Eugene weekly., August 02, 2012, Page 11, Image 11

W H I T E A K E R
B L O C K
P A R T Y
2 0 1 2
BLACK
BEAST
REVIVAL
THE RAGE BEGINS ON STAGE
Performances at the Block Party BY ANDY VALENTINE
If you’re walking through the masses and your ear
happens to catch a rusty sea shanty rising in rich crescendo
above the clamor of people, then you’re probably about
to stumble upon ManOverBoard , who’ll be roaming the
Block Party throughout the daytime and playing their
unique brand of Celtic pirate punk. Seriously, just picture
every pirate fi lm you’ve ever seen and take away the
images. The music you’re left with is pretty much exactly
what ManOverBoard sounds like, and it’s great.
he Block Party is blasting off with nine stages this
year, and each and every one of them is destined to
keep you captivated, no matter how much Ninkasi
you’ve managed to slide into your belly. The
Ninkasi Patio Stage, on that note, is full of local
icons — including Adventure Galley, Basin &
Range and Marv Ellis, to name a few — but there’s
a whole lot more to unearth this year in terms of
novelty.
T
The G Spot Stage will feature Mufassa , a burly
offshoot of the once-legendary Sea Bell. I once had a man
lean over and tell me that he thought the Mufassa show we
were at was “like having sex.” I think that about sums it up.
It’s adventurous, sword-wielding indie rock for the masses,
and it’s very diffi cult not to enjoy.
This claim also holds true for Black Beast Revival , out
of Bellingham, Wash., which has a grungy Black Keys sorta
thing going on, except it sounds more like a fl aming hot rod
fl ying off a cliff with lead guitar player Zach Vanhouten
standing on the roof ripping a solo, his hair fl ying like a fl ag
in the wind. In short: That shit is incredible.
The Spoken Word Stage is a perfect addition to the
Block Party, considering the extremely large (and often
undervalued) literary arts scene in our town. The Eugene
Poetry Slam will kick things off at 3 pm with some epic
slam poetry, which fuses traditional reading techniques
with theatricality, and that’ll be followed an hour and a
half later by The StoneCutters Union, who read vicious and
compelling short fi ction. The stage’s night will be rounded
off by local comedians Bryce Jones, Karmichael McG,
Andy Bradwin, Seth Milstein and Josh “Fatty” Finch. Get
ready to laugh your ass off.
As the night goes on, many of the acts subside, and
by 10 pm — the Block Party’s offi cial end time — Blue
Lotus takes the stage. If you haven’t had a chance to
hear these cats jam yet, you’re in for a treat. It’s severely
reminiscent of anything the Dead ever made happen,
although Brandelyn Rose, who strums rhythm alongside
Felix Blades’ lead, doesn’t quite sound like Bob Weir. The
group is tight as bondage and trucks on through those jams
like Further’s wheels rolling across the nation. This is one
group you defi nitely don’t want to miss; the Grateful Dead
comparison is fairly astounding in its uncanniness.
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For more information on acts at the Whiteaker Block Party, visit
whiteakerblockparty.com
PRESSING MATTERS
On-the-street printing press rocks Whit Block Party BY DANTE ZUÑIGA-WEST
hen it comes to screen printing, Revaud
Godwin only comes out at night. That is,
unless it’s Whiteaker Block Party weekend.
Then you can catch him on the street hard at
work behind his press. Keep your eyes open
for a man of shorter stature surrounded by
T-shirts, working at a machine that looks kind
of like a new-age catapult or something out
of a Transformers movie. That’s Godwin.
He is an old-school Whiteaker resident, enthused by the
independent spirit and funky ambiance of the Block Party.
“I’ve lived in the Whiteaker for 18 years now,” Godwin
says. “It’s the proximity to entertainment and good food
and friends that I love.”
Godwin found his way to screen printing shortly
after dropping out of the advertising program at the UO
journalism school. It was right around this time that he
began hanging out in Eugene’s thriving independent
music scene, inspiring him to put even deeper roots in the
Whiteaker neighborhood.
“I dropped out and started hanging out with bands,” God-
win says. “I realized I didn’t want to work with all the people
I was studying with. I was like, ‘God, I hate these people.’”
After taking work as a printer for several large-scale
advertising companies, producing CD packaging for
the likes of Sony and Universal, Godwin moved on to a
smaller operation. But that smaller company preferred him
to work during offi ce hours, in the daytime, and Godwin
is a creature of the night. One thing led to another and he
wound up starting his own company.
W
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
PHOTO BY TRASK BEDORTHA
REVAUD GODWIN
“I pretty much always work at night,” Godwin says, “which
is why I named my company Nocturne Screenprinting.”
Godwin’s tool of the trade is a six-color, four-station
screen printing press that he uses on a nightly basis to create
designs you’ve probably seen on someone walking around
the Whit or elsewhere in town. His studio, located just off
West 11th and Conger, is fi lled with his latest designs and
previous accomplishments.
Godwin says he views T-shirts as a form of advertising
— but more creative and unique. He enjoys screen printing
T-shirts because of how much he loves to work with ink.
“T-shirts are fun because it’s a canvas that you can wear
around,” he says. “I always feel that my role isn’t so much
as an artist, it’s more like what a sound engineer would do
for a band.”
It’s apropos that Godwin would use a comparison to
music when describing his print work. He also happens to be
a member of one of Eugene’s older indie rock bands, Hot For
Chocolate. When he isn’t sequestered in his cavernous studio
cranking out designs, he is at band practice cranking out tunes.
In fact, Hot For Chocolate will be gigging the Whiteaker
Block Party at 8 pm Saturday, Aug. 4, at the G Spot Stage.
At the Block Party, Godwin will print T-shirts with a
special Whiteaker Block Party design. You can even bring
him your own shirt; he will happily print his design on it.
“Last year Block Party was a lot of fun,” Godwin says.
“It’s a lot of work, though, because I’m running around and
playing music. But it’s pretty incredible that this all started
with some neighborhood kids who had an idea and made it
big time.”
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EUGENE WEEKLY AUGUST 2, 2012
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