Chicken Hypnotism w/ Slug Guts

Have you seen the film The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser by Werner Herzog?  There is a scene where these kids, who are taunting a world shy Kaspar, bring a chicken into his holding cell and hypnotize it.  I'm not sure who Kaspar is in this scenario (maybe Le Beouef, our duck?) but Albert, the bass player from Slug Guts, performed the role of the rascal kids when the band recently paid a visit to Wealth Underground Farm.  After the bird laid still for about thirty seconds, he snapped his fingers with the hand not holding a Miller Lite and the dazed hen stood up, assessed the situation, and ran over to the rest of the flock.

Slug Guts, coming all the way from Australia, was in Portland playing a show at The Know.  It was the third show on their tour, following a show in L.A. and San Francisco.

We toured the farm, tasting veggies and having precious animal moments, before going into the house for the meal.  We are in the middle of the most abundant season at the farm and the meal consisted of a diverse array of vegetables.  For the early dinner, we had a slaw featuring radishes, carrots, beans, beets, and torpedo onions as well as roasted broccoli with parmesan.  The recipe for the roasted broccoli is on the Wealth Underground page accompanying the picture of the first share.

I've mentioned before that I appreciate the Know for it's 11pm show end rule, a rule that allows me to see the headlining band and then get home and get a good nights sleep.  Slug Guts played a bawdy set to a full room and even ended a little early.  Instead of taking advantage of the early ending, I ended up saying my goodbyes around one after partying for a while with these Aussie punks (and Mike, their awesome tour manager from New York).

Thanks to Slug Guts for making the trek out to the farm.  Check out their newest album, Playin' In Time With The Deadbeat, released by Sacred Bone Records.  For more info on Slug Guts, visit their Facebook page.

Early Dinner w/ Young Magic

Songs get stuck in your head, which is an (nearly) indisputable fact.  With their first full length release, Melt, the band Young Magic have crafted an entire album that, from start to finish, is one big earworm.  They gifted a tape version of the album to Wealth Underground Farm at the end of their visit and I'm nervous that we are going to pretty soon play it until it no longer works.  Not only do they make beautiful, captivating music but Young Magic, featuring Melati, Isaac, (Michael, the third member of the band, was not on this tour due to Visa issues), and their tour companion Ashley were incredibly pleasant people.  They ended up missing their sound check as the time spent chatting and eating a meal heavy in collard greens went by rapidly.  We probably could have continued sitting around the table for much longer if they did not have a show to get to.

Later, that night we reconnected at the Doug Fir on Burnside.  I arrived in time to catch the end of Imaginary Cities and wished I could have caught more of their set.  Quilt played and if I closed my eyes I could have sworn I was listening to Jefferson Airplane and the year was 1967.  They were excellent and a perfect compliment to the more poppy psychadelic sound of Young Magic, who played last.  Their first album, Melt, is good listening on a record player but, like an awesome movie, is better experienced live.  Even though they were performing as a two piece due to visa issues and, as a result, used a lot of pre-recorded music their live set came off as spontaneous and organic.  Catherine, a friend of Farm to Artist, described the music as transcendent and, along with the moving images on the screen behind the band, there were moments when I felt lifted by the music.  It feels like Young Magic is tapping into an energy stream with their music and I'm thankful they are willing to share that energy with us.

Thank you Young Magic for a pleasant day.  To hear more from the band you can check them out online on Facebook or on their bandcamp page.

This Will Destroy You nearly destroyed!

Hear This Will Destroy You recount a horrifying tale of gang violence in Austin.  Well, it's not that horrifying but there is more action than in most Road Snacks podcasts.  Download it.

Lunch w/ This Will Destroy You

Even though I love listening to music, there is no match for the ambient sounds that resonate from  the field and forest around the farm.  When I'm working in the field I feel like the sounds I make become a part of a greater production and that I've tapped into an unseen energy.  When listening to This Will Destroy You it is apparent that they are aware of that feeling.  Not only are they trying to channel something overwhelming and huge but they are also trying to be it.  I would love to hear them perform in the field at Wealth Underground Farm.


This Will Destroy You visited the farm the day after their Portland show before heading up to Seattle.  It was a beautiful day and we had plenty of time for a meandering farm tour, tasting some of the early available crops.  For lunch we ate roasted potatoes and a salad overflowing with Wealth Underground greens.  We chatted for a bit about scoring movies and getting caught in drive-by's before we said our goodbyes and they left for Seattle and the rest of their tour.

Thanks to This Will Destroy You for visiting the farm on their tour with A Place to Bury Strangers.  You can hear more from them on their bandcamp page or on facebook.

The Torche is lit!

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Lunch w/ Torche

Torche brought a party with them to Wealth Underground Farm when they joined me before their show at the Hawthorne Theatre.  I know that our goats are inclined to party so, as an experiment, I let them out of their pasture so they could follow us around the farm.  Of course, everybody in the Torche posse fell in love with the goats and I had to take a count when the band left to make sure none were missing.  It is probably the last time I'll let them free range like that, though, as they found my trellised hops and ate a fair amount of the lower leaves before I could grab them and return them to their fenced in area.

Inside, we ate a meal that included green garlic that was half eaten by gophers and lots and lots of salad as we were flush with large, beautiful heads of lettuce.  The conversation was quick and fun.  We talked about many things including Andrew's infamous bat urine story that recently vaulted Torche into national news.

I'd streamed the new album Harmonicraft (pronounced like harmonica, not harmony as I mistakenly pronounced it during the meal) a number of times but it was given a completely new meaning in the context of Torche's live show.  The band proved why they are one of the most relevant artists in heavy music, playing a dynamic and interesting set in a venue where the quality of sound tends to blend everything together (the instruments, the music, the crowd voices, the shirtless drunk guys, etc).  Not only is it fun music but the songs are high quality and the music is tight.

I want to thank Torche for a great meal and for being really sweet guests to the farm.  Go see them when they play in your city and make sure to pick up their newest album, Harmonicraft.  Also, check out some of the art of Santos, who illustrated Harmonicraft and who was with us for the lunch with Torche.

Across Tundras podcast - go get it!

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