Don't Move Here: Inside Portland's Music Scene is an American documentary series about Portland, Oregon's music scene,[1] that relatively recently has become a hot spot for indie bands.[2][3][4][5] The series was created by director and curator Aaron Rose and produced by Wieden+Kennedy Entertainment.
| Don't Move Here | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Don't Move Here: Inside Portland's Music Scene |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Created by | Aaron Rose |
| Directed by | Aaron Rose (season 1) Shayla Hason (season 2) |
| Presented by | Shayla Hason |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 15 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Aaron Rose, Bill Davenport, Janice Grube |
| Production location | Portland, Oregon |
| Running time | 5 – 12 minutes |
| Production company | Wieden+Kennedy Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | Wieden+Kennedy Entertainment |
| Release | December 2009 – 2011 |
The series features interviews with Portland-based artists, musicians and record label producers, as well as concert footage taken at various underground and less known music venues.[6][7] Bands, labels and studios profiled so far include Yacht, Grouper, Honey Owens, Jackie-O Motherfucker Mississippi Studios, Rev. Shines, Libretto, Marriage Records, Rob Walmart, States Rights Records, Type Foundry, Jackpot Studios, Explode Into Colors, White Fang, Mississippi Records and Portland Mayor Sam Adams.[8]
In 2010 the series's first season was nominated for the 14th Annual Webby Awards in the music category.[9]
Episode Synopsis edit
Season 1 edit
| # | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Explode Into Colors" | December 1, 2009 | |
| The first episode features an interview with Steve Schroeder of States Rights Records, a Portland independent label—followed by a stop at the all-ages music venue, Artistery, featuring performances by White Fang and Explode Into Colors. | |||
| 02 | "The Black Gumdrop, Audio Dregs and Atole" | December 8, 2009 | |
| Episode two begins with a visit to the shared studio of Mike King and Guy Burwell, two of Portland's most well known music poster artists where they discuss their work and some of the bands they have created visuals for. Then we travel to the office of Audio Dregs, a small independent label focusing on electronic music. The episode ends with a live performance by Audio Dregs recording artist, Atole. | |||
| 03 | "Honey Owens and Grouper" | December 22, 2009 | |
| Episode 3 visits two Portland based experimental musicians, Honey Owens of Valet and Grouper (Liz Harris). They talk about the creative process, getting lost in music and their connection through the vintage clothing/record store Rad Summer. | |||
| 04 | "Rev. Shines, Libretto, Yacht and Mayor Sam Adams" | January 12, 2010 | |
| Episode 4 starts off with a chat between Rev. Shines of Lifesavas and Libretto about Portland’s unique approach to hip-hop, City Hall for an interview with Portland Mayor Sam Adams about the free PDX Pop Now! concerts. Electropop darlings Yacht play live and talk about the influence of Marfa, Texas, on their recent album, See Mystery Lights. | |||
| 05 | "Marriage Records and Rob Walmart" | January 26, 2010 | |
| Episode 5 highlights the community of artists that surround the Portland-based music label Marriage Records. The show interviewed label owners Curtis Knapp and Adam Forkner about the history and family ethics behind its operation, learned about Forkner's solo act, White Rainbow, and taped a guerrilla street performance from the collective group Rob Walmart. | |||
| 06 | "Eggy Records and UHU Tapes" | February 9, 2010 | |
| Episode 6 looks at the return in popularity of cassette tapes with a focus on two of Portland’s budding cassette tape labels, Eggy and UHU. The episode interviewed Eggy Records' Raf Spielman at Downtown Portland's Half & Half, UHU Tapes' Yoni Kifle, and ended with a performance from Eternal Tapestry. | |||
| 07 | "Mississippi Avenue" | February 23, 2010 | |
| Episode 7 explores the rapidly changing Mississippi Avenue neighborhood of North Portland and highlights Mississippi Records and Repair, Mississippi Studios and Portland treasure Paul Knauls. Jackie-O Motherfucker performs. | |||
Season 2 edit
| # | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Tucker Martine and Rachel Blumberg Colors" | February 2011 |
| 02 | "Roller Sound and Nurses" | 2011 |
| 03 | "Lewi Longmire and You Who" | 2011 |
| 04 | "Cull and Red Fang" | 2011 |
| 05 | "Isaac Brock and Glacial Pace" | 2011 |
| 06 | "Lo Dubs and Studios" | 2011 |
| 07 | "Holocene and Pete Swanson" | 2011 |
| 08 | "Trevor Solomon and MFNW" | 2011 |
See also edit
- Tom McCall, a former Oregon governor who popularized the notion of "don't move here" in 1971.
References edit
- ^ Julianne Escobedo Shepherd (December 22, 2009). "Grouper and Honey Owens Don't Want You to Move to Portland". The FADER. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
The Portland, Oregon-based advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy has been running with a dope series on its home city called "Don't Move Here," a sentiment some of us totally get since we in fact did move there (and then moved away). Hosted by WK music director/dope photographer/our friend Shayla Hason (WHAT UP SHAYLA), they're interviewing a clutch of Portland's disproportionately copious scene of musicians, artists and ideators, talking about what makes that city so special.
- ^ Clark, Taylor (2007-09-11). "Why Portland is America's indie rock Mecca. – By Taylor Clark – Slate Magazine". Slate.com. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
And, crucially, indie groups always have good experiences here, because the city produces very enthusiastic rock crowds. Ask a musician why they relocated to Portland and, from Britt Daniel on down, the most common response is: "We came through on tour and I thought it was awesome." It might not be enough to lure the glitterati, but Portland's combination of affordability, natural beauty, and laid-back weirdness is an independent artist's dream.
- ^ "Sense Of Place: Discover Portland's Music Scene". NPR.org. 2012-03-13.
- ^ "Portland's Organic Music Scene: Everyone Is In A Band". MTV. July 15, 2008. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
And there's no discrimination: Metallers get onstage with pop groups and vice versa, the artists say.
- ^ Matt Harper (July 18, 2008). "Want more Portland music? You're in luck". MTV.
If you've been keeping up with our Newsroom blog this week, you might have noticed a disproportionate amount of Pacific Northwest representation [...] But the point I'm trying to get to in a really roundabout way is actually this: There is a lot of great music in Portland...
- ^ Colin McLaughlin (December 8, 2009). "Don't Move Here: Inside The Portland Music Scene (2 Episodes)". Melophobe. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
One of the great things, and there are many, about living in Portland is our music scene. I probably don't have to tell you too much about the broad strokes since music magazines, blog scribes and even that dying behemoth MTV have gushed out loud about what's going on here. But, what they tend to leave out are the details, the inner-workings and the tinder that keeps the fire burning.
- ^ Michael Mannheimer (December 8, 2009). "Watch Wieden+Kennedy's Portland Music Documentary". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
It's almost become a cliché at this point. Anytime you make a documentary on the Portland music scene, a few common topics are brought up. Portland is cheap. Portland has lots of basements. Portland is creative. And, of course, the biggie: it rains ALL THE TIME. But there are a lot of stories that haven't been told, and I think that's what Wieden+Kennedy is aiming for in Don't Move Here, a new multi-part documentary on the PDX music community that is slowly trickling onto the web.
- ^ Ezra Caraeff (September 1, 2009). "WK Presents: "Don't Move Here: Inside Portland's Music Scene"". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
- ^ "14th Annual Webby Awards Nominees & Winners". International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. 2010. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
External links edit
- Season 1 on Vimeo
- Season 2 on Vimeo
- Show summary and credits