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Cartoons
& Jedis One of the first times I saw MC Chris perform was at a divey and now-defunct New York City venue called Coney Island High (no relation to the amusement park). Dirt Bike Annie, a pop-punk band most of the crowd had known for years, was on stage, and guitarist/singer Adam Rabuck had broken a string. Nothing's worse for a high-energy show than a lull in the entertainment, but MC swooped in, stole the mic, and started rapping a song I didn't recognize. By the chorus, the audience had figured out he was twisting Eminem to his own means; MC's lyrics went "Hi! My name is/ Short Fatty!"
It's a long jump from accidental appearances with friends to sold-out cross-country tours in just a few years. MC's rise to global domination might sound a little like a Cinderella story, but the thing is, he's been doing this for ages. Back when MC Chris was not-at-all-mild-mannered NYU student Chris Ward, he was recording his squeaky-voiced, hyperactive rhymes in dorm rooms and playing in basements, the lone MC sharing a bill with seven or eight bands. But a few years ago, MC Chris got a serious break: He got discovered in a bar by David Willis, the executive producer of "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" and "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" (and the voice of Meatwad and Carl). "He gave me a card and said, 'Come to Atlanta, you're hilarious'," MC says. "But I was tipsy and said no way, I love New York, I can't go." As luck would have it, Willis' buddy Adam Reed was at the bar as well, and he hooked MC up with a job in New York, working on "Sealab 2021." Three months later, the Sealab folks headed to Atlanta to be closer to the Cartoon Network headquarters. This time, MC went along, and a year later joined "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" ("Mostly drawing," MC says, though he also voiced MC Pee Pants, Sir Loin and others) and "The Brak Show." After Brak, MC and a coworker became Cartoon Network's on-air department, making commercials and promos and meeting people from Mark Hamill to the WB's promo voiceover guy. "It was the most fun I had there," says MC. Meanwhile, things were going well for MC's musical side: "Album sales were growing and improving," he says, "So I took a chance and quit the job to go work on an album." With the full support of his coworkers, who told him to take a few months and come back if it didn't work out, MC moved back to NYC "on a prayer," he says. The label he'd been talking to, DC Flag, immediately became more interested. MC gave the label guys the 500 requests he'd gotten for performances, and that was that: He's been on tour nonstop since February. "I've been living out of my bag since Thanksgiving. I don't have a home. I miss Atlanta," MC says, though he's hardly complaining. Even bigger things are in the works, like a European tour and a new album "that has money behind it, has promotion, is in stores." Two nights before our conversation, he played a packed show in New York City with Dirt Bike Annie, The Ergs, and The Unloveables, the first since those old madhouse basement shows. "We've come a long way," MC says, "and I want to take those three bands with me. They're really musicians and they deserve to have the opportunities I've had." MC's tour brings him to Eugene on what's basically a national holiday for Star Wars fans, of which MC definitely is one (download "Fett's Vette" from mcchris.com for a hilarious example). When Revenge of the Sith premieres at 12:01 am on the morning of May 19th, MC'll be there. As will a couple hundred of his closest friends and admirers. Usually, there's an hour-long signing after an MC Chris show, but this time, "It just makes sense for everyone to go to the movie together," MC says. He adds, "I don't think we'll sell out Eugene, but there will be a few people who can't believe they didn't get their ticket to the movie. I'll have a couple tickets on me for people who start going into convulsions. You know, for when that guy in the Yoda costume starts twitching."
Misfats
Eat Eugene Disappointingly, the Misfats weigh in at around 1,100 lbs. combined mass. With all the recent studies downplaying the negative health effects of being "slightly overweight," a median weight of 288 between four guys isn't THAT much, especially when they prides themselves on being the FATTEST Misfits cover band in the world. But if you are going to stay competitive amongst the plethora of touring Misfits tribute bands, you have to have a fool-proof gimmick. And the Misfats hold the crown for the fattest in the land.
"Eating several extra helpings of food every day increases my potency," Spencer Davis (aka Doctor Choade, the band's drummer) says. "This is important for rock and roll, and I think you ladies know what I'm talking about." "That new food pyramid is bullshit! Or maybe it just doesn't make any sense to me. Am I expected to believe that things like beans and peanut butter are more healthy than say a bag of 20 burgers from McDonald's? Either way, I'm still gonna drink a bottle of gin," he says. But the Misfats bring so much more to the stage than a few extra pounds and a humongous prop-ham. Unlike Mini-Kiss, a "midget" Kiss tribute band that performed an outstanding stage show at John Henry's last December, the Misfats actually sing and play instruments. "We are admittedly not the world's most proficient musicians, but we make up for it by trying hard to promote a sense of fun at our shows," Bill Niese (aka Foil Von Franksnbeans, the band's guitarist) explains. "When people are laughing and smiling, they tend to forgive the fact that you can't play a decent guitar solo." The band supersizes the whole scenario by changing all of the Misfits' original lyrics to reflect the Misfats' gastronomically-unfulfilled lifestyle. The lyrical makeover finds "I got something to say…I killed a baby today," from "Last Caress" logically turning into, "I got something to say… I ate a baby today!" from the newly renamed "Last Carcass." Lead singer Noland Bell's (aka Glen Hamzinger) voice bears a resemblance to Glen Danzig's that is beyond eerie, especially when he sings "Butter" the band's version of Danzig's "Mother." Complete with white make-up, black eye paint and devil locks, the Misfats will undoubtedly frighten as well as entertain this Friday the 13th. Burt Reynolds Overdrive (a local Turbonegro tribute band), along with The Anxieties (who will perform an exclusive Screeching Weasel tribute set) and Knuckledragger (members from the Point Blank Rangers and Cap Gun Suicide covering old school rap songs) will open this night of creepy tributes.
Literate
Madness Before Sleepytime Gorilla Museum's performance at last year's Eugene Celebration, I overheard the bassist from an earlier band describe the upcoming Museum. "I saw them setting up their instruments and said, 'I'm not gonna listen to this hippie shit,'" he said, and paused in awe. "But then I heard them play."
The "hippie shit" is SGM's collection of DIY instruments, among which are "the log" (a sort of single-string bass), a toy piano and a large coil spring. Like an offspring of Einstürzende Neubauten, SGM makes purely original music from purely original instruments. Somewhere in the raising of the band, however, they went feral. Both modern and shockingly primal, SGM is the collective subconscious' rage and fear, both of which are up for viewing in its live show. The band has the stage presence of golden age KISS, thanks to matching cloaks, hoods and ghastly make-up. Though dressed for a parade of Norwegian dark metal hits, the music is much more than metal. While the overall theme is heavy metal, albeit on the progressive side, elements of industrial, trance, opera and IDM texture an otherwise crunchy entree. Intertwined in the brutal polyrhythm is a definite thesis of industrial and governmental collapse, with enough literary backing to include SGM's collected works in a political science curriculum. The latest album, ... of Natural History, satirizes futurist F.T. Marinetti, idolizes the Unabomber and quotes not one but two socially progressive poets. Though the topics are a bit straight, lead singer Nils Frykdahl delivers it all with a little wink and nudge. Spooky in a more gentle way, are the folk- and legend-influenced songs of Faun Fables, opening for SGM. The work of singer/songwriter Dawn "The Fawn" McCarthy and SGM's Frykdahl, Faun Fables' gorgeous arrangements evoke the old world with ghostly instrumentation.
Natural
Soul Naturally, the January 2005 release from Sharon and the Dap-Kings, sounds like a dusty vinyl LP you might find in the "soul" section of the record store. Then again, it could also be in the funk, blues or Motown sections, too, because the Dap-Kings' music is a combination of all four.
Their music is inspired by the best soul to come from the '60's and '70's. Like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding, Sharon and the Dap-Kings prove that feel-good soul is universally appealing and never goes out of style. Jones' smooth, throaty voice smolders with raw emotion, while all eight of the Dap-Kings synchronize a variety of instruments, creating music that is playful but structured enough for dancing. But it's their slow, sensual love songs that capture a heartfelt innocence often lost in modern music. With their smooth ballads, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings prove that they're the real thing. They aren't just playing soul — it's oozing from their pores. Sharon Jones' singing career began in Augusta, Ga., where she began singing at her church as a young girl. As a result, Jones has a strong foundation in gospel music. Her smoky voice and electric stage presence eventually landed her with Desco Records in New York. However, Desco Records met its demise at the advent of the new millennium. Around the same time Brooklyn's Daptone Records emerged with their house band, the Dap-Kings. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings' cover of Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done for Me Lately?" on their album Dap Dippin' With Sharon Jones & the Dap- Kings got Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings a considerable amount of attention in Europe as well as the United States. The members of the Dap-Kings (guitarist Tommy "TNT" Brenneck, trumpeter Dave Guy, guitarist Binky Griptite, bassist Bosco "Bass" Mann, baritone player El Michels, drummer Homer Steinweiss, tenor player Neal Sugarman and conga player Bugaloo Velez) are musical veterans and are involved in projects like the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, the Budos, Dirt Rifle and the Bullets, the El Michels Affair, the Mighty Imperials and the Sugarman Three.
Guitar
Gods & Songwriting Stars Bill Frisell knows no boundaries. One of his sets might include music from Aaron Copland and Charles Ives to Thelonious Monk and Muddy Waters. After playing in high school rock bands, he discovered the straight-ahead jazz guitar wizardry of Wes Montgomery, then started experimenting with microtonality and technology (delay and reverb), and became the house guitarist with the innovative ECM label.
In downtown New York's 1980s avant garde scene, Frisell played with experimental jazzers like John Zorn and other big names including Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Bono and Elvis Costello. But after moving to Seattle in the 1990s, Frisell began to explore other American musical styles — country, folk, rock, classical—and assembled them into a bewitching, melodic quilt of American sound that somehow sounds like no one but Frisell. And he's coming to the Shedd on May 24 in a classic jazz guitar-organ-drum trio format, featuring Sam Yahel and jazz's hottest young drummer, Brian Blade. This is a top recommendation for all fans of American music. Frisell is one of a series of superb guitarists coming through town this month. Over the last 35 years Leo Kottke has forged his own ear-catching blend of acoustic blues, country and folk. He plays the McDonald Theatre on May 20. For a dreamier acoustic guitar experience, try Keola Beamer's show at the Shedd on May 15. The latest in a centuries-long line of Hawaiian musical masters, Beamer helped instigate the revival of kï hö'alu or slack key guitar music in the 1970s and maintains the tradition via his teaching. His performances complement his lilting slack-key guitaristry with songs and storytelling that evoke the contemporary Hawaiian experience. Slack key guitar also influenced Eugene's own Paul Prince, as did Zimbabwean mbira music and more. He'll be joined by some of his musical co-conspirators at Sam Bond's on May 22. Ever since his first hit about fragrant roadkill, Loudon Wainwright's (the Shedd on May 20) suffered from the twin stigmas of being a critics' favorite and a musical comedian. True, he's probably the funniest and wryest great songwriter out there, and the critics still adore him, 35 years later. But he's also capable of writing some of the most poignant songs I've ever heard, like "Your Mother and I," in which a father tells his child about the parents' impending divorce. Wainwright still unleashes witty satire on current events, chronicles family dynamics, and explores universal feelings as bitingly as any songwriter of any generation — and he puts on a fun show, too. Another great American songwriter, Peter Case, brings his guitar, his poetic story songs, and his bluesy, soaring vocals to Café Paradiso on May 21. Case kicked off his career with an unlikely pop hit (the Plimsouls' "A Million Miles Away," featured in the movie Valley Girl), then the New York Times named his first solo release album of the year. He opened for the Ramones, wrote songs with Tom Russell, married and divorced Victoria Williams, then made a searingly beautiful album featuring down-on-their-luck characters. Despite more acclaim, his record label, noting that homeless people don't buy many records, dropped him. Since then, Case has become a modern troubador, which no doubt inspires him to write some of the best road songs ever. Many jazz fans as well as jambanders might enjoy the Kyle Hollingworth Band's concert at the WOW Hall on Thursday, May 12. Though you can hear echoes of his other group, String Cheese Incident, his solo work's funky sound veers closer to acid jazz, along with other trace elements. And for some jazz that goes way beyond the mainstream, check out the return of tenor saxman Ellery Eskelin and keyboardist Sylvie Courvoisier at the Shedd on May 18. They've studied or played with Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Erik Friedlander, Dave Douglas, John Zorn and many other jazz and avant-stars. Finally, the UO's spring season climaxes with the usual trove of musical treasures. Future Music Oregon's May 21 show features Louisiana composer Stephen Beck's "Sarahnade," based on sounds made by his baby daughter, "Strange Bugs Stranger" for trumpet, saxophone, and computer, and "Millennium Bugs" for mixed ensemble and computer. At Beall Concert Hall on May 23, the Oregon Percussion Ensemble features the world premiere of "The Oregon Variations" by Los Angeles composer David Johnson, who'll perform on marimba, and the West Coast premiere of "La Chunga de la Jungla" by Mexican composer Eugenio Toussaint. The show also includes Steve Reich's mesmerizing "Six Marimbas," and works by Karlheinz Stockhausen and William L. Cahn.
AX BILLY GRILL & SPORTS BAR BLACK FOREST CAFÉ PARADISO CLUB TSUNAMI COFFEE GROVE COOPERATIVE CORNUCOPIA • COUNTRY SIDE RESTAURANT COUNTRYSIDE COZMIC PIZZA@THE STRAND•All
Ages DA HOUZE DOWNTOWN LOUNGE EMBERS SUPPER CLUB EUGENE WINE CELLARS GOOD TIMES JAXX LOUNGE@PREMIUM POUR JO FEDERIGO'S JOE'S BAR & GRILLE JOGGER'S BAR & GRILL
JOHN HENRY'S THE JUNGLE LATITUDE 10 CAFE All
Ages LAVELLE'S WINE BAR & BISTRO
LUCKEY'S CLUB CIGAR LUNA MAC'S AT THE VET'S MAX'S TAVERN MCDONALD THEATRE All Ages MCSHANE'S BAR & GRILLE MONROE STREET CAFE All Ages MULLIGAN'S PUB OREGON ELECTRIC STATION OVERTIME GRILL PEABODY'S PERUGINO QUACKER'S RED LION INN
SAM BOND'S GARAGE SAM'S PLACE SAMURAI DUCK STACY'S COVERED BRIDGE SWEETWATER'S TAYLOR'S BAR AND GRILL TINY TAVERN WETLANDS WOODSMAN BAR & GRILL
WOW HALL All Ages CORVALLIS AJ'S BOMBS AWAY CAFE IOVINO'S RISTORANTE MURPHY'S NEW MORNING BAKERY All
Ages PLATINUM NIGHT CLUB SQUIRREL'S TOMMY'S PEACOCK
karaoke TH: The Cooler, Da Houze, Duck Inn, Lone Star
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