| If there's any alluring indie mystique to Portland, it's | | | | indie-folk songstress Laura Veirs, who inbetween |
| most likely due to late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, | | | | recording sessions and touring, gives guitar lessons to |
| who attended high school on the west side of town | | | | kids from her home in the centre of the town. Even |
| and recorded his most-loved work there. | | | | the British indie music scene is represented in |
| Before Smith, Portland's primary musical contribution | | | | Portland, with both former Smiths guitar legend |
| to the universe was the Kingsmen, and their | | | | Johnny Marr (now a full-time member of Modest |
| worldwide party anthem, "Louie Louie". But Smith | | | | Mouse), and Chris Jarman of Leeds indie charmers |
| sketched a virtual map of the city with his whispery | | | | The Cribs, recently moving to the town. |
| voice, and even went so far as to adopt a local | | | | This trend of artists moving to Portland after already |
| street name, Elliott Street, as his first name (legend | | | | having gained some level of fame might explain why |
| has it he considered his birth name of Steven as "too | | | | few people are even aware of Portland's incredible |
| jock-y"). To his fans, Smith's music made Portland | | | | concentration of mu-sical talent. Virtually none of |
| seem infinitely more romantic than it ever could be in | | | | these groups can really be considered "Portland |
| real life. | | | | bands", since none are natives. There are a few |
| After Smith came the deluge, as swarms of indie | | | | exceptions - hugely popular indie rock group Modest |
| rockers descended upon the town. In the late '90s, | | | | Mouse originate from the town, as do alternative pop |
| politically charged riot-girls Sleater-Kinney arrived from | | | | group The Shins (whose singer and keyboardist Brett |
| punk rock hot-bed Olympia, Washington. They | | | | Mercer lives in Elliott Smith's former home). Both |
| brought Stephen Malkmus and his genre-defining | | | | bands toiled the local live circuit, playing many bars, |
| college-rock collective, Pavement, who were all from | | | | clubs and hotels in Portland before really making the |
| Stockton, California, along with them. The two bands | | | | big time. |
| began hanging out a lot at the Beulahland bar in the | | | | So, despite the lack of a distinctive Portland sound |
| North West part of town, and in the process, turned | | | | akin to Seattle's grunge scene or the post-White |
| Beulahland into one of the hippest hang-outs in all of | | | | Stripes explosion of blues-influenced garage rock |
| Portland. | | | | from Detroit circa 2001, the sheer caliber of its |
| Other indie rock alumni who call Portland their home | | | | musical luminaries have firmly planted the city on the |
| are husband and wife duo Anita and Kevin Robison, | | | | musical map. |
| aka Viva Voce, who relocated from Alabama, and | | | | |