Eugene Weekly

Canadian songwriter and visual artist Chad VanGaalen has built a comprehensive little universe with his work, over which he rules supreme, whether through his spacey indie-folk songs or his R. Crumb-esque surrealist comic book-style illustrations.  Continue reading →

New bands play lots of strange places: bedrooms, basements and bars (empty or, preferably, full). On June 12, Seattle’s fledgling post-punk quartet Gibraltar plays Eugene’s Tiny Tavern, a venue that is, well … pretty tiny.  But it’s immediately apparent from their latest record, The New Century, that Gibraltar (featuring current and former members of Afghan Whigs, Visqueen, Exohxo and Spanish for 100) have arena-sized ambitions.  Continue reading →

If EW’s annual Best of Eugene contest included the category “Most likely to perform at Austin City Limits,” local singer-songwriters Tyler Fortier and Beth Wood would surely tie for first. Wood, a native Texan, says she’d jump at the opportunity to play the famous Austin, Texas-based music festival; Fortier admits he might prefer to appear online in an installment of NPR’s intimate Tiny Desk Concerts. Continue reading →

Once upon a time, record label Alive Naturalsound released the debut from a little band called The Black Keys. Now, that same label has released More Primitive from Seattle-based boogie-blues trio Lonesome Shack. Considering the Keys’ meteoric success, does Lonesome Shack’s Ben Todd (vocals/guitar) feel any pressure to live up to expectations? “I don’t feel any pressure but I do hope it does well,” Todd tells EW via email, “and I’m happy to be working with Alive. It seems like the most fitting label around for us.” Continue reading →

When hard-pressed to describe Pigeon John’s sound, I choose “soul-rap” — living somewhere between early Jackson 5 and Stevie Wonder (hard to listen to and not smile) and uplifting indie West Coast hip hop. When I say uplifting, I don’t mean that John Dunkin (his given name) is an average “conscious” rapper spewing bumper-sticker aphorisms; Pigeon John is far from milquetoast. Following the long tradition of blues, soul and R&B singers before him, Dunkin’s gritty rhymes help you dance your troubles away.  Continue reading →

It’s tough to convey unbridled enthusiasm via email, but Trevor Straub of Pookie and The Poodlez (of Oakland, Calif.) comes close: “Yeah, I can do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,” Straub responds to my email interview request.  “I’m Pookie and my band’s The Poodlez,” Straub continues. “The Poodlez are always changing, anyone can be a Poodle!”   What’s behind the band’s distinctive name?  Continue reading →

Talkative emerges from the same squishy indie-rock primordial ooze as Animal Collective. The Portland-via-Eugene art freaks are test-driving material from their new LP Hot Fruit Barbecue May 23 at Tiny Tavern in the Whit.  Barbecue bursts from the gates with “Mongoose” — a punchy four-on-the-snare drum line propels the track beneath itchy, harebrained guitar work, garbled and shouted vocals, and electronic buzzing and beeping.  Continue reading →

Juan Wauters makes serious work of playful things. From his 2014 release N.A.P. North American Poetry, “Let Me Hip You To Something” features goofy anachronistic slang, and “Woke Up Feeling Sleepy” includes a kitschy Spanish spoken-word middle bit. Elsewhere, “Breathing (Feat. Carmelle)” lifts the tune of Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want to be With You,” adding a New York, anti-folk twist.  Continue reading →