Entertainment report for week ending 12/24: No musician feuds in Oakridge, just good music

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By BEN OLSON/for The Herald  —  Recently, Daryl Hall was in the news for suing his long-time bandmate, John Oates. After a career of hit songs and inspired live shows together, this is what it has come to. Actually, the suit was to block Oates from selling his share of the recording rights. According to a ticket site on the web, Hall and Oates will be touring together in 2024.

Though not siblings, their squabbles are fodder for the gossip columns and know-it-alls on the internet. Real brothers in the music business have been carrying on since the 60’s. Don and Phil Everly, after dozens of hit records, had trouble being around each other, managing to stay civil in concert most of the time. For most of the last 40 years of their lives, they were estranged, but would occasionally do shows together.

The list of family rivalries in music is a long one

Ray and Dave Davies of the Kinks were pretty much always at odds with each other. Dave once said, “I think Ray has only been happy for 3 years in his life, and those were the 3 years before I was born”. They have, more than once, brawled on stage in front of concert goers. The Kinks officially folded their tent in 1996. Talks of a reunion never amount to much.

Brothers Tom and John Fogarty were on top of the world in the late 60’s, churning out hit after hit with Creedence Clearwater Revival. By 1970, older brother Tom thought that John had become a “dictator” and quit the band. They never patched things up and Tom died in 1990. Eulogizing his brother at the funeral, John, acknowledging regret for what happened to their relationship, said, “We wanted to grow up and be musicians. I guess we achieved half of that by becoming rock and roll stars. We didn’t necessarily grow up”.

The Robinson brothers from the Black Crowes and the Gallagher brothers from Oasis both had public episodes of animosity. The brothers Gibb, of the Bee Gees had a strained relationship. After lush 3-part harmonies sent their songs to the top of the charts in the 60’s, the youngest, Robin, only 19, decided to go solo. He cited Barry’s “very, very big persecution complex” as the reason. Poor Maurice tried, but failed to be the peacemaker. Eventually they mended their broken hearts and reunited to hit it big with Saturday Night Fever and the disco rage.

The movie about the Beach Boys highlighted their differences

It would take a book to sort out the rivalries involved within the Beach Boys. Songwriting genius Brian Wilson had issues about playing in public. Brothers Dennis and Carl seemed to agree with cousin Mike Love that they should stick to music about cars, girls and surfing, and forgo anything heavier than that. Dennis and Carl both died at relatively young ages. Brian and Mike Love still butt heads to this day.

I would be reluctant to form a musical group with my brothers. We get along quite well, but neither of them shows much of an aptitude for singing or playing a musical instrument. Plus, one lives in Wisconsin and the other in Colorado.

Brian Craig at the Crane

On to the live music that you can hear in the Highway 58 corridor. The Ghost of Brian Craig will be performing at the 3 Legged Crane in Uptown Oakridge this Friday evening, December 22. I would only be speculating if I were to say that it’s Brian Craig himself playing and singing, and that “ghost” is probably a literary mechanism. We’ll see. The Ghost of Brian Craig enjoys playing “small and warm” venues throughout Oregon. It’s acoustic rock with southwest vibes and Pacific Northwest culture. With all original songs, it’s a musical story-telling experience. Check out his website at ghostofbriancraig.com.

 

The 3 Legged Crane is Oakridge’s premiere brew pub. They’re located on 1st Street in Uptown Oakridge. In addition to tasty beers and ales, their menu has appetizers, sandwiches and dinners.

Lion Mtn Bakery open till Sunday sans Broken Horn

The Lion Mountain Bakery on Highway 58 in Oakridge will be without Broken Horn for a bit. Although I don’t have all of the details, his van was totaled on the way to a battle re-enactment which he attended every year. He wasn’t badly hurt, but we won’t be seeing the old blue Ford tooling around town anymore. I’ll give you an update on his return in next week’s column. The Lion Mountain will be open through Saturday, December 23, and then closed until after the New Years weekend.

I’ll be churning out the tunes at the Dexter Lake Club this Friday, December 22, from 6 until 8 pm. It’ll be my last chance to croon “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” this year, although that will be the extent of the Christmas music that evening. The Dexter Lake Club is located just off Highway 58 near milepost 12. They have a full bar, and the adjacent Rattlesnake BBQ has a big selection of appetizers, sandwiches and dinners on the menu.

Karaoke throughout the week

If you’d like to sing your karaoke version of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’, you can do it at the Logger’s Den on Highway 58 in Oakridge on Wednesday, The Dexter Lake Club on Thursday, and the Corner Bar in Uptown Oakridge on Friday. Time’s running out to sing your Christmas favorites this year.

Willamette Pass Resort is still waiting for a gift from Mother Nature in the form of a major winter snow event, so they can open up for the season. I’ll keep you posted.

I saw Kole Topham’s Christmas Carol yesterday afternoon at the Zero Clearance Theater. A person can’t help but be in a Christmas-y mood after watching the enthusiasm that those young actors showed in putting on their play.

To all my readers, I wish you a joyous Christmas. I’ll get to the prosperous New Year part next week when I let you know where you can ring in the New Year.