Even the stripped down version of Secret Chiefs 3, the band I went to see at Wonder Ballroom last night, was amazing! With their constantly changing lineup I have usually seen them with more musicians, the 5 piece they came with was more than enough to satisfy me and the large crowd that attended. Using strange instruments like a 5 string bass and 9 string guitar, and somehow tuning them differently than the norm makes them a fascinating listen and spectacle that makes them my favorite live performers. The drummer, Pej Mon, was unreal, and I am so glad I ventured out late on a Sunday to be a witness. The headliner was Dead Cross, featuring another favorite of mine Mike Patton. I have seen his bands, from Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Fantomas, Peeping Tom, and others, but none are as industrial strength as this one. I started thinking to myself "What bands have I seen that are harder to listen to than this one?" and I came up with two...The Locust and Wolf Eyes, and it turns out one of the players in this band is from The Locust. Brutal listening hardcore noise, which even a seasoned veteran such as myself could not take.

Thanks go out to those of you from Tiki Caliente, Tiki Kon, and Tiki Oasis that purchased goods from me, making this by far my best year. I have the necessary motivation to see what I can get done for the coming one and look forward to seeing you again next May!

I thoroughly enjoyed the Sadies concert here last week at the Aladdin Theatre, as my son in law said "They rip!" Can't say the same for the headliner, Justin Townes Earle, who about put me to sleep, but at least the Sadies backed him for most of his set.

Thanks to Jim Heath from the Reverend Horton Heat for the great solo effort at the Doug Fir last night. He is a Gretsch guitar playing singer and song writing extraordinaire, who also happens to be a nice, successful, and encouraging person rarely encountered in the very tough life that is the music industry. I also enjoyed his Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard country influenced cohort Dale Watson, very funny and personable indeed.

Once again my confidence has been rattled as I received my second rejection notice today and won't be a part of this years Art in the Pearl. I was trying to broaden my horizons and do shows that were not related to tiki, but that plan just went out the window. Time to re-evaluate, but I am looking forward to Tiki Caliente, just a month away.

The March 31st deadline passed for the notification I was expecting for acceptance into the June in Vancouver, WA Ester Short recycling show, so I guess I must deal with the fact that I was not on the list. Like everyone, I do not deal with rejection well, and as I was venting my frustration with a friend he calmly said "Did it ever occur to you that you might not be as good as you think you are?" which naturally I never even considered, so it's on to the non-tiki event that I REALLY want to do, the Portland Art in the Pearl. 130 vendors from over 1000 applicants is not good odds, but I am sure I will be there. I find out the middle of this month. You would hope that friends would be more empathetic, but I did get a chuckle out of it.

All right, I'm relieved, I was judged and accepted to the local July Gresham Artwalk event! I always expect to be part of any show I try out for, but this was the first vending gig where I showed my carvings, so it holds a special place. Fairly certain this is my seventh year!

Keeping to my resolution to vend at events that are not tiki related, I sent in my application for the Ester Short recycled art festival in Vancouver Washington this June. It is a juried exhibit, so there are no guarantees, but I figure they would be out of their minds not to have me, right? Also sent in for the Gresham Artwalk in July, which I have done the last six years so I should be in on that one, but is also juried. The biggest one I want to do is Art in the Pearl, in Portland, and which I also sent photos to be judged.

I received a call about a month ago from the Portland Renovation and Landscaping show offering a great deal on a booth for this year's show. They wanted to add some local artists to the mix so I said yes, and although I am now regretting it (three long days) I will be there if anyone in the area wants to attend. It runs Friday the 27th through Sunday the 29th at the Memorial Coliseum.

Sent my money in to Rory at Tiki Cliente/Palm Springs yesterday so I am in. This is my sixth year vending, and for atmosphere and a laid back vibe this one is the best. Middle of May is the date, happy to have a few pieces sold already so my entry fee is paid for. Also have my same spot, which is in a cool 12x6 foot cabana.

I again have to thank my great, good natured and humorous, season ticket holding friend Whitey for inviting me to the recent visit by the Lakers to the Moda Center this week to play the Blazers. Although the Lakers lost, there were moments in their play that made me feel like the future has great potential. I love the hire of Luke Walton as coach, and feel that he will be a long term employee, in the mold of Pat Riley. I am happy with 30 wins this year however, far from the playoffs.

I got a call last week from someone that was putting on a remodeling and landscaping show here in Portland and they wanted to add local art to this years mix. I agreed to do it, three long days at the Memorial Coliseum starting the last weekend of January. You never know what may happen and I have been setting myself up for 2017 to do more shows that are not tiki related.

I am approaching this years' vending season with a make or break attitude and am adding two more events that are not tiki related in the hopes of selling a few more pieces. Art in the Pearl is a long running three day Portland event held on labor day weekend that I applied for, and although they have thousands of submissions for only 135 spots I am not even entertaining the thought of rejection. Also I would like to do a June show in Vancouver WA at Esther Short Park featuring recycled art that I hear-tell from other venders is a good one. Like all vending gigs I need to be accepted through a juried process, but should know on both in the first three months of the New Year.

To say that live music has been an influence on my life would be an understatement, but with the advancement of age the motivation to leave my home late in the evening to see a show on a Sunday night is rapidly diminishing. Gone are my experimental days, so I was happy I muscled up last night and saw Thee Oh Sees from Los Angeles at the new Revolution Hall. Part of the thrill for me are the undercards, and Alex Cameron from Australia featuring pre recorded music and a chatty David Bowie/Peter Murphy sounding singer while backed by a suave, velvet suited, soulful sax player, was a topper. Locals Lavender Flu opened with a dreamy, poppy, sludgy sort of set.

Someone looked at an older post from 2011 about my trying Facebook and deciding to abandon it as it was hard to talk about myself. Fast forward to 2016 and I am now not only on FB, but look at it every day and post once every week or so. After talking to others that use it I decided to give it another try and concentrate on the chance to advertise for free and get my work out to as many as possible. I cannot say that it has helped sales any, but I do enjoy seeing artists work that I admire from all over the world. This blogspot is still the one that gets all the latest work every Sunday, but I have to say I do enjoy the comments that I receive on Facebook, something that never happens here.

Besides the vending part of it (luckily I had two tikis pre sold as I did not sell a thing at the event) I had a terrific time at this years' Tiki Oasis. Thanks to Otto, Baby Doe and all those that work so hard to pull off this amazing show. The music was top notch again (except for Deadbolt, whose lead singer was so smashed he could not even remember the lyrics to his own damn songs) but my favorites were the Messer Chups from Russia. The people I meet and the great artists of all mediums make the time involved to drive all that way so worth it, and I look forward to doing it all again next year.

In a word I would call last night's Claypool Lennon show at the Roseland "Dull". As I dislike the Beatles I would not have gone without the great bassist Les Claypool at the controls, and with the addition of drummer Paulo Baldi and Beastie Boys' organist Mark Ramos "Money Mark" Wishita. I saw it as more money grab, no real chemistry, and the coddled Sean (son of John and Yoko) pissed me off more than once, although he had a beautiful, emerald colored, metal flake guitar that he knew how to play. I was not disappointed in the show, however, worth going to see and I very much liked the opening band Jjuujjuu, "alternative, ambient, electronic, post-punk psych from L.A."

I kid you not, numerous people at last nights' Sadies concert were wearing patchouli oil. Like tobacco, this needs to be a banned substance from all public venues. Anyway this Canadaian foursome consisting of two guitars, stand up bass and drums plays an alternative country rock and roll but adds gospel, punk, psychedelic, spaghetti western surf to the mix to really bring a different style that makes them so great. I do not like to recommend music, but you should check these guys out. Opening were another band from the Great White North, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, excellent dark, surfy instrumentalists. The Star Theatre where they played is a very nice place for music, I had a super time.

I had a great time at this year's Tiki Caliente in Palm Springs the past week. I was able to break even and also bring home some cool art from Norm Daniels and Michael Sbicca, plus all the great music and friends to see was superb. I have to say that the highlight was seeing Shags newest paintings that were on display in the hotel lobby...simply fantastic. Thanks so much to Si and Damian who purchased their fifth carvings from me, Cindy and Mark with their second, and Michael with his first. You are the reason I can keep doing this and it is greatly appreciated!

It had been a long time since I went to a show at the Roseland, but with the Japanese band Melt Banana playing with the Melvins I could not miss it. It was many moons ago when I first saw them open for Mr. Bungle and I was interested to see how much they have changed in 20 years. Now with only a "vocalist" and guitar, this noise rock band can still bring it. The female singer is still a firecracker, mixing screams, shrieks, barks and the like to mesmerize like the old days. The songs are now a bit more melodic and much longer than their first album, which was comprised of many 10, 20, 30 second snippets of sound, but was glad that they have evolved and not still doing the same thing. Of course the Melvins were fantastic, it seems they are finally getting some recognition for being one of the most influential NW bands of my time. The headliner was England's Napalm Death, not my cup of tea but still entertaining.