Whats-Happening: Page 574

Don’t Pigeonhole John

Music
Photo by Piper Ferguson

When hard-pressed to describe Pigeon John’s sound, I choose “soul-rap” — living somewhere between early Jackson 5 and Stevie Wonder (hard to listen to and not smile) and uplifting indie West Coast hip hop. When I say uplifting, I don’t mean that John Dunkin (his given name) is an average “conscious” rapper spewing bumper-sticker aphorisms; Pigeon John is far from milquetoast. Following the long tradition of blues, soul and R&B singers before him, Dunkin’s gritty rhymes help you dance your troubles away.  Continue reading →

Anyone Can Be A Poodle

Music

It’s tough to convey unbridled enthusiasm via email, but Trevor Straub of Pookie and The Poodlez (of Oakland, Calif.) comes close: “Yeah, I can do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,” Straub responds to my email interview request.  “I’m Pookie and my band’s The Poodlez,” Straub continues. “The Poodlez are always changing, anyone can be a Poodle!”   What’s behind the band’s distinctive name?  Continue reading →

Evolutionary Theater

The Very Little Theater puts its own spin on Inherit the Wind

Theater
Bill Campbell, Jessi Cotter, Steve Mandell and Chris Pinto. Photo credit: Rich Scheeland

According to the National Survey of High School Biology Teachers, 13 percent of American high school bio teachers explicitly teach creationism in the classroom. Sixty percent give evolution very little class time and 17 percent don’t even touch the subject at all, wanting to avoid the whole controversy. These statistics speak to the state of radical religious interference with education, which gives a ’50s play new relevance in the 21st century. Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

There are certain artists whose work is like a fingerprint, a signature; their art — in style, technique and content — is unmistakably theirs. Locally, we are lucky to have lots of these artists: Shanna Trumbly, Amy Crehore, Jud Turner, John Jay Cruson, Analee Fuentes and too many others to list here. Continue reading →

Life and Death by Pabst

Whiteaker stalwart Lefty Kelleher takes home top prize for Eugene PBR art contest

Visual Arts
Photo by Trask Bedortha

By some fateful collision of time, situation and personality, certain individuals come to represent the places where they live, in such a way that the association becomes nearly mythological: Lou Reed symbolizes the junky glam of the East Village, Harvey Milk is forever Mayor of the Castro District, Saul Bellow haunts Chicago’s Humboldt Park. Continue reading →

Finish bike month with a ride

Culture

If you've missed out on Bike Month thus far, there are still chances to celebrate before May runs out. Friday, May 30, celebrate Breakfast at the Bridges from 7 to 9 am at Blue Heron Bridge, behind Cesar Chavez  School on the Fern Ridge path. Saturday, May 31, roll with the Eugene Circus Bike Ride beginning in Monroe Park at noon and ending at Island Park in Springfield. After the ride is a barbecue picnic potluck and free circus show. More info at wkly.ws/1rj. Continue reading →

The Wax Bullet War

How art saved a soldier

Books

In a scene about two-thirds of the way through his debut memoir The Wax Bullet War (Ooligan Press. 2014. $16.95), Sean Davis finds himself standing — hungover and “clouded with drugs”— on a stage at Walker Middle School in Salem, Oregon. Davis, who only months before had been critically injured by an IED attack in Iraq, an attack that also claimed the life of his closest friend, is at the school to share some of his experiences, as well as to generate support for the troops who are still deployed.  Continue reading →

Sleepless in Mumbai

Film

It’s impossible for me to assess my attributes as a film critic, though I can say I’ve mentored with some of the best. My dear friend Richard Jameson, former editor of Film Comment, has taught me more about movies, and how to watch and discuss them, than the thousands of pages I’ve read over the years. I call Richard, fondly, the populist snob: a man of Apollonian discernment who nonetheless finds lasting quality in more mainstream stuff, and who can discuss Spielberg with as much acuity and energetic acumen as he can Fassbender or Godard. Continue reading →