music
Portland’s
Secretwave
Music Scene
h u n t e r • s k o w r o n
A
n outsider walking down a typical street in
Portland could hear a few things. To your
left there will be dreadlocked and possibly
“homeless” people banging plastic drums. Further down
to your right you may hear some middle-aged men playing
a fusion of jazz and rock bubbling out of a bar. Ahead you
could hear (although half-drowned out by the twang and
bang) a bro-type fellow fresh off the bus from Boise with
an acoustic guitar playing a mix of country and rap (think
Everlast).
This is a picture of Portland’s music scene to an untrained
ear; these are the stereotypes. Yet, over the past decade
more than ever, Portland seems to have been built around
certain rules and combinations of people and attitudes
that have have shaped what the general public thinks of
this place. While some of these ring more true than others,
one thing that is apparent is Portland’s broken up into
small pockets. Each one is flowing with its own attitude
and views about music, arts, and the city. This is perhaps
the exact reason as a producer, writer, and musician I
moved here to find music that is truly Portland.
From big venues and shows on national tou