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
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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.
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"(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.
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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.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
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