Little Earl was one of the first tracks I brought to The Sea Drift rehearsal sessions, and as it turns out the one that helped create the sound and feel of the entire record. It’s a soul/Tony Joe White inspired groove, and Cory Gray’s horn and string arrangements set the cinematic tone for two brothers who get into a shoplifting-gone-wrong incident at a mini-mart outside of Port Arthur, Texas. I love songs that just drop you in the middle of a scene and that’s what we tried to do here.

The Sea Drift

Little Earl

The Delines - Little Earl

her new album “Lullaby for a Stranger” was born. 

The album is inspired by a true story of a journey, one that took place 70 years ago when a pregnant woman made a solo drive from Minnesota to Oregon to deliver her unborn daughter and give her up for adoption. That baby grew up never knowing her mother, and 30 years later gave birth to her own daughter.  And as generational trauma is often a circle without completion, that mother then left her own daughter when she was just 6 months old. That child was Jamie Stillway. 

In “Lullaby for a Stranger”, Stillway’s most haunting and personal album to date, Jamie writes a letter in sound that chronicles her grandmother’s journey as she imagines it might have been. These are songs of grief, loss, contemplation, and ultimately, beauty. They speak not only to the two women who became her strangers, but also to others who have made the decision to part with a child, and those left behind to grieve in silence. If you have a beating heart, prepare yourself. “Lullaby for a Stranger” will touch anything you have lost and loved. 

For this album, Stillway exclusively used a custom archtop guitar built by Maegen Wells of Forestville, CA. It was recorded and texturized by Dan Phelps at Wreck Room Studios on Bainbridge Island and mastered by Rachel Field of Resonant Mastering of Seattle. All songs written by Jamie Stillway (BMI). The album will be released digitally and on vinyl on November 11th, 2022 on Portland’s Fluff and Gravy records.

Lullaby For A Stranger

Jamie Stillway - The Patience Of Spring

KINKs Vortex PDX Song of the Week- Hayley Lynn

VRTX SOng of the Week -ALex Crowson

KINKs Homegrown Discovery - Luna Vista

KINKs Homegrown Discovery - Jacob Miller

Early Morning Rising is a fanciful neighborhood stroll, guiding our feet back to nature and enjoying the gifts of simple beauty in the center of inflation and pandemic life.

Kassi Valazza Early Morning Rising

"I’m not proud of what I do to get to sleep."

Small Million's latest bop is not about your fun night out but about stumbling home afterwards relentlessly churning on everything you overshared.
The Overkill is for people who cringe back on everything they’ve said at a party to see if they were obnoxious, messy, hurt someone’s feelings, or disclosed too much of themselves. It’s about the ways we can seek connection through vulnerability (on a night out, posting online, or in song lyrics), and grappling with the regrets of confessing too much and losing control.

“This might be my favorite bridge we’ve ever written.” -Malachi

Small Million - The Overkill

Kendall Sallay-Milotz / Lyrics, Vocals, Synth, Guitar, Production
Dirk Sallay-Milotz / Guitar, Synth, Production
Kyle Polensky / Bass, Guitar
James Alton / Drums, Backup Vocals
Jared Kauk / Guitar
Allie Barnes / Backup Vocals

Recorded and produced by Starover Blue. Additional production, mix, and mastering by David Pollock in Portland, OR.

-----
the house is hollow
in the quiet afterglow
i have tried to let you go
i have tried to let you go

through the heat and bitter cold
all our worldly goods erode
as i try to let you go
i have tried to let you go

they don't understand
they don't understand
they don't want to

now the vines of time grow
feel them tighten round my throat
as i try to let you go
i have tried to let you go

they don't understand
they don't understand
they don't want to

nights are long
in the quiet afterglow
and all our dreams echo
i have tried to let you go
but no one's checking up
cause no one really wants to know
how i have been, no
i have tried to let you
tried to let you go

they don't understand
they don't understand
they don't want to

beg my heart to last
(you don't understand)
beg my heart to last
(you don't understand)
beg my heart to last
(you don't understand)

beg my heart to last
(you don't understand)
beg my heart to last
(you don't understand)
beg my heart to last
(they don't understand)

you don't understand
you don't understand
you don't understand

in the quiet afterglow
i have tried to let you go
i have tried to let you go

Afterglow

Written and recorded by Rare Monk
Engineered and Mixed by Cameron Spies at Trash Treasury Recording
Produced by Cameron Spies and Rare Monk
Mastered by Mike Nolte @ Eureka Mastering

Missing Forever

Samuel Eisen-Meyers & The Joyful Noise: “Auld Lang Syne” (feat. Clara Baker, Margaret Wehr, Haley Johnsen and Craig Irby Jr.)

Recorded live at Blue Heron Studio with engineer Gene Forte on December 28, 2018

The Joyful Noise are:
Samuel Eisen-Meyers (@samuel_eisenmeyers): vocals, electric guitar
Charlie Brown: talk box
Alex Milsted (@alexmilsted): piano
Cory Limuaco: drums

Featuring PDX songwriters:
Clara Baker (@clarabakermusic of @fiveletterwordtheband): vocals, violin
Margaret Wehr (@margaret-wehr of @moorea-masa + @y-la-bamba): vocals, violin
Haley Johnsen (@haley-johnsen): vocals, acoustic guitar
Craig Irby Jr. (@craig-irby-jr): vocals

This joyful rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” kicks off Vortex + Blue Heron Studio's 'Our City, Our Sounds: A #PDXmusic Song A Month' collaborative series. Look for our second installment in February and read more at vrtxmag.com/happynewyear

“Auld Lang Syne” by Samuel Eisen-Meyers, Haley Johnsen, Margaret Wehr, Clara Baker, Craig Irby Jr.

Vortex Music Magazine is the definitive chronicle of Portland's musical vortex. We examine the circulation of music through our veins and culture. Print magazine delivered quarterly: vrtxmag.com/subscribe

“Auld Lang Syne” by Samuel Eisen-Meyers, Haley Johnsen, Margaret Wehr, Clara Baker, Craig Irby Jr.

vrtxmag

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