Ever hear a Kanye West or Britney Spears song performed on the cello? Chances are you wouldn’t think pop music and classical instruments can go together. But that’s the magic of the Portland Cello Project,@@http://portlandcelloproject.com/@@ a musical group that plays music on the cello you wouldn’t normally hear. And it works beautifully.
You can hear it for yourself Thursday, Jan. 19 at WOW Hall, where the Portland Cello Project — or PCP to fans — will perform at 8 p.m. along with special musical guest Israel Nebeker,@@http://laist.com/2009/08/03/meet_israel_nebeker_-_lead_singer_o.php@@ singer-songwriter in the Portland-based folk-rock band Blind Pilot.@@http://www.blindpilot.com/#/2012/portland-cello-project-in-astoria/@@
The show will be the largest PCP has done in Eugene to date.
“It’s one of the best, one of the most beautiful collaborations we’ve ever done,” said Douglas Jenkins,@@http://oregonmusicnews.com/2010/03/13/portland-cello-projects-doug-jenkins-on-a-free-oregon-tour-and-their-new-album/@@ a cellist, press contact and leader of the group through its last two CDs of original songs and covers. “It’ll be more of a PCP show than we’ve done in Eugene ever. The most genuine show we’ll have done in a while.”
The concert will last two to three hours and feature a variety of musical genres, including jazz, classical, indie rock, hip-hop and even heavy metal. The stage at WOW Hall will hold eight cellos, woodwind and brass sections, former Decemberists’ drummer Rachel Blumberg@@http://www.scaruffi.com/vol7/december.html@@ and Nebeker of Blind Pilot.@@http://www.dailyastorian.com/free/astoria-s-israel-nebeker-to-join-cello-concert-friday/article_17e38ef4-413a-11e1-bcf7-0019bb2963f4.html@@

“Expect the unexpected,” Jenkins said. “We try to make something for everyone.”
The collaboration between PCP and Blind Pilot — both Portland groups — started, oddly enough, in Canada. At a festival in Calgary, the two musical groups jumped on stage and performed Blind Pilot and Kanye West songs on the fly.
“We thought, ‘This is so fun. Why haven’t we done this in Portland?’” he said.
With planning a few months later, the two groups were able to schedule time together to rehearse and perform. The winter Northwest shows in Seattle and Portland last month received rave reviews. PCP and Blind Pilot had such a great time collaborating that they decided to extend the concert and book dates in Astoria and Eugene this month.
The two will perform a set of Blind Pilot songs during the Eugene concert.
“We’ve transformed some songs,” Jenkins said. “People who know the songs will be able to recognize them.”
Though this concert will be similar to the December shows, scores have been altered. No two PCP shows are alike, and the only constant is the cello.
“We will often write all new arrangements for concerts to keep it fresh and keep it interesting,” he said.
In total, the PCP has about 800 pieces of music in its repertoire. It also has a revolving cast of cellists, full choirs, winds, horns, percussion players and featured Portland musicians, including Laura Gibson, The Dandy Warhols, Horse Feathers, Mirah and Loch Lomond.
“So we gotta change things up no matter what,” he said.
Change, variety and partnerships are some of the things that keep the PCP going. The group strives to perform the cello in new places (including sports bars and Portland Trail Blazers games), play genre-bending music and build bridges across musical communities through collaboration. These three goals are central to the musical group.
“It helps keep me grounded and keep me true to the idea,” Jenkins said. “It keeps the project from becoming too much of a gimmick.”
For example, the group debuted a cover of Kanye West’s “All of the Lights” at a Portland concert in December 2010. Caught on video, the performance went slightly viral and received mainstream media buzz on Huffington Post and MTV blogs. But the hype didn’t change the group, and PCP still keeps to its mission of delivering genre-mixing and line-blurring music.