Live Beets offer up dance beats
■ The fifth album from The
Sugar Beets captures the
eclectic essence of the band’s
energetic live shows
By J.J. Burkart
for the Emerald
One of Eugene’s local music fix
tures takes the stage Friday night to
unveil its latest album, “Sweet Ride
Home.”
The Sugar Beets will perform
with Cold Mountain Rhythm Band
at WOW Hall at 9:30 p.m. WOW
Hall seems a fitting spot for the
group’s CD release party, given their
long-standing association with the
venue.
“The Sugar Beets have an ex
tremely long history with us. They
recorded their very first album
here,” said Bob Fennessy, a WOW
Hall spokesman.
The Sugar Beets took root in the
University residence halls in the
late 1980s as a duo and steadily
grew in skill and popularity, said
Marty Chilla, The Sugar Beets’ gui
tarist. The budding group gradual
ly added more members until flow
ering into its current eight-member
arrangement.
The Sugar Beets play an amalga
mation of Celtic, bluegrass, country,
Motown, gospel and pop music. The
number of variables in the band’s
musical equation allows for an ex
pansive assortment of songs. The
breadth of styles also gives The Sugar
Beets’ music a universal quality.
“Instrumentally, we are tradition
al Celtic and bluegrass with stand
up bass, acoustic guitar, fiddle, and
mandolin. But we also have drums
and keyboards, and we’re pretty
much open to any musical style,”
Chilla said.
“Sweet Ride Home” showcases
the band’s versatility. The opening
track, “Higher,” is a lively soulful
tune, punctuated by the up-front
Courtesy Photo
The Sugar Beets bring their high-energy accoustic music to Wow Hall on Friday. The band’s
music has influences in Celtic, bluegrass, country, Motown, gospel and pop music.
vocals of the band’s two female vo
calists. The second song, “Bill
Blake,” brings a calypso beat into
play. “Bring it Down” sounds simi
lar to a grunge translation of ’70s
British rockers Cream. “For Linda”
is reminiscent of an Elton John bal
lad, and the sounds of “Avatar” are
not unlike The Beatles’ sitar fasci
nation. Magically, the assorted
schemes flow smoothly together for
the duration of the album.
Having been a band in various
forms for more than 10 years, The
Sugar Beets hope to expand their
fan base and move into new territo
ry with their new album. To help
them achieve this goal, the band
employed established recording
artist and producer Billy Oskay.
“Eight people in the recording
studio can be like too many cooks
in the kitchen. Billy helped us fine
tune things and put it all together,”
Chilla said.
The result of the Oskay/Sugar
Beets union is the band’s fifth
recording, a dynamic, professional
ly produced collection of inspira
tional tunes. The album is also an
attempt to capture the essence of a
Sugar Beets live performance in a
recording studio.
Dave Burham, who plays violin
and electric violin in the band, de
scribes a typical live performance.
“Anyone who comes to see us
can expect to hear extremely
danceable, high-energy, joyful mu
sic,” Burham said.
Tickets are $8 at the door, and
doors open at 9 p.m.
J.J. Burkart is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
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News brief
MADD opens kickoff
to general public
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
is kicking off its annual “Tie One on
for Safety” campaign Saturday
from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Kendall
Honda dealership on Coburg Road.
This is the 15th annual event
hosted by the Lane County chapter,
but this is the first year that the gen
eral public has been invited to par
ticipate in the kickoff, said Charlie
Durrant, office manager for the
Lane County chapter.
Almost 17,000 people die each
year in alcohol-related crashes, she
said. The group is hoping to cut
down on the number of crashes that
occur, especially during the Holi
day season.
Durrant said the combined
deaths from Thanksgiving Day,
Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve
exceeds 500. This year, MADD of
Lane County hopes to distribute
100,000 ribbons for people to tie on
their vehicles as a pledge to not
drink and drive.
— Brook Reinhard
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Live Entertainment
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