Flatbush Zombies & the Underachievers
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K k OCTOBER 2014 VOL. 26 #10 H WOWHALL.ORG KWOW HALL NOTESK g k THE UNDERACHIEVERS LEFTOVER SALMON FEATURING FLATBUSH ZOMBIES & BILL PAYNE (OF LITTLE FEAT) AND THE UNDERACHIEVERS Friday, October 31, is Halloween. This the “Day of the Dead” online singles year the CCPA and University of Oregon series, they also served up some behind-the- KYLE HOLLINGSWORTH BAND Campus Radio 88.1 FM KWVA proudly scenes videos billed as Zombievision. On Thursday, October 9, the Community Center for the Performing Arts and KLCC welcome Flatbush Zombies and The proudly welcome back Leftover Salmon feat. Bill Payne of Little Feat for a co-headline bill Underachievers sharing co-headlining duties THE UNDERACHIEVERS with the Kyle Hollingsworth Band. on their wildly titled tour: “Clockwork “I ain’t just rhyming,” Issa Gold, one Colorado slamgrass pioneers Leftover Salmon played the WOW Hall frequently between Indigo Presents the Electric Koolade half of The Underachievers, says in 1991 and 1995 – has it really been that long – and were a lot of people’s “favorite” band. Experience.” “Chrysalis”. “Keep up.” He’s rapping, (Ed. Note: Including my best friend’s preteen daughter, who once proudly proclaimed, “When The Anthony Burgess-and-Tom Wolfe- which is much more difficult. Rapping I grow up I’m going to marry Vince!”) referencing trek comes in the wake of The requires him and his partner AK to choose Looking back over the past 25 years of rootsy, string-based music, the impact of Leftover Underachievers’ recent Cellar Door: a flow, or melody, for their lyrics; some- Salmon is impossible to deny. Formed in Boulder at the end of 1989, they were one of the Terminus Ut Exordium LP and a handful thing they can use to parry the beat or run first bluegrass bands to add drums and tour rock & roll bars, helping Salmon become the of singles from the Zombie crew. While it down or surf. The duo puts the pedal to unwitting architects of the jamgrass genre. Flatbush Zombies delivered a handful of the metal more often than not, exercising a Though the lineup would change through the years, the foundation of Leftover Salmon tracks via their “Day of the Dead” singles slightly archaic style of MCing: deft, speedy, was built on the relationship between co-founders Drew Emmitt (vocals, guitar, fiddle, man- series earlier this year, the trio have yet to highbrow, tough to perform at the end of a dolin), Vince Herman (vocals, guitar, washboard) and Mark Vann (electric banjo). Following properly follow up their 2013 mixtape set. Colloquially, rappity-raps. a decade of constant growth and constant touring, on March 4, 2002, Mark Vann lost his BetterOffDEAD. Producer/rapper Erick The Underachievers named their third battle with cancer. Vann insisted that the band carry on and Salmon did so for several years Arc Elliott (a.k.a. Erick the Architect), how- album The Cellar Door because the phrase leading up to an indefinite hiatus in 2005. (Ed. Note: The Mark Vann Foundation provided ever, is gearing up for the TBA release of is among the most phonetically beautiful in the seed funding for the WOW Hall’s first Sound & Light Workshops) his Arcstrumentals Vol. 1 beat tape. the English language — regardless of its Today, more than two decades after Salmon first took shape, the band has a new album, meaning. Aquatic Hitchhiker, a new banjo phenom named Andy Thorn, and a new lease on an old FLATBUSH ZOMBIES “A lot of people don’t really understand agreement. Produced by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin, Aquatic Hitchhiker is Leftover Salmon’s A trio of mad chemists with time on what rappers are saying, but they enjoy it first record in eight years and first ever of all original material. Leftover Salmon is officially their hands, Flatbush Zombies are your because of the flow,” states Gold. In nam- back. worst nightmare. Having severed ties with ing the album that, and in using SAT words Today, Leftover Salmon is: Vince Herman (vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin); mainstream America with their free mix- like “Quiescent” and “Caprice” as song Drew Emmitt (vocals, mandolin, acoustic and electric guitar, mandola, fiddle); Andy Thorn tape (a decidedly anti-establishment romp titles, they’re saying it’s OK if you don’t (vocals, acoustic and electric banjo, National guitar); Greg Garrison (vocals, acoustic and aptly titled D.R.U.G.S.), Juice, Meech and catch every word; if, right now, you don’t electric bass, acoustic guitar); and Alwyn Robinson (drums, percussion). k Erick returned with BetterOffDEAD. know everything. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 BOD contains an unrelentingly manic, pul- Gold says he makes music for “the sating energy within its horrorcore aesthet- youth” and defines that group broadly: “We ic, threatening after every bridge or inter- know that we need change. But I don’t lude to explode in a mushroom cloud of know how to bring about that change.” Technicolor plasma. Tickets are $17 in advance, $20 at the Breathing life into the once-rebellious door. Doors open at 8:00 pm and show- INSIDE spirit of hip-hop, Flatbush Zombies do time is 9:00. Costumes, zombie or other, PAID things their way. This year, in addition to are encouraged. H U.S. Postage U.S. Permit No. 303 No. Permit FLATBUSH ZOMBIES Eugene, OR 97401 Eugene, THIS ISSUE Nonprofit Organization MARV ELLIS & WE TRIBE P.2 SOUND AND LIGHT WORKSHOP P.2 THE POLISH AMBASSADOR P.3 FUJIYA & MIYAGI P.3 THE GROWLERS P.4 KITKA P.4 THE LONE BELLOW P.5 MINNESOTA P.5 JEFF AUSTIN P.5 CON BRO CHILL P.6 J. RODDY & THE BUSINESS P.6 G JONES P.6 RUSSIAN RED P.6 P.7 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED KALIMBA Community Center for the Arts Performing 291 West 8th 97401 OR. Eugene, AB-SOUL P.7 K k WOW HALL NOTES The Community Center for the Performing Arts is located in the Historic Woodmen of the World Hall (W.O.W. Hall), 291 W 8th, Eugene, Or 97401, (541)687-2746, [email protected], www.wowhall.org, Box office hours Mon-Fri Noon-6:00 PM. Printed monthly by Western Oregon Webpress, Circulation 3,800, General Support made possible by a grant from Lane Arts Council with support from City of Eugene Cultural Services Division, Copyright 2014 All rights reserved Notes Staff: Copy Editor & Advertising Representative - Bob Fennessy, Layout & Design - James Bateman CCPA Staff: Program Coordinator - Calyn Kelly, Membership Coordinator & Publicist - Bob Fennessy, Stage Manager - Selena Frame, Asst Stage Manager - Justin Showker, Office Managers - Donna Carbone, Ross Shuber, Bookkeeper - Kimberly Johnson, Volunteer Coordinator - Laura Farrelly, House Manager - Sam Harmon, Concessions Manager - Angela Lees, Custodians - Richard A., Shawn Lynch Volunteer Staff: Sam Hitchcock, Dru Pulliam, Zac Townsend, Dan Wathen, Art Gallery Director - Sam Harmon, Poster Distribution - WOW Hall Poster Crew, CCPA Board of Directors: Chair: Aaron Dietrich, Vice Chair: Mike Janes, Secretary: Sara Shmigelsky, Treasurer: McKenzie Goodwin, Members: Sean Cannon, Mayo Finch, Jacqueline Hamer, Craig Lawrence, Mike Meyer AL • WE’RE OC VE L R E WE’RE SA ’R T EUGENE’S I E BAGEL! L W E MARV ELLIS & WE TRIBE Downtown West Eugene 810 Willamette 4089 W. 11th ALBUM RELEASE PARTY 341-1335 868-1072 On Saturday, October 4, the ideas happen that way: in the Each brings decades of musical www.bagelsphere.com CCPA and University of Oregon moment, without ego and sponta- exploration and experience to Campus Radio 88.1 FM KWVA neously in a way that is only pos- build a sound that is cohesive and proudly welcome the Marv Ellis sible when everyone on stage confident while maintaining the and WE Tribe Album Release trusts each other. And if all of most important thing a live show Show featuring Alcyon Massive this is starting to sound like an should bring: FUN. and Metric System; hosted by after school special, or a little too In a lot of ways this is what Michael K. The event features a cheery and motivational to be Marv envisioned when he started WE Tribe Photo Exhibit and Live cool, enter experienced, classically the ambitious hip-hop orchestra Art Mural by Kauz. trained jazz musicians Matt Imaginary Friends, and he was It takes a special kind of MC Calkins and Dorian Crow on moving in this direction with the to admit Mister Rogers is his hero saxophone and upright bass. Platform when he lived in Portland. and pay homage to the gentle, Then think about the drummer Now back in his hometown, many wise public television personality role being filled out by scratch DJ of the things he’s worked for over on a recording. Marv Ellis & WE DV8 and the old-school beat mak- the years have started to gel. All Tribe have done just that on the ing of one of Eugene’s godfather’s he needed was a telepathic broth- new song “Garden of Your Mind” of hip-hop Sage Lien, who still erhood and he has that now. on the live hip-hop fusion band’s rocks a vintage ‘90s ASR-10 sam- “WE trust you will like WE debut album Five for One, drop- pling keyboard complete with Tribe if you give it a try,” declares ping in the group’s hometown of floppy discs. Marv. Eugene Oct. 4 at the WOW Hall. All five musicians share a Alcyon Massive is a musician PBS released a remixed version vision of sending positive messag- devoted to helping ‘dream the of Mister Rogers offering his es, but juxtaposing that with a world awake’ through this spiri- encouraging knowledge, and the crunchy, gritty sound that grounds tual lyrics and signature blend of video went viral with more than itself in early hip-hop techniques hip-hop meets reggae.