Ellen Whyte treats crowd to heart-rocking music from new original CD 'Four Way Stop'
By: Katie Naylor
Ellen Whyte
Photo by Ken Bratz
On a particularly warm October evening, the pleasure was all the crowds at Halibut's because Portland's own, Ellen Whyte, and her heart rocking music graced the stage. As Whyte and her accompaniment sailed through classic jazz and blues standards, the crowd was treated to some of the latest releases of her new CD Four Way Stop, named "Best Self Produced CD of 2008" by the Cascade Blues Association.
As this writer spoke to Whyte on a quick break, she assuredly says that there is no mistake to the name of the latest album and, as a matter of fact, it has much meaning. Four Way Stop refers to four strong emotions of Whyte's; remorse, fear, strength and love. She laughs with gusto as she admits that her last three albums were happier; not to say that this album is dark, but it just allowed her to dig deeper into her musical destiny. Read More where is Ellen playing ?
Cee Cee James Gritty new CD release proves easy to enjoy
by KT
Cee Cee James poster
Cee Cee James' latest release Low Down Where the Snakes Crawl is easy to enjoy. Her gritty Janis Joplin-esque vocal style plays against her very sweet "little-girl-lost" voice.
All of the tunes are original material by James, Rob Andrews and Russell Deck.
Artists featured on this recording are James herself, vocals and percussion; Rob Andrews, rhythm and slide guitar; David Malony, drums and percussion; Dan Mohler, bass; and James Howard, lead guitar. Also appearing is a list of musicians too detailed to list here but well documented in the liner notes.
A special feature on the CD cover is a Cherokee translation by Mark Wolf Copeland. To this writer's eye, the runic characters on the cover resemble both Greek and Russian (Cyrillic) characters but is the Cherokee translation of the CD title. The scholarship required to find this special notation of an all-but-lost language is impressive. Read More where is Cee Cee playing ?
Tragedy brings family together & great pizza, music to Oregon City at Mi Famiglia Pizzeria
By Steve Rodin
Mi Famiglia Owner Patty Eddy and son Eric Eddy
Photo by Steve Rodin
Mi Famiglia Wood Oven Pizzeria is nestled in the heart of Old Town Oregon City, right on the corner of the historic Oregon City Bridge.
This restaurant opened Aug. 27, 2007. Following a tragedy, Patti Eddy and her sons, Eric and Kyle Bradfield, decided they needed to bring their family closer together to get though the recovery and beyond. The two boys both had a variety of experience working in the food industry, but Eddy says Kyle had the original idea and convinced the family they could be successful. They bought into an older building and the boys renovated it almost by themselves. The final product is a comfortable, warm, family-owned and operated business that offers great food, atmosphere and live music. Read More
In Gresham Bogey's attracts 'Cheers' friendly, neighborhood crowd
by Lauree Carlsen
Bogey's DJ Dave York
Photo by KT
Everyone has heard about the Cheers TV show, a bar where the locals reminisce, laugh and have a great time together. There's no need to look any further to find this down-home caring neighborhood crowd. It's right here at Bogey's at 1965 N.E. Division in Gresham.
The creative and innovative owner Carolyn Bailey brings with her years of experience along with a sweet, caring personality. With hard work and determination, she has recruited a fine crew to help her run this quaint little bar. Open seven nights of the week, you can always be sure something fun is planned for the day. The food is excellent as well. Read More
Steel Horse caters to new breed of biker, features Karaoke on 42" HD screens
By Keith Cantrell
KJ RIck Lewendoski
Most baby boomers have a preconceived stereotype of biker bars. Thirty years ago, a biker bar was seen as seedy, dirty, full of crime, drugs and illicit sex. Bikers themselves were considered dangerous criminals full of evil intent. That image is a thing of the past.
While many bikers still wear the black leathers, tattoos and long beards, they usually have a regular, respectable job and it just so happens that their hobby and passion is riding motorcycles. The Steel Horse caters specifically to this type of new biker.
Located at 13405 S.W. Pacific Highway in Tigard, it opened a year ago and Karaoke is featured there every Friday and Saturday. Owner Johnny "Hollywood" and his wife Robin were bikers themselves and saw the potential for a new kind of biker bar when they first considered this formerly run down building on the highway.
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