The Portland Playlist: Superhighway

Superhighway's Eli Hirsch and Quincy Saunders have been making music together for years but their real coming out party is happening in 2015. Formerly known as The Ecstatics, outside of some live shows around town the primary place to hear the band's catchy electropop has been the limited offering on their SoundCloud page. But that's about to change with new music coming this year.

"Last summer, we played a show with a little band called Sheppard, who we fell in love with both musically and as friends," Hirsch says. (Superhighway even covered the band's hit single "Geronimo.") "They ended up exploding in Australia [their homeland] right after we met them and now have the biggest song of the year there. They invited us out to Brisbane to work with their producer Stuart Stuart, and of course, honored, we obliged."

Back in the Rose City with new music to share, Vortex is excited to present a secret Superhighway show on Friday, January 30 at 7pm with Jesus Miranda—and you're invited! Find out where it's going down!

Or figure it out for yourself with a little clue from the band: Head to northwest or southeast and take a stroll around Urban Outfitters and Buffalo Exchange on Hawthorne—if you do, you just might find some clues...

MUSICAL GENRE:

Indie pop

STREET CRED:

"We were so excited to have the opportunity to record this summer in Brisbane, Australia. Such a beautiful place. We've toured up and down the West Coast playing with bands such as Hellogoodbye, Portugal. The Man, Wampire, Pickwick, Kongos, Bear Hands and many more. We played three sold-out Crystal Ballroom shows in 2014 thanks to our friends at 94.7 KNRK. We also happen to have the greatest, most excited fans on earth, who we love dearly."

RECENT DISCOVERY:

"Archie, Marry Me" by Alvvays: "It's funny, we just saw that Ben Gibbard called this song his favorite track of the year, but not that surprising because he's a genius and this song is absolute magic. This band is called Alvvays, pronounced all-ways, but we like to say the Vs."

INSPIRATIONAL AND INFLUENTIAL:

"All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers: "In my mind, musical influence is not always linear. It's not like you necessarily listen to something, love it, and then recreate it. Sometimes a piece of music sparks something in you. Like wakes a part of you up. The Killers did this massively for us. Be it the energy, raw passion—I don't know. This song takes on a new meaning every time I listen."

EARLY MUSICAL MEMORY:

Quincy: "I vividly remember being extremely young and hearing Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' for the first time. I was shocked by the way the guitars ripped in and how heavy they were."

Eli: "Hands down, Avril Lavigne's album Let Go. Not even close to ashamed. My mom bought me that record when I was 8 and I would pretend that my baseball bat was a guitar and rock out to it in front of the mirror. It taught me so much about melody."

JUST CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT:

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" by The Beach Boys: "Honestly, this song speaks for itself so we will just leave it at this."

GUILTY PLEASURE:

"Say You're Just A Friend" by Austin Mahone featuring Flo Rida: "For some reason, this song will always have our hearts. And while the guilt is almost unmanageable, it's totally worth it. We blast this at least once an hour driving up and down I-5. Biz Markie originally created this gem in 1989 as Flo Rida refers to in his rap. Our buddies produced this new version and it hits the spot. You know you love it too."

LOCAL LOVES:

"We met Priory this last year in Oakland. We were shooting a video and they happened to have a show in town that same night. We were about to play December To Remember in Portland with them a few weeks later, so we went to say hi and check them out. They are a phenomenal band, through and through. Beyond that, we are so grateful for how kind they have been to us. Their debut record is going to be exquisite.

"We also just discovered this girl named Grace Mitchell who is fucking talented."

DOWNLOAD SUPERHIGHWAY: "Float"

"This is a track we just released called 'Float.' We recorded it in a basement in Brisbane, Australia. It's kind of about someone who keeps you grounded, no matter where you are in world."