New Riders saddle up again.

Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard

POP NOTES

In April, when the New Riders of the Purple Sage came through Eugene and stopped at Taboo, founding member John Dawson couldn't make the trip because of health problems.

Dawson won't make it this time, either. But the band that comes to the WOW Hall tonight will include longtime members David Nelson and Buddy Cage, joined by Michael Falzarano on guitar and mandolin, Johnny Markowski on drums and Ronnie Penque on bass.

That's the same lineup that played the Taboo show. It's been a little more than a year that they've been playing together as the New Riders of the Purple Sage.

Cage replaced Jerry Garcia on pedal steel in the band's earliest lineup in 1971, a news release says, and two original members since have died. So while Cage has been with the band almost since its birth in 1969, there are no original members touring.

In the Dead's heyday, fans found the New Riders a worthy substitute. The offshoot band benefitted in record sales from that association, according to the All Music Guide.

New Riders also opened for the Dead at the now-legendary Field Trip concert in 1972, held in the Oregon County Fair parking lot.

A bio describes the New Riders as "an excitingly creative band with a special brand of music - sweet country harmonies mixed with pulsing rock rhythms."

Tickets are $18 in advance or $20 at the door, and showtime is 8 p.m. The WOW Hall is at 291 W. Eighth Ave.

The Koozies

Today, John Henry's

The Koozies will start off a night of local music featuring mood jam rockers the Ginger Hustlers and folk-bluegrass outfit the Forgotten Works.

The Koozies, according to a press bio, are "musical rebels that challenge the boundaries of old school punk and what we all call alt country."

The Koozies have been together since 2001, when band members purchased an acoustic guitar and a mandolin with unemployment checks, according to the bio.

This year, the Koozies were named favorite live band by Eugene Weekly readers.

The show starts at 9 p.m. for a $4 cover. John Henry's is at 77 W. Broadway.

Everyday Prophets

Saturday, Diablo's

Portland's Everyday Prophets play dance music with depth, the group's press materials say.

"Take a reggae foundation and twist it with modern breakbeat, dancehall and rock, and out comes a fresh sound for a new time," the release says of the five-piece band.

The Prophets' dance music is on record in two studio albums and one live double-disc release. A new studio album, "Between Two Worlds," will come out in early 2007.

The band's influences are modern electronica, hip-hop, dancehall, reggae and rock.

Everyday Prophets are songwriter and vocalist Aaron Green on rhythm guitar and melodica; Nick Green on drums; Rick Wasserloos on bass; and vocalists Kevin Mckennon and Borfus Wallaby on keyboards and lead guitar.

Diablo's is at 959 Pearl St. There is a $6 cover for this 10 p.m. show.

DJ X-act Change plays downstairs at the same time.

DeVotchKa

Wednesday, WOW Hall

DeVotchKa was last here in August with local band Mood Area 52's endorsement. That was a Tuesday show, which can be a tough night for even the most talented bands to turn people out.

Maybe Wednesday will be better, as the band takes the WOW Hall stage with guest Eric Bachmann.

The "Little Miss Sunshine" soundtrack heavily features DeVotchKa. The band is touring behind that release and its own EP.

DeVotchKa is, in the Village Voice's words, "a Denver-based quartet of various skilled foreign nationals who deliver Gypsy motion, Sinatra-esque pop, mariachi power and European symphonicism with an empurpled yet poised postpunk drive."

According to a news release, DeVotchKa sold 50,000 copies of its first three records without the backing of a recording label. For the new

EP, "Curse Your Little Heart," Ace Fu records has the band's back.

Tickets are $12 in advance or $14 at the door. Showtime is 9 p.m.

Marisa

Thursday, Cozmic Pizza

Marisa grew up in Eugene, and she went away to college in Tennessee, earning a teaching degree. But she has been writing songs since she was a child, first on piano and later on guitar.

On her MySpace page, Marisa (who credits Jewel in her "sounds like" space and shares that folk singer's affinity for surname slashing) says she explores every type of music. The work she is most proud of is an orchestral piece she wrote for violin and guitar.

Marisa's touring band features electric guitar, drum and bass. Her show at Cozmic Pizza, 199 W. Eighth Ave., starts at 8:30 p.m. The cover is $5.

Jonathan Richman

Thursday, WOW Hall

One of the original indie rockers, Jonathan Richman returns to the WOW Hall after a two-year absence in a Thursday show featuring Tommy Larkins and opener Laura Kemp.

Wikipedia defines Richman as an "American proto-punk icon and one of the progenitors of `indie rock.' He is known for his wide-eyed, near-childlike lyrical outlook, and music that, while rooting in '50s rock 'n' roll structures, can be wildly eclectic."

Richman has a 30-plus year recording history that dates back to the Modern Lovers, a Boston-based minimalist rock band often cited as a precursor of the punk rock movement, a news release says.

Tickets are $12. The showtime is 8 p.m.