The
-per till ty
Center
OREGON
BECOME AN EGG DONOR
The Fertility Center of Oregon has helped many couples
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Procedures are done in a pleasant local environment over
a period of only six weeks, and donors are compensated
$2,500 for their time. If you arc a healthy woman age 21-31
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TRUE music
McDonald theatre ^
Tickets at ail TicketsWest Outlets or call ^ AH concerts will feature an opening band unless
(800) 992-TIXX Service charges may apply ^ otherwise noted Times subject to change
Interactive show information available at www.mcdonaldtheatre.com
AHMINeTHIO
Authority zero/
TELLO BIAFRA;
PINK IS
MARTINI
Tickets at all TlcketsWest outlets (800) 992-TIXX Service charges may apply
LIVE IN THE LOUNGE
DJ OAN-O-MITE MMWM
FRI MAR 12 8 PM OR 9 PM SPINS 21+
SAT MAR 20 8 PM DR 9 PM SHW SUN MAR 28 7 PM DR 8 PM SHW
TIX AT DOOR ONIY 21+ TIX AT TICKETSWEST 21 +
THAT ONE GUY JACOB FRED
FRI APRIL 2 6:30 PM DR 7:30 PM SHW JAZZ ODYSSEY
TIX AT DOOR ONIY 21+ SAT APRIl 3 8 PM DR 9 PM SHW
TIX AT DOOR ONLY 21 +
The inventive funk-folkster
began as the opening act
for String Cheese Incident
By Natasha Chilingerian
Pulse Reporter
Keller Williams has the tendency of
taking off his shoes and laying a mg
down on stage for a performance.
Usually dressed in rolled-up khakis
and a T-shirt, he entices the audience
with a musical switchoff among his
eight guitars, illuminating the sound
that's created with electronic gadgets
and machines.
"He has this amazing synergy with
the crowd," Williams' publicist Ashley
Matthews said. "He makes you feel
like you're in his living room."
Williams will make his audience
feel at home at the McDonald Theatre
on March 25. A true one-man band,
he uses technology and creativity to
produce a big sound, which is a mix
ture of progressive folk, acoustic funk
and futuristic elements.
"He's improvisational in his heart
and goes off on these tangents,"
Matthews said. "He reaches out and
makes his music his own."
His sound-electrifying machines,
known as processors, allow Williams
to repeat his notes from one guitar as
he puts it down and exchanges it for
another. His wide guitar selection in
cludes a baritone 6-string bass named
"Alvarez" and a custom-made 8-string
bass, with two bass and six guitar
strings, called "Zilla." Backed up by a
cast of instruments with their own
personalities, Williams is able to pull
lots of tricks on stage.
"The looping technology creates
the bands behind him," said Carrie
Lombardi, the head publicist at Madi
son House Publicity, whose firm rep
resents Williams. "Sometimes he
makes a mouth flugel, which is a
noise that comes from his lips that
sounds like a trumpet."
Williams' inventiveness most like
ly came from his years of experience
hitting the road and touring alone.
Originally from Fredericksburg, Va.,
he grew from playing in high school
bands and working the coffee shop
circuit to appearing in national tours
and festivals. Since the self-taught
musician couldn't support a band,
I Mi ' 'NiMH._j
Courtesy
Singer-songwriter Keller Williams brings folk, acoustic funk, technology and a lively
personality to the stage. He plays the McDonald Theatre on March 25.
he learned to experiment and enter
tain his audience as if he had a group
of players behind him. His career
took off with help from the band
String Cheese Incident, which al
ready had a fan base and connected
him with new gigs.
Williams has released eight albums
— "Buzz" in 1996, "Spun" in 1998,
"Breathe" in 1999, "Loop" in 2000,
"Freek" in 2001, "Laugh" in 2002,
"Dance" in 2003 and "Home" in
2003. The most recent release repre
sents his light-hearted, carefree atti
tude toward his lyrics. For example, on
the track "Love Handles," he sings
about loving a little extra fat around
the waistline.
"His song writing is humorous,"
Madison House Publicity manage
ment team member Christine Staud
er said. "His lyrics are fun and happy
— nothing too dark. He portrays the
lighter side of life."
Most of Williams' songs are born
on the road. He usually writes and
performs new music while on tour,
then puts his creations together into a
new album. Lombardi said his songs
are a cross between real events in his
life and his vivid imagination.
"Something will happen to him
when he's on the road, and he'll give
it a Keller twist," she said. "It's exactly
like in the movie 'Big Fish.'"
Williams' happy-go-lucky person
ality shows up on stage. Stauder said
he often uses wacky facial expressions
and dances around stage to give off a
funny, good-hearted aura.
"You get the laid-back comic feel
from him," she said.
Tickets to Williams' show are avail
able in advance through TicketsWest
for $17 and at the door at 5:30 p.m.
for $20. The doors open at 7 p.m., and
the show begins at 8 p.m. The Mc
Donald Theatre is located at 1010
Willamette St.
Contact the Pulse reporter at
natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.
Gibson's 'Passion' falls short
by defining divinity as misery
Recently I went to the theater and
sacrificed some hard-earned cash to
see this movie about Jesus. Maybe
you've heard of it?
Like some of you out there, I was,
shall we say, skeptical about "The Pas
sion of the Christ." But with the con
troversy swirling, I had to see what the
big deal was. A friend of mine recently
told me that he saw people passing
out in the theater, a paramedic unit
standing by in the lobby and large
men sobbing like children.
I knew then a spectacle was at
hand. This was going to be rich. I got
my tickets and watched the movie.
Waiting. Waiting for someone to pass
out, vomit or run screaming from
their seat. Anything.
Two hours later, I was bored, and
not one person passed out or puked
Qoi( at iti jfUn&it.
College students $22 for 18 holes $12 for 9 holes
— nothing. This movie wasn't all it
was cracked up to be.
But people were crying, wiping
their eyes, lost in a pain that didn't
seem to reach me. Is this the epitome
of the divine experience? Why are we
drawn to agony and misery? Is this
the culmination of mankind?
Carl Sundberg
Reasoning with madness
As I got to my car, I saw one of
those bumper stickers that read:
"What would Jesus do?" I thought
about the phrase for a moment and
really let it sink in. And I realized
whatever it was Jesus did, I'm not go
ing to do. 1 don't want to be beat like
that, and certainly that crucifixion
deal has got to be one of the worst
ways a person can go.
I felt hollow after I left the film. I
needed something rejuvenating. I
wasn't filled with love, hate, sadness
or any real human emotion at all as I
drove home. Funny, after watching
the not-as-savage-as-everyone-men
tions flick of the last 12 hours of
Christ, I felt nothing. Right afterward,
I checked my bank account, and with
the thick checks I make writing these
columns, I had stacks of the mean
green. I decided to buy some music.
I went into a music store and began
shuffling through the racks. There was
loud banger music playing in the
store, and a girl with a punk rock shirt
helped me find some music I was
looking for.
When I got the music I wanted and
was checking out, I saw soundtracks
for "The Passion of the Christ" and I
asked her if people were buying these.
"No, not really."
"Have you seen the movie?" I asked.
"No, I don't believe in God."
Turn to PASSION, page 12