Ravers project high-energy fun at Cloud City
■The Cultural Forum retries
their hand in hosting an
alcohol and drug-free rave on
campus
By Monica Hande
Oregon Daily Emerald
Techno music and breakbeats,
countless sweaty bodies and
enough energy to last through the
night: This is the basic recipe for a
rave.
And although drugs and alcohol
are often included in the mix,
they’re definitely not required. In
fact, they’re not even allowed at
Cloud City on Saturday, a rave host
ed by the University Cultural Fo
rum, in association with Ground
Zero Productions. The event will
be held in the EMU Ballroom from
9 p.m. to 2 a.m. While various
drugs have been associated with
raves in the past, more people are
now trying to maintain a drug-free
environment, said Steven Sawada,
the Cultural Forum’s regional mu
sic coordinator.
“We can do our best to promote
something that we want to be alco
hol-and drug-free,” said Sawada,
who is in charge of planning and
coordinating Cloud City. Sawada
said he knows several rave-goers
and DJs who have never used
drugs, himself included.
“You have a connection with
your body and your ears, and that’s
it,” he said. “I don’t thrive off of
[drugs]. I thrive off of music.”
And music will surely be plenti
ful at Cloud City. DJs from across
the West Coast will be spinning a
variety of beats. Jason Blakemore
from Los Angeles, who has been
part of the underground scene for
nearly eight years, will headline the
rave. Cloud City will also feature
Forest Greenand RyLee from San
Francisco, NAHA from Seattle and
Eugene’s own Dan Craig and Sawa
da.
To top that off, Cloud City will
feature the brand new Stylus
Soundsystem, a product of Servo
Drive technology. Jason Kamrass,
owner of the system and of Stylus
Grooves records, said the system is
one of the only Servo Drive systems
on the West Coast.
Servo Drive systems are unique,
Kamrass said, because they’re de
signed from scratch rather than
modeled after existing speakers.
They project sound differently than
a typical speaker does, he said, as a
single signal rather than separate
signals. A Servo Drive system was
last featured in Eugene at a U2 con
cert at Autzen Stadium in 1997.
Cloud City is a follow-up to the
Cultural Forum’s first rave, Local
Elements, in January. Sawada said
he was happy with the last rave’s
turnout, but he and DJ Craig, Cloud
City coordinator for Ground Zero
Productions, both said they hope
for bigger crowds this time, encom
passing all types of people.
Sid Phillips, a community mem
ber and frequent rave-goer, said he
was pleased with Local Elements
but would have liked to see more
people. He said the campus rave
was rather typical of most raves he
has attended despite a few distinc
tions, such as widespread security,
which Sawada said will be just as
substantial at Cloud City.
The time element is another ex
ample of how a rave on campus dif
fers from a traditional rave. Most
raves start late and don’t end until
early morning. Because the event is
on campus, it must end earlier.
He was, however, able to get an
extension until 2 a.m. for Cloud
City. He said wrapping up so late
should serve as an alternative to
visiting the bars afterward, which
usually close by that time.
Tickets for Cloud City are on sale
at the EMU Ticket Office and at Sty
lus Grooves. The cost is $11 for stu
dents and $13 for non-students.
Tickets will be on sale through the
night of the rave. All ages are wel
come.
Sawada said he wants to keep the
decorations a surprise. He did say,
however, the light setup will be
similar to what it was at the last
rave, and decorations will follow
the cloud theme.
“Basically, we’re going all out to
give people a cool experience,” he
said.
Get yourfixfrom a host of local music scene picks
i
ERIC
PFIEFFER
Eugene is in itself a small
utopia: Beautiful land
scapes, grass-roots politics
and lush organics. Howev
er, the music scene, much like a lot
of the city’s stagnant culture, is
trapped somewhere between a
mediocre and sustainable exis
tence.
Although you won’t find a scene
at the level of any major metropolis,
or even Portland, there are places to
get your fix when it comes rhyth
mic kicks and break-beat tricks.
Eugene’s most valuable offering
is music performed by people who
are there simply for the sake of per
forming music. Whether it’s at the
Hult Center or at the Saturday Mar
ket, you will almost certainly find
entertaining and occasionally en
riching performances. Of course,
that all depends on what you’re
looking for.
I couldn’t write an article about
the Eugene music scene without
mention of the WOW Hall. The
WOW Hall is a non-profit venue
that hosts an eclectic variety of per
formances from several different
genres of the arts. It is also pretty
much the only all-ages concert ven
ue in town that also hosts a bar.
And of course there’s Magical
Thursdays. It’s Eugene’s own small
er, weekly version of a rave. If
you’re unable to experience one at
a larger venue, then this is your best
bet in town. I recommend calling
for a schedule or picking up a copy
of WOW Hall Notes. With the vari
ety of shows, the inclusion of a bar
at an all-ages venue plus a great
amount of community involve
ment, the WOW Hall is my favorite
place in town to catch live music.
John Henry’s, the Wild Duck and
a long list of other venues also host
musical acts year-round. Go to the
EMU scheduling office to find out
what bands are coming to Eugene
in the near future.
If you’re on campus and looking
for live music, you can always stop
by the Buzz Coffeehouse to see
what’s on tap. The Buzz features
live acoustic music from a wide va
riety of performers. It regularly
gives slots to student performers,
which means you may find your
self listening to the next Woody
Guthrie, or just another freshman
with a head full of Nirvana riffs.
The odds on this bet are 60-40 in fa
vor of teen spirit.
When it comes to buying music, I
recommend starting with the
House of Records. It’s located on
13th Avenue, about a mile from
campus. I’ve found that this store
tends to have the most diverse cata
log of underground and alternative
music in town. And although it
doesn’t always have what I’m li ek
ing for in-house, the staff is usp illy
very good about ordering titles for
you. House of Records also buys
and sells used music, which tends
to be the life-blood of any record
store found in a college town, j
For more commercial mc^ic,
there’s always Face the Music, [iso
located on 13th. Here you can ind
the latest offerings from MTV *nd
top-40 radio. It also carries a decent
selection of used titles and less
commercial offerings.
The Record X-Change is my
overall choice for your music
Tu rn to Music scene, page 10B
“Lowest Prices, Guaranteed”
Any Questions
Just Call 343-SAVE (7283)
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irele//
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166 W. 6th St. (across from the Wild Duck)
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