Author: William Kennedy

In Search of an Irish Cocktail

With St. Paddy’s Day around the corner, Mr. Kennedy seeks to expand his libatious horizons

Drink

A guy named Kennedy walks into a bar two weeks before St. Patrick’s Day. That sounds like the start of a bad joke, and sometimes it is. Kennedy: a quintessentially Irish name. St. Paddy’s Day: America’s most Irish of holidays. Commemorating the Patron Saint of Ireland, St. Paddy’s has lost its religious meaning, particularly in the U.S., becoming instead an excuse to eat a lot, drink more and toast all things Eire.  Continue reading →

The Thinking Person’s Techno

Music

Odesza came about when BeachesBeaches and Catacombkid, two well-known Seattle-area producers, joined forces. The results have Pacific Northwest techno fans pretty excited. Odesza, who refer to themselves as a production duo, are glitch-y, dreamy techno, heavy on the chill-out; blending the cut ‘n’ paste minimalism of DJ Shadow, the slow rolling backbeat of hip hop, and indie-tronica like LCD Soundsystem — creating instrumental dreamscapes ideal for a post-club come-down or soundtrack to an overcast Northwestern afternoon.  Continue reading →

Why not Why?

Music

Can vulgarity be artful? Can obscenity be beautiful? Who decides these things anyway? Who knows? Indie hip-hop/rock experiment Why? is pushing the boundaries, trying to find out.  “I don’t see Why? as a hip-hop group,” says Josiah Wolf, who forms the core of Why? with his brother Yoni. Josiah says his brother grew up on rap, while his background is in jazz. The two combined these styles with a shared interest in rock ’n’ roll to form Why? Continue reading →

Oh, The Horror (Folk)!

Music

A friend of mine uses “stomp/clap band” to describe the recent trend of indie folk/pop, a sound reaching both its penultimate victory and sure sign of eminent decline with The Lumineers appearing at the Grammys and Mumford & Sons’ best album win. “You won’t find any ‘hos’ and ‘heys’ in our tunes,” says Terrible Buttons vocalist and guitarist Kent Ueland, referencing the recent hit “Ho Hey” by The Lumineers. Continue reading →

A very Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Valentine’s day

Music

Sometimes it really is all in a name: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Since the early ’90s Bone Thugs have blended straight-up thuggery with some sweet Temptations-style harmonies, creating one of the most distinctive rap/soul hybrids of the hip-hop era; all the while maintaining a street edge separating them from other ’90s neo doo-woppers like Boyz II Men.  Continue reading →

Dead Prez in the Information Age

Music

It makes sense Dead Prez are in town for the UO “Social Justice, Real Justice Conference.” The New York-based hip-hop group has long taken on politics in its work; themes of socialism and social justice, protest of corporate control of the media (particularly hip-hop record labels) and pan-Africanism have been threads running through the group since they began in the late ’90s.  Continue reading →

Fresh (Inc.) community-based hip hop

Music

“Eugene has one of the most talented hip-hop scenes around,” says Kendrick Gilkey (aka Mac Nut), who is a founding member of local hip-hop group Fresh Inc. “There is everything for everyone here.” And on Feb. 8 at Luckey’s, Eugene is hosting two of the scene’s most vital up-and-coming acts: Fresh Inc. and The Architex.  Continue reading →

Leroy Bell has the X-Factor

Music

When watching competitive music shows like X-Factor or American Idol, you expect the contestants are upstart performers. Often this is the case. However, when Seattle-based pop soul-singer Leroy Bell participated in the X-Factor in 2011, the other hopefuls likely didn’t realize what they were up against. The 61-year-old Bell (you read that right — 61, and he could take Lenny Kravitz in a hottie competition any day) has been in the music business since the ’70s.  Continue reading →