If you want to work in movies, get yourself down to a school in Los Angeles and if you want to go to an Ivy League school, mosey on over to the East Coast. But if you want to be in a DIY band, you’ve already landed yourself in the perfect place, right here at the University of Oregon. As much as current students would like to think we are the first batch of Ducks to choose funky functions over frat parties, that is simply not the case. The DIY music scene in Eugene has been thriving since before many of us were even born and the influence of its heyday can still be felt pumping hot through the streets.
Once upon a time, a sound rooted in punk heavily dominated Eugene’s house show scene as it made its rise in surrounding areas. American proto-punk projects such as The Stooges and Television teased the topic of nihilism on a commercial level in the late ‘60s all to have the message hammered in by the arrival of British punk with bands like The Damned in the 1970s. By the time the ‘80s arrived, punk was global and hard to define. In our neck of the woods, the Portland scene birthed big names such as Lockjaw and Final Warnings whose influence no doubt trickled down into the Eugene scene. Lucky for those who weren’t there to witness Eugene’s deep dive into a hardcore sound for themselves, there are four compilation cassettes with songs released from 1986 to 1992 to give a peek into our music’s past.
John O’ Neil, Al Larson, Steve Norby and someone who was simply credited for his efforts as “Rob,” birthed the brainchild of making compilation cassettes of the bands here in Eugene on their label, Dunghill Recordings. The label graced us with four killer, homespun compilations all based around the motif of 13th Street. These four tapes have become a looking glass into the scenes’ history and serve as a reminder to uphold the long standing tradition of playing it loud in The Pacific Northwest. The first of these tapes, “Panic on 13th Street,” is a must-listen for anyone involved in Eugene’s present music community to understand that it’s roots run far into the past. Its 18 tracks marked the beginning of the most infamous era of music making Eugene has ever seen.
The cassette opens up with three tracks by Snakepit, making it evident that guitar-heavy bands reigning supreme is not a new trend and that the Eugene sound is best served at peak volume. This band was star studded from the start and founding member Mike Johnson, who we hear on guitar and vocals on this tape, went on to join rock band Dinosaur Jr. as its full time bassistright before the Green Mind tour in 1990. With the irrelevance of Iggy Pop and the cheek of an angsty college kid, Snakepit more than delivers on the first three songs on the tape.
Mind Garage comes on next, serving up “Long Way Gone.” With its droning harmonies, ample layered noise and space and hints of that famous “Sweet Jane” Lou Reed whine in the vocal delivery, it proves to be one of the best songs on the whole compilation. “Witching Hour” follows and feels like a roughed-up rip on Manassas’s track of the same name, but in a moody and familiar way that was lost on Stephen Still’s original.
They say history repeats itself, and that is evident when Johnson Unit comes in next on this tape. Close your eyes and picture current Portland favorites, The Macks, rocking rooms with “Another Journey By Bus” in the present — feels right, doesn’t it? The next track, “What Makes,” offers contrast, bringing the listener back to the prime of punk with classically abrasive and moody lyrics delivered through a head-banging beat. “Reality should be what you feel/ But life gives you such a raw deal/ Cause now your old wounds cannot heal.”
Jangly, synthy and with a bit more softness than we’ve heard thus far, Saint Huck comes in at the middle of this cassette to sit the listener down in a much-needed mellow, only to be followed by Bovine Impulses which brings the energy right back through the roof like the pre-Death Grips equivalent to Death Grips. Moose Lodge, E-13, Cargo Cult and Billings Guitar Project close off the tape with zero let down, making for an authentically Eugene listening experience.
This year-long hiatus from DIY shows that what we are still riding out is possibly the first time in this town’s history that the alleys have been empty and the side-roads silent. Let these recordings serve as a reminder for us to pick up where we left off as soon as we can do so safely. Fostering these community spaces is essential if not for our own sake, for the sake of the guys and gals who rocked these very garages we reside in, not so very long ago.
Download “Panic on 13th Street” here: http://panicon13th.blogspot.com/2011/08/panic-on-13th-cassette-only-compilation.html
Panic on 13th Street (1986)
Track Listing :
1. All Nerves – Snakepit
2. Short Narrative – Snakepit
3. Me & Mine – Snakepit
4. Long Ways Gone – Mind Garage
5. Witching Hour – Mind Garage
6. Another Journey By Bus – Johnson Unit
7. What Makes – Johnson Unit
8. Can’t Afford It – Johnson Unit
9. Roseland – Saint Huck
10. Both – Saint Huck
11. (Have You Felt the) Bovine Impulse – Bovine Impulse
12. This Fascist Thing – Bovine Impulse
13. Eat Sleep Work Fuck – Bovine Impulse
14. Big Parade – Moose Lodge
15. Granny Rabbit – Moose Lodge
16. Cheesehead Alert – E-13
17. Courage – Cargo Cult
18. Dominance – Billings Guitar Project
