Triple Threat

Hank Williams III — better known as Hank 3 — is a maverick. If you want proof, consider the fact that he just released a double country album (Brothers of the 4×4) and a punk album (A Fiendish Threat), and did so on the same day. But that’s not even a record for him. Continue reading 

STRFKR S CMNG BCK

Some folks might expect to find Starfucker under glass in Portland’s electro-pop history museum these days, but the band is still bopping along as though that whole Pyramiddd thing (their old moniker) never happened. Four albums after their eponymous debut’s single, “Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second,” skyrocketed them to indie stardom, Portland’s biggest contemporary act — because, let’s face it, The Decemberists are pretty donezo these days — still knows how to kick down a good record. Continue reading 

Short Complete Thoughts

Molly Hamilton and her songwriting partner Robert Earl Thomas of Widowspeak spent a lot of time on the road after releasing the critically acclaimed Almanac earlier this year. “We were stuck in a car a lot,” Hamilton says. “I was mostly writing down lyrics and ideas for new things, just to get them out of my system.” Continue reading 

Back Beat

Eugene experienced a devastating loss in the music community this month: Bill Finneran, beloved founder of the Eugene Record Convention (the largest in the PNW), passed away from cancer Oct. 1 at the age of 62. EW last caught up with Finneran in February before the convention’s 25th anniversary when he expressed his eternal love of vinyl. Friend Marc Time, who calls Finneran “a shining light,” says the future of the convention is unsure at this time.   Continue reading