THIS SHOW PREVIEW for 2/18 JUST IN FROM JEFF ROSENBERG @ THE WILLAMETTE WEEK. THANKS JEFF.

[FOLK ROCK PUNK POP] Two beloved Eugene songwriters have released "My Name Is John Smith," a split 12-inch single—six inches each by Dan Jones and Peter Wilde. Wilde is a longtime favorite of socially conscious folk fans, though his sense of humor and heart were always too big for that niche. His laconic vocals, in the style of non-falsetto Neil Young, deliver a pair of good-natured love songs here. Jones brings his brand of brainy, bouncy punk pop, like a cuter Hüsker Dü (one of Jones’ bands, the Golden Motors, performs tonight). The pair's old friend Chris Funk produced and plays all over the record, his enthusiastic participation further bolstered by PDX MVP Lewi Longmire on guitars and organs, pop-savvy bass by Adam East, and solid drummer Jivan Valpey. The EP is downloadable, but that's way less groovy than the clear vinyl, 45 RPM edition—purchase of which includes downloads of the EP tracks, a Wilde anthology and a live Jones album.

kelly's olympian
friday 2/18

Yesterday on the way home from work I saw a handmade sign tacked to a telephone pole. The person who put it up had slipped the sign into a plastic three-ring binder sleeve to protect it from the weather. But the sleeve had filled up with brownish-yellow,discolored rainwater, and so looked pretty much like a bag of urine. And that said as much about winter in Eugene as I know how to say. By way of contrast, here is a photo from our trip to Santa Barbara: