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Floater
Rising Even doped up on Vicodin following minor surgery, Floater's lead singer Rob Wynia is witty, slightly snarky and sharp as a razor. It's been more than a decade since he held down a regular job and after all those years doing the rock star thing, it's obvious he's hit his stride.
On tour after a long hiatus to promote their new album Acoustics, Floater plays at the McDonald Theater Saturday, Oct. 2. For the last year or so the stuff of life — love, kids, marriage — took priority and kept Floater off the stage. After so many months away from their fans, let's hope they've got some pent-up energy that we'll see on stage. The push for Acoustics, an all-acoustic CD, came from their record label, Elemental Records. There's no kinda, sorta or maybe with Acoustics. Long-time fans will either love it or hate it. We love it. Instead of just unplugging their favorite tunes, the power trio (Wynia on vocals and bass, Peter Cornett on drums and Dave Amador on guitar) gives us more aggressive, soulful, melancholy music that maintains their heavy, lyrical rock sound. "I think it's really unfortunate that people think if you're changing you're starting to suck," Wynia said. "I think the reason for that is that people have a tendency to discover a band at one point in their career, whether it's through MTV or a friend at a party. And they fall in love with them. Then anything the band does after that, or even before that, they don't like as much." He likens it to the honeymoon phase of a new relationship, the first few months after you've just started dating someone. "It's really exciting. Then you're trying to recapture that heady drunken party, that feeling of when you first kissed. And it's a lost cause. But that's sort of how people feel about their bands." So how exactly have they changed since they first started playing garage parties and amping up drunken sport fans at the UO beer garden in 1993? First of all they've grown up, and their music has grown up with them. Over the last nine years they've changed from a group of mid-20s guys with something to prove, wearing their influences on their sleeves, into real musicians, songwriters and storytellers. Their songs sound more crafted, less raw. Their lyrics continue to improve with more eloquence and poetry. And their live shows are tighter with more showmanship. If you've ever seen them in concert and experienced their awesome stage presence and connection with the audience, it might surprise you to hear that for the first few years they all had serious stage fright. "Oh definitely," Wynia said. "We got really nervous. Now we've made so many records it's old hat to us." Floater has been compared to everything from Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Neil Young and U2 to Pantera and Led Zeppelin. Basically they make really good rock with lyrical riffs, complex lyrics and fresh melodies rooted in tradition. "It's not like we're saying, 'Oh we're so different. We just can't be pigeon-holed'," Wynia said. "Look, we're not curing cancer. Fifty years from now people are going to look back and say, yeah, that was rock." Not traditionally a political band, Floater's lyrics tend to be more about life, love, angst and anger. But in the current political climate, that's starting to change. "I never felt like I wanted to have politics be a part of who we are," Wynia said. "But we're becoming a much more political band. I never felt like I was driven to it before but I've been watching things spiral so far out of control into a Nazi dictatorship that it's really scaring me. I have kids now. It's not just about me anymore. I feel like I need to protect the world and make it a place that I would like to live in."
Kind
of Blue Most 24-year-olds in Eugene's university neighborhood are wrapping up their degrees by day and bar-hopping by night. Not Justin Gibbs. This Southern California transplant has owned and operated one of Eugene's hottest new clubs since Sept. 20, 2003.
The long vacant Field's Brew Pub received a massive facelift after Gibbs — with the support of family money — bought the property last July. He had become enchanted with the space at 1290 Oak after surveying the bar from the street. Windows eerily exposed tables perpetually set since 1999 for a last meal which was never served. The doors to the Indigo District were opened that September. But the story begins earlier than that. Gibbs originally came to Eugene for UO's Music Technology Program. He jokes, "Most people go to school to open their own business. I opened a business to put myself through school!" Gibbs now works full time as the club's general manager and booking agent, and while he's begun reaping the benefits of his risky venture, he's had to tweak his formula a bit over the past year. One of the biggest changes is cutting back on music events. "We had some complaints about having to charge covers," he says. Gibbs has had an ongoing goal of renovating a storage area into a dedicated performance hall. What hasn't changed is the original idea of having a suitable space for daytime coffee klatches and study groups, business meetings or take-out lunches which, with the stroke of twilight, transforms into a casual club for beer or cocktails with occasional musical performances to enhance the nightlife. "We're trying to create a community that's more well-rounded," he says. "It's fine to come in during the night and let loose but we also want to be some place where people can come in and do other things during the day." The young entrepreneur has traveled extensively to Asia and India, where he began picking up pieces to enhance the decor and atmosphere of the District. Along with statuary from Bali, an amazing wall-sized waterfall lends tropical ambience, perfect for lounging in the comfortable overstuffed couches and chairs. The hang-out space feels like a cozy living room that's equipped with wireless Internet, perfect for polishing your business presentation or studying before the quick walk to campus. A pleasing menu helps too, from an appetizer bar menu to sandwiches, salads, soup and pasta entrées. Currently, Gibbs is booking only one or two acts a month, which allows him to find the truly unique acts that will present well in the space. His next show, Oct. 2, is Federico Aubele (pronounced Aw-bway-la), an Argentine guitarist and producer. Aubele's latest work, entitled Gran Hotel Buenos Aires, is produced by Thievery Corporation. Aubele on guitar, along with Sumaia and Gabriella Maiaru on vocals and keyboards create music with the pulse of Buenos Aires. The music flaunts a subtle backbone of South American percussion and break beats overlaid with delicate female (predominantly) vocals in Spanish. Aubele lends a dreamy touch with his understated guitar, sounding right at home nestled against dub and reggae back beats and hypnotic vocal manipulations. Aubele began playing guitar at the age of 11 when he and a friend pretended they were The Beatles. From there he explored American music in its punk and pop forms; next jazz and classical flashed across his radar. In Buenos Aires, he composed and arranged music for several pop bands and worked as a DJ. Later, Aubele began working on solo projects, with the common element being the guitar. "The guitar is, and always was, my main instrument," he says. "We understand each other very well." Aubele has tried designing a track without the guitar, but always ends up adding it. "I like an organic sound," he says. Aubele's music sparkles with energy and moves with fluid grace, like a sinewy dancer. If you haven't yet visited Indigo District, let this show be your impetus.
BLACK FOREST CAFE PARADISO CLUB TSUNAMI COFFEE GROVE COOPERATIVE CORNUCOPIA COUNTRY SIDE RESTAURANT
COZMIC PIZZA@THE STRAND All
Ages DIABLO'S DOWNTOWN LOUNGE Mixed Down Monday--10 DUCK INN EMBERS SUPPER CLUB GOOD TIMES INDIGO DISTRICT JO FEDERIGO'S JOHN HENRY'S JUANITA'S HIDEAWAY
THE JUNGLE THE KEG LAVELLE'S WINE BAR & BISTRO LUCKEY'S CLUB CIGAR LUNA MAC'S AT THE VET'S MCDONALD THEATRE THE O BAR OUR PLACE TAVERN PEABODY'S PERUGINO PRIME TIME SPORTS BAR QUACKER'S RAMADA INN
SAM BOND'S GARAGE STACY'S COVERED BRIDGE SWEETWATER'S TAP 'N' KEG TINY TAVERN THE WOODSMAN
WOW HALL All Ages
CORVALLIS FOX 'N' FIRKIN THE PEACOCK All Ages PLATINUM NIGHT CLUB
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