Slim Moon's Leap Of Faith
Kill Rock Stars Records' co-founder Slim Moon has a new career in the ministry. He talks to us about finding his calling, and what skills translate from Saturday night to Sunday morning.
Aug 28, 2015•8 min
OPB's State of Wonder
OPB's weekly journal of arts and creative work.
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Episodes
Portland Comics Artist Spells It Out On Latino vs Hispanic
Periscope Studios' Terry Blas got 170,000 shares on a comic in which he breaks down his bi-cultural identity. Every used "Latino" and "Hispanic" interchangeably? So did Terry. Listen up.
Aug 27, 2015•4 min
PHAME Partners With Laura Gibson For World Premiere Musical
For over thirty years, PHAME has provided opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities to pursue their passion in the arts, sharing the stage with acts such as Pink Martini and putting on plays like “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Grease.” But their new production, “Up The Fall,” is unlike anything they’ve done before: PHAME commissioned an original, full-length musical from local playwright Debbie Lamedman and singer-songwriter Laura Gibson. It runs Aug. 22–29 at Artists Repertory Theatre. Re...
Aug 21, 2015•7 min
State Of Wonder: Aug. 22, 2015 - Frank McCourt, PHAME, Divers, Papi Fimbres, Ellen Urbani & More
Today on the show: lots of goodbyes. A writer says goodbye to the New Orleans she used to know. A musical phenom gives Portland a big farewell smooch, as he takes off for the continent. And a dancer bids farewell to a measure of safety, during a nearly disastrous public rehearsal. But there're also some hellos! A world premiere, a best new band. Plus, sandwiches. For over thirty years, PHAME has provided opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities to pursue their passion in the arts...
Aug 21, 2015•52 min
New Book Tells The Story Of The Aftermath Of Huricane Katrina
Portland author Ellen Urbani lived through the final years of Guatemala’s horrific civil war — an experience she wrote about in her first book, "When I Was Elena." She then spent 13 years as an art therapist working with oncology patients and disaster survivors. Both experiences primed her for her first novel, “Landfall,” about the days after Hurricane Katrina. The book follows the intersecting lives of two mothers and two daughters. Urbani will read from Landfall at the Powell’s City of Books s...
Aug 19, 2015•11 min
Aug. 15: Small Towns & The Arts, A Love Story: Joseph, Burns & Tieton
What happens when small towns try to jump-start their economies with arts centers and cultural offerings? We find out with a road trip to Joseph, Burns, and Mighty Tieton, Washington. First Stop: Burns, Oregon In the 1970s, Burns was one of the wealthiest counties in the state per capita. Now, it's near the bottom. They’ve tried everything to turn things around: secondary wood products, agricultural products, restarting the lumber industry. Now a dedicated group of artists, arts educators and ar...
Aug 14, 2015•51 min
Could An Arts Center Be Harney County's Salvation?
In the 1970s, Burns was one of the wealthiest counties in the state by per capita. Now, it’s near the bottom. They’ve tried everything to turn things around: secondary wood products, agricultural products, restarting the lumber industry. Now a dedicated group of artists, arts educators and arts supporters think they should try something new: a Performing Arts and Education Center. The group, spearheaded by the Harney County Arts in Education Foundation, organized a symposium in May around the ce...
Aug 14, 2015•14 min
Joseph, Oregon: From Poster Child For Economic Depression To Arts Powerhouse
What can you say about Joseph? It’s a picture perfect town at the base of the picture perfect Wallowa Mountains. But it wasn’t always that way. “It was the poster child for economic depression,” said sculptor Shelley Curtis, who moved there in the early 80s. “Probably 70 percent of the storefronts on Main Street were vacant.” But whereas Joseph was once just a grocery stop on the way to Wallowa Lake, it is now an arts and recreation destination. Since Main Street’s facelift in 2000, visitor spen...
Aug 14, 2015•23 min
How Tiny Tieton Transformed Into Central Washington's Mighty Arts Titan
We ran across lots of interesting case studies of rural towns leveraging arts and culture. But Tieton, Washington, might be unique. This story came to us from producers Phoebe Flanigan and Julie Sabatier of Rendered. What are bookbinders, cheesemakers, cider-pressers and others doing in a town of 1,200 about a half hour outside Yakima? This story ran as part of a bigger show about the love affair between small towns and the arts that also included stops in Mighty Tieton and Joseph. You can hear ...
Aug 14, 2015•14 min
Remade For Residency - Jennings Hotel Under Construction
Greg Hennes talks about his new project renovating the Jennings Hotel on Joseph's Main Street. He's converting it for short stays and maker space.
Aug 12, 2015•7 min
Greek-Sailor-Turned-International Artist Paints Astoria Blue
The life of Astoria painter Christos Koutsouras sounds like it was ripped from a classic adventure novel. Born in 1957 on the island of Samos, the birthplace of people like Epicurus and Pythagoros (you know, the guy with the theorem), Koutsouras forged his father’s signature at age 18, got a sailors book, and climbed aboard a ship bound for Mozambique. And he hasn’t stopped since, traveling the world and making a name for himself as a painter. Now Koutsouras calls Astoria home and paints big, tu...
Aug 08, 2015•9 min
State Of Wonder: Aug. 8 - Pickathon, Jason Isbell, Kamasi Washington, Video Games & More
We got mixed up with some seriously talented people this week: Visual artist Christos Koutsouras talks about his compulsion to paint, and new work on view at Imogen Gallery. A quick preview of Jason Isbell's upcoming show in Portland. opbmusic's Dave Christensen and Jerad Walker share some faves from Pickathon. KHMD's Derek Smith chats up saxophonist Kamasi Washington, who's having an "Epic" year. Artists we met at Pickathon tell us what songs are turning them on this summer. Jumpdrive Studios o...
Aug 08, 2015•51 min
Game Developers At Jumpdrive Studios Talk About Their New Title XO
Developers at Portland's Jumpdrive Studios give us the skinny on the radical crowd-sourcing that's shaping their first title, XO. It'll be available on STEAM next year.
Aug 06, 2015•7 min
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival Sweats Amercia's De-Industrialization With A New Play
A half dozen actors run through a scene in one of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s rehearsal rooms. The setting is a bar in Reading, Pennsylvania, after the financial crises. A group of steelworkers are talking about the factory that locked them out. “This is the first time I’ve been out of my apartment in a week,” reads actor Terri McMahon. “Do you know what it’s like to get up and have no place to go? I am a worker. I’ve worked since I could count money. That’s me!” And writing plays about wo...
Jul 31, 2015•9 min
State Of Wonder: Aug. 1, 2015 - Seattle Art Fair And Portland Jazz With KMHD's Matt Fleeger
This week, a tasty sound sandwich consisting of two ingredients: 1) We've got advance coverage of the Seattle Art Fair with a Think Out Loud discussion on the Pacific Northwest's foray into the high-end art fair market. If you're just tuning in, art fairs have become a driving force in how artists and gallerists move new work. Seattle dealers are trying to connect with high-level patrons with their own four-day event. We hear from Portland gallerist Elizabeth Leach and art critic Jen Graves of T...
Jul 30, 2015•52 min
State Of Wonder: July 25, 2015 - Calexico, Helio Sequence, Lost Lander, Y La Bamba, Joseph & More
This is it, folks: we’re in the peak heat of the summer music season. PDX Pop Now is this weekend. Pickathon plucks through Happy Valley next weekend. Then there’s MusicFestNW, the Britt Festival, Sisters Folk Festival. It’s a never-ending cavalcade of lawn chairs and beer gardens and singers backlit by spectacular sunsets. Which is why we’re going to spend the hour hearing from some of the bands who’re currently ruling our playlists and also happen to be touring through this summer. 1:21 - Last...
Jul 24, 2015•52 min
Celebrating Portland Musician Dave Camp
Last week, Portland lost someone who breathed glittering joy into the local music scene. Dave Camp passed on July 15 after a months-long, profoundly public struggle with stomach cancer that rallied a community around him. Camp was a renaissance artist, Portland style. He played and sang with a slew of bands, especially some of the more colorful, art rock projects like the Nowhere Band, which performed the Beatles’ ‘White Album’ every Christmas with seasonally themed hijinks, in addition to other...
Jul 21, 2015•9 min
State Of Wonder: July 18, 2015 - Live From Summer Fishtrap Writers Gathering at Wallowa Lake
Every summer, writers from all over the country head to the base of the towering Wallowa Mountains for Summer Fishtrap, a conference about writing and the West. This year, they celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of the festival's founders, the journalist and historian Alvin Josephy, with the theme “Hidden From History: Stories We Haven’t Heard, Stories We Haven’t Told.” We couldn't resist the draw of a roadtrip to the mountains, so we invited a number of Fishtrap founders and v...
Jul 17, 2015•51 min
Timothy Egan On Stories Hiding In Plain Sight
Seattle native Timothy Egan talks about his work digging for hidden narratives in American history. He delivered the keynote at this year's Summer Fishtrap. For more writers at the conference, check out our show this Saturday. (Photo cred. Mike Midlo, Fishtrap)
Jul 15, 2015•7 min
Bobbie Conner At Summer Fishtrap
The ED of Tamástlikt Cultural Institute talks about stories hidden from history.
Jul 14, 2015•7 min
State Of Wonder: July 11, 2015 - Artists Repertory Theatre's ArtsHub
This week, we take you behind-the-scenes at one of the city's most dynamic theaters, Artists Repertory Theatre, with a show recorded in front of a live audience on the Alder Stage. The longest-running company in town has hit a creative artery. Under the artistic direction of Dámaso Rodriguez, the theater has both expanded its resident artist company from five people to more than 20 and opened its doors to eight other performing organizations, from Profile Theatre and Hand2Mouth to Portland Revel...
Jul 10, 2015•52 min
Portlander Dave Depper On Touring With Death Cab For Cutie
There are musicians in Portland who seem like they’ve played with everyone. And then there’s Dave Depper. His resume is a who’s who of local acts: Menomena, Loch Lomond, Fruit Bats, Laura Gibson, and at least 18 others. He’s also toured with national names like Ray LaMontagne. But now he’s stepping onto a bigger stage— much bigger stage. Last year, Death Cab for Cutie announced that Chris Walla, it’s original guitarist and primary producer, was leaving after 17 years. Then it asked Depper to tak...
Jul 03, 2015•8 min
State Of Wonder: July 4, 2015 - Death Cab For Cutie, PAM's New Modern Art Curator & More
We've got a picnic of music and news for you this week. So grab a plate; we're going to pile it high. Rumors flying about superstar mandolinist and Portland transplant Chris Thile's possible ascension as the next host of "A Prairie Home Companion." Portland Art Museum hires a new curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. Hip-hop artist Glenn Waco's day in court. Seasoned session man Dave Depper talks about stepping onto the big stage with Death Cab For Cutie. The band plays Portland's Edgefield on...
Jul 03, 2015•51 min
Quintana Galleries Closing Down
Portland's much beloved Rose and Cecil Quintana are closing their eponymously-named gallery after 42 years representing Native American artists. Phoebe Flanigan has the story.
Jul 03, 2015•6 min
Portland Art Museum Hires New Mod/Contempo Curator
Sara Krajewski is coming back to the Northwest, to steer PAM's Modern and Contemporary Collection. Get the whole scoop, and click over here to read a longer interview with Krajewski. http://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-art-museum-taps-new-modern-contemporary-art-curator/
Jul 03, 2015•4 min
Lidia Yuknavitch Explores a Scorching New World
We talk to one of Portland's most evocative and fearless writers about her new novel, The Small Backs of Children. Visit our show page for info on her July 8th reading.
Jul 03, 2015•6 min
State Of Wonder: June 27, 2015-Allen Toussaint, Shakespeare Meets The Go-Go's & New Record Press
Who says the past is behind us? This week, creators are bringing new life to traditional forms. 1:19 - We meet the dream team behind Cascade Record Pressing, Oregon's new vinyl record plant in Oregon City. 8:53 - We remember painter Shirley Gittelsohn with Oregon Art Beat, who died June 12. The celebration of her life will be held at Reed College on Aug. 1. 12:28 - OPB's All Things Considered Host Kate Davidson reports on Portland's no-pay phone, Futel Phones. 17:03 - We talk with New Orleans so...
Jun 27, 2015•51 min
Oregon Shakespeare Festival Mashes-Up The Go-Go's With The Elizabethan Story 'Old Arcadia'
Tony-winning playwright Jeff Whitty combines the the music of The Go-Gos with Sir Richard Sidney's 'Old Arcadia' for a deliciously over-the-top glam musical. (photo credit: Oregon Shakespeare Festival)
Jun 26, 2015•9 min
New Orleans Legend Allen Toussaint Takes Center Stage
The ever-elegant, deeply influential Crescent City songwriter and composer talks to us about his life and music. Watch our website for the full story and show info. (photo credit: Tina Antolini)
Jun 26, 2015•13 min
Cascade Record Pressing Finds Its Groove
A powerhouse Portland start-up secures six coveted presses to begin operations. More pics here http://www.opb.org/radio/programs/state-of-wonder/article/cascade-record-pressing-starts-oregons-first-vinyl-factory/?t=812115
Jun 22, 2015•8 min
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