music
ADAM BAGERSKI
Get Your Fix at the Pharmacy
Sampling, Sax and
‘Green Tom Drum’
Boy Eats Drum Machine – weird
name? Kind of. But it might be the best
possible description for the fascinating
one-man musical act of Jon Ragel.
Songwriter, saxophonist, singer and
green-tom-drum-master could all be
added to his job description.
The Portland artist released his fi rst,
self-titled album in 2001, and his second,
Pleasure, wasn’t released until 2005.
Since then, however, he’s churned out
Two Ghosts in 2007 and Boomboxxx in
2008.
The newest album Hoop + Wire,
which comes out March 2, is perhaps
more poppy than its predecessors, but
also contains ska-like elements. In the
upbeat “Syncopated,” fast-past accents
from the saxophone keep it light but not
overly cheery. He adds to the punchy
accents with what press releases call
“green tom drum” — we drummers
sometimes like to call it a fl oor tom.
By contrast, “ABQ” lets the turntables
loose and slows the tempo down for a
more industrial, underground feel — and
Ragel isn’t singing.
In his blog, Ragel says he created
songs in a different order this time,
fi rst laying down bass and then adding
samples. This avoids the problem of
fi nding an otherwise great sample that
doesn’t fi t the syncopation when the
rest of the song is already recorded.
He even boldly claims that “it’s all been
done” with guitar. But “turntablism,”
as he calls it, is still a relatively new
instrument, that is, when it is even
considered an instrument at all. Boy
Eats Drum Machine, On The Tundra,
Finn Riggins and Adventure Gallery play
at 8 pm Sunday, Feb. 28, at the Muse
Lounge. 21+. Free. — Darcy Wallace
While it’s really a shame that up-and-coming trio The
Pharmacy left the Pacifi c Northwest for New Orleans,
the change of scenery seems to have infl uenced the
band’s sound for the better. The Pharmacy’s latest
record, Weekend, comes out March 9 on Park the Van
(home to esteemed artists like Dr. Dog and Spinto Band),
and it’s a defi nite maturation of the band’s basement
punk origins. Written and recorded with a four-track
in New Orleans, the band’s songs come off like vintage
‘60s garage rock evened out by tinkling pianos and
a bluesy sensibility. Even though it’s less produced
than its predecessor, Choose Yr Own Adventure,
Weekend actually feels more cohesive than anything
the Pharmacy’s put out so far. That, coupled with the
band’s ambitious touring schedule — the Pharmacy is
nothing if not a hardworking band — suggests a bright
future for the Pharmacy. After hitting Portland and
Eugene, the band will embark on an international tour
that includes SXSW, so get your fi x now: It’ll be a good, long while before the Pharmacy rolls back
through town again, and when they do, there’s a good chance the band will be headlining at WOW
Hall instead of the Wandering Goat. The Pharmacy and the Spleens play at 8 pm Thursday, Feb.
25, at the Wandering Goat. — Sara Brickner
Dancing While Brooding
Local synth masters Science Heroes are coming out with their fi rst album titled Transmission
Zero Hour. Based in electro-rock, the beats for this new collection of songs prove mostly
danceable with the exception of some forays into balladry that are probably better for armchair
listening. As is often the case with electronic music, the duo are able to let their instruments
do much of the work, creating thickly orchestrated and haunting melodies akin to a sci-fi movie
soundtrack.
The most obvious comparisons for this band might be to fellow electro-rockers The Faint or
Death From Above 1979. But where The Faint have often stuck with creating strictly anthemic
dance tunes since Blank-Wave Arcade, Science Heroes are willing to diverge into Man or Astro-
Man? territory by throwing in some surf rock guitar (“Pistols at Ten Paces”) or creating glitchy
video game music (“A Violent Postscript to Yesterday’s Shocking Events”).
Andy Weber’s voice is another parting in the road from Science Heroes’ predecessors. It
often takes on a Glenn Danzig theatricality and tone that contrasts to the nasal vocals of The
Faint’s Todd Fink. And like many of The Misfi ts/Samhain/Danzig’s lyrical inspirations, the mood
for most of their songs is dark and brooding. But, you know, for people who like to dance while
they brood.
Science Heroes, Archeology and The Slants play at 8 pm Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Muse
Lounge. 21+. No cover. — Shaun O’Dell
Gimme an “A” … and Maybe Some T,
While You’re At It
The Asylum Street Spankers may bill themselves as
God’s Favorite Band — the title the band chose for its latest
record of gospel and gospel-infl uenced songs — but some
of the band’s racier numbers could make even Beelzebub
blush. Coupling crass songwriting with an old-timey folk
sound makes for a fun juxtaposition — so fun the band
devoted a couple of EPs to songs so pornographic, they’re
practically X-rated. Then again, what do you expect from
a band whose initials spell “ass”? Thing is, while plenty
of revivalist folk artists have spent their careers refuting
country music’s stodgy reputation, the ASS have been at
it longer than most; specifi cally, since 1994, when founders
Wammo and Christina Marrs got their start busking on the
streets of Austin, Texas, and playing for tips in bars. Since
then, the band’s cycled through enough members to fi ll
out the current seven-person lineup four times over, but
the constant roster changes haven’t done much to impact
the band’s trademark sound. Though the Spankers’ sense
of humor sometimes overshadows the songs themselves —
the band’s lyrics are more funny than sophisticated — few like-minded bands can rival the ASS’
raucous performances. The Asylum Street Spankers and the Conjugal Visitors perform at 8 pm
Friday, Feb. 26, at WOW Hall. $18 adv., $20 door, $25 seated. — Sara Brickner
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Not a Lion,
Not a Lamb
If writers ever focused too heavily on
religion while discussing David Bazan’s
former projects, it’s nonetheless what’s
front and center with his fi rst solo full-
length (following 2008’s Fewer Moving
Parts EP). Curse Your Branches, which
came out last year, is 10 rich, restrained
— and occasionally jubilant — tracks
laden with questions, autobiographical
narratives, doubts and details, most of
which refl ect Bazan’s relationship with
his family, his faith and his drinking.
Pedro the Lion, which Bazan led
for a decade, often got called some
variation of “that Christian indie band.”
Curse Your Branches, however, is
getting called Bazan’s breakup record
with God. Branches is full of struggles
and arguments but not fi re and fury;
it’s a philosophical wander through
the wilderness that begins with Bazan
asking, “Wait just a minute / You expect
me to believe / that all this misbehaving
/ grew from one enchanted tree?”
Those lines come in “Hard to Be,”
a slow-building song that showcases
what The New York Times called
Bazan’s “perpetually doleful” voice.
Though the title track is a beauty,
Branches’ heaviest hitter is its closer.
“In Stitches” is a gorgeous, mournful,
slightly nervous track; a persistent
twitch of percussion, at odds with the
languid vocals, runs through most
of song, which pulls all the record’s
themes into one skeptical narrative
that gets close to anger and backs
away again. Branches is a compelling
self-portrait — one strengthened by
its confl icts and uncertainties — by a
musician who’s said he doesn’t really
like autobiographical songs. David
Bazan and Headlights play at 9 pm
Thursday, March 4, at Sam Bond’s
Garage. 21+. $10. — Molly Templeton
EUGENE WEEKLY FEBRUARY 25, 2010 21