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Colorado musicians Hello Dollface have deep roots in Eugene. Besides frequently playing the Oregon Country Fair, two members studied music at the UO. In collaboration with its non-profit music education program, iAM MUSIC, the band has even founded a festival in Colorado, which Hello Dollface vocalist Ashley Edwards says is patterned somewhat after OCF. Continue reading
Roll Jimmy Kimmel, Elvis Presley and Jim Carrey into a single explosive entity and you might come close to Eddie Cantor’s impact on American entertainment. Rising from an impoverished Russian Jewish immigrant New York family, the little, bug-eyed and singing waiter parlayed his broad talents and irrepressible personality to Vaudeville before doing a decade on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Follies, eventually becoming one of the dominant figures on American radio in the 1930s and ’40s. Continue reading
You love Jackson Browne. I guarantee it. Forget about his most recognizable soft-rock radio staples (though, like any self-respecting listener, I’d always prefer Browne’s “Take It Easy” over that “More Than Words” song). Forget even Browne’s tries at activism. Lives in the Balance, his 1986 album condemning U.S. policy in South America, is a strikingly admirable use of his talent, but this consciousness of the greater good is only a symptom of an even more powerful quality. Continue reading
Something wonderful is happening: I’ve got Third Eye Blind’s cute-ass frontman Stephan Jenkins on the phone, and he’s asking me if I want to hang out. “I don’t know anyone in Eugene,” he coos. I reply coolly: “You know me, man.” “Well, now you have my number.” Continue reading
In 1995, three partners — Todd Davis, Bart Caridio and Mark Jaeger — set out to build a brewpub based on a mutual love of the craft and the brew itself. The trio found a spot, once a garage operated by the grandson of Eugene pioneers Allen and Rachel Bond. The location fell short of the ideal size for a brewery, but after careful consideration and falling in love with the building and its history, Sam Bond’s Garage was born, or rather reborn. Continue reading
If Las Vegas Weekly gave an award for “Band with Best Beards,” Sin City rock quartet Bobby Meader Music would surely win. In fact, based on beard weight alone, you might guess Bobby Meader Music hailed from the great, hairy Northwest instead of the glitz and glamor of Vegas. “I just didn’t shave one day ’cause I quit my job at the Bellagio,” Bobby Meader tells EW, laughing, “and I still haven’t shaved.” Continue reading
One half of Texan indie-folk quartet The Deer will follow up a couple shows at Oregon Country Fair with an encore performance in Eugene at Sam Bond’s Garage. Deers’ vocalist Grace Park explains that after OCF is over, “two have to leave for home. Alan [Eckert, drummer] and I are staying for the Sam Bond’s Show,” billed as Grace Park of The Deer. Park says the band loves Eugene’s vibe: “We love the laid-back energy of the town and plan to make the pilgrimage back year after year.” Continue reading
Nashville musician Aaron Lee Tasjan identifies as a guitarist despite currently making a living as a singer-songwriter. Tasjan spent some time playing guitar in the Southern-rock band Drivin’ N Cryin’ as well as legendary New York punk group New York Dolls. “I was always interested in songs,” Tasjan tells EW, “and writing songs. So I still think of myself as a guitar player in a lot of ways.” He adds, “though I’m more of a traveling songwriter guy.” Continue reading
At just 30 years of age, it’s a bit odd to speak of Eugene musician Halie Loren as a time-tested veteran of the trade, but so be it. With eight albums to her name, along with international accolades, industry awards and globe-hopping tours, this gifted singer-songwriter has built the sort of solid career any artist would find enviable — the result of equal parts guts, hard work and rare talent. Continue reading