Amazing things can happen when people from all walks of life come together for a common cause. I witnessed this firsthand Sunday night at the University of Oregon, where the Arab Student Union held its fifth annual Arabian Nights event at McArthur Court. The students managed to bring to the event world-renowned rapper Omar Offendum,
Very seldomly does anything newsworthy happen in a seemingly small town such as Eugene, Oregon. Well, I should take that back–this year saw local concerts by Gogol Bordello, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and even the legendary Elton John. (Oh, and our football team went to the national championship game, but that’s an aside.)
Artist: Portugal. The Man Genre: Psychedelic/progressive rock From the political uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East to the Midwestern United States, a sense of awareness and community seems to be spreading throughout the globe. Personally, I can’t get enough of that hope-y, change-y feeling – but then again, I’m about as far to
BestNewBands.com Genre: Funk, Soul Mood: Party time, upbeat Just like Minneapolis seemed to deliver a slew of talented acts to BNBTV (Hastings 3000, Phantom Tails, The Goondas), Portland area bands have been gracing our internet stage, starting with The Stagger and Sway. So get your fedoras out, ’cause before us we have a group embracing
BestNewBands.com Take a pinch of Death Cab for Cutie’s honest but evocative lyrical style. Add a dash of Ben Lee-sounding vocals. Combine with a vintage Tom Petty feel, and mix with a hint of folk-country twang. Sprinkle with a warm sense of community. Your tasty result? Eugene, Oregon’s The Stagger and Sway. With this video,
Oh, Rocky Votolato, your beautiful voice and sweet songs have been missed. We wondered where you had gone. Your last album, The Brag And Cuss was quite somber, but we loved it all the same. Now we hear that you were feeling low and took a break from the world, quite literally. You did a
Pepper Rabbit’s off to quite a busy 2011 so far: after releasing their debut album, Beauregard, late last year, the duo of Xander Singh and Luc Laurent has played a non-stop string of shows with the likes of Passion Pit, Freelance Whales and Miniature Tigers. I recently had the opportunity to interview Xander Singh –
Spencer “Skip Wicked” Burton of Indubious Society is a funny thing: from birth we’re immersed into an unspoken set of rules and standards. We come to understand what’s socially acceptable, from how we style our hair to what we wear to the set of core values and traditions we believe we should uphold. And yet,
At Sam Bond’s Garage, there are certain things one can always count on: a packed house, and stronger-than-you’d-suspect beer. Local musicians Stagger & Sway know this, and even penned an ode to the notorious Eugene bar that encaptures the weird quirks that make Sam Bond’s special. Now, I’d consider myself a Monday-night bingo and Tuesday-night
2010 was quite the year for Medium Troy – and for me as well. I first met MT this summer at the Oregon Country Fair; the band was my first interview for BestNewBands.com. Since then, I’ve interviewed artists such as Gogol Bordello and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, while the boys of Troy have