Summer Mix Tape 2007

We haven’t experienced much of it here in Portland, but news is trickling in from around the country that summer has arrived.

In honor of the season, a few weeks ago the Writers Collective announced that we were putting together a digital Mix Tape that would feature some our of musical MySpace friends. We invited bands and singer-songwriters to send us a song they believe conveys the spirit of summer. Any aspect of the season will do, we said - “The warmth of the sun on your face in the morning, the excitement of the open road, lazy days by the lake, the goosebumpy intimacy of an evening bonfire.”

The response to our call for submissions was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. A huge thank you to everyone who submitted songs. In the end, we were forced to narrow down our playlist to just twelve tracks. (Otherwise, how could you download the songs to your computer, burn them to a CD, and then transfer them to a standard 60-minute cassette tape to play in your car?)

These are the 12 songs we think evoke what is best about summer: memories of summer love (“Rolling River,” from David Potter, who we predict will someday be touring with the likes of Derek Webb and Don Chaffer); the season’s essential optimism (“Radio Girl” from Paul Koopman); its activity (Katy Kinard) and possibility (The Long Tomorrow); and the bittersweet melancholy of the summer sun dipping below the horizon line (Adrian Bourgeois, who released his first full-length album earlier this month on C-Side Records; and Arthur Alligood, whose latest album was produced by Andrew Osenga of Caedmon’s Call and The Normals).

Some of the songs tell stories. Others portray scenes from summers past, as in “One By One By One,” by Dustin Pattison, who our books editor swears is the best writer in the Pattison family.

One song - “I Am The Deep Blue Sea,” by Mark Mathis - is a lovely extended meditation on the seasons of life. Another track, “A Little Light” from Kris Morris, reminded one of our editors of the sticky Louisiana summer nights of his childhood. The song’s power to invoke became even more remarkable when we learned that Morris is Australian-born and London-based and, as far as we know, has never lived in the bayou.

Most of the artists are probably new, though we think you’ll be hearing much more from talented and impressively-bearded musician-poets like Johnny Bertram.

But a couple names may be familiar to regular readers of the site. Lisa Curl (“Think of Me”) was featured in a recent BWC article on the female indie music scene. And the third album from the bi-coastal group, The Gena Rowlands Band (“Love, For Want of a Better Name”), is getting a lot of great press right now. (Editor’s note: Go to the GRB MySpace page and listen to the song “F*ckups of the World Unite.” We tried mightily to look for a summer connection so we could include the song on our playlist - but to no avail.)

So please enjoy our 2007 Summer Mix Tape. We will stream the full album on our MySpace page starting Monday afternoon. To download the tracks, just right-click on the song and select “Save Link As…”

Clicking on the artists’ names will take you to their website or MySpace page. Do us a favor, please. Go to the artists’ sites and thank them for donating music to the Mix Tape. While you’re there, buy a few tracks or see if they will be playing at a venue near you.

We hope you have a glorious summer.

Side A
1. David Potter - Rolling River (PLAY)
2. Adrian Bourgeois - Summertime (PLAY)
3. Johnny Bertram - Lonesome Road (PLAY)
4. Katy Kinard - World’s Largest Peanut (PLAY)
5. Dustin Pattison - One By One By One (PLAY)
6. Arthur Alligood - Linger Long (PLAY)

Side B
7. The Gena Rowlands Band - Love, For Want Of A Lesser Word (PLAY)
8. Paul Koopman - Radio Girl (PLAY)
9. The Long Tomorrow - Don’t Look Back (PLAY)
10. Kris Morris - Little Light (PLAY)
11. Mark Mathis - I Am The Deep Blue Sea (PLAY)
12. Lisa Curl - Think of Me (PLAY)

Download the full album here (via YouSendIt).