PORTLAND’S HOLIDAY ALE FESTIVAL ’09 EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

By John Fortunato

PORTLAND, OREGON

Featuring vintage versions of so-called Big Beers and boasting the health-conscious slogan, ‘beer is a source of B complex vitamins,’ Portland’s annual Holiday Ale Festival proved to be a fantastic way for a seasoned Jersey swigger to spend a few cold early December days. Held December 2^nd to 6^th at Pioneer Court House Square in the heart of town, the winter fest (organized by Preston Weesner – pictured…

For too many years brain-dead executives ruled the now nearly defunct major record labels. I’m not talking about publicists and artist relation staffs, just the misguided hacks at the top of the shit heap from punk’s 1977 heyday ‘til now. These stuck-up money-grabbing twerps were the ones who offered secretarial staff’s health insurance but were too cheap to provide it for their own artists – the people responsible for making them money. And what’s now ironic is how the…

A CMJ STORY FOR THE KIDS

Oh great! CMJ’s music marathon is coming to the Big Apple again. Well, this is my happy CMJ story for the impressionable kids who’ll attend this year.

Once upon a time in the late ‘90s, I lived free and easy, going to any show my bulbous ass desired. As October rolled around one year, I got an email from College Music Journal’s outside publicity department, inviting me to get a free laminated pass for their…