While the smoky tenors of Vedder and Cobain might represent the 90s for the mainstream, for those who had their ears close to short span college airwaves, Neutral Milk Hotel’s 1997 release, Aeroplane Over the Sea is often declared one of the best albums of the decade.

I hold it as one of my favorite of all time.

Portland was blessed to have two Jeff Magnum appearances last week at the Crystal Ballroom, two of only a smattering of national dates, including two weekend shows at Coachella in California.

Until this year, NMH’s lead singer, Jeff Magnum, has largely led a Salinger-esque life-style, with few public appearances. His quick rise to fame—and subsequent disappearance—has cast an almost mythical deification around the songwriter and his work, which, it can be argued, is well founded.

On Aeroplane, Magnum weaves otherworldly imagery, arising from dreams about Anne Frank, into lovingly crafted and loosely connected songs (chapters, poems?) touching on themes from fairy-tales, the bible, hushed family dysfunction, and surrealistic eroticism. Couple this literate scope with Magnum’s pitch perfect, reverberate tenor—and a cadre of back-up musicians with counter-point instrumental solos that would make memorable songs in themselves—and you have a record that still holds mystery, thousands of listens later.

On to the show…

I had only moderate expectations upon arriving at the Crystal Ballroom last Thursday, but returned home unable to sleep for several hours, energized and trying to replay the night over in my head. It was an orchestrated, but humble affair, with Magnum mostly solo on stage, and a collection of acoustics at his arms length, accented with his signature mix of light distortion.

Magnum’s voice hits your soul like a campfire: melting you from the front, and keeping you alive with cold gusts and shivers in the back. Hearing it live was absolutely better than the recording, another thing I wasn’t necessarily expecting.

And as most concertgoers can attest, a live performance can be exponentially heightened or ruined by the crowd, and in this case, the audience was almost universally rabid, attentive and jovial. It basically felt like 1,000s of people who had been cooped up in their cars and tiny rooms, singing NMH songs to themselves for years, until one day they were finally re-united with their tribe, and were exuberant to finally encounter the object of their obsession.

The audience became bombastic during the classics, and sang (yelled) along to every word, sometimes even swinging their arms in the air.

Magnum played nearly every song from Areoplane, along with a few from Avery Island and… a Daniel Johnston cover of True Love Will Find You in the End. He was joined on stage by the openers Andrew, Scott and Laura (fellow members of Elephant 6 Collective bands Elf Power and The Gerbils) with French horn, mellophone, clarinet, cello, accordion and even midi electronic saxophone!

I’ve attached some of the songs below. The photo above was taken by someone I randomly met there who was daring enough to get that close to the stage. I know there was no flash, so hopefully this is somewhat forgivable.

The night ended with my favorite song Aeroplane Over the Sea. I cover this song a lot, and play it as an instrumental at weddings. Even brides, who’ve never heard it before, often go for it, which says a lot about its melodic integrity.

It was an ecstatic ending: The Crystal Ballroom’s strange carnival-noir murals set the perfect backdrop for this song’s lyrics, really all of his lyrics.

It’s a near impossible feat for an artist that is so well loved, and with an audience to rabid, to play the anti-rockstar. But the whole thing felt pure, uncorrupted, cathartic.

Famous last words:

“When we meet on a cloud, I’ll be laughing out loud. I’ll be laughing with everyone I see; how strange it is to be anything at all.”

Some songs:

Jeff-Magnum-KingofCarrotFlowers-Pt3

Jeff-Magnum-PDX-Crystal-Two-Headed-Boy

Jeff-Magnum-PDX-Crystal-Oh-Comely

Jeff-Magnum-PDX-Crystal-Ghost

Jeff-Magnum-KingofCarrotFlowers-Pt3

Jeff-Magnum-PDX-Crystal-Aeroplane

Casey Neill has the kind of voice that makes you stop what you are doing. It’s timeless, like something that might drift out of a jukebox in a roadside tavern somewhere in Middle America. But there are other qualities there that make it truly unmistakable: hints of Michael Stipe’s vibrato tenor, some alt. country inflections of Jay Farrar and the occasional whiskey-soaked growl of Shane McGowan.

I caught a show by Casey and his band, The Norway Rats, at the Laurelthirst Public House one Wednesday as part of his month-long happy hour residency at Portland’s favorite Americana pub. I’ve been listening to him since college, and have come to expect a mellow, easy-on-the-ears folk/country sound (with an occasional rocker thrown in); essentially a predictable mix best characterized by his 2007 album, Brooklyn Bridge. The 2007 album was recorded mostly in New York City, and documents his stint in Brooklyn, while also placing his songwriting and vocals at center stage.

As I should have expected, a lot has changed for Casey since those days in New York. His live show at the Laurelthirst was anything but mellow. Since coming back to Portland and re-establishing his roots a few years ago, Casey put together a super-group of the city’s finest folk/Americana musicians—including Chris Funk and Jenny Conlee of the Decemberists, and Scott McCaughey of Minus 5. While not all the household names where there last Wednesday night, the band played a rousing set of rockers balanced by a few old favorites (see “Riffraff”) and some folksy solos.

Neill embraced the talents of some of these same stellar musicians on his 2010 release “Goodbye to the Rank and File” with a nice blend of Celtic punk, rockabilly and folk. Neill’s literate sensibilities ground each song in memorable images and turns of phrase. It’s a nostalgic homage to a country life that may have never been, and puts you inside the cool silver waters of the quarry with a young lover on a hot summer night.

Look for his newest record “All You Pretty Vandals” to be released this year, produced by Chris Funk of the Decemberists.

Neill says of the new record, “We stayed away from any roots tropes this time—no train beats, no twang, no Irish bits, very little acoustic guitar … It’s very much a high-energy band record with a big anthemetic sound. It feels edgy and urgent. There’s some horns and strings, some guest vocalists. We had a lot of fun making it.”

In the meantime, catch one of his upcoming shows in March featuring his Pogues tribute band K.M.R.I.A. (And what does that stand for, you say? Kiss My Royal Irish A**, a phrase used in James Joyce’s “Ulysses” and in the Pogues’ song “Transmetropolitan”).

Thurs. March 15: K.M.R.I.A. – CENTRALIA, WA @ The Olympic Club 7pm $15

Fri. March 16: K.M.R.I.A. – SEATTLE, WA @ The High Dive 9:30pm 513 N 36th St.

Sat. March 17: The Norway Rats – PORTLAND, OR @ McMenamins Kennedy School Gym. 4 p.m. Free.

Sat. March 17: K.M.R.I.A. – PORTLAND, OR @ The Wonder Ballroom (Always sells out), 128 NE Russell St $13, Presented by Monqui with special guest SASSPARILLA

Fri. March 30: The Norway Rats – PORTLAND, OR @ The Aladdin Theater

The floors and couches of Sheri McGovern’s apartment are covered in a rainbow of sweaters: sweaters made of cotton stripes, purple cashmere, and argyle wool are piled in suitcases throughout the room. Instead of a bowl of fruit, her kitchen table is layered with a cutting mat, and a tower of multi-colored threads sit a few feet away from McGovern’s most valuable tool, a four-string serger.

Using these tools, McGovern transforms used sweaters into A-line skirts, complete with matching leg warmers and headbands. Along with dozens of other hobbyists and entrepreneurs, she is part of a growing trend in Central Oregon called upcycling: the art of taking something old and transforming it into something new.

“I went to fashion design school, so I love fashion and really wanted some new clothes but couldn’t afford them,” McGovern said. “I found a sweater in the closet I was never going to wear again and the idea was born for a sweater/skirt. Now I sell dozens of them a month.”

While McGovern had years of professional training, she believes that learning to upcycle clothing is open to everyone with the desire and patience to learn how to sew and some simple training in pattern making.

Allison Murphy of Utilitu Sew in downtown Bend suggests taking a beginning sewing class or two before diving in and investing in your own machine. Her sewing shop and classroom, which she opened up this fall on Hill Street, features four top-of-the-line Bernina sewing machines for students to hone their skills. When first learning to sew, students may experience a number of technical difficulties as they wade through the process. Working with an instructor on a high-quality machine will reduce frustration and lower the learning curve.

“We live in a time where it is so easy to get things instantly; to just go to the store and pick something up,” said Murphy. “People are not used to taking the time to do something, but sewing takes a lot of will power and determination.”

Murphy supplies students with full sewing kits, items that they can eventually acquire themselves at her shop or other sewing stores in town such as Morrow’s Sewing & Vacuum Center. These include tools like dress making shears, seam rippers and flexible measuring tape. And while buying the right equipment will help beginners be more successful, Murphy insists that sewers should not become overwhelmed by all of this at first

“You don’t need a machine with a million stitch options to make a cool dress,” Murphy said.

Once your basic tools and basic skills are acquired, the creativity begins. There are plenty of places to find clothes that are begging to be transformed into something more contemporary. While thrift stores and the Goodwill are a great first stop, also consider things like clothing swaps, your mother’s or grandmother’s closet, and yard sales.

Upcycling doesn’t stop at remaking clothing. Consider checking out antique stores, places like Pak It Liquidators in Bend, or even the dump for ideas on remaking furniture and other household items.

And sometimes inspiration might literally be in the trash. Tracy Curtis of Ballokai is the mother of the 20-year-old Sister’s singer/songwriter Laura Curtis. One afternoon, she spied her daughter’s used guitar strings in the garbage, plunked them out, and made them into earrings.

“I volunteer with the Sisters Folk Festival and get a lot of old strings from them,” Curtis said. “I just love that someone has played music with them, and now they have a new life.”

Curtis has also used her creative vision to remake burlap coffee bags into stylish totes that she sells online, in local boutiques and in the Pearl District in Portland. She gets the majority of her bags from the Sisters Coffee Company and because plantations are constantly changing their graphics and styles, no two totes are ever the same.

“I think the upcycling trend is a result of people acknowledging that the planet is not in good shape and we need to do something about it,” Curtis said. “It is about asking our selves how many different ways can we use the stuff that we just waste?”

Sara Wiener of Sara Bella Upcycled uses plastic bags, food wrappers and banners to create tote bags, dresses and hats. To date she has saved 35,800 bags from going in the landfill, and the tag line on her website is “Making beautiful products out of garbage!” Using only an iron and a sewing machine, she fuses together plastic bags and creates practical things her customers can use for years to come. It took her five years to perfect her process, but instead of patenting it, Wiener teaches the process to others through workshops at Central Oregon Community College and Bend Parks and Recreation District.

“My philosophy is, the more plastic bags I can use, and teach others to use, the less will end up in the landfill and our waterways, killing fish and birds,” Wiener said.

Whether you are just getting started upcycling your own creations, or are ready to start peddling your wears on Etsy.com, Murphy recommends taking the extra time to craft something well-made that may be loved for years to come.

“Upcycling isn’t just remaking clothing—it embraces rethinking all things that have been used to death in their current form, just begging to be reincarnated into something useful, witty and resourceful,” she said.

The Tools

While there are scores of high-end instruments that will eventually make your sewing life easier, here is a list of must-haves for beginners:

Scissors, a separate pair for cutting paper and fabric

Pins and weights for cutting patterns (weights can be as simple as a soup can)

Tape measure and a clear plastic ruler

Marking tools like a pencil, chalk and water soluble markers

Seam ripper

Hand sewing needles and machine needles

All-purpose polyester thread

Iron

Easy to use sewing machine

A simple pattern

Getting Ideas

There are scores of books on upcycling techniques in bookstores, the library or online. A quick Google search for upcycling ideas reveals a long list of blogs and project ideas ranging from making a wallet out of bike inner tube to turning jeans into tote bags.

Finding Materials

Goodwill, Restore, Pak It Liquidators, thrift stores, antique shops, relative’s closets, the garbage, the dump

Inspiration and Finding Your Style

It is important that you are making things that you are going to love and want to wear or have in your home. When considering what kind of clothes to upcycle, Murphy recommends being both confident and honest with yourself. Try new things, but think about what styles look best on you. Sheri McGovern, who crafts sweater/skirts is a great example. She is also affectionately known around Bend as “dancing lady” because whenever there is live music, she is always upfront, dancing to the music. The skirts she makes skirts compliment her free spirit, high-fashion sophistication, and slender figure, all at the same time.

Jon Leahy is the Music Supervisor at Aperture Music, a company that works with independent artists to license their music for use in film, television and commercials. We grew up in the same hometown in New Hampshire, and Jon has helped me to get one of my songs on a Fox TV show. I wanted to interview him to shed some light on how the licensing process works and how artists can get their music in the hands of music supervisors.

Everyone wants to get a song on Grey’s Anatomy or some other hit show. Where would you begin to market yourself for an opportunity like this?

Most TV shows these days have a dedicated music supervisor, in the case of Grey’s Anatomy it’s Alex Patsavas. She and her awesome team at the Chop Shop find music in myriad ways, but the most reliable way to ensure that they listen to your music (aside from having a hit on the radio) is to get your album delivered to them by someone they trust. Finding a professional film & TV representative to work on your behalf is a really important step for anyone who’s interested in licensing their music. Aside from being good at their job and having the respect and trust of their peers in the business, it’s also equally important that they be genuinely enthusiastic about your music.

You recently got one of my songs on to the show “Traffic Light” and I thought the process of that might shed some light on how things work in the licensing world. You said the producer was looking for a female acoustic singer songwriter for a scene where the characters are at an outdoor market. There are 1,000s of musicians that fit that description, but I popped into your head, and the producer liked the song. To me, this seems to indicate that you really need someone on the inside advocating for you. Does this mean you should try to get in as many licensing catalogues as possible, or is there an expectation that you should be loyal to one company and just try to stay top of mind with them? 

You bring up a really good point– for most background music cues, there are thousands of songs that could work equally well. Once you’re willing to accept that despite the uniqueness of your art, for the purposes of licensing it is more or less interchangeable with thousands of other songs, you start to see how important it is to have a good film and TV rep. The reason your song was used instead of another female vocal folk song is because the music supervisor came directly to me when she was looking for music. We have a great working relationship and she trusts my ears, it’s as simple as that. To be perfectly honest with you, your song was probably one of ten included in my pitch to the supervisor. She most likely pulled two or three of her favorites and passed those along to the music editor who actually married the music to picture, and then the decision was made final at the mix. Regarding licensing catalogs, there are a ton of them out there and they all have their pros and cons. Exclusive catalogs tend to be more selective about what artists they rep, they’re more boutique in nature and give everyone more personalized service. They also tend to command higher fees for their artists. Non-exclusive libraries tend to just dredge as much music as possible, regardless of quality. And when it’s quantity over quality you may find that personal attention to your particular release just isn’t happening.

I recently read that a publishing company here in Portland, Oregon, Rumblefish, agreed to take on the entire catalogue of artists on CDBaby.com to represent for publishing. While I think this is great news because it signifies a leveling of the playing field, how can musicians begin to stand out in that flooded landscape?

I love CDbaby and have a lot of respect for what they’ve done with the company, but it’s important to note that CDbaby is a “long-tail” business model, meaning their margins lie in sheer quantity. Considering this, it was only a matter of time before they started offering a publishing option. I’m pretty confident that the guys at Rumblefish will do just fine with this model, but for 99.9% of their artists I don’t see it affecting their bottom line significantly. The service that we provide (and this goes for labels and publishers as well) is to serve as a filter, a level of quality control. Since music supervisors don’t have the time to listen to every artist on CDbaby, they need someone to get them to the good stuff– which is precisely what we do. If you remove that filter and just publish the entire CDbaby catalog, then what service are you providing? We’re way past the era of old-men-in-suits acting as gatekeepers– anyone can make a fantastic sounding record on any budget, and thanks to Soundcloud, Bandcamp, etc. everyone can share it with the world. And if cute kittens have taught us anything, it’s the fact that if something is great then everyone on the planet will be sharing it with each other in the next 48 hours. The flip side of losing those gatekeepers? Now we’re all flooded with terrible music. With this in mind, getting back to your original question, I think Rumblefish will be a useful tool for music supervisors only if they put their ears to work and pinpoint the best music their catalog has to offer. You mention a level playing field… well the playing field is already level and has been for a while, it’s just that some artists are stronger than others. If you want to stand out, make a great record. It’s the answer to just about every question I get from aspiring artists. It may sound trite but it’s the truth.

Professional Wedding Photography by Kimberly Kay Photography: http://www.kkayphoto.com/

Along with cellist Amy Mitchell, I have a wedding band that plays at ceremonies and receptions throughout Oregon. We’re called The Ashlings, which means “dream” in Irish, and we play all the classical favorites like Pachelbel’s Canon and Faure’s Pavane, as well as really cool versions of Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel), Just Like Heaven (The Cure), and Wonderwall (Oasis), to name a few.

Last week we played at Sunriver Resort in the Great Room. Amy is also in a wedding string quartet and has played this room many times and kept telling me how magical it is in the winter time. It’s decorated with white lights and candles, and white flower peddles and there is huge wood fire burning at the center of the room.

Professional wedding photography by Kimberly Kay Photography: http://www.kkayphoto.com/

The bride Sarah, requested Pachelbel’s at the processional and then Ave Maria during the vows and candle lighting. While it was somewhat of a challenge for me to learn Ave on the guitar with short notice, Amy has played it a hundred times and pulled it off beautifully on her electric cello. For days, this epic song has been stuck in my head and it fit in perfectly at that moment of the ceremony. We ended the night with the theme song from Masterpiece Theatre, which is actually an oft requested recessional piece.

The photographer that evening was Kimberly Kay Photography  and you can see some examples of her work throughout this article and more photos of the wedding of Sarah & Alex at the Great Hall in Sunriver OR on her blog.

This video was shot on the Deschutes River at Dillon Falls in Bend, Oregon in December of 2011.

Laurel Brauns “Kaleidoscope Eyes” Music Video from FAR from EARTH Films on Vimeo.

As a child of the 80s, I’ve always wanted to make a music video. Of course my vision then was of big metallic hair, cheesy effects, and lots of hopping around throwing my leg in the air as a dance move.

How ever many years later, my dream came true, but its my 30-something self’s version of the dream where I am playing guitar and singing by my favorite river. The whitewater and mist erupting behind me is the most exciting action, and the only thing that might be considered an “effect” is the videographers skillful use of a 18 ft. Kessler Crane that he lugged through the woods for a ½ mile.

Oregon Filmaker Tim Cash has been specializing in creating music videos for close to a decade, and along the way he has produced works of art for many local Central Oregon musicians, exponentially increasing our professionalism overnight. The videos he made for Erin Cole-Baker and Leif James are some of my favorite.

So here is our little masterpiece. I think it is really different than anything else Tim has done, and I am so truly appreciative of his ability to create something that I feel is so authentic to me. To put things another way, this guy can basically do anything. He has the skill and most of the equipment to do what all the big budget guys are doing out there, but instead of adding all that stuff in, I feel the strength of this particular work is in the subtraction and simplicity. I think it takes a real sensitivity to an artist’s vision to help them find their own authenticity, and to be humble enough to do something understated. So thank you Tim for all of that, and for all of you musicians out there, if you are looking to make a music video, check out all of his other project on his website, and get in touch!

And if you’d like to see a little behind the scenes, check out Tim’s explanation of the Crane that he and his assistant Robert Slaney carried through the woods.

Oregon Filmmaker: Kessler Crane from Oregon Filmmaker on Vimeo.

I played my first gig in Ashland last week. What an adorable and amazing little town. I’ve always wanted to go and spend some time there going to the Shakespeare Festival. Next summer for sure.

I played at this great little pub called the Caldera Tap House, which is right downtown on Water St. I love this company and their beer. They were one of the first to put their microbrews in cans, which is awesome if you are an outdoor fanatic who likes to bring good beers on trips. By day 20 on the Grand Canyon, PBRs and Tecate can get a bit… old. These beers are true currency out on the river.

For all you musicians out there thinking of playing a gig here I would definitely bring your own equipment. At the last minute I decided to go strait from Bend instead of going first to Portland to collect my stuff. While a quick call to the bar confirmed they had a sound system, all the chords were missing and I had to jerry-rig the stuff to get it to work. Well, actually Mysha Caruso, the lead singer and songwriter for the band Kites & Crows helped me with the sound. Came to the rescue really!

Meeting Mysha was definitely the highlight of my night. His band is truly an Oregon gem. The sounds blends Mysha’s gorgeous tenor with an indie-folk style guitar (think Iron & Wine.) Add cello, banjo, ethereal female harmonies and lyrics that reflect Mysha’s literate sensibilities, and you’ve got a band that should be on tour with the Decemberists. (They have opened for them!)

These guys met at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where they work together. I’m assuming the band name came from the play Coriolanus, but I’d love to know more about why they chose this; as the line doesn’t feel that significant to me on first read. But as a band name it is intriguing and epic at the same time. It’s no surprise they are so big in Southern Oregon as their songs – and their woodsy, yet sophisticated sound – seems of reflection of their little region of the world.

I’m my third listen through the “Golden Room,” which is on iTunes, and I’m just downloading Villager right now, which I guess you can only get from their website. Easy enough.

On a side note, a few people came into the bar before I started playing saying they wanted to come, but were off to see a local jam band where all their friends were going to be (sounds like a night in Bend… why did I move to PDX again?). But… one guy told me there was “weird energy” in the town, because the week before a local grocer had been beheaded (head cut off with a sword!) while walking through a nearby park at night.

Only in Ashland?

Methinks:

“Why then the worlds mine oyster, Which I with sword shall open…”

or

“The pen is mightier than the sword”
…Maybe not.

Dairy farmer and Cada Dia cheese maker, Pat Sullivan runs his fingers through a combination of grass and clover on the ground few yards from where his 20 Jersey cows are grazing on his 80-acre dairy farm in Prineville.

“The clover is protein and the grass is starch for the animals,” Pat says with an endearing Virginia accent. “We are a ground-up operation here. The sun and the earth produce food, the cows make rich, creamy milk full of healthy vitamins like Beta Carotene and Omega 3 and 6, and then we turn that into raw-milk, farmstead cheese.”

At most large dairy farms, cows are fed dry hay and grains on large feedlots and milked up to three times a day. Pat’s Jersey cows are instead milked only once a day and are given five months off in the winter to restore their bodies.

“These guys have got it made,” Pat said with a laugh, scratching one of the cows behind their ear.

This farm operates on a micro-scale: on a typical day their cows produce 45 gallons of milk that are made into one or two wheels of cheese. Most dairy farms process 4,000 gallons of milk daily and most cheese makers have no involvement with the animals or the farm where they buy their milk.

Pat, his wife Cher, and their two teenage daughters, Afton and Hannah moved to Central Oregon from New Mexico a year and a half ago to live out a dream that has been ten years in the making. Together they built their straw bale home, milking parlor and cheese-making facilities from the ground up six months before their herd of cows and heifers arrived at their door in May, ready to be milked.

Pat worked as an engineer on the oil fields of New Mexico and Texas before taking an early retirement and buying an 18-acre farm in New Mexico in a town of only 100 people. For years, he raised cows, studied the cheese-making process and lived a back-to-the-land lifestyle without television and other distractions.

When the real estate market peaked in 2007, Pat put his property on the market as an experiment, and when it sold he had the capital to invest in a more serious farm in Central Oregon.

“Most people that have the kind of money it takes to get an operation like this up and running would not be interested in milking cows for a living,” Pat explained. Although his aspirations for marketing and selling his products are mostly on a local level, he described how the business will be quite lucrative once he develops a solid reputation as an artisan cheese maker.

The process Pat uses to make cheese is a New Zealand method called “cow to kettle.” Immediately after the cows are milked and each batch is filtered, it is poured into a 150-gallon vat filled with cultures to begin that turn the milk into curds and whey. The temperature of the milk goes from about 99 degrees in the cow to 105 degrees in the stainless steel vat. Most dairy farms pasteurize milk as soon as it leaves the cow, reducing the temperature to 37 degrees, killing off all the bacteria and then waiting 24 hours for other bacteria to multiply back in the milk.

“Milk never gets better; it just starts degrading once it leaves the cow,” Pat explained. “The best cheese in the world is made from raw milk, at least that is what the connoisseurs say – that it is richer, creamier and has more body. They can talk about cheese like fine wine.”

After stuffing the curds into a cheese mould, which squeezes out the last of the whey, a solid wheel is formed after 24 hours and then painted with wax imported from Holland to hold in the moisture before it is brought down to the cheese cellar and left to age. Nearing the end of their first year of production, the Sullivan’s have amassed 9,000 lbs. of cheese in their cellar and have begun to sell at local farmer’s markets.

“The dairy business in America is about quantity,” Cher said, “but we are focusing on quality by caring for our animals, and going back to cheese making methods that are 100s of years old.”

Cada Dia Cheese

202.657.6729

9609 NW Sharp Road

Prineville OR  97754

Wineries in Oregon are Growing Greener

“Has the country caught up to Oregon, or was Oregon always so far ahead of the curve in terms of sustainable wine making?” asked Chris Martin of Troon Vineyard,

a Southern Oregon boutique winery that lives by the motto “good times and fine wines.”

Troon Vineyard also practices organic and sustainable farming methods and is certified “Salmon-Safe” by LIVE (Low Input Viticulture & Enology, Inc.), an international certification agency based in Salem. The “Salmon-Safe” label means that the vineyard has undergone a rigorous assessment to assure that erosion is reduced, and that there are very few pesticides and other chemicals flowing into the same waterways that Salmon use to spawn.

Troon is just one of many vineyards in Oregon that has taken great strides to “green” its production processes, in fact, Oregon has become a global leader in sustainable wine-making, partially due to the favorable conditions of the marine climate.

“In the Willamette Valley, vintners don’t really need to use pesticides and fertilizers to an extreme like you would in a warmer region,” said Chris Serra, Program Manager for LIVE.

Unlike organic certification, which forbids the use of chemicals, LIVE allows synthetics at certain levels, and also tackles other farming issues like worker health and safety. Currently 25% of Oregon’s wine growing acreage is certified by LIVE.

One of the historic leaders of the green winery movement is Sokol Blosser in Dundee, Oregon, just south of Portland. From its humble beginnings as one of the first vineyards in the Willamette Valley in 1971, Sokol Blosser now has over 13,000 acres. They have become famous for such award-winning wines as Evolution and Meditrina.

Besides being the first winery in the country to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the United States Green Building Council, they are certified organic by Oregon Tilth, and run their tractors on 50% biodiesel. They also use solar energy to power the winery. Their innovative approach to environmentalism and wine making makes Sokol Blosser a must-see on your next Willamette Valley wine tour: check out of the living roof, which covers their underground barrel cellar.

While wine growers in Oregon have been practicing sustainability for decades, the numerous levels of “green” certifications, whether it is “Salmon-Safe,” LIVE or Certified Organic, have become major selling points for the earth-conscious wine drinkers.

Beyond that, many Oregonians support local wineries for their natural beauty, which is arguably one of the most joyful aspects of green living.

“Arable land is a lot more precious here then in other parts of the world,” said Martin. “There is always the looming threat of subdivision and development, but supporting local wineries embraces the need to preserve these agricultural expanses for vineyards.”

Lewi Longmire and Bingo play the the Laurelthirst Public House

I went out to see an old music aquaintance of mine, Lewi Longmire, play at the Laurelthirst Public House this Tuesday after Jackstraw. This bar sits on the north end of Laurelhurst Park and is known for featuring a great mix of acoustic Americana and bluegrass. Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, played some of his first Portland gigs here, and Portland music luminaries like Laura Veirs and Casey Neill often pop in to play cameo shows.

I first met Lewi when he was working for Music Millenium, one of those rare gem’s of a music store that promotes local and upcoming musicians with in-store performances. Lewi has always had a name around town playing is own music, but has also built a great reputation as a multi-instrumentalist and has been featured on many albums by national acts like Minus 5 and Tara Jane O’Neil, as well as playing as a side man in the above mentioned Casey Neill’s band (The Norway Rats), as well as with James Low and Caleb Klauder.

Check it!

Tuesday at Laurelthirst, Lewi was playing with his buddy Bingo, who was visiting from Joshua Tree. The way they meshed was magical, and both traded songs and leads like only old music friends can. Lewi’s voice is classic Americana and he can carry a slow and sad tune (see “San Ysidro”) just as well as his more prolific and upbeat numbers like “Disappear,” both of which you can get your hands on through CDBaby.com on his most recent album, “Fire ‘Neath the Still.”

And speaking of this album, I’m intrigued by the cover. It looks like a shot from the Crooked River in Central Oregon, or maybe the John Day? If his love for rivers and the outdoors says anything about the tribe that Lewi attracts, I know you guys would love him in Bend.

And speaking of, the Laurelthirst in general seems to be a gathering place for these type of folk. Though I moved here to take a break from the foot-stompin’, shaggy-haired music so prevalent on the other side of the mountains, I have to say my soul felt filled by being at the Laurelthirst this week. Sometimes you have to move away to remember who you are.