When musician Andrew Poisoner went to Paris in 1997, he had a vision of “surrealistic rock and roll.” When he returned home to San Francisco, Poisoner started a band that mixed “avant-garde poetry with pop music,” and the result was The Slow Poisoners who have been rocking across the western United States for the past several years. The band arrives in Eugene on Friday night and will play at Sam Bond’s Garage.
The duo — comprised of guitarist/vocalist Poisoner and drummer Rich Trott — is planning a theatrical performance, complete with costumes.
“Rich usually wears leather headgear and flight goggles,” Poisoner said. “He looks like a balloonist from the 1800s.”
During their concerts, The Slow Poisoners display large cards showing the name of each song along with art to convey the mood of the music. Poisoner said that these props were inspired by old vaudeville acts, which often displayed easels that gave an explanation of each performance.
Poisoner founded the band with two cellists in 1997, but he later transformed the group into a traditional bass, guitar and drums format. The group has released two albums, “Great Spiders and Diamond Powder” and “Days of the Soft Break,” which feature creative lyrics and a genre that is hard to define.
“Our lyrics are strange and poetic, with historical references and surreal imagery,” Poisoner said. “Our music is eclectic and touches on all genres.”
Although many musicians have joined and left the group since 1997, Trott, who joined in 1998, has stuck with Poisoner the longest. Trott said his chemistry with Poisoner has kept him in the group.
“We see eye-to-eye aesthetically and philosophically,” he said.
Trott also noted that The Slow Poisoners usually draw an audience that is out of the ordinary.
“Oh, we attract freaks,” he said. “We attract people who are looking for something different. When we were touring in northeast Texas, every freak from 50 miles around showed up. The word had been around that some weird band from San Francisco was performing, and the fans wanted to prove that northeast Texas has freaks.”
Three other bands will perform with The Slow Poisoners: Takimoto, Dan Desmuke, and the all-female local glam-rock band The Ovulators. The latter group, which consists of guitarists Kelani Larsen and Tina Sarno and bassist Dori Prange, formed a year-and-a-half ago and have mostly performed in Eugene and other parts of Oregon. In August, they released their first album, “Swept Away” and toured in California. Like The Slow Poisoners, The Ovulators are planning a dramatic performance with costumes and lots of movement.
“We always dress up extravagantly,” Larsen said. “And we jump around a lot.”
Larsen said the group is popular for giving energetic performances and playing diverse music.
“Our music is kind of moody and epic,” she said. “We like to show the audience a good time. We’re known for loving to play music and creating a party vibe.”
Poisoner is offering a free copy of his group’s “Days of the Soft Break” album for any fan who cuts out this article and brings it to the show tomorrow night.
Sam Bond’s Garage is located at 407 Blair Blvd. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. and will cost $4 at the door.