed. I want to play fun music for people to listen to.” -Ryan J. Prado at Portland Mercury

http://bubblecats.tumblr.com/

6.13.14: INFLIGHT BOOKING PRESENTS YEARS, PONY VILLAGE, ORCHARDS, and ART HOUSE MARQUEE

Who: Years (Salem Progressive Rock), Pony Village (Portland Melodic-Mellow Rock), Orchards (Salem Layered Dark Rock), and Art House Marquee (Salem Emo/Punk Rock)

What: A Live Concert Showcase!

Where: Level B Theater Pub – 445 High Street NE Salem, OR 97302

WhenFriday June 13th. Doors at 7pm – Show begins at 8pm

$3 Door charge, with Presale at Ranch Records @ $5

Andy Blankenheim’s In Flight Booking presents a diverse night of music from Salem Emo rock by Art House Marquee, Portland’s Country-tinged Indie band Pony Village, Salem Progressive Dynamos Years, and Darkwave band Orchards. Following is a Link To Andy’s FB Event:

 >>> https://www.facebook.com/events/1406274996317790/

Review by Jake Ten Pas, a Portland Freelance Writer

Pony Village is the name of a mall outside North Bend. It’s also the name of a band from Portland.

On the surface, these two facts have very little to do with each other. While the mall sells trinkets and knickknacks, the group peddles moody rock music featuring hushed vocals, shifting arrangements, crisp drums and subtle uses of guitar effects.

But the name isn’t completely tongue-in-cheek. Dig a little deeper, and connections emerge.

“A lot of the lyrics Ryan writes deal with memories and things from his past, things from his youth, things he went through,” drummer Jonah Nolde says of Pony Villagebandmate Ryan Barber (guitar, lead vocals), who grew up in the North Bend area north of Coos Bay. “It’s definitely his ideas that come through in the songs.”

Sung in a voice akin to the sandpaper-tongued falsetto of Doug Martsch from Built to Spill, Barber’s lyrics can move from longing to accusation in the space of a verse, recalling the mercurial emotions evoked by the shopping malls of the teenage years.

YEARS ONLINE:

http://www.yearsyearsyears.us/

We are Years, Years are We, Of All the Years, We are but Three:

ART HOUSE MARQUEE ONLINE

http://arthousemarquee21st.bandcamp.com/

6.7.14: FIND YOUR SMILE, SAMA DAMS, THE WEATHER MACHINE, and MARY’S PEAK

fyssdmp+6-7-14Who: Find Your Smile (Salem Melodic Rock), Sama Dams (Portland Experimental Rock), The Weather Machine (Portland Folk Rock), and Mary’s Peak (Salem Pop Duo)

What: A Live Concert Showcase!

Where: Level B Theater Pub – 445 High Street NE Salem, OR 97302

When: Saturday June 7th. Doors at 7pm – Show begins at 8pm

$9 Door charge, with Presale at Ranch Records @ $7

Local sensations- Find Your Smile join Portland up-and-coming avante-garde rockers Sama Dams with Willamette Graduate Slater Smith and The Weather Machine, and new local pop duo Mary’s Peak.

Praise for SAMA DAMS:
Ned Lannamann, Portland Mercury, March 26, 2013
What a tangled web Sama Dams weaves, and what an enjoyable one to get caught in. The Portland group—named after their clarion-voiced frontman, with the space moved one letter over to avoid confusion with our former mayor—release their new full-length, No Vengeance, at tonight’s showhttp://cdncache1-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10×10.png. It’s a challenging, mathy step forward for the local trio, embracing the technical intricacies of bands like Dirty Projectors and Slint and shrugging off the band’s cozier, folkier sound of the past. It’s also a phenomenally impressive piece of work, demonstrating a fearless exploratory spirit as opposed to trying to be willfully obscure. While I haven’t yet found anything on No Vengeance that hits me on a gut level like their splendid 2011 EP Draw This Bitter Blood, I’m gonna keep listening—no matter what level of accessibility they’re working on, Sama Dams is one of Portland’s most interesting, and best, bands. >>>

http://sama-dams.com/

FIND YOUR SMILE ONLINE:
http://fysband.com/

THE WEATHER MACHINE ONLINE:
http://weathermachinemusic.com/

MARY’S PEAK ONLINE
http://www.maryspeakband.com/

The PDX Band Invasion begins this Saturday!

LevelBTicketMay10 NASALROD (pdx), The PYNNACLES (pdx), and YEARS
at LEVEL B THEATER PUB in SALEM, OR SATURDAY MAY 10th

Justin here on behalf of Aural Pleasure Concerts writing to inform you about an exciting event on the horizon at Level B Theater Pub in Salem on Saturday May 10th featuring multiple bands that feature iconic members of integral bands of the past. Meet Nasalrod and The Pynnacles.

Nasalrod is a 4 piece, high octane, genre bending, art-punk band from Portland, OR featuring none other than Tim Leitch (aka “Spit Stix”) original drummer for L.A. punk cult legends FEAR. Nasalrod has been making quite a name for themselves in Portland by consistently putting on mind blistering shows for the last 5+ years. They have also toured regionally through WA, OR, CA, AZ, UT, ID and have shared the stage with the likes of Mike Watt and the Missing Men, He Who Can Not Be Named (Dwarves), Melt Banana, C Average, RVIVR, Toys That Kill, Street Eaters, and Dimesland (mem of Residents). They will be supporting their most recent 7″ vinyl release entitled It’s our Pleasure put out by Portland label Poison Apple Records.

Here is a link to the Nasalrod website that includes music, videos, photos, and many samples of complementary press they have received over the years: http://nasalrod.com/

Here are also links to Nasalrod’s facebook and reverbnation pages:
www.facebook.com/nasalrod
http://www.reverbnation.com/NASALROD

The Pynnacles are a 6 piece, psychedelic, garage rock, powerhouse also from Portland, OR featuring Sean Croghan of the influential 90’s rock band, CRACKERBASH. The Pynnacles fill the stage with a wall of aggressive sound tinged with dancey grooves that lean heavily on thick guitars and heavy vintage organ sounds. They too have a large cult following regionally and have a strong reputation for being solid crowd pleasers wherever they perform. They will also be supporting their most recent, self-titled, self released 7″.

Here are links to the Pynnacles facebook and bandcamp pages:
http://www.facebook.com/ThePynnacles
The Pynnacles, by The Pynnacles

Both of these bands are well established in Portland and other cities up and down the coast but this will be their first time visiting Salem. I’m looking to instigate some excitement around this show and was hoping to get some press to help spread the word. This will be a high quality show with the potential to really showcase some great talent and iconic players that have yet to grace the stage in Salem thus far. Please take a minute and explore the links and I think you will agree that the people must be made aware of this exciting event!

Also on the bill are locals YEARS. They have only been in town a short while up from Eugene, OR but they have wasted no time in their ambition to rock out as much as possible since their arrival. They mix many elements of progressive indie rock into a catchy, dynamic, and original performance.

Here is a link to their facebook page however they are still in the process of recording and releasing their debut album:
http://www.facebook.com/beersforyears

LevelBPosterMay10May 10th@ Level B Theater Pub

NASALROD
The PYNNACLES
YEARS

7:30pm
$7 door/ $5 in advance
All ages welcome
Alcohol sold w ID

5.3.14: John Roderick and Sean Nelson with Noah Hall & Whiskey Priest [CD Release]

Aural Pleasure and Level B Theater are pleased to present a very special concert event featuring three exceptional Northwest singer-songwriters.

John Roderick of The Long Winters
John Roderick of The Long Winters

John Roderick is the songwriter and singer/guitarist of The Long Winters, known for his wit and craftsmanship as a songwriter, he is always charming and entertaining live.

 

Sean Nelson of Harvey Danger
Sean Nelson of Harvey Danger

 

 

Sean Nelson is best known for his work as the lead singer and co-songwriter for the Seattle-based indie pop band Harvey Danger, which was founded in 1993 and earned a gold record with their 1997 debut album Where Have all the Merrymakers Gone. Sean has a fantastic new solo album, Make Good Choices, released on Really Records in 2013.

Noah Hall
Noah Hall

 

 

Noah Hall & Whiskey Priest will be performing for the first time live and releasing the brand new CD Almost Satisfied. Noah Hall, also the singer and songwriter of Salem band Easterly, is known for his intensely personal yet relate-able lyrics sung with a beautiful, soft voice which belies the often dark subject matter of his lyrics.

The concert will begin at 7:30, Saturday, May 3rd at LEVEL B Theater Pub, 445 High Street SE in Salem. Admission is $15.00 for advance tickets and $18.00 at the door. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and all ages are welcome.

This promises to be one of the finest nights of music in Salem this year. Tickets are available now at noahhall.brownpapertickets.com

Noah Hall & Whiskey Priest "Almost Satisfied"
Noah Hall & Whiskey Priest “Almost Satisfied”

 

johnrweb

2.26.14: The THERMALS with Summer Cannibals and Brette and Blake

 

THE THERMALS at noise pop fest, SF. march 2013. photo by misha vladimirskiy
THE THERMALS at noise pop fest, SF. march 2013. photo by misha vladimirskiy

The Thermals high-energy live show is an experience not to be missed. The post-pop-punk trio has garnered much recognition since their formation in 2002 with records released on some of the best indie labels around: Sub Pop RecordsKill Rock Stars, and most recently Saddle Creek Records (Bright Eyes, Cursive).

Website: http://www.thethermals.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thethermals/

Summer Cannibals
Summer Cannibals

Summer Cannibals is one of the hottest new indie rock bands in Portland and we predict you’ll be glad to say you saw them when. 

Website: http://summercannibals.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SummerCannibals/

 

 

Brette and Blake
Brette and Blake

Local Salem synth-pop-punk band Brette and Blake will open the show, playing for the first time at Level B since their sold out show in November.

Website: http://brettenblake.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brette-and-Blake/125231330910804?ref=stream

The concert begins at 7:30, Wednesday, February 26th at LEVEL B Theater Pub, 445 High Street SE in Salem. Admission is $13.00 for advance tickets and $15.00 at the door. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and all ages are welcome.

 

Tickets available now at thethermals.brownpapertickets.com