Last week many fans of the local Portland Progressive-Power Metal band Tanagra were furious at the news that their beloved small heavy metal act was being targeted by the Swiss Giant Nagra Kudelski in an attempt to wipe them from the board during their trademark request to claim their band as their own.
This lead to an uproar within the Heavy Metal community around the world and fans began leaving many reviews at Nagra Audio, who at the time had no idea what their evil former parent company was pulling behind their back.
Thousands rallied around the world for pledging their undying support for Tanagra, ready for the battle to which would become known in the days to come as simply as The Battle of Tanagra.
This act alone lead to an amazing public press response for Tanagra, as they began selling out of merchandise, leaving the band to pack hundreds of orders over the course of a weekend.
“We’ve echoed the metal community and requested, essentially, that they drop it. (More likely, it’d take some form of agreement.) But while we wait on news from that..Here’s the aforementioned second batch (and third) batches of orders, roughly 60%, ready to go and dropped off today!”
Nagra Audio’s official statement on their Facebook page upon receiving angry messages and reviews is as follows:
“To the Tanagra band and their fans,
We are deeply sorry about this story, It seems there is a gigantic misunderstanding here.
We are a small company in Switzerland called “Audio Technology Switzerland » designing and manufacturing world-class recording and playback equipment branded NAGRA.
We have not filed any lawsuit against you and we are a not attacking your band or your band name. Until this morning we had never heard of your band.
We have contacted the trademark owner, Nagravision , who confirmed that they were already actively trying to find a solution with TANAGRA band members.
We do not know the story behind this attack, but clearly we are outside of it and you should let your fans and supporters know.
It would really be a shame for any company to prevent artists from playing and performing their music, be assured we are on your side to find a good solution as fast as possible.
We have been recording and supporting the music industry for almost 70 years, and will continue to do so.
Musically Yours,”
Many folks are still very confused as to whether or not Nagra Audio has rallied with Tanagra against the corporate monster Nagra Kudelski or if they are just posting a simple statement to save their asses from the mobs that are ready to burn their villages to the ground.
Nagra Audio claims that they aren’t associated with Nagra Kudelski, but if that were the case then wouldn’t Nagra Kudelski be targeting Nagra Audio as well?
On Wednesday January 29th 2020 Tanagra made a statement on their Facebook page saying that after the apparent negotiations that were taking place over the weekend that things were moving extremely slow.
Nagra Kudelski is going after this small band in Portland, Oregon simply for having a few similar letters, to which the band’s name reference isn’t associated with Nagra Kudelski’s brand at all. It actually is a Star Trek reference because members of the band are huge fans.
Watch out CBS, for Nagra Kudelski may indeed send it’s armageddon fleet after you soon as well!
Mead is one of the oldest fermented alcoholic beverages known to man-kind, but it’s popularity has been only really prominent to the beverage’s inner-circle of fans. Due to the popularity of beer and cider, this ancient brew hasn’t been in the “main” highlight for a while now, but now a few places around the Pacific Northwest are popping up giving the public a demand of thirst for it. This beloved honey wine is making a comeback.
With companies like Oppegaard Meadery, Wyrd Leather and Mead, Aesir Meadery, and Oran Mor Artisan Mead scattered up and down the West Coast, folks can now do a “Mead Tour” and visit all of these small batch meaderies that are holding onto the true roots of the beloved beverage. Every one of these companies (and probably a few others out there too) are run by down to earth people who are truly dedicated to the craft.
Last October, Nectar Creek, a company that specialized in session meads, closed it’s operations after seven years in the business.
“With much sadness we are writing to let you all know that Saturday October 5th, 2019 will be the last day our Tap Room will be open and Nectar Creek will be operational.
We started this company seven years ago with the mission to grow the mead category and have a positive impact on the communities, environment, and people we interact with while operating our business. Although this is not the way we hoped things would end, we can look back and feel nothing but appreciation as we reflect on the endless support we have gotten and the excitement around Nectar Creek. We want to say thank you to all our employees, to all our customers, all of our dedicated fans and all of our business partners. Without their dedicated support we would not be able to look back on the past seven years and reflect on them as a success. Thank you to everyone who has put their heart and soul into Nectar Creek and made it possible for us to have achieved so much.
To celebrate, we will have delicious mead, amazing food and great people in our Tap Room all week. Come by to stock up on mead, find some specialty products and bottles for sale and join us for a culmination of tears and joy ending with a big party on Saturday!
Lots of love to you all for making what we have been able to accomplish possible!“
Mead is the combination of honey, water, and yeast but there a variety of subcategories of the beverage. This drink comes in all forms.
Photo courtesy of Groennfell Meadery
The rising popularity of this beverage can also be traced to hit TV shows such as Game of Thrones and Vikings, as well as being extremely popular at renaissance faires and SCA events. Mead definitely has a long history though for sure!
“Probably the world’s oldest alcoholic drink, mead is essentially fermented honey and water and has a long and glorious history. It is referenced in the ancient cultures of China, India, Greece and Egypt. The earliest documentary evidence suggest that a fermented honey beverage was drunk in India some 4000 years ago”
-Irishexaminer.com
By supporting mead you are buying and consuming a product made from honey, which in turn helps the industry fight against the decline of honey bees. The small insects are responsible for a huge portion of our planet’s food source.
“Pollinators are essential to the production of many of the micronutrient rich fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and oils we eat. In fact, close to 75 percent of the world’s crops producing fruits and seeds for human consumption depend, at least in part, on pollinators for sustained production, yield and quality. The diversity of food available is largely owed to animal pollinators. But alarmingly, in a number of regions, pollination services are showing declining trends.”
-FAO.org
Get out there and support small meaderies, tell your friends, enjoy this delicious beverage.
On Thursday January 23rd 2020, word got out that the small Progressive Power Metal band Tanagra located in Portland, Oregon was being targeted by the giant swiss company Nagra Kudelski Group due to trademark infringement.
Nagra Kudelski has forced the band to sell all their merchandise and to stop performing live or the band would face further legal action.
Other than have similar spelling names, the company and band have literally nothing else in common. So why does Nagra Kudelski intend to perform this predatory behavior on an underground heavy metal band?
The band’s name comes from a Star Trek reference.
“It’s pretty funny that one week we’re getting AoY on Reddit and the next we’re being nuked from orbit by a company we’ve never heard of. Regardless of what happens with the trademark dispute, we have to assume that when it’s over we’ll get a cease-and-desist and be dead in the water; We’d exist at the behest of a foreign company who obviously couldn’t give a damn about us, and that’s no way to live.”
-Erich Ulmer (Bassist)
In a swift act of kindling catching flame, the band’s followers around the world began rallying to show their support and voiced their opinions of the matter on the Nagra Audio Facebook page, on their personal threads, and in multiple heavy metal groups.
For the record, the band simply stated the situation and shared a link to their website where fans could pay at “Name Your Price” for all merchandise.
“Rather than sit on our physical albums and shirts we’re changing everything to ‘pay what you want’ plus shipping. We have hundreds of copies ‘Meridiem’ and ‘None of This is Real’ that will be unsellable soon and we’d rather have them in the hands of metalheads around the world. This is a small piece of history and it’s likely we’ll never be able to print under this name again!”
Erich Ulmer (Bassist)
Tanagra has been around in the Portland area for a few years now, rising up in the local heavy metal scene, playing in small venues, and has released two incredible albums under their belt to date.
Steven Soderberg: lead and rhythm guitars Christopher Stewart: drums and percussion Tom Socia: lead and backing vocals Josh Kay: lead and rhythm guitars Erich Ulmer: Bass Guitar
Photography by Kara Pesznecker Reavis
In late 2018, the band finished up the sophomore album “Meridium” and it was received with high praise from the metal underground.
Photo by April Jones of the members of Tanagra with bottle of mead from Wyrd Leather and Mead at B-Side Studios
Rather than shutting down and threatening a small beloved power metal band who’s name is Star Trek related from Portland, Oregon making them and everyone else hate your product, why not partner up with them, do a collab and enjoy music with quality speakers?
One would think that it would be a great opportunity for a supposedly high quality audio company to partner up with a band who makes beautiful music to create an international collaboration between both music and equipment provider.
At B-side Studios in Portland during the Meridium Album listening party. Photo by Travis Sigler
The case filings as sent to the band by Nagra Kudelski can be seen here:
Tanagra’s unique sound has brought them into the highlight over the years in the heavy metal scene, and each album they have released has it’s own persona, but they have been known to jam a few well known (At least in the Power Metal World) covers from time to time.
A noticeable evolution from their first album (2015’s None of This is Real), Tanagra’s second release turns up the dial on everything that made the band stand out the first time around: The compositions are diverse and cinematic, with a stoic undercurrent and emotional intensity that brings out the theatrical side of the band, while the progressive rock-influenced elements rise to much greater prominence than before. Complex yet compelling rhythms interweave with vibrant vocal arrangements, transcendent soloing, and varying instrumental textures in a lush harmonic landscape. Meridiem is Tanagra sounding more epic, more polished, and more heavy than ever before. This is progressive metal at its most powerful.
As stated on their bandcamp page
We can only hope that Nagra Kudelski will drop the case they have so corruptively placed over the head of this band, and that Tanagra will continue to reign in the years to come.
In the outskirts of Portland is a small suburb called Sellwood that is booming with little shops, restaurants and bars where many locals gather, but it also happens to be the home of Boxer Ramen’s newest location.
Boxer Ramen has been in the portland area for nearly six years now and the once small hole-in-the-wall restaurant that was founded by Little Big Burger’s Micah Camden has five locations spread across the city.
Photo by Travis Sigler
Boxer Ramen keeps it simple.
They only have four types of ramen, but they have truly mastered their craft and deliver a blue bowl packed with a variety of flavor. Customers can enjoy Shiitake Shoyu, Veggie Curry, Tonkotsu Shio, and Spicy Red Miso with the option of adding additional items to their bowl, making a truly customizable bowl designed for them. While it is highly recommended to stop in for a bowl in their comforting atmosphere, customers in the area can also have Boxer’s noodles delivered to their homes via Caviar.
Boxer Ramen’s Current Menu
Customers also have the choice for a variety of sides, ranging from their creamy-spicy Okonomiyaki Tots topped with bonito flakes that wiggle from the heat creating a fun dining experience to their classic fried pot stickers.
All of the staff at the Sellwood location are super friendly and accommodating, and instantly make you feel at home the moment you step foot into their restaurant. One of their Sellwood location managers, Tayler Toll, has been with the company since the business nearly started having previously worked at Blue Star Doughnuts and Son of a Biscuit, two other businesses also founded by the company’s owner. To date he has worked at all of the company’s noodle joints across the Portland area.
Wyrd Leather and Mead’s Co-owner Tayler Toll also manages the Boxer Ramen Sellwood location
Boxer Ramen doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon so be sure to visit one of their locations for the best bowl Portland has to offer!
Boxer Ramen can be found on Facebook and Instagram as well as by visiting their website.
The powerful, badass, woman-leading icon character from the beloved hit show Vikings will soon have an official mead named after her.
A company in Portland, Oregon named Wyrd Leather and Mead has begun production of a new mead dedicated in honor of the fierce Shieldmaiden as well honoring Katheryn Winnick’s outstanding performance over the years.
Katheryn Winnick, the Canadian actress who has played Lagertha for six seasons has even given her approval and provided the company with her favorite berry flavor in a reply on Twitter.
The mead will be titled “Lagertha’s Oath” and will be released to the public sometime in 2020 and they do plan to be able to ship within the United States!
Follow Wyrd Leather and Mead on their website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay in the loop for this delicious sounding mead soon to come.
History Vikings star Katheryn Winnick portrays the badass Shieldmaiden Lagertha in the hit TV show, and for years her character has brought joy, inspiration, and confidence to fans around the globe.
It seems only fitting that the character and actor should be forever immortalized in some way, and a company in Portland, Oregon called Wyrd Leather and Meadhas done just that – by dedicating an official mead in their production line to Lagertha and Katheryn Winnick.
And that’s not all! The Canadian Actress has even reported back to the company via Twitter on what her favorite berry is, so it would seem that the Viking Queen of Kattegat herself has some small collaboration in this new product!
Wyrd Leather and Mead is located in the Pacific Northwest within the town of Portland, Oregon and their brick and mortar shop has many things from making mead in their attached meadery, to handmade leather armor, to local artists on consignment. The shop has it all!
They can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by just a few clicks on their website. The company has begun shipping their mead as well.
The running title for their new mead inspired by Katheryn Winnick’s beloved Shieldmaiden is “Lagertha’s Oath” and should be completed in 2020.
Follow their page for more updates.
Probably the world’s oldest alcoholic drink, mead is essentially fermented honey and water and has a long and glorious history.
It is referenced in the ancient cultures of China, India, Greece and Egypt. The earliest documentary evidence suggest that a fermented honey beverage was drunk in India some 4000 years ago. The ancient Greeks called mead ambrosia or nectar and it was believed to be the drink of the gods, descended from the Heavens as dew, before being gathered in by the bees.
Because of this belief, it is easy to see why the ancients thought mead had magical and sacred properties and would prolong life, bestow health, strength, virility, re-creative powers, wit and poetry.
Closer to home the legends from Germany, Norway and the Celts have gods and mortals alike knocking back mead from cow horns, goblets or ceremonial vessels, often bestowing magical powers and ritual importance. Celtic mythology tells of a river of mead running through paradise, while the Anglo-Saxon culture held mead up as the bestower of immortality, poetry and knowledge.
Lagertha, who started out as a simple farmer/once Shieldmaiden with her husband Ragnar has risen to become an internatinal icon for women to look up to, someone to be inspired by, and to teach people to fight and keep fighting even when life can be difficult.
“Lagertha has been an iconic character for so many young women and girls from all around the world. And I think that there hasn’t been a character like her on TV yet, that is not only strong but also vulnerable, and a warrior but also a mother, and a shieldmaiden and now a grandmother. She’s one that a lot of people look up to around the world and I think her legacy is really leaving the world a better place. And she’s one of the first early members, I guess, of the Time’s Up movement and really believes in feminism and equality and sticking up for women’s rights. And I hope her legacy lives on for years to come.”
– Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha)
For six long seasons, Lagertha has been a strong role model emblazoned in the hearts of many (especially for women), surely earning her spot in Valhalla when that day should come.
“Who knows, Ragnar, what the gods have in store for us. But this, I can never imagine. If you have gone to Heaven, then we will never meet again. And yet, I think Odin will ride like the wind, and rescue you, and take you to Valhalla, where you belong, my own sweet Ragnar. And there, there we shall meet again, and fight and drink and… love one another.”
-Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick)
Lagertha met her fate in last weeks episode “Death and the Serpent” during an amazing chilling performance by a skald in the halls of Kattegat singing a Lament for Lagertha (Song of the Goat Theatre) while a few hundred yards away the real Lagertha stumbled in the rain returning back home injured form her current battle.
Lagertha’s impact on the show for both the characters within and the people watching was received in worldwide mourning for the fallen Shieldmaiden, as she received a spectacular funeral during this week’s episode “The Ice Maiden” , where characters said their goodbyes, how she inspired them, and who she was. A particularly moving speech was spoken by her son Bjorn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig) in quiet sorrow as he watched his mother leave the realm of mortals forever .
“I hoped the day would never come when I’d have to bid you farewell. You were always my strength, my guide. You taught me to go on no matter what. You taught me not to be afraid. And now I see that, like me, the Earth itself isn’t willing to let you go. But the gods call you home. They eagerly await your arrival in Valhalla, as does my father. I wish I could be there at your reunion, secretly in Odin’s glittering, gold, shielded hall surrounded by all the gods. You were already a legend, the greatest shield maiden of all time. A hero to thousands of women. But to me you will always be my mother, who bore me, who raised me, who protected and fought for me. And I swear I will fight for you now. I could not protect you in life, but I can punish your murderer after it. Farewell. I have loved you more than I have loved any other. Farewell, Lagertha. Farewell. I love you. I will miss you. I will avenge you”
-Bjorn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig)
After the final farewell, she was pulled out to sea across the beautiful frozen shore and snow covered ice by her loyal Shieldmaidens while peacefully residing in her burning Drekar.
” I ended up going to set and coming to prepare my directing debut and I came to my own funeral. And to see a prosthetic me lying there on the boat and all these hundreds of actors who are mourning over Lagertha, it was just so surreal. I felt like I was watching my own funeral. I actually had to leave. It was too emotionally hard for me to stay for that. So it was definitely something that I’ll always remember and cherish.”
Katheryn Winnick
During the scene, her very young granddaughter ran out and gazed into the frozen depths and fans got to see how Lagertha ascended with the valkyries, her age reversing, and viewers instantly were thrown back in reminiscence to where the show all started with Lagertha and Ragnar.
In the end, Lagertha reunited with her beloved Ragnar, despite the many years apart. Their relationship was not an easy one, and yet their fates once more reunite in peaceful slumber.
Hail Lagertha, Mother of Norway and Shieldmaiden Queen of Kattegat.
Thank you Katheryn Winnick for the amazing performance over the years.
We hope you will share a picture of yourself with the new Lagertha Mead soon to come.
The Obsidian Crow 