Take ‘em or Leave ‘em

It’s summer again, and everybody is ready to throw their mundane lives aside for some time out. For many, this break takes the form of a weekend camping trip to an overly commercialized — but nevertheless pretty — hosted campground; for others, ridiculous tourist traps like California and Cancun seem to be the only options. But if everybody and their dog decide to go on vacation, what actually happens to the dogs? What about the cats, birds, iguanas and all the other weird creatures that people like to detain and keep as friends? When we humans decide to spend a few days throwing all sorts of money into relaxation, what exactly are we to do with our pets?
Many Eugene pet owners seem to choose the outdoorsy options (camping, backpacking, etc.) because these are pet friendly ways to take time and relax. You can bring your pooch camping most places in Oregon, but national parks such as Crater Lake have restrictions on pets and do not allow them on trails.

For those who are not the outdoor type (but for some reason feel that bringing their pet along on vacation is an absolute must), there are an abundance of Oregon establishments that cater to the canine and other furry clientele. This ranges from inns and hotels to vacation rentals and resorts. If these places don’t cater to pets, one response that has worked for some is stuffing your little friends into a backpack and sneaking ’em in Trojan-horse style. Disclaimer one: This may not work with small yappy dogs. Disclaimer two: We’re not suggesting you do this, just that it happens sometimes.


(Photo: Mandie Stuhan, Lucky Dog)

Now, for those who want to venture far from home, attachment to these cute little life forms tends to pose a larger problem. Paying extra to have your dog locked in a cage for four hours while you fly across the country sounds awful, not to mention the fact that you’re locking up your precious poodly-kins. But here’s the good part: Pets, as much as we sometimes want them to be, are not children. Eugene is littered (pun intended) with cat and dog daycares and boarding kennels, so don’t rule them out as a possibility. This is not to say we should ditch our pets, but rather to weigh the pros and cons of bringing them long distances to crowded vacation spots.

One of the coolest options open to Lane County dog lovers who want to leave town but don’t want their beasties to languish without the benefits of the great outdoors is the Canine Campout provided by the highly certified Mandie Stuhan, owner of Lucky Dog. The campout basically involves your dog living a fun and healthy outdoor lifestyle at the coast or out hiking for a few days. They can “run on the beach, have fun and basically just chill,” says Stuhan.

So take ’em or leave ’em, the choice is yours.

Talk to Lucky Dog about their Canine Campout at
744-BARK


(In the 7/29 issue of EW)

Young Homeless In Eugene: Cover Story

Tim, age 20, Radcliffe, Ky.

“My entire family has been made up of criminals, addicts, alcoholics and car mechanics,” Tim says. He’s been homeless for about two months, he says, and lives on the doorstep outside of John Henry’s. He earned his GED from an adult education center and recently got a job at the Wendy’s on Franklin Boulevard.
He left the South because, “Kentucky seemed bland, you know? I just wanted to see the world for what it was.”
“I want to be a carnie; it’s my life dream to own a traveling circus.”


(Eugene Weekly 7/1 issue)

Jesus, age 16, Eugene
He calls himself Jesus because, “I was on mushrooms and decided that, not unlike Jesus, I see everything for what it is.”
Jesus says he was raised by a normal family in the Whiteaker area and was homeschooled til about halfway through high school. He’s been homeless since he was 13. Jesus used to live in a traditional homeless shelter, now lives on the doorsteps of businesses in downtown Eugene.
He says that nobody ever gives homeless people — much less homeless kids — the time of day to hear their stories. “Living outside of society, trying to keep equilibrium with everything around.”
He manages to make an average of $10 in an hour (on a good day) by asking for change.

(From the Cover Story: Eugene Weekly 7/1)
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2010/07/01/index.html

Voodoun Moi: My First Writing In Print

Picture this: A bar in the early years of jazz, notes floating softly from the stage and smoke lingering in a thick haze. Okay, now throw that bar into a time machine, sex it all up a bit, and set the date for 2010 — you’ve just discovered Voodoun Moi, a new outfit that includes Eric Valentine and Genevieve Bellemare, former members of “Next Best Thing, Eugene”-winning band John Giovanni.

With a delicious concoction of nu-jazz, funk and folk, this groovy quartet combines smoky, better-than-burlesque vocals with sly grooves, bass lines and rhythms right out of jazz music’s sassiest eras. Damn hard to capture their sound in words, so best to see them live and let the music speak for itself. Voodoun Moi plays with Phoebe Blume at 8pm Friday, June 25, at WOW Hall; $10 adv., $12 door.

(From the 6/24 Issue of Eugene Weekly)

Sleigh Bells First LP Blows my Face off Twice

(This is a good Thing)

Last year the first traces of the face melting, bone shaking noise-pop project that is Sleigh Bells found their way onto the Internet and immediately gained a following. With the digital release of their first full-length: “Treats”, the music world just got a notch louder. After listening to the album, I am fairly certain that the band stole their amps from Spinal Tap; near every song has at least a minute of flinch-inspiring volume that forces the listener to wonder how in God’s name they finished recording without destroying their equipment.


The truly unique aspect of Sleigh Bells’ music however is not their extreme threshold testing, but rather the perfect contrast that is created between Alexis Krauss’ sugary (and for the most part calm) voice and Derek Miller’s violent distortion. The sound certainly bares comparison to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, with the female lead vocal reigning supreme as pandemonium ensues
around them.

With opening positions for Yeasayer and Major Lazer helping put their name on the radar of thousands, this band should become one of the more renowned bands for 2010. Though I have yet to experience the duo live, I have read that the floor shakes from start to finish. This, I can only assume, is an accurate depiction. After all, it’s not hard to imagine the opposite-of-tender sounds that make up “Crown on the Ground,” “Straight A’s” and “Kids” scoring points on the Richter scale.

For me, “Treats” leaves every other 2010 album thus far dead in the water. This is a true example of auditory perfection: Chaos and harmony both play their respective parts in making Sleigh Bells’ “Treats” one of the most unique and enjoyable albums I have ever heard.

Upcoming Events: Wolf Parade

The five—and more recently four—man Montreal group Wolf Parade will release their third LP entitled “Expo 86” on June 29th and thus far the tracks that have been pre-released are sounding impressive. After mild disappointment with their second album, it is comforting to hear some remnants of “Apologies to the Queen Mary” shining through. Though the loss of Hadji Bakara will leave a hole in the band’s sound manipulation department, this is not by any means a death sentence for Wolf Parade’s sound. In particular the layering of high, melodic lines on the new “What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had to Go This Way)” is quite evocative of the classic Wolf Parade style that so many listeners crave.


(Wolf Parade - "Expo 86" Album Cover)

It has been almost two years since the band’s “At Mount Zoomer” tour carried them here to unleash blissful chaos on the McMenamin’s Crystal Ballroom. Upon entering the show I was not anticipating a particularly lively show—after all Wolf Parade’s studio sound had always seemed oddly tame to me in conjunction with their upbeat style—and so I (foolishly) decided to wear open toe footwear. In hindsight I can safely say that the 2008 show was the most definitive sweat-shower of my life: Over the course of their set I received several bruises, caught countless foreign sweat drops in my eyes and mouth, watched from across the pit as my friend battled with a violent asthma attack, and lost both of my sandals. I am expecting nothing less from this summer’s concert. Wolf Parade will hit the Ballroom on July 27th; get tickets, get sweaty, get out satisfied.

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.