Music scene's landscape adapts to sudden changes.

Byline: Carolyn Lamberson The Register-Guard

Since Cafe Paradiso in downtown Eugene called it quits, the area has lacked something more than a coffee joint.

It's lacked a small, intimate music venue that is suitable for acoustic music.

Just ask Roka Walsh, a local concert promoter with Siren Productions who used to book two shows a month at the old Cafe P., at 110 W. Broadway. Among the artists she brought to the venue were Kelly Joe Phelps, Tracy Grammer, Willy Porter, Dan Bern, Guy Davis and Lucy Kaplansky.

"I'm still kind of looking for a decent venue," Walsh said. "Who would have thought that Cafe Paradiso was it?"

Cafe Paradiso, which had a capacity of 110, closed its doors in June. Greg Fleener, the club's owner, cited an ongoing battle with drug dealers and street people who scared customers away.

For Walsh, Cafe P was an ideal space for intimate, acoustic shows. It was an inexpensive room to book and in most cases, all she had to do was ask for a date and it would be a done deal.

"I've been putting out feelers," she said. "But I haven't come up with anything that feels right.'

Feeling right is important to Walsh. While some people would point her to Cozmic Pizza - and she has booked shows there - the fit hasn't been right.

`Difference between Cozmic Pizza and what I'm looking for is a more intimate atmosphere," Walsh said. "I want to find a venue that offers more intimacy and more emphasis on the music.'

Her ideal? A place that seats between 80 and 150 people, where patrons can enjoy some food and drinks and where the rental fee won't force the price of tickets too high.

"If I were rich and stupid, I'd open my own venue," Walsh said. "I may be stupid, but I'm not rich."

One option she is exploring is the early slot at John Henry's, 77 W. Broadway.

`I'm excited about that prospect,' Walsh said. "The idea of doing an early show there is intriguing to me."

Intriguing, indeed. Could John Henry's, a club that in the past has brought a lot of punk shows to Eugene, be the next acoustic venue downtown?

Co-owner Keith Martin said it's possible.

In recent months, Martin and the John Henry's crew have made some changes at the club, including new tables and chairs and some general cleaning up. The idea of bringing in earlier shows - beginning at 7:30 p.m. - was part of the inspiration.

`I've had a lot of people tell me, `I really like it when you guys open at 7 and I can see a show and get home by 10,' ' he said. Those folks tend to be people with children who don't like to be out until midnight or later.

So can John Henry's fill Paradiso's niche?

`I thought they did a lot of quality shows," Martin said. `It just wasn't enough to sustain the entire operation.'

So far, Martin said, the club has hosted five or six "early shows," which have been followed by later events. The cross pollination of the audience has been a bonus.

Wayne "The Train" Hancock is a perfect example of this, Martin said. Last time Hancock was through John Henry's, he played an early show that preceded the venue's regular reggae night on Wednesday.

The reggae regulars arrived early and apparently liked what they saw. When Hancock returned a few weeks ago, those same reggae regulars stopped in to catch the entire show.

Offering a variety of genres - punk, rock, acoustic, country, reggae, hip-hop and everything in between - will be important to John Henry's success.

"We couldn't stay open if we did punk shows five nights a week, or reggae five nights a week,' Martin said.

Under the Overpark

Jaxx: The Locals' Lounge at 1010 Oak St., opened at the end of March, next to Premium Pour Bartending School.

Zorah Rose started Premium Pour in 1999. She added Jaxx to her plate to achieve two purposes. She wanted a place to give her bartending students some real-life experience and she wanted a venue where "passionate artists" can share their works.

`It's all about the experience,' Rose said. `You always remember the first place you bartend, the first place you do your art.'

Jaxx has displayed sculpture by Ken Scott and paintings by Monica Weinheimer. Shelley James was the venue's first musical performer. There have been poetry readings and a talk from a wine expert.

`If you got passion for it, let's hear it,' Rose said.

The club recently joined forces with local promoter Evin Marshall, who also books music at the Wetlands in West Eugene and McShane's, which is across Interstate 5 from Lane Community College. Marshall will line up music for the venue Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It'll be DJ dance music on Thursday and Friday and live music on Saturday. Cover charges are in the $2 to $3 vicinity.

The venue seats about 50 people and Rose describes the space as "incredibly loungey.' It features red carpets, purple trim, candles and accent lighting around the bar. `Everybody that comes in is like, "Wow, it's really nice. It's a lounge.' '

Oh, and there's one thing Rose wants to make clear. Often, she's had people tell her that they can't find parking in the area near the club.

"We're underneath a parking structure (the Overpark),' she said. "How much easier could I have made it?'

Music and tricycle races, too

Speaking of McShane's Bar and Grill, the bar at 86495 College View Road sits just east of Interstate 5, near LCC. Marshall has been booking music there since April; the club opened in March.

Marshall said it's been an uphill climb because some folks have a mental block about crossing I-5. But the music scene there is starting to build.

`It's hard to get people out there, but once they go, they want to come back," he said.

The club's Tuesday night tricycle races have been a hit. And now Marshall said the bar is finding its niche among the area's jam band scene.

`The jam bands all have a really good time out there," he said.

Up and away in our Blue Luna

Upstairs from Big City Gaming, on the second floor of the Kennel-Ellis Building at 1280 Willamette St., is a slice of the sun. Blue Luna, a Caribbean restaurant that opened on July 23, also celebrates the island flavor with music, both live and of the DJ variety.

Blue Luna owner Lisa Sanchez said offering music in her restaurant was the plan from the start. With music such an integral part of Jamaican and Caribbean culture, it seemed a natural fit, she said.

`We try to offer music six or seven nights a week' she said. "We try to do a real mix.'

That mix includes jazz, blues, reggae, funk, acoustic and dancehall/hip-hop DJ nights. Jesse Marquez, who sings Cuban music, also has played the Blue Luna stage.

Sanchez touts her club as `new and different."

"It looks like you just walked into a club in downtown Miami,' she said.

On Sundays, the club hosts a daylong jazz lineup, from 1 p.m. to close, featuring artists such as Jon Fiori, Marquez, Kenny Reed and Paul Biondi. On the second Sunday of each month, Blue Luna hosts an all-male review, to coincide with ladies' night. "That's proven to be real popular and a lot of fun,' Sanchez said.

The dining room seats 75, with room for an additional 100 patrons outside. At 9 p.m. each night, the restaurant transforms into a lounge. Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. and cover charges range from $2 to $5.

A new Luna

For several years, Luna has been a hot spot for jazz and blues. The nightclub's Web site says it best - lunajazz.com.

But jazz and blues are no long the sole items on Luna's menu. In recent months, the nightclub at 30 E. Broadway has started hosting poetry readings. This month, the venue is mixing things up even more, with hip-hop nights on Wednesdays and an interactive art program on Thursdays.

`We're expanding and opening up to a new audience," said Chris Richards, the club's music booker. `We're just trying to make sure we're including the Eugene community as a whole.'

The interactive art program will feature visual artists working in collaboration with local musicians. As the musicians play various styles of electronic music, the artists will paint.

`Hopefully there will be a completed painting at the end of the night," Richards said.

The artists also will display their other works on the wall, creating an art gallery feel.

Don't worry, jazz and blues fans. That music isn't going away. In the past, the club rarely hosted shows on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so the additional events aren't taking away from anything.

The club is bringing in some younger jazz musicians and is working with the Rainy Day Blues Society to set up monthly blues events.

It may be that we'll see some rock 'n' roll bands on the bill some day.

`Specifically with rock 'n' roll, our room is a bit small for really loud groups," Richards said. `We're working on it.'