Jackpot! Recording Studio has been recording wonderful local music (and lots of people from other places) for 15 years. The music scene in Portland, Oregon, has been very good to Jackpot!, and now we want to give something back to the world of musicians and fans that has supported us. We will be offering recording time to musicians that we like and asking them to track a song written by a Portland-based songwriter or band from any time past or present. We will record and produce the song, and then we'll offer it up for free download on our website. So please drop by and check out some free music that celebrates the creative spirit of the town we call home, Portland, Oregon. All tracks will be recorded at Jackpot! (of course), and usually by owner Larry Crane and/or studio manager Kendra Lynn. We will be mastering all of these downloads at Treelady Studios in Pittsburgh with the talented Mr. Garrett Haines.

Rebecca Gates and the Consortium
January 31, 2012

[DOWNLOAD MP3] 		Rebecca Gates and the Consortium
"Dangerous"
A cover of the Cool'R classic from 1982

Rebecca Gates has long been a friend of ours at Jackpot!, and she encouraged Larry Crane and Elliott Smith to collaborate on establishing the initial Jackpot! Recording Studio. Gates was the leader of The Spinanes in the '90s, and our first song on JCP was actually a cover of one of her songs. Here Rebecca (on guitars and keys) is joined by Jackpot!'s "first intern", bassist Joanna Bolme (also of The Jicks), and drummer Ji Tanzer (of Blue Cranes) (who also played some keys and percussion). The song they cover is from the legendary Portland R&B group Cool'R who flirted with mainstream success in the early '80s, and had formed from the previous Portland R&B group Pleasure. Both groups were well known nationally in their time, and bassist Nate Phillips went on to play with Jeff Lorber Fusion, among others. But be careful, this song is "dangerously" hook-laden. Enjoy the free download and support local music!
Recorded Dec 30, 2011, mixed various days of Jan 2012, posted January 31, 2012
Recorded and mixed by Larry Crane @ Jackpot! (of course) and produced by Larry and the group.

Mission Spotlight
November 6, 2011

[DOWNLOAD MP3] 		Mission Spotlight
"Noel, Jonah and Me"
A cover of The Spinanes' classic from 1993

This session was super fun, cutting Kurt Foster's live vocals along with the band in one of our iso booths. Ryan Lynn's pedal steel really gives this cover a barnstorming country edge (on the right plus a cool overdub in the middle) and you'll hear Faz Debeb's rocking guitar panned to the left. Jeremy Dietz holds down the bass and special (temporary?) drummer Evan Railton (Swords Project, Blue Giant) rocks as always. Mission Spotlight is a special band to us at Jackpot!, as Kurt was in Worthington, a band that recorded a great album at our old location in 1997, and along with Faz and Jeremy he also had the band Recall 7, whom we also recorded a few years back - not to mention that they helped us move piles of gear into our current location. Look for an upcoming 2012 EP that they just recorded (along with this cover song) with Jackpot1's owner, Larry Crane, producing, engineering and mixing.
The song itself, "Noel, Jonah and Me" is a cover of the excellent Spinanes' track from their debut album Manos (Sub Pop, 1993). The Spinanes' leader, Rebecca Gates, has been another long time client and good friend of Jackpot!, and look for her contribution to Jackpot! Covers Portland coming up soon! Enjoy the free download and support local music!
Recorded Nov 22, 2011, mixed Dec 14, 2011, posted January 3, 2012