4
■bass. He takes his cues from Monte “Calhoun"
ICohen. Calhoun is playing what seems to be an ovef^
Isized hollow-body Gretsch with an odd finish that
■makes it look orange. Whatever the color of the finish,|
Calhoun's Gretsch has a huge sound, with an amazing
:larity.
The singer Teddy Boy Roy leans back in a chair
Ifacing the others, holding a microphone gingerly in
|his right hand. This leisurely posture is un
:haracteristic for him. If he were onstage, he'd be
■moving, twirling, leaping on his toes and shaking.
The Billy Boys have been together for only two
Imonths and already they're making a dent in the
Itugene bar scene. Their first gig was opening for The
tilkmen at B.). Kelly's. Since then they've played
Aax's, Old Taylor's and some disreputable bars out-of
fown. The Billy Boys will be playing the beer garden
this afternoon.
When asked about the evolution of the band,
they're reluctant to say much. The brief career of
krms Akimbo is the only band they're ready to recall
"We've all been in previous bands," Calhoun says,]
|"but nothing as good as this."
The Billy Boys style is rockabilly — but not without
taint of roadhouse raucous rock'n'roll. They have a
Ifast-paced, infectiously danceable guitar sound that
■loses nothing when Calhoun trades off the hollow
■body Gretsch for his Gibson les Paul '55.
Calhoun met Roy at a private party at the Hilton,
/here they both expressed their affinity for rockabilly
I— but not the homogenized revivalists blend. It took i
|few months, but they soon had a band together and
/ere playing.
Anyone who caught their first gig at B.). Kelly's
Isaw they were rough, but was impressed by their
Ipotential. Since that gig the band has steadily improv
jed but hasn't even neared its potential. The Billy Boys
[play a tight eclectic set consisting of rockabilly tunes,
[the almost mandatory cover songs and four or five
I Roy originals.
It's only been two months but they already have
|some stories to tell.
When they played the Blue River Tavern ("We
■country it up," Calhoun says) a wizen country
gentlemen shuffled up to Calhoun while he was tun
ing. "You don't want to play too loud so's we can't
■hear the music," the gent says. Calhoun just gave him
|a quizzical look.
The Billy Boys are constantly adding to and
I polishing their repertoire. Tonight they're trying out "I
Get So Excited (When I Rock'n'Roll)" by Levi. The pro
[cess is interesting. Silver thumps along, picking up the
Ibass line, as they listen to the song. Calhoun strums
Jin time, occasionally breaking into a lead. Becker taps
(time on his high-hat. Every so often they break into
[the song, then pause to listen. They puzzle out their
Ivarious parts.
"So it's verse, bridge, solo, bridge," Silver says.
"What kind of riffs you want?" Becker asks, doing
Isome. "I can do basic shit..."
"Yeah," Calhoun says, "boom, pata pata pata,
Iboom..."
"Shit, let's just play the song," Roy says.
Becker counts and they jump into the song. Roy
Isings the lyrics from a sheet. Calhoun is hesitant on
■the lead, but goes on. Silver looks away, concentrating
|on the bass line. Still, the song sounds sharp and they
?nd it satisfied. Now the perfecting begins. They play
lit over and over again until they are more than just
Isatisfied — until thev can almost call it their own.
I
1
Rough Mix
Rough Mix fits the classic definition of a bar band|
respectable bar band. Their two guitars, bass and
frums line-up — also classic — is well-suited to the
^ype of music they play.
Like so many bands, the members of Rough Mix
ire all but camped out in drummer Stephen Perry's
[living room rehearsing. Perry's drums are backed up
against the front window. Amplifiers are stacked on
:hairs Mike Winn, rhythm guitarist, is over by the,
couch. Lead guitarist John Sullivan is right in front of*»
’erry's bass drum. Kevin Winn, bass guitarist, is sitting*-!
>n a stool with his back to a cupboard, sandwiched inp
?tween the dining room table and the door to the
citchen.
Not only is their rehearsal space tight, so is their
/ersion of The (English) BEAT'S "Save It for Later."
According to Kevin Winn, Rough Mix's style leans |
jo "danceable music...but it's got to be fun.
"We try to play types of music they (the audience)|
iren't familiar with.. broaden their horizons," Perry
says, then adds with a laugh, "But when they're on
their second beer, they don't care."
Rough Mix's style is less a raucous, guitar
iominated one than a powerful, but balanced sound.
St's evident in the songs in their repetoire. Their play
ist is full of Rolling Stones, Who, and Beatles' songs,
yith a few Ramones, Cure and Cars' songs for good
leasure.
Probably Rough Mix's greatest strength is its
rhythm section of Winn and Perry. Perry's drumming’'
(is taut, with crisp riffs and sharp fills. Rather than be
jing the instrument carrying the tempo, Perry's drum
ling counterpoints the guitars.
Kevin Winn's bass playing isn't what could even
casually be called the usual style. He tends to play his ]
jass loud, and more than providing the bottom, he
jften adds a few runs. Winn is also notorious for his
I theatrics while performing. It's unusual for a bass
player to be windmilling a la Pete Townshend, or leap-J
ing from the drum platform to the stage.
Winn has also received dubious noteriety for a cull
on his finger. The last time they played Max's, Winnj
opened a cut on his middle finger and subsequently
bled all over his bass. It's a joke among the band
members. They ask him if he's cleaned off his strings
yet. Apparently he does this often.
"If he doesn't (bleed), then we don't have a good
|night," Perry remarks as the others laugh.
Kevin Winn and Perry are alumni of the Graphics,|
a Eugene band that gained a reputation as a solid
rock'n'roll band two years ago. Bill Preib of the
Cashiers was also a member of the Graphics. That
band paid its dues in bars all over town, eventually
getting to open for Los Xplorers at their W O-W. Hall
farewell gig. V
Perry and both of the Winns go back farther than
the Graphics.
"It all started in 1979, on a rainy day at the
I McDonald's in Medford, Oregon..." Perry says
bemusedly.
Rough Mix (a recording studio term for the mix on|
I the master tape) "describes our sound," Winn says.
"We knew the sound we wanted, coming out of the
Graphics."
That sound is straight forward, classic bar band
I rock'n'roll, with its emphasis on danceability, but still
a little rude around the edges.
Rough Mix will be playing The Lost Dutchman in
Springfield Sunday, then B.J. Kelly's and maybe Max's
later in the month. Gail Perry is the band's manager
and she's found it difficult to get Rough Mix gigs, let
alone a hearing.
"It's tight in Eugene, because there's a lot of R&B,
and blues bands," she says. To find the band gigs she I
takes a tape they made to bar owners. But she's found|
most, unlike B.J. Kelly's or The Lost Dutchman, are
reluctant to book a new band.
Rough Mix is always refining and adding to their
repertoire. Tonight they're learning Cars' "Party Doll"
and Nick Lowe's "Switchboard Susie." They don't real-|
ly like the synth-pop stuff. "We like a guitar sound,"
says Mike Winn.
"We have to like it," Sullivan says. "We have to
|play it night after night."
The Commotions
Does the name Commotions ring a bell? Probably j
lot — but you might know this band as the Evolu
tionary Dance Band. That does ring a bell, although
•the Commotions would like to dispel forever their
association from that band.
“We got negative reaction (about the name) from'
a lot of people," says David Meyer, "including some
of us."
"We had to change the name," he adds. "Bar
owners reacted to the name."
The name change followed some switches in the
band's line-up. David Meyer, drummer Bob Beisser
and rhythm guitarist Ron Kleim still remain from the
original Evolutionary Dance Band, but they've added
Jane Hart Meyer on keyboards and Pete Weinberger
on bass guitar. And thus are the Commotions.
"Jane and Pete joined two months ago. Ron and I
played together for about a year," says David Meyer.
The Commotions show a lot of versatility and
musical know-how. They have a very fresh, very
modern sound and a contagiously hip attitude to what |
they play.
They also have an excellent ear for tunes to play.
"We do a lot of '60s stuff.. upbeat," he says.
Normally they rehearse in Beisser's garage, but
this week they were set up in the Meyer's living room.
(On one wall are multi-colored posters from previous
gigs, with their previous name, at the Black Forest
Tavern, Taylor's and other venues.) They started off
with "It's My Party," the Lesley Gore song. Jane
Meyer's vocals were particularly sharp. She can hit
and sustain high notes with strength.
There's a trace of raggae in many of their ar
rangements, like "Under the Boardwalk" and "Party.'
And just fooling around, they jump into "Ready.
Teddy" with Kleim doing the vocals.
In addition to the 1960s tunes, the Commotions
also have their "Surf set," consisting of Dick Dale and]
the Delltones and Ventures classics like "Walk, Don't
Run" and "Pipeline." The surf set is a favorite of the
fraternity parties they've played.
"They always request 'Louie Louie'," Jane Meyer
says.
The Commotions repertoire all but spans the three|
decades of rock'n'roll. They play the "British invasion
stuff" and lots of the new music — from Elvis P. to
Elvis C.
But the Commotions aren’t content to play covers.
A good part of their set consists of originals. "We're
the only band in town that does our set list on an Ap
ple Lisa," David Meyer says.
David Meyer and Kleim do most of the writing.
Kleim's "Got To Have Heart" is an uptempo number,
with Kleim exchanging rhythm guitar for lead guitar. ]
There's a lot of instrument exchanging between
songs as the three guitarists have the versatility to play
bass on one number and lead on the next.
But, getting gigs has been something of a
problem.
"Eugene has more good bands than places to
play," Jane Meyer says.
"We play mostly the 'Gravy Circuit' — as The Billy |
Boys dubbed it — Dexter, Oakridge, Blue River
Tavern," David Meyer says. They get paid more at
these places than they would for a gig in Eugene.
They like playing The Pump House in Junction Ci- ]
ty. Wienberger says "it's a good place" partly becausej
Of the unique clientele.
"There are the under 25s, the 30-to-50 group, and
they all dance," David Meyer says.
"You can play all kinds of songs there," David
Meyer says.
"Old Taylor's is the best place to play in town,"
Kleim says. That's because of the crowd and the am
biance, he adds.
The Commotions haven't overlooked the contem
porary fusion of music and video; they have two half
hour videos airing on cable access channel 11. They
did one for "The Paul Burnett Show" and the second
for "Potluck." Both were taped under the Evolutionary
Dance Band moniker.
What separates The Commotions from other
Eugene bands is their versatility, the hipness of theij^
music and a thoroughly modern attitude.
Tl*
A name is a name is a name - or is it
Editor’s Mote: A band not only makes a
name for itself by the music it plays, hut it
gives itself an image by the name it
chooses Whether we hear the music or
not, the sound of the name strikes a
curious chord. You can bet these Icxal
groups didn’t consult a PR firm to come
up with an appropriate tag.
"The Milkmen," says member Randy
lark Haines, "play rewed-up SOs and '60s
music, semi-obscure r&b, rock and roll.
songs by popular old artists, plus a small
percentage of originals."
The name, Haines adds, came from two
band members, Boyd Small and Henry
Cooper. Surprisingly, Small and Cooper
arrived at the same name at the same time
without each other's knowledge. "What I
like about it is that you can paint your own
picture, " Haines says. "We wanted
something that was different. It works
because it doesn't pm us down too
much."
The sound of Bete Noire, according to
member Skip Moses, is described as funk
rock, soul, rock'n'roll and borderline new
wave. The name, he says, apparently came
from Sylvan Duplant's wife. (Duplant is
the group's bassist and vocalist who was
born in France.)
"The name is French," Moses says, "and
it means 'my pet aversion.' I think it has a
slightly negative connotation, but on the
other hand, it's something that bothers
you a little and you like at the same time.
There are some people who know what it
means, people who don't, and people
who translate it literally." (Bete Noire
translates literally into black beast).
"To most people," Moses adds, "it just
has a nice, modern, new wave ring to it."
Teddy Boy Roy of The Billy Boys
describes his band's sound as "toughed
up rockabilly." Still, he doesn't want to be
known as a rockabilly' band.
"We play anything with a kind of a raw
edge," Teddy says. "We take old songs
and beef them up."
Roy says that when bassist Billy Silver
left town for a few days this fall, the rest of
the band snuck the name in as a joke on
him. "Silver sings one song and I sing the
rest," says Teddy.
"The name has sort of an English
derivative, like something out of 'A
Clockwork Orange.' It's sort of futuristic,
like a gang. That's the way all bands are,
like a gang. The name leaves itself open to
interpretations".
Louis Samora of The Jackals says his
band plays — simply — rock and roll.
"The band's name," Samora says, "is
concise. It's only one word. The word
itself means business. It means little
yellow dog.' I thought of it because we’re
all dogs in the band, every member, and
we re out for one purpose only. That's to
rock."
Vocalist Jorge Navarro of Whatsisname
(and a bunch of other guys) says his band
plays a combination of funk, r&b with
horns and Latin music.
According to Navarro, 'Whatsisname' is
pianist Mike van Liew and the people who
play with him. The rest of the line-up occa
sionally changes, but van Liew is the
group's focal point. "The name," Navarro
adds, "leaves kind of a cool image. Relax
and have a good time."
Marty Schwarzbauer