Getting out of the
garage and onto the
stage is not an
impossible feat if a
band knows what steps
to take
By Mason West
Oregon Daily Emerald
There are two types of bands in the
music industry: The people who
sit at home and say “we’re in a
band” just to sound cool, and the
bands that go out and try to make it.
However, for people in the latter, moti
vation isn’t always enough.
The journey from the garage to the
stage can be tough. Fortunately, Eu
gene has a number of venues for
novice performers.
Open mics provide a place for an
unknown artist or group to get some
exposure. Cafe Paradiso hosts open
mics every Tuesday evening. Jo Fed
erigo’s also has open mics on Monday
evenings, and The Buzz opens the
stage to the public Friday nights.
Jo Federigo’s offers two other op
portunities for new musicians.
Wednesday and Thursday’s are jam
sessions open to the public. However,
Thursday’s jam is strictly jazz. Federi
go's, for jazz musicians, is a wonder
ful opportunity to get a taste of the
stage, booking manager Jerome Seljan
said.
“If somebody moves to town and
doesn’t have a group, I tell them to
come down to a jam,” Seljan said. “It
can be a great place to get to know
other musicians.”
Seljan uses those open mics as au
ditions for new talent, and he is al
ways looking for new people to have
their own shows.
For musicians outside of the jazz
persuasion, the WOW Hall is a venue
where they can get a taste of real star
dom. Bands that play there some
times have the opportunity to open
for big national acts if they aren’t al
ready touring with an opening band.
One of the other reasons that the
WOW Hall is more popular among
performers than other venues, book
ing manager Kristen Rollet said, is
that it is open to all ages, unlike some
of the other places around town.
But breaking onto the WOW Hall
stage requires a certain amount of ex
isting recognition. Rollet needs to be
sure that any band that headlines a
show will bring at least 200 paying
spectators.
Rollet recommends that to build up
a fan base, a band should start at
places around town such as John
Henry’s, Sam Bond’s Garage or Holly
wood Taxi.
Once bands feel ready for the
WOW Hall, they should send Rollet
any promotional materials they have
gathered. This includes places they
have played, articles that have been
written about them, CDs or tapes they
have made, etc. After that, there is
only one thing left to do:
“Bug me frequently,” Rollet said.
The Courtesy Clerks, a local band,
has been on all of these stages and is
working on getting to the next level,
bass player Mike B. said. The band
has played all over Eugene and even
in Portland and Corvallis.
Up to this point, the band has re
lied on word of mouth and network
ing to get gigs.
“We started out meeting everyone
we could in the dorms, then we met
lots of local bands at concerts,” Mike
B. said.
This networking ultimately formed
a bond between the Clerks and anoth
er local band, Big Hippie.
“They’re kind of our brother band,”
Mike B. said.
To progress the band, The Courtesy
Clerks are working on releasing their
first CD in a few months. Mike B.
hopes to use this to put together a
press packet to send to venues out
side of the Eugene area in an attempt
to gain more exposure.
Networking is «he main loot The Courtesy Clerks, made up of (left to right) Mark Rogers, Don Butlard and Mike B., have implemented to become a popular name in Eugene. They’ve even played^gs'in PWrtlandVncI CorvaHhl
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