Seattle Subsonic

3900' Festival – Horning’s Hideout June 27-28

May 10th, 2008

Come June 27th, tucked back in a little hidey-hole park in Oregon, you’ll find one of the biggest gatherings of independent bands this summer. The 3900′ Festival. This is going to be the feel-good event of 2008. It’s easy on your pocket, easy on the ears, easy on the Earth and just all-around-Oregon-style easy goin’ all the way. The bands being featured here are not national acts, they’re not the names lit up on the marquees. These are the openers, the ones that have to play hard to EARN your love in the 8:30 slots on Saturday nights at Neumos. The 3900′ Festival is bustin’‘ with tons of Pac NW independent artists, some on local indie labels, most unsigned all together. They’re almost entirely from Washington and Oregon. Bands range from Folk to Country, Rock to Reggae. It seems super relaxed, all about the music, the camping and the hanging out. The promoters have even promised NOT to jack up the prices on food, beers etc. and a 2 day pass INCLUDING parking AND camping is $52. Total.
Now to top all of this off, the goal of Union Records, and the rest of the people responsible for putting together 3900′, is to try and make this festival as close to carbon neutral as possible – right down to making a list of suggestions of how individuals can help reduce the footprint.
This isn’t a hugely popular event but they do expect close to 4000 people even though the park it takes place in happens to be called “The Hideout.” It’s right outside Portland and loaded with sweet campsites, trails, and a natural ampitheater. And as Union Records says, “its a great chance to get out an explore Oregon. ‘Cause what goes together better than good tunes, camping, great beer, and friends.”

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So here’s the deal,
2nd Annual 3900′ Festival (click for festival samples)
June 27th & 28th
Horning’s Hideout
(North Plains, OR).

Featuring two days of camping, two stages of music, and over 30 independent bands (indie labels and unsigned) from the West, – all ages. Friday and Saturday Line-ups follow the break.

Click on any of the photos to hear samples from the bands or you can go click here for a sampling of all

3900′ Festival 2008

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Friday June 27th Lineup

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IAN MOORE

Rock, pop, americana

Seattle, WA

“Moore’s show is a layered, emotionally entrancing live set.” — POP CULTURE PRESS “A top-notch purveyor of lovely, emotive, expansive chanteur-rock.” – THE ONION

Prolific songwriter’s only PDX summer date.

JARED MEES

Folk, rock, indie

Portland, OR

” Mees’ songwriting is a combination of relatively simple pop pop melodies and insightful, detailed and deft turns of phrase. These are songs for the morning after and the night before – rambling, gambling songs written about slackers and screw-ups.” Portland Tribune

“Like Elvis Costello if he’d grown up an American Stoner” Willamette Week

TWO LOONS FOR TEA

Alternative, Pop

Seattle, WA

“ Few pop bands can reach the heights of Two Loons… One of the most underrated indie pop bands of the twenty-first century is probably Two Loons For Tea. Few pop bands can reach the heights of Two Loons For Tea, and “Looking For Landmarks” proves that their debut was no fluke. Definitely something to check out, while waiting for their forthcoming third album.” E.A. Solinas, Amazon – Photo by Alicia Rose

POWER OF COUNTY

Rock, country, americana

Portland, OR

In the four years since it’s inception, Power of County has morphed into a country, rock&roll, bluegrass hybrid, pulling influences from the West coast and Appalachia as well as Britain. This is rebel music performed by a hillbilly parliament singing songs of heartbreak, excess and murder.

TRIP LIKE ANIMALS

Avant-garde, rock

Hailing from Seattle, Washington the band plays Like psychedelic/rock/ alternative music and features Mike Molner (vocals), Joe Molner (percussion) and Jerome Dimanlig (bass). Spicy tunes sound like a cross between Kula Shaker and the Doors.

JASMINE ASH

Pop, acoustic

Portland, OR

“Successfully walking the line between sweet and saccharine, Ash’s brand of pop showcases her talent as a fine songwriter, as well as her charm as a performer. The emotional tensions underlying her songs give them an extra edge, as well. ” The Oregonian

OUTPOST

Reggae, Dub, Hip Hop

Portland, OR

“Outpost is a five piece band out of Portland, OR that blends funk-hop and reggae to generate high energy organic dance music. Their focus on positive vibes is product of three northwest natives; emcee’s tmpILL, P.Hill and guitarist Chris Couch. The sound is rounded out by east coast transplants Oscar on drums and Tyler Stauss on bass.”

KUBLAKAI

Hip Hop, Progressive

Seattle, WA

“Kublakai’s debut … doesn’t hesitate to tackle issues such as being self informed, addiction, gossip, political injustice and the lack of depth in hip hop . And yet somehow he manages, even after dealing with subjects that vary so completely from the absurd to the heavy hearted, to leave you walking away from your listening experience with a smile. He sees the light in dark and simple in the complex and makes you move while you ponder… Kublakai is a refreshing artist..destined to make his mark on hip hop’s ever growing stage”

REVERSE DOTTY &

THE CANDY CANE SHIVS
Rock, electronica

Portland, OR

“f you’re not planning to see Reverse Dotty and the Candy Cane Shivs live, you are making a mistake…an incredibly entertaining and energetic show.” WW, Local Cut

ROYAL HOUSER

Classic rock, rock, blues

Portland, OR

The brothers Houser take us for a throwback ride with melt your face tunes and a kicking live show.

THE QUICK AND EASY BOYS

Rock, funk, funky-tonk

Portland, OR

“Composed of the unique, creative and talented aspects of this strange and unified unfolding reality, the Quick & Easy Boys have manifest as a higher expression of strange funky-tonk.”

THE MERCURY TREE

Rock, alternative

Portland, OR

“The Mercury Tree is a progressive modern rock band with psychedelic and experimental influences, and intellectual, darkly comic lyrics. Some major touchstones are Placebo, Rush, and XTC.”

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MANTIS

Turntables, Experimental

Portland

Mantis will be spinning both evenings on the Main Stage during set

breaks. Shake your booty to his fresh mixing!

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Saturday June 28th Lineup

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FINN RIGGINS

Alternative, rock

Hailey, ID

“I think this is a fine example of a couple kids playing really freaking fun music. It’s not too cute, it’s not too trendy, it’s not too anything. It’s really solid and entertaining and uniquely it’s own.” — Sam Karzin / Music Director, KUCI 88.9 FM / Irvine, CA

ECHO HELSTROM

Pop, rock

Portland, OR

Echo Helstrom, the “orchestral rock band.” It’s the violin and upright bass added to the usual rock array that makes them so. That, plus adventuresome arrangements and songs that run the gamut from chamber music to punk rock with much else in between. Echo Helstrom is “a combination of raw emotional power with sophisticated melodic beauty (Joseph Gallivan),” it’s “Kurt Cobain meets Leonard Bernstein (The Oregonian)”.

PAPER BRAIN

Indie, rock

Portland, OR

“ Paper Brain has a simple and straightforward style that takes me back to the early days of indie rock… They have an almost British Invasion type of pop that is both melodic and melancholy, all the while avoiding the structural cliches of traditional pop songs. ” Mish Mash Music Reviews

THE WHEREWITHALS

Indie, rock

Portland, OR

“…you can see the pure lyrical power and orchestration that they gladly present to the world. With a vocal talent comparable to Tom Waits mixed with Modest Mouse front-man Isaac Brack you get the clear and immediate picture that this band will be big and in our opinion soon. ” musiclog.com

THE ASCETIC JUNKIEs

Folk, rock, indie

Portland, OR
“An upbeat and fun sound that is quirky and catchy at the same time. Lively instruments mix with bold lyrics and captivating harmonies to create a sound that is truly unique. Songs are honest and clever and their live show has as much energy as it has soul.”

KURT HAGARDORN

Americana, pop, rock

Portland, OR

“ It’s just freaking GOOD! REALLY, really, really good! BLEW me away. One of those records that hit me as really, quite good on first listen but on subsequent listens not only opened itself up to me, but left me bowled over. Chock full of tunesmithy goodness, he’s got this great roots pop thing” Not Lame Records

NO GO KNOW

Progressive, psychedelic, rock

Portland, OR

“Portland, Oregon-by-way-of-Burlington trio No Go Know has crafted a rock critic’s worst nightmare: a bafflingly diverse little collection of tunes that defies categorization and challenges the listener to keep up. “Seven Days

ACOUSTIC MINDS
Blues, acoustic

Portland, OR

“Acoustic Minds, from Portland, Oregon, is a folk rock group fronted by twin sisters Jenni and Amanda Price.


They mix folk, rock, jazz, and blues adeptly and seamlessly.” Songtiger.com

NICK CACERES

Folk, American Revival

Portland, OR

Nick Caceres creates a post-apocalyptic world that reads like a warped Dickens mashed with Kurt Vonn. and delivered with the voice of an angel.

Henry Fords Streets has received rave reviews…and we love Nick so much we had to have him back again this year.

Ah Holly Family

Americana, Experimental, Folk

Portland, OR

” nylon-stringed guitar, Rhodes, banjo, singing saw, bells, etc., Ah Holly Fam’ly builds this great rockpile of avant-Americana that’s careful but solid…gentle but isn’t wimpy or shaky at all; everything is confident, balanced, and smart. So there. Welcome to town. Your music is beautiful. We love you very much.” -PORTLAND MERCURY

STERILIZE STEREO

Gypsy, Carnival, Revival

Portland, OR

“Fresh from the farmlands of Kansas, these blood-lust revivalists left the heat of the hayfields…Pushing the limitations of traditional stylings, they stomp, hoot, and sway their way across the stage…Soothing and scathing, lifting and falling, alive and yet dead, they bring to you the nervous chants of the past…”

The SKINNYZ

Rock

Portland, OR

“Slavin’s songwriting, raspy voice and “get up!” lyrics, coupled with the band’s unadulterated approach to making music give the band pop appeal without sacrificing their rock and roll edge. “

THE KINDNESS KIND

Rock, electronic

Seattle, WA
“…If The Strokes were fronted by a woman and dabbled in ambient.” Plug In Music

“…one of Seattle’s most promising new bands”
The Seattle Times

BROADBAND SHORTWAVE

Indie rock

Helena, MT

“some very catchy alt. pop tunes in the vein of Radiohead or Spoon. The band has a way of gently intoxicating the listener with big questions about guilt and transcendence with zero irony. ” Jersey Beat

MCDOUGALL

Folk, blues, punk

Portland, OR

“fast, stomp-happy music. But they’re not playing punk, or metal, or emo, or any variation of thrashy rock that would make sense for the locale.

No, the instruments are unplugged, the song is by Woody Guthrie and the kids are playing instruments including banjo and mandolin as if their lives depended on it.” LA Times

PROFESSOR GALL

Gypsy, artrock, experimental

Portland, OR

“Professor Gall’s like a roller coaster ride through some ragtag Gypsy carnival catering to the broken misfits of a smokey Mad Max world.” The Oregonian

OHIOAN & NATIVE KIN

Experimental, country

” rich, emotive playing from an ensemble that includes Shaky Hands drummer Colin Anderson, Au’s Mark Kaylor, Evolutionary Jass Band bassist Bob Jones and all-around ass-kicker Lauren K. Newman. Its songs are thick with modal, oft-meditative horn parts, as influenced by jazz releases of the ’60s and ’70s (Charles Mingus’ The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady and John Coltrane’s Impressions made Warner yearn for a horn section in the first place) as they are by Woody Guthrie.” WW

LITTLE BEIRUT

Alternative, Rock

Portland, OR

“…instant pop hooks and tight guitar/rhythm interplay that
mainstream rock has begun to embrace.”
Billboard Magazine

“[Hamilton and Edwins'] songwriting has a patented knack
for writing larger-than-life tunes while still managing to
connect effectively on an emotionally accountable level.”
Curt Schultz, The Oregonian

IMAGINARY AIRSHIP

Indie Rock

Portland, OR

“PDXPole.com gives Imaginary Airship all the stars we have and staples them permanently to our soul. They give hope of a “Bright New Day”. Listening to the album gives strength to keep going and pursue your dreams, even when there is unbelievable pain and disappointment in your life. And it’s not just a temporary feeling of joy, but Imaginary Airship leaves a lasting sense of hope. You’ll find a 60’s psychedelic influenced indie rock sound that competes with the likes of Flaming Lips and Pink Floyd, but offers something new that will take you up into the clouds.”

-PDXPOLE.com

DOUBLE PLUS GOOD

Electronica, DJ

Eugene, OR

“a synth-notic, melodic journey… created by Carlson’s warm,winsome vocals and his mastery of the electronic sound universe. Often smooth and groovy, occasionally jarring; the shiny brightness of the music contrasts with lyrics that wrestle poetically with classic themes of love and alienation.” Eugene Weekly