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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 2004)
BY VANESSA SALVIA Cabinessence play Sam Bond’s Anniversary Party, Saturday, July 24. Energetic Expression Huckabay, Cabinessence offer spirited sounds. A coustic guitar virtuoso Scott Huckabay’s name is familiar to many around these parts, as he’s played Country Fair and other festivals and shows many times, but perhaps his story is less familiar. Huckabay, who takes the stage at Cozmic Pizza on Friday, July 23, is descended from the Chiricahua, or Apache, tribe in southern Arizona. During the August 1987 Harmonic Convergence weekend there, Huckabay was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident. He struggled with doctors’ diagnoses that he would never walk or use his right hand again. Unwilling and unable to accept that future possibility, Huckabay turned to music. He picked up the acoustic guitar as therapy, and the sounds of music began filling his life. Letting the musical inspiration flow, Huckabay spent a year in Hawaii, recuperating on the beach and surrounding himself with the heal- ing influence of the water and its creatures, es- pecially dolphins and whales. Over time, he healed. The doctors’ original diagnoses van- ished into thin air as Huckabay healed, and today his fingers fly over the keys and his body expresses every emotion with strength. The experience of being renewed by the sea and by dolphins is a gift Huckabay freely gives his audiences every time he plays. His shows are filled with boundless energy and an unusual style of playing (for one, he uses a verge of major-label big-time stardom. Four boys from Springfield High School, including guitarist and vocalist Bruce Arnold and drum- mer Nathan Maricle, wowed Outpost Records, a subsidiary of Geffen with a 1999 album. Merely two weeks before the CD was to be released, a bitter label merger between Interscope and Geffen left Marigold’s CD lan- guishing on a storage shelf somewhere, never to see the light of day. “Now I can look back and think of it as a real wild learning experience. I have some bit- terness when I realize we put so much time and effort into it and nothing ever came out,” says Arnold. “That jadedness and the bitter- ness factor pushed Marigold so that we could- n’t even play anymore. We didn’t understand what the point of it was.” Coupled with Maricle’s desire to switch to guitar, the death knell had sounded for Marigold. At that point, Maricle and Arnold recorded a couple tunes together at Arnold’s home studio, “but didn’t think too much of it.” A little more than a year ago, Arnold and Maricle once again began collaborating. “By nine months ago we had accumulated an album’s worth of tunes that were mostly fin- ished,” reveals Arnold. Cabinessence has the same pop sensibili- ties that Marigold did, but played in a different style. Marigold’s music started out as Weezer/Green Day pop with a Euro influence. As the players matured, the music got “much louder and swirlier.” Arnold and Maricle later discovered Bob Dylan, The Byrds and other folk, and “before we knew it we were writing these slightly country-ish tunes and doing our best attempt at faux-pedal steel stuff.” Arnold says Cabinessence has “a soul vein as well, slanted into a country soul style, defi- nitely late ‘60s, early ‘70s pop, and tons of harmonies.” The anniversary party would be a blast anyway, but with music from Cabinessence on the agenda, it’s a sure thing. The WOW Hall welcomes The 77’s and special guests The Strawmen on July 24. Over The 77’s 20-year career, guitarist/vocal- ist Michael Roe, bassist Mark Harmon and drummer Bruce Spencer have been the nu- cleus of the group. On this night David Leonhardt will rejoin the band. In the mid-’80s, The 77’s made a splash with energetic garage-y rock, especially with their radio single “Can’t Get Over It.” The group went through a period of dormancy until the early ‘90s, then began releasing musi- Huckabay was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident. He struggled with doctors’ diagnoses that he would never walk or use his right hand again. meteorite as a guitar pick) that has won him many awards and admirers from Joe Satriani to Ram Das. Huckabay uses a violin bow, an E-bow, percussion styling and many other ef- fects including his own inspired methods to create music that sounds born of the sea, in- spired as much by the fluid grace of dolphins as by the guitar genius of Jimi Hendrix. On Saturday, July 24 Sam Bond’s Garage is holding its 9th Anniversary, welcoming to the stage local acts Cabinessence, Los Mex Pistols, Manischewitz (a Henry Mancini tribute band), Klaire and the Chairs, Bloody Castles and more. Cabinessence has roots in the popular band Marigold. In its time, Marigold was on the www.hcexpeditions.com 822-8288 or 1-888-461-7238 Come see us at Belknap Hot Springs Resort d & Scenic Wil High Country Expeditions Rafting Trips Upper McKenzie • Upper Klamath Cal-Salmon • Rogue & other NW Rivers Friend David Pulliam was enlisted to help out on keys and guitar on a couple tracks and Marigold bassist Adam Henderson was tapped to play bass. Both Henderson and Pulliam have little time to devote to the band and only contributed on a handful of tracks. Everything else was written and played by the core of the group, Maricle and Arnold and recorded in Arnold’s extra bedroom. Dandy Warhols’ producer and friend of the band, Greg Williamson, mixed the final self- titled record. “We’d really like to get a solid band and go into the studio and get a real live- sounding record, because we put our CD to- gether piece by piece, one track at a time,” says Arnold. cally independently, 12 albums’ worth. The Strawmen are brothers Bill and Mark Harmon on vocals, guitars and bass and Leonhardt on guitar and keys. The Strawmen’s most recent release, Saving Faded Dreams, which also features 77’s drummer Spencer, is described as “absolutely fantastic jangle pop” and a “pop diary about love, God, desperation and hope” with “an army of melodic hooks and thought- provoking lyrics.” Bill Harmon once had the opportunity to pitch some self-penned tunes to Johnny Cash himself. While The Man In Black didn’t record any of Harmon’s songs, he became a fan and encouraged Harmon to “never put that guitar down.” Harmon never has. Enjoy! ew Summer Glee to Thee Pretty Silver Jewelry Candles • Aromatherapy • Yoga Mats Garden Statues RUBY CHASM 152 W 5th @ Charnelton (Farmer's Union Marketplace) M-Sa 10-6 • Su 12-5 • 344-4074 Summer Rafting Special Rafting Coupon 10% OFF 1/2 Day Rafting Trips OR $40.00 Sun. & Wed. Rafting Trips This coupon must be presented at the time of booking. Only valid for McKenzie Rafting Trips. 10% off will only be applied to adult rates. Not to be combined with other specials. • Group & Student Discounts • 1/2 to multi-day adventures • Relaxing scenic floats • Fun-filled family trips • Class 4 & 5 adventures • Trips run 7 days a week • Located on the McKenzie River • Locally owned & operated JULY 22, 2004 23
