music
Hang ‘em high
Though the name sounds a bit ominous, Shovels and Rope’s music is nothing short of a
good time. The group adopted that name after releasing an album with the same title. The
songs off that record are a collection of murder ballads, telling grim stories about digging
and hanging, but that content doesn’t entirely sum up the music of Cary Ann Hearst and
Michael Trent.
Let’s say you were taking a long walk through a dark wood; these are the sounds you’d
want to hear if you stumbled into a clearing, alone, unarmed and open to the celebration of
good company. It’s campfire music that could find itself equally at home in a dusty, half-
empty tavern.
Hearst’s vocals are bare-boned, powerful and compelling. Trent is a throwback, whose
aptitude on the drums and harmonica is matter-of-fact solid. Hailing from Charleston, S.C.,
this duo has been on the road since 2010 and recently embarked upon a coast-to-coast tour
that lands them Tuesday in Eugene. If you love harmony-driven folk music, old drums,
tambourines and lonesome vocals, this is a band you will want to experience.
After touring with the likes of Hayes Carll, The Felice Brothers
and Butch Walker, Shovels and Rope has cultivated a solid live
show. Put it this way: The band played 200 shows in 2011,
and any musician whose been on the road can tell you
that a year like that will solidify any
band worth its salt. You either
make it or break it after that
many gigs, and Shovels and
Rope has emerged with guns
blazing. Run for cover, or just
pay the cover and enjoy the
music. You won’t be
disappointed.
Shovels and Rope plays 8
pm Tuesday, July 31, at Axe
and Fiddle; $5.
— Dante Zuñiga-West
The Living Crystal Faery Realm
How does one harden the masonry of a legend? The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in
Cleveland, Ohio, honored Donovan this year with an induction that’s more than well
deserved, and as a result he’s emerged from the woodwork to begin touring again, with
three festivals booked for the summer. Donovan has been called “the British Bob Dylan”
among other things, but there’s far more to be said for the Scotch-born bard than simply
“he and Dylan knew each other.” In case you’re unfamiliar, he’s the guy that wrote “Hurdy
Gurdy Man,” “Mellow Yellow” and “Catch the Wind,” to name a minute selection.
Ohhh, that Donovan. Yeah, that Donovan.
“I’m kind of a bard from the old,” he says. “A lot of my work draws very strongly on the
so-called Celtic roots where I come from. There’s a lot of lore and magic, and the tales we
all grew up with; it all comes up in my music.”
After being honored with music’s highest recognition, Donovan decided it was time to
“stretch his musical muscles,” and that, teamed with what appears to be nostalgia (and
the memory that music once scored him a sandwich, a cup of tea and two girls), has led
him back to Oregon. When asked, he only has thin recollections of our state, but it’s clear
that he’s been here before and fits right in.
“I remember doing a concert over there,” he says, speaking excitedly from across the
pond, “possibly at a university. Ken Kesey dropped by.”
Donovan will be stopping in to headline Faerieworlds, the explorative arts festival
taking place July 27-29 in the meadows of Mount Pisgah, and he says he’s especially
excited to share his love for what he calls “the Faery realm.” He’ll also be debuting a new
show called “The Living Crystal Faery Realm,” with a band formed specifically for this
event, in an attempt to spread the wealth of the fourth dimension.
“I come from Bohemia,” Donovan says. “Not the country — the state of mind.
Faerieland is no different to where meditation takes you — a fourth level of consciousness.
The Beatles and I brought this consciousness back from India, one that people needed in
the Western World, and it’s about a place inside us that we can access. I suppose we could
call it the spirit world, and we can only access it in altered states.”
Look, the legendary Donovan is somehow making it out to Eugene. And though it may
be tough keeping track of all the groups you wanna see at this festival, it’s certainly
recommended that you check him out. After all, it’s fucking Donovan, and he’s psyched to
see his “Oregonian pals” again.
Donovan plays Sunday, July 29, at Faerieworlds Music and Arts Festival; for more info,
go to faerieworlds.com
— Andy Valentine
Religiosity
Eliza Rickman is an L.A.-based folk singer but
she very well could have been plucked straight
out of a dark, twisted fairy tale. With black hair,
gorgeous eyes and the vocal chops to match,
Rickman is nothing to be overlooked.
Her relationship with music spurred from a
dark place. After a move to California at the
impressionable age of 12, Rickman quickly
realized Los Angeles wasn’t all movie stars and
palm trees. Music became her reprieve from that
depression. With the sounds of Elton John and the
Beatles at her side, Rickman began healing.
“I knew I would never be the Beatles, but I
loved that something could help me get out of
that terrible place,” Rickman says. “I really
thought it would be a great thing to provide that
coping mechanism for somebody else.”
That element of catharsis is what makes
Dumb and Doper
From the dungeons of the underground comes
Dumbfoundead — a rhymesayer whose lyricism is
capable of reaching to the outermost corners of
the hip-hop universe and beyond. Blasting onto
the scene in 2007 with the epic Super Barrio
Brothers album, the Argentine-born emcee of
Korean descent wasted no time in establishing
himself as the ultimate videogame rapper. We’re
talking hardcore videogame nerd rap, complete
with audio samples straight outta your old Super
Nintendo game console.
What Phoenix Orion did in 1999, when he
released Zimulated Experiencez — arguably the
most overlooked and seminal science fiction-
themed rap album in hip-hop history —
Dumbfoundead did with Super Barrio Brothers
and gamer culture. It is doubtful that anyone will
surpass the precedent he set with those tracks
and, really, any other emcee attempting to blend
videogames and hip hop into one cohesive album
would at best achieve equal status.
But Dumbfoundead is no one-trick pony. Which
makes sense for a kid whose formative years were
spent running around the shady parts of Los
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Rickman’s music so therapeutic,
elegant and unique.
“I suppose I’m trying to help people
understand it’s okay to be sad,” she
says. “I think it’s okay to revel in that for a
while and experience that sadness.”
Growing up as a pastor’s daughter, Rickman
can’t help but bring faith into her lyrics. “There is
at least one religious reference in each song on
my album,” Rickman says. “It’s something I was
raised with and taught to think a lot about.”
With graceful undertones of religiosity that
question the contradictory nature of our human
existence, Rickman brings even more substance
to her already complex musical repertoire.
Rickman plays 9 pm Thursday, July 26, at Sam
Bond’s; $1-$5.
— Ali Enright
Angeles battle-rapping in the same environment
as infamous rap tyrant Cadalack Ron, or tearing
up open-mic stages with numerous other Project
Blowed prodigies.
New cuts from the album Love Everyday
display Dumbfoundead’s ability to tackle
completely different subject matter. These songs
are almost entirely focused on love, relationships
and the struggle of an independent artist in love
with his work. Funky hooks and jazzy samples are
flexed and flexed again as Dumbfoundead wields a
slower cadence tailored to listeners who
appreciate storytelling.
Dumb hasn’t just evolved in terms of his
content; his stage show has come along with him.
He is now a true showman, capable of moving the
crowd and prowling the stage with the
confidence of a troubadour. Simply put, he’s
advanced to the next level of the game, and
he’s touring the West Coast to prove it.
Dumbfoundead plays with Watsky 9 pm
Saturday, July 28, at WOW Hall; $10 adv.,
$12 door.
— Dante Zuñiga-West
EUGENE WEEKLY
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