The Eugene music scene has often been criticized for offering only a few venues for those under age 21 to experience the talents of local bands. In an effort to provide these youngsters with greater access to local entertainment, the UO Cultural Forum will host an all ages “Local Music Showcase” that will feature local bands performing on the first Saturday of every month.
This month’s musical line-up consists of rock bands alterEGO, 2Bucks Short and The Courtesy Clerks. They will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday in the EMU Fir Room. The cost of entry is $1 at the door.
Vocalist/guitarist Taylor Morden, guitarist Mat Foster, bassist Gary Roberts and drummer Cliff Roberts make up alterEGO, and they will be promoting their self-titled CD released last summer. Every song on the CD is available on www.mp3.com.
2Bucks Short features vocalist/guitarist Matt Heath, bassist Kevin Cameron, drummer Scott Sutton and guitarist Dylan Vessey. The band has a five-song demo that will be available for sale at the show.
The Courtesy Clerks include vocalist/guitarist Mark Rogers , bassist Mike B. and drummer Ron Topofyou.
This concert marks the first time the three bands have performed together, according to Foster, although members from all three have formed friendships during the past two years.
Foster birthed the idea for a monthly musical showcase.
“I’ve been wanting to get cheap shows on campus for kids in the dorms and other people around this area to get out and check out local music,” he said.
Foster said he enjoys being able to play with his favorite bands and has “been a 2Bucks Short fan for a long time.”
Cultural Forum Regional Music Coordinator Nathan Hazard said Foster approached him with idea of doing a local musical showcase. He said he approved of the idea and even tentatively slated the showcase to continue into next year.
“Most music in town being in bars, I agreed with (Foster’s) feelings,” Hazard said. He also said the Cultural Forum stands to benefit from having shows set on a consistent schedule.
“It’s really tough to get an all-ages show in this town,” Heath said. He said the high cost of renting out a venue such as the Wild Duck Music Hall or WOW Hall makes it “tough to break even” and difficult for any band to hold a concert, regardless of its talent.
But “it’s the kids that suffer,” he said, not the venues or even the bands.
Despite the struggle to find a venue that falls within their budget, these bands’ members said they have experienced some modest success.
Heath said the bands have been working together on promotional projects, most of which have been on the Internet.
The Internet “is a great promotional tool,” he said. “That’s how most people find music these days, especially with the shut-down of Napster.”
Cameron said he thought 2Bucks Short’s growing popularity has probably resulted from performing at all-ages shows.
“Once we got those (shows), e-mail would just skyrocket,” he said.
Although both Foster and Heath were reluctant to claim a large fan base, Foster said, “The fans that we do have are super loyal, and they’re awesome.”
Heath said that their concerts are always dominated by the energy of their fans.
“Our goal when we go out there is to try and top what the crowd is doing,” he said. “If we can match their energy level or exceed it, then it was a good showcase.”
Cameron said he hopes the showcase will be “butt-packed” with people, but whether “there is going to be three people or 300, it is going to be a good show.”
For more info on the bands, check out www.alteregomusic.com, www.2bucksshort.com and www.thecourtesyclerks.com. The Courtesy Clerks’ Web site is down for repairs but promises it will be back up soon.
E-mail reporter Jen West at [email protected].