Upcoming Events: Apple Jam 2010

Memorial day weekend this year will be home to yet another Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge in Washington. This year’s lineup has been a source of great skepticism to many of the festival’s regular patrons, putting questions of value at their hands. Many say that the cost of Sasquatch, which is close to three hundred dollars before factoring in other expenses, may be a bad investment this year with a much smaller ratio of well-known bands to unknown. This claim appears particularly pertinent this year, especially with the severe fiscal issues that have drowned the U.S, and many have begun searching for other options that will not leave their wallets so empty.

Among the more affordable solutions for this dilemma is Apple Jam, to be held in Provolt, Oregon. The festival’s second year is approaching and the experience seems to be a good trade for those that seek a festival experience without the added financial burden. Though the artists that will be attending are largely unknown, the experience promises to showcase local talent, while providing a high-spirited atmosphere for music and art lovers to assemble. The festival will open its gates on Friday, May 21st and will proceed throughout the weekend. With a weekend pass costing $25, and an in-site camping pass costing only $5, it would appear that this festival could certainly be a viable option for those looking to save some money.



“The best festivals feature talent you've never heard before, and a good environment for it all to happen in,” says festival organizer Zack Karr, who will also be playing the venue with Ashland’s Karrgo Bossajova. Beyond all the music and arts though, the festival will offer more than expected in terms of activities. Among the more unique characteristics of Apple Jam is an “open jam” on Sunday, an event in which anybody that wishes may sign up and jam on stage to their heart’s content.

Fun festivals for music and art enthusiasts are constantly being held across the nation, many of them are large, crowded, and expensive. Many, however, take a different approach and decide to support local music. So if you are questioning any of the more expensive festivals this year, be it as a result of the financial trouble this nation has fallen into, or if you are simply looking for something new, Apple Jam may be the experience you are searching for.

The Secret Society of Giraffes

With a growing fan base here in Eugene, the electronic psychedelia that is “The Secret Society of Giraffes” discards convention to create a style all of its own. With solid beats, strange time signatures and lyrics that tend to evoke personal apocalypse, the project is a unique powerhouse that challenges human perception. With smooth progressions throughout songs, often leading to explosions of sound, it becomes increasingly more difficult to fight the urge to dance.

“I try to write songs about living in the world, and a lot of them are about mistakes I’ve made.” Says nineteen-year-old Ali Muhareb, the sole mastermind behind S.S.G, whose solo work is undoubtedly the crown jewel of his music career thus far. Though he has years to go before reaching a zenith, this young artist still has the power to amaze. At such a young age, it becomes startlingly clear that Muhareb has a lot of time left to build upon his already abundant talent.

With mostly processed vocals, fans of clean, vocoder-free music may find difficulty in “The Secret Society of Giraffes” at first, but before long the way in which the singing is crafted grows into an entirely novel experience. With heavy vocalization, the words are extracted from their usual context, thus allowing the lyrics to reach an almost instrumental state. This, along with many similar characteristics, makes up the essence of originality that lies within Muhareb’s tracks.


(Photo: SSG: it's what's for dinner)

From the calming progressions of “God’s Of Sound” through to the utter freak-out that is “Powerful Beat”, the LP “We’re all Doomed/It’s Alright” contains many of Muhareb’s signature sounds. Most of the tracks found on this album are also seen at S.S.G shows, where the young artist is sometimes joined by guitarist Denis Rickard who adds a fuller, more psychedelic feel to the project’s futuristic sound. Beyond this, Muhareb designs his own lightshows that only serve to heighten the senses further.

The project has already been the subject of abundant votes for this year’s “PDX Pop Now” festival that will take place in Portland over the summer, and with the imminent release of a new EP entitled “The Earth is a Snow Globe” it will be hard to miss Muhareb and his “Secret Society of Giraffes” in the not so distant future.