There’s a place where about 300 people can cram in to see shows from the likes of Dee Dee Ramone and Eric Burden and the Animals to local acts such as The Snukas or The Courtesy Clerks.
The decorations on the walls have a similar variety. Album covers from Simon and Garfunkel share the same space as those from The Scorpions and U2’s “War” record. Legends such as John Wayne and The Marx Brothers watch from their painted-on spots against the wall as the audience members grab drinks and crowd around the small stage to watch the night’s act play.
To find this place, just get in the car, jump over the bridge and head for Springfield.
With the help of its acts and atmosphere, The Hollywood Taxi in Springfield is emerging as another venue to see live rock music and small-time acts that could be the next big thing.
In the driver’s seat of the Taxi is a manager named Duke — just Duke, he said.
“You don’t ask Madonna for her last name,” he said, shyly skirting away from the lens of the photographer taking pictures of the place.
Duke’s been a part of the local music scene for about the past 20 years, working with stage, sound and light systems for a number of bars and venues in the Eugene area. But eventually, he said, he got tired of just lugging equipment around and wanted to put his knowledge to use on a venture of his own.
“I wanted a place where I could go myself,” he said. “There’s nothing like the energy of a really good show.”
Duke got the name for the Taxi from ’80s rock staple Poison. Frontman Bret Michaels reportedly named his Harley Davidson motorcycle the Hollywood Taxi, and Duke figured the name’s history would fit well with the rock ‘n’ roll style he wanted the place to have — and the venue’s rowdy past.
Before he took over in October 1997, the venue was a country-western bar with a mechanical bull and an occasional bar fight.
Although the audience shouldn’t hold its breath for a country act to walk on stage, Duke said he wanted to create a place that featured much more than just hard-core rock.
“We’re not stuck in anything here,” he said. “In Hollywood, anything goes.”
But Reed Davaz, who works at the W.O.W. Hall, said with the Taxi focusing on harder rock, the Eugene music venue is not worried about losing any business.
Ron Bullard, drummer for The Courtesy Clerks, said the experience of playing at the Taxi is different for his band, which is used to a predominantly college crowd and group of regulars they encounter at John Henry’s and their other frequent gigs.
“If anything, it’s going to be a little more fun,” Bullard said.
Although the band’s regular fans may have to hop in the car instead of walk to the show, Bullard is pleasantly surprised to see a venue popping up in Springfield that will attract “a real rock and roll crowd.”
He added that although sound and lighting may not seem instantly important, a good system and knowledge can really help pump the crowd’s energy.
But keeping with the “anything goes” mentality, Duke said, on a given night, the audience could be composed of a variety of Eugene and Springfield locals, college students, punks, cowboys and more.
“It’s like a Star Wars bar on some nights when you walk in here,” he said.
He added that he will spend anywhere from nine to 12 hours a day in the Taxi, just getting ready for the few hours each night when business really picks up and a band takes the stage.
“I could really use a shower,” he joked.