Three decades ago, on the verge of the release of the seminal “London Calling,” The Clash was called “the only band that mattered.” Fusing a worldly consciousness with sharp, tongue-in-cheek political satire and an unparalleled ability to compose songs no matter the genre, The Clash gave punk rock its spirited and righteous sensibilities before completely blowing the entire genre out of the water. The Clash’s albums, from the grit of the garage to the profoundness of roots rock and roll, constantly pushed the envelope of what music could be and have since gone on to become timeless staples.
At the forefront was Joe Strummer, a son of a foreign diplomat and a pioneering father of punk rock. His fascination with the world’s music – from calypso to funk to rockabilly to dub, rap and techno – and concern with the dynamics of class, race and national relations transcended him above his nihilistic punk rock peers and into a stratosphere only occupied by such cultural icons as Bob Dylan and Bob Marley.
Though it has been six years since his untimely death, his music and his spirit are alive and well and will be on display at the WOW Hall on Saturday with a night of tribute from some of Eugene’s most revered rock ‘n’ roll musicians.
The night’s lineup will cover nearly all of the eras of Strummer’s vast catalogue and array of stylings. The show kicks off in the same way that Strummer’s career did: with bluesy garage rock. Eugene’s The Underlings play their own take on northwest garage in the same vein as the wild and wooly Sonics, Dead Moon, and the Wipers. The band will play a couple tunes by Strummer’s pub rock act The 101ers as well as cuts off the Clash’s first release, including “White Riot.”
Next up is multifaceted musician and songwriter extraordinaire Casey Neill, who will take on the daunting task of performing some of Strummer’s later and more eclectic work with the Mescaleros, including the rollicking acoustic piece “Mega Bottle Ride.”
ZZ Clash will end the night with songs from the “London Calling” era and abound. Formed exclusively for Saturday’s tribute, ZZ Clash is a Eugene super group featuring a who’s who of players including front man Dan Jones from Dan Jones and the Squids, guitarists Jake Pavlak from Yeltsin and Scott K. from Pass Out Kings, and bassist Dan Schmid from the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Drummer Jivan Valpey of just about every band already listed fills out the lineup that will play such standards as “Tommy Gun,” “Police on My Back,” and “London Calling.”
Every penny of the night’s proceeds will go toward the Strummerville Foundation for New Music, and the Skaters for Eugene Skateparks’ mission to build a flagship park under the Washington-Jefferson Street Bridge. Eric Sutton of Tactics Boardshop, a long-time Clash fan and skateboarding advocate, has sponsored the event and rented the hall in order to make the Strummer Tribute a reality.
“I’ve always been a huge Clash fan and I wanted to do this Strummer tribute show, but I couldn’t think to do it for profit. As the punk rock ethos go, I wanted to do it for someone else,” Sutton said. “Strummer’s positivity and the ethics he lived by are a huge part of why I’m doing this.”
The proposed skate park would be Eugene’s biggest and only undercover skatepark. It would not only benefit the skating community, but the entire city of Eugene as well. The challenging terrains and the variety of ramps and obstacles would appeal to skateboarders of all ages, causing a potential resurgence to the park and its neighboring areas. Local restaurants and businesses in the Whiteaker neighborhood could expect to see increases in business as a result of the park’s development.

“I’m an advocate for youth,” said Sutton, “Making a skate park in the middle of Eugene would benefit all of the kids who may not be able to make it out to the suburban parks.”
Skaters for Eugene Skatepark have set a goal of reaching $200,000 by December of 2009 in order to launch this lofty and ambitious venture that would add to the character of the city.