Budget Rack
Doing the sort of work that I do here, I end up with an over-familiarity with what is going on in local culture. It’s good in the sense that I am aware of a thriving local music, cinema and art scene which others don’t know about, but bad in the sense that I am aware of a whole lot of crap of which others are joyfully ignorant.
But I prefer to accentuate the positive. Over the years, working here and at the campus radio station, I have come across a wide range of local bands whose work I enjoy as much, if not more than, anything out there on a national level. So here, once again and in no particular order, is my current list of favorite Eugene musical performers.
Yeltsin. Great post-punk, Gang of Four-style group with cool, angular riffs, intelligent lyrics and sweet indie-pop melodies. Their self-titled EP was one of my favorite recordings of last year and I’ve been waiting eagerly for any other form of release by them. If you want to know what’s good about modern rock, this is it.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Soldiers. Local boys made good with a major label record deal and an album due sometime this fall, they play low-down-and-dirty rock with an often ferocious edge and a good sense of song structure. I’ve seen these guys play killer shows and I’ve seen them play piss drunk (often the same thing for them) and they always manage to be entertaining. They have a new single and a couple of old EPs floating around, but the library of KWVA is the only place I’ve seen any of them. Next time they come to Eugene it will be one monster of a show.
Eleven Eyes. Acid jazz with brains and some serious talent, these dudes play extended jams tempered in turntable scratching and sample mania. They play Luna regularly and always manage to pack the house. They have a full length album, “Depth Perception,” consisting of their original work, and they’ve been known to play some killer live covers (Radiohead’s “National Anthem” is the one I’ve heard about most often, though I haven’t heard their rendition myself). One particular composition of theirs, “Fletch,” is one of the coolest pieces of modern acid jazz you’re going to find these days, and that’s only one highlight of many in their oeuvre.
Tom Heinl. Country music with a severe sense of humor and an eye for the absurd. Heinl plays tunes which could pass for vintage 1970s country-western if they weren’t so over the top. His full length album, “With or Without Me,” has wonderful gimmick going for it: It repeats all the tracks on the second half in ready-made karaoke versions so you can sing along yourself. Funny man. Encourage him.
Botox. Another acid jazz outfit, only coming from a different perspective, playing free jazz saxophone runs over funk rhythms. They even use a theremin. So far I’ve come across no recordings, other than my own personal bootlegs, but I remain hopeful. Full disclosure: Band leader and sax player Shawn Mediaclast runs one of my favorite stores in town, the Museum of Unfine Art and Record Store. Cool guy. Check out the store and the band and you will be a better person for it.
Mood Area 52. As spooky a tango group as you’re bound to find in this town or any other. They’re full-length, self-titled album contains one of my new favorite compositions (“Furniture Migration”) as well as a number of other brilliant little pieces of creepy mood music. It has been said they’re looking for films to score, so if you need a little old-school European flavor, you might want to get in touch.
The Sawyer Family. I’ve liked these rockabilly punks since the first time I heard them. Wicked guitar work laid over horror movie lyrical content. They have an EP and one barn burner of an album available, and their live shows are killer. An
all-around great local band.
The Courtesy Clerks. These boys take on the funnier side of hair metal with their kick-ass riffs and
lyrical flair. One of the first bands I saw perform in this town, and still one of the my favorites. Their songs are funny and their chops are superb. They have two full-length albums out, the most recent of which, “Get Your Rocks Off,” belongs in every home.
The Ovulators. One of Eugene’s
all-girl garage rock bands, and my
personal favorite of the bunch. Simple, basic rock ‘n’ roll with gentle melodies. Nothing too complex, and all of it thoroughly enjoyable. Bootlegs, some singles and a few other bits of recorded detritus are all that’s available to the general public, meaning their live shows are your best bet to hear them. If there is ever a Eugene-based “Nuggets” compilation, they’ll be first on the list.
