Monthly Archives: December 2009

OSUMB slapped by administration … again

Posted on December 16, 2009 by robincanfield| Leave a comment

Robin Canfield

Issue date: 11/24/03 Section: Forum

Something was missing from the Civil War this year. Anyone who was at the game saw a half-time show that shouldn’t have been.

I am in the Oregon State University Marching Band (and proud of it). I came to campus Saturday morning at the crack of dawn — before it was bright and early. We had to be there to practice the show one more time before leaving for Eugene.

I had on my black overalls, orange jacket, that sequin thing we have to wear and, for a change, white socks.

A single white glove was to be passed out to every member once everyone had arrived. The band was ready to play a show that we had spent weeks getting ready for.

Civil War was to be our one and only all Michael Jackson show of the season, complete with “Thriller” zombie dance moves and moonwalking. Now you should understand the white socks and gloves.

We arrived that morning ready to put on our show. We didn’t care that Jackson had just gotten into another big mess of trouble. That wasn’t what our show was about; it was about good music (and fun). The fact that Jackson named his own songs things like “Bad,” and “Smooth Criminal,” had no baring on our wish to play them.

We arrived that morning to be told that we couldn’t do our rehearsed show.

But the problem wasn’t Michael Jackson (anybody remember the saying “innocent until proven guilty,” or has the president completely done away with that?).

Yes, there has been a lawsuit (filed on the same day as MJ’s first new CD in years, coincidence?), but that was only a few days prior and it hadn’t developed into anything more.

The problem that day was an administration that seems set on doing away with the marching band. Like Disneyland pulling “Captain Neo” (a classic 3-D Michael Jackson movie) prematurely back in the day when Jackson’s troubles first started, the OSU administration has also gone spineless.

In my four years with the marching band I have seen the band lied to, cheated and basically crapped on.

We’ve been bounced around Reser Stadium like we were in a roulette wheel, finally coming to rest in front of people who yell and jeer at us simply for standing the entire game like our fellow students.

We’ve lost multiple directors to suspicious circumstances they weren’t free to explain. This year (without warning) the school even started selling parking spaces where we stand outside the stadium to play before the game.

If we live in a country where Marv Albert can still be a sports caster, Rush Limbaugh can still preach against drug abuse and a coke-head can be president, then we damn well live in a country where Jackson can still be an entertainer.

Telling the marching band we couldn’t play our Michael Jackson show at half-time was a slap in the face from the administration. Telling us we couldn’t even play his music in the stands was the second slap we got for turning the other cheek.

It’s no wonder the size of the marching band is dwindling at this school.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that since “Captain Neo,” Disneyland has moved on to showing a 3-D movie from the “Honey I Shrunk the …” series.

With the $36,000 more dollars that marching band has just had taken away, it will be shrinking again as well.

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Campus big brother … or is it mother?

Posted on December 16, 2009 by robincanfield| Leave a comment

Robin Canfield

Robin Canfield

Issue date: 2/14/02 Section: Forum
I’m referring to the “hidden” cameras in the residence halls on campus. Over at Poling Hall, we are more likely to refer to them as a Big Mother.The hidden camera over the entrance looking into the main lobby is one thing. When people rip a phone out of the wall in the lobby for no known reason, a camera isn’t a bad idea.

On the other hand, a camera looking down the hall at residents’ doors is a little much. It is there because people do strange things to our resident assistant’s door, like put some kind of weird cream on it. I don’t know who did it, or why exactly, and I don’t know what all else has happened to my RA’s door.

But I will say that most of them have been harmless pranks that he earned.

So why is it that a camera is the answer to a problem that could be easily talked out if only the effort was put forth?

It’s not that I’m afraid of getting caught on camera doing anything wrong. I haven’t done anything yet this year that should have gotten me into trouble.

Of course, that hasn’t prevented me from getting warnings from the RAs.

One of the warnings I received, I got quite simply because I walked into a friend’s room. My RA says he “followed me into the room.” Then he saw my under-21 friend allegedly pouring a drink. In point of fact, he didn’t follow me into the room. He did a sort of leap into the room when someone else opened the door to leave.

He didn’t knock, I wasn’t drinking, and he knew it — yet I got in trouble.

Anyway, back to the camera. I’m not worried about being seen doing something because I don’t do anything that would get me into trouble. That doesn’t mean I’m not on the camera a lot, seeing as how it is only three or four feet from my door. So of course the camera has gotten an eyeful of me. I flip the camera off every time I remember to, and I’ve mooned the camera, stood in front of it and picked my nose, flashed it on my way to the shower.

Sounds like I’m having fun with the camera, right? Not really. I’m just showing those who look at the tape that they aren’t going to see what they want to see. Mainly, they’ll just see me.

So what good has it done so far? Well, the infrequent attacks to the RA’s door don’t seem to have taken place lately, but that may just be a fluke.

Coincidentally, that is the same floor and wing where the fire was set in Poling Hall on Jan. 30, but naturally, that wasn’t caught on film.

I think the big question is how long they think something like a camera will be allowed to remain untouched. It is obviously supposed to go unnoticed, so it must have cost quite a bit of money. How good an idea is it to place an expensive machine in a hall being monitored for vandalism? It is only a matter of time before they get damaged, attacked, stolen, or worse.

The camera on my floor is gone now. Disappeared as suddenly as it showed up. I have a feeling that in the time the camera was there, the only interesting thing they got footage of is my white muffin ass.

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Hang ten in Gilfillan

Posted on December 16, 2009 by robincanfield| Leave a comment

Speaker Bob Ledbetter to show video at the OSU surf club meeting tonight at 6 p.m.

Robin Canfield
The Daily Barometer

Issue date: 5/5/04 Section: News

Tonight, the OSU surf club is having a gathering — but it’s not your average meeting.

This particular get-together of surf afficionados features two special speakers as well as an old-school ’70s surfing video.

“It’s footage that was shot in the early ’70s by a famous photographer. It’s footage of Roy Russell and Gerry Lopez on their first trip to Indonesia,” said speaker and video presenter Bob Ledbetter. “The reason I am showing it is that it just kind of shows that surfing was like in the ’70s, as far as the camaraderie between people and just how wonderful it was back then.”

Before the video and the speakers, there will be an introduction by OSU surf club (OSURF) president Barry Wheeler.

Wheeler said the presentation is open to everyone on campus, not just OSURF members. There is no estimate for how many people may show up, as the number of members is different depending on how you look at it.

“We have a list of people that is probably like a hundred that are e-mails,” Wheeler said. “Active membership is about 10-20. There are about 10 people that rotate through. It’s hard to find them all together at the same time.”

OSURF doesn’t have meetings very often on campus, but there is someone going surfing almost every day, according to Wheeler.

“Pretty much, the club is just about getting together and going surfing but I’ve been trying to use it to do more progressive things,” Wheeler said. “We need to focus on getting more members, too, and hopefully this presentation will do that.”

Other recent activities that OSURF has participated in include cleaning the beach at Neskowin with SOLV.

“There was not a lot of trash on the beach, but we had people out there scouring the rocks,” Wheeler said.

Preserving beaches (as well as oceans and waves) is part of the motto for The Surfrider Foundation. A representative from Surfrider will be speaking before Ledbetter.

“They are going to have a speaker that will talk a little about Surfrider and Oregon’s beaches,” Wheeler said.

After Surfrider is finished, Bob Ledbetter will speak and show his video.

“I’m going to talk about how I got involved in surfing, and what it means to me, and see if people can see the same thing themselves,” Ledbetter said. “Surfing has been making some really radical changes really, and I’m kind of stuck back in the ’70s and I’d like to see it continue on and I’d like to see the soul live on.”

Ledbetter and his family own and run The South County Surf Shop in Pacific City, Ore.

“We live upstairs,” Ledbetter said. “We live the surfer lifestyle. The shop is a service, not a way to make money. I like to see people surf. It’s so exciting to see young people of caliber out there and getting involved.”

Ledbetter also runs the Cape Kiwanda Longboard Classic every August in Pacific City.

“It’s the biggest one in the Northwest. This is our seventh year,” Ledbetter said. “We basically put it together back before surfing got popular, and it was to bring the surfing families together. We call them the tribe.”

Ledbetter is bringing OSURF in on the process for this year’s competition.

“We’ve asked the surf club if they’d like to be involved. We just like to get people like Barry and other people involved, that’s why we did it,” Ledbetter said.

“Different judges from UO, PSU and OSU are going to judge,” Barry Wheeler said. “Bob wanted college students to judge.”

If you want to find out more about surfing, more about Oregon’s beaches, or if you just want to see a cool surfing video (all music, no commentary), come check out the meeting in Gilfillan Auditorium, tonight at 6:00 p.m. No charge, of course.

Keep in mind that Ledbetter doesn’t speak very often at events, but he has his own reasons for coming.

“I look into Barry’s eyes and some of the people that come in with him and I see myself, which isn’t a normal thing with today’s surfers,” Ledbetter said.

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‘Dawn of the Dead’ remake is a real screamer

Posted on December 16, 2009 by robincanfield| Leave a comment

Robin Canfield

Contributed Photo Unlike in the original version, the zombies in director Zach Snyder's remake of the classic horror film "Dawn of the Dead" move with a frantic pace.

The Daily Barometer

Issue date: 4/5/04 Section: Diversions

If you want to go to a movie where you can scream, cheer and go home and change your shorts, you need to go see “Dawn of the Dead.” Instead of trying to create a cliché horror flick, with frights lurking around every corner, director Zack Snyder has remade a classic where the horrific enemy isn’t covered in shadows, opting instead for a mob of bloodthirsty zombies frantically chasing their victims down.

Credit should not be taken away from zombie master George Romero, however. While the new “Dawn of the Dead” is an excellent horror film, beneath all the added gore and effects that could only be done in a movie today and weren’t possible back in the 70s, it still takes a lot from the original.

It is the quality of the original film series that makes the movies an easy target for updating. Unfortunately, “Night of the Living Dead” has already been remade too many times and so the only other option is to remake one of the sequels. Starting with “Day of the Dead” could be cool, but beginning a story with the world already taken over by zombies and telling the audience that in a previous chapter Hell filled up and so the dead started coming back and walking the earth, well, that would just be a big chunk to swallow at the start of a movie.

One thing to note about this new “Dawn of the Dead” — it may be at the same level as the original as far as enjoyability, but the reasons are different. The most obvious deviations: The zombies are much, much faster and the film does not have the same depth as the original.

A key part of this difference is the amount of main characters. While the original had only three central characters, the new version has many more major roles, and it tends to cycle through them quickly. Die-hard Romero fans may scream over the changes this requires (landing on the mall with a helicopter at the beginning like in the original is an easy example of something that had to go because of so many more people). Let’s give Snyder some credit; just like in the first film, the main characters are trapped in a mall. A large mall, one that can accommodate many more people than just three.

If it wasn’t for Romero’s zombies though, the new “Dawn of the Dead” would be just another action movie that starts with someone’s throat being ripped out by a little girl, spraying blood all over the carpet, the chair, the bed, the wife, the walls, the guy who had his throat ripped out, etc. Get the point? It’s basically an action movie with zombies and blood. But whereas the original is a slower film that may make you question what you would do if you woke up to find the dead walking the earth, the new “Dawn of the Dead” is a fast-paced, fun film that will have you thinking, “I would totally do that if zombies walked the earth.”

With explosions and death at every turn in this movie, it is a film full of excitement further propelled by an excellent musical score. On top of that, with all the extra people thrown into the movie, there is more room to play with the little recurring idea of people killing themselves when faced with low odds. There are extra gags and laughs thrown in as well. The new “Dawn of the Dead” is really just one of the best zombie movies ever.

If there is a complaint to have about this movie, it is that should the cast be exchanged with the cast from The A-Team, the outcome would be no different. The concept that something A-Team-like is bound to happen is easily discernible long before it starts to happen. This is because a Murdock look-alike, in this case a dying father, shows up near the beginning of the movie. Whenever an A-Team member or look-alike shows up in any film or TV show, a bus is going to be modified and turned into some kind of armored vehicle. The rest of the cast of the movie also fits pretty interchangeably with the A-Team cast, too, except for the ladies. Ving Rhames is the obvious Mr. T character, Jake Weber as Michael makes an obvious Hannibal, and there are a few competitors for Face.

Basically, if you ever found yourself enjoying an episode of The A-Team (and deep down you have to admit that you have) you’ll probably enjoy watching the new “Dawn of the Dead.” That goes for people that don’t usually enjoy horror movies as well. Strange comparisons aside, it’s great fun to watch, and people joking and playing zombie in the parking lot afterward will have you screaming and running to your car.

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You’ll trip over this game

Posted on December 16, 2009 by robincanfield| Leave a comment

Robin Canfield
Diversions Staff Writer

Issue date: 12/6/02 Section: Diversions
Recently Nintendo released “Mario Party 4″ for the Nintendo GameCube. It isn’t bloody or ghastly, it’s not very serious, but it is definitely a party.Every time you turn the game on, you have to get sucked into what looks like a giant sugar cube just to get to the menu. From there you have several options.

The first and most entertaining mode is the Party Mode. This is where one through four people can compete against each other on their board of choice. This is also the best mode to play if you do not own a memory card.

Each board slightly resembles a board game in that you roll for the amount of spaces (no more than 10) you will move. Along the various paths around the board the most common spaces are blue spaces, which give the player three coins and mushroom spaces that give the player either a mini mushroom or a mega mushroom.

These mushrooms along with Super Mega Mushrooms and Super Mini Mushrooms are also available in toadstool shaped shops around the board. Pop a mega mushroom to get two rolls and the ability to smash people while stealing 10 coins from them at the same time. Pop a mini mushroom and you can’t roll higher than five but you can use pipes to get to areas of the board that you can’t normally reach.

Other spaces on the board change the places of players, some are “Happening” spaces, some cause a player to lose three coins, others are “Reversal of Fortune” spaces. Some of the best spaces lead to four player battle games, Bowser games, or gambling spaces.

On the Goomba board the “Happening” space causes you to slide down a craps table on a chip while collecting coins. On every board there are lotto shop spaces. On your first time in you get a free lotto ticket with the drawing for the winner being held on one of the last turns. Every time you go into a lotto shop you pay five coins and either pick a scratch-off ticket or turn a crank for a lottery ball. You have about a 3 percent chance of winning, but little kids won’t think of that. They’ll only know that they want to try it for real.

The main goal of every game is to get the most stars. There is only one star on the board at a time, switching to a new space every time one is purchased for the cost of 20 coins.

The main part of the game are the mini games. At the end of every turn and sometimes during a turn all the players get to play in a mini game. There are three-on-one games, two-on-two, and everyone-for themselves games. These games involve shooting, running, swimming, skydiving, and even running through “dank” dungeons.

The Story Mode puts you on the same boards as the Party Mode but allows you to win “Presents” and play a few more mini-games. In the Mini-Game Mode you can play any of the mini-games you’ve opened in the other modes.

If you’ve exhausted all of these options there is still the Bonus Room Mode that lets you play beach volleyball, dig for oil, and even smash Goombas. The best game of all in this mode takes advantage of the rumble feature in the Gamecube controller. You feel the heartbeats of five characters and pick who ate the poison mushroom. Picking the wrong character cues the correct character to keel over and die while the sirens go off.

This game is entertaining and highly addictive. Only for the Nintendo GameCube, it is in stores now.

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KLCC Microbrew Festival brings out some of the finer things in life

Posted on December 16, 2009 by robincanfield| Leave a comment

Robin Canfield
The Daily Barometer

Contributed Photo The weekend the KLCC Microbrew Festival begins in Eugene. The fest will feature around 30 breweries, a music sale and live performances by Toad in the Hole and The Café Ramblers.

Issue date: 2/6/04 Section: Diversions

At 5:00 p.m. on Friday the sixth, the KLCC Microbrew Festival begins in Eugene, Oregon. The event is not only a great way to have a good time tasting numerous beers, listening to and buying music, but it is also for a good cause.

KLCC 89.7 fm is a Eugene based public radio station licensed to Lane Community College. KLCC provides NPR News and a variety of music programs. All proceeds from the Microbrew Festival will go to support the KLCC General Fund.

According to KLCC event organizer Gayle Chisholm, the Microbrew Festival is now in it’s 14th year. It originally began as an Easter Seals fundraiser, but was turned over to KLCC over two years ago. Average profit for the festival is around $25,000.

The Microbrew Festival is always a crowd pleaser. The first year that KLCC took over, the festival had more visitors than in the past. Last year, however, there was another event competing for the same target audience. This year, the show has been moved from the performance hall to the exhibit hall, an area twice as big.

“I’m expecting a good turnout this year,” Chisholm said.

There is no set limit on the amount of brewers that can be in attendance at the Microbrew Festival.

“As long as we have room we’d let them keep coming,” Chisholm said.

The same year that KLCC took over, the festival had 27 or 28 brewers in attendance. The number jumped to 40 brewers last year, and this year has settled down to 30.

“I think 30 is a bit more manageable,” Chisholm said.

Microbreweries attending the festival come from up and down the West Coast, from California to Alaska, as far east as Vermont, and one Canadian brewery from British Columbia. One brewery, Oregon Trail, happens to be from Corvallis.

“We’ve been doing festivals since we were built back in ’87,” said Oregon Trail brewer Dave Wills. “We’ve been down every year since KLCC has been doing it.”

The Oregon Trail Brewery is located on three floors in the back of the Old World Deli in downtown Corvallis. Unfortunately, at the moment some of the tanks have had to be taken out of the brewery so a rotted floor can be replaced, and some beers are running low.

Between supplying beer to places like Club Platinum and The Co-Op, Oregon Trail just won’t have enough of some beers for the festival. The Ginseng Porter was planned to be at the Microbrew Festival, but will instead likely be replaced by Beaver Tail Ale.

“We have to keep it flowing,” said Wills, “We’re going to run out as it is.”

Besides supplying Corvallis with low cost microbrew kegs, Oregon Trail also sells beer pigs, as much beer as a full case for $24. All of this can be picked up directly from the brewery on Fridays.

A highlight for Oregon Trail at this year’s festival is the introduction of Smoke Signal, modeled after Schlenkerla, a smoked beer from Bamberg, Germany.

“This is our first time trying to make a smoked beer,” Wills said. “It’s pretty good.”

A 3 oz. taste of Smoke Signal or any other beer is just 50 cents, and is served in a souvenir glass that comes with a $10 admission fee. The souvenir glass is a 6 oz. mini pilsner glass with the festival logo on the front as well as three and six ounce lines.

Another special beverage that visitors will want to try is a “barley wine” collaboration brew. This year Steelhead, Wild Duck, High Street, West Brothers and Oregon Trader brewers all worked together on the brew.

“The collaboration brew was already established when we took over,” Chisholm said. “Local brewers did it for fun.”

On Friday the sixth, judging will take place for the home brew competition.

“Anyone can enter,” Chisholm said. “They just have to pay a fee.”

Festival goers will not get to decide who wins the home brew competition, however. The competition is decided behind closed doors by Brewers Guild judges.

“It’s all very serious,” said Chisholm, “and the judges give feedback to the brewers.”

Early in the evening beer tasters will be treated to music from CD’s and from live KLCC broadcasts, but starting at 8 p.m. there will be live music. ‘Celtic-mayhem’ band Toad in the Hole will perform on Saturday, and Friday will see gypsy/swing/jazz band The Café Ramblers.

“It’s like we have two different flavors,” Chisholm said.

“It’s a challenge to find the right bands,” she added. “We have access to so many bands.”

“We play old time string music,” said Café Ramblers band member Brook Adams. “Gypsy string music with spy music and cartoons.”

The band contains one violin, two guitars and a stand-up bass. The two guitarists also occasionally play ukulele and mandolin. The Café Ramblers enjoy playing Django Reinhart songs, tangos and cartoon songs like the theme from Spiderman.

“We’ll break out some of our more novel tunes,” Adams said. “Though we tend to be more background music at brew fests.”

Adams is a veteran of playing microbrew festivals. Ten years ago he did festivals up and down the west coast with a funk band. He played at the KLCC Microbrew Festival two years ago, and ran sound last year.

Live music isn’t the only type the festival will have to offer. Visitors can also take a look at the Mega Music Sale consisting of thousands of records and CD’s donated by listeners and straight from KLCC’s own library.

“We haven’t sold any in 10 years,” said Chisholm, “and we asked listeners to bring in boxes too.”

All things put together, the KLCC Microbrew Festival Friday and Saturday night will be an entertaining night. You’ll come away with souvenirs, perhaps some music and perhaps some new favorite brews. It starts at 5 p.m. both days at the Lane County Fairgrounds.

“The brewers see it as a really cool craft, and are excited to share the different varieties,” Chisholm said.

“I like KLCC,” Wills said. “They deserve my support.”

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QUICKIES

Posted on December 16, 2009 by robincanfield| Leave a comment
Issue date: 3/15/02 Section: Diversions
Surprisingly Good

Grade: A

Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles have competition in newcomer Robert Bradley.

Unlike the other two artists, Robert Bradley isn’t famous. Although, if you’ve ever been to the Eastern Market in Detroit you might have heard him play. The Eastern Market is where members of Blackwater Surprise found him before they invited him to come to their studio for a few sessions. This led to the formation of Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise.

Their latest album, New Ground, is a fantastic album that caters to many different tastes. Robert Bradley has a voice perfect for rock, blues, or even reggae.

The first song, “Train,” is great for showing off each part of the band. Bradley’s lyrics take on a happy mood, and even the instrumentals alone would make a great song.

Bradley isn’t just about being happy — he also has some biting commentary. The best song on the album, “Profile,” addresses some of the many problems of a big city.

New Ground closes with three fabulous songs. The first, “Fast Lane,” is not fast at all. The lyrics are more like those of a folk song and it could almost qualify as gospel music.

With any other singer, New Ground would not be nearly as good. The album by Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise is out now and is definitely worth picking up.

– Robin Canfield

Issue date: 2/8/02 Section: Diversions

Resurrected ’80s rock…ugh

Looking for an ’80s music sound that you haven’t heard for a while and that you never thought would be resurrected? Well Sutrobath is here to fulfill that wish with Spirit of the Audio.

This four man band, led by Mike Soiseth and Rob Wollam recorded Spirit of the Audio in Grants Pass, Ore. The rest of the album was finished up in other parts of Oregon and Washington.

The type of music on the album really isn’t surprising if you look at the cover. That isn’t to say they aren’t good at it, though. The problem is that they are good at a style of music most people consider dead, light ’80s rock.

The first track, “Old,” sounds kind of cool at first, but quickly goes to a slow a pace and into that ’80s sound. There were some good ideas put into this song, the focus is just a little off.

“Divided” is where it starts to sound like Billy Idol if he calmed down. It is a whining piece of music that, well, does keep a beat.

Soiseth and Wollam both have a good vocal range. In “Divided” and “Dorian Gray,” they show just how high they can go. That’s not necessarily a good thing though.

“Rome” stands out as the most unique song on the album. Speed it up a bit, and it could even pass for a techno.

As the album moves toward its end, it seems to lose imagination. “Sunday Morning” has some good guitar riffs, but at times the lyrics sound like they were just slapped together.

The rest of the album does not fare much better. In “Wide Awake,” it sounds like Billy Joel is singing for a while. Too bad the quality that usually accompanies Billy Joel isn’t there as well.

If you are a really big ’80s fan, this may be a album for you to check out. Anything short of that, it’s best just to pass on Sutrobath’s Spirit of the Audio.

– Robin Canfield

Grade: B-

How music should be

Grade: A

Meet Fleming & John. It’s an up and coming band from the southeast, where they have built up a following.

With the release of their new album The Way We Are, it would not be surprising to find they soon have a following all over the country.

The band is comprised of lead singer Fleming McWilliams, drummer (and brother) Shawn McWilliams, and John Mark Painter, who plays the other instruments. He is also McWilliams’ husband.

The album was recorded in Fleming and John’s converted living room/studio. The pace was whatever they wanted it to be.

The main contributors on songs were The Love Sponge Strings. McWilliams’ mother, Jill, also sang on one song, and long-time friend and collaborator Ben Folds also pitched in.

All of this came out as a sound sometimes like pop, but often carries over to a far different sound. McWilliams could impress many a metal fan with the wails and screams that she can produce.

Following the short intro of a recording of McWilliams as a child, the album dives in with “I’m So Small.” It is more of a heavy rock song than any other on the album. It is also flat out great.

The next song, “Sssh!” opens up the door to the wide variety of instruments Painter uses on the album and shows off McWilliams’ lyrical prowess.

Many other very cool songs lead up to what is perhaps the best song, “Ugly Girl.” Co-written by Mcwilliams, Painter and Ben Folds, the song is slower, features a cool xylophone element and fantastic singing.

The next song on the album at first sounds like something on a George Clinton CD. Even with the title “Sadder Day,” this song can’t make you feel bad.

The album closes out with another slew of great songs. “I Fall For You” and “That’s All I Know” evoke feelings of being in a ’20s night club. Ben Folds’ backup vocals in “I Fall For You” only reinforce that feeling.

The Way We Are is definitely worth purchasing wherever you can find it. It is a Universal Records release, so it should be in stores all over.

– Robin Canfield

Issue date: 2/15/02 Section: Diversions
Live and rocking

Grade: A

Nine Inch Nails rocks in concert. And All That Could Have Been captures that same spirit.

Following the conclusion of their year 2000 “Fragility v2.0″ tour, Nine Inch Nails has released And All That Could Have Been. Not only is this album their first live album, it is also the closest thing to a NIN greatest hits compilation to be released so far.

The album is sold on its own or packaged with a DVD or VHS version of the “Fragility v2.0″ tour and a second, Special-Edition CD called Still.

The noise of the crowd shows up very little on the album. Starting with “Terrible Lie,” the flow of energy on the album never stops as you go from song to song.

After “Terrible Lie” comes “Sin,” one of the older and best of NIN songs. This is followed by two more great songs, “March of the Pigs” and “Piggy.”

That the tunes were recorded from a live show doesn’t change the music too much at all. Fans are very used to the existence of many versions of Nine Inch Nail songs.

“The Wretched,” “The Great Beyond,” and others from The Fragile also pop up on the album, all of them performed perfectly. Of course, as much of the tour was recorded, Trent Reznor had lots of copies of every song to work with. No doubt Reznor will only use the best version of each song.

“Star****ers, Inc.” is perhaps the only unsatisfying song on the album. With all the different versions already in existence, a live version had so many possibilities of taking the song to new heights. Unfortunately, the song is done just as straightforward as the rest of the album.

The end of the album is the best part of the collection. Both “Closer” and “Head Like A Hole,” are exhilarating. It is great to hear them somewhere other than on the radio and with a little bit of a new sound. “Hurt” is also well done, and it makes a great closing song.

And All That Could Have Been is a great album and is worth every dollar you’ll spend on it.

– Robin Canfield

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Corvallis on the tour map

Posted on December 16, 2009 by robincanfield| Leave a comment

Nada Surf, Sondre Lerche, and The People treat us to night of rock ‘n’ roll

Robin Canfield

Nada Surf entertained the nearly full house Wednesday night with a broad sweep of their musical catalog. Sondre Lerche and The People opened with great crowd response. Grant Kaye Barometer Staff Photographer

Barometer Staff Writer

Issue date: 3/7/03 Section: Diversions
“It was dark, which was fantastic,” said Nada Surf lead singer Matt Caws, “and the crowd was very nice.”This past Wednesday saw one of the biggest shows ever held at Escape. The People and Sondre Lerche opened for Nada Surf, a show that topped out at 196 tickets sold, though the overall count of the crowd was closer to 230.

Before the show, things began happening that are an unusual sight at Escape. Some parents came in to inspect the club before they let their kids come to the show, others were trying to sneak in, and this reporter even witnessed an unknown man walk to the back door, prop it open, and then return to the club. Luckily, Escape employees also observed the incident and the door was quickly closed again.

The front of the building was even more surprising. People came from all over for this show.

“It’s their only show in Oregon,” said Kristine Arlt while explaining why she came down from Portland with friends for the night. “The tickets were inexpensive,” added her friend Monica Wood.

“If I go anywhere for a show it’s usually Seattle, but that’s not very often,” said Arlt.

While a drive from Portland to Seattle may not seem that long, how about Seattle to Corvallis?

“The show in Seattle last night was 21 and up and I’m not 21,” said fan Tyson Boulais, “and I just thought, I gotta see them.”

The coldness of the air outside was quite intense, and everyone in line was very happy to get inside when the show began.

It all started with The People, a Kansas City band joining Nada Surf for the four-week tour.

“We’ve played several shows like this,” said The People’s singer, Ben Grimes.

“This is our biggest tour, though,” added guitarist Kenn Jankowski.

All of the band members seemed happy to be here in Corvallis. Grimes was especially happy to have stopped in Portland on the way down from Seattle. He was a resident there for about nine months. The best thing for them, they say, is getting to tour with Nada Surf.

“It’s an advantage playing for sold out shows of another band,” said Grimes. “It’s cool because people hear us as the band that their friends should know about so they buy our stuff.”

The People played for about 45 minutes on stage. The crowd size when the show began was not near the total that showed up, but about half of everyone who saw The People were on their feet. They were not too talkative, but Grimes did crack a few jokes, and they dedicated their song “You Got Old,” to the memory of Mr. Rogers.

“The crowd was good,” said Grimes. “Every city is totally different but they were good. They laughed at my ridiculous jokes, so I can’t complain.”

Next up came Sandre Lerche, who just won the Norwegian Grammy Award for best new artist. He came up on stage with only a Martin acoustic guitar and a Gretsch acoustic/electric.

As he began to play, his skill on the guitar was like a magnet — people flooded the floor to get a look. Unfortunately, Lerche returned from dinner just in time to play, and left for San Francisco right after he played, so he never had a chance to talk, except on stage. And he talked a lot on stage; Sandre is a very humble, grateful man with a lot of talent.

Last up came Nada Surf. Twenty-five tickets were sold after the band had already started playing.

“On this whole tour there have been more people than we expected,” said Caws.

Over two-thirds of the crowd were down on the floor, and most of the fans pressed up against the stage were singing along.

Throughout the entire show the band was quite talkative between songs. This was due to both the friendliness of the band and the lack of a sound check before the show.

“You have no idea how many times you get a sound check and it sounds great, but when you get up on stage its all messed up,” said bass player Daniel Lorca.

While working on sound between songs. Lorca found time to talk about the coming war, and Caws found time to comment on music in the United States today.

“Did you know that Beatles CD’s are $18.99?” said Caws. “They should put it in the constitution that kids should get free Beatles record’s, then we wouldn’t end up with bands like Slipknot.”

This was followed by a minute-long, off-the-cuff Nickleback imitation that was quite entertaining.

The Nada Surf set had many other surprises as well. After a while they began taking requests, something they rarely do. Another big surprise was the six-song encore. Only one other band has even done an encore at Escape. One of the songs played during the encore was “Popular,” their first song to become, well, popular.

“We don’t do it very often,” said Caws, “This is only the second time this tour.”

Not only was hearing Popular rare, but the sight on stage during the song was even more special. It was hard to see the band members due to the large number of fans that were invited up on stage.

The crowd response to the show was excellent. Fans cheered, chatted, and just seemed to have a good time all around.

“That show was fantastic,” said fan Jeremy Hansen. Hansen was at Escape to catch the show and to promote his own band’s show (Oliver) Saturday at Escape with PDX and Miscellaneous.

Here’s hoping that MUPC and Escape booking can get more big acts like Nada Surf to play there. Having Nada Surf play again wouldn’t be a bad idea, either. Everyone at the show, including the band, thought another show would be great.

“This is my favorite show of the tour so far,” said Caws.

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A legendary Valentine’s Day treat in Eugene

Posted on December 16, 2009 by robincanfield| Leave a comment

Robin Canfield
Barometer Staff Writer

Issue date: 2/14/03 Section: Diversions
“This be Mr. Barrett” was all that came through the static- filled phone line.That was Aston “Familyman” Barrett talking, an inventor in the world of music and bassist in the legendary Bob Marley and The Wailers.

Barret has fronted the band since Marley’s death on May 11, 1981, directing subsequent tours and album releases.

It was a fuzzy phone connection that would die shortly later, and the man was tired.

“We just came back from Hawaii,” Barrett said. “And we just played in San Francisco last night.”

After they finish touring the United States, the Wailers are continuing on to Europe.

“I’ve been on the road since 1969 to 2003 non-stop,” Barrett said with a sigh.

After his previous band The Upsetters, The Wailers is the only band that Barrett has toured and recorded with continually. After Marley died, it was Barrett that took over the reins.

The only other two members of the Wailers that still remain are Earl “Wya” Lindo, an organ player who joined the Wailers in 1972, and Al Anderson, an American who joined the band as lead guitarist for Marley when Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingstone left the band.

One of the highlights of The Wailers on tour is the horn section recorded on several Bob Marley and The Wailers albums, but never toured in Marley’s time.

“We’ve been playing lots of music, especially from the Bob Marley and The Wailers catalog,” Barrett said.

“One Love,” “Stir It Up” and “Jammin’” are just a few of the many classics played at a Wailers show.

The Wailers also draw on a catalog of several albums released since Barrett took control. These albums include I.D. (1989), Never Ending Wailers (1994) and Jah Message (1996).

In recent years, Barrett has released his own albums as well. In 1999, Familyman in Dub and Cobra Style: Lost Productions were released, both entirely credited to “Familyman” Barrett. He also has a soon-to-be-released CD, titled Legendary Wailers In Dub.

Barrett handled mixing and producing much of the music for Bob Marley and The Wailers. He continues to use his skills to help others today. Barrett has mentored many young artists including bassist Robbie Shakespeare and Marley’s son, Julian.

For a memorable Valentine’s Day event, you’ll find no better option than The Wailers at the McDonald Theater in Eugene. See calendar on B2 for details.

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Not Such A Drag After All

Posted on December 16, 2009 by robincanfield| Leave a comment

Queer Pride Week wraps up with annual show

Robin Canfield
Barometer Staff Writer

Issue date: 5/17/02 Section: Diversions
“These are professional Queens.”This is according to the Chair of Queer Pride Week and President of the Rainbow Continuum, Andi Charlton, commenting about the performers that will be in the Memorial Union Ballroom Friday night.The Queer Pride Week drag show and dance event will culminate the week long Queer Pride Week celebration. Voted cultural event of the year by OSU Student Involvement in 2001, the show is sure to please.

This drag show should not be confused with the one put on by the Queer Resource Center winter term. That show was a separate event, meant to increase AIDS awareness.

“The show itself was really awesome,” said Amanda Gzik while at the Queer Pride booth in the Memorial Union Quad. “It was just a great show.”

The hour and a half long drag show begins at 8:30 tonight and the dance will take place after the show. Entry into the show is free, although showing up early is recommended. Last year, people were turned away because the ballroom was already full to capacity. Hopeful spectators then lined up at the windows to catch a glimpse of the show.

While Queer Pride Week is an annual event, the drag show is not always a part of it. The show is sometimes produced by professionals, sometimes by students and sometimes not at all. This year the drag show has eight professional performers from Portland, starring Patti O’Dora.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” said Gzik. “Gorgeous women with penises.”

“It’s a really fun thing to go to,” said Charlton. She has been a part of setting the show up from the beginning.

“It’s not too difficult,” she said. “You have to reserve the ballroom a year in advance, the Queens a month before, and there is some logistics tweaking.”

While the Queens do not completely volunteer their time, they come for little more than the price of transportation. They also have fliers publicizing tonight’s event, making the point that they are here for “Queer Pride 2002.”

Charlton hopes that people will come away with more than just the Queer Pride Week motto, “From Silence to Celebration; it’s a Rainbow World after all.”

“I hope that people will take this opportunity to consider the problems the queer community faces, and the opportunities,” she said.

The doors of the MU Ballroom open at 8 p.m. tonight. The free show begins at 8:30 and goes until 10:00.

Diversions Cover Page, Bottom Half

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