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With a grant from the Carlton Savage Endowment for International Peace, Kyr has put together the UO's conference titled Waging Peace in the New Millennium, to be held Nov. 16-19. A major highlight of the conference is the Eugene Symphony's world premiere performance of Kyr's Symphony #9: The Spirit of Time Nov. 16. This musical drama incorporates scenes and stories from millennial turning points throughout human history: the myth of Inanna and Gilgamesh, the Trojan War, the death and resurrection of Christ, the first crusade, and South Africa's recent confrontation of its apartheid legacy through its truth and reconciliation commission. Kyr says the symphony's theme is "reconciliation -- not from a political point of view but from a much broader human perspective that goes beyond ideology. It's storytelling about the human condition and the way in which human suffering can be healed through the process of waging peace. It's not related to any one ideology but to the need to ... maintain harmonious relations between individuals and within social groups." With four vocal soloists assuming the roles of historical characters, choral music interwoven throughout, simple staging and colorful orchestral accompaniment, this ambitious production draws on the tragedy and triumphs of history while speaking to our deepest concerns about humanity's present and future. It's a compelling event for Eugeneans who care about peace and music. Kyr's symphony falls under the rubric Waging Peace through Music; the conference's other theme is Waging Peace through Cross-Cultural Collaboration. When people from different cultures create art together, they can break down the barriers and misunderstandings that lead to violence. And the kind of music that most invites collaboration is the gamelan music of Indonesia, that bewitching combination of gongs, xylophones, marimbas, drums, flutes, and violins that forms one of the world's oldest and most beautiful musical traditions. "By its nature, the making of gamelan music is a way of waging peace as it arises from the harmonious interaction within a community of musicians," Kyr explains. "The music is an embodiment of a particular kind of social order that is expressed through sound." Unlike so much Western music -- with its emphasis on egoistic virtuosity, dictatorial conductors and the Romantic ideal of the artist who transcends society -- the sound of gamelan depends on each player listening to the others and responding accordingly. And even though gamelan is sometimes used to accompany scenes of war from epic poems such as the Ramayana and Mahabarata, the sheer beauty of the instruments and music inspires feelings of contentment, peace, and joy in listeners. Next week, gamelan ensembles from California, Seattle, Portland and Eugene perform when the UO hosts one of the most important world music events ever to take place in Oregon: one of the most comprehensive conferences of American gamelan musicians ever presented. The festival includes groups that play in both the more meditative, ethereal Javanese style and the more intense, fiery Balinese mode. The latter includes San Francisco's Gamelan Sekar Jaya, one of the planet's most acclaimed world music groups. Along with these American groups, the festival brings some of the most revered and important Indonesian composers and teachers. Their names -- Midiyanto, Windha, Subandi, Pak Hardja Susilo -- may not be familiar to most Americans, but these music masters are every bit as accomplished as the Coplands and Beethovens, Perlmans and Brendels and O'Connors and Hendrixes of Western music, and come from a tradition that composers such as Debussy and Steve Reich regarded as at least as sophisticated and powerful as Western music. More and more Western musicians (including, recently, Pat Metheny and the L.A. Guitar Quintet) are incorporating gamelan forms and textures in their music and here on the West Coast, we're at the forefront of the cross-cultural trend that's bringing these beautiful sounds creating fertile fusions of Western and Asian music. The most important figure in this collaboration is a native Oregonian and probably America's greatest living composer -- Lou Harrison. He'll be here, too, to talk about peace and to hear some of his finest music performed next weekend. We'll tell you about it next week, but meantime, you can get a taste of Harrison's music, as well as that of his partner John Cage, in a concert Wednesday with pianists Art Maddox and Joan Benson and guests.
I dig Mountain Con. Saw these from-Montana-moved-to-Seattle boys at both the Bumbershoot and NXNW festivals, and their roots-rock-meets-hip-hop rocks, requires the use of a lot of hyphens and does indeed invoke Willie Nelson putting his digital boots on, as they sing/rap. Their record The MC Stands for Revolution is a fun time; they are a good thing and you can catch it for yourself as Mountain Con opens for King Black Acid and Helio Sequence at WOW Hall the 11th. For those who relish the prospect of one half of Veruca Salt, here ya go: Nina Gordon at the Wild Duck the 9th. In what was probably an act of mercy, no recording of Gordon's solo efforts was delivered to the ears of yours truly. Opening is PALOALTO, a band custom-made for KNRQ if ever I've heard one, and I've heard hundreds. They've been on Craig Kilborn lately, doing their single "Sonny," contained on their eponymous debut. Yes, it's the same damn E to A chord song you've been hearing for the last 50 years, but these guys give it a lot of energy, as they say. Singer James Grundler manages to keep his bleating in check and the pouting these boys display in the liner photos is top notch. Why they tour with Pearl Jam or have Rick Rubin producing them are mysteries. If this has you excited, PALOALTO is also doing an in-store show at Face The Music at noon on the 10th. The 10th also brings Valerie Esway's Bay Area "indie-folk-pop" band Ramona The Pest back to Sam Bond's Garage. The band's second full-length CD, Little Knives, which is brilliantly self-produced, caps off its lyric sheet with an Albert Schweitzer quote, and you just don't see him invoked that often in the rock world. Esway's ethereal vocals and Lucio Menegon's atmospheric guitar combine to make this varied and thoughtful collection shimmer darkly. You hear the word "haunting" so much in descriptions of this band, you'd think it was an Elvira side project. It's not. It is effective acoustic-based music that strives for honesty. This Week: Jolly Mon has a CD release party for its strong new self-titled collection the 10th at WOW Hall, with Moth and That 1 Guy opening. Rex Hobart & the Misery Boys will bring their blue sound, captured on their current CD The Spectacular Sadness of Rex Hobart & the Misery Boys, to Sam Bond's Garage the 11th. Also on the bill are Deanna Varagona, who provides delightful pastoral rootsiness on her Tangled Messages CD, and the old-time string band bluegrass of Portland's Pig Iron. Pig Iron features Calobo's Caleb Klauder on mandolin and vocals. Holly Near is at Agate Hall the 11th, with Irene Farrera opening, after which, the Deb Cleveland Band takes the stage for dancing. Unbelievably, more on the 11th, with ex-Black Uhuru frontman Michael Rose at Top of the World in Coburg, along with Apple Gabriel, Rocker-T and others. Divabands, an in-the-round performance by the female leaders of five Bay Area bands, happens at Sam Bond's the 12th. The show features longtime Eugene favorite Shelly Doty, Roberta Donnay, Heather Combs, Susan Z. and Liz Pisco. Hip-hop from beat manipulators The X-ecutioners and rappers the Souls of Mischief is at the WOW Hall the 13th. Oakland's Souls of Mischief bring creative raps "dangerous like the hole that's up in the ozone" on their CD Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution. "I hope you got full dental," they warn. Open Road Songwriters play for their peers, keep the music real. By Mare Wakefield
I participated in three open mics back East, including one house concert that turned into a free-for-all. It had been a while since I'd sat through an entire open mic night and my memories of those contained lots of first-time performers nervously slaughtering Neil Young covers. I can't say I was looking forward to the experience. The first was in Cambridge, Mass., at a café called the Kendall. Because of problems with directions (I didn't have any), I arrived about 30 minutes after the sign-up and wound up being 12th on a list of 15. I was in for a long night. Truthfully, there was a lot of bad music there. And by bad, I mean eight-minute long introspective pieces with no discernible melody or rhythm, sung almost entirely off-key. But even scarier than those performances was the fact that I recognized myself in them. I've written songs like that -- I'm sure many songwriters have. That's what happens when you're learning to write songs. That's what the open mics are all about. The performers may be years away from a radio hit, but they're out there, playing their songs to an audience. These open-mic foot soldiers are to be applauded. And they were, by an attentive audience. Open mic number two, in Brooklyn, N.Y., was a lot rowdier, but no less supportive. Some woman would sing a line about not wanting to put up with her boyfriend's shit anymore and the bar would ring out with, "You tell him, girl," and "I heard that." Some guy in his mid-30s with a beer gut sang an a cappella ode to women. "The lady at the bank, she's the one that I prefer. You'd never get a cash machine built like her." He finished his performance by chugging two beers on stage. There were a few talented performers who really stood out that night. So-so Human, a duet with driving acoustic guitar rhythms, had perfect-pitch vocals. One man with a cowboy stance took his written down lyrics up with him. "I'm not a musician," he shyly said later, "I make films." And there was Derek Richmond, a songwriter with whom I'd be sharing a stage at an upcoming arts fair. "The beautiful thing about open mics is that you're playing for your peers," he said. "Out of a crowd of 50 people, 45 of them are doing just what you're doing. It's a way to keep it real." I came away from my experiences both happy and humbled. Happy that among a crowd of strangers, my music could still hold its own. Humbled to remember where I started, and to realize how amateur I still must seem compared to performers who've been successful for 20 years. Open mics hold a lot of raw talent and emotion. There are nerves and bad songs, but there's also an electric energy. If you're searching for a glimpse of unrefined talent and emotion, there's no better place than an open mic. And there's no shortage of open mics in Eugene. Sunday nights, go to the Black Forest. Monday, take your pick between Chez Ray's, Foxfire and Jo Federigo's. Tuesdays, head for Café Paradiso; and on Friday you can hit the Buzz Coffeehouse. For those who prefer the fuller sound of a band, there are numerous open jams, including Mondays at Black Forest; Tuesdays at Foxfire, Taylor's and Sam Bond's; Thursdays at Jo Fed's; and Saturdays early at Sam Bond's. Check the clubs grid for times, and whether you're performing or watching, leave your ego at the door. Adam's Place Barnes & Noble Bacari Restaurant Bliss Steak Ranch Borders The Brickhouse Buzz Coffeehouse Cafe Paradiso AA NS Chez Ray Diablo's Doc's Pad Duck Inn Fool's Paradise Groucho's Hagen's Hilton Lobby Hollywood Taxi JoFederigo's John Henry's Lavelle Wine Bar The Love Cafe Meridian Building Moretti's Nite Owl (Ramada Inn) The Old Pad Oregon Electric Station Overtime Tavern Piccolo Rascals Rick's Pub Sam Bond's Garage Sam's Place Senor Frog's Stepina's Taylor's Theo's Jazz Club Tiny Tavern Tsunami Books Valley River Inn Vet's Club Wild Duck Hall NS WOW Hall AA NS
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