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Macbeth might not be Shakespeare’s most sophisticated play — it is nasty, brutish and short — and yet, among the tragedies, it remains my personal favorite, if only because it contains the most blunt and chilling expression of nihilism yet registered in the English language. Continue reading
The last chance for Eugeneans to hear Patchy Sanders live in all its folksy glory will be this Saturday, Dec. 19. The popular and critically acclaimed indie troupe with Eugene roots is calling it quits after three years. “Eugene is actually our second to last show ever,” says Sara Wilbur, violinist. The band’s final show will be Dec. 20 in Ashland. “The band has been trekking along pretty seriously for three years now,” Wilbur continues, adding, “We were just feeling ready to move on to new chapters.” Continue reading
For the past four years, the husband-and-wife team of singer and guitarist Jen Johnson and drummer Mike Latulippe have fronted Velah, a rather excellent Boston-area indie-rock outfit. Johnson went on record saying that Pale Hands, the duo’s barely year-old electronic band, came about after they wrote a bunch of songs that just couldn’t work for Velah. It’s the sort of thing you’re supposed to say when launching an electronic side project (see: Broken Bells, Postal Service), even if it’s not altogether true. Continue reading
“I met Sam Cooke and his wife Barbara, and he turned to her and said, ‘Why don’t you bring her to America with us? We like her,’” Norma Fraser recounts, bursting into laughter. Fraser has lived in Eugene for a decade and has a lifetime of stories like this, including recording with Bob Marley. Fraser’s parents didn’t even know she could sing until they heard her song on the radio; they wanted her to be a doctor. She didn’t plan to be a singer, much less a reggae legend, not singing a note until she was 14. Continue reading
If it’s fiddles you fancy, this holiday season will be merry and bright, because we’re seeing a phalanx of fine fiddlers on Eugene stages to close out 2015. Continue reading
= Oregon author or Oregon-centric book fiction Continue reading
(clockwise from left) Splendid Cities, Secret Tokyo, Secret Paris Continue reading
Once upon a time, and not all that terribly far back, Jeff Geiger was undergoing what he now describes as “a dark night of the soul.” The Eugene writer had arrived at the artistic crossroads. “I’d been working for, I’d say, at least a decade as what I’d consider to be a serious writer,” he says. Deciding that he was most passionate about young adult fiction, Geiger wrote two such novels that came up bust. They had heart, but “they weren’t selling. It was an incredibly frustrating experience,” he recalls. Continue reading
Every once in a while something crazy happens: Someone self-publishes a book and it takes off. The Celestine Prophecy started that way as did Still Alice, and 50 Shades of Grey started off as internet-published Twilight fan fiction. Lane County has a whole host of writers publishing themselves or getting published by a “vanity” press (Hey, it’s not vanity if it’s good!). They, and we, hope one of these books takes off. Here’s just a smidge of what got dropped off at EW this year. Continue reading