WOW Hall to host African rock show Friday night
The Motet and Antibalas
Afrobeat Orchestra will
perform their African
influenced music together
By Natasha Chilingerian
Pulse Reporter
An African rock show will hit the
WOW Hall I riday night, with per
formers planning to bring life-cele
brating and environmentally friendly
messages along with their musical
dance parties.
Colorado-based band The Motet
derives their music from West African,
exclusively with the biodegradable,
nontoxic fuel called "Riodiesel." Dur
ing the band's "The Biodiesel lour,"
they will perform in 15 cities in Col
orado, Arizona, California, Oregon
and Washington, where they will
speak of the advantages of the eco
friendly fuel.
"Biodiesel just makes sense," drum
mer Dave Watts said. "It's one thing to
use the fuel locally, but it's another to
take a trip around the nation with it."
Biodiesel is created by removing
glycerin from animal fats and vegeta
bles through a chemical process. It is
renewable and free from sulfur and
aromatics. The fuel is available na
tionwide at some public pumps,
Biodiesel producers and some petro
leum distributors.
"It's amazing," Watts said. "You
can tell how less toxic the fuel is
when you stand behind the vehicle
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The Motet is touting the values of Biodiesel, an eco-friendly fuel, during its 15-city tour.
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Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra will bring a rocking dance party to the WOW Hall on Friday for its show with The Motet. Tickets are $12 before the show and $15 at the door.
and the exhaust comes out."
The band members — Watts, per
cussionist Scott Messersmith, key
boardist Greg Raymond, bassist Gar
ret Sayers and guitarist Mark Donovan
— plan to provide a rocking drum
fest for the audience after discussing
their earth-conscious concerns.
"They are percussion-driven, with
some chanty lyrics," Harmonized
Records and Home Grown Music Net
work publicist Chris Johnston said.
The Motet has been performing
across the United States since 1998.
The band has released three albums:
"Breathe," "Play" and "Live."
"Our favorite areas to perform are
the Northwest and the Southeast,"
Watts said. "There is a similar vibe
there to Colorado. People are open to
expressing themselves."
Watts said the group hopes to play
in Europe, Japan and Australia.
"We love seeing the world, and
we'd like to combine that with play
ing music," he said.
WOW Hall publicist Bob Fennessy
said The Motet always triggers an en
ergetic dance party in the audience.
"They are a jam-rocked band based
on Afro-Cuban percussion," he said.
"They appeal to the same fans of the
Grateful Dead and Phish."
The Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
will join The Motet on stage. The 14
piece band combine jazz, funk, horns
and bass with traditional African
beats, add lyrics in English, Spanish
and Yoruba that speak of various life
affirming themes.
The group began in 1997 in New
York City and has since toured Eu
rope, Canada and the United States.
They have released two albums: "Lib
eration Affobeat Vol I." and "Talkatif,"
their latest release. The band initiated
the first of 70 "AFR1CALIA!" parties, a
string of African music celebrations in
New York City. They also contributed
to a compilation album which raised
money to combat the AIDS epidemic
in Africa.
University drumming instructor
Brian West said traditional African
music is hard to spot nowadays be
cause the original rhythms are being
turned into contemporary songs.
Bands such as the Antibalas Afrobeat
Orchestra and The Motet are breaking
African traditions, but at the same
time drawing big audiences by mixing
original beats with American rock.
"For the last 40 years in Africa peo
ple have been making 'high life' mu
sic, which modernized traditional
African music and made it more club
worthy," West said. "At first, it pro
duced a controversial reaction, just as
the twist dance did in America when
people were putting a superficial edge
on an old style of dancing. But African
rock bands are attracting audiences
because the rock sound gives people
something to relate to."
The WOW Hall also supports African
culture through community events.
African dance and drumming classes,
sponsored by the Eugene West African
Dance and Drum Collective are taught
at WOW Hall on Sunday mornings and
Monday and Wednesday evenings.
"Many Eugene community mem
bers are interested in Africa and would
like to go there," Fennessy said. 'There
is a strong West African and Zimbabwe
Eugene connection."
The Motet and the Antibalas
Afrobeat Orchestra will perform Nov.
21 at 8:30 p.m. WOW Hall is located at
291 W. 8th St. Tickets are available at the
UO Ticket Office in the EMU for $12
and at the door for $ 15.
Contact the Pulse reporter at
natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.
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