Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1998)
T he CI ac I< amas P rînt Wednesday, November 18, 1998 Excursion finds geological marvels SLADE SAPORA Contributing Writer Did you know that at one time the entire Portland area was noth ing but a series of 90 small volca noes, all dumping lava and hot cin ders across our fair city? Did you know that between 17 and 12 mil lion years ago a swarm of lava flows came pouring out of eastern Oregon and flowed down the Co lumbia river all the way to the ocean? And that in some places these flows were up to three miles thick? How about the fact that you can still find fossilized trees, up to 14 million years old, in these an cient lava flows? Well, if you had traveled with geology instructor John Snively Nov. 1, you would have learned all of this and much, much more. The vans left Sunday morning, and the first stop was not some far away frozen mountaintop, but a spot overlooking 1-205 outside of West Linn. Here, you can see two lava flows that originated in east ern Oregon and traveled down the Columbia River of long ago. After this, we drove up the Sandy River looking at ancient lava tubes still etched in the sides of overhanging cliffs. The trip had many stops along the Gorge including the Crown Point area, Oneanta Gorge, the Bonneville Slide, Carson and Hood River, each place offering its own exciting and mysterious piece of trivia. Teaching people to see what they’re looking at is one of John Snively’s favorite pasttimes, and there is no such thing as a dull moment or a boring hillside on one ofhis field trips. The intricate his tory of the Columbia’s geologic past can be both endless and fasci nating. The trip culminated on a pictur esque viewpoint overlooking The Dalles where a discussion was held on the Bretz Floods. These floods, the largest ever recorded in geo logic history, came roaring down the Columbia River around 15,000 years ago. The flood waters reached as much as 1,000 feet high (or deep) in places and traveled at 60 miles per hour on the average. Nothing gives a story like this more life than standing where these cata strophic waters once flowed far overhead. Portland Krushed by DJ ALEX MAHAN Contributing Writer With so many mediocre musi cal acts floating around today, sometimes it can be tough to hear creative music at a good venue in the Portland area. Occasionally, however, a musical tour Comes through with enough talent to blow the socks off of the Spice Girls and their Z100 entourage. One of these tours was Motherfunk 2, and one of these venues was the Crystal Ballroom. On Friday, Nov. 13, Japanese hip-hop artist DJ Krush per formed with four other funky jazz based instrumental groups, and the springy dance floor at the Ball room was bouncing all night long! Vinyl, a group out of San Fran cisco, opened the night with their unique brand of disco-funk, and got the crowd moving. Vinyl played everything from instrumen tal ska to straight-up jazz, and the Hammond organ added a nice touch to their varied musical style. Next up was the musical high light of the night, jazz saxophon ist Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. Denson’s group is a side project of the Greyboy Allstars, who are probably the greatest groove quin tet ever to come out of San Diego. The Allstars were formed in 1993 by Denson, and since then have continued to move crowds around the country with their brand of loose, jazzy grooves. Tiny Uni verse is a more bluesy offshoot of this style. The band itself was amazing; every member was in total control of their instrument, and during their 90 minute set, they only stopped twice! The transition from tune to tune was smooth and the audience was in a dancing frenzy as the groove flowed on. Defi nitely a crowd-pleaser. DJ Krush showed Portland how they do it in Japan. This show was his first concert appearance on American soil, and he left a good impression on the kids of the United States. His albums on London’s Mo Wax records, a label renowned for its jazzy, murky, beat-heavy music, have showcased his turn table artistry, but most people have yet to see him perform live. Well, his debut proved that he can mix it up in concert as well as in the studio. He weaved together end less tapestries of deep hip-hop beats, jazz, classical, jungle, and various other styles to form a col lage of sound that washed over the listener. With just two turntables, two hands and an endless array of records, Krush showed that yes, hip-hop is still an art. Many people today try to discredit rap artists claiming they lack musical talent and/or knowledge, and they have a point, to some extent. Commercial rap today has be come a show of money, power, sex, drugs, and fame, and most rappers utilize this to gain more wealth. But the legitimate artists like DJ Krush prove that you can play hip-hop and have your head on straight. His wizardry at using different musical- backgrounds to provide the listener with a full spectrum of instrumental beats and tunes is unmistakable. All in all, this was a tremendous group' of musicians. Nearly every style of musical expression was played one way or another during the night, and positive vibes abounded. Geology enthusiasts stand beneath a gorgeous waterfall. The group toured the Columbia Gorge area investigating Oregon's geological history.
