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Portland - the new indie rock mecca

If there's any alluring indie mystiqueindie-folk songstress Laura Veirs, who
to Portland, it's most likely due toinbetween recording sessions and
late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith,touring, gives guitar lessons to kids
who attended high school on the westfrom her home in the centre of the town.
side of town and recorded his most-lovedEven the British indie music scene is
work there.represented in Portland, with both
Before Smith, Portland's primary musicalformer Smiths guitar legend Johnny Marr
contribution to the universe was the(now a full-time member of Modest
Kingsmen, and their worldwide partyMouse), and Chris Jarman of Leeds indie
anthem, "Louie Louie". But Smithcharmers The Cribs, recently moving to
sketched a virtual map of the city withthe town.
his whispery voice, and even went so farThis trend of artists moving to Portland
as to adopt a local street name, Elliottafter already having gained some level
Street, as his first name (legend has itof fame might explain why few people are
he considered his birth name of Steveneven aware of Portland's incredible
as "too jock-y"). To his fans, Smith'sconcentration of mu-sical talent.
music made Portland seem infinitely moreVirtually none of these groups can
romantic than it ever could be in realreally be considered "Portland bands",
life.since none are natives. There are a few
After Smith came the deluge, as swarmsexceptions - hugely popular indie rock
of indie rockers descended upon thegroup Modest Mouse originate from the
town. In the late '90s, politicallytown, as do alternative pop group The
charged riot-girls Sleater-KinneyShins (whose singer and keyboardist
arrived from punk rock hot-bed Olympia,Brett Mercer lives in Elliott Smith's
Washington. They brought Stephen Malkmusformer home). Both bands toiled the
and his genre-defining college-rocklocal live circuit, playing many bars,
collective, Pavement, who were all fromclubs and hotels in Portland before
Stockton, California, along with them.really making the big time.
The two bands began hanging out a lot atSo, despite the lack of a distinctive
the Beulahland bar in the North WestPortland sound akin to Seattle's grunge
part of town, and in the process, turnedscene or the post-White Stripes
Beulahland into one of the hippestexplosion of blues-influenced garage
hang-outs in all of Portland.rock from Detroit circa 2001, the sheer
Other indie rock alumni who callcaliber of its musical luminaries have
Portland their home are husband and wifefirmly planted the city on the musical
duo Anita and Kevin Robison, aka Vivamap.
Voce, who relocated from Alabama, and



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