Eugene Weekly

It makes sense Dead Prez are in town for the UO “Social Justice, Real Justice Conference.” The New York-based hip-hop group has long taken on politics in its work; themes of socialism and social justice, protest of corporate control of the media (particularly hip-hop record labels) and pan-Africanism have been threads running through the group since they began in the late ’90s.  Continue reading →

Many musicians are coy when it comes to the meaning behind their songs, but not the refreshingly candid Lindsay Rachel Rilko, lead singer for Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys. “There’s a song I wrote, ‘Mercy.’ It’s about a bankrobber and the bankrobber is my aunt,” Rilko says, while driving south from Olympia, Wash. Rilko was studying abroad in Ecuador when her mom sent her a message from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that her aunt had robbed a bank and hid the money in their backyard, forcing her mom to call the police. Continue reading →

If you’re bored this week and feel like swingin’ — I mean seriously getting down — with some hard hitting (and intelligently composed) grooves, look no further than Hot 8 Brass Band’s show at WOW Hall. The New Orleans group has musical roots going back to grade school, and the chemistry they maintain today is an unequivocal product of that fact. In balmy Louisiana, traditional brass music has become so deeply embedded in the culture that images of sweltering New Orleans clubs are difficult to envision without that hot music. Continue reading →

We’re in it now, stumbling through the depths of the PNW rainy season. Burdened by a crippling lack of vitamin D and the knowledge that soggy socks are all but inevitable, the only comfort comes in knowing we’re not the only ones. Eugene-based band Pluto the Planet can relate to precipitation-related woes, as the chorus of their song “Port Orford” can attest. “And it rains here almost every day/I really need a hot getaway/Someplace I really want to stay/I just need a break from all the rain.” Amen, boys! Continue reading →

Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely was one of the major influences for The Helio Sequence’s 2012 album, Negotiations. EW caught up with the singer of Portland’s beloved alt-rock duo, Brandon Summers, on tour, shortly after his car broke down on the way to St. Louis.  “Conceptually, sonically — on every level it’s amazing,” Summers says of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ melancholy album. “How did they get the vocals so thick and warm?” Continue reading →

The last time EW covered the North Mississippi Allstars in depth was in 2006, in anticipation of their McDonald Theatre performance to support their sixth album, Electric Blue Watermelon. In the intervening years, much for the band has changed, but much has come full circle. In 2008, the band took a hiatus, and brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson pursued other projects. Luther formed a string band and a folk band. Cody contributed to several motion picture soundtracks like Black Snake Moan. Continue reading →

“Eugene has one of the most talented hip-hop scenes around,” says Kendrick Gilkey (aka Mac Nut), who is a founding member of local hip-hop group Fresh Inc. “There is everything for everyone here.” And on Feb. 8 at Luckey’s, Eugene is hosting two of the scene’s most vital up-and-coming acts: Fresh Inc. and The Architex.  Continue reading →

Colorado’s Lionel Young Band is rolling into town after a blues festival-filled year, and they are bringing along quite the pedigree. The band won the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis in 2011, and Young won the IBC as a solo-duo act in 2008, making Young the only two-time winner of the IBC in its 28-year history. In addition to critical acclaim, Young and/or his bandmates have played alongside Muddy Waters, B.B. Continue reading →