You might remember my post from a couple months ago that contained perhaps the most intense music video I've ever seen. Well, Minneapolis group Aaron & The Sea are back with a new video for their single "There There Creature Creature". At first glance it may not appear to be as dark as the video for "Deja Vudu", but subtext is everything. While definitely less intense, there is still an overriding feel of angst and unease. Check it out below and then do one of two things (or both). Stream the entire new album from Aaron & The Sea or/and download the whole thing for free! You can accomplish those tasks below as I have provided the necessary links. Now get crackin'!

On May 16^th, California band Social Distortion will be in Bend to rock the Midtown Ballroom. I talked to Social D. guitarist Jonny Wickersham last week for a SOUND piece that will be on newsstands this Wednesday. Check out a little extra coverage from that interview and watch the music video Social D. did for “Machine Gun Blues”, their biggest hit off last year’s release Hard Times & Nursery Rhymes. Each band member played a spirited role in bringing the song to life.

Jonny Wickersham:

On his 12 year (so far) experience as a guitarist for Social Distortion…

“It’s cool to play music that a lot of different people respond to… different walks of life, different ages. It feels good to play in a band that has the capacity for that as opposed to being a band that only one generation likes or one demographic.”

On writing songs with Mike Ness…

“My contribution to the stuff is purely musical. On Sex, Love, and Rock ‘n’ Roll, I brought a few tunes to the table that were more mapped out. Mostly I might come up with an arrangement and a few working lyrics and Mike will do a rewrite [of the words]. He’s not the kind of guy who would want to sing someone else’s lyrics because the songs are deeply personal to him. I bring in guitar parts and melodies and then Mike will shape up the structure of the tunes.”

Tonight kicks off the Cascades Classical Music Foundation Young Performers Competition with a benefit concert featuring professional pianists Molly Wheeler and Rhonda Ringering. As a bonus, there will also be performances by last year's CCMF champion Kiara and runner-up John Fawcett. The concert is at COCC's Wille Hall at 7:30pm. (Suggested donation $10)

Tomorrow morning, also at Wille Hall, the competion gets underway. Performers in different age groups will be competing for scholarships they can use to purchase professional grade instruments or additional music lessons. Now in its sixth year, the CCFM Young Performers Competition features some of the most outstanding musical talent that Central Oregon and the Pacific Northwest have to offer. Check out a John Fawcett violin recital video below, as well as a solo piano piece by Bend Oregon competitor Lindsey Williams.

Do you find it a little hard to plan out your Sasquatch Festival schedule and decide which stages you need to be at? We're making that process a little easier on you with the Spotify playlists below. As always, this year's event features several well-known bands as well as indie favorites that you may not have heard of. Each list below is organized by the day bands will be performing. So, just click, listen, and plan!

I finally finished putting together all of my post Coachella coverage from the first weekend of the festival. Below you will find a full slate of links to photos, videos, streaming music, and my very own survival guide (if you're thinking about going next year). It was a fantastically well run festival and just in case anyone is wondering... the best performance I saw was M83 and the best experience I had was the show by Godspeed You! Black Emperor. (you should definitely check out music from both of those groups). Enjoy!

Coachella Photos

Coachella Ferris Wheel

Coachella Performances (video)

Coachella Survival Guide

Coachella Spotify Playlist (streaming)

Palm Springs Cell Phone Collage

The 2012 edition of the Coachella Music Festival is in full swing, now going into it's final day of the first weekend. So far (in my opinion), guitar is king at this year's event. Highlights for me have included Dawes, M. Ward, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Gary Clark Jr., and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. But that's not to say Coachella hasn't provided a ton of other great performances as well! In fact... I'd also put M83 and Amon Tobin up there with those guitar laden groups. You can still stream many of today's performances and even check out a couple encore sets that happened last night. I'll post more soon, so in the meantime check out just a handful of photos below and keep following me for more coverage!

Ahead of his Tower Theater appearance on April 17^th, I had the chance to ask Nashville (via Portland) songwriter Todd Snider, some questions about his latest album Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables, his own wicked sense of humor, and his views about songwriting. You’ll be able to catch a scaled down version of that discussion tomorrow when the latest issue of The Source Weekly hits stands. I’ve also picked out a few of my favorite responses from Snider that didn’t make the piece and posted them below for you to check out. Be sure to grab a print copy tomorrow and read the rest of what Snider had to say. If you’re a fan of his… part of it may shock you.

On writing songs…

“…from my world view making records is just acres of words and emotions being sorted and shifted by instinct with the hope of someday, doing something that moves me as much as The Stones or Dylan moves me…”

On life and death...

“I’m sad that I’m going to die, but I’m not worried about it. It’s not something that might happen, it’s all we know for sure. Hope isn’t something that I have ever craved or needed… faith either. I like to look at the now for what it is, not for what it could’ve been. Right now we know we are here. We don’t know why we are here or where we’re going when we leave here… and that’s a huge lack of information to try and live with. Denial of this drives mankind crazy and causes war and famine. We want to pretend we’re not dying, so we build things, play sports, save trophies, make scrapbooks, have pageants and proms. Count me out.”

On his “Stoner Fables”…

“… no lessons. If you learn something from me, it’s your own fault and I will not be held accountable in any way.”

On his approach to live shows…

“…I truly don’t give a shit how the shows go or who takes what away from them. I don’t care if I’m cheered or booed. Which I think tends to make my shows go well. It’s more a bi-product of indifference than it is a product of hope or effort. For me it’s like surfing. The only part of it that’s up to me is getting in the water. The rest is instinct and acceptance.”

After breaking a rather cheap pair of Sony stereo headphones, I went on a search for decent and also good looking cans under a hundred bucks. I finally settled on the Marshall Major (on ear) headphones and just finished reviewing them. I ended up being quite pleased. But it got me wondering, what do our BENT readers use for their away from home music listening? Take a second and let us know what you think the best pair of headphones under $100 are. (Links so that we can see pictures of your more stylish choices are encouraged).

It's been just under a year and a half since local singer songwriter Chris Beland made news when at age 31 he met his father (former Flying Burrito Brothers guitarist John Beland) for the first time. Just a couple of days later, the two of them took the stage together during Chris's sophomore record release party at The Kilns Bookstore in Bend.

Today, Chris is drawing from that experience and the months that followed by creating new songs for a third album, currently in the early stages of production. I sat down with him last week to chat about what we might expect, but even more importantly... the help he needs to make it happen at all.

Chris is using the popular site, Kickstarter to make his album a reality and currently has 38 days left to collect money from enough backers to continue moving forward. It's a unique way of getting everything from tech projects, to films, to records funded and typically, the people requesting the money don't get a dime unless they raise the total amount needed. Chris is hopeful that taking advantage of this new medium for raising money will help him finish making the album and if all goes well, it should be released early this Fall. But even if that doesn't happen... the recording will likely go on, just at a much slower pace.

During the week, you can catch Chris playing live shows around town at places like Jackson's Corner, Bend d'Vine, and Five Fusion & Sushi Bar.

This last Saturday night, Bend favorites The Ascetic Junkies performed at Tower Theater for the first time... and they brought some friends with them. Opening the show was former Bend resident Sara Jackson-Holman and following her were The Bottlecap Boys. Below is a video of The Bottlecap Boys toward the end of their very fun Avett Brother's style set. They ended up pretty popular with the crowd (even getting a room and board invite from a woman in the audience) and if you watch their animated faces closely, you'll see a bit of why people loved them so much. After you watch the video, you can also check out a photo roll of the entire evening.