HITTING THE ROAD
Xplorers taking off permanently • . .
The Xptorers are splitting up
sort of
‘We re not really breaking
up,' says Henry Cooper, we re
relocating '
Cooper and John Barley, the
founders of the group, and
drummer Martin Reiber plan to
move to Europe sometime this
summer 'Eugene is becoming
a ghost town," says Barley,
"and Portland is almost as bad,
as tar as clubs closing "
The three mention Amster
dam as a possible relocation
point but their plans are not
complete
"We got about as far as a
local band can go," says
Cooper "Basically we want to
get out From there, things are
subject to change without no
tice Sate ends Tuesday "
Meanwhile, saxophonist
Frank West will stay in Eugene,
possibly to join the others later,
and bass player Fred Kellogg
plans to move back to his
hometown. New York.
Cooper says the early days
were like beating our heads
against a wail, not having a lot of
money, not being known " Now.
almost two years later, jobs are
more regular, but The Xplorers
have still been unable to break
into some of the local night
spots. "0'Callahans, Hookers,
they think we re punk rockers."
says Cooper "It’s stupid, we re
not anything close to that.”
"They won’t hire us because
we don’t do the accepted for
mula." says Barley.“You know,
shag haircuts, spandex pants,
hype, light shows
‘Trying to pretend to be
something you’re not,” says
Cooper, letting your hair grow
out and pretending you’re Rod
Stewart A lot of those bands are
a sot of show and no go It's
about ten years behind the
times They don’t take us ser
iously and take advantage of us
because we don’t have a slick
manager
‘But we’ve always done okay
The people who go out (and
listen to music) are okay. If it
wasn't for them we'd already be
gone ”
They hope that European
audiences will be more ap
preciative of their brand of mu
sk:, “I think they like it all over
t
Europe," says Cooper They
know and appreciate American
i^usic more than we (Amer
icans) do."
And just what is their brand of
American music? "Solid Amer
ican roots music," says Barley,
including The Fabulous
Thunderbirds. Dave Edmunds,
Creedence Clearwater Revival,
Roy Loney (ot the Flaming
Groovies) and Merle Haggard
‘It's American music, that says
it all," says Cooper America
has a lot going for it; Jazz, blues,
country and rock and roll."
"With the coming of The
Blasters the stuff that we do
might finally have its day," says
Barley, "and that's why we re
going somewhere where what
we do might finally get noticed.**
Although it's been rough
here, the band bears no
grudges ‘Tm not down on
Eugene," says Cooper, "none
of us are. But we need a
change."
Their goal in Europe is to
work steadily to an appreciative
audience and make some mon
ey, he says Until The Xplorers
leave, they plan to work as much
as they can, with many local
gigs scheduled and a farewell
concert June 13 at the WOW
hail
by mark pynes
The Xplorers (Frank West,
Henry Cooper, John Barley,
Marlin Reiber and Fred Kel
logg) are calling it quits in
Eugene and '‘relocating,” else
where, possibly Amsterdam.
photo by mark pynm
but Siegel likes it here
Another Eugene musician is heading out
of town Unlike The Xplorers, he'll be back
as soon as he can
He's Dan Siegel, the Eugene whiz kid who
made good He's the musician who lately
seems to always have an album on the top
of the jazz charts But to Dan Siegel himself,
he's just a guy who's doing what he wants to
do — and having fun at it
"My whole goal for the future is to remain
doing what I am doing right now," Siegel
says. "I'd like to keep writing and perform
ing live If I can keep doing that, I'M be
happy.
"Of course, the culmination of writing is
being able to record it Putting it on a record
and hearing it on the radio is, for me, totally
gratifying I mean, what else could you do?
Siegel s recording career spans just four
albums, yet all have made their mark on the
jazz charts Night Ride, Tht Hot Shot, and
Oasis have all climbed well into Billboard's
jazz chart Dan Siegel, his latest work, is
currently the most played jazz record on
album-oriented rock stations in America
Billboard debuted the album last month with
a bullet — which means ifs supposed to
"shoot to the top
The reason Dan Siegel is expected to do
so well probably has to do with some
changes Siegel has made His first three
albums were on the Inner City label — a
good, but small — operation Now Siegel
works for Elektra, a much bigger label that
carries more weight in the music industry
"Going to Elektra was definitely a step
forward for me," Siegel says. "It's like going
from the Eugene Ems to the Los Angeles
Dodgers With the move came more money
and better promotional opportunities "
And on Elektra, Siegel is in good com
pany
Lee Ritenour and Grover Washington Jr
are a couple of the jazz musicians playing
on the Elektra label Even though this is the
first year Elektra has signed jazz artists, it is
now recognized as the top jazz label in the
nation, Siegel says
Of all the labels I've seen, they are the
absolute best,” he says They aren't too
big — like Columbia where you can get lost
— yet they've got Warner Brothers backing
them up, which means they’ve got the best
distribution in the world."
Siegel graduated from the University of
Oregon in music composition in 1976 He
grew up in Eugene, married his wife Melissa
here two years ago, and plans on staying in
the area as long as he can
There was a day, however, when Siegel
almost left Eugene for a bigger city — where
he would find a larger market for his music.
“I was going to move to L A. before I did
my first demo tape, but Allen (Kovac,
Siegel's manager) talked me out of it,"
Siegel says "He said, There are enough
people down there already who are starv
ing. just like you want to do'. So I told him I'd
give it a little longer Six months later I got
the deal for my first album.
"Now there's no reason for me to move
down to L A ," he says "I'll just go down
there for business occasionally, and other
wise I can live a normal existence here
Well, semi-normal anyway.”
Siegel and his band will be living a less
normal existence for the next few months,
as they’ll be on the road through the middle
of July promoting Siegel's new album
The tour will take them first to Disneyland,
where they’ll perform on Memorial Day with
Lee Ritenour, Spyro Gyra, and Woody Her
man Then they'll head for shows on the
East Coast, and stop at a few midwestern
cities along the way
Now there’s no reason for
me to move down to L.A.’
Stan Garrett, who handles national
promotion for the band, says Siegel draws
good crowds in towns like Syracuse, Ro
chester, Atlanta and Miami With the expo
sure Elektra plans to give Siegel, he should
draw bigger crowds than ever
The crowds are different in the Midwest
than they are here," Siegel says "I think
music is more a part of their culture For
them, recreation is going out to bars and
buying records So people there are gener
ally more responsive, which makes us feel
good "
Siegel first became interested in jazz and
«
i
!
Dan Siegel
fusion when he was a junior in high school.
He played rock and roll in several bands for
a couple of years, but found he grew tired of
it.
"It got to be too simple, and it wasn't
rewarding anymore,” Siegel says. "There
was just no challange to it.
“Rock and roll is kind of like toilet paper,”
he says "People use it once and then flush
it down the toilet, because it has no real
lasting value It's only good for what it can
be used for at that moment."
But Siegel still appreciates the roots he
has in rock, because he uses a lot of rock
elements in the music he now plays.
"Since my background was in rock, I had
the ability to cross over to a jazz-rock-pop
vein,” he says “What made my music hap
pen was a combination of these elements.
Now that it’s been happening for five years,
it's hard to say where it will go
"For now our plans are to tour behind the
record, and make that happen It looks real
good, but it's going to be hard work," he
says
“I'm looking forward to the future."
by chris courtnier
cfPet/ifi/t(j *1 Pouts /
Invitations at Paper Parlour Ltd. second floor, Galleria.
& kis
Rock N* Roll
Revue
Feoturing on 11 piece bond"
four women singers.
With Special Guests
Robert Cray Band
Sunday, May 16 ~ 8 pm
Moc Court — Special ampitheater seating
Tickets.
S6 50 & 17 50 UO students S8 00 0 J9 00 general public
At EMU Mom Desk Everybody s Records in Eugene/Corvallis
6 Eorth River Records on the downtown mall
U
Cultural Forum presentation
May 14, IS, 19-22
8 p.m. Robinson Theatre
686-4191
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