US Odyssey Part 13: Portland
Sometimes being a one-man-looper seems like a lonely gig. And it can be with no bandmates, etc.
That being said, it’s nice to belong to a community of people that truly are musically open-minded. Loopers-Delight is an online community of people that use all types of looping software and hardware. Through this, I’ve been able to pick the brains of people all around the world, learn improved techniques, bought a (hard-to-come-by) LP-1 and most recently; meet international loopers face-to-face. Ted Killian was grateful enough to offer up some accommodations in Medford, OR, and while we didn’t take him up on it, we met up at a Starbucks for a quick chat about loops and life on our way through the state.
I’d heard a lot of great things about Portland, OR, but we didn’t do all too much sightseeing. We attempted to find a “Mystery House” off of the highway, but it ended up being closed for the season. Even then, it didn’t look all too impressive, so it was probably for the best. We did stop in at the Oregon Zoo to examine the open exhibits as we rushed along with only an hour to view the whole thing!
After watching other animals laze around and eat food, we figured we’d do the same. We found a place downtown called the Grilled Cheese with a double decker bus parked out front that you sit in to eat – looked interesting enough! We took one look at the menu and realized all the items were variations on a theme. Especially the piece de resistance; the Big Cheesus. Imagine two grilled cheese sandwiches, one with sauteed onions, another with diced pickles. Then, place a burger with all the fixin’s in-between these two grilled cheeses, and voila, eat a delicious, cheesy mess. Shannon had the Baby Cheesus because she couldn’t handle the gospel truth of what is one of the best food inventions. Note: your liver will not agree.