People would invariably - fucking invariably - ask me if I played the instrument. Later, the pretentious explanation of “the cross-section between art and music.” When I started listening to free jazz in the midst of my mid-30s, it became “some jazz thing.” At first, I would offer the truth, stating my love for Carson Ellis’ and the Decemberists’ work. That’s a story I may tell at length someday, but let’s stay on task.īecause nearly every single person who sees a tattoo feels entitled to its meaning, I felt the need to offer context, even if it was artfully fabricated most of the time. The ink was set into my skin during a solo trip to Portland at some random tattoo shop on SE Hawthorne, hours before an event that would unwittingly become the launchpad from where I would leave the Decemberists and their songs about chimney sweeps behind: Seeing Thee Oh Sees live for the first time. I don’t know what drew me to her drawing of Decemberists member Nate Query’s upright bass, just that it caught my eye. Ellis’ artwork has always been the ideal visual accompaniment for the Decemberists’ songs: elegant but slightly off-center, storybook archaic.Īnyway, Ellis would post these drawings some fully-realized renderings of her imagined world, others mere sketches. The band’s frontman and principal songwriter Colin Meloy was – and is – her romantic and domestic partner, but that's a little beside the point. There was a period of time where I followed the Portland-based illustrator on Flickr when her artwork adorned the album covers of the Decemberists. I have a Carson Ellis drawing tattooed on my wrist. Whether it’s a new artist making waves, headlines affecting local talent, or reflecting on some of the music that’s been a foundation in our region this space celebrates everything happening in the Northwest region, the first Thursday of every new month on. Throwaway Style is a monthly column dedicated to examining all aspects of the Northwest music scene. Header photo by Genevieve Pierson, all other photos of the band by Chona Kasinger
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