Eugene Weekly

After joining and then replacing the great Thomas Mapfumo in the Zimbabwean band Wagon Wheels in the late 1970s, Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi became one of Southern Africa’s most popular singers, rasping his uplifting lyrics in his native Shona language, as well as in Ndebele and English, over a bubbling beat of compulsively danceable mbaqanga and other African rhythms and American R&B-influenced grooves. Continue reading →

Patchy Sanders, a band that made its first appearance in Eugene at Sam Bond’s Garage a year ago, is returning to the same venue on Feb. 2 to showcase its first record, & The Wild Peach Forest. Continue reading →

What’s the most informative debut album title, you ask? Why, 2002’s Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz, of course. The title says it all, and what better way to announce yourself in the hip hop scene than that? Take three racially charged foodstuffs, slap ’em on a sleeve and call yourself Nappy Roots. Yes folks, it’s that country rap you’ve loved since Birdman, Nelly or Ludacris first pimp-slapped your brain. Jangly piano, minimalist beats, red-beans-and-rice-style hooks: It’s all you’ve ever wanted from the dirty South and more. Continue reading →

Ask Pete Bernhard, the guitarist and lead singer for The Devil Makes Three, what surprised him most about the band’s recently released album I’m A Stranger Here, and he’ll tell you how easy the experience was. Continue reading →

Look around at your next house party. Doesn’t everyone look the same? Isn’t everyone there for the same damn reason? If there’s a band, and they aren’t playing Elliott Smith covers, there’s a good chance everyone’s there to dance. Nothing else. That’s it. Dance. Continue reading →

The Autumn Defense features Patrick Sansone and John Stirratt of Wilco, a titanic modern rock band that casts a long shadow to escape from under. But now, with the release of its fifth studio record (out Jan. 28 on Yep Roc Records and aptly named Fifth), Autumn Defense deserves to be considered a band rather than merely a side project.  Continue reading →

K to the C: Kansas City rapper Kutt Calhoun is a big name in underground rap, and also a compatriot and collaborator of many popular acts on Eugene stages like Tech N9ne, Krizz Kalico and more.  In 2013, Calhoun released Black Gold, featuring appearances from aforementioned artists as well as Brotha Lynch Hung. Hip hop blog HipHopDx gives the album three and a half stars, and it debuted at number one on the Billboard’s Heatseekers Album chart. Continue reading →

Most musicians have been playing instruments for years. Ramune Nagisetty of Portland-based indie-pop trio Rocket 3 picked up the guitar just a few years ago. “I went out and bought an electric guitar,” Nagisetty says. “It was President’s Day. I found it fairly easy to play.”  Continue reading →

Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin are both solo singer-songwriters. They also happen to be in a relationship, but don’t always have time together since they have separate projects. For now, however, the songbird couple has discovered a solution to this problem. “We were touring so much, individually, that we never got the chance to see one another,” says Schmidt. “So we decided to try touring together in a song-swap format, adding harmonies to each other’s songs, and good-natured ribbing in between songs.” Continue reading →

The Jan. 16 Eugene Symphony concert at the Hult Center opens with some of the 20th century’s most powerfully dramatic music: the “Four Sea Interludes” from Benjamin Britten’s mighty opera Peter Grimes. This performance of one of the greatest English composers’ most popular concert works misses by just a few days cashing in on Britten’s centenary celebrations, but we don’t need no stinkin’ birthday excuse to enjoy his music. Continue reading →