Eugene Weekly

Classical music people are always fretting about how to keep the genre from declining along with its aging audience by getting hip to the 21st century. That means, at a minimum, doing what popular music, dance and theater have always done, and what classical musicians themselves did until the last few generations: perform the music of their own time, i.e., now. But sometimes it also means rethinking the presentation to suit today’s more visually oriented culture. A cool concert at the UO’s Beall Concert Hall Friday, Jan. 10, does both. Continue reading →

For Jans Ingber, vocalist for The Motet, Eugene is where it all started. “Eugene was an awesome place to grow up and be a high schooler,” Ingber says. “I was in this band called The Boogie Patrol Express, and we were an original disco band. We sold out the WOW Hall a few times and did that for a few years, so that started my love of music and was my foot into the music biz.” Continue reading →

When interviewing a band called Levon’s Helmet, the lead question writes itself: What’s up with your most excellent band name? “Me and Gordon were in this band called Water Tower [formerly Water Tower Bucket Boys],” says Jason Oppat, drummer and vocalist for Portland-based power pop trio Levon’s Helmet. “When we decided to make our own music we just went with it. At the time it was kind of a joke. It’s a little bit of a jab at folk and country music.”  Continue reading →