I've been getting some e-mails, calls, and a general vibe from other messages that people are wondering what in the world was going on in November.

If you will notice, there was basically no activity on the site in regards to new reviews or blogging. The reason for this is that my wonderful wife and myself have just purchased a new home in Gladstone.

The whole thing was a wonderfully horrible/awesome experience from beginning to end. I really shouldn't say horrible, other than the stress of shelling out our hard earned money on a home during one of the biggest crap-fests in the history of the US economy, on top of the fact that my day job has me taking photos of all the new holiday gear coming into the shop, and for some reason people really really want that to be up and visible before the major shopping season gets under way...go figure. So, with all of this back and forth of the actual purchase process and then working 60 hours a week at the shop on top of it, I have had little to no time to keep up with things.

I will stress this right now. I will do my damndest to make sure that this never happens again. Of course I have to give some priority to things that pay my bills, and the day job is one of those things. If you haven't noticed, the site is running without any sponsors. If you know anyone that is looking for a spot to advertise, then give them my e-mail address and tell them I will do just about anything...even invest in pretty lipstick and buy a set of knee pads to get their business.

This aside, my other hard working for no pay side kick, Don Andrews, has been working extremely long hours, going to school and is in the process of moving himself...so long story short there hasn't been a lot of dedicated staff around to get new content up.

We do have some new stuff coming in December. I just launched the much awaited Blind Pilot show review. Go read it, look at the photos and let us know what you think, and most importantly get your asses into one of their shows. You won't regret it.

On top of that we have some other great show reviews coming as well. Hillstomp, The Gentry, Kate Mann, Right on John and possibly others will be joining the news group. We will also have an interview with the guys from Blind Pilot as well. This will more than likely be placed in the Staff Blog section...but we'll see how that all boils out.

If you haven't been around in a while, you may also notice new links running down the right side of the home page. Those are the majority of the great albums that we have received over the last month or so. Reviews of some of them are soon coming, but all of them are more than worth checking out.

I really hope that all of you are having a great Holiday Season. We are looking forward to some amazing shows as usual, and hope that we can see as many of you out there as well.

Keep the e-mails coming. If you have any questions, comments or just want to shoot the shit, you know where to find me.

I'm also looking for some new writers. I don't particularly care what your experience is or if you have any at all. We just ask that you be of age to attend the shows we cover and that you have a genuine passion for music and in particular the music produced here in the NW. Send me an e-mail if you are interested and we'll talk from there.

Jake Carlsen

Editor / Webmaster / Lead Photographer for LiveMusicPDX.com

Jake.Carlsen@LiveMusicPDX.com