Eugene Weekly

Listening to the music of Trevor Powers, more widely known as Youth Lagoon, is not so much a psychedelic experience as it is an exploration of Powers’ psyche. His sophomore release, 2013’s Wondrous Bughouse, is a mind-bending collection of rock and pop that blends a host of dissonant sounds together into a beautiful cacophony of noise that mirrors the storm going on inside Powers’ head. It is quite the trip. Continue reading →

For many, Sara Watkins will forever be associated with the bluegrass group Nickel Creek. This is understandable considering how popular the band was, and that Watkins spent almost 20 years playing fiddle with the trio she helped found when she was only 8 years old, but Watkins has been blazing a solo trail for the last six years straight into the midnight sun. Continue reading →

Listening to Threads, the latest album from Minneapolis-based indie rock band Now, Now, you might be surprised to learn that the band was hesitant about working with a producer on this record. “We were freaked out about the idea of anyone just coming in and changing things we didn’t want to change, or telling us that we couldn’t do something,” admits lead singer and guitarist Cacie Dalager. “We didn’t know what to expect.” Continue reading →

Rare is the band that can say they are still recording half a century after they began, but that is the case for the pioneers of ska music, The Skatalites. Formed in Jamaica in 1964, the band’s music has influenced the likes of The Police, No Doubt and Sublime, and early on they backed notable bands like Toots and the Maytals and Prince Buster and “The Wailing Wailers,” featuring Bob Marley. Continue reading →

If you want to get creative, sometimes you have to isolate yourself. At least that’s what the Seattle-based indie rock band Ivan & Alyosha did when creating their full-length debut, All the Times We Had.  “We demoed these songs in a cabin an hour north of Seattle where we could get away and have really bad phone service,” bassist Pete Wilson says with a laugh. “Once it stops being annoying that you can’t check Facebook, the isolation becomes nice. We need to detox every once in a while from all that.” Continue reading →

If your band has been around for 15 years and you have released almost 20 albums and live DVDs combined, then you are definitely doing something right. Andy Farag — the percussionist for the popular progressive rock band Umphrey’s McGee — understands the secret to the band’s longevity. Continue reading →

At this stage in his storied career, it is hard to imagine there is anything left for B.B. King to accomplish. Arguably the most influential blues guitarist ever, he has been inducted into both the Blues and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame, has won 15 Grammys and been given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, has received honorary doctorates in music from Brown and Yale University and has received awards from former President George W. Continue reading →