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.