Music Millennium
801 N.W. 23rd St. (at Johnson)
503-248-0163
Free
www.musicmillennium.com
“Bringing free music to the people,” says Music Millennium’s owner Terry Currier of the in-store performances by both local and regional bands.
“In an effort to get people out of their homes and into the stores listening to music, for free, Music Millennium chose to have in-store performances to provide the public with an opportunity to preview music before actually purchasing a CD.”
In-store performances have been going on for more than 10 years now at both the Northwest and East Burnside locations of Music Millennium. Jen Rybolb, music coordinator, says, “Randy Neuman was the very first in-store performance. He kicked off 40 consecutive days of free live music.”
This month, the in-store performances are as varied as the food in an elegant buffet. The Hot Butter Rum String Band, a Colorado bluegrass band; Dorsoul, an eclectic rock band from California; and a Peggy Lee Tribute will grace the stage of the N.W. store.
Touring to support their release “Live at the Freight & Salvage,” the Hot Buttered Rum String Band (HBRSB) slides onto the stage Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m. Sweetwater Saloon says, “The music of HBRSB bows to the past and the present. As Bill Monroe’s music yearned for the simple life of old Kentucky, HBRSB’s music yearns for the simple life of the mountains, away from the urban sprawl.”
Touted as “high altitude bluegrass,” the band has only been in existence since 1999. Band members Bryan Horne (double bass and vocals), Nat Keefe (guitar and vocals), Zachary Matthews (mandolin and vocals), Aaron Redner (fiddle, mandolin and vocals), and Erik Yates (accordion, clarinet, flute and vocals) set out to rediscover the “high lonesome sound of mountain music.” The band’s sound was created through a month-long hiking, climbing, pickin’ and singin’ trip in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is in those mountains that “high altitude bluegrass” was born.
If you can’t catch this band at Music Millennium, don’t miss their performance at The Bitter End Pub, 1981 W. Burnside. The show starts at 9 p.m., and there is no cover!
Eclectic rock band Dorsoul finds its way to the northwest stage Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. to support its second self-released CD, “Fascination with Spinning Objects.” This five-member band, formed in Sebastopol, Calif., soon began headlining for such bands as Plan-Be, The Infamous They, Third Degree, Gollum, Simon Says, and even Primus. But things weren’t quite all right on the home front. The band began to have creative disputes about the designing of the songs, and the group’s guitarist left.
After much searching and auditioning of various guitarists, they stumbled across one of the best, a man by the name of Nick Simmons. Now with a regional tour in place, the band is living up to the S.F. Music Melody description of “dynamic.”
Marking the first anniversary of the death of jazz legend Peggy Lee, Linda Lee Michelet performs Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. Peggy Lee is known for such songs as “I’m a Woman,” “It’s a Good Day,” “Why Don’t You Do Right?” and “He’s a Tramp.”
In 1994, Frank Sinatra said, “Her wonderful talent should be studied by all vocalists; her regal presence is pure elegance and charm.”
Lee was also active in films, performing the title song of “Johnny Guitar” (1954) and writing songs for others, including “Tom Thumb” (1958). She also made a number of on-screen appearances in acting roles, including “The Jazz Singer” (1953). She was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1955 for “Pete Kelly’s Blues.” However, her most lasting fame in films lies in her off-screen work on Walt Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp,” for which Lee wrote the song “He’s a Tramp” and provided the voice for the characters of Peg, the Siamese cats and one other on-screen feline.
Linda Lee Michelet, recording artist, songwriter and nightclub singer is a multi-instrumentalist as well as a singer and dancer. Recently appearing in “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Lakewood Theater, Michelet is scheduled to also appear in an upcoming original cabaret revue titled “My Baby and Me.”
Other performs scheduled to appear the Music Millennium’s Northwest store are John Hammond, Jason Mraz, Amelia, Jaycob Van Auken, and the No Dead Guy Series. Weekday performance schedules vary, so check the Web site. All performances are free, free, free!