FUNKY OREGONISMS
Volifonix wins Next Big Thing 2012
TOMO TSURUMI, TREVOR FORBESS, BLAKE FORBESS, JOE MCCLAIN AND ELIJAH MEDINA OF VOLIFONIX
I
t was a battle of opposites at Eugene Weekly’s Next
Big Thing finals this year. First up: Paul Quillen —
his brooding, acoustic ballads turned Celebration-goer
heads who were otherwise occupied on a perfect late-
summer Saturday in Eugene with Cart De Frisco and
Ninkasi. It ain’t easy filling up an outdoor stage with
just voice and guitar, and Quillen had us all holding
our breath, listening intently. A relative newcomer to
Eugene, Quillen is perfect for the area’s small,
intimate venues. Welcome to town, Paul.
Next up on the KRVM/Eugene Weekly stage: Volifonix,
grilling-up a USDA-certified hunk of beefy funk-rock,
medium rare. The Eugene-based five-piece, which released
a second studio album Space in June, made it to the finals
on the strength of the single “Till Forever Shows.” The song
showcases soaring vocals and formidable musicianship,
mixing the psyche-a-funk-a-fun of early Red Hot Chili
10 SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
EUGENE WEEKLY
Peppers, a group that has inspired Volifonix, with the more
mature edge of the Chili Peppers’ recent work. “Till forever
shows” is definitely a new direction for us,” Volifonix
vocalist and rhythm guitar player Trevor Forbess says.
And the winner of Next Big Thing ’12 is Volifonix, so
whatever this new direction is, it’s working. “‘Till Forever
Shows’ is supposed to be a modern rock song,” lead
guitarist Joe McClain says. “It is not meant to sound like an
old Chili Peppers song, so it makes sense that it sounds
more modern than Blood Sugar Sex Magik and other [Chili
Pepper work] in that era.”
Volifonix may be the Next Big Thing, but if you’ve paid
attention to live music in Eugene for a while, you know
these guys are not the Next New Thing. Forming the core
of the group are brothers Trevor and Blake Forbess,
originally from Oakland, Ore. The brothers gained their
love of music from their father and uncles. “Blake and I
BY WILLIAM KENNEDY
PHOTO BY TODD COOPER
were surrounded by live music from a very early age,”
Trevor says. “Our Uncle Kevin can play every Jimmy Page
solo,” adds Blake, who plays drums.
After recruiting Elijah Medina on bass from nearby
Sutherlin, the trio moved to Eugene in 2005 where they
hooked up with lead guitarist Joe McClain, who at that time
was a student at UO. When it came time to record their
debut album Oregonisms in 2009, the group rounded itself
out with Tomo Tsurumi on saxophone, becoming “two
brothers, two others and a samurai,” jokes the group’s
official bio.
It didn’t take long for Volifonix’ brand of funk-rock to
catch on in Eugene, and they soon began jamming on stages
all over the Northwest and beyond, playing Seattle’s
Bumbershoot festival in 2009 and touring Asia in 2011.
“Everything moves really fast over there,” Trevor jokes,
“faster than what I’m used to in the woods of Oregon.”
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