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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1985)
When you see Monti Amund son, songwriter, guitarist and leader of Boys Club, you know immediately why the Club is one of the most powerful rock groups on the Eugene musical scene. Boys Club is on the way up, and Amundson is definitely ready for the climb. On November 19, they opened for the Motels at the Hult Center, and Paul Dustrud, Hult Center technical director, says there are more gigs in store. Like many local musicians, Admundson. 28. has been into the blues from an early age. He identified Johnny Winter as one British rock ‘n’ blues invasion, he admired Eric Clapton, saying he identified with Clapton because he was “not particular iy intelligent, just 'folks’." Locally speaking, he says that Jimmy Cochran, formerly of the Party Kings, is “the baddest guitar player in town, or anywhere." Amundson says that the idea of rock music not being ag gressive is ridiculous. His idea of the ideal rock group was Boston's Aerosmith, who were serious, musician's musicians, as well as having extremely high energy — like Boys Club. Amundson says that Boys while some aspects of the new musical technology can be used tastefully, high-tech can be abused. "How can you be nitty gritty when your music is pro grammed?" he asks. He says that while the band was naturally interested in pro ducing professional, commer cially saleable music, all the members of the group wero determined not to abandon their roots, based predominantly in the blues and rhythm-and blues. Amundson says that all three front members of Boys Club. Steve Ibach (guitar). Billy Barnet (bass) and Cory Burden Boys Club Is currently recor ding at Gung-ho Recording Studio, a 16-track facility operated by Barnet in Eugene. They are planning to release their first album-length cassette throughout the Northwest in early 1986. Amundson says that they are getting airplay on KZEL and KRXX here in Eugene. “We don't see any reason to go to Los Angeles and become cynical musical burnouts," Amundson says. Satisfied for now with regional exposure. Boys Club "knows how to play the West Coast." he says, ad ding that if a chance for national (1. to r.) Steve Ibach, Cory Burden. Billy Barnet and Monti Amundson are the men of the Eugene's own Boys Club,. They have an LP-length cassette due early in 1986 and can be seen monthly playing at Taylor's Tavern. They also will be part of KZEL's repertoire at the radio station's annual Christmas bash at The Factory in Sprinfield, Dec. 18. of the strongest influences on his performing style. Surprisingly. Amundson says he also thought country-and westem was one of the most ex citing fields in music today, naming Waylon Jennings. Hank Williams and Johnny Cash as country musicians he admires. He says that blues and country and-western are real American music, though he would not identify himself as especially patriotic. Although he wasn’t par ticularly interested in the Club is completely self contained. “We don’t have managers," he says, adding that not too long ago, he told two record companies to “fuck off” because of what he called obscene contractual demands. Boys Club’s members do a lot of musical research, and try to keep on top of the latest trends in rock. “You get a lot of info about what people are watching (on MTV),” he says. On the other hand, Amund son agrees with Lloyd Jones (of the Lloyd Jones Struggle) that (drums), can interchange bet ween guitar, bass, and piano, (bach doubles on drums as well. Amundson says this is impor tant when playing in a band because each member instic tively knows what the in struments he's not playing should sound like. Versatility is important in achieving the Boys Club sound, and keeps band members creativity alive. Ibach says that Boys Club was "the only band I’ve ever talked myself into." work came along, they would know when to grab it. The band members call Taylor’s Tavern their home base. They can be heard there at least one weekend per month, sometimes two. Also, they will be appearing at the Shilo Inn in Springfield on December 15, 22, and 29, as well as at KZHL’s big Christmas bash at The Fac tory in Springfield on December 18. Story by William Homans Photo by Karen Stallwood skill and love — A wealth of for his art Offer saxophonist Carl Woideck the chance to earn big money by making a career of something unconnected to music, and you'll get a quick, maybe griping, refusal. He'll turn you down because, though he's not glorifying being pour, he needs time to work on what he considers his best form of expression — jazz music — par ticularly the saxophone. And learning to improve on that expres sion, through the many musical avenues he's chosen to pursue, is paramount with Woideck. Any compromise on this matter would seem ludicrous, even under serious financial constraints. Another "art for art's sake" tale? Maybe. But the 38-year-old musician says his link to jazz music as an art form, temporarily thwarted by his early haste to be good over night. is having positive effects on him as well as the community. "I'm a late starter." Woideck says of his appreciation for jazz as art. "I'm 38 and at a point where I wish I was 25 or something, ar tistically and technically. "I wasn't really willing at the beginning to do the work hard practicing. I stopped taking lessons after a few lessons and wanted to be self-taught. So I tried to teach myself, but I found out that I was making for a lot of holes in my playing, my knowledge of music and of the horn. "For a long time it was very frustrating. I don't think I sounded good because 1 simply wanted to be good and have fun without doing the work. I wanted the immediate expression and talent." he admits. When he was 28. and fed up with the second-rate musical caliber he desperately wanted to avert, Woideck came to Eugene for schooling at Lane Community College He says that to help him become a respectable jazz musician, an academic discipline was essen tial So, he look Iwo years at LCC and two at the University's School of Music. The rewards were fruitful. Everything he now does is music-related, and his work is ex tensive: He teaches jazz history at LOC, gives private lessons to budding saxophonists, plays in the Eugene Jazz Orchestra and his own "In The Pocket” jazz trio, and has a weekly radio slot on KLCC-FM called "Focus on Jazz." But while all the work may look like a strong capital gain. Woideck says the balow middle-class income simply buys him enough time to support his habit, and his habit is art. „ "If i make enough money to take care of security, a roof over my head and my health, money is rtbi that useful to me if it gets past that break-even point where I have less time Story by Eric EoBoff Photos by Karen Stallwood and energy to do things that are important to me," he says. "There are certain people who spend their time making money. They come home and they're tired, and so they spend their money on consumer gadgets. Hut for me. I figure money should buy you time." For artists and musicians like Woideck. having enough money to buy time often depends on how popular or conducive the per forming arts climate is in certain cities. Woideck says artists' potentials are somewhat limited in Eugene because there are always too many musicians for the number of working nights available to them. Woideck is here because he has admitted ly made a trade-off between "good quality art and good quality living." "Some artists are not that interested in the quality of life. They'll live in a rat hole in New York because New York is a fantastic place for art," Woideck explains. "They'D go through that and they'll become somewhat closed-in creatures, and at one point creatures fearful of being mugged or something. They’ll lower their horizons and a lot of quality of life issues for their art;" Between the time spent working to secure bare necessities and time spent actually enjoy ing the quality of life in Kugene. Woideck says he's working to improve himself as an artist — a musician with a message to tell. And for him. that involves polishing the way he presents himself and his music with what he's actually communicating through his saxophone. "For me. it’s a question of working on my technique without losing sight of what I call the poetics of art. what I'm trying to say," he says. "Technique has never been my strong suit, but 1 need it very much to tell my story. "And to do that I'm interested in looking at the similarities, the commonalities among all the arts, which come down to the poetic aspect of art, the aesthetic part of art.. .you know, like to listen to something and be able to say. 'Wow. that's art.’ " How does Kugene benefit from having so meone like Woideck around? He says that regardless of how his students musical tastes may differ from his own, he can at least give them a working knowledge of the history behind the different styles of jazz. And because the styles of jazz are eclectic in Kugene, he says, his students can enjoy knowing and appreciating the roots to each jazz style on any evening out. "1 see my students in the night clubs digging Continued on Page 8B couPOi^%%mwra«im| Order your glasses between Dec. 12th & Dec. 31st, 1985 and choose one of the following FREE: ★The lint of your choice on plastic leases. or ★Scratch resistant hardcote on plastic lenses, or ★ Photogray Xtra of Photobrown Xtra. Glasses must be paid in full at time of order. 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