If you’ve even glanced at the notice boards on campus you’ve probably seen the name Two Hype Feet, either emblazoned on a sticker or associated with some other piece of event advertisement. What you might not have guessed about the music blog and production company, currently based in Eugene, is its humble origins.
University student Jayson Hobby@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Jayson+Hobby@@, founder of the site, started as a blogger. For the first few months of the site’s existence he posted every day, steadily adding to the archives and creating a presence for the brand. Eventually his friend, fellow University student Danny Lu,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Danny+Lu@@ joined and the site has been picking up steam ever since.
Two Hype Feet’s mission is to help grow the Northwest’s electronic dance music culture, either by promoting new talent, by bringing in big-name acts or by providing their own DJs to local bars. Hobby hopes to instill an underground house scene that they feel Oregon is lacking, the kind of culture that’s present in cities like LA and New York but missing from Portland.
Two Hype Feet has rapidly expanded from a simple blog into a full-fledged production company. Emphasis on “rapidly” — THF put together almost 30 shows in the past year at venues in Eugene and Portland, some netting as many as 1,000 attendees. The Dillon Francis and Feed Me show in April? THF had a hand in that.
“A year ago, we hadn’t even had our first show,” Lu said. “It’s gone a long way, so fast.”
Despite the speed of their ascent, their success hasn’t been entirely without setback. Their first show had technical issues after their production crew suffered a breakdown on I-5. As a result, they weren’t even set up until 20 minutes after the venue doors opened.
“It’s been a year and a half now and we’ve kind of been fumbling along, making connections and picking up pieces as we go,” Hobby said. “Now it’s not nearly as challenging.”
As for where the enterprise is going in the future, Hobby and company have plans to expand the brand into a label.
“We know a lot of producers that aren’t big-time,” Hobby said. “And even if we don’t get anything out of it, we’d like to bring everyone together and give them a place to get their music out.”
Of course, the impending graduation of many of THF’s members poses a problem.
“Of the 10 or 11 people, I’d say about seven of us are graduating,” Hobby said. “So we’re still going to have a presence in Eugene, but it’s not going to be as strong.”
Even then, it won’t stop Hobby and Lu from playing shows in Eugene and supporting their own college town.
Despite the website’s status as a state-recognized company, Hobby and his staff don’t intend to turn it into a moneymaking enterprise. Two Hype Feet started as a pastime, and now that it has achieved success, it is directed firmly at achieving its mission: keeping the Northwest’s music diverse, strong and flush with new talent.