music
Jammin’ Theory
Jam band Strum Theory (pictured) has been performing around Eugene in various
incarnations for many years, but has only played a few gigs with their current lineup. Vocalist
and primary songwriter Michael Domagala felt it would be best if I met him at south Eugene’s
post offi ce and followed him to Strum Theory’s practice space.
“The place is hard to fi nd,” he emailed. He’s right. On the fi rst truly summer-like day of the
spring, we drive beyond Eugene’s south hills, through a secured gate and past a dilapidated red
out to experience one of Strum Theory’s
barn, arriving at bassist Paul Shroder’s home. I’m about
hurch.”
biweekly rehearsals — what they call their “Sunday church.”
nces and
Sitting in Shroder’s yard we talk about the infl uences
inspirations that got the Eugene four-piece playing music in the
nfl uenced by
fi rst place. Domagala grew up on the Beatles, and is infl
umpet player
jam bands like the Dave Matthews Band. Guitarist/trumpet
zz and blues
Jeff Hurt and drummer Tyler Tjernland come from jazz
backgrounds, and Shroder, who only started playing music in his 30s,
has been heavily infl uenced by the hybrid funk-rock of the Red Hot
Chili Peppers.
mbers
We move inside the practice space. The band members
kick off their shoes and begin their set with “Get Out
s’
Back,” a festival-ready tune that shows the musicians’
es recall
infl uences immediately. Domagala’s spidery guitar lines
de and
Dave Matthews as he sings lyrics about getting outside
experiencing the beauty of the world in a tenor that is s too light
to be called Eddie Vedder-esque but defi nitely shares s the Pearl
vor with
Jam singer’s guttural growl. Hurt adds to the jazz fl avor
lid, laying
hooky trumpet-lines, and Tjernland’s percussion is solid,
Get Out
down the bouncy groove and stopping on a dime as “Get
d the band
Back” swells to its climax. Hurt switches to guitar, and
continues through their tight practice set.
ntalist has
The addition of Hurt as a multi-faceted instrumentalist
given the band a new wave of vigor. Talent-wise they are ready
nd hard.
to tour and could rock any festival stage they want, and
ough
But they know that music, now more than ever, is a tough
heory,
business to survive in — even for a band like Strum Theory,
REVIEW
Pharoahe Monch
Wednesday, June 8
WOW Hall
Photo by Todd Cooper
More photos at
blogs.eugeneweekly.com
which places more emphasis on live performance than recording. “It’s about bringing your
music to the people,” Shroder says, and they will continue doing just that.
Strum Theory plays with Sol Riot and Ambush Party 9 pm Friday, June 17, at Luckey’s; $5.
— William Kennedy
Deliver Us from Banjo
“Dueling Banjos” has become synonymous with the image of terrifyingly inbred yokels with
phenomenal banjo skills. OK, and probably the most chilling scene in cinematic history comes to
mind as well. The fi rst few twangy notes of that song will forever be associated with men forced
to squeal like pigs in Deliv
Deliverance. The Banjo Killers are here to combat that image. The only
terrifying thing about this duo is the almost inhuman speed at which their fi ngers fl y across
fretboards and strings.
Award-winning banjo player Tony Furtado mans the banjo half of the Banjo Killers, while Scott
Law tackles the guitar. The majority of their sound centers around the twangy banjo,
naturally, and Furtado’s skillfull mastery of the instrument deserves every showcase
it gets. But the sound would be incomplete without Law’s guitar to fi ll out the
inescapabl tin of the banjo.
inescapable
m have been playing their respective instruments practically since
Both men
an it shows. Furtado and Law complement each other wonderfully. They
infancy, and
blend when they need to blend and take turns stepping out of the spotlight for each
other. Th
The guitar and banjo pas de deux is perfectly in step, at times sounding
like one instrument. It’s the kind of music that should accompany an indie Manic
Pixie Dre
Dream Girl as she frolics through a sunny wheat fi eld.
Mo of their songs focus strongly on instrumentals, but when the Banjo
Most
Kille introduce singing they go Southern with it, as demonstrated by
Killers
the cover of Muddy Waters’ “Trouble No More.” The otherwise smooth
their
voc are punctuated with upswings and breaks that add depth rather
vocals
than the impression of a sticky, affected Southern accent.
The Banjo Killers marry guitar and banjo seamlessly, and manage to sidestep
cliche country c crooning. Their live shows are sprinkled with anecdotes and generate
plenty of down-h
down-home charm. So if it’s a laid-back, bluegrass kind of night and you’re
so
looking for something
upbeat to while away the hours, check out the Banjo Killers.
Ban Killers play 8:30 pm Saturday, June 25, at the Axe & Fiddle in
The Banjo
Gro
Cottage Grove;
$10. — Natalie Horner
REIGN OF THE PHAROAHE CONTINUES
Hip hop was honored Wednesday, June 8, at the WOW Hall when Pharoahe Monch stepped to the stage. Smash-mouthed unabashed
microphone-murdering lyrics had the crowd jumping (literally, the WOW Hall fl oor felt like a trampoline) to songs that Monch wrote ten years ago
— he is that type of legend in the hip hop world, creating music that has what industry booking agents call “replay value.” The songs off his new
album, W.A.R., though not as iconic as his previous work, offer the same reality check that hip hop heads need — and that they were given when
Monch fi rst hit the scene. Back then the declaration was one of defi ance in the face of mainstream bullshit ghetto-fabulous rap made by studio
(wanna-be) gangstas giving suburban white boys who play too much Grand Theft Auto San Andreas wet dreams. Now that same declaration
sparked and owned by Monch and his (few) peers is one of pure existence. “Is hip hop in the building?” Monch asked. It was. He was answered by
a screaming horde of true underground heads who knew his lyrics and shouted them back to him.
Monch is a throwback, a hip hop dinosaur from a time not long past that seems to be lost and forgotten by everyone who stopped coming
out to “conscious” hip hop shows — which is exactly the reason such shows ceased coming around. We were fortunate to have an MC of Monch’s
talent come to town, and it was a testament to his stature how off-the-hook his show was.
The self-proclaimed “most obligated“ MC sat in the green room after his killer performance, looking like a man who’d just walked away from an
explosion. I told him I got his fi rst album when I was 17 years old, and he told me he’d just spoken to a man who said the same thing, but the age was
14. Monch smiles. “That’s some amazing shit,” he says, then tells me he always wanted to make something people would remember, like the music he
grew up on: Coltrane, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Hendrix. His genre is not as all-penetrating, but his infl uence in that genre is.
Though visibly haggard from a hard tour, the Queens-raised Monch continued to give an enthusiastic interview. He sounds a little like Mike
Tyson in cadence and pitch — a far cry from his commanding stage-voice on the mic, which sounds like some big spooky fool that would stomp
you out in the parking lot of a Dodger game. Monch’s intellect is sharp, he breaks down
the underground hip hop scene (or what is left of it) in succinct language: “The failure
to sell records has caused people to revert back to the basics,” those basics being a
sick beat and an ill verse. It was Monch’s showmanship
that won the crowd; it is this same energy that will
continue to carry him into the minds and boomboxes of
those who know, remember or just found out.
— Dante Zuñiga-West
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EUGENE WEEKLY JUNE 16, 2011
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