Longtime Portland music-scene staples John and Ally Althoff seemed to have a good multi-generational thing going with the White Heart, but the generation above them, Ally's parents, appear to be running the bar on their own now. John, member of the band Conifer, was doing the music booking, but announced on his Myspace page that his and Ally’s relationship with the bar has ended. At least some of that booking duty has now fallen to Tea Party Concerts gal Lauren Wayne. News of the Althoffs’ break with the bar was taken not so gracefully by some White Heart regulars. The opinions of one gal were so onerous that she was banned for life from the White Heart, leading to the fiery press release claiming censorship that provoked this item. The "Sibilance" staff visited the bar this past Wednesday, where we were served a very reasonably-priced old fashioned and where we chatted with Johnny Lomba (totally geeked about the imminent opening of the revived Skinny — the electrician, plumber, and telephone guy were apparently all in there on the same day recently) and Rotors to Rust's Ed Gaines, who mentioned a half-mastered, never-released Rotors treasure that might come unearthed at some point in the not-too-distant future. Plus, the Heart’s outdoor patio still looks great poking out onto Congress Street.
Ray LaMontagne fans in Columbus, Ohio, are bitter. Not only did LaMontagne cancel his August 5 show and two others, he also announced that he'll drop off the co-headlining tour with Guster that was meant to go through much of 2006 after the pair's August 19 date at the Civic Center. That means he currently has only one show scheduled to support the August 29 release of his sophomore effort, Till the Sun Turns Black. The break with Guster doesn't come as a total surprise. Though LaMontagne cited "unforeseen conflicts in his schedule" for the move, the "Sibilance" staff foresaw some time ago that LaMontagne shouldn't have been opening for Guster and that their crowds weren't a great match. Plus, the buzz at last week's Headstart! listening party was that LaMontagne's been burning both candle ends with a crazy touring schedule that took him from LA to Australia to the United Kingdom in the span of two weeks - literally, around the world in 14 days — before he returned to Maine. Nada Surf replace LaMontagne on the Guster tour. Oh yeah, and the Headstart! record is real good, too.
You'll have to find something else to get people for Christmas: Greetings from Area Code 207 will not release a compilation this November, for the first time since 1999. Stay tuned for details.
The NEMOMusic Festival held its second-annual songwriters competition semifinals at the Middle Street Starbucks last Wednesday. Judging were Sam Pfeifle (hoo-boy, like he needs another ego boost) and WCYY do-it-all Mark Curdo. Laurel Brauns, Ryan Lee Crosby (a Boston guy looking for some more gigs up this way), and Rachel Griffin all threw some good punches, but Pete Kilpatrick took home the free guitar with a charismatic three-song set that left him the clear winner (even if he did need to trim his guitar strings — what a mess).
Have we told you about the ultra-nascent Portland Music Foundation? They’ve held only meeting two, but these few Portland scenesters are looking to put together an educational/supportive entity that would act as a clearinghouse for the scene and provide some musicians with tools for success. Interested parties can email sam_pfeifle@yahoo.com.
