EUGENE ROCKS.Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard IT'S NOT the cover of Rolling Stone rolling stone Noun a restless or wandering person , but it's a start. That was a typical local response to Rolling Stone magazine's ranking of Eugene as the eighth best college music town in the country. "The Yooj" finished behind Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, city (1990 pop. 109,592), seat of Washtenaw co., S Mich., on the Huron River; inc. 1851. It is a research and educational center, with a large number of government and industrial research and development firms, many in high-technology fields such as , Mich., but ahead of Gainesville, Fla. The rankings appear under the headline "Campus Scenes That Rock" in the Feb. 20 issue. "I'm surprised, just because we're a small town, but there is a lot of music happening here," said Luna Lacey, a local singer-songwriter who works at the Holy Cow Holy cow or sacred cow may refer to:
The big winners in the Rolling Stone ranking were a local rock band, the Courtesy Clerks, whose music was described as "cocksure cock·sure adj. 1. Completely sure; certain. 2. Too sure; overconfident. cock , girl-stealin' party rock," and the WOW Hall, which the magazine dubbed "Eugene's prime talent magnet." "I wouldn't argue with that," said Bob Fennessy, publicist for the WOW Hall, who had the story enlarged and hung in the concert venue's lobby. At Sam Bond's Garage, which was mentioned in the story, co-owner Mark Jaeger jaeger (yā`gər), common name for several members of the family Stercorariidae, member of a family of hawklike sea birds closely related to the gull and the tern. The skua is also a member of this family. seemed happy to have the attention, although he was a bit puzzled by the magazine's description of the club as "head trips, hootenannies and microbrews." "I've been meaning to look up hootenannies and figure out exactly what that implies, but I have a good idea," said Jaeger, who hung the story in the club's office. "We make every employee read it before and after their shift," he added sarcastically. Ty Connor, a bartender at Sam Bond's, had his own sarcastic pronouncement about the story. "We were honored, flattered and, of course, stunned to get that kind of coverage in such a reputable music magazine," Connor said, tongue in cheek. Not everyone was as enthusiastic about the story. Bjorn Estlund, booking agent Noun 1. booking agent - someone who engages a person or company for performances booker agent - a representative who acts on behalf of other persons or organizations impresario, promoter, showman - a sponsor who books and stages public entertainments for Taylor's Bar & Grille on East 13th Avenue wondered about Eugene's high ranking See Google bomb. , noting that Taylor's recently had to scale back its live music calendar. "If there was a happening college scene, Taylor's would be doing a ton of music," Estlund said. Keith Martin Keith P. Martin, PC, MP, BSc, MD (born April 13, 1960, in London, UK) is a Canadian physician and politician. He is the Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca. Martin was first elected in 1993 as a member of the Reform Party of Canada. , co-owner of the rock club John Henry's, which was not mentioned in the story, wondered why the Annex, a dance club at 23 W. Sixth Ave., was included in the story. The magazine described the club as "like Dance party USA Dance Party USA is an American Bandstand style music and dance television program that aired on the USA Network from 1986 to 1992. The program was taped at WGBS's studios in Secane, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Andy Gury was the show's host. ... with cages." "On my list of things to do is to write a letter to the editor of Rolling Stone," he said. Other towns mentioned in Rolling Stone's list included Cambridge, Mass., Madison, Wisc. and Chapel Hill, N.C. The magazine placed Athens, Ga. (birthplace of R.E.M., Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is a southern rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring. and the B-52s) at the top of the heap. The highly unscientific unscientific Unproven, see there rankings were based on "venue, talent on the rise and total party volume." Van Peterson, a UO junior, concluded that Eugene didn't deserve to be in the same league as his former home of Austin, Texas (No. 2 on the list). "I've seen a few good bands, but no, it doesn't compare (to Austin)," Van Peterson said. "The music scene down there is every night. Here it's more like once a month." FROM ROLLING STONE On Eugene: "A haven for big-city expats, commune- raised kids and the occasional conspiracy theorist, this ever-underground town still prizes art over artifice, though its musical tide has turned" Venues mentioned: The WOW Hall, Sam Bond's Garage, the Annex dance club Bands mentioned: The Rock and Roll Soldiers, the High Violets, the Courtesy Clerks, the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Quasi, Heavens to Betsy Heavens to Betsy (H2B for short) was a punk rock band from Olympia, Washington. The members were Tracy Sawyer on drums and occasionally bass guitar, and Corin Tucker on guitar and vocals. Most puzzling highlight (also wrong): "Penalty if Busted at Show With Two Joints (First Offense): $100-$150 fine." With the city's new tougher laws, fines for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana will rise to $250. TOP COLLEGE MUSIC TOWNS 1. Athens, Ga. 2. Austin, Texas 3. Cambridge, Mass. 4. Chapel Hill, N.C. 5. Madison, Wis. 6. Berkeley, Calif. 7. Ann Arbor, Mich. 8. Eugene 9. Gainesville, Fla. 10. Columbus, Ohio CAPTION(S): "Hellenback" members Tad Shephard (left) and Jason Bandrew take the stage at the WOW Hall in Eugene on Thursday night. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eugene as one of the top 10 college music towns in the country. Rocks: Eugene comes in at No. 8 on top towns list Continued from Page A1 Please turn to ROCKS, Page A14 TOP COLLEGE MUSIC TOWNS |
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