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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2004)
i Songwriting slam gives voice to unknown artists The event, which includes established local artists as judges, will feature various prizes such as studio time By Ryan Nyburg Senior Pulse Reporter Foolscap Books is hosting a song writing slam tonight at 9 p.m. in what is intended to be a showcase for un known artists. Similar to the popular Eugene Po etry Slam, which is also hosted at the bookstore, the event will invite local songwriters to perform their materi al and be evaluated by a panel of judges composed of established lo cal musicians. The event, like any competition, has a few restrictions regarding what the songwriters are permitted to per form. Material must be original and must not be previously published in any form. The only accompaniment allowed is an acoustic instrument played by the performer (there will be a piano available). Each performer must be ready with three songs and will perform one song per five-minute round. Due to time considerations, only 12 songwriters will be allowed. If more than twelve people sign up, there will be a drawing to decided who performs. Winners will receive prizes, the most lucrative being free recording time at Sprout City Recording Studios, located at 1145-1/2 Chambers St. There will be a variety of gift certifi cates available as well. The current list of judges for the event includes a few mainstays of the Eugene music scene. Dori Prange and Tina Sarno of the rock group The Ovulators, Kelly Stats of the band Scrambled Eggs, John Shipe of John Shipe & The Scapegoats, and Dan Jones are all set to be on the panel. Each judge is bringing his or her owi way of looking at music to the role. "I'm looking for honest emotion, Jones said. "I'm not looking for a pol ished performance, I don't even car if people are good at their instrumeni I just want to see honesty." If popular, the songwriting slan might become a regular event fo Foolscap, akin to the monthly poetr slams. Foolscap owner Mariett Bonaventure said it would only h one of many upcoming changes fo the bookstore. "Our lease on this space runs out ii May," Bonaventure said. "I'm lookin] to move into a warehouse space wit! more room for performances. I wan to focus more of my time on commu nity events." Bonaventure added that the book store will begin dealing mostl; \ through online sales rather than through a storefront. But many of the plans for the bookstore's future, such as the location of the new space, will i not be definite for several months. For now, Bonaventure plans to fo cus on running the store and bringing 1 such events to the community as a r small concert on Saturday featuring / Ihe Ovulators and Dan Jones, giving 1 a couple of the slam's judges a chance - to show their own songwriting skills. Until then, the judges are deciding how to evaluate the contestants. y "I'm not a fan of the World ’ Wrestling Federation attitude in art," { Jones said. "I don't want to 'slam' any one. 1 want beginners to be able come out without being traumatized. Cre ative humans can be bruised easily." j The judges have high hopes for the performers and the Eugene music scene in general. "I like the music scene here," Stats said. "It's nice to see people show up at the performances I've been a part of." Jones agreed. "I think there are a lot of great bands and performers in Eugene," he said. "Sometimes, there are more great bands than there are people to see them. Which I guess is a better problem than having it the other way around." Foolscap Books is located at 780 Blair Blvd. Sign-ups for the songwrit ing slam will take place from 8-9 p.m., with performances beginning at 9 p.m.. Ticket prices range from $3-$5 and will be available at the door. The performance featuring The Ovulators and Dan lones will begin at 9 p.m. on Saturday and will have the same ticket prices. Contact the senior Pulse reporter at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com. Photo illustrations by Lauren Wimer Emerald Twelve songwriters will perform tonight as part of a songwriting slam at Foolscap Books beginning at 9 p.m. The musicians will compete for studio time at Sprout City Recording Studios and various gift certificates. BRASIL continued from page 11 portunity to raise money for the organ ization and to bring new art to Eugene. "To tell you the truth, I was secret ly happy," she said. "I just thought that a Camaval celebration would be fantastic. Eugene doesn't really have anything like it at all, and it was a perfect fit because Carnaval is the Brazilian Mardi Gras." The event will also feature exotic per formances and showpieces in an expo sition of Brazilian culture. "Remarkably, the artists are all locals. The exception being The Illuminated Fools. They are from Southern Oregon, and they do a marvelous job with these enormous human puppets. They're quite spectacular," Callahan said. Samba fa, a 40-person Eugene per cussion ensemble that performed in 2003's Eugene Celebration parade, will also play, along with Edson Oliveira's i —i 017901 Les’ Barber Shop Price Reduced To $10.00 Save $2.00!! 485-6757 130 E. 13th Ave Sun Bossa Band. Cultural Forum Heritage Music Co Coordinators Will Reischman and Ariel Zimmer worked with SHSKI on the project. Reischman said they were attracted to the idea of doing some thing other than the traditional Amer ican Mardi Gras. "Ihe Camaval celebration is all this music, dancing and costumes with the addition of pretty much nonstop drumming," he said. Zimmer has previously danced with Samba Ja. "It's going to have lots of sound, lots of rhythm — you won't be able to not dance," she said. "You won't be able to sit down, and if you do it's going to be because you're so tired you just have to sit and watch." Lisa Petit a University student, will teach a free dance lesson, along with other students, at 6:30 p.m. The Netal, Brazil, native came to Oregon to study and live with her American father. Classical Music Opera Broadway Filmscores CD's SACD'S DVD'S Open Noon - 5:20 Sundays Noon - 4:00 Closed Tuesdays Behind Bradfords Across from Library , 942 Olive St. » FREE PARKING 349-0461 "(The dance), it's just in your blood, it's fun, it's exciting," she said. "It makes you want to move yourself. It can be very sexual but fun. The Sam ba is hard to learn but we're going to be teaching little step." Both Callahan and Reischman were also enthusiastic about the Capoeira demonstration, a form of dance that was created by Brazilian slaves as a way to secretly practice forbidden fighting techniques. "I'm very excited about the Capoeira demonstration," she said. "It's part dance and part fighting. If you've never seen it you should come just for that — it's stunningly beautiful." The event begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the EMU Ticket Of fice or Sundance Natural Foods. Ticket prices range from $6 to $12, with discounts for advance ticket sales and students available. Steven Neuman is a freelance reporter for the Emerald. Complete Selection of: 1 •'Skis • Boots * M • Clothing Ski Rentals 13th & Lawrence* Eugene • 683-1300 www.bergsskisfiop.com Your place for , , NEWSreaderpoll%nd classifleds_ARCHIVES more www.dailyemerald.com SUNDBERG continued from page 11 The possible combinations are rather endless when imagination is set forth. It's strange to think that no honest attempts have been made by the industry to pro mote diversity through technolo gy. The thinking has all been in side the box. But this is good for any smart college student with some entre preneurial spirit. The music in dustry is a ripe new playing field. While the odds are against a new form taking shape, it's looking brighter every day. We are living in a time when fresh ideas are blossoming at a feverish pace. The dinosaurs that roamed this land are not agile enough to change their ways. They can't adapt quickly enough and they are on their last legs. Out of this slow extinction will emerge an entire generation of young, bright people who only wish to hear and promote amaz ing music. They won't care about the bottom line. They won't care about fortune, about fame. They are out there, right now, in the clubs, on the phones, in the stu dios, behind the computers and behind the scenes, planning the next logical step. The power is shifting, spreading back into the people's hands again. The idea that is simmering will be one of musical diversity and equality. Music will be freed from the tyranny of industry and become the music of the people again, like it once was, back before dinosaurs roamed the earth. Contact the Pulse columnist at carisundberg@dailyemerald.com. 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