Radgirl's Portland Playground

Finding new music is one of my very favorite things.  I'm always on the hunt digging through artists on Spotify, and I get sent a lot of 'watch my video!' requests on Instagram all the time.  Every once in a while, I click on a band's spotify list and I can't stop listening because their sound speaks to me. Today I plugged into Foreign Sons, a band out of Las Vegas, a place where everyone is an entertainer and it's truly sink or swim, so to stand out you have to have something special.  The first thing that caught me about their sound is their passion.  You can feel it reach into your ears and stretch its musical tendrils throughout your whole body. Everything I have read about them suggests they are an Indie band, but the hints of metal woven into their alternative sound sets them apart.  They have a reminiscent sound that takes me back to the early days of the Vans Warped Tour and Portland's Big Stink concerts.  I close my eyes and feel the memories...

Yesterday I got the notification that one of my favorite bands is coming to Portland, and they have been pouring from my speakers today every chance I got. I fell in love with Mayday Parade about a billion years ago (or somewhere in 2006-7 ish) at a Warped Tour concert.  They weren't well known yet, and they walked up to me with a very simple sign that I'm pretty sure was made from a sheet and some sharpies, and one of them said, "We're Mayday Parade.  We love you and we would love it if you would come see us and bring your friends." They told me what time and which stage, and I made a point to be there.   It was trance-like.  Every single song echoed deep in my soul and I was an instant addict.  Every time they came to town, I made it a point to see them.  My daughter, who was in middle school at the time, made Mayday Parade mixed CD's and they have remained in heavy rotation in my life since then.   Mayday Parade has just the right ...