A Northwest Quatrain (1 of 2) w/ Xeres of Xeron!

Xeres of Xeron is no stranger to KMUZ, and he and I have done some great radio together. But when Mick asked me to cover for Northwest Notes, and Xeres and I had already been bonding on some of the secret gems of the Northwest that are only available on poorly distributed physical media, we felt like it was a good idea to bring you four hours of rarities and gems from Xeres’ collection of tapes and records, and from a few other sources here and there.

This show contains rare recordings by artists you have heard of that you can’t hear anywhere else… mostly because they were only released on tapes that have never made it to other formats. We don’t talk about these tunes much, but below are some extensive show notes by Xeres himself, that address some of the more interesting (and lesser-known) elements of this very amazing scene.

This show also contains special weather reports by The Ramen City Kid.

We hope our walk through the music of the Northwest adds to the work that Mick does on this show, but offers a flavor that is 100% Xeres of Xeron.

Our Previous Radio Engagements:

midvalleymutations.com/category/xeres-of-xeron/

Enjoy!

A Northwest Quatrain (1 of 2) w/ Xeres of Xeron!

HOUR 1:

Part I: Rural Ruminations

01.) Oregon (I Can’t Go Home) * Blackhawk County * “Oregon” b/w “Helplessly” * Seagull Records (1974)

• This was a hit single in 1974, #16 on Billboard, and #1 in the NW for 9 weeks. It’s about U of O student Joann McDaniels from Coos Bay, who was in a Turkish prison at the time. The band Blackhawk County is from Monmouth, Oregon. The whole story can be found using this link.

02.) Ol’ Coos Bay [Live] * Christopher Todd Davis * Live * Christopher Todd Davis (2014)

• Seattle based country folk-rock artist, originally from Coos Bay.

03.) Goin’ Huntin’ * Griffin, Fard & Furd * End of the World in D-Minor * Griffin, Fard & Furd (1978)

• Home recording done in Coos Bay, 1978.

04.) Ford Fairlane 500 * Billy Dwayne & the Creepers * Billy Dwayne & the Creepers * Billy Dwayne & the Creepers (2000)

• Seattle based rockabilly performer, originally from Coos Bay. He’s currently looking for a new stand-up bass player!

05.) Beer Run * Todd Snider * New Connection * Oh Boy Records (2002)

• Country & folk singer, born in Portland. At 15 he ran away from home in Houston back to Portland.

06.) Small Still Voice * Ben Bochner * Heartland * Ben Bochner (2012)

• Ben Bochner (1956-2018), Eugene based singer-songwriter, was just beginning to get known in the Austin, TX circuit – perhaps on the brink of national recognition – when he died last spring. In 1987 Ben took part in Ken Kesey’s novel writing class at U of O, which resulted in the collaboratively written 1990 novel Caverns by O. U. Levon (which is backwards for Novel U of O.) The whole story of Ben’s role in that process can be found at this link.

07.) Birth of a Stream * Michael Harrison * Collected Recordings * Michael Harrison (1980)

• Michael Harrison grew up in Eugene, studied composition at U of O, and could often be heard improvising on the piano in the student union hall. He went on to release recordings on the Windham Hill label. He became known for tuning his piano using Just Intonation (as opposed to Equal Temperment.) However, this piece was recorded prior to Harrison’s interest in just intonation.

08.) Naiads * Oregon * Music of Another Present Era * Vanguard (1972)

• Two of this jazz fusion group’s founders had first met and collaborated as students at U of O in the early 60s.

Part II: Panic Favorites

This segment is intended to expand upon a recent interview of Jeff Cellers, founder and curator of the Panic on 13th blog, which is devoted to archiving Eugene’s music scene from 1980 to 1995. The interview was conducted by Austin Rich, and can be found at this link.

Most of these tunes were downloaded from the Panic on 13th blog, along with some related material from my own collection. This playlist does not necessarily highlight the best or most representative selections from the Panic blog, which deserves much more exploration. These are just a few of my personal favorite tunes and bands. The Panic on 13th blog can be found at this link

09.) Anorexia * Headhunters * Tioga Studio tape * Panic On 13th (1985)

• This delightfully politically incorrect tune was a local favorite, and got some airplay on KRVM, Eugene around 1985. When this band relocated to Austin, Texas in 1985, they re-named themselves Voice of Reason.

10.) New World Babies * Moose Lodge * New World Babies * Moose Lodge (1984)
11.) Liberals * White Liberals * Cat Behavior * Solid Citizens Records (1985)
12.) Short Narrative * Snakepit * Panic on 13th * Dunghill Records (1986)
13.) Treasure in the Pity City * Moment’s Notice w/ Elizabeth Rieman * Moment’s Notice * Moment’s Notice (1990)

• A song about Robert Christie of Snakepit.

14.) Bad Boy (Live) * Los Xploreres * Live * Los Xploreres (1981)

• Featuring another Coos Bay homey, the incomparable Marlin Reiber on vocals.

15.) Work * Stick Against Stone w/ HR * HR Sessions * Stick Against Stone (1986)

• Stick Against Stone was founded in Pittsburg, PA, but moved around a lot. While in New York, they established a friendship with the band Bad Brains. In 1984 and ’85, Stick Against Stone settled in Eugene for a spell. In 1986, in San Francisco, Stick Against Stone began to make some recordings with Bad Brains vocalist HR. Due to personal disagreements, these recordings were never completed or released.

16.) Life on the Farm * Michael Billings * Old Shorteyes Is Back * Dunghill (1988)
17.) Old Shirt * Bunny Summer * Failure… An Instructional Tape * Disgraceland (1996)

• The host of the Panic blog is Jeff Cellers, and he was in this band called Bunny Summer.

18.) Spaztech Culture * Sow Belly * Sow Belly * Sow Belly (1990)
19.) Hard and Heavy * Stick Against Stone w/ HR * HR Sessions * Stick Against Stone (1986)

• Another unobtainable piece featuring HR of the Bad Brains, combined with ex-Eugenians, Stick Against Stone.

20.) Someone Else * A Few Chairs * demo * A Few Chairs (1986)
21.) Pollution in Disguise * Insidious Menace * Get Paid Somewhere Else * Insidious Menace (1991)
22.) Every Band Sucks (But the Drills) * the Drills * Every Band Sucks (But the Drills) * Every Band Sucks (But the Drills) (1983)
23.) Ode to a Motorhome * E-13 * No Mercy for Swine * Fatal Erection (1986)
24.) Misguided Missile Youth * E-13 * No Mercy for Swine * Fatal Erection (1986)
25.) Eddie * E-13 * No Mercy for Swine * Fatal Erection (1986)
26.) Sport Pack * E-13 * No Mercy for Swine * Fatal Erection (1986)
27.) Humor Demons * E-13 * No Mercy for Swine * Fatal Erection (1986)
28.) Free the Cheese * E-13 * No Mercy for Swine * Fatal Erection (1986)
29.) Swizzle Stick * E-13 * No Mercy for Swine * Fatal Erection (1986)
30.) Clowns Are Experts at Making Us Laugh * E-13 * No Mercy for Swine * Fatal Erection (1986)
31.) Pankreatitis * E-13 * Drinking Is Great * Fatal Erection (1985)
32.) Quest for Gilligan * E-13 * Quest for Gilligan * Fatal Erection (1984)
33.) Cheesehead Alert * E-13 * Quest for Gilligan * Fatal Erection (1984)

• E-13 was Eugene’s most legendary punk band. This is a collection of their material from the No Mercy for Swine EP, the Quest for Gilligan 7″, and the Drinking Is Great compilation. Tracks 27 – 31 Above are “podcast only” inclusions, that were not aired on KMUZ due to FCC Regulations.

34.) Hospital * KPANTS * “Love” b/w “Hospital” * Grinning Idiot Records (1995)

• The K is silent. This is the only selection in this show that was selected by Austin, as it is one of his favorite bands from Eugene, and he quite enjoys this rendition of a Johnathan Richman tune.

Part III: Switched Off Eugene

This segment is intended to expand upon recent interviews of Brian Magill (aka Phyllyp Vernacular) and Peter Thomas, co-founders of the Eugene Electronic Music Collective, and both featured on the new compilation album Switched-On Eugene released by Numero Group. These interviews were conducted by Austin Rich.

These are some tunes that were not included on the Switched-On Eugene compilation. But some of these could have been, while others are included as an update on the more current electronic music scene in Eugene and the Northwest.

35.) Self-Regulation I * Carl Juarez * Confessions of a Mobile Intelligence Unit * Glass Onion (1985)

• The compilation album features Self-Regulation II. So I wanted to complete the picture here by playing Self-Regulation I.

36.) Soil Count * David Stuart * The Laundry * David Stuart (1988)

• David worked at an industrial laundry, and sonically emulated his experience using broken guitars and stacks of effects boxes. A scant few copies of this cassette were released in 1988 and put on consignment at House of Records. While perhaps not among the earliest pioneers of industrial music, the genre was not yet well known or well liked, so David was gutsy to put this out at that time. Not to be confused with the guy from the Eurythmics, David Stewart (different spelling!)

37.) Lost City * Derryl Parsons * Free Fall * Eugene Electronic Music Collective (1984)

• The inspiration for the Switched-On Eugene compilation was a prior self-released cassette compilation by the Eugene Electronic Music Collective called Free Fall. This is a selection by the late Derryl Parsons, taken from the Free Fall album.

38.) Shadow * Onomatopoiea * Womb * 13 Records (1996)

• Electro-industrial wizards of trance dance ritual Onomatopoiea were not involved in the EEMC, but clearly influenced and were influenced by them.

39.) Saragosso * Heather Perkins * Little Humans * Land-O-Newts Records (2008)

• Heather’s early work is featured on the Switched-On Eugene album. This is an example of her somewhat more recent work.

40.) As Our Bodies Die * Entrail * 100 Years Remaining * Flossless Audio (2017)

• Experimental violinist, vocalist, and electronic noise-maker Entrail was not around in the days of EEMC, but is included here to represent the current (2017) evolution of Northwest electronica. Entrail originated in Eugene, but is currently living and performing in Olympia, WA.