Entertainment report: East County has some music for everyone this week

By BEN OLSON/for The Herald  —  I recently read an NPR article that lamented the lack of key changes in popular songs hitting the airwaves today. Chris Dalla Riva, a musician and analyst at Audiomack, wanted to find out what made a hit song. He listened to every one of the Billboard 100’s top songs since its inception in 1958- 1100 songs, and found some interesting trends. From the 60’s to the 90’s, one quarter of those songs contained key changes. Since 2010, only one song, Travis Scott’s 2018 track “Sicko Mode” has a key change.

Tonight I witnessed Tom Heinl execute 7 key changes in his opus, “IHOP”. That easily surpasses the 5 key changes that occur in my rendition of “House of the Rising Sun”, done to the chord structure of the Gilligan’s Island theme. I will never think about salmon swimming upstream in quite the same way now that I’ve heard “IHOP”. It was a fun Saturday night and I got recruited to play bass with the Peter Wilde segment of the show.

Eli Pierzina will be playing guitar at the Dexter Lake Club this Friday, December 16, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. In trying to bring my readers a little more information about Eli, I did a google search and the only thing I found was a previous article that I had written for the Highway 58 Herald back in August mentioning that he was playing at the Dexter Lake Club then.

I try to make an effort to see all the solo performers when they’re playing in the area, but sometimes my schedule makes that difficult, and this Friday is no exception. Please stop in to give Eli a listen so that you can tell me what I’m missing. I’ll try to hear him next time he plays there.

On Sunday evening, December 18, Brian Chevalier and friends will be hosting the open mic and jam session. That gets started about 6 p.m. The Dexter Lake Club has a full bar, and the adjoining Rattlesnake BBQ has appetizers, sandwiches and full dinners. There is no cover charge for these live music events. The Club is located just off Highway 58 in Dexter near milepost 12.

I’ll be running the open mic at the 3 Legged Crane this Thursday, December 15. The website says it starts at 7 p.m. The sign as you walk into the place says it starts at 6. I  am going to play my first song at 6:30, splitting the difference. Please bring an instrument or your voice and join in the fun. On Saturday evening, December 17, Oakridge’s own Kelly Thibodeaux and Etouffee will be rocking the house starting at 7 p.m.

There’s no better way to get into the holiday spirit than dancing to Cajun music for a couple of hours. The Crane has a great selection of handcrafted beers and ales, as well as a menu featuring appetizers, sandwiches and dinners. There is no cover charge for the live music. The 3 Legged Crane is located on 1st Street in uptown Oakridge.

My guitar and I will be serenading the skiers refreshing themselves at the bar from noon until 3 p.m. this Saturday, December 17, at Willamette Pass ski area, by milepost 62. If this goes well, it may be where I’ll be spending my Saturday afternoons for the rest of the ski season.

Kelly Thibodeaux and I will be joining the Oakridge Community Choir this Sunday afternoon, December 18 at 3 p.m. for cookies, creches and carols at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 76959 Lee Road. The Holiday Jubilee will be a fun event for the whole family. I hope to see you there!