Portland music tour

I don't know if it's the good coffee, the high quantity of microbreweries or its proximity to both mountains and the ocean, but Portland, Ore. is a magnet for indie music. I'm confident that there's not a city in the U.S. that has a more vibrant music scene than Portland. There are locally brewed bands like the Decemberists who play free shows for their city from time to time. Late singer/songwriter Elliott Smith lived in the Rose City for the majority of his life. Even Death Cab for Cutie, who are so proud of being from Seattle, must admit that 1/4 of their band--guitarist Chris Walla--resides in Portland. Modest Mouse calls it their home, and M. Ward lives here as well. It's such a hot spot that bands like the Shins have relocated from New Mexico to Portland, and legends from Peter Buck (of R.E.M.) and Johnny Marr (of the Smiths) have made Portland their home.

All this to say that Portland is known for its busy music scene not only for smaller local bands like Blind Pilot or Blitzen Trapper but also indie rock A-listers. How many Decemberists fans can say they saw the band play in their hometown while the bands' kids played ring-around-the-rosy at the side of the stage?

Now I don't want to be creepy and track down anyone like a stalker, but I did want to fully experience all that my city could offer and walk the same steps that these musicians have tracked. I embarked on a Portland music tour. Much of it centers around Elliott Smith since he wrote such autobiographical songs that were deeply rooted in Oregon, but some of the other musicians make an appearance as well.

The following were the stops today, in the order that we made them:

1. Condor Avenue - This street in Southwest Portland is the setting for Elliott Smith's song "Condor Avenue" off of his first album, Roman Candle. He supposedly wrote the song when he was 17, which would make sense because my best deductions (based on the fact that he went to Lincoln High School and his father was well-off), he may have lived somewhere near the West Hills when he was a teenager. This song is somewhat rare in Elliott's repertoire in that it's a clear story. The narrator has an argument with a girl over something petty, and next thing he knows she has taken the Oldsmobile and driven it over Condor Avenue. The road sign here shows the complexities of finding this location as there are in fact two Condor Avenues, but there actually is a cliff that a car could drive off of.

2. Lincoln High School - Elliott graduated from here in 1987, where he got good grades, played the clarinet in the marching band and got his first experience in rock bands. Unfortunately, he also started down the long road of alcohol and drugs. A more recent Lincoln grad unconnected to Elliott besides the timeless bond of music worked to create a small memorial at the school. We could barely peek in the window since it was a Saturday in the summer, but you can see a better picture of the plaque and the story behind it here.

3. Nuevo Mexico - Lunch time while on a Portland music tour means a taco at Nuevo Mexico, the taco cart recently opened by ex-Shins drummer Jesse Sandoval. The Shins surprised the world with a new lineup three months ago at their Portland show, with the drummer and keyboardist that have been with the quartet from day one, no longer Shins. Frontman James Mercer told Pitchfork, "I started to have production ideas that basically required some other people." That sounds like a nice way to say he wanted better talent. Sandoval surely has plenty of money to live on, so instead he's going back to his roots and has opened a taco cart. His family owned one as a child, so this is a way to bring his New Mexican roots to the Northwest, on SW 3rd and Stark to be exact. Unfortunately, Nuevo Mexico wasn't open on Saturdays, so Pita Pit it was.

4. Sixth and Powell - We really didn't mean to, but it turns out that we were making a pilgrimage to Elliott Smith's drug dealer on this one. He mentions the intersection 6th and Powell in the song "Needle in the Hay," and it's only upon more diligent listening that we noticed that he's probably singing about going to a drug dealer here:

Now on the bus
Nearly touching
This dirty retreat

Falling out
6th and Powell
A dead sweat in my teeth

Going to walk, walk, walk
Four more blocks
Plus the one in my brain

Down downstairs
To the man
He's going to make it all ok

Oops. Turns out there's this awesome mansion just over the Ross Island Bridge. The rest of the neighborhood looks sketchy, which explains the lyrics, but the actual intersection of 6th and Powell is closest to the cool mansion.

5. Ladd's Addition - A house that Elliott shared with friends in the 1990s near Southeast 16th and Division. We didn't know any more about which house it was, but we had a good time imagining. This house is a good example of the intertwining of Portland music: Shins frontman James Mercer now lives in the house, having moved in without realizing that it was the former home of yet another Portland legend. Supposedly Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock lives around the corner.

6. Alameda - This turned out to be a super fancy neighborhood in Northeast Portland. Elliott sings a song called "Alameda" that goes like this:

You walk down Alameda
Shuffling your deck of trick cards over everyone

Not sure any more significance than that, but it was exciting nonetheless.

7. Alberta Court - Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie is a major producer in the indie world, having left his print on works by the Decemberists, Tegan and Sara, along with Death Cab itself. His studio, which is in his house, is called Alberta Court, and while I know no more than that, I bet it's on the street called Alberta Court.

That may look like a collage of street corners (that almost all have to do with Elliott Smith), it's a small proof of the spread of good music throughout this city. Do a search for indie music, and make a count of how many come from Portland.