Fluff and Gravy Records Holiday Party

Holiday Music Party!

This year we are combining our Annual Holiday Sale and Holiday Party, so it's sure to be off the hook! We'll have our full selection of LPs, CDs and apparel set up on the patio at Holiday prices, and music from all of your favorite Fluff and Gravy artists until 1am inside.

This year, artists include Evan Thomas Way and Brette Marie Way (of Parson Red Heads), David Dondero, Whim, Jason McCue - Music, Kevin Lee Florence, Vacilando, and some SUPER SPECIAL GUESTS that can't be named who you aren't going to want to miss. For reals!

We'll have raffles and giveaways in addition to our Annual Holiday Sale.

$10 cover at the door or in advance goes to a Portland based charity that we will be announcing shortly.

We're looking forward to doing this again!

Evan Way and Brette Marie Way

Singer/songwriter

You may know Evan best from his 15 years serving as the primary singer / songwriter for seminal Portland-via-Los Angeles folk-rock band The Parson Red Heads. This is his 10 years in-the-making solo project.

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/evanthomaswaymusic/?ref=page_internal

Bandcamp:

http://evanthomasway.bandcamp.com/album/long-distance

Whim

Personal Stripped Back Songs

Whim is the moniker of songwriter Sarah Isabella DiMuzio. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Sarah got her start writing music in the folk inspired genre so prevalent in the Pacific Northwest. She has since branched out into other sounds, including synth-pop, garage-pop, and instrumental work for TV and film, but keeps Whim a project for personal, stripped back songs. 

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/sarahwhimmusic/

Website:

http://whim-music.com/?fbclid=IwAR0bUfJWEnuy-astCNDDIe1kc3dcgB7FIM1LGqDnHiAPZF0rkC1jnRl9PX4

Kevin Lee Florence

Indie-Folk

From a young age, Kevin Lee Florence was always singing - first in church, and then inadvertently around the house. It wasn't until his early twenties, however, that Florence picked up the guitar and immersed himself in Neil Young, Damien Jurado, Paul Simon, and a host of other folk legends, despite being raised in an community that disparaged folk music. He found inspiration in his father's vinyl collection and an inborn penchant for writing poetry, and gradually set about turning his passion into something viable.

Given, Kevin Lee Florence's debut album, represents the cream of the crop from his personally penned songs, along with two of Florence's favorite covers: Paul Simon's "Peace Like a River" and Damien Jurado's "Ohio." These gentle nods to two of his biggest influences help flesh out the simple, nine track record. Flecked with folk influences, finger-picked guitar lines and distinctive harmonies provided by his sister Kelly Florence, Given falls somewhere between Sam Beam's hushed, vivid folk and Simon's own conversational, quirky lyrical genius. The slow-burning hope of "Could Today be the Day" falls into a groove, and contrasts with harmony fanfare and drama on album closer "Kindness." For the more traditional minded, "Shining Shining" is pure pastoral bliss, with bright piano accents and lush harmonies. Through it all, Florence's understated, warm voice carries the record, wrapping you like a warm blanket on an autumn evening.

Website:

http://kevinleeflorence.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/kevinleeflorence

Vacilando

Bummercore

"In Spanish there is a word for which I can't find a counterword in English. It is the verb vacilar, present participle vacilando. It does not mean vacillating at all. If one is vacilando, he is going somewhere, but does not greatly care whether or not he gets there, although he has direction." - John Steinbeck, from Travels With Charley: In Search of America, 1962

When Vacilando began as a vehicle for the solo work of John Shepski, the idea was simple... create an environment where the song could live and breathe in a space of it's own, expanding and contracting as it's surroundings (the room, the audience, the mood) dictated. The songs would incorporate ambient sounds and voices from the world around us, but they would also clearly be "songwriter" songs at heart. They would be loosely structured, but structured just the same. Ideally the songs would be performed by a rotating cast of friends and musicians, with the core of the band changing to suit the venue/mood/environment. That concept proved to be short lived. When Juniana Lanning (ambient soundscapes, percussion, vocals) and Chad Lanning (bass, bass synth) joined Shepski for a rehearsal at Fluff and Gravy Studios it was clear that the core of this band needed to be these three musicians. Born of 90's College Radio and Indie Rock, John's songs immediately took on new life when they met Juniana's ambient/experimental leanings and Chad's classic sensibilities. Joined by Jason Montgomery (pedal steel) and featuring Sharon Cannon (violin), the band is set to release their debut album, While They Were Dancing (Fluff and Gravy Records), on July 17, 2015.

At it's heart, While They Were Dancing is slow and atmospheric, breathing deeply with vast empty spaces underneath heart-in-hand lyrics and a humble delivery. The band is fond of describing their record alternately as Bummercore or Bleak Midwestern Soundscapes, but just when the listener is drawn in and seemingly transported to another time and place, the band brings them crashing back to earth in a sonic explosion of screaming guitars and feedback. The music feels at once nostalgic and timeless, all while remaining grounded in the present.

In the end, Steinbeck's description may sum the band up perfectly. In Vacilando's world, the songs are indeed going somewhere, but they seem to be in no hurry to get there. Sometimes it's enough to simply enjoy the ride.

Website:

http://www.fluffandgravy.com/artists/vacilando/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vacilando