Explode Into Colors Is Reuniting

The Portland dub-funk trio (and former Best New Band winners) will play two benefit shows in October.

By Matthew Singer

Explode Into Colors is getting back together.

The post-punk dub-funk trio—or however you prefer to classify them—will play a pair of benefit shows, both at Mississippi Studios on Oct. 16. The first is a fundraiser for youth-music advocacy organization Friends of Noise, while the later show benefits the famed and recently beleaguered Los Angeles DIY space the Smell. The former is all-ages and the latter is 21+. Tickets are available now.

Related: "Friends of Noise has a plan for saving all-ages music in Portland. Will it work?"

Explode Into Colors led a brief but (ahem) explosive existence. For about three years, the band—drummer Lisa Schonberg, percussionist Heather Treadway and baritone guitarist Claudia Meza—was arguably the most exciting in the city, beating out Blind Pilot to win Willamette Week's Best New Band poll in 2009. The group signed to Kill Rock Stars but broke up in 2010 without ever releasing a proper full-length. Meza went on to play in the similarly styled Stay Calm with Parenthetical Girls' Zac Pennington, Schonberg formed the Secret Drum Band (and wrote a set of songs about rare bees) and Treadway went into fashion design.

On a personal level, Explode Into Colors were basically the soundtrack to my first year in Portland, and remain one of my favorite acts to come out of the city in the last decade. In case you weren't around back then and want to know why this is so exciting, check out the videos below.

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