Craig Campbell @ Duke's--Portland, Oregon--10-18-12

Craig Campbell made his way back to the Pacific Northwest with a show at Duke's Bar & Grill, In Portland, Oregon,  October 18, 2012.

Lock, Stock & Barrel were orginally scheduled to open for Campbell; though at the last minute local favorite, Kurt Van Meter, filled in for the band instead.

You could tell, even though it was last minute, Van Meter was up to the task, and happy to be there.  He and his band played original songs scattered between cover versions of other tunes.  The whole band was having a great time playing, and joking around with each other on stage.  They fed off each other, and the crowd, and in return the crowd picked up their energy as well.

Towards the end of his set, Van Meter brought Tyler Titus, one of the co-founders of Lock, Stock & Barrel on stage to sing with him.

As it turns out, Titus is leaving Lock, Stock & Barrel, and Portland.  He's heading back to Texas and forming a new band.  This was mentioned on stage, after he and Van Meter sang together.

When Van Meter's set was done, there was a short break while the stage was set for Craig Campbell.   When it was time, B-Dub from KUPL introduced the "Family Man" singer to the audience.

Campbell performed a mix of music from his first CD, as well as new music, and covers of other country songs.

Whether it was tearing through a rocking number; or performing a ballad; Campbell gave each song his all.  Though at times Campbell's voice did get drowned out by the music; during the ballads he shined.

As with Kurt Van Meter, the crowd gathered at Duke's fed off the energy being given from the stage. When Campbell would ask for audience participation, he got plenty of it; which in turn fed his energy level.

Craig Campbell may not be as well known as other country artists; however, don't be fooled, the man has tons of talent, and is very professional at what he does.  He more than proved this at Duke's that night.

2012 Portland Music Awards

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)

The fifth annual Portland Music Awards were held Sunday, January 22, 2012 at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon.

This year's hosts were Chloe Houser from PDX TV, and Silas Weir Mitchell, ("Monroe" on the NBC series, "Grimm").

The three hour program was also simulcast live on Freedom 970 AM. Hosting the radio broadcast were B-Dub, from KUPL's "Northwest Nights", and Byron Beck.

Several local artists in all genres of music were on hand to perform, and present the twenty-two awards given out that evening. Fans from across the area voted online to choose who the winners would be.

While most of the awards went to musicians in the Portland metro area, there were also awards given for best venue, music store and record store, as well as best radio station.

For those interested, here is the complete list of winners:

1. Pioneer Award

Tony DeMicoli


2. Legends Award

Marv & Rindy Ross


3. Album of the Year

‘We Will Be Forgotten’ by Scotland Barr & The Slow Drags


4. Band of the Year

Portugal The Man


5. Best Male Artist of the Year

Rob Wynia


6. Best Female Artist of the Year

Beth Willis


7. Best New Artist

Red Fang


8. Best Compilation Album of the Year

'Live From Nowhere Near You' by Greyday Records


9. Outstanding Achievement in Jazz

Devin Phillips


10. Outstanding Achievement in Blues

Lisa Mann


11. Outstanding Achievement in Folk Music

Lauren Sheehan


12. Outstanding Achievement in Classical Music

Portland Cello Project



13. Outstanding Achievement in Country Music

Concrete Cowboys


14. Outstanding Achievement in World Music

3 Leg Torso


15. Outstanding Achievement in Talent Buying

Peter Dammann (Waterfront Blues Festival)


16. Best Music Store

Portland Music Company


17. Best Record Store

Music Millennium


18. Best Music Venue - Large

McMenamins Edgefield


19. Best Music Venue - Mid-size

Aladdin Theater


20. Best Music Venue - Small

Jimmy Maks


21. Best Live Performance

Floater


22. Best Radio Station

KUPL 98.7fm

This was the second consecutive year that KUPL has won for best station. Way to go KUPL!!!

And of course, CONGRATULATIONS to all of the evening's winners!

Jake Owen @ the Bing Lounge--9-30-11

I've been a fan of Jake Owen since his first hit, "Yee Haw" hit country airwaves six years ago.

Though I've been a fan, I was a little disappointed in Jake's latest CD, "Barefoot Blue Jean Night". When I reviewed the CD, I'd said I felt like the CD was just your "typical" Jake Owen CD, though a bit muted.

Also, I've seen Jake live before, though never in a setting like the Bing Lounge; it's always been at a very rowdy bar.

My experience seeing Jake in the Bing Lounge gave me a new perspective on not only Jake's CD, but Jake Owen himself.

When Jake came onstage, he was barefoot, and very laid back. He also told the audience he's very ADD, so he might ramble on a bit. No one seemed to mind at all.

He started his set with "The One That Got Away", then B-Dub, from Northwest Nights on KUPL, came onstage to do a short interview. Jake then sang his second song for the day, "Barefoot Blue Jean Night".


Sometime during the set, TicTak, from afternoons on KUPL, presented Jake with a dare. This time the dare was from an audience member, and for the first time, the challenge wasn't accepted. The dare was to sing "Footloose". Jake laughed, said no way, that no one should ever sing that song. Throughout the show however, he did a couple of other songs, and said they could be the challenge. The standout was Jake's version of a Lil Wayne song, "Bow Chicka Wow Wow"


While I was listening to Jake talk, and sing, I was reminded why I like live shows so much. There's just a different feel about them; the energy in the room from the crowd and the performers, all of that. Even a CD recorded live doesn't have that same "feel" that you can only get by actually being there.

This was especially evident while listening to Jake do songs from the new CD. All the things I felt were missing from the CD where there in the Bing Lounge. It gave me a new appreciation of Jake's latest CD; and while I still think it's more muted than it could be, I do hear it a bit differently now.

One of the new songs that really stood out was "Journey of Your Life". On the CD, it seems a bit reserved; done live however, you hear all the depth and emotion the song has to offer.


Another song Jake did, he's never put out on a CD. He said it was about a girl he used to date, and was an emotional song for him to do. The title is "Kiss You Good Morning". When Jake finished the tune, everyone in the audience agreed, if he ever does record and release the song, he's got a #1 hit for sure!


Jake had also told the crowd, he'd play as long as they'd let him, and he did; then took time for autographs and photos with anyone wanting one.

As I said at the beginning of this post, I've always been a fan of Jake Owen; his performance in the Bing Lounge solidified that for me for sure. Jake Owen fans know how good Jake is in concert; if you ever get a chance to see him in an intimate setting though, do, it'll be an experience you'll never forget.

Never Thought It Would Go This Far...

It's been about a month since the "Simon in the Morning" team had a discussion about cartoons, cartoon voices and the Muppets. At the time the whole thing got jumbled around in my head, until I finally did something about it; I created caricatures of Scott, Jolynn and Jake.

From the beginning, (jokingly), Scott has always commented on how his caricature is shorter and wider than Jolynn or Jake.  At one point, I decided to "give in" to Scott and make him taller and thinner.  So, I wrote another blog and introduced readers to the "taller, thinner Scott Simon".  Basically, I put the head of Scott's caricature on the body of Jake's caricature, thus making Scott taller and thinner.  I didn't stop there however.  I also noticed that Jolynn and Jake have hair, and Scott doesn't.  So I took the hair from Jolynn's caricature and added it to the taller, thinner Scott Simon.

Thought that was the end of it, until I was talking to B-Dub at the Kenny Chesney pre-party.  He asked my name, and when I told him, he said, "you're the one that created the caricatures; where's mine?"  I told B-Dub I'd see what I could do, which I did, and sent it to him.

I'd also created a caricature for Eduard, the new producer of "Simon in the Morning".

After that, I decided I definitely needed to create caricatures of Lola and TicTak; didn't want to leave them out when the other on air staff had caricatures.  Got those done, and sent them off to Lola, TicTak and the morning team.

Of course, the first thing Scott noticed is that he was still the widest, (actually, he said shortest and widest; however, he and Lola's caricatures are the same height).

At that point, I figured that was the end of it; not quite.  The morning team posted the pics of Lola and TicTak on the KUPL Facebook page; and Lola also posted hers on her page.

Because of all this, now is the time to post what I've been working on since Scott first mentioned being wider and shorter.  I'd told him, if I did my caricature, it would definitely be shorter and wider than his, because I *am* shorter and wider than Scott!

With that said, here it is, the caricature of ME!