Is This the Coolest Person In Portland?

I met her at a coffee shop. Where or why isn’t important now, but she was there a lot and I would chat with her when I went in. Then one day she was on the cover of the Willamette Week, as half of Talkdemonic, voted the Best New Band in Portland, 2005. Her name is Lisa Molinaro and she plays viola. Actually, she’s more like a third of the band as there is also a computer heavily involved. I went to check out her group at a club called Holocene and she was great. The club was futuristic and looked like it was in another city, especially compared to the dives I frequented in my wild youth. There was an actual glamour factor going with plenty of young urban legends in the making.
The bands music was beautiful. The machine-generated parts were surreal and trippy and the human percussion on top of the programmed grooves really added some punch. I did wonder what would happen if the computer ever crashed. On the other hand, they never have to worry about the computer showing up coked to the gills or blasted on LSD, like some of the members in my old groups.
On top of the swirling sounds and the focal point really, was Lisa’s viola. It was rich and spiritual and deep. Swaying back and forth Lisa looked beautiful. She’s got dark eyes and long black hair, and you can look at her and see it's not just appearance - she has the great soul to go with it. This comes across - as these things do - in the music.
How this Florida girl ever wound up here, who knows? But at this point, she’s possibly, the coolest person in Portland. Of course, that will change tomorrow, at least for 3 and a half weeks. After one final gig tonight at the Doug Fir Lounge, Talkdemonic heads out for their second national tour – a tour that stretches all the way to New York City. When our local commissioners and pundits kid themselves into thinking Portland is all about them, I just laugh. What makes Portland great is people like Lisa Molinaro. So good luck on the road, or as the kids would say: Represent.