Featured Artist: The Stolen Sweets
The Stolen Sweets perform vocal jazz arrangements inspired by New Orleans favorites, The Boswell Sisters, one of the hottest girl groups of the 1930s. Comprised of vocalists Jen Bernard, Lara Michell and Erin Sutherland and string syncopators Keith Brush, Pete Krebs, and David Langenes, The Sweets deliver a unique brand of vintage swing jazz, dishing up abundant doses of coy stage antics and sideways glances as they play.
The Boswell Sisters were verifiable radio stars in the late 20s and early 30s, keeping company with the likes of the Dorsey Brothers, Bunny Berigan, Eddie Lang, and Benny Goodman - partnerships that provided the jazz world with some of its most influential recordings.
The nature of the music was auspicious and good-humored, providing a ray of hope to listeners during a truly dispiriting economic depression.
The girls were famous for their tight three - part harmonies, subtle lyrical innuendo and dizzying tempo changes. As a result, the Sweets’ repertoire is brimming with ambitious arrangements of everything from standards like “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” to obscure tunes like “Gee, But I’d Like to Make You Happy.”
The Sweets’ ability to transport audiences to the early days of jazz has already earned them a sizable and colorful fan base in their native Portland and beyond.
The Decliners
(From the Dec. 7 issue of Willamette Week:}
"The act of declining is a rather polite refusal, particularly for a punk band. But, the Decliners aren't a typical punk group. Vocalist-guitarist David Hickson sings like a ghost gone a-haunting while his distortion-ravaged guitar oozes over the rhythm section. Composed of members of the Piss-Shivers, Drunktank and Death By Tire Iron, the Decliners are a group of experienced musicians who are ushering in a new era of politically enraged Northwest sludge rock. Rather than constantly waving its middle finger, though, the Decliners opt for the far-more-insulting thumbs-down." DAVE CLIFFORD.
Elke Robitaille
Armed with her acoustic guitar, powerful voice, bold lyrics, and lot's of spunk... Elke Robitaille is not just your average little folk singer. Elke's creative musical insight takes listeners through an intense exploration of the human mind, body, and Spirit. Her lyrics are honest and uncensored. The dynamics of Elke's songs range from haunting contemporary folk-ballads, to high energy, hard driven folk-rock. The music perfectly blends true acoustic elements of outspoken aggression with raw emotion and softness. Her songs are influenced by political, social, and environmental issues and of course, the never ending lessons and experiences of Love.
These are not the only reasons why this dreadlocked songstress is anything but ordinary. By the time her 20th birthday arrived, the enthusiastic and self-managed folk singer was on the road touring across Canada, had released her second full length studio album Naive (the follow up to her debut album Doors released in 2002), had graduated from the renowned Musicians Institute of Hollywood, California, with certificate training in Recording Engineering and Music Business Management, AND had launched her own Indie-Folk label: Rag Veda Records. These are things that have set Elke apart from her peers, and she is still driving strong.