music
Never Mind the Pistols
Cryptobluegrazoology
To most, the name Glen Matlock probably doesn’t stand out. However, considering the
fact that Matlock was the Sex Pistols’ bassist before Sid Vicious joined the band in 1977, it
probably should.
This is another depressing tale similar to that of Pete Best (the Beatles’ drummer who
was replaced by Ringo Starr) or Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd founder, replaced by David
Gilmour) that probably makes most musicians cringe at the thought of what their former
bands might become.
The good news is that Matlock didn’t bite the dust like his replacement did just two
years after joining the Pistols, and we get a chance to see him play on Monday. His new
group, the Philistines, isn’t quite as scathing as one would imagine, considering the gnarly
‘70s punk movement he cut his teeth in, but it still goes to prove that he knows how to
write, play and perform like the influential musician he is.
Glen Matlock plays 10:30
pm Monday, March 12,
at Luckey’s; $10.
— Andy Valentine
Ever gone to a bluegrass festival and just stared intently at the stage waiting for
something other than blistering speed and old-time standards? Sure you have. Solid
originals have become something of a mythic, folky beast in the bluegrass world
over the years; everybody just plays “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” or some recycled
Old Crow Medicine Show tune. I’m still waiting for somebody to write a contemporary
for “Swing Low” that’s as catchy and overplayed by the time it’s a few hundred years
old, but I guess that’s about as likely as a Sasquatch sighting.
Cryptozoology aside, Bigfoot Lane is a raucous (in a foot-stompin’ kind of way)
group that’s been bustin’ out old-time folk-jazz-swing-bluegrass fusion tunes since
1970. Much like the elusive Bigfoot himself, the group is a down-home, slap-waggling
act that hasn’t strayed far from the density of our Northwest trees. In the 42 years
that Ernie Connely, Sandy Wallrich, Keith Barr, and Addison and Peggy Mulder have
been gigging together, there have been “at least 28 sightings of the mythical
creature” that is Bigfoot in the Lane County area.
Bigfoot Lane’s sound is sort of like Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir rifling through a
bucket of bluegrass instruments and then organizing them by hand until most of the
psychedelia is pushed to the background and only a cool display of strong
compositional talent is left. These cats know how to swing, baby!
Try and spot Bigfoot Lane 8:30 pm, Saturday, March 10, at Cozmic; $8 adv., $10
door. — Andy Valentine
SOL SEED
Transplanted Vibes
The Pacific Northwest is one of the most oversaturated markets around when it
comes to reggae music. Is it the ganja? The laid-back lifestyle? The white kids with
dreadlocks exploring comparative religion? Who knows — and who cares? We like our
reggae, and we love our local music. Sol Seed gives us both with a swagger that
can’t be ignored.
With Michael Lennon (vocals/guitar), Michael Sorensen (vocals/drums), Ben
Pezzano (vocals/bass), Sky Guasco (vocals/dijeridu), Kenny Lewis on guitar and
Graeme Pletscher on sax, Sol Seed is a band that’s as multi-talented as it is packed
with charisma. Originally from Southern Oregon, the group recently made Eugene its
home and is making its presence known through rocking venues and winning over a
hyper-stimulated (sometimes snobbish) reggae audience. Rock, Latin flavor and
psychedelic vibes meet a healthy reggae overtone in the music of Sol Seed. The
band recently released a dynamic recording, Live @ Luckey’s, that complements its
discography of clean studio recordings.
Sol Seed is built for the stage. This collection of natural performers is known to
impress and engage its listeners. Ever go early to a show and run into an opening act
that’s so good it makes you wonder why they aren’t headlining? That’s Sol Seed. And
it will only be a matter of time until these guys are gigging the festival circuit and
receiving the recognition as Eugene’s hottest new reggae act.
Sol Seed plays 9 pm Saturday, March 10, at Sam Bond’s; $10. — Dante Zuñiga-West
Rockin’ in the Kitchen
CORNMEAL
28 MARCH 8, 2012 EUGENE WEEKLY
Bluegrass music is made for the mountains. It’s meant to be played on sun-swathed summer
days deep in the heart of your home range, or in nearby, whiskey-warmed taverns. However, none
of that speaks at all to the incredible talent being churned out by today’s string musicians in the
sprawling cities and urban jungles of Chicago, Nashville or California. Case in point: Cornmeal.
They may come from the industrial heartland of America, but they pick, bow and pluck strings
with a mountaintop reverie that few Oregon or Colorado string bands can dismiss.
Cornmeal has been on the festival circuit for the better part of the past decade, making
stops at Telluride, Ned Fest, All Good and Bonnaroo among others.
Like so many of today’s bluegrass musicians, Cornmeal’s players have traveled long and
varied musical roads leading them to where they are now. That said, Cornmeal’s rock ’n’ roll
tendencies expose themselves quite unabashedly. Ally Kral’s infectious and deliciously shriekish
fiddle jams, guitarist Kris Nowak’s shreddy guitar work and drummer JP Nowak’s steady,
rhythmic backing certainly land these players on the more progressive side of the bluegrass
spectrum. Like a more rock-heavy String Cheese Incident, Cornmeal has a reputation for fast-
tempo dance numbers and on-stage intra-band collaborations. When that collaboration happens
to include SF’s own Hot Buttered Rum, Eugene is in for a fiery hoedown.
Cornmeal and Hot Buttered Rum play 9 pm Saturday, March 14, at WOW Hall; $12 adv.,$15
door. — Andrew Hitz
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