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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.
There’s a lot of B.S. in Morrissey’s Autobiography (Penguin/Putnam, $30): It’s self-absorbed, self-aggrandizing, self-mythologizing, full of melodramatic humor and humorous melodrama. If The Queen is “the royal we,” then Morrissey is “the royal me.” If this surprises you, I respond: “I see you’re unfamiliar with Morrissey.” Continue reading
When interviewing a band called Levon’s Helmet, the lead question writes itself: What’s up with your most excellent band name? “Me and Gordon were in this band called Water Tower [formerly Water Tower Bucket Boys],” says Jason Oppat, drummer and vocalist for Portland-based power pop trio Levon’s Helmet. “When we decided to make our own music we just went with it. At the time it was kind of a joke. It’s a little bit of a jab at folk and country music.” Continue reading
“Keep an eye out,” warns Johnny Kraft, drummer for local skate-punk trio Bad Luck Blackouts. “It’s been a slow time for us but it’s been a very productive time.” Since February 2013, Bad Luck Blackouts have been recording their full-length debut locally at Roadrunner Studios. The album, simply called 13 (in keeping with the band’s bad luck theme), is out now. Continue reading
Paul Basile, singer and primary songwriter of New York-based indie rockers Great Elk, is spending the winter playing solo shows. Great Elk’s 2012 release Autogeography is a sweeping, tuneful and epic work of American indie music. There’s a little Death Cab For Cutie-style romantic sadness in the soaring chorus of “The Weight Of The Sea,” and in the refrain from the song “Give Up,” Basile sings, “Let’s give up trying to be magnificent.” Continue reading
If not for Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice, Andy Frasco might have never found his muse. As a kid in Southern California, Frasco dreamed of being a music business behind-the-scenes guy — managing bands or running a label. Dropping out of school at the tender age of 14, Frasco started a booking agency and lied about his age to work at Capitol Records. At 18, he saw Damien Rice perform live and it all changed. “I moved to New York, locked myself in a room for a year with albums like Dr. Continue reading
Partially propelled by the hot success of the single “Same Love,” Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are touring the world — supported by legendary Brooklyn rapper Talib Kweli, which is puzzling considering Kweli is one of the pioneers of socially conscious hip hop, without which “Same Love” (a song condemning homophobia in all strata of society — particularly hip hop) might never have found mainstream acceptance. Continue reading
Almost Famous, the 2013 release from Seattle’s Big Eyes, busts out of the gate with “Nothing You Could Say” — a riff-heavy, drum-bashing, fist-in-the-air anthem with guitarist and vocalist Kate Eldridge recalling Joey Ramone or Joan Jett. “The Sun Still Shines” begins with an almost Deep Purple-inspired guitar riff, but before long it’s vintage Runaways. “You’ve got a lotta nerve treatin’ me that way,” Eldridge sings defiantly. Continue reading
The Eugene-based Breakers Yard band says it best on the back of its latest release, Raise Some Bacon: “Legend has it Breakers Yard formed when both [band members] Greazy and Hot Coppa were simultaneously visited in a dream by the ghost of Cab Calloway.” Then there’s their ReverbNation bio: “We all play lots of instruments, so you never know what you’re going to get when it comes to instruments with strings, and suitcases.” Continue reading
As any owner of a house cat knows, it’s difficult to get cats to do anything — much less perform for an audience. But award-winning performer Gregory Popovich of The Popovich Comedy Pet Theater thinks he knows the secret: “You cannot push a cat to do something,” says Popovich, whose act has been voted Las Vegas’ Best New Family Show. “As a trainer I have to see what [the cats] like to do and then create tricks” based on the natural habits of the animal. Continue reading
New York City-based experimental duo Blues Control is made up of Russ Waterhouse and Lea Cho. Cho is a classically trained pianist. Waterhouse, a self-taught musician, started playing guitar and keyboards, and he began experimenting with home recording in high school. As a teen, he was a fan of Miles Davis’ electric era and free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman. After attending college in New York City, Waterhouse says, “I had access to a lot of different kinds of music.” He played in indie rock bands, dabbled in the city’s noise-art scene and got into hip hop. Continue reading