Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2004)
BY VANESSA SALVIA Patriot Act performs at Cozmic Pizza Friday. NEW STOCK ARRIVING RUBY CHASM 152 W. 5TH • M-SA 10-6 SU 12-5 • 344-4074 Cozmic Pizza Seasoned Seasoned pie pie purveyors purveyors provide provide politics, politics, music. music. W hat goes together like pizza and beer? Well, pizza and politics. Eugene’s organic pizza house, Cozmic Pizza, is nestled in the Strand building at 199 W. 8th Ave. along with Theo’s Coffee House, Indra’s Internet Café, Windows Booksellers (proprietors of philosophic and theological texts) and WIPF Stock Publishers, a publishing house. Event Coordinator Jules Vaughn filled me in on the history and hopes of this pizza joint turned community meeting place. Cozmic Pizza quickly outgrew its original spot on Willamette Street, thanks to delicious organic veggie fare and a delightful outdoor courtyard filled with the sounds of acoustic music on summer eves. “People just loved the venue, because it was outside during the summer- time under the stars, fairly casual,” explains Vaughn. As the owners looked for a new location to expand their pizza business, Vaughn held in her mind the vision of a space that could be “a community events kind of venue,” she says. When the Strand building became available, she says, “I took one look at that big curved ceiling and went, ‘This is it!’ ” Cozmic’s mission is to support the com- munity in inventive ways. One example is giving musical performers 100 percent of the door take, rather than trying to profit from a struggling musician’s audience attendance. “Offering a space for people to do their music,” says Vaughn, “is a really big part of [our mission], but ... in a sense it’s more like facilitating events. We try to facilitate a lot of different events … and the priority for us is to get people to try organic food, because that’s what we’ve been doing for six years. And then we hope that people will come back.” With the elections coming up, Cozmic Pizza has naturally been hosting political events, which are a huge draw. Vaughn says more than 200 people showed up to view presidential- hopeful John Kerry’s nomination speech at the ©2004 Pabst Brewing Company GINGER HUSTLERS Gina, V, Mike, and Thom bring you the unique sound that could only be the Ginger Hustlers. “Gothic”, “moody”, and “hypnotic” are all terms that have been used to describe this band that has been around since the spring of 2002 when the lovely bassist, Gina started the Ginger Hustlers. Make sure you see them live this Friday night as they cele- brate the release of their new EP “Pulse”. Check out Eugene Weekly’s clubs page and www.gingerhustlers.com for details. Democratic National Convention. “When we announce that we’re going to do a big-screen showing of something it becomes kind of a social event and it really is exciting to sit there with 200 people and clap and cheer!” laughs Vaughn. Patriot Act , performing political satire and musical comedy, will come down from Seattle on Oct. 8. Vaughn promises, “They’re really funny and we’re looking forward to having them!” This free event will be preced- ed by either a showing of the anti-Bush com- edy film, There’s Something About W, or a big-screen airing of the presidential debates, which are scheduled for television that night. Salsa music with Azuquita will follow. The Middle Eastern Dance Festival takes place on Saturday starting at noon. Dancers and musicians from around the state will congregate at the venue for performanc- es and lessons of all types, celebrating the vibrancy of Middle Eastern Dance. On Sunday, Oct. 10 Cozmic hosts an afternoon benefit for Autism Rocks. After that, begin- ning at 8 pm, a local resident will show their videos from the Republican National Convention protests in New York City. On Oct. 12, Café Mam, local coffee roasters, will give a talk on Fair Trade. Gustavo from Chiapas, Mexico will present information and will be followed by a free big-screen showing of the film, The Future of Food , an informative look at the history and present situation of genetically-modified foods and pesticide use. Vaughn shared that MoveOn PAC has converged fifty paid employees in Eugene and will be using the Cozmic Pizza space to hold training meetings over the next few weeks. Pizza, beer, politics and music are united at The Strand. “It’s been really exciting for me to see the space take shape based on all the different events,” says Vaughn. “For me, this is really ew about getting people involved.” crazy COSTUME CONNECTION Get your costumes for Halloween! Largest Privately-Owned Costume Collection in Lane County. * COSTUMES FOR SALE BY GROUP APPOINTMENTS ONLY * FOR SALE ONLY, CALL 463-9902 34 OCTOBER 7, 2004
