Zac Pennington is the most enduring part of the shifting line-up of Parenthetical Girls, an art-rock group that he started in 2001 with childhood friend Jeremy Cooper.

Dazed Digital: How and why did you end up in Portland?
Zac Pennington: I moved to Portland in the Winter of 2003, in a vain attempt to escape the waves of depression that had long colored my drab, isolated life in my hometown of Seattle, Washington. At the time, Portland seemed—as it continues to seem to nearly every twenty-something I meet in virtually every other city in America—like some sort of musical El Dorado: a place where all of my favorite bands lived and lived cheaply, and where I, presumably, could too. And to be honest, this wasn't entirely untrue.
DD: What's the best thing about Portland?
ZP: The best thing about Portland - as we speak, at least - is its comfortable affordability. Though it seems to be potentially on the verge of slipping away from us, Portland financial climate allows those of us in the "creative class" (would-be condo developer speak for the self-appointed poor) the luxury of a lot more dicking around time than most major cities, and thus more time to work on what ever it is we work on when we're not washing dishes three nights a week.
DD: What's the worst thing about Portland?
ZP: The stifling prevalence of beards.
DD: What was your most memorable Portland gig?
ZP: Portland is annually host to a free, three-day, all-ages (a rarity amongst shows here, which is another one of Portland's disappointing musical aspects) Summer Festival called PDX Pop Now!, which is basically the only show I seem to have a distinct memory of playing in Portland - perhaps because it took place at roughly four in the afternoon. Never had we been met with such youthful exuberance in own town... nor been waited on so exhaustedly.
DD: What's your favourite Portland spot?
ZP: Oaks Amusement Park, which resides on the banks of the Willamette River. The park has a roller skating rink with a fully functioning pipe organ to which amazing elderly skaters skate in waltzing pairs around the circle. They also host "Jam Skating" or "Rexing" events - semi-competitive roller disco nights in which teens perform ridiculously precise roller stunts to the tune of contemporary hiphop. These events are extremely intimidating
DD: What are the best Portland bands that we haven't heard of?
ZP: The best band in Portland, in my rather humble opinion, goes by the name Au - I've come to accept a simple spelling out of the letters "A" and "U" for practical pronunciation, though I'm not entirely sure if this practice is officially band authorized - a phenomenal pop four-piece fronted by multi-instrumentalist Luke Wyland that dabbles liberally within modern classical and experimental structures. Underheard, and truly inspiring.