CentaurPalooza 2014

Well it's time for our annual use of Google's fantastic Blogger! While we do have a great deal to say, we seldom find time to blog. It has, in fact, been our new year's resolution for 3 years running to blog more frequently! That said, I would like to present you with the final and official lineup for the 2014 Blacktop Blowout that shall henceforth be referred to as... Wait for it...

CENTAURPALOOZA 2014

But first, here are the rules and regulations:
1. All of the shows are free!
2. Parking lot shows are B.Y.O.B. (but I would ask that you not B. too much of Y.O.B. as these shows are all ages and family friendly! And NO, you can't B.Y.O.B. to Katie's.
3. No Smoking in the parking lot during Centaurpalooza - that includes this vaping thing that I see all the kids doing! (see the all ages family friendly notice in #2)
4. Don't forget to tip the Katie's bartenders and say thanks to the bands and the Centaur Staff (Do I need to remind you again that this is free?!)

OK, let's get to it. Now the bands!

Friday, August 22nd Katie O'Brien's - Early Kickoff Show! Staff and Volunteer's Bands! 8:00PM                       Broken Bodies                       Somerset Meadows                       Disciples of Rock N' Roll                       Mormon Trannys                       Avenue Victor Hugo

Saturday, August 23rd Centaur Guitar - Parking Lot Rock Noon

Sandy Blvd. Lot                   Fork                   WWIV                   Last Shot                   Start A War                   The Anxieties                   Foster Pussycat                   The Underlings                   Ultra Goat

28th Ave. Lot Easy, Sister Dr. Stahl Erynn Starr and the Moonlighters 48 Thrills Soothesayers Minty Rosa Exacerbators

Saturday, July 20th Katie O'Brien's - Early Show! 7:30PM                                        The Decliners                        Los Vamonos                        Lovesores                        Monica Nelson and the Highgates                        Jagula

Sunday, August 24th Centaur Guitar - Parking Lot Rock Noon

Sandy Blvd. Lot      The Soft Targets      Last Reg. of Syncopated Drummers      Blue Skies for Black Hearts      The Welfare State      The Food      Dinner for Wolves      Disenchanter

28th Ave. Lot        Buttercup        Hot LZ's        Down Gown        The Ransom        Minoton        Mother's Whiskey        By the Harvest

Well, there you go. Upwards of 40 bands to rock your socks off in a weekend of rock and roll madness put on by and for Portland Rock Musicians! I would like to remind you that the staff and bands are all volunteering their time and talents for this event so please take a minute and thank them!

Centaurpalooza 2013 Is Here! It's Really Here!

In true Centaur fashion we like to wait until the last minute to do anything and why the heck should this be any different, huh?! This year's full lineup is listed below!

It is time for CENTAURPALOOZA! Portland's premiere parking lot rock and roll extravaganza!! (Only parking lot rock and roll extravaganza? - maybe...)

As many of you know Centaur Guitar is run by and for local musicians. And who loves to play for free to their friends and family on a scorching parking lot in the middle of July?! LOCAL MUSICIANS!! And who loves to party, baby?! WE DO! This year's festivities will feature 36 - count 'em - 36 local bands in one Centaurpadelic weekend! We'll be kicking things off on Friday the 19th with an evening show at everyone's favorite corner bar, Katie O'Brien's! After that we begin with the parking lot rock! I'd advise you all to plan on showing up to work late on Monday.

Here are the pertinent details:
1. All of the shows are free!
2. Parking lot shows are B.Y.O.B. (but I would ask that you not B. too much of Y.O.B. as these shows are all ages and family friendly! And NO, you can't B.Y.O.B. to Katie's.
3. No Smoking in the parking lot during Centaurpalooza! (see the all ages family friendly notice in #2)
4. Don't forget to tip the Katie's bartenders and say thanks to the bands and the Centaur Staff (Do I need to remind you again that this is free?!)

Alright. Is everyone tired of these rules, rules, rules? Good. Without further ado I give you the official Centaurpalooza 2013 Lineup:

Friday, July 19th Katie O'Brien's - Early Kickoff Show! Staff and Volunteer's Bands! 7:30PM                       Broken Bodies                       Somerset Meadows                       Karmaceuticals                       Disciples of Rock N' Roll

Saturday, July 20th Centaur Guitar - Parking Lot Rock Noon

Upper Parking Lot                   Avenue Victor Hugo                   Pitchfork Motorway                   The Food                   48 Thrills                   The Suicide Notes                   The Primitive Idols                   Minty Rosa                   The Anxieties

Lower Parking Lot Steak Knife Flight 19 Dr. Stahl The Cool Whips The Satin Chaps The Fuckin’ Fucks Start a War

Saturday, July 20th Katie O'Brien's - Early Show! 7:30PM                                           Soft Targets                           The Decliners                           Bitch School                           Mormon Trannys

Sunday, July 21st Centaur Guitar - Parking Lot Rock Noon

Upper Parking Lot      LRSD      Toy      Buttercup      Erynn Starr and the Moonlighters      Mother’s Whiskey      Studfinder      Hot LZ’s

Lower Parking Lot        In Trouble        Halogens        Spanish Galleons        Big Foot Dick        Dinner for Wolves        Lovesores        The Ransom

A Heartfelt Thank You!

Ladies and gentlemen,

We here at Centaur would like to extend our deepest and most sincere thanks to all of the friends and volunteers who came together last weekend to make Centaurpalooza a huge success. I say this every year and I repeat it every chance I get: This event would not happen without the effort and encouragement put forth by a small and dedicated crew of volunteers! With that in mind I would like to say thank you to Jody, Chris, Peg, Rich, Jerome, Mike, Linda, Erik, Jimmy, Mike, Greg, and Becky for making this happen this year.

I would also like to thank the 37 bands who played this year's rock and roll extravaganza! Yeah, you heard right! 37 bands! How's that for local music! These guys all rocked out for a couple beers and a good time. I encourage you to seek them out one by one, buy their cd's and t-shirts, and tell them thanks for keeping local music alive and well in our fair city!

For those of you interested in being a part of next year's Centaurpalooza (Zafino and the Portland City Noise Guy permitting) please contact Jody. You can find her here: Centaur Guitar Booking

Centaurpalooza 2: The Parking Lot Strikes Back!

Alright everybody! It's officially summertime in Portland! Yeah, I get it, second wettest June on record you say. It doesn't feel like summer you say.

Well quit your crying local rock and roll community because it's July and that means it's time for CENTAURPALOOZA! I mean CENTAURPALOOZA TWO: The Parking Lot Strikes Back!

As many of you know Centaur Guitar is run by and for local musicians. And who loves to play for free to their friends and family on a scorching parking lot in the middle of July?! LOCAL MUSICIANS!! And who loves to party, baby?! WE DO! This year's festivities will feature 37 - count 'em - 37 local bands in one Centaurpatastic weekend! We'll be kicking things off on Friday the 13th with an evening show at everyone's favorite corner bar, Katie O'Brien's! After that we begin with the parking lot rock! I'd advise you all to plan on showing up to work late on Monday.

Here are the pertinent details:
1. All of the shows are free!
2. Parking lot shows are B.Y.O.B. (but I would ask that you not B. too much of Y.O.B. as these shows are all ages and family friendly! And no. You can't B.Y.O.B. to Katie's.
3. No Smoking in the parking lot during Centaurpalooza! (see the all ages family friendly notice in #2)
4. Don't forget to tip the Katie's bartenders and say thanks to the bands and the Centaur Staff (Do I need to remind you again that this is free?!)

Alright. Is everyone tired of these rules, rules, rules? Good. Without further ado I give you the official Centaur Schedule:

Friday, July 13th     Katie O'Brien's - 9PM Erik Anarchy Burn Champion Isolated Cases Hot LZs

Saturday, July 14th  Upper Parking Lot - Noon Flight 19 Tina Primitive Idols The Ransom Gimme an X Eastside Speed Machine Minty Rosa

Saturday, July 14th    Lower Parking Lot - Noon The Decliners Dr. Stahl Skate Drunks Iron Lords 48 Thrills Pitchfork Motorway Pity Fucks

Saturday, July 14th     Katie O'Brien's - 7:30PM Ghostwriter Last Shot Advisory The Food Nasalrod

Sunday, July 15th  Upper Parking Lot - Noon Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers Burnside Heroes Pale Blue Sky The Cool Whips Avenue Victor Hugo Beyond Veronica Studfinder Knox Harrington

Sunday, July 15th    Lower Parking Lot - Noon 6:37 Evil Egg thebrotheregg The Anxieties Mormon Trannies Mother's Whiskey

Gear Update October 18th!

Just wanted to let y'all know that we just posted a couple of very cool "new" used pedals on our website. Don't see a lot of used Maxon or Subdecay effects so this is a good chance to scoop up some like new stuff for a good price!

Used Subdecay Noise Box Harmonic Fuzz

For those of you not in the know, Subdecay has been cranking out a stellar line of effects built right here in Oregon for going on ten years now! We've been carrying their full line for several years and can tell you first hand, these things are as rugged as they are unique! Subdecay likens the Noise box to a "robot stuck in a bee hive" and this is a pretty spot on description. Just a mess of synthy, saturated, fuzzy madness! Very cool locally made pedal

Maxon on the other hand churns their pedals out across the Pacific in the land of the rising sun and they've had there hands in the effects ring since the very beginning! They developed a line of effects in the early 70's that wound up being licensed to the Hoshino Trading Company. You know... the Hoshino Trading Company. Everybody's heard of those guys right? Alright, they're the worldwide distributors of Ibanez! Ibanez, got it?! There's a reason Maxon's 9-Series effects look so damn familiar! The OD-9 Pro+ is like a super juiced up version of a pedal that rhymes with "Boob Dreamer"

Used Maxon OD-9 Pro+

The Return of Parking Lot Rock!

Well friends… The sun is high in the sky, the grass is turning brown, we Portlanders are starting to complain about the heat, and all the hippies are starting to run around barefoot. This can only mean one thing. It’s time for Parking Lot Rock!

We are proud to announce the first annual Centaurpalooza Rock & Roll Hullabaloo! This year’s festivities will be held on Saturday and Sunday, July 30^th and 31^st and will include 30 local bands. In addition to our own parking lot, our neighbors around the corner at Climb Max Mountaineering have been kind enough to lend us the use of theirs, meaning we’ll have two stages going all weekend long. What’s more, everyone’s favorite corner bar Katie O'Brien’s has jumped on board and will have sack lunches available all day for famished Centaurpaloozers. What’s even more, they’ll be hosting a Saturday night show after the show to keep the Hullaballoo going all night long! I guess we should be calling it the First Annual Centaurpalooza Rock & Roll Hullabaloo and Block Party.

Saturday, July 30^th

The Vacillators thebrotheregg 8-Foot Tender The Pity Fucks The Warshers East Side Speed Machine

Wave Sauce Crimson Dynamite The Primitive Idols Cootie Platoon DON'T Boo Frog

Extra Special Katie O'Brien's After Show Show!
The Disciples of Rock and Roll
The Anxieties
The Food
The Chemicals
Dr. Stahl

Sunday, July 31^st
Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers

Burnside Heroes Somerset Meadows The Welfare State Dartgun and the Vignettes 48 Thrills Blue Skies for Black Hearts

Avenue Victor Hugo Flight 19 The Decliners Bombs Away! The Hot LZ's Minty Rosa

Many of you may recall that in years past Centaur Guitar has been the proud host of an entire summer’s worth of rock and roll festivities with concerts every Saturday all summer long, right? Well, that was great. It really was but here’s the deal: Centaurpalooza is gonna be even better! Especially for our neighbors! And poor City Noise Guy who won't have to cry himself to sleep every weekend this summer! And the Centaur guys who sit inside all day wishing they could go outside and rock out! And the all volunteer crew responsible for putting this thing on who gave up camping and rafting all summer long to make sure that that the parking lot rock could continue!

That said, I think you're really gonna enjoy this. It's gonna be a riot. I promise. And about those volunteers who put this show on, please take a minute and thank them when you see them out there slaving away in the sun. They're the ones making this thing happen. Well... Them and the guy who scrubs the parking lot.