Rock band Easy Target has aimed and hit the mark with Eugene audiences, becoming one of the biggest names in the local music scene.
Easy Target will open for RX Bandits at the Wild Duck Music Hall on Jan. 29. The doors open at 8 p.m., and the show starts at 8:30 p.m.
“It all started with a ‘Fraggle Rock’ drum set,” drummer Kyle Guyer said.
Then at age 16, Guyer said he began to take his music seriously. In 1998, Guyer and his skating friends, guitarist/vocalist Trevor Brown and guitarist/vocalist Jake Portrait, began writing songs for their Medford-based band.
Each member said their musical calling came to them early.
“I was always a singer,” Brown said. “Then, in seventh grade, I wanted to play the guitar, and that was that.”
Brown said he was the only one in the group to receive formal guitar training. Everyone else is self-taught.
Though Medford gave the band their start, they said that Eugene has offered them a home and bassist Patrick Adams, whom they met in 1999.
Guyer said Adams fell in with the band quickly. Adams said his music career also began in middle school when he took up the trumpet. Then at age 15, he said he started playing bass with friends.
Through jobs and hard work, the band members said they managed to pay bills and school tuition and even build a studio in West Eugene. They said they are self-funded, and though money can sometimes become tight, Portrait said, “you always find a way.”
Since the band’s inception, Easy Target has created a strong local fan base that has expanded to Portland and Seattle, playing for sold-out concerts with bands such as New Found Glory and The Ataris, according to concert promoter Dan Steinberg.
“Eugene’s been great to us,” Brown said. “We’ve made some promising relationships.”
The band members said they were happy being a regional band.
“It’s nice to get established in (our) home region,” Guyer said.
Steinberg said Easy Target delivers high-energy performances, and the band has no problem generating ticket sales.
“I feel without a doubt that they are the strongest band Eugene has to offer for the youth music market,” he said. “They are the single biggest band in Eugene.”
This high praise is met with modesty from the band members.
“We’re not competitive; we just want to play,” Portrait said.
In 1999, Easy Target released its nine-track EP entitled “Inappropriate Classroom Behavior” featuring songs they had written when they were teenagers.
And like teenagers, they said they have had their fair share of difficult times in trying to create an identity for themselves. They said that audiences and critics often labeled them as a “pretty band” or a “punk band” — labels they said did not accurately suit their music or their style.
“We’re not trying to claim to be punk rock,” Portrait said, and though there are punk influences in their music, the band stressed that they play more rock songs.
The band members went on to say that they did not want to just be copies of another band, but have a sound and style all their own.
“We just want to be a rock band with a broad range of music,” Guyer said.
Easy Target will soon start splitting their time between Portland and Eugene, as Portrait was recently hired to be production engineer for a Portland studio.
While in Portland, the band said they will also be recording their next CD set to be released this summer. It will be the band’s first full-length album. They described the new album as being more focused than their first CD, and they want it to make a statement.
“It’s a great opportunity for making lots of connections,” Guyer said. “And we’re hoping the local kids will keep supporting us.”
Brendan Relaford, general manager of Big Green Music Events at the Wild Duck, said Easy Target has a good, local fan base made up of young adults that will continue to stick with the band for a long time.
“They are one of the few local bands that are really kicking butt,” he said.
Tickets are available for $7 in advance through www.fastixx.com and for $9 at the door.
E-mail reporter Jen West
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