The Grateful Web's Josh Baker recently had an opportunity to speak to Portland, Oregon based Twisted Whistle about how they became a band, what musical inspirations affected them, their current tour and much more.

GW: So how long have you guys been together for?

Jeff: Almost eight months.

Matt: Thanksgiving is right around a year.

GW: Did you guys all know each other before? Did you play in other bands together?

One of the most distinguished guitarists and songwriters of our time, Richard Thompson remains incredibly inspiring and relevant today. With two box sets to his name, and heaps of critical praise and awards, Thompson was most recently awarded MOJO’s Les Paul Award, and had the distinction of being named the 2010 Artistic Director of the 17th Meltdown fes

Ejigayehu “Gigi” Shibawbaw, one of Ethiopia's best-known singers, is releasing her latest album Mesgana Ethiopia on October 19^th through MOD Technologies, the label founded by Grammy-winner Bill Laswell (who has collaborated with countless legends from Mick Jagger to Laurie Anderson to Tony Williams). This release features Gigi singing her original songs mixed with some Ethiopian traditional tunes – all sung in Amaharic – bridging African styles, Reggae, Dub, Avant-Funk,/Jazz, World Beat, Trance, and Ambient music.