URBAN RENEWAL

DJ Dollar Night’s back at the Stonecoast

By Sam Pfeifle

The more things change, the more things stay the same. It’s true in Portland, anyway. Just eight months ago we were here bemoaning the loss of hip-hop open mic at the Stonecoast Brewing Company (see http://www.portlandphoenix.com/archive/music/00/12/15), and the loss of the room as a live-music venue in general. It was to be an upscale steak house, the Porterhouse Steakhouse, in fact, said owner Grant Wilson.

Well, he’s changed his mind, and Portland music fans are happy that he did. Back, recently, was Michelle Shocked. Back are the local rock bands, like Hawthorne and Now-Is-Now, that have so sorely missed the space. And, starting this Tuesday, back is hip-hop open mic night.

KNoW Complex, the hip-hop group that grew out of those nights (and contains Phoenix employee Sonya Tomlinson, aka Sontiago), has fittingly been asked to return to host the nights, popular for both rhymes and dollar drafts of the 420 IPA. Wally Wenzel, who plays in the band as Codename Ken, and works for Wilson as soundman at both the State Theater and the Stonecoast, was approached by Wilson to see if the band would be into it, and Wenzel consulted his fellow band members.

“When he mentioned it to me I was pretty psyched,” says DJ Moshe, kNOw Complex turntablist. “I was psyched to get everybody back together. I think everyone was, really.”

When he says everyone, he doesn’t just mean his own band. The open-mic night was the inspiration for quite a few new Portland hip-hop acts, many of which have lately opened for kNOw Complex at the Big Easy and elsewhere. Poverty, Odd-Awful and Ember One, the Flavor Bakers, DJ Nicotine, and DJ Baby J all have recently shared the stage with kNOw Complex, and can be expected to continue collaborating at the Stonecoast.

“The people that are in the scene know that it’s been growing,” says Moshe. “We’ve been keeping everyone in the loop. All those will probably be coming back.”