Hi friends -

We’ll be taking part in a special benefit concert for Haiti this weekend (Sunday evening) at the Kennedy School here in Portland – the show starts at 7pm and was organized by our good friend (and sometimes bandmate) Mattie Kaiser.  I know it’s last minute notice, but if you live in the area we’d love to see you there – there is still tremendous need in Haiti, it’s a free show and 100% of donations from this show will go to Parters in Health.  And every little bit helps.  Here’s the official press release:

On January 24th at 7pm at the Kennedy School, Classical Revolution PDX and friends will perform a free benefit concert to raise funds for relief in Haiti. 100% of donations received will go to Partners in Health. Classical Revolution is delighted to be joined by Matt Sheehy, Opera Theater Oregon, The Dimes, Sophe Lux, Travis Dow, James Faretheewell and many other special guests for a very eclectic and fun night of chamber music.

A silent auction will occur during the performance, with products and services donated by local artists and businesses. Items for auction include event tickets, fine photography, haircuts, massages, and many of the performers are donating private lessons.

Briana Ratterman, a member of Classical Revolution, has been working around the clock to help with the search for her father, Walt Ratterman, who has been missing since the earthquake. Ratterman is CEO and co-founder of SunEnergy Power International. He was in Haiti working on a project to improve the delivery of energy to health care facilities run by Partners in Health. “Our thoughts and love are with Briana and her family,” says Mattie Kaiser, Executive Director of Classical Revolution PDX. “We found it fitting to donate to the incredible work that that Walt and Partners in Health do to contribute to a better life in Haiti.”

Looking through all the blog posts and demos over the past few months, I realized that I hadn’t ever post a version of the song that started all this historic Boston madness…so here it is in it’s finished form. We actually decided to keep the original acoustic and vocal tracks from the demo on this one, adding a few little pieces here and there to round out the arrangement – Ehren’s old world sounding lap steel solo for example…feel free to download or stream the song from the link below:

The Dimes – Boston (Trimountaine) click to listen

We’re also hoping to have the final album artwork done in the coming weeks and I’ll make sure to post a picture of the album cover and the final track listing once we have it. Until then, enjoy the song and keep in touch…

Have a great week and we’ll see you soon -

Johnny

It’s a great thing when radio stations support their local music scenes – KINK FM here in Portland has been incredibly supportive over the years, and they’ve just released their 2nd annual “Local Music Sampler” which includes one of our songs, “Save me, Clara“, along with tunes from 19 other Portland artists.  Most of the songs KINK features on this sampler have also been getting a bit of airplay here in town from the kind folks at the radio station.  They tell me the CD samplers are available free of charge at KINK events this summer…

And speaking of KINK FM events, we’re going to be playing two KINK sponsored shows this week – we’ll be in Pioneer Square tomorrow (Thursday) for the KINK FM Noon Tunes show, playing a lunch hour set in downtown Portland.  We’ve had the opportunity to take part in this concert series for the past couple of years and it’s always a good time.  Then Friday afternoon my good friend Ehren Ebbage and I will be teaming up for a duo-acoustic show on the Portland Spirit for the KINK Escape Cruise music series.  We’re playing the afternoon cruise from 3pm to 5pm and will be playing some new tunes and some old favorites. Maybe an early exit from work on Friday is in order?

I hope you’re having a good week and hope to see you soon -

Johnny

In the spring of 1775, British troops were stationed in Boston and the ports had been closed in the wake of the infamous Boston Tea Party.  On the night of April 18th, word spread across Boston that the British were on the move, crossing the Charles River on their way to Lexington to arrest two Patriots, John Hancock and Sam Adams, and to seize the weapons depot in nearby Concord.  Dr. Joseph Warren instructed two men, William Dawes and Paul Revere, to ride north from Boston to Lexington to warn Hancock and Adams of the British plan – history has since forgotten poor Mr. Dawes, but the “midnight ride of Paul Revere” has become the stuff of legend…

“Paul Revere” was one of the first of the “Boston” songs and it’s a fun one to play.  In so many ways this song shows a band in transition – it has elements of the “Silent Generation” sound, especially in the chorus and guitar work, but it also has little hints of the sound and style that would become “The King Can Drink the Harbor Dry“.  We had a couple of folks ask us about the song last weekend in Seattle, so I figured I’d post the demo this week – just click the link below to stream it (or right click on a PC, control click on a Mac to download it) -

The Dimes – Paul Revere DEMO (click to listen)

Have a great rest of the week and weekend and keep in touch -

Johnny