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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 8, 2004)
Bay Area band will ‘poison’ Eugene on Friday Costumed poetic pop duo The Slow Poisoners will play with TheOvulators By Natasha Chilingerian Pulse Reporter When musician Andrew Poisoner went to Paris in 1997, he had a vision of "surrealistic rock and roll." When he returned home to San Francisco, Poisoner started a band that mixed "avant-garde poetry with pop music," and the result was The Slow Poisoners who have been rocking across the western United States for the past sev eral years. The band arrives in Eugene on Friday night and will play at Sam Bond's Garage. The duo — comprised of gui tarist/vocalist Poisoner and drum mer Rich Trott — is planning a the atrical performance, complete with costumes. "Rich usually wears leather head gear and flight goggles," Poisoner said. "He looks like a balloonist from the 1800s." During their concerts, The Slow Poisoners display large cards showing the name of each song along with art to convey the mood of the music. Poi soner said that these props were in spired by old vaudeville acts, which often displayed easels that gave an ex planation of each performance. Poisoner founded the band with two cellists in 1997, but he later trans formed the group into a traditional bass, guitar and drums format. The group has released two albums, "Great Spiders and Diamond Pow der" and "Days of the Soft Break," which feature creative lyrics and a genre that is hard to define. "Our lyrics are strange and poetic, with historical references and surreal imagery," Poisoner said. "Our music is eclectic and touches on all genres." Although many musicians have joined and left the group since 1997, Trott, who joined in 1998, has stuck with Poisoner the longest. Trott said his chemistry with Poisoner has kept him in the group. "We see eye-to-eye aesthetically and philosophically," he said. Trott also noted that The Slow Poi soners usually draw an audience that is out of the ordinary. "Oh, we attract freaks," he said. "We attract people who are looking for something different. When we were touring in northeast Texas, every freak from 50 miles around showed up. The word had been around that some weird band from San Francisco was performing, and the fans wanted to prove that north east Texas has freaks." Three other bands will perform with The Slow Poisoners: Takimoto, Dan Desmuke, and the all-female lo cal glam-rock band The Ovulators. The latter group, which consists of guitarists Kelani Larsen and Tina Sarno and bassist Dori Prange, formed a year-and-a-half ago and have mostly performed in Eugene and other parts of Oregon. In August, they released their first album, "Swept Away" and toured in California. Like The Slow Poisoners, The Ovulators are planning a dramatic performance with costumes and lots of movement. "We always dress up extravagant ly," Larsen said. "And we jump around a lot." Courtesy Rich Trott (left) and Andrew Poisoner of The Poisoners will perform at Sam Bond’s Garage. Larsen said the group is popular for giving energetic performances and playing diverse music. Turn to POISONER, page 12 WOW Hall to host night of personal films, music Courtesy In the film “I Luved This City," Stephanie Gray expresses her love for the struggling town of Buffalo, N.Y., where she lives. Truck Stop Still Lifes/ set for Jan. 16f will feature various short films by Bill Brown and Stefanie Gray By Natasha Chilingerian Pulse Reporter Not My House Mobile Arts will present "Truck Stop Still Lifes," an evening of film and music at WOW Hall on Jan. 16. The show features filmmaker Bill Brown of Lubbock, Texas, who will present works that re flect his travels in North America. The Limited Seating SUN Too# <?0 ^Linnt^l 6Vli Seating Tickets at all TlcketsWest outlets (800) 992 TIXX Service charges may apply show will also feature films by Buffa lo, N.Y.-based Stephanie Gray, whose films deal with her relationship to Buffalo and its buildings. Musician Owen Ashworth of San Francisco's Casiotone for the Painfully Alone will provide tunes throughout the show. Brown, who has been creating films related to the subjects of history and memory for the past 10 years, will present an hour of his "short, critical essays" and discuss his creations with the audience. "My films are like postcards from various places in North America, and I sort of examine them," he said. In "Buffalo Common,” Brown dis cusses the dismantling of nuclear mis sile sites in North Dakota and larger issues of nuclear war and economic decline in the American Midwest. "Mountain State" looks at 25 road side historical markers and gives a brief history of westward expansion. "(Confederation Park" is a look back at Brown's stay in Vancouver, British Co lumbia and a light take on the rivalry between French separatists and Eng lish-speaking Canada. Brown said that the film was based upon his ex periences living in the country. "'Confederation Park' is partially about when I lived in four different cities in Canada and the bizarre roommates 1 had," Brown said. "It also asks questions about what con stitutes Canadian identity and the conflict between French and English speaking Canada. * Brown uses an example of bath room hand dryers in Canada. They originally displayed both English and French instructions, but the English instructions were tom off in French speaking regions. Likewise, the French instructions were tom off in English Tum to TRUCK STOP, page 12 Happy New Year! Here's what's happening in the Oregon Daily Emerald this January: SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS January 9: Pac-10 Basketball Preview January 14: Duck Bucks(TM) January 21: Bridal Guide January 26: Career Fair Guide DAILY FEATURES News, Commentary, Sports EVERY DAY Pulse entertainment section every Thursday CLASSIFIEDS NEW Don’t Do-It-Yourself Service Directory Every Monday in the Classifieds Spiritual Directory Every Friday in the Classifieds 017922 ONLINE Check out our website and sign up for daily email updates at www.dailyemerald.com.
