Eugene Weekly

Thirty miles northeast of Eugene, tucked amid trees and fields like a memory of some simpler time, sits the historic city of Brownsville. This quaint town is made up of roughly 40 streets over 1.34 square miles of land. A few of these roads extend beyond Brownsville’s center and out into true Willamette Valley countryside. The commerce that dots Main Street is not exactly bustling, but does not fall short where patronage is concerned. Continue reading →

Matisyahu wanted to do something different with his most recent album, 2012’s Spark Seeker. But when he began the process, he didn’t know “different” would involve starting work on one album, doing some other music for fun on the side and then realizing that the off-the-cuff stuff was what the album should actually sound like. He says that the lack of pressure he felt helped make these tracks flow more naturally. Continue reading →

When a band “makes a record” these days it means a lot of different things: everything from home recordings available free on Bandcamp.com to studio releases on record labels. L.A.-based art-noise rockers No Age played their first show at an art gallery; they are no strangers to making an art project out of clamorous rock ‘n’ roll. So when asked, the duo took the directive to “make a record” to heart. Continue reading →

You best get on the Wild Child bandwagon now. The song “Pillow Talk” — leading off the 2011 release of the same name — is a bittersweet, ukulele-powered breakup tune. While saccharine, the song is utterly charming with a he-said-she-said storyline shared by primary songwriters Alexander Beggins and Kelsey Wilson. Use it in a sentimental iPhone ad or roll it over the credits of the right Ryan Gosling movie and it’d be a massive hit on par with the Lumineers’ “Hey Ho” or “Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service. Continue reading →

Chris Berry loves African music so much that he risked his life to play it. As a teenager in California, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, who plays the WOW Hall Friday, Aug. 16, studied African drumming with master drummer Titos Sompa, then spent a decade exploring it at the source, especially among Zimbabwe’s Shona people. He learned their language, cultural history and music, including their signature instrument, the zingy metal mbira (a “thumb piano”). Continue reading →

Edewaard has only been together since last February, but the Eugene-based band is heating up quickly. “A few of us actually quit our jobs to pursue this music career,” says Jered Pound, Edewaard rhythm guitarist and ad hoc manager. “It’s all about banging on doors and getting the word out. Continue reading →

For certain musicians, the large venue and bustling crowd of commercial concerts can detract from their performance, so some are opting for a cozier space: your living room. Living room concerts are growing in popularity, partially due to their ability to change the dynamic between the artist and the fan. Indie rocker Damien Jurado prefers the couches and carpets of people’s homes to stadium seating. “They’re more intimate and I can connect with my fans in a better way,” he says. Continue reading →

If you have had a chance to check out singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop’s oddly beautiful 2010 release, Hunting My Dress, then you know what a unique talent she is. Hoop’s penchant for creating a wide variety of moods, sounds and storylines while keeping the music cohesive is an unusual feat of songwriting. And her 2012 release, The House that Jack Built, further demonstrates her significant skill in these areas as she culls together 10 songs that vary wildly in their sound yet remain distinctly Hoop tracks. Continue reading →