La Zoo captures wild sound in tame studio setting
■ The release of the CD
“Media Zebra” offers fans
a chance to hear the live
sounds they’ve loved for
years and come to expect
By Yael Menahem
Oregon Daily Emerald
La Zoo.
Interesting name for a band
whose sounds are as eclectic as its
name. The music is a “mixture of
funk, hip-hop, acid-jazz [and]
global-groove,” the group’s gui
tarist/percussionist Brent
Bosworth says.
Fans of La Zoo and new listeners
alike can hear that catch-all mix at
the Wild Duck Saturday night,
when the band throws a CD release
party to celebrate “Media Zebra.”
The six current members of the
band have been together for five
years, and this CD is either La
Zoo’s second or third release, “de
pending on who you ask on any
given day,” reads the liner notes
for “Media Zebra.” Band mem
bers are Bosworth, Eric Abate, Ed
win Coleman III, Will Moye, Dave
O’Toole and Brian Price.
This latest La Zoo release is the
result of six to eight months of re
hearsals in the form of live shows.
The band recorded “Media Ze
bra” at Eugene’s Pro Arts Produc
tion studio during one weekend.
The sound that La Zoo aimed for
was a reproduction of its live
sound but created in a studio.
Bosworth maintains that many
bands record a CD in the studio
and make themselves sound better
using studio tricks that they can’t
reproduce onstage. La Zoo man
aged to do a studio recording that
captures the sound that its fans
have loved for years and know
they will hear at a live show.
The band also wanted to make
this 18-track release more radio
friendly, without losing its jam
session sound, Bosworth says.
Each member of the band con
tributes to writing the music, and
as a group they fuse the various
efforts to create their sound as a
group, though “most songs are
doctored,” Bosworth says.
The band’s influences range
from Miles Davis to Yes to The
Beatles, and each musician’s his
tory has spanned decades.
Bosworth has been a composer
for 30 years and has performed
with bands such as Wisdom Star,
the Bosworth Brothers and White
Liberals. Abat§, who sometimes
adds a touch of French rap to the
music — he’s originally from
Lyon, France — attended the ac
claimed Aimera Jazz School of
Music in France and is a former
member of the group Love, Death
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Courtesy of La Zoo
La Zoo plays its funky brand of jazz Saturday night at the Wild Duck. The show doubles as a CD release party.
& Agriculture.
With its second (or maybe
third) CD packaged and ready to
sell, La Zoo is planning to tour in
San Francisco and Los Angeles in
February. Abate plans to visit Eu
rope soon with hopes of landing
the band some overseas jazz festi
val dates for this summer. In addi
tion, Bosworth says the band is
also interested in having its songs
appear on film and television
soundtracks.
Catch La Zoo, an original band
with a funked-up acid jazz sound,
Saturday at the Wild Duck, 169
W. Sixth Ave. Doors open at 9
p.m., and the music begins at 9:30
p.m. Tickets are $5 and can be
purchased only on the day of the
show.
VH1 rock poll denies satisfaction
■ A recent poll conducted
by a music video station
offers some off-base picks
for the top rock song
By Jack Clifford
Oregon Daily Emerald
In case you missed this news
last week, VHl conducted a poll
of 700 music industry people,
and the group chose The Rolling
Stones’ “Satisfaction” as the
greatest rock song of all time.
That choice begs an obvious
question: What exactly does VH
stand for, “Very High”?
Don’t get me wrong, I like the
Stones. In fact, when I turn 80
years old I’d like nothing better
than to have Mick and the boys
play at my birthday party. If
they’re not still on the road, that
is. (What might a 2050 Rolling
Stones tour be called, “Steel
Wheelchairs”?)
Seriously though, the VHl top
selection is a fine tune and any
one older than 25 years has prob
ably engaged in some rather illic
it activity while listening to the
1965 song about, what else, sex.
But rockingest ditty ever?
Don’t think so. In fact, Keith
Richards has said that the words
and music came to him one night
while he was sleeping, which
doesn’t exactly evoke images of
raising the roof.
By the way, how did Richards
recognize the difference in his
consciousness?
To be blunt, “Satisfaction” is
n’t even the best Stones song of
all time. “Sympathy for the Dev
il,” which at least made the list of
100 greatest at No. 26, is better
than the poll winner. For that
matter, so is just about anything
off that “Sympathy” album,
“Beggar’s Banquet.”
Todd Schwartz, VHl program
ming director told the Associated
Press that “[‘Satisfaction’] kind of
sticks up as an anthem for the
time it was released and for every
generation that came since.”
Yep. All of those wacky kids
going bonkers during last sum
Commentary
Jack
Clifford
mer’s Woodstock were secretly
wearing headphones, listening to
Jagger’s lips flap, while Limp
Bizkit’s cry to “Break Stuff’ went
unheard.
More to the point, the list
didn’t have anything on it past
the 1991 release of Nirvana’s
“Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which
ended up No. 41. So, let’s see the
Beach Boys “Good Vibrations”
makes the cut at No. 8, but Beck’s
“Loser” doesn’t even crack the
top 100. Who sponsored the vote,
the makers of Prozac?
Schwartz pointed out that the
voters for this poll were older
than the network’s usual audi
ence, which falls into the 30 and
older category. Remember that
Abbie Hoffman once said never
trust anyone over the age of 30.
Amend that to read “especially
voters in a rock-music poll.”
Easily the most glaring omis
sion from the list is a song, any
song, by Santana. In a monumen
tal lapse of music appreciation,
voters put Billy Joel’s “Piano
Man” in the top 100 but left off
Carlos Santana, the “guitar man,”
arguably the best ever.
“Free Bird” made it for God’s
sake, but not Santana? Supernat
ural forces must have been at
work.
Another unacceptable over
sight by the voters was ignoring
Chrissie Hynde and The Pre
tenders. Ask any female rocker
today who influenced her the
most, and the overwhelming re
sponse would be Hynde. Either
“Middle of the Road” or “Brass
in Pocket” would be a perfect
choice from The Pretenders.
Getting back to the overall line
up, Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”
came in second. Since dishing
dirt on the Queen of Soul is
strictly forbidden, we’ll let that
choice slide. Besides, the song’s
pretty damn good.
Following Aretha in slots three
through five are Led Zeppelin’s
“Stairway to Heaven” — What?
Not “Whole Lotta Love” or
“Dazed and Confused”? — then
Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling
Stone” and finally Bruce Spring
steen’s “Born to Run,” perhaps
the most sensible pick of the top
bunch.
Pickings became more ques
tionable as the top ten rounds
VHT’s top ten rock
songs of all time
1. “Satisfaction," The Rolling
Stones
2. “Respect,” Aretha Franklin
3. “Stairway to Heaven," Led Zep
pelin
4. “Like A Rolling Stone," Bob Dy
lan
5. “Born to Run,” Bruce Spring
steen
6. “Hotel California,” The Eagles
7. “Light My Fire,”The Doors
8. “Good Vibrations,” the Beach
Boys
9. “Hey Jude,” The Beatles
10. “Imagine,” John Lennon
For the complete list of 100 songs,
plus the top ten in other cate
gories, go to the VH1 Web site,
www.vhl ,com/insidevh1/shows/
KXLgreat.
SOURCE: VW
out. “Light My Fire” by The
Doors in seventh place? The Bea
tles’ “Hey Jude” in the ninth
spot? Oh, the humanity.
Interestingly, the song most
likely to be heard coming from a
high school marching band,
“Louie Louie,” finished 11th
overall.
So what is the top rock song of
all time?
Right. You don’t expect me to
answer that one, do you?
No thanks. I just write the cri
tiques, I don’t provoke them.
Unless, of course, you want to
debate the best movie of all time.