A Letter to Oregon

When Linus Pauling was nine, his father proclaimed proudly his son's voracious reading appetite and his keen interest in ancient history and the natural sciences in a letter to the local paper. By the time he was 13, Pauling had already decided to become a chemist. From then on, an insatiable curiosity drove him tirelessly to solve puzzles in chemistry and physics. Along the way, he developed a new quantum theory of the chemical bond, which he described in his most important book, The Nature of the Chemical Bond, and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals.

It's 1941. Robert E. Lee Prewitt has requested Army transfer and has ended up at Schofield in Hawaii. His new captain, Dana Holmes, has heard of his boxing prowess and is keen to get him to represent the company. However, 'Prew' is adamant that he doesn't box anymore, so Captain Holmes gets his subordinates to make his life a living hell. Meanwhile Sergeant Warden starts seeing the captain's wife, who has a history of seeking external relief from a troubled marriage. Prew's friend Maggio has a few altercations with the sadistic stockade Sergeant 'Fatso' Judson, and Prew begins falling in love with social club employee Lorene. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor looms in the distance.

In the fall of 2019, Jamie Stillway moved into a 196 sq. foot cabin on an island in the Puget Sound without internet. From this quiet place, her new album “Lullaby for a Stranger” was born.

The debut album Siren, from Portland, Oregon based trio Five Letter Word, takes its title from audiences’ oft-guessed origin of their band name. Such speculation is not that far afield, as these three powerful women, with their harmony-driven ‘siren song’ folk/Americana, are vocally alluring, achingly sweet, and known to provide some unexpected dramatic songwriting twists and turns. Taking inspiration from the harmonic tradition of groups like The Wailin’ Jennys, Dixie Chicks, and The Wood Brothers, Five Letter Word add their own special flair, as Vortex Magazine remarks: “the fiery, sweet sounds the three create when they come together is uniquely infectious.”