The master of musical mayhem.

Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard

Like a traditional conductor, Matt Butler uses body language and facial expressions to get his musicians to fulfill his musical wishes.

But instead of a baton, Butler wields a dry erase board. And his commands are far more blunt than a swift wrist flick with a dainty, raised pinky.

During a show with the Everyone Orchestra, Butler, 38, might write "shimmery" on the board and expect his musicians to interpret that adjective. Or to slow the music down he'll scroll, "Patient. Lots of space. Let it grow."

Butler dashes around the stage squatting, ducking, raising his arms and contorting his face in a style that would make Jane Fonda and Jim Carey shudder with envy. But it's not so much about Butler putting on a show as it is about him bringing a show out of the guest musicians and getting the audience involved in blossoming musical moments that most likely are never to be repeated.

By the end of a concert, each artist will have had a solo. Even the audience often takes a singing part.

"It's very much an experiential type of event, and it doesn't translate to an audio CD like other things," Butler said when reached by phone on his way to a Portland recording studio. "Part of the magic of it is not necessarily how the music sounds - that's part of it - but it's like there's this other thing when you are watching the event happen on stage.

"Everyone is on the same page of doing this large-scale improvisation, and they are wide open; they can't be absorbed into their own trip. They are really aware of what's going on. They are watching for what is going to happen next."

A multimedia event

The Everyone Orchestra is a well-known commodity among musicians and fans on the jam band and roots music scenes. For five years, it was based in little old Eugene.

Jon Fishman from Phish is a regular participant. Tony Furtado, Darol Anger, Steve Kimock and Adrian Belew all have done it. Members of Tea Leaf Green, Donna the Buffalo, Railroad Earth, Zilla, the Flecktones, the Greyboy Allstars and countless other bands have agreed to get on stage under Butler's leadership.

With no set list or specific songs to play, the only way to prepare is to heed the project's motto: "Plan to improvise."

Some of the best players of stringed instruments and horns have accepted Butler's call. And on Saturday at the McDonald Theatre, as part of the Eugene Celebration, the Sacred Heart-born Butler will have the big stage to show a hometown crowd what he's been up to.

(Up until Jo Federigo's closure this year, Wednesday audiences there were eating up drummer Butler's Small Ensemble Experiences.)

Everyone Orchestra veterans Asher Fulero, Chris Haugen, Ty North and Scott Law are scheduled to play. So are guests from Reeble Jar, which will play the middle slot on the bill, and Tim McLaughlin and Matt Calkins from Eleven Eyes.

Lang Schwartzwald will make it a multimedia event by painting live to the music.

The Everyone Orchestra is not a band. Sure, there are perennial Everyone Orchestra participants, but Butler is the only constant. And for the Everyone Orchestra, he's all but abandoned his drum kit in favor of conducting his musical experiment.

Butler, who played more than 1,000 shows with San Francisco-based Jambay, is in the process of moving from Eugene to Portland. He's staying with his sister while he and his wife find a house to buy.

"Can I call you back?" he said when reached by phone in Portland. "I'm in a really crazy household with kids crawling all over me."

Taking a break in Portland

When he called back, he said the orchestra project began as what he thought would be a one-off concert. But that show turned out so well that it led to a producer handing the group a budget to do another couple of shows in Cincinnati, Ohio, when Phish was in town in 2002.

By Everyone Orchestra's third gig, it was playing for 1,500 people.

Much of the overflow crowd from the sold-out Phish shows ended up at the Everyone Orchestra's live shows. Since then, the momentum and reputation of the orchestra have made it a sought-after act for festivals and charity events.

Logistically, it can be a challenge to corral so many A-listers and work out deals with their agents and recording labels. Butler attributes a lot of that success to how much musicians enjoy doing the shows, and how many of them are his friends.

Butler said he is considering changing the direction of the orchestra, de-emphasizing the all-star factor and focusing more on youth education.

"We're in a big state of transition," he said. "We have been on this trajectory where we've done more and more each year, but (I'm going to take) a little bit of a break up here in Portland."

Butler said he wants to do more improvisation workshops and work with musicians of more diverse musical backgrounds. In other words, he wants to share the joy of improvisation with musicians who are still learning their crafts, not just its masters.

"When I was learning music, I think it would have opened my eyes," Butler said. "It's just so fun.

`The reason why it's worked is because the musicians have a great time and it's always something different."

You can call Serena Markstrom at 338-2371 or e-mail her at [e-mail].

CONCERT PREVIEW

The Everyone Orchestra

With: Dirty Sweet, Reeble Jar

What: Improvisational music conducted by Matt Butler

When: 11 p.m. Saturday

Where: McDonald Theatre, 1010 Willamette St.

Tickets: No charge with Eugene Celebration wristband, which costs $10