FEATURES
Sunset Valley inspires with wide
variety of music
■The band promotes its new CD in the
casual atmosphere of John Henry’s
By Mason West
Oregon Daily Emerald
Many hands might he insulted if a venue
told them, “You have to he done playing at
10 p.m. because we have to play ’80s
records.” But Sunset Valley took the news
in stride when they played their show
Sept. 20 at John Henry’s, 136 E. 11th Ave.,
before '80s night. The stop was one of
many on a tour promoting their new CD,
“icepond.”
The band knew the conditions of the gig
before they arrived that night. They even
mocked the situation as guitarist/lead
singer Herman Jolly mentioned multiple
times during their set how they needed to
make way for ’80s night.
“It used to be ’80s night every night,” fie
said into the microphone. “You’re lucky
that it’s only once a week.”
Bass player Eric Furlong said that run
ning the end of their set into the start of
80s night gives them exposure to many
Eugene listeners who wouldn’t normally
come out to see their show.
The band played less than an hour be
cause the two-hour slot for music was split
among three bands. The Stores and Man of
the Year both opened in kind of a venue
fluke. Rory Carroll of The Stores (previous
ly of Gabriel Blue) said when they heard
Sunset Valley was playing John Henry’s,
they called the booking agent and said,
“We’re opening.” In the meantime, Sunset
Valley invited their friends Man of the
Year to come play with them.
The Stores have an intimate connection
to Sunset Valley. Carroll said when he first
met Jolly, they started talking about band
names that Carroll and his drummer had
in mind for a yet nonexistent band.
“When we came to The Stores, Jolly
said, ‘That’s it. You're The Stores,’’’ Carroll
said.
On Thursday, other aspiring bands
could have taken inspiration from Sunset
Valley in a similar fashion by just going up
and saying, “Hi.” The band looked just like
any other group of patrons Until they
opened a large suitcase containing CDs
and T-shirts.
It’s apparent how down-to-earth a band
is when it comes to selling merchandise.
After the show, Jolly stood haggling with
The Stores drummer.
Drummer: “How much for a T-shirt?”Jol
ly: (thinking) “$7.’’Drummer: “But we gave
you The Stores CD for free!”
John Henry’s is the perfect place to find
any band in a casual, disarming setting.
The stage has steps leading right down to
the checkerboard floor where the audience
stands. Other people linger in the weary
chairs or benches toward the back, at the
bar or playing pool under the Budweiser
lights.
The venue puts off a muted red glow, the
kind of tone likely found in the calmer re
gions of hell — not that it’s a bad thing.
There are no pretenses of propriety: The
place is dirty. There are stickers on the
walls, furniture and even what used to be
the bathroom mirror.
But it’s a great spot to go to hear some
good music, have some drinks and (if it’s
’80s night) dance.
Sunset Valley’s third release is a pleas
ant kind of pop-rock that is a middle-of
the-road effort with a range of songs that
don t get too hard or too wussy. For a
three-piece band, they create a surprisingly
full sound. For their second album, “boy
scout superhero,” the band expanded their
numbers with a new drummer (current
drummer Jonathan Drews moved to sec
ond guitar). When a fan inquired about a
song he had heard at a prior concert that
was distinguished by a cowbell, Furlong
said the song, “touch you,” is on the new
record, but there is no cowbell because
Drews’ drum set doesn’t have one.
“Touch you” is good rock ’n’ roll. It
rocks a lot harder live, and that is a gener
al rule for all of their songs. Something
about not being able to understand all the
vocals makes a song rock harder. The band
does a lot with vocals using both Jolly as
lead and Drews as back-up. On songs such
as “blackberry bushes”and “nautilus
sun”they do a cooing vocal chorus that re
minds one of something Philip Glass
wrote for the film “Koyaanisqatsi.” It’s
hypnotic.
“Janey O’" is a pleasant folk song, almost
country; it’s something that should be lis
tened to barefoot. The third song, “fall fly,”
sounds like gospel music — it’s got soul.
By diversifying their songs, the band
avoids becoming tiresome. If they stuck
to the style of any one of their songs, it
would get boring pretty fast. The CD is
well worth the $10 they’re asking for it
on the record label’s Web site (www.bar
suk.com). (Death Cab for Cutie is also on
this label.) There are three Sunset Valley
songs you can download for free, but be
warned: The songs available do offer
variety, but they aren’t the best on the
album.
Mason West is a Pulse reporter for the
Oregon Daily Emerald. He can be reached at
masonwest@dailyemerald.com.
Thomas Patterson Emerald
Rising indie band Sunset Valley stares into the harsh light of burgeoning fame during a concert at John Henry’s.
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