Since forming in 1996, Martyn Leaper and the Minders have morphed from Elephant 6 darlings to twee-pop anarchists, throwing love bombs and denouncing nothing. Most non-fans remember the Minders’ auspicious 1998 debut, Hooray For Tuesday, and its unfairly derided follow-up, 2001’s Golden Street, but the band was active until 2006’s slight-but-lovely It’s A Bright Guilty World. The Minders’ only interim release has been the second web-only iteration of their odds-and-sods Cul-De-Sacs And Dead Ends. In the gap, Leaper wrote and demoed new songs when he could crowbar it into his 40-hour work week. Along with renowned producer Larry Crane (Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney), Leaper began finding the thread of Into The River, the first actual Minders studio work in a decade. Leaper will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Minders feature.
Leaper: Portland is home to a number of classic independent movie theatres. Each quarter of the city houses an array of vintage cinemas, with some of the districts being named after their theaters. For instance, the Laurelhurst neighborhood, a leafy quarter of South East Portland, is anchored by its neon lighted classic art house from the early 1920s, and just to the north east of Laurelhurst lies the Hollywood district which is named after its vintage movie palace. The Hollywood Theater is unique, and not only for its ornate façade but its status as a non-profit organization devoted to entertaining, educating and preserving a landmark for the community. Most of the operating costs are raised through memberships. My partner and I became members of the theater last year. Some of the highlights of our membership so far have been: Seeing Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in glorious 70mm, a screening of Buster Keaton’s The General accompanied with live score and an evening with D.A Pennebaker, the documentary-film pioneer. I have never experienced the joy of community-owned cinema before I became a member of the Hollywood Theater. It’s great to see so many people appreciating the art of film, and celebrating important works. Most of the films that I have attended, have been sold out. This is most reassuring during a time where so many theaters chains are feeling the pinch from light attendance. I believe that engaging the community with meaningful content and quality entertainment will always draw bigger crowds.
