Bottom of the Hill

If you like whiskey and can stomp your feet you're guaranteed to have a good time at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. Just ask Anju's Pale Blue Eyes and Shady Maples, two local San Francisco bands who regularly share this local stage with national touring acts.

The Long Hello

Looking to set down roots and dig into a West Coast music scene, the four long-time friends of The Long Hello found their new hometown in the small, so-called hippie capital of the country: Eugene, Oregon.

Buzz's Open Mic

Scott Lesman is convinced that he has the best job in the world. An open-mic host at a number of Olympia, Washington bars and music venues, Scott provides lesser-known, up-and-coming local artists with all the right tools to explore and expand their musical talents.

Seattle: Postmadonna & The Vera Project

Seattle, an "inherently positive" city that provides a fan base for even the most obscure musical genres, is home to the math rock group Postmadonna. They let us step into a basement session for a glimpse of those complex experimental melodies. Just around the corner, The Vera Project a non-profit all-ages music venue, is doing its part to provide a stage for artists like Postmadonna and maintain those positive Seattle vibes.

We crossed over the Bay Bridge just past night-fall and, rumbling headfirst into the hazy light of San Francisco, found ourselves facing the Pacific Ocean with the realization that The Locavaux Crew had officially listened to local hometown sounds from coast to coast. At this point, we felt like we had seen it all, but California, Oregon, and Washington still had so much to offer our musical exploration. San Francisco showed us that local bands can be more popular than the national headliners they often open for. Eugene, Oregon proved to be a town worthy of setting down musical roots while Portland taught us to stay weird and always opt for local craft beer. Olympia, Washington argued that every musician deserves an open-mic stage and a chance to blow away an audience. Seattle convinced us that it doesn’t matter what music scene you dig—they’ve got them all, from the obscure to the well-known, and want music lovers of all ages to have access to live music. The Pacific Northwest welcomed Georgia the bus with breathtaking coastal views and towering redwood trees, boulders littered along sandy beaches as if dropped there by giants, hot springs and reservoirs, heavy fogs and lighthouses dotting ocean cliffs. The perfect last chapter for the road trip of a lifetime? We think so.

Life On The Bus

REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK

Georgia the bus, once lumbering and giant, felt like a bug as we crawled between the broad trucks of Redwoods and looked out over enormous beach boulders carved with hundreds of years of crashing salt water waves--the epic proportions of the California Coast dwarfed us.

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Oh, Brother // Rabbit in the Rye

www.rabbitintherye.com

COUGAR RESERVOIR

Following advice from a friendly stranger in Mill Valley, California, the Locavaux Crew took a day to zigzag up a mountain side and explore the crystal blue waters of Cougar Reservoir and the cascading pools of nearby Terwilliger Hot Springs. Thanks for the tip!

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Vampyres // Haunt the House

hauntthehouse.bandcamp.com

THE OREGON COAST

The Oregon coast, where the fog-draped and blustery Cape Blanco State Park was just another place to get out and stretch our legs--sandwiched between bright rocky shores and a pine-lined river bank, these rest-stops will never be topped.

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I Met My Love // Rabbit in the Rye

www.rabbitintherye.com

PORTLAND, OR

While in Portland, the Locavaux Crew brushed up on our craft beer knowledge at the Oregon Brewers Festival, and true to the city's slogan, we kept it weird with fellow road trip enthusiasts and old college friends.

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Finders // Hustle & Drone

www.hustlenanddrone.com