EPISODE 1 – The Red Shed Tapes Transcript

SPEAKERS Mike McMenamin, Shannon McMenamin, Thursday Jane, Brian McMenamin, Patrick McNurney Shannon McMenamin  00:00 Hi, I’m Shannon McMenamin, host of The Red Shed Tapes and part of the leadership team running our family owned company. Growing up, my dad always drove a van; my brothers and I spent a lot of time rolling around in…

Read More

TRAILER – The Red Shed Tapes Transcript

I’m Shannon McMenamin, host of The Red Shed Tapes. Growing up, my dad always drove a van; my brothers and I spent a lot of time rolling around in the back of those vans. In the center between the bucket seats, he always had a cassette holder full of bootlegs of Grateful Dead shows. They…

Read More

Hal Finkelstein

Hal was always running around like crazy, with a big, warm greeting for everybody. You could hear him from across the restaurant. It wasn’t just that his voice carried throughout the place. You felt him buzzing around! Hal Finkelstein couldn’t make an enemy, even if he tried. Earnest and genuine with a mischievous twinkle in…

Read More

What Precedes a Blue Moon? The House of Wisdom

Resonance from the Festival – March 2001 Before the light of the McMenamins Blue Moon illuminated the intersection of NW 21st and Glisan, and even before the commercial building was constructed there in the 1910s, there stood proudly the home of Andrew and Sarah Johnston, later the House of Wisdom. Records have revealed a surprising,…

Read More

Walter Cole, aka: Darcelle

Portland’s beloved, original drag queen superstar Darcelle passed away last week at the age of 92. Darcelle paved the way for generations of LGBTQ+ performers and activists and created a strong community that changed mainstream culture. Darcelle opened doors for public acceptance, respect and celebration of LGBTQ+ people everywhere. Her nightclub, Darcelle XV, opened in…

Read More

The Amazing Life of Hugh O’Kane

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! McMenamins Old St. Francis School in Bend, Oregon has a pub named after Hugh O’Kane, a daring Irishman with a life story so unbelievable, it could be a blockbuster movie. O’Kane was born in 1854 at Bushmills, County Antrim, Ireland, just around the corner from the Bushmills Distillery. As a youngster,…

Read More

“You Can’t Have a Bad Time When Drag Queens Are Around”

A Brief History of Poison Waters Poison Waters is first and foremost an entertainer. Her whip smart humor fuels the side-splitting laughter of her audiences. But she’s also wise, an advocate for many and specifically for Black and LGBTQ+ rights, dispensing advice like, “The Three E’s: Entertain, Educate and Embrace Differences, because everybody we come…

Read More

George Washington: African American Pioneer and Founder of Centralia

Everyone knows George Washington, founding father and first president of the United States. But this is the story of another George Washington, a former Black slave and trailblazing pioneer who, in 1875, overcame incredible obstacles to become the founding father of Centralia, Washington—the largest city founded by an African American of the era. George was…

Read More

The Story of “Louie Louie” – Part II

The first part of our dive into the song, “Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen (recorded next to the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR) was the infamous story of the FBI investigation into the lyrics of this rock & roll hit from 1963. Dig a little deeper, and there’s even more drama to uncover. After the…

Read More