Lisa Molinaro and the Return of Talkdemonic

If Portland feels like a cooler place today, that’s because it is. Lisa Molinaro is back in town with her band Talkdemonic after a national tour.
I highlight her in these things because I don’t know the guy in the group, but I’ve been following her exploits out on the road via her buddies, and I’m looking forward to talking with her again myself. Incidentally, the tour featured what is becoming a band standard – their equipment was ripped off from a van, but fortunately it was insured, and I believe only one show was canceled. The brand new viola (big bucks) was not involved, thank God. I knew Lisa was through with her last one when she said it was “dead to me.” The new one featured a lengthy search and a trip to the repair shop immediately after purchase.
The band has shown up in the local media including a nice piece in yesterday’s A&E section that reveals the biggest news I’ve heard from them so far. They are on the soundtrack of a national film, “Thank You for Smoking”, which I enjoyed as a book. That is a major coup, landing in a movie. Wow.
Tonight is their CD release party back at Holocene, the futuristic, elegant nightclub where I went to check the band out. The band’s performance - the night I saw them - was very interesting and beautiful. Lisa swayed back and forth pulling the deep spirits out of her soon-to-be jilted old viola. Was this the reason that the Portland Freelancer picked her as the coolest woman in Portland? No. It has more to do with the nice greeting she gave me that night, amongst the packed house of young Portland clubbers. Lisa is a really solid, soulful, sweetheart of a person with a great laugh. Forget Erik Sten, Sam Adams, and the other politico clowns who think Portland is about them. Portland is great because of bands like Talkdemonic and people like Lisa Molinaro.