“You hear a lot about the faux weirdness of Alberta’s Last Thursday—but it pales in comparison to the real deal, the annual St. Johns Bizarre, in the heart of the realest neighborhood in Portland. Tons of vendors, kid crafts and activities, a beer garden, and insanely good music from actually awesome local bands. It does not get any realer.” — True Parent
Stay tuned as we continue adding band bios and music samples in the days leading up to the Bizarre!
TEAM DRESCH
To say Team Dresch were/are a political band is to miss the point. As they reminded in their great 1995 epistolary anthem “To the Enemies of Political Rock,” not singing about causes is a political statement, of acceptance of the status quo.
In “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” America, Team Dresch did not have the luxury of complacency if they wanted to sing about the most basic of lyrical themes: Love.
For four young queers, choosing whether to sing their hearts out “can feel like a choice between pleasure and existence,” as Jody Bleyle evocatively expressed in “Political Rock.” Or, as they sang a little less politely in the same song: “Just own it you little slacker fuck.”
Listening to Team Dresch’s 1990s albums and singles two decades later, you’re struck by the way in which they’ve gained, not lost, power. Combining the brazenness of Riot Grrrl with the angst dirge of grunge, Team Dresch didn’t just raise the stakes of queercore: They created two near-perfect albums about longing, freedom, and belonging over guitar riffs as epic and intense as Bleyle and Kaia Wilson’s poetic couplets.
Team Dresch broke up suddenly in 1996, its members going off in singles and pairs to other projects: The Butchies, the Vegas Beat. They reunited in 2004 and have never looked back. Re-releasing their two full-length albums, as well as their first new music since the 90s on a 7-inch release (all on Jealous Butcher Records), the band’s last nationwide tour was in 2019. The shows, as fans and band members alike would describe, felt like a “family reunion” because every Team Dresch show since their beginning has been exactly that.
Music this honest never gets old.
THE MINUS 5
The Minus 5 is a rock/folk/pop collective captained by Scott McCaughey (see: “Scott McCaughey” c/o “The Internet,” for further reliable information), with Peter Buck often aboard as navigation officer.
By design from its inception, the lineup for recordings and live appearances is completely fluid, dependent on musician availability, whim and wind direction. Collaborators regularly feature friends from R.E.M. (as it once were), Wilco, Decemberists, Posies, and literally hundreds and hundreds of other recalcitrant comrade combos. Everyone gives their all, and no one need be counted on.
On Record Store Day, April 19, 2014, the Minus 5 released its ninth official long-player, the all-new five-LP, 57-song, 211-minute set Scott The Hoople In The Dungeon Of Horror, on long-time home Yep Roc Records. The sprawling but concise work benefits from the participation of both the usual and new suspects, like John Moen, Jeff Tweedy, Bill Rieflin, Linda Pitmon, Nate Query, Jenny Conlee, Ian McLagan, Laura Gibson, Joe Adragna, Ezra Holbrook, Wesley Stace, Casey Neill and more. It was limited to a 750-copy vinyl run (including 100 colored) in a deluxe book-style bound album. It was mined/plundered for two CD/LP releases, Dungeon Gold (2015), and Of Monkees And Men (2016). November 2017 saw the Minus 5’s entry in the holiday sweepstakes, Dear December, which was conveniently released a week after Scott fell down on Kearney Street in San Francisco.
Stroke Manor came to life in a dazzling 2019 Record Store Day package, followed soonly by CD and “regular” vinyl, as well as a summer spate of touring, with M5 line-ups including Peter Buck, Linda Pitmon, Kurt Bloch, Mike Mills, Casey Neill, Jenny Conlee, Jim Talstra, Alia Farah, Paulie Pulvirenti, Steve Drizos, and guests Steve Wynn, Kelli Hogan, Mike Giblin, Mike Ritt, John Perrin… etc. Solid Sound was epic. Camper’s Camp-out was smoldering. Chicago was twice vanquished. Portland was quite honestly magical. As were most other stops along the way.
And now Mott (’74 version) is back for more. The Minus 5 is all IN. Still, Scott The Hoople’s future remains uncertain. As does YOURS.
NO AGE
Upset the Rhythm sets it up pretty good: “No Age is Randy Randall and Dean Spunt — two heavyweights from the LA punk / skate / art underworld, who previously performed as two thirds of that punked DIY machine, WIVES.
“Formed in December 2005, following an incendiary final WIVES tour, No Age, with Randy and Dean, bring the world back to their room with a completely fresh approach. In the words of the New York Times…
“‘No Age have a rude energy, but the music is emptier than with WIVES and more mysterious… Mr. Spunt sang and smacked the rim of his snare drum, while Mr. Randall picked out some broken chords. Then it shifted — Mr. Randall tapped an octave pedal, transforming his spidery guitar line into a burly, propulsive bass line.'”
GROWING PAINS
Growing Pains is Kalia Storer (bass/vocals), Carl Taylor (guitar), Jack Havrilla (guitar/vocals) and Kyle Kraft (drums). They met each other playing covers at the School of Rock in Portland, when they were 16 and 17; six months later, they were trying out their own material at Portland all-ages mecca Black Water and in basements around the city, quickly turning heads at early shows that, according to more than a few of those in attendance, sounded like “if Mazzy Star were an emo band.”
Lesser bands might have been content to stop there, but not Growing Pains. Eighteen months of house shows and opening slots for buzzing national acts like awakebutstillinbed, Diners and Macseal helped the young act sharpen a sound that could have emerged only from the post-mordial soup of internet-era rock. Sure — listen for the past, and you’ll hear the orchestrated chaos of My Bloody Valentine; the instrumental pyrotechnics and compositional sleights-of-hand that unite Smashing Pumpkins with the mathier end of emo; the patient hookiness common to 80s and 90s dream pop acts and their slowcore contemporaries. But Heaven Spots is no jaded nostalgia revue. It’s an undeniably contemporary record made by people who listen too widely to suffer from the anxiety of specific influences.
CANNIBAL OX
“Comprising the Harlem duo Vast Aire and Vordul Megilah, Cannibal Ox debuted in 2001 on the Def Jux label with The Cold Vein, produced by El-P. A couple of singles, “Vein” and “The F Word,” accompanied the album’s release. The Cold Vein was critically adored, with U.K. style magazine The Face calling it the hip-hop album of the year, while The Wire stated it was the best album of its genre for a long time. “Oxtrumentals, an album of El-P‘s Cannibal Ox soundscapes, arrived in early 2002, and the live album Return of the Ox: Live at CMJ followed in 2005. While they never officially broke up, it took until 2012 for the duo to reunite and announce the creation of new music. Evidence arrived a year later when the Gotham EP appeared, then the album Blade of the Ronin landed in 2015. It featured production from Bill Cosmiq plus guest appearances from MF Doom, eLZhi, and U-God.” — AllMusic.com
CAICEDO
Now calling Portland their musical playground, Caicedo has been making waves with their infectious rhythms and thought-provoking lyrics. With every performance, they ignite a fire in the hearts of their audience, inviting them on a mesmerizing journey through a sonic paradise.
Straight out of the vibrant streets of Guadalajara, Mexico, Caicedo is a musical force to be reckoned with. Established in 2013 by Vicco González, this eclectic ensemble is all about blurring the lines between genres, fusing dream-pop, psychedelia, and Latin grooves into their own unique sound, aptly dubbed as “Tropical Dream.”
QUEEN RODEO
Dream pop group Queen Rodeo began as the solo recording project of Brooke Metropulos (Plastic Cactus) in 2021. Now they’re a real live band.
They’re currently working on their debut full-length record at Magnetic Impressions in Portland.
THE GARD3N
HipHopera with a Southern twist. The Gard3n is a collection that deviates from the typical structure of a music group. Regional sounds spanning the Pacific Northwest to the Texas-born prowess of Houston and the traditional hip-hop structures from the South by way of Atlanta, The Gard3n represents different tastes inside of shared musical genres.
From alternative to R&B to hip-hop to poetry, the organic nature of The Gard3n’s content represents a complete musical collection shared between three individual artists. Their unique and creative mixes reflect their geographic roots and personal influences.
Chilifa Nem, Neeks FM, and ivy explore the bounds of a musical bond — flowing between individual projects and trio presentations. Understanding that not one project will be the same, they have mastered the seemingly improvised construction of The Gard3n’s work to reflect the natural creation of each artist’s musical process. The Gard3n’s fractured blend of experimental sounds, vocals and production makes for an auditory experience bonded with lyrical intention.
RAD MAX
Some say Rad Max came to life when someone put an unmarked VHS tape into a VCR and pressed play. Bursting forth in a flash of neon, they emerged shredding guitar solos and smacking down dance beats.
Rad Max’s playful lyrics and catchy hooks rock over a dance beat that can only be truly understood through an 80s movie montage. They often sing about sunglasses, convenience stores, demons, and other bad movie tropes. Aside from straight-to-video movies, Rad Max pulls inspiration from such artists as Nerf Herder, DEVO, The Go-Go’s, and Kenny Loggins to create their particular brand of rad wave dance punk. They’ve quickly become known for their energetic live performances that balance danceable rock-n-roll with tongue-in-cheek dorkiness.
Since their start in 2017, Rad Max has played all around the Pacific Northwest, started their own music-and-movie series called So Bad, It’s Rad!, has been featured on Drunk Dials Records, PDX Pop Now!, & Tender Loving Empire compilations, has been featured in a short horror film, and has opened for touring acts such as Daikaiju and MDC.
Rewind that VHS, hit play, and get ready for B-movie rock fest that is Rad Max.
CARLY BARTON
Born in the Arizona desert, Carly Barton has spent the last decade immersed in Portland’s creative community as a composer, DJ, visual artist and event organizer. Her music catalog prioritizes world-building electronic music and contemporary piano composition, among other things. One of which is a 12-part series entitled “Vidya World,” which soundtracks an imagined video game universe into themed mini albums.
Her subsequent series, “ARC (Anime Resource Center),” reimagined various anime soundtracks into a collection of EPs. Outside these passion projects, Carly has self-published sheet music books for piano and educational music theory materials while also releasing albums and remixes via labels such as MANIC!, Disposable Commodities, Blankstairs, and more. Carly performs mostly as a DJ, but her approach to production explores genre-bending soundscapes with a specialty in collage and controlled chaos.
Entertainment
2024 ST. JOHNS BIZARRE // MUSIC
“You hear a lot about the faux weirdness of Alberta’s Last Thursday—but it pales in comparison to the real deal, the annual St. Johns Bizarre, in the heart of the realest neighborhood in Portland. Tons of vendors, kid crafts and activities, a beer garden, and insanely good music from actually awesome local bands. It does not get any realer.” — True Parent
Check out our lineup for 2024!
Plaza Stage
(N. Philadelphia between Lombard and Ivanhoe)
John Street Stage
(N. John between Lombard and Kellogg)
Stay tuned as we continue adding band bios and music samples in the days leading up to the Bizarre!
TEAM DRESCH
To say Team Dresch were/are a political band is to miss the point. As they reminded in their great 1995 epistolary anthem “To the Enemies of Political Rock,” not singing about causes is a political statement, of acceptance of the status quo.
In “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” America, Team Dresch did not have the luxury of complacency if they wanted to sing about the most basic of lyrical themes: Love.
For four young queers, choosing whether to sing their hearts out “can feel like a choice between pleasure and existence,” as Jody Bleyle evocatively expressed in “Political Rock.” Or, as they sang a little less politely in the same song: “Just own it you little slacker fuck.”
Listening to Team Dresch’s 1990s albums and singles two decades later, you’re struck by the way in which they’ve gained, not lost, power. Combining the brazenness of Riot Grrrl with the angst dirge of grunge, Team Dresch didn’t just raise the stakes of queercore: They created two near-perfect albums about longing, freedom, and belonging over guitar riffs as epic and intense as Bleyle and Kaia Wilson’s poetic couplets.
Team Dresch broke up suddenly in 1996, its members going off in singles and pairs to other projects: The Butchies, the Vegas Beat. They reunited in 2004 and have never looked back. Re-releasing their two full-length albums, as well as their first new music since the 90s on a 7-inch release (all on Jealous Butcher Records), the band’s last nationwide tour was in 2019. The shows, as fans and band members alike would describe, felt like a “family reunion” because every Team Dresch show since their beginning has been exactly that.
Music this honest never gets old.
THE MINUS 5
The Minus 5 is a rock/folk/pop collective captained by Scott McCaughey (see: “Scott McCaughey” c/o “The Internet,” for further reliable information), with Peter Buck often aboard as navigation officer.
By design from its inception, the lineup for recordings and live appearances is completely fluid, dependent on musician availability, whim and wind direction. Collaborators regularly feature friends from R.E.M. (as it once were), Wilco, Decemberists, Posies, and literally hundreds and hundreds of other recalcitrant comrade combos. Everyone gives their all, and no one need be counted on.
On Record Store Day, April 19, 2014, the Minus 5 released its ninth official long-player, the all-new five-LP, 57-song, 211-minute set Scott The Hoople In The Dungeon Of Horror, on long-time home Yep Roc Records. The sprawling but concise work benefits from the participation of both the usual and new suspects, like John Moen, Jeff Tweedy, Bill Rieflin, Linda Pitmon, Nate Query, Jenny Conlee, Ian McLagan, Laura Gibson, Joe Adragna, Ezra Holbrook, Wesley Stace, Casey Neill and more. It was limited to a 750-copy vinyl run (including 100 colored) in a deluxe book-style bound album. It was mined/plundered for two CD/LP releases, Dungeon Gold (2015), and Of Monkees And Men (2016). November 2017 saw the Minus 5’s entry in the holiday sweepstakes, Dear December, which was conveniently released a week after Scott fell down on Kearney Street in San Francisco.
Stroke Manor came to life in a dazzling 2019 Record Store Day package, followed soonly by CD and “regular” vinyl, as well as a summer spate of touring, with M5 line-ups including Peter Buck, Linda Pitmon, Kurt Bloch, Mike Mills, Casey Neill, Jenny Conlee, Jim Talstra, Alia Farah, Paulie Pulvirenti, Steve Drizos, and guests Steve Wynn, Kelli Hogan, Mike Giblin, Mike Ritt, John Perrin… etc. Solid Sound was epic. Camper’s Camp-out was smoldering. Chicago was twice vanquished. Portland was quite honestly magical. As were most other stops along the way.
And now Mott (’74 version) is back for more. The Minus 5 is all IN. Still, Scott The Hoople’s future remains uncertain. As does YOURS.
NO AGE
Upset the Rhythm sets it up pretty good: “No Age is Randy Randall and Dean Spunt — two heavyweights from the LA punk / skate / art underworld, who previously performed as two thirds of that punked DIY machine, WIVES.
“Formed in December 2005, following an incendiary final WIVES tour, No Age, with Randy and Dean, bring the world back to their room with a completely fresh approach. In the words of the New York Times…
“‘No Age have a rude energy, but the music is emptier than with WIVES and more mysterious… Mr. Spunt sang and smacked the rim of his snare drum, while Mr. Randall picked out some broken chords. Then it shifted — Mr. Randall tapped an octave pedal, transforming his spidery guitar line into a burly, propulsive bass line.'”
GROWING PAINS
Growing Pains is Kalia Storer (bass/vocals), Carl Taylor (guitar), Jack Havrilla (guitar/vocals) and Kyle Kraft (drums). They met each other playing covers at the School of Rock in Portland, when they were 16 and 17; six months later, they were trying out their own material at Portland all-ages mecca Black Water and in basements around the city, quickly turning heads at early shows that, according to more than a few of those in attendance, sounded like “if Mazzy Star were an emo band.”
Lesser bands might have been content to stop there, but not Growing Pains. Eighteen months of house shows and opening slots for buzzing national acts like awakebutstillinbed, Diners and Macseal helped the young act sharpen a sound that could have emerged only from the post-mordial soup of internet-era rock. Sure — listen for the past, and you’ll hear the orchestrated chaos of My Bloody Valentine; the instrumental pyrotechnics and compositional sleights-of-hand that unite Smashing Pumpkins with the mathier end of emo; the patient hookiness common to 80s and 90s dream pop acts and their slowcore contemporaries. But Heaven Spots is no jaded nostalgia revue. It’s an undeniably contemporary record made by people who listen too widely to suffer from the anxiety of specific influences.
CANNIBAL OX
“Comprising the Harlem duo Vast Aire and Vordul Megilah, Cannibal Ox debuted in 2001 on the Def Jux label with The Cold Vein, produced by El-P. A couple of singles, “Vein” and “The F Word,” accompanied the album’s release. The Cold Vein was critically adored, with U.K. style magazine The Face calling it the hip-hop album of the year, while The Wire stated it was the best album of its genre for a long time.
“Oxtrumentals, an album of El-P‘s Cannibal Ox soundscapes, arrived in early 2002, and the live album Return of the Ox: Live at CMJ followed in 2005. While they never officially broke up, it took until 2012 for the duo to reunite and announce the creation of new music. Evidence arrived a year later when the Gotham EP appeared, then the album Blade of the Ronin landed in 2015. It featured production from Bill Cosmiq plus guest appearances from MF Doom, eLZhi, and U-God.” — AllMusic.com
CAICEDO
Now calling Portland their musical playground, Caicedo has been making waves with their infectious rhythms and thought-provoking lyrics. With every performance, they ignite a fire in the hearts of their audience, inviting them on a mesmerizing journey through a sonic paradise.
Straight out of the vibrant streets of Guadalajara, Mexico, Caicedo is a musical force to be reckoned with. Established in 2013 by Vicco González, this eclectic ensemble is all about blurring the lines between genres, fusing dream-pop, psychedelia, and Latin grooves into their own unique sound, aptly dubbed as “Tropical Dream.”
QUEEN RODEO
Dream pop group Queen Rodeo began as the solo recording project of Brooke Metropulos (Plastic Cactus) in 2021. Now they’re a real live band.
They’re currently working on their debut full-length record at Magnetic Impressions in Portland.
THE GARD3N
HipHopera with a Southern twist. The Gard3n is a collection that deviates from the typical structure of a music group. Regional sounds spanning the Pacific Northwest to the Texas-born prowess of Houston and the traditional hip-hop structures from the South by way of Atlanta, The Gard3n represents different tastes inside of shared musical genres.
From alternative to R&B to hip-hop to poetry, the organic nature of The Gard3n’s content represents a complete musical collection shared between three individual artists. Their unique and creative mixes reflect their geographic roots and personal influences.
Chilifa Nem, Neeks FM, and ivy explore the bounds of a musical bond — flowing between individual projects and trio presentations. Understanding that not one project will be the same, they have mastered the seemingly improvised construction of The Gard3n’s work to reflect the natural creation of each artist’s musical process. The Gard3n’s fractured blend of experimental sounds, vocals and production makes for an auditory experience bonded with lyrical intention.
RAD MAX
Some say Rad Max came to life when someone put an unmarked VHS tape into a VCR and pressed play. Bursting forth in a flash of neon, they emerged shredding guitar solos and smacking down dance beats.
Rad Max’s playful lyrics and catchy hooks rock over a dance beat that can only be truly understood through an 80s movie montage. They often sing about sunglasses, convenience stores, demons, and other bad movie tropes. Aside from straight-to-video movies, Rad Max pulls inspiration from such artists as Nerf Herder, DEVO, The Go-Go’s, and Kenny Loggins to create their particular brand of rad wave dance punk. They’ve quickly become known for their energetic live performances that balance danceable rock-n-roll with tongue-in-cheek dorkiness.
Since their start in 2017, Rad Max has played all around the Pacific Northwest, started their own music-and-movie series called So Bad, It’s Rad!, has been featured on Drunk Dials Records, PDX Pop Now!, & Tender Loving Empire compilations, has been featured in a short horror film, and has opened for touring acts such as Daikaiju and MDC.
Rewind that VHS, hit play, and get ready for B-movie rock fest that is Rad Max.
CARLY BARTON
Born in the Arizona desert, Carly Barton has spent the last decade immersed in Portland’s creative community as a composer, DJ, visual artist and event organizer. Her music catalog prioritizes world-building electronic music and contemporary piano composition, among other things. One of which is a 12-part series entitled “Vidya World,” which soundtracks an imagined video game universe into themed mini albums.
Her subsequent series, “ARC (Anime Resource Center),” reimagined various anime soundtracks into a collection of EPs. Outside these passion projects, Carly has self-published sheet music books for piano and educational music theory materials while also releasing albums and remixes via labels such as MANIC!, Disposable Commodities, Blankstairs, and more. Carly performs mostly as a DJ, but her approach to production explores genre-bending soundscapes with a specialty in collage and controlled chaos.
AIRABOUT