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Sonic Interference
Pono, Flashlight headline the week.
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22 AUGUST 28, 2003
don’t know how Luckey’s Cigar Club
& Tavern is finding the quirky, obscure
bands they’ve been booking there late-
ly, but I’m glad for it. It definitely makes
the musical texture of Eugene much more
interesting, from my perspective. Pono, in
the band’s words, is “two parts Yo La
Tengo, two parts Death in Vegas, one part
X, 3/4 parts VU [Velvet Underground, for
those not in the know] plus inspiration
derived from philosophy (Derrida in par-
ticular) situation, art, love, Henry Miller,
roaches, movies, masturbation and bubble
baths.”
After listening to a sampler CD I
received, I can’t argue with that at all, at
least in terms of the musical references.
Pono formed Aug. 14, 1998 when
bassist/vocalist Barbara, guitarist/vocalist
Ellard and drummer/vocalist Poopy decid-
ed to stop talking and start making music.
That music sounds like its being played
underwater, and we the audience are the
hapless whales being beached by the sonic
interference. Except that we’re happy
about it, and we want to stay.
There have been two recordings by this
group so far: 1999’s Mao Tse-tung’s Bar
Mitzvah Was 13 Years, 13 Months And 13
Days Before Gandhi’s Circumcision (yes,
that’s the name of the CD!) and Aisle 3,
released in 2001. Pono is on Zeitgeist
Rekords and is on a short tour right now,
being joined on all dates by fellow
Zeitgeisters Pillow Pusher. According
to the band, Pono will break up Aug. 14,
2008, exactly 10 years after their forma-
tion. If you ask me, that 10 years is mere-
ly a pupal stage, and they’ll then emerge
into something much more terrifying, and
proceed to the second stage of their
plan–world domination. I can’t explain the
fixation with swordfish and ravioli, but if
you go to the show Thursday, Aug. 28, you
can ask them. The meaning of all this will
then be revealed.
John Henry’s Rock Palace in Eugene
welcomes Flashlight Brown to town on
Friday, Aug. 29. Canadians Fil, Matt,
Mike and Tim were bored kids in a small
college town and decided to do something
about it, namely start a band. They imme-
diately turned heads in their sleepy town
and high-tailed it to the big city of
Toronto. They felt swallowed up by the
town, and strove to get themselves
noticed, to no avail. Their solution? They
created a fictitious booking agency and
named themselves the sole clients. Calling
clubs with a name to throw around, albeit
a made-up one, gave them the influence
they needed to get gigs in Toronto and
across the country. As the four guys
toured, they lived the unadorned life on
the road, eating junk food and sleeping on
cold floors night after night. But they real-
ized they liked it, and the constant togeth-
erness tightened their performances and
brought them to a new level of musician-
ship.
That music sounds
like its being played
underwater , and we
the audience are the
hapless whales
being beached by the
sonic interference.
Recently the foursome experienced a
payback of sorts for all their sacrifice and
hard work: Rob Cavallo, who produced
Green Day, Alanis Morisette and Goo Goo
Dolls, wanted to record two songs with
them. The band went from flat broke in
Calgary to recording in L.A. in what
seemed like a heartbeat. The two songs
turned into a whole album as Cavallo
became gripped by the band. This resulted
in My Degeneration, a testament to six
years of life spent on the streets and not
giving up on a dream. According to their
press release, “Fueled by the energy of
punk, the power of the great guitar bands,
the irreverence of the Simpsons and the
surprisingly profound, this album reaches
out to everyone who’s ever struggled to
find their place in a world of borders and
cliques.” Remember the name and catch
this band, but go early enough to see the
great local openers. They’ll be playing
along with 2 Bucks Short, Capgun
Suicide and Low Tolerance.
ew