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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2001)
Paradisi found ■The downtown cafe emerges from remodel with improved sound and a new look, hoping to draw the under-21 crowd By Caron Alarab for the Emerald A large mural spans the width of Cafe Paradiso, swirls of lines and color merging as three faces sing in different directions. Beyond the mural, painted by local artist Steve Lopez, lies a dark curtain serving as a backdrop for the stage, which is surrounded bv tables and chairs. The smell of coffee lingers in the air, and patrons lounge on couches around the room. But the cafe, located at 115 W. Broadway, didn’t always look this way. In mid-August, the cafe fin ished a five-month renovation that transformed it into a full-fledged mu sic venue. General manager Robin Pendoley said he hopes the cafe’s new look will appeal to a wide audi ence, including the under-21 crowd. “It’s a place for 21 and not to hang out and enjoy live music,” Pendoley said. When the cafe was established seven years ago, it was simply a cof fee shop. But before long, the cafe’s owner, Greg Feener, wanted to add music, so he invited local musi cians to play there. Feener had lit tle experience managing a music venue, Pendoley said, so he simply communicated to the public that the cafe was open to any local act that wanted to play. However, the cafe, which had at one time been a bank, didn’t lend itself to high-quality sound, venue manager Randy Hamme said. An open kitchen and a large pillar in the middle of the room hindered the sound, which bounced off the walls and back windows like a rub ber ball, Hamme said. Feener recognized that the sound quality was lacking, Hamme said, but he didn’t know how to fix it. Business began to decline as estab lishments in the downtown area kept moving to other locations, sell ing their leases or even going out of business. Feener, who felt pressure from lack of business, decided to hire a general manager to help him, Pendoley said. “A year ago this week, I was hired as the general manager of Cafe Paradiso,” he said. Then, a lit Mason West Emerald Justin King performs during an all-ages show last Saturday at Cafe Paradiso. tie more than six months later, lo cal singer T.R. Kelly gave a solo performance at Cafe Paradiso. Un like other acts, Kelly, also a mem ber of the band Rotosquirrel, brought sound equipment with her, as well as her friend and band mate Randy Hamme to set it up, Hamme said. Hamme had worked at a music store and came away from the job with a few “equip ment perks,” as he called them. According to Pendoley, the sound quality of Kelly’s performance was so good that he approached Hamme to ask his advice about sound equip ment and Cafe Paradiso’s potential as a musicfvenue. Experienced with the local music scene, equipment and the needs of a venue, Hamme’s suggestions inspired Pendoley to put them into effect, and he and Feener hired Hamme as the cafe’s venue manager. “The universe threw us together that night, and magic was made,” Hamme said. Then Pendoley and Feener began implementing Hamme’s ideas. A wall was built to separate the kitchen from the main floor, and the pillar in the middle of the room was removed. After that, a bar was added, the food menu was expand ed, a curtain was hung along the wall of the main stage and alcohol was stored in the former bank safe (one of the perks of the original lay out), Hamme said. Hamme also sug gested to Feener that they pay the musicians who played at the cafe. "I just explained to him that if he didn't pay them better, they either wouldn't come or would come and play badly," Hamme said. One of the acts that will perform frequent shows at Cafe Paradiso is the Justin King Band. Frontman Justin King is an Alaska-born Eu gene local, and, while he and his drummer, James West, are currently in London recording new music, King still sees the local scene as part of his future. “I wouldn’t leave Eugene for any thing,” he said. Hamme said King’s sound is ex actly what Cafe Paradiso is looking for: "more conservative music. With so much time put into quality and presentation,” he said, “we don't want to limit our audience — we want to expand it. If anything, we are trying to meet somewhere in the middle, between generations." While the cafe has always tried to appeal to a wide audience, Pendo ley said he is now focusing on at tracting the under-21 crowd, both as performers and as spectators. Pendoley said he graduated from college a year and a half ago, and he remembers what it was like to be 21 and not be able to hang out with younger friends at 21-and-over establishments. He said Cafe Paradiso is one of the only places in town where both people on both sides of the drink ing age can go to eat and listen to music together. “There are incredible musicians under the age of 21, and now their friends can come,” he said. And Pendoley agrees with Hamme, who summed up the changes at Cafe Paradiso. “We’re Eugene’s best-kept secret.” Virtual Office Systems Inc. In Partnership with The University of Oregon Bookstore 3131 West 11th Ph. 343-8633 Open Mon-Sat 10-6 The Athlonl 1000000System $1039.99 • MS'/ 6500 Motherboard • 52 Mi? GeForce 2 MX • 50 <77? 7200 RPM Drive • 256 M£ Z)Z)7? 266 MHz • 77”.27SKG^ Monitor With a Athlon 1.2, $1049.99 With a Athlon 1.33, $1059.99 With a Athlon 1.33, $1069.99 Custom built for you with the upgrades you want! 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The bases are heavy gauge steel, the tops are hardwood, the results are gorgeous! LIVWY \\\% \ ft STUDENTS•FACULTY•STAFF Flu Vaccination Beginning October 3rd Influenza vaccinations will be given at the University Health Center for high-risk faculty, staff I and their dependents 18 years and older every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and for high-risk students Monday Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Beginning Wednesday, October 3, 2001. High-Risk Criteria If you belong to one of these categories you are eligible for Flu vaccine Criteria for Category 1 Students (Mon.-Fri. 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.) $6.00 Faculty, Staff and their dependents 18 years and older (Wed.-Fri. 8:00-9:00 a.m.): $10.00 (covered by PEBB insurance—you must bring your PEBB card 010795 • Persons 65 years and older • Persons with any of the following conditions: / Long-term heart or lung condition / Diabetes / Kidney disease / Anemia / Cystic Fibrosis / Asthma / Conditions that compromise the immune system • Women who will be in their 2nd or 3rd trimester of pregnancy during the influenza season (November-April) Criteria for Category 2 Students (Mon.-Fri. 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.) $6.00 Faculty. Staff and their dependents 18 years and older (Wed.-Fri. 8:00-9:00 a.m.): $10.00 (NOT covered by PEBB insurance) • Persons having closest contact with persons in Category I, including: /Household members of High Risk persons in Category; / /Physicians, nurses and other sta ff who provide direct patient care for persons in the Category I high Risk group For more information, call the University Health Center at 346-4444. | Raw Talent The Oregon Daily Emerald is always looking for young writers who want to learn and grow at a real newspaper. » For information on how to freelance for the Emerald call 346-5511.
