Jack’s Mason Bees

Most gardeners are aware by now that honeybees are in trouble. This knowledge is driving a surge in amateur beekeeping. Other pollinators, including native bees, are in trouble too, from the same disastrous cocktail of causes — habitat loss, pesticides, disease and parasites. Keeping a hive of honeybees is quite a commitment, and for gardeners and small orchardists, encouraging native bees is a pretty good option. You can do it by growing native plants; leaving some areas, shall we say, unmaintained; and by providing nesting opportunities. Continue reading 

Tales of New York

Kevin Morby

Kevin Morby

Music has led Kevin Morby from Kansas City to New York and now Los Angeles: center, east and west. However, if Morby’s influenced by any one place over another, it’s New York — particularly the era when the Big Apple’s folk scene began to morph into early punk rock; the city of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Patti Smith and Television.  “It’s the most important time in music,” Morby tells EW, “but also just the coolest.” Morby says that the song “Miles, Miles, Miles” from his solo debut, Harlem River, captures the sound of his influences most clearly.  Continue reading 

Intellitronica

Giraffage

Giraffage

Giraffage, the moniker of beatmaker Charlie Yin, just wrapped up a tour with one of the most popular names in electronic music: Porter Robinson. On his current tour, however, he is the headliner. In a recent story on indie music blog Pigeons and Planes (run by Complex Magazine), Yin was named one of the “14 Rising Bay Area Artists You Should Know.”  Continue reading 

Indie-pop Groove

Gothic Tropic

At a glance Gothic Tropic may appear to be another chic Los Angeles retro-rock act, hiding behind delay pedals like dark sunglasses. Having just two brief EPs under their belt since their 2011 conception, the indie-poppers might have flown just below the radar of readers, which would have been a shame.  Continue reading 

Exploring Henline Falls

Cascades of water near an old mine

A hiker at the base of Henline Falls. Photo by John Williams

Gold was first found in the Opal Creek Watershed in 1859. The legacy of the ensuing gold rush left many hillsides up and down the narrow valleys dotted with mine shafts. Silver King — the group of mines near Henline Falls in the Willamette National Forest — today exhibits little of what was once a bustling mining operation. The exception is a 1,700-foot-long shaft right next to the falls. Over the years silver, lead, zinc and gold were pulled out of the mines near Henline Falls. Thankfully nearly all signs of mining have been washed away.  Continue reading 

Class Act

Veteran director Judy Wenger is back with Snow White at Rose Children’s Theatre

Judy Wenger directs Rose Children’s Theatre’s Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs

Veteran teacher, director, author and the inspiration for Ms. Wingit of the nationally syndicated cartoon Stone Soup, Judy Wenger is a Eugene icon. And she’s directing again, with a gleeful adaptation of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs for Rose Children’s Theatre. During her 37 years in education, Wenger developed a theory of theater education that rests heavily on community and respect, at the expense of starpower. Continue reading 

Photos: Con Brio at Cozmic [2.9.15]

The band Con Brio, from San Francisco, spent the last night of their tour here in Eugene. With Ziek McCarter as the vocals, Benjamin Andrews on guitar, Micah Dubreuil on keyboards, Jonathan Kirchner on the bass, Andrew Laubacher on drums, Marcus Stephens on tenor saxophone, and Brendan Liu on the Trumpet they had quiet the set up on stage. They filled the room with soulful funk music that was reminiscent of an era long gone but not forgotten. Continue reading