Reinventing your sound is exciting, scary, adventurous, and a sign of a spectacular artist...that is, as long as it works. And yes, it did for Miss Stephanie Schneiderman.

Artists that evolve, break their personal mold and creative boundaries - that explore - are the elite musicians. Reinventing your sound is "risky business," according to Stephanie Schneiderman, but the risk factor is decimated when you have producer/beat-extraordinaire Keith Schreiner (Auditory Sculpture) on your team.

Stephanie's also kept her songwriting and voice, which smoothly floats over Keith's soothing trip-hop ambiance. It's sexy. It's relaxed. It's lovely.

The two bring their down-tempo, electro-beats and sensual vocal bliss along with James Beaton (Storm and the Balls) on keys to Jimmy Mak's on Saturday, January 23rd with Come Gather Around Us at 8:00 p.m. for $10.

And this girl is setting up and knocking down cocktail hours at Jimmy Mak's every first and third Thursdays starting in February through April. These shows will feature the keyboardist/singer Jade Vanacore, and Stephanie says, "I've been working on a more stripped down version of the trip-hop show involving beats, loops, keys, electric guitar and harmonies, so this residency will give me a chance to get really comfortable with all my new toys. Also, I'm going to try out a bunch of new songs!"

- Chris Young

Last Thursday night, I had dinner at Bar Carlo with my good friend and her one-year-old son Lucian. As the adults sat perusing over the menu, Lucian took it upon himself to bang two knives against the table and crank his head up and down, as he sang a song at the top of his lungs that only he knew the words to. This might have been annoying to the staff and other patrons of the restaurant, but for me it was an enjoyable experience watching a very intelligent child express himself. I turned to my friend in the midst of the noise and said, “Your son is so metal.” And if you think about it, what I said to my friend was completely true. What is metal if not someone pounding on the drums, head banging and bellowing lyrics that you usually can’t understand?

It is generally the high energy, screaming and testosterone that makes us love metal, not necessarily the message behind the music. But many metal bands like Manowar, Iron Maiden and Portland's own Last Empire do have a message, and for Harry Potter nerds like myself, it is a message of heavenly geekiness.

Fantasy-metal purveyors Last Empire sing about unicorns, falcons and kings of the throne. Their sound has a definite old school '80s feel, but mixes in a new school style and swagger. The band has received nothing but great reviews, especially for the out-of-this-world vocals of singer Brian Allen; but they haven’t quite caught on the same way in the U.S. as they have in Europe. Portland is lucky to have access to such a talented band, so you listeners out there need to take advantage of it by seeing them play on Saturday, January 16th with an all-Oregon bill also featuring Portland's Goatsoldiers, Excruciator and Salem's Filth-Machine at Satyricon. 8:00 p.m. All ages. $8.

- Deanna Uutela