2/17/12 Tune in to KZME 107.1FM to hear all local programming 24/7(yes, this is includes yours truly). This is a community based radio station that needs your support so please donate to help this unique experiment in community radio!

Also, The Shakers' Sessions CD just ended its run at Burgerville restaurants, where it was exclusively on sale since November 16th.  All profits were presented to Brian Grant at half-time of the Portland Trailblazers game on Wednesday: a check for $54,000 for his Brian Grant Foundation! That reflects sales of very nearly 9,000 CDs. All proceeds from this CD are to go to go Parkinson's patients so I would like to thank both Rob Barteletti and Rob Stroup for letting me be involved with this wonderful project

 2/1/12

I recentley got back from playing a few dates with Peter Buck and friends at Peter's first annual Todos Santos Music Festival which was a charity event to raise money for education programs for the children of Todos Santos, Mexico. The event was an amazing success below are  Chloe Johnson's(my good friend) closing thoughts on the event. I would like to thank Chloe Johnson, Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey for letting me be involved, I was honored and humbled to be in their company.

Todos Santos Music Festival 2012
Excitement, exhilaration, exhaustion, these three words pretty much sum up how we all feel following 3 weeks of the first ever Todos Santos Music Festival. What started out as a small idea quickly sprouted into something that was so special we filled the entire town plaza of Todos Santos. With less than 90 days of planning we actually managed to make this happen. The final night started with an appearance by Todos Santos’ own Guaycura Band out in the audience. The awesome crowd was then treated to a set by local favorites, Flashback. Their set was followed with a stellar performance by Chuck Prophet, who started solo acoustic, and than finished electric with the backing of Peter, Scott and Bill. We were then all mesmerized by The Elected, project of Blake Sennett from Rilo Kiley. Their lush pop tunes very quickly won over the audience. Of course Peter again stepped in to add some extra flair to the band. Kev’n Kinney really got the crowd going with his electric brand of Southern Rock. His set definitely had the audience dancing and singing. Then before headliners, The Minus 5, we stopped for a few moments to recognize what this evening was all about, The Palapa Society. Palapa Society President, Erick Ochoa gave a speech thanking everyone for generously supporting the event and Peter followed with a speech he gave entirely in Spanish. Peter explained that the city of Todos Santos was part of his heart and that we were all here so that the children of Todos Santos would be exposed to the same opportunities as Peter’s children. He then signed a ceremonial check representing his contribution to the event. The local Delgado (mayor) of Todos Santos was on hand as was the minister of tourism for Baja. It was an incredible moment for all of us who worked so hard to make this event come together. Following the pomp and circumstance The Minus 5 put on a blistering set that included an interlude of music by Argentinian rocker Fernando Viciconte. It is easy to believe that Fernando Viciconte will be remembered here long after this event. Another highlight of the Minus 5 set was the appearance of local hero Tofito and his young band of horn students joining all the musicians on stage for an amazing rendition of Alone Again Tonight by Love. The local people were all quick to recognize and respond to their beloved “professor” and his students on stage. The night finally ended with a foot stomping, crowd-pleasing sing a long of Kev’n Kinney’s Straight to Hell. What a way to end the night! Except that was not the end. Much to our surprise, a local patron offered to make a $10,000 USD donation to the Palapa Society if The Minus 5 would play just one more song. They were, of course, happy to oblige by breaking out a few more tunes. It was the perfect end to a beautiful night.

The first ever Todos Santos Music Festival was a HUGE success. For three weeks in a row we packed the Hotel California and treated both the locals and many friends and tourists who came to join us from all over the world to a rocking good time. We will be forever grateful for the generosity shown and are pleased to share with you that over $47,000 USD was raised in just 3 weeks, and the donations are still arriving. This never would have happened without the hard work of many people and the generous sponsorship of The Hotel California, Pacifico beer, The Journal del Pacifico and all of the Palapa Society volunteers who volunteered so much of their time to make this event happen. Thank you so much to all of the amazingly talented musicians who donated their time to this spectacular event. Thank you Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn, Linda Pitmon, Robyn Hitchcock, Bill Rieflin, Dave Depper, John Ramberg, Kev’n Kinney, Chuck Prophet, Fernando Viciconte, Blake Sennett, Brittany Smith and Olivia Marisco. And of course, we must thank YOU, the audience, who came out night after night to support the musicians as well as an important cause. The incredible energy and joy experienced by both the musicians and everyone attending came directly from the excitement and enthusiasm of the crowd. We cannot thank you all enough for being a part of this. We are already beginning to plan the Todos Santos Music Festival 2013 for next January. If we pulled off this event in less than 90 days, just imagine what we can plan with one whole year. We look forward to see all of you here again next year!

11/10/11 Shakers Sessions is released today exclusively at all Burgerville locations. The CD features Fernando, Pete Droge, Storm Large, Ian Moore, Mike Coykendall and many other well known NW musicians singing Rob Barteletti's songs. All funds from this album will go to The Bryan Grant Foundation(former NBA, Trailblazer) to raise money for Parkinson's patients.

The Fernando band will be performing two fundraiser events to help fund the recording and subsequent release of the bands 8th studio album. The album is currently being recorded and will feature such notable musicians such Scott Mccaughey, Mike Coykendall, Peter Buck. Please see show page for details.

June 1

Fernando, The Minus 5, Kelli Schaefer and Mike Coykendall announce that they will be performing a benefit show to raise money for Alzheimer's research at the Mississippi Studios on July 16th 2011

May 21

Peter Buck interviews where he mentions working with Fernando on his forthcoming release in Mojo and Goldmine Magazine

March 31 2011

Fernando makes a mix tape for Magnet Magazine

Feb 2011

Fernando has begun work on his 8th studio album working with long time friend and co-producer Mike Coykendall(M.Ward, She and Him, Old Joe Clarks). For this album Fernando has enlisted the help of Peter Buck(REM,Minus 5,Baseball Project), Scott Mccaughey(REM,Minus 5, Baseball Project), Paul Brainard(Richmond Fontaine), Dan Eccles(Richmond Fontaine), Matt Cadenelli(Don of Division), Lewi Longmire, Freddy Trujillo(Caguama). The album should be completed by the summer and released in late 2011 or early 2012 so please stay tune!

Dec 2010

True Instigator will be avaialble at record stores and digitally(iTunes, Amazon) worldwide in Feb. Copies will be available at the CD Release party at Dante's on Feb 5th.

August 2010

The band and I are going to be getting back together for one more show to celebrate/mourn the demise of the legendary Portland Club Satyricon on Oct 15(WW article about the closure). We will be performing with our friends Bingo and Richmond Fontaine and I believe the doors open at 9pm and we will be performing from 10:30 to 11:30.

True Instigator", Fernando's seventh full-length, and first to be
released completely digital, was recorded at Type Foundry in Portland,
Oregon by Adam Selzer (Norfolk and Western, M. Ward). It was mixed by
Jeff Stuart Saltzman (Sleater-Kinney, Stephan Malkmus), Luther Russell
(Richmond Fontaine), Mike Coykendall (M. Ward,Old Joe Clarks,Richmond Fontaine), and Adam Selzer; the first two mixing two songs each, and Coykendall and Selzer jointly mixing the rest of the album.

Featuring a who's who of Northwest musicians, as always, Fernando brought
in Scott McPherson (Beck, M. Ward, Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes, Neill Finn)
on drums, Dan Eccles (Richmond Fontaine) on electric guitar, Joe Chuisano
on bass, backing vocals, farfisa organ, and glockenspiel. As well as Lewi
Longmire on B-3 orgna, Mike Coykendall on piano, acoustic guitar, and
baritone guitar, Paul Brainard (Richmond Fontaine) on trumpet, and Joe
"Sly Pig" Cunningham (The Decemberists, Bobby Bare Jr.) played saxophone
on one track.

The album is a return to form for Fernando, following 2006's heavily
pop-leaning "Enter To Exit" (In Music We Trust) and 2001's stark, acoustic
focus on "Dreams of the Sun and Sky" (Domingo Records). "True Instigator"
offers up straight-ahead rock, alt. country, starkness, and haunting
melodies, bridging the gap between his 1999's "Old Man Motel" (Domingo
Records), arguably Fernando's most straight-ahead rock album to date,
"Dreams of the Sun and Sky", and "Enter To Exit".

Critically lauded, Fernando was named by Magnet Magazine as one of the ten
"Artists To Watch in 2006", proclaiming, "'Enter to Exit' spins like an
especially fine George Harrison record from the late 70s... Long a
musicians' and critics' favorite, Viciconte deserves a wider audience, and
'Enter to Exit' is a fine introduction for the uninitiated". While
Billboard commented, "Portland is home to one of the most intriguing
sounds of the past 20 years of new rock... Upon first listen to 'Enter to
Exit', the brilliant new album from Portland songwriter Fernando
Viciconte, you may feel you’ve uncovered some super secret studio session
between Elliott Smith and Jon Brion."

Other critics shared in the praise, with MSNBC also applauding Fernando as
an artist you need to know, writing, "(Fernando’s) just released the
incredibly accomplished can’t-get-the-songs-out-of-your-head Beatles-esque
pop album, 'Enter to Exit'", and No Depression said Fernando is "utterly
beautiful and convincing. "

Not to be outdone, Paste Magazine wrote of Fernando, "...'Enter to Exit'
nails it, smoothly alternating between infectiously bouncy pop and
wretchedly depressing, country-inflected rock. Supporting every song is a
solid base of classic rock ... The result hooks into you with an
aggressive urgency that’s hard to ignore, and a familiarity so profound it
seems almost like Fernando isn’t just playing music – he’s uncovering
something that’s already in you."

FOR MORE INFORMATION , PLEASE CONTACT ALEX STEININGER AT IN MUSIC WE TRUST
PR – 503-557-9661 or alex@inmusicwetrust.com.
--
Alex Steininger
In Music We Trust PR

July 26, 2008

Fernando's past releases Pacoima (1998), Old Man Motel (1999), Dreams of the Sun and Sky (2001) and Enter to Exit (2006) are now available for download from iTunes.

July 2, 2008

The Stranger previewed Fernando's upcoming show and said some very nice things. To read go to the following link: The Stranger Preview

July 1, 2008

Fernando Song Howard Hughes was featured on ABC's show Men in Trees. Episode 34 New Dog,Old Tricks.

May 15, 2008

Fernando Q&A appeared today on Willamette Week's music website Local Cut. Fernando will also be featured on KINK FM's Local Music Spotlight tomorrow evening at 9:20pm.

May 5,2008

FERNANDO REGAINS OWNERSHIP TO HIS FIRST FOUR ALBUMS!

Fernando recently settled his dispute with Cravedog Records and has purcashed back the rights to his first four releases Season in Hell (1996), Widows(1997), Pacoima(1998), and Old Man Motel(1999). We are also very happy to announce that these CD's are now available for sale through CDBABY and when you purchase any of these aforementioned releases from CDBABY.com, the majority of your money will go directly to help support the band. Fernando and Co. are currently shopping these records to major and independent labels and they hope to have them re-released world wide sometime in 2009. 

If you go to the following links you will able to listen to 2 minute samples of most of the songs from these releases( before you purchase).

Dreams of the Sun and Sky(Domingo Records 2001)

http://cdbaby.com/cd/fernandov

Old Man Motel  was recorded at Jackpot Studios. Luther Russell Producer and Larry Crane Engineer(1999) http://cdbaby.com/cd/oldmanmotel

Pacoima(1998) Recorded on a Tascam 8 Track cassette recorder in Fernando's basement and Luther's apartment in SE Portland. Produced by Luther Russell

http://cdbaby.com/cd/fernandov6

Widows (1997) Recorded over 3 drunken days at our friend Johnny Beluzzi's basement studio in NE Portland.

http://cdbaby.com/cd/fernandov5

F

October 17, 2007

Viral Vector media and Director Alejandro Seri have just posted a short documentary about Fernando on current.com. Please click on the link below to watch.

http://current.com/items/85292361_fernando_in_the_moment

August 6, 2007

Fernando and Co. are currently mixing their new album 'True Instigator" with the help of Mike Coykendall( M. Ward, Richmond Fontaine, Old Joe Clarks), Adam Selzer( Norfolk and Western) and also with Luther Russell( Richmond Fontaine, Ollin, Sarabeth Tucek) in Los Angeles. Fernando hopes to have this album mastered by the end of September or early October. The band is currently not associated with any record label so no released date has been set yet. 

Feb 15, 2007

Fernando will begin work on his seventh album in April at Type Foundry Studios(Portland). This album will reunite Fernando with his original band of Joe Chiusano on bass and Daniel Eccles (Richmond Fontaine)on Guitar. The band will be joined on drums by long time friend and collaborator Scott Mcpherson (Elliott Smith,Neil Finn). This record will be self-produced by the band and will be engineered by Adam Selzer(Norfolk Western, M.Ward). Release date is scheduled for August/September of 2007.

January 25, 2007

Director Alejandro Seri's new promo for "Enter to Exit" debut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lW5t6rK-Ew

January 1, 2007

Fernando has been selected to play at this years SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX. Date of show will be announced soon!

Fernando's long out of print 2001 album "Dreams of the Sun and Sky" is now finally available through iTunes!

To purchase click on the following link:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=210996711

Dec 20, 2006

Fernando has been selected "one of ten artist to watch in 2007" by Magnet Magazine.

January issue

Photo in January issue of Magnet should be credited to my friend Matt Moore at www.supercloud.com

Fernando's new video for "The change in Us" was featured by Spin.com yesterday! To read feature and/or view video go to the following link:

http://www.spin.com/features/heythisisawesome/2006/11/061127_fernando/

FYI-Video takes about 5 seconds to load

Director Alejandro Seri and Fernando have just completed a video for the song " The Change in US". To catch a sneak peak at the video go to the following link, We will be putting a higher quality vido link up soon at this site, so keep checking in!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvWhMyx-BYo

Fernando will be performing live at the Aladdin this Thursday November 16th on OPB's live radio show "Livewire". Fernando and his all-star band will be performing a couple of songs from their newest CD Enter to Exit and Fernando will be doing a short interview as well.. For more info or to purchase tickets for this live show go to the following link: http://www.aladdin-theater.com/show_page.aspx?eventid=998

Fernando will be performing every song from his critically acclaimed album Enter to Exit live at Berbati's Pan in Portland, Oregon on November 11th. Also appearing will be Mike Coykendall and Gerald Collier. Doors open at 9:00 pm/ no advance presale.

Fernando will be featured in a story by Barbara Mitchell in the November 9th issue of the Portland Tribune and also in a feature by Curt Schultz in the November 10th Oregonian A&E!

Fernando's Enter to Exit is reviewed in November issue of No Depression page 108

September 11, 2006

Dreams of the Sun and Sky has been reissued by Domingo Records! This CD was named top ten records released in 2001 by The Oregonian. The album will be hitting stores on November 14th but you can purchase a copy now by going to the following link:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/fernandov

September 7, 2006

Fernando to be reviewed in the Nov/Dec issue of No Depression Magazine.

September 1, 2006

Fernando's new CD Enter to Exit is reviewed in page 93 of the October/November issue of Magnet Magazine. http://fernando-music.blogspot.com/

Billboard Magazine Review - Enter to Exit.
Go to blog to read reviews!

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003085626

Fernando and friends will be celebrating the release of their newest album Enter to Exit at Berbati's Pan in Portland, Oregon on November 11, 2006 - show starts at 9pm. http://www.berbatis.com

KEXP sponsored Enter to Exit CD release party at the Sunset Tavern in Seattle on October 27th. The show is an early one from 7pm to 9pm Gerald Collier is opening up for us. We play from 8:00- 9:00pm.

Amplifier Magazine CD Review - Fernando, Enter to Exit
http://www.amplifiermagazine.com/#/reviews/cds/fernando_cd.php

August 3, 2006

MSNBC Feature - Independent Study: Fernando
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14158441/

July 14, 2006

popmatters review
http://www.popmatters.com/shorttakes/2006_07_09_archive.shtml

July 07, 2006

My label just contacted me and let me know that MSNBC.com is going to be interviewing me in early August for a feature on Enter to Exit. Also, Magnet, Amplifier, and Chord magazine will reviewing the record in their next issue. Again, if you would like to request a song from 90.3 fm KEXP...please go to www.kexp.org , click on playlist and then click email DJ. You can stream this station live and listen on your computer from anywhere!

Thanks again for all your support!

Take care,

fernando