Genius and madness slam heads at the WOW Hall
■Chicago native and cult
icon Wesley Willis provides
Eugeneansan unmatched
musical experience
By Rory Carroll
Oregon Daily Emerald
Wesley Willis is a rare individ
ual. At 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds,
the man attracts attention.
It was easy to find Willis before
he took to the WOW Hall stage
Tuesday night. He was in the lob
by, of course — chatting, laughing
and head-butting his awestruck
fans.
Willis began performing music
and selling his urban drawings on
the streets of Chicago. He was dis
covered there and has since
recorded an astonishing 30 al
bums on many different labels, in
cluding Alternative Tentacles,
which is owned and operated by
former Dead Kennedy singer Jello
Biafra.
Willis’ bewildering and prolific
songwriting skills and other
worldly approach to music have
made him a cult icon. He is an
artist and musician who was diag
nosed with schizophrenia at an
early age. His music is a combina
tion of hilarious, foul-mouth
lyrics tempered with new-age syn
thesizer hooks and a pounding
two-beat bass line.
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At the show, Willis was also a
marketing machine, selling his t
shirts and pushing his new CD,
“Greatest Hits, Volume II” to
everyone that approached. He
signed autographs and urged peo
ple'to sponsor the nonprofit
agency Support Coalition which
encourages alternatives to forced
psychiatric procedures such as
lam excited to play. I
am excited to whip that
I lama's ass.
Wesley Willis
musician
mandatory drugging.
When asked if he was excited to
play, Willis responded as only he
can.
“I am excited to play. I am excit
ed to whip that llama’s ass,” Willis
said.
Marvin Stockwell, frontman for
the Memphis-based band Pezz, a
rock/punk group that is opening
for Willis on this tour, said that
this tour is a totally unique experi
ence. Stockwell describes playing
on the road with Willis as being a
“joyride.”
“Wesley has a great heart and
loves people and performing,”
Stockwell said.
On stage, Willis methodically
pounds on his Technic KN 2000
keyboard, his eyes intensely fixed
on the keys. He looks on his lyric
sheets, typed in all caps, and
reads/raps the words to the verses
before the inevitable belting of the
chorus/song title.
Many of Willis’ songs culmi
nate to his famous closing phrase,
“Rock over London, rock on
Chicago.” On Tuesday, he re
placed “Chicago” with “Eugene,
Oregon” several times, and the
crowd roared with approval.
Never has there been an artist
with such accessible sing-along
material. He announces the name
of the song multiple times before
Photo courtesy Wesley Willis
At 6-foot-5,320 pounds and more than 700 songs and 30 albums, Wesley Willis rocks over Eugene Tuesday night.
he plays it, and it is certain that the
title will be the only line of the
chorus. Every song is exactly the
same length, but on Tuesday, he
restarted his songs multiple times,
taking pains to get just the right
speed and instrument mix.
The attraction to Wesley Willis’
music is a perplexing one. Stock
well said that people come for a
variety of reasons, and not all are
positive.
“At its worst, it’s frat guys get
ting their jollies watching a dis
abled guy. But a lot of times the au
dience is made up of a lot of
people who really love Wesley,”
Stockwell said. “Wes feeds off a
crowd that loves him.”
He said that Willis’ straightfor
ward personality and genuine
friendliness make him a fan fa
vorite.
Still, touring with a man who
hears voices in his head can be
challenging, said Stockwell. He
said that on this tour, they have
seen some very positive shows, in
eluding an outstanding night in
San Francisco. Other nights, in
cluding a recent show in Lake
Tahoe, found Wesley being
ridiculed by the audience.
Joey Mullinix, bass player for
Pezz, said that Willis hears voices
of two demons in his head —
demons named Nerve Wrecker
and Heart Breaker. It is these delu
sions that constitute his diagnosed
schizophrenia. Stockwell said
that Willis is conscious of when
he is being a burden on those
around him, and that he can some
times be very critical of himself.
“There is nothing so sad as
when I hear Wesley get down on
himself,” Mullinix said.
At the show on Tuesday night,
the people there who were only
interested in the spectacle were far
out numbered by those who were
driven by curiosity and interest in
this one-of-a-kind performer.
It’s hard to decide what the best
songs of the night were. Willis'
songs all follow the exact same
form and the music only varies
slightly in tempo and key signa
ture from one song to another.
Still, his new song “Stop Driving
Like an Asshole” and “Get Your
Groove On” were big hits.
Both Stockwell and Mullinix
said that few people realize that
Willis is outstanding with math
and directions. They said that he
can remember the license plate
numbers of cars he sees only once,
and that he at any given time he
knows exactly how many hours
he has been alive.
Wesley Willis is a walking para
dox. On the surface, his lyrics
seem like improvised piffle. But
his strict adherence to song form
makes the listener think twice
about the intention of the artist.
At the end of the night, Willis
made a vow to return to “rock on
Eugene,” and the crowd respond
ed enthusiastically to the promise.
“I will rock here again pretty
soon,” he said.
Cheap date
continued from page 1B
* No matter who you are, male
or female, that special someone
will be yours forever once you
show him or her a little kitchen
proficiency. (Nobody has to
know that all you did was follow
this article step-for-step.) Being a
good cook is especially valuable
during your college years, when
chicken strips at Carson Hall
pass as a delicacy.
Trust me. Your talents will be
rewarded.
This is a little recipe for a
unique dish that anyone with
half a brain can make for less
than $20. It looks good and tastes
great, and with the right mood
and setting, this homemade pas
ta will capture the heart and
stomach of your date.
This is all you have to do:
You’ll need the following in
gredients, which can be pur
chased at Safeway at these
prices. A bag of penne rigate
($0.67), one pint of heavy whip
ping cream ($1.69), one can of
crushed tomatoes ($1.29), olive
oil ($3.45), and a jar of Italian
spices ($1.69). This is all you’ll
need to make the pasta and the
sauce, at a cost of $8.79. But the
authentic Scrooges may leave out
the olive oil (it just improves the
consistency) to bring the cost
down to $5.34.
To make the sauce, combine
crushed tomatoes, one-half tea
spoon olive oil and two shakes of
the Italian spices into a large
saucepan. Stir frequently over
medium heat until the mixture
dissolves, then simmer on low.
{ ( This is a little recipe
fora unique dish that
anyone with half a brain
can make for less than
In the meantime, boil the pas
ta. When the pasta is cooked, add
the whipping cream to the sauce
until it reaches the desired thick
ness. (Keep in mind the sauce
will thicken further as it cools.)
On your finest plates, — if you
must use paper plates, at least go
with the Chinet — pour the
cream sauce over the noodles
and serve.
To complement the meal, I
suggest a simple side salad and
bread. An Italian salad in a bag is
easy ($1.99), but a head of ro
maine lettuce ($0.99) is cheaper
and fresher. A plethora of mouth
watering Safeway-brand dress
ings, including Italian and
creamy Italian, are available for
just $1.99.
For a real treat, buy a loaf of
French or sourdough bread
($1.99) and some Parmesan
cheese (32.50). With these, you
can make a simple but delectable
cheese bread in a few easy steps.
First, turn your oven on broil.
Placed buttered bread on a cook
ie sheet and generously sprinkle
Parmesan over each slice. Broil
for about two minutes or until
golden brown.
Finally, if you’re a real go-get
ter, buy a bottle of wine. This can
really add to your costs, but a
cheap bottle of Merlot can go for
as low as $3.50. For the under-21
crowd, a bottle of sparkling apple
cider ($1.50) will suffice.
For all this food - the pasta and
sauce, salad, cheese bread and
wine - you’ll be spending under
$20. Cut a few corners (sparkling
cider instead erf wine, plain toast
instead of cheese bread and no
olive oil), and the damage will be
closer to $12.
Now — and this is the most
important step — you must cre
ate “the mood.”
Obviously, nothing says ro
mance like a candle-lit dinner.
So dim the lights, turn off the TV,
unplug the phone and light a
couple candles at the dinner
table.
Put some soothing tunes in the
background, but keep the vol
ume low. I’ll leave the selection
up to you, but try not to cheapen
the date with your Barry
Manilow records. I guarantee
your date will see right through
that perverted little head of
yours, so keep it sincere.
Now that you’ve got all the in
structions you need, let me give
you the low-down on this cheap
date. At under $20, you will be
spending less than you would at
any good restaurant. Plus, you’ll
be increasing the romance factor
tenfold. But the benefits of this
cheap date don’t stop there.
With an entire bag of pasta, a
pint of sauce, a loaf of bread and
a head of lettuce, you’ll have
enough food for four or five
dates. Heck, you’ll be able to
serve all your boyfriends or girl
friends with that much food. Just
try not to double-book your -
dates.
Student Groups.
tiseyour upcoming events in the Oregon Daily Emerald,
student rates. Call 346-3712 V<&§■