Gossip Should Have No Friends

[March 15th, 2006] THE DAY THE MUSIC MOVED After nearly a decade, local jazz spot Jimmy Mak's is quitting its corner at Northwest 10th Avenue and Everett Street on April 15. No worries, Mel Brown fans: According to owner Jimmy Makarounis, the club is just moving kitty-corner across the street to the old Pearl Gallery digs, a roomier space that will more than double its capacity and may lure more national-caliber jazz musicians when it reopens in early May. The old Mak's space won't stand empty for long. Come June, veteran Virginia Cafe bartender Todd Miller plans to open a "leisurely" tavern called Life of Riley in the spot featuring home cookin' and local beers for people who live in the Pearl. "When you need a break from First Thursday, you can come here and get a dose of reality," jokes Miller.

BEBE BOO BOO Next time Portland Tribune staff writer Joseph Gallivan writes about a patron saint of P-town's dance scene, he might want to check his facts first. In an interview published March 14 with Mark Russell , the new director of Portland Institute for Contemporary Art 's TBA Festival , Gallivan reported that Russell said PICA's patrons will "discover acts he hopes to bring to Portland for the first time, such as Bebe Miller ." Huh? Not only was Miller a PICA artist-in-residence in the late '90s, but the choreographer and her company performed as part of Portland State University's Contemporary Dance series, and she has created work for Oregon Ballet Theatre. "I think it's a light misquote.... I knew that Bebe Miller had been here a bunch of times," Russell tells Scoop. "It was a pretty wide-ranging conversation. I mean, the next line in [Gallivan's] story says I'm 54 years old. I was actually born in '54. That makes me 52."

DEPARTMENT OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION WW's Longbaugh Film Festival (presented by Comcast) hits screens April 6-9. Nab a shiny festival program at WW HQ, Stumptown Coffee, numerous McMenamins and other spots. Check out www.longbaugh.com/2006/ for a full list of places to get a program and an online peek at scheduled flicks. Do it. Do it now.