Friday, July 9th marks the 3d visit from the L.A. based ensemble The Peculiar Pretzelmen. They are difficult to describe but allow me to take a stab at it: It’s the sardonic grin over a broken heart; the grim determination to trudge spiritedly through a gloomy world; laughter in the face of death; whistling in the dark. The first time I heard them I thought, Spike Jones meets Tom Waits in a graveyard at midnight to do musical battle using the bones of the deceased. To hear them pound out their rhythms using the cast-offs of many kitchens and garages mingled with frenetic banjo, pulsing guitar, perhaps the wail of a saw or even the caressing of glass, elicits a sense of depression-era despair tempered with a fierce hope. Lest I find myself in a verbal rabbit-hole of my own making, allow me to share with you some video clips of their last visit to the ‘Pooia. Check out their myspace page for better quality video. Enjoy, and then come down to the ‘Pooia on Friday night and experience them live. To use the tag-line of their previous tour, “Smile, life’s not as long as you think.”

See you on the other side. www.myspace.com/pretzelmen.

Paulrus

When the weather changes, the clocks get manipulated and we live with less sunshine overall, it’s easy for the spirit to darken. There are many things that can help mitigate that seasonal depression; basking in the light of full-spectrum bulbs, St. Johns Wort, comfort food (say a Class V Burger w/tater tots for instance), BEER (duh), or some good ol’ “tear the roof off the motha-sucka” funk! Over the past two weeks we have had the funk thanks to Willamette Valley bands, Volifonix and Break As We Fall.

Volifonix started with two brothers, Trevor and Blake Forbess from Oakland, Oregon. They’ve teamed up with guitarist Joe McClain, bassist Elijah Medina and Saxy Samurai, Tomo Tsurumi to form an “experimental, funk flavored milk-shake.” Based in Eugene, Volifonix just finished a West Coast tour promoting their recent album, Oregonisms, which won them Best Of Eugene status.

Volifonix in their Halloween best.

“So Sick and So Wrong”

Boxzilla Tsurumi takes us on a Magic Carpet Ride.

Two weeks later, November 13th we had a visit from Corvallis born, Portland based Funk/Soul/Pop band Break As We Fall. They had just finished a West Coast tour as well, having just left California. They echoed sentiments we had heard from Volifonix, California sucks. Oregon audiences are so much more appreciative, especially at the ‘Pooia (I’m paraphrasing). Of course they would say that, but hey, they just happen to be right. We are very appreciative of such good music and good times.

Not fearing of ghosts. Evan Churchill;vocals, guitar, trumpet. Dan Grossen; guitar, vocals. Alex Moffat; drums. Steve Hammond; bass. Alia Beyer; vocals, tambourine, cuteness.

As always, this little HP digi-cam doesn’t create the best cinematic experience, but it gives an idea. For a better representation of their sound, check out their album entitled, If You’re Lonely.

Thank you all, patrons and performers, for making the Calapooia Brewpub a special place. May the good times roll on…