SUGAR CANE STRING BAND

Acoustic string band with some powerful singing

Here's a new Portland band that contains elements of the former Big Island Shindig and the current Ashbury Park. With Noah Bell on lead guitar, Mark Robarge on washtub bass, Derek on mandolin, vocals, Russell James on vocals and rhythm guitar and Stefan Andrews on guitar and vocals. These are all formidable Portland musicans and the sound is upbeat and finely textured. The group has been getting its legs around the Northwest. getting a good response wherever it goes.

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Saturday,
Jan., 10,
9 p.m.

PHAMOUS PHACES

Legendary Eugene band plays alt pop ala the late Beatles

Originally from different rock bands in Eugene, these guys have been together since 1993, playing a brand of music that is Beatles-esque in the White Album tradition. They toiled in the clubs of Eugene until a breakout week in Liverpool, England, in 2005 where the band won the International Pop Overthrow, appearing at The Cavern Club, The Cavern Pub, and Lennon's Bar. The band was back in Liverpool in 2006 and has been touring Oregon and the Northwest the last two years. The Phaces are made up of Jesse Ruggles, guitar and vocals; Mike Trathen, bass and vocals; and Ron Petty on drums.

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Classic rock covers and originals from red hot Eugene guitar band

Roger McConnell and his band Two Leg Lucy are growing with every gig. His covers are sharper and his spooky, evocative guitar originals are starting to move into a leading role. Roger has toiled in other bands for years and is now experiencing a breakout run that comes from getting out on your own. No matter how many other bands he jams with or plays in, this is the one closest to home.

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DEADWOOD REVIVAL

Acoustic alt country, original and refreshing - from Port Angeles

The mix here is what might be called new-time/ old-time or maybe new legs for an old horse. The spirit is Appalachian with soulful American roots, and a lot of jamband improvisation. Jason Mogi (banjo and vocals) and Kim Trenerry (guitar and vocals) are the originals in the group, he from California via the rock/jam scene, she from Georgia with a hill country background right out of a Carter family picnic. The newbie is Ches Ferguson, a Deadhead from the old days, now adding that bass line to the spry sharp harmonies. This band also brings a wealth of good cheer and energy from its base in Port Angeles, Wash. With a new member and a new CD ("This Old World") this new theme just keeps on keepin' on.

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From Austin, Texas, high octane folk rock from a veteran songwriter

Here we have Marvin Gershowitz, a 20-year veteran of the Austin, Texas, music scene, and his new Portland band, another transplant hopping aboard the Northwest musical bandwagon. Marvin played the major venues in Austin, grabbing his share of the alt country spotlight in one of the nation's hottest scenes. He brought the act to Portland in 2004 and has continued his 200 gigs a year pace, playing solo and with his band.

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Yardbirds tribute band led by Eugene stalwart Steve Harvell

The Yardbirds emerged out of the early British blues scene around 1962, led by a fuzzy cheeked guitar played named Eric Clapton. The band soon pushed into experimental rock and had a string of hits, including "For Your Love", "Over, Under, Sideways, Down", and "Heart Full of Soul." The Yardbirds were pioneers in almost every guitar innovation of the '60s: fuzz tone, feedback, distortion, backwards echo, improved amplification. They were one of the first to put an emphasis on complex lead guitar parts and experimentation. We won't be seeing Clapton at the Landmark, but we will get Harvell, formerly of Jackass Willie, The Divers and other sharp-toothed Eugene bands. Rock out.

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CONJUGAL VISITORS

Mountain dance music, bluegrass, jazz, old-time country and jug/folk

Here is a band with a different sound than we have had at the Landmark, a hot jug band style that has grown popular in Eugene over the past two years. The band has played the McDonald Theater, the WOW Hall, the Seattle Folk Life Festival, the Oregon Country Fair and the Willamette Valley Folkfest -- as well as dozens of clubs, barn dances, festivals, weddings and private parties all over the Northwest. It is led by the Rev. Jesse Lawton, a mandolin player and and vocalist who has written much of the band's music. He's joined by Papa String, a carpenter from Kentucky who plays guitar; Chip "Prof. Horsehair" Cohen, a former member of the The Klezmonauts and The Holy Model Rounders, on the fiddle; and Brien "Bobo" McMullen, a veteran of the Southern California jazz scene, on upright bass.

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Best Blues Band/ Best Blues Personality in Eugene poll

Since its formation in 1992, this has been a band that can always find the right person up front. Once it was Canned Heat guitarist Henry Vestine, then came the veteran bluesman Eagle Park Slim, now it is the diva Deb Cleveland. She toured Europe with the band in 2004, including an appearance at Sweden's Linköping Blues and Jazz Festival. In 2005 The Vipers Featuring Deb Cleveland won the Eugene Weekly readers’ poll as best local blues band. Deb was voted best blues personality in the same poll last year. The band is led by founder/harp player Jon Silvermoon, another guy with Canned Heat connections. He's joined by Johnny "Guitar" Ward, a long-time veteran of the Eugene blues scene; bass player Maurice "Mo-fessor;" McConnell; and drummer/vocalist Rick Markstrom, who toured the Midwest with his band The Tayles.

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