Tentareign

“You Stay Classy, Rockers: Tentareign Brings Rock To The Tower. In Other News, Hell Freezes Over. BY ERIC FLOWERS You ready for These folks, Tower? It's just after 11am on a recent Saturday morning when Hannah Hoard, Jason Costa and Andy Hoard of local prog-metal band Tentareign walk into Thump Coffee to talk about their upcoming CD release party on November 22. They've been up until 3am doing a full-blown dress rehearsal for the show and are exhausted and definitely in need of some caffeine. The band, known for their great live performances, stage sets and overall sound, are turning heads in Bend lately with their announcement that they will be debuting their first album - The Power Between - at the Tower Theatre. That's right, metal at Tower. The same place that you can also check out plays like Driving Miss Daisy and A Tuna Christmas or see musicals like In the Mood. Music acts that have played there this year include Taj Mahal and Béla Fleck ... not exactly mosh-worthy bands. "We're doing the Tower because we want to try to push our own limits," explains Hoard. "We've played Midtown, we've played Long Shots, we've played Players ... but never Tower. This is a new level of class [for us] - we're always trying to do something bigger and better." Tentareign had to go through a very lengthy process to get themselves on stage at Bend's historical downtown theater. Each band member was interviewed individually, then as a group to see if they were a "fit" for the Tower. The band also had to get its own insurance as well as endure another long process for promotion. The band says that one of the great things about Tower is that unlike other venues they've played, Tower has a very well-maintained facility. The band says that other local venues they've played have sometimes required three days of cleaning because there was no trash service provided. They've also spent countless hours patching and re-painting walls and even rebuilding parts of the stage before shows. So how does a metal show translate into a venue with fixed seating and an overall atmosphere that doesn't exactly scream "let loose and party?" Tentareign is optimistic. With the upper level of the theater designated all-ages and beer (and wine) allowed on the lower level, the band says they aren't expecting any problems. "People can come up to the front and jiggle it up or sit down, relax, have a beer and enjoy a damn good rock show," says Hoard. The show begins with a performance from local indie rock band Goodbye Dyna, followed by a thirty-minute acoustic set and then a full-blown electric set for the remainder of the show. "We're really going to test the [sound] system there and see what it can do," says Hoard. "Even the tech guys are really excited about it." The band, who can't afford to rehearse in the theater before the show, has built a practice stage that's the same width as the one they'll be playing on at Tower. They've also been practicing in a room that they hope is the acoustic equivalent. "We're always trying to one-up ourselves," says Costa. "We really try to put on a mini stadium show each time we perform. We're definitely bringing a show that no one's seen at the Tower before." So while Tentareign fans will have to get used to a different venue format and fixed seating during the show, the band believes that the show should pose no problems for the Tower or anyone else. "We've got classy fans," Hoard says, "I think that sitting down and watching something for 40 minutes is awesome - you don't have to stand up and fight for room on the floor. It's gonna be a hootenanny and we're going to rock out ... classily."”

“It takes instruments, amplifiers and a volume knob to be a heavy band. It takes all those things plus skill and ambition to be a heavy band that’s interesting. Two of Bend’s most interesting and ambitious heavy bands are teaming up for what should be a terrific show tonight at Mountain’s Edge in Bend. Warm Gadget is the newer of the two bands on the bill, a quartet that deftly mixes sludgy quasi-metal and industrial noise with experimental electronic touches. They’ve played sparingly over the past few months, but the reviews are resoundingly positive. Tentareign, on the other hand, has been on the local scene for a few years, though they’ve been scarce recently. That’s because they’ve been in the studio, and their MySpace promises not one but two albums this year. Exciting! I don’t know what they’ll sound like, but past Tentareign work could be described as thunderous, hyper-skillful prog-metal. There are a lot of shows in town this week, but in my mind, this one’s a can’t-miss.”