Flat Mountain Girls

Tonight I went to see the Flat Mountain Girls at the Organic Oasis. The Girls are an all-female old-time string band from Portland, Oregon. As I listened, I thought that the guitar player's voice sounded very familiar. It took me a while to figure it out, but at the set break, I went up to her and said, "You played in Spigot, right?"

She (Nann) admitted it, so I told her this story: About five years ago, I was in Portland with a sunny Sunday afternoon to kill before I flew back to Anchorage. I hopped on a bus and rode it until I found a fun neighborhood to explore. I wandered into a music store and found a band called Spigot playing on a low stage in the back. There weren't many people in the store, so I sat on a couch and enjoyed the serendipitous concert. I really enjoyed the music--they describe it as

... a scrap metal heap. A steamy compost pile. A splintery porch swing. Green gutter water. A pack of flea-ridden ferals. Best put, Spigot burps out an urban-rural junkyard mishmash o' tunes....pulled directly outta the derrier. And we have a hoot-uv-a-time doin' it, that's fer sure.

I listened for an hour and chatted with some of the band members while they packed up. Then I flew back to Anchorage. Later I regretted not buying a CD, so I emailed the band and Nann (as it turned out) mailed me a CD. I still listen to it and would recommend it if you don't mind a few potty words.

"Wow." says Nann. "I actually mailed it to you? I'm usually not very good at that kind of thing." She narrowed her eyes. "You're not asking for a refund are you?" Nope. I even bought the latest Flat Mountain Girls CD, Idle Talk & Wicked Deeds.

If you like it old-timey, check it out. Listen to Radio Spenard (right sidebar) to hear some Spigot samples.