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Will Kennedy is a freelance writer and a senior music writer with Eugene Weekly. He lives in Eugene with his wife, daughter and two cats. All of whom politely accommodate his obsessions with Doctor Who and The Smiths.
Sample “Till It’s Gone” from Southern rapper Yelawolf’s yet-to-be-released Love Story, and you might be surprised — first by the rich, oaky acoustic guitar line that kicks the track off and next by what the bluesy, looping arpeggios recall: the piano figure introducing Nina Simone’s classic “Sinnerman.” Continue reading
Before discussing indie-rock siren Frankie Rose, one must ask: Which Frankie Rose are we talking about? The founding member of garage-rock acts Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls or Vivian Girls? Or the Brooklyn-based songwriter rumored to be related to legendary hard rocker and mouthpiece for Guns ‘n’ Roses, Axl Rose? The answer is both. “Why, yes. In fact [Axl] is my great grandfather,” Frankie Rose tells EW. “I only met him once backstage when his band was headlining a Metallica-Motorhead concert.” Continue reading
United Nations is a punk-rock super group of Ronald Reagan-mask-wearing banditos. Not just any band could get away with standing up to both The Beatles and the actual United Nations. But see exhibit A: the cover of the band’s 2008 debut featuring The Beatles’ famous Abbey Road image (this time with The Fab Four engulfed in flames and crossing right to left). And exhibit B: The real U.N. sent the band a cease-and-desist letter for unauthorized use of the name and U.N. logo on Facebook. Continue reading
At this point it’s a local tradition: “We play a costume party in Eugene every year,” says Miss Alex White of the Chicago-based rock ‘n’ roll brother-sister duo White Mystery. “White Mystery loves the people of Eugene, its punk-rock spirit and great food.” White Mystery also loves Halloween: “Halloween,” White jokes, “means White Mystery Airheads, group costumes and my half birthday.” Continue reading
I’ve never been to Austin, Texas, or Athens, Georgia. But one day I hope to, and when I do I think the music of Alejandro Escovedo and Peter Buck — two musicians closely associated with these cities — will soundtrack my trip. Alejandro Escovedo embodies Austin’s reputation as the indie-est of indie music havens. Building a career around a Texan take on punk-edged three-chord bar rock, Escovedo is a rock ‘n’ roll survivor with a loyal following, a songwriter whose work recalls greats like Dave Alvin or Elvis Costello. Continue reading
The cliché says musicians blaze bright and burn out fast. But some musicians, like Loudon Wainwright III, simply persevere. In the business since 1970 but not exactly a household name, Wainwright is a storytelling lyricist not constrained by the folk idiom (or any idiom, really). He’s a pop songwriter with a quirky personality and a dark sense of humor, and a musician deeply schooled in American music history but without reverence for any of it. Continue reading
Phish hasn’t played Eugene since 1994. Hard to believe, but look it up: It’s true. One might think inheritors of the Grateful Dead’s status of jam-band Grand Poobah would go along with Eugene like Tevas and Odwalla. But alas, nary a tour stop here for 20 years. Continue reading
Hailing from merry old England, Brighton’s Fujiya & Miyagi play up-tempo, minimal electro-pop that is addictive and danceable but, most of all, very, very British. Listen to the group’s 2014 release, Artificial Sweeteners, and you’ll hear UK dance-punk, house and hip-hop music as well as the sort of heady minimalism practiced by German bands like Can and Neu, groups that came to be known as Krautrock. Continue reading
Rearrange some Steel Cranes songs, add a little fiddle and steel guitar, and you’d have some no-nonsense, woman-done-wrong country music. “I write a lot of our songs on my acoustic and they often initially have a country feel to them,” says Steel Cranes vocalist and guitarist Tracy Shapiro. “We usually butcher things once Amanda [Shukle] is on drums and I switch to my electric,” she jokes. Continue reading
K Records recording artists The Shivas nod toward vintage psyche and garage rock, but Jared Molyneux says his band isn’t merely a nostalgia act. “We sound like a band that listens to a lot of garage music from the ’60s,” Molyneux says. “The sound and feeling of that style of music must have had a profound effect on us, as our music obviously resembles it,” he adds, referencing The Velvet Underground and The 13th Floor Elevators as well as artists like Sam Cooke, James Brown and Leadbelly. Continue reading