Upcoming Events In & Around Eugene

The last time David Lowery played the WOW Hall (September, 2007), he was fronting a reunited Camper Van Beethoven and performing to a sellout crowd along with Built To Spill. Now Lowery returns with both of his bands -- Cracker and Camper Van are performing together here for the first time.

Alt-rock icons Cracker were recently signed to 429 Records and are touring in support of their collection of new songs, Sunrise In the Land of Milk and Honey. Longtime musical cohorts David Lowery and Johnny Hickman have teamed up again with drummer Frank Funaro and bassist Sal Maida and along with stellar producer David Barbe (Drive By Truckers), have created a uniquely eclectic trove of new tunes. Well-worn words used to describe their sound — brash, irreverent, sharp-witted, anthemic and riveting — all descriptives are in full effect on the new project that bursts with their trademark rock, punk, glam, surf and country aesthetic. Friends John Doe, Patterson Hood and Adam Duritz also make spirited guest turns on Sunrise. The first single released for radio is “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me”.

Camper Van Beethoven formed in 1983 in Redlands, California, and were at first called Camper Van Beethoven and the Border Patrol. In 1985, the band reduced its name to Camper Van Beethoven and recorded their debut album, Telephone Free Landslide Victory. The record featured their first successful single, "Take the Skinheads Bowling", the lesser hit "The Day That Lassie Went to the Moon", and an experimental cover version of Black Flag's "Wasted". Their self-titled third album featured guest membership from experimental banjo and guitar player Eugene Chadbourne on their cover of Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive" and several other tracks. The song "Good Guys and Bad Guys" from this record also enjoyed some underground college radio play.

Camper Van Beethoven frequently tours with Cracker, and in 2005 the two groups started an annual three-night "Campout" at Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace in Pioneertown, California. The Campout has seen appearances by Built to Spill, Neko Case, Magnolia Electric Company and John Doe, as well as sets from the individual members of the band.

http://www.crackersoul.com

The Hold Steady is on a North American tour this summer in support of their new album Heaven Is Whenever, released May 4 on Vagrant Records.

Raves for Heaven Is Whenever are rolling in, with Rolling Stone.com calling the new songs “insanely great,” and adding, “these guys have only been making records for what, six years now, and they've made five of the best albums released in that time span - who gets on a roll like that?”

The Hold Steady has been lauded for the scope, depth, truth and heart they bring to chronicling the American rock myth. Heaven Is Whenever was produced by Dean Baltulonis, who also engineered the band’s Almost Killed Me and produced Separation Sunday, and was recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios in Upstate NY and Wild Arctic Studios in Queens, NY.

Singer Craig Finn says Heaven Is Whenever is about, “embracing suffering and understanding its place in a joyful life. The lyrics speak a lot about struggle and reward.”

Piano and keys take a backseat to guitar on the new record, which also gets production help from guitarist Tad Kubler.

“I really believe the album exposes new elements of the band that we hinted at on other records but weren’t able to fully realize until this one,” says Kubler. “Rather than just concentrate on changes in the instrumentation, we made changes to the song writing process.”

http://www.theholdsteady.net