LivePDX Music Blog for February 12

By Tom D'Antoni

Rabid fans of Singer/songwriter/pianist Scott Fisher, or of my fabulous work, will remember the story I wrote for livepdxon him a couple of months ago. He was working on some bossa nova tunes for the movie soundtrack of The Last Word" starring Winona Ryder, Wes Bentley and Ray Romano. Well, it premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, as advertised.

It was named to IFC'sTEXT top ten films list but didn't do quite as well as they had hoped. Scott was there and reports that he, "…felt like a little fish in a big pond– but it was great to be associated with a Sundance movie because you get different kind of credentials. It was a very cool experience.”

During one screening he sat in the same row with Sharon Stone. No, I don't know a thing about her sitting position. He said the movie had a “Heavy cast with crazy star power (Tom Arnold, Jimmy Fallon, Sharon Stone)…but the movie sucked. That is the danger of huge star power, you get huge expectations that aren’t met.”

He was outfitted by Portlanders "ElizaBeth Rohloff, a Portland fashion designer who created a Beatle-esque felted wool hat and shirts for him. Michael Allen’s Clothier added winter clothes for a “Portland-Goes-To-Sundance” fashion shoot by photographer Kent Derek.TEXT

Btw…Writer Tari Donohue reports that, "Chuck Palahniuk was the Portland star in this year’s Sundance universe, with the film Choke, based on one of his books, being the first sale of this year’s festival, at a cool $5 million."

Expect interesting things from a collaboration just getting started as we speak. Electronics guy Keith Schreiner Auditory Sculpture (Auditory Sculpture) has just begun working with singer/songwriter Stephanie Schneiderman.

Beats on the Park Blocks: Percussionist/producer Karriem RigginsKarriem Riggins (Kanye West, Erykah Badu, Ray Brown, Diana Dral, Talib Kweli will be at Portland State University for a drum clinic on Tuesday, February 19th.

Groove-soulsters Intervisionjust singned with In the Pocket Artists who will book them nationally. Gabe Johnson, the agency owner saw them open for the Nevilles and that was that. Could be a big summer for them.

Remember summer? That's when the sun comes out.

New Orleans griot Brother Askari, who told the story of High John the Conqueror on my radio show a couple of weeks ago is appearing at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center on Saturday, February 16. Very interesting cat. Adrienne Flagg has really put that place on the map since she started booking it. A good move by Arts Commish Sam Adams to make that happen, too.

Btw…I played some awesome drum solos by Baby Dodds behind Brother Askari. Fit better than I ever imagined.

After their gig at the Hippodrome on Saturday, February 16, 3 Leg Torso is off to California for nine gigs. Accordionist Courtney Von Drehle tells me, "I'm really looking forward to playing the Getty Museum. The museum is a refreshing breath of fresh air in such a dense area, The grounds, the architecture, it's all put together with a serene aesthetic. And I hear our show is already sold out (as far as free shows that you have to reserve seats for can be 'sold out')."

I'm doing a live mashup on my radio show Saturday night…probably around 11:30pm.

Who shot the La La? I don't know. I think it was a 44.

Tom D'Antoni is a Portland writer and TV Producer/Reporter. Listen to his show on Saturday nights 10pm to 1am on KMHD 89.1fm and streaming on th web.