Rain or shine the concert goes on
First Annual Oregon Music Festival tunes up Sunday
Come drizzle or shine, four of Oregon’s finest
bands will grace the Agate soccer field this Sunday
for the first annual Oregon Music Festival. The
noon-to-sundown event is the brainchild of the EMU
Cultural Forum’s Program Committee — the same
people who bring us Beer Gardens and Spaghetti
Feeds. This more ambitious undertaking promises
some raucus and varied entertainment.
Eugene’s own Lon Guitarsky will open the
Music Festival with its original brand of high energy,
jazz fusion. Guitarist and founder/leader Don
Latarski is thrilled about where the group is now
and where it is going. With personnel changes of
four months ago bearing fruit, the release of Haven,
its first album (due in July), and the prospect of
West Coast touring within the next six months,
Latarski has a lot to be thrilled about.
"We’re sitting on the edge of something very
exciting," he says, adding, "Musically,
personality-wise, and in terms of potential, we’ve
never been better.”
The group has been plagued by personnel
changes since its inception four years ago. But new
members Kevin Deitz, bass, and Mike Snyder,
1
drums, are in the band to stay, and they have
brought a new sense of stability, focus, and musical
progression.
Keyboardist and vocalist Jack Buddeke has
been with the band for several years. He and
Latarski compose all of the group's music. Lynn
Baker, soprano/alto/tenor saxophone, has been
with the group for a little over a year.
“The identity crisis is over," Latarski says. “All
of our previous problems are worked out now."
Almost all. The closure of the Eugene Hotel
hurt Lon Guitarsky. “We were the house band,"
Latarski says. “Now we don’t have a home."
The group’s successful engagements in
Ashland, Corvallis, Salem and Portland provide
some solace, but the members would like to play in
Eugene more often than opportunity allows.
“All the clubs here are playing rock and roll,”
Latarski laments. “They're afraid to book us
because they think we’re jazz. But we don't play
jazz.”
“What we play is high energy, electric music.
We use jazz harmonies, but our our rhythm is... ”
“Funk-rock-contemporary-Latin,” Mike Snyder
interjects. “There’s no other way to describe it.”
To give a general idea of Lon Guitarsky music,
Latarski offers the names Spyro Gyra, Pat Metheny,
and Steely Dan. “But,” he insists, “I don’t think
there’s anybody else doing the kind of music we’re
doing.”
The Music Festival audience can expect some
strong rhythms, strong melodic lines, intriguing
harmonies and some hot, imaginative soloing from
this listenable, danceable and highly respected
band.
Following Lon Guitarsky, an exciting new
Portland group will make its first appearance in
Eugene.
Kukrudu, which translates as “earthquake,”
has been heralded by much critical acclaim in
Portland for its high-powered, high-spirited
performances, which blend the traditional and
contemporary music of West Africa with Western
pop and jazz.
Ghanian master drummer Obo Addy, founder
-1
and leader of the group, knows how to play his
unique and original music, but is not quite sure
what to call it.
"I haven’t found a good, new name for our
music yet But when I do, it will be a simple African
name, easy for Americans to pronounce.”
He is not quite satisfied with having his music
described as Highlife. “It’s not Highlife music.
Highlife is more like calypso. Our music is more
rhythmic. It is Highlife with more traditional music in
it.”
Few people have had as much exposure to
traditional African music as Addy. From the time he
could walk, he studied drumming under the intense
supervision of his father, a village priest and
medicine man in Ghana.
At the age of 18, Addy embarked on his own
career. He worked in numerous nightclub bands as
percussionist and vocalist and performed on radio
and television in Ghana. Eventually he was enlisted
by the Arts Council of Ghana to study, teach and
perform the traditional and regional music of the
country.
He began to compose extensively, formed the
group Oboade with his brothers, toured the United
States, Europe and Japan. Recently he settled in
Portland, where he teaches and performs. He has
been working with Kukrudu since last August.
Addy's compositions have been recorded by
Hugh Maskela and on his own record, Kpanlogo
Party.
Percussionist, drummer and vocalist Brian
Lavern Davis is co-founder of Kukrudu. Brian
played with Upepo for five years, then left to
perform, tour and record with Herbie Hancock. He
has also performed with such notables as Slim
Gaylaird and Airto.
Richard Burdell, trumpet/flugel
horn/percussion/vocals, created and played for
the well known Northwest band Cruise Control. He
has played with Upepo, many prominent Northwest
musicians, and studied with jazz greats Woody
Shaw, David Baker, and Joe Henderson.
The list goes on. Mark Bjorklund, bass, Alan
Hohlgren, reeds, Tulim Graves, guitar, and Valerie
Day, percussion and vocals are all multi-talented
musicians with strong backgrounds in ethnic music
and jazz.
Kukrudu ought to have a lot of people on their
feet with their explosive, percussive, eclectic music.
The Bill Feldmann Band will blast off, following
Kukrudu, with some indigenous North American
music: rock and roll.
The group, during a recent appearance at B.J.
Kelly's, exhibited some excellent vocal and
instrumental talent, and some dynamite original
material which draws from a wide spectrum of rock.
Bill Feldmann is the leader of the band in name
only. Feldmann, guitarist Ron Stevens and
keyboardist Mark Bosnian form the core of the
group. All three of them write, and all three of them
sing extremely well, both in harmony and
individually.
Ron Stevens’ rich clear voice, with its beautiful,
tasty ornamentation, is conspicuously strong.
Stevens summarizes the styles of the three
vocalists: “Bill likes to sing gravelly — he’s more
into the New Wave thing. I try to sing clean and
sweet — kind of like Kenny Loggins And Mark, he's
somewhere in between.”
The diverse musical inclinations give the band
a broad base to work from. The tunes are hard
driving, substantive, well concieved and executed.
They display a strong, easy command of different
rock idioms.
Calvin J. Walker’s intelligent, detailed work on
drums goes beyond the bare simplicity that
characterizes so much rock drumming, without
losing its driving force and vitality.
"Calvin’s a mother, man!” Stevens says. "Of all
the people in the band, he's the best on his axe.”
But Bill Feldmann is pretty hot on his axe too.
His frantic, rollicking guitar solos are excellent, and
Stevens’ are decent too.
The band members have been paying their
dues in the Portland area for quite some time, and
are hoping their original sound will catapult them
out of it.
"Our main thrust,” Feldmann says, "is to not be
playing in the Tavern circuit, which we've been
doing for years and years.”
Feldmann is best known for his lead guitar work
with Johnny and the Distractions. In fact, it was
Feldmann, Stevens and bassist Rick Edwards who
were the original Distractions. The threesome also
played together in The Wasted Rangers.
Walker was the drummer for Cruise Control,
and Bosnian did a long stint with The Burnside
Bombers.
Although the band has been getting good
press, and a good public response, they are not yet
drawing well.
“Sure, we got a lot of rave stuff,” Feldmann
says. "But we were expected to draw like Johnny
and the Distractions. We’re only five months old.
We’re still a brand new band. People don’t know
who we are yet.”
Their appearance at the Music Festival ought to
change that.
Upepo, one of the Northwest’s most popular
bands, will top off Sunday’s entertainment with
some of its well known and well loved high-energy
Latin rock.
Upepo has been together for eight years, and
exhibits a cohesion and confidence that shows it.
The band boasts two new members, and retains
four originals.
Upepo’s bright, driving sound needs little in the
way of introduction. But recently the band has been
shifting its emphasis, moving from rock-influenced
Latin, to Latin-influenced rock.
The stronger rock orientation, with a lot of New
Wave and ska concepts, has a few of Upepo's old
fans grumbling, but at the same time it has been
gaining many new ears, which is what the band
wants.
“We want to make our music more accessible,"
bassist Micheal Kersey explains. “The Latin
influence is still there, but now we use it as a texture
rather than a focal point.”
The crossover to rock has entailed an
increased emphasis on vocals, as well as on guitars
and synthesizers. Glenn Rueger, a newcomer to the
band, contributes much to the electric sound with
his work on keyboards.
The second new member is drummer,
percussionist Steven Blomberg. The other four are
more familiar to Eugenians. Micheal Kersey plays
bass, Charles Croft plays lead guitar, and they both
do percussion and vocals.
The multi-talented David Nelson, songwriter for
the band, plays the steel drums, alto and soprano
saxophones, guitar and percussion.
Stanford Wood plays congas, percussion and
vibraband, a flexible reed instrument, really an
exalted rubber band, which puts out a sound
somewhat like a trumpet.
The band has an album out, International Ties,
which Micheal Kersey calls a consolidation of
Upepo's older material.
Upepo is a great band, and ought to put a nice
finish on this fine, eight hour event.
Tickets are $3.50 for students, $4.50 for the
general public, and can be purchased at the EMU
main desk, or ordered there by phone: 686-4363.
Tickets are also available at Toad Hall Hi-Fi and
Bremen Town Records.
In the event of heavy rain, the festival will take
place in the EMU ballroom. Due to limited space,
only tickets numbered 1-1000 will gain admittance.
Tickets numbered 1-1000 are availiable at the main
desk only. The rest will be refunded at the main
desk.
In the event of light or sporadic drizzle, the
Festival will still take place as planned, at the 18th
and Agate soccer field.
The gates open at 11:30 a m. T-shirts with the
Oregon Music Festival logo on the front, and the
names of the bands on back, will be available.
Medical facilities will be provided by White Bird
Clinic. No bottles, cans or pets will be allowed in the
concert area, but plastic containers and boda bags
are O K.
The First Annual Oregon Music Festival is a
unique opportunity to see, hear, and dance to some
of the hottest music the Northwest has to offer.
Story by Matthew Taylor
Photos of the Bill Feldmann Band
by Dennis Tachibana
Other photos provided by the Bands
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344-7894
764 E. 13th
--
KALAMARAKIA Squid simmered
in wine, herbs and garlic, served with rice
and dinner vegetables.
A Dinner Specialty
$5.25
Tables Outside
poppis
675 East 13th 343-0846
Hours 11 30 am -10 30 p m weekdays
9 a.m.-10:30 p m weekends Closed Tuesdays'
Greek Peasant Food, Wine—and Spirit!
The NIGERIAN Students Association
presents
ft niGdRIfln CULTURAL niGHT
Admission: S3.00
Tickets: Obtainable at EMU Main Desk or
at the door.
Featuring: Speech on cultural and other
developments in Nigeria, movie, slides on
modern Nigeria, Highlife music,
exhibitions, traditional food (several kinds).
May 17, 1981
5:30 p.m.
EMU