Friday, May 19: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art Book Sale at Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art Museum Store, (1430 Johnson Lane), 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., free.

The JSMA is holding its annual book sale this weekend. It runs during museum hours Friday through Sunday and will feature books related to exhibits and collections from the past year. May is also Member Appreciation Month at the museum, so museum members will get a free gift with any purchase. Exhibits at the JSMA this year have included an American Quran exhibit and another exploring Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “Between the World and Me.” Take some time to view the art before summer rolls around and pick up a book or two.

Friday, May 19: Tactics X Nike SB Community Wear Test at Washington-Jefferson Skate Park (Washington Street and Jefferson Street), 4 to 6 p.m., free

A wear test is exactly what it sounds like: Skateboarders are invited to stop by, try on a pair of shoes and test them out for comfort and style. Tactics and Nike SB will be providing the new FC Classic and Koston Hypervulc models for people to try on, and a wide variety of sizes will be available. In order to keep the event organized and flowing smoothly, there will be a sign up sheet for 10-15 minute increments, ensuring that everyone who wants to test the shoes will receive a chance.

There will also be mini contests with Nike SB shoe vouchers from Tactics as the prize, and pizza will be provided while you wait to test shoes. Skate footage and other highlights from the evening’s activities will be collected for a short recap video following the event.

Watch highlights from last year’s event below:

Friday, May 19: Rarely Seen – Photographs of the Extraordinary Exhibit at The Museum of Natural and Cultural History (1680 E. 15th Ave.) 11 a.m., general admission $5, youth $3

The Museum of Natural and Cultural History’s new National Geographic photography exhibition features images of some of the world’s most beautiful offerings. The Rarely Seen exhibit showcases images of places, events, natural phenomena and cultural materials shot by several of the world’s finest photographers. Photographs of a desert flower that only blooms once a year and an Egyptian artifact that was buried in King Tut’s tomb will be on display.

The exhibit will be open Tuesdays through Sundays until September 24. Tickets for families (up to two adults and four children) cost $10.

Saturday, May 20: Willamette Valley Music Festival at the EMU (1395 University St) 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., free

The Willamette Valley Music Festival is an annual celebration put on by University of Oregon students to showcase the musical and artistic talent of the Eugene community. This family-friendly event will feature a wide array of musical genres from hip-hop to house, to rock and more. There will be 20 groups performing on different stages at the EMU, such as the outside amphitheater and indoors in the Crater Lake conference room. Performing student groups include the UO Hip-Hop Ensemble (The Illaquips) and the Stand Up Society.

Select vendors from the UO Street Faire will be returning for the day to provide food and drink to festival goers. There will be no designated parking for the event, so attendees should plan accordingly.

You can learn more at www.wvmf.uoregon.edu.

Saturday, May 20: Chris Orsinger Trio at The Jazz Station (124 W. Broadway), 7:30 p.m., $10

Local jazz pianist Torrey Newhart is teaming up with bassist Chris Orsinger to bring soul-infused jazz to Eugene’s premier Jazz lounge, The Jazz Station. The trio, complete with Dave O’Toole on the alto saxophone, are motivated in style by the soulful endeavors of Wayne Shorter, Stevie Wonder and others. The Jazz Station, co-founded by Chris Orsinger himself, has a cool charm to it and features local art on its lively red walls. Pairing the atmosphere with the satisfying sounds of the trio makes for a sophisticated night downtown.

Sunday, May 21: Bark in the Park 5K and 10K race at Alton Baker Park (632 Day Island Rd.), Day-of Registration and check-in begin at 7 a.m., Pre-registration is $25, Day-of, $30

If you love to run or walk with your dog, check out Greenhill Humane Society’s 24th Annual “Bark in the Park” event this Sunday. Running participants can enter with their canine companion in either the 5k or 10k race, which both begin at 8:30 a.m. If you or your dog are past your running days, a 2k walk will start after the running at 9:45 a.m.

In addition to the races, the event will also feature canine activities, local vendor booths and demonstrations. Attendees who pre-register for the event will receive a free doggy bandana, and for an extra $12 will receive a tech T-shirt. Day-of registrants will also receive the bandana, and will still have the $12 t-shirt option.

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Eva Hendricks, lead singer of Brooklyn grunge-pop band Charly Bliss, approaches her mental health with a quirky, uncommon sense of humor. She doesn’t just lightly brush off anxiety or panic in her lyrics but instead dives into what makes her uncomfortable. The resulting music is both personal and much bigger than her own problems. 

On the band’s debut album, “Guppy,” Hendricks sings about laughing when her ex’s dog died and other morbid occasions. The band, which features Hendricks, her older brother Sam, Spencer Fox (who voiced Dash in “The Incredibles”) and Dan Shure, is playing Mississippi Studios in Portland tonight.

The Emerald corresponded with Hendricks via email ahead of the show. Her answers have been lightly edited for length and style.

Emerald: You graduated from the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU. How has your experience in the scene compared to an environment like the Davis Institute?

Eva Hendricks: I think my experience at Clive just helped to prepare me for a lot of things that I couldn’t have anticipated needing to know about in order to be good at being in a band. For starters, I never thought I would end up being in a band, and then beyond that I definitely never thought that I would end up essentially managing our band for the first four years we were together. I definitely couldn’t have done any of that stuff without what I learned in school, or at least I don’t think I would have been nearly as proactive. It’s hard to compare school to just pursuing being a musician because I was always doing both things at once. One was always feeding the other, and our professors encouraged us to get as much real world experience as possible while we were in school. I think I learned a lot more than I realized at the time. Looking back I feel like it was a really invaluable experience.

E: Your brother, Sam, is in the band with you. Do you think being in the band together has changed your relationship at all?

EH: We are very good at separating our relationship into two different camps. I feel like sometimes we’re in brother/sister mode and sometimes we’re in band mode and that keeps us from driving each other crazy. He’s always been my best friend and musically I trust him more than anyone in the world. It is really a privilege to get to do this with him. I think if anything it has made us much closer!

E: A striking aspect of your music is how you approach singing. How did you develop your vocal style?

EH: I’ve been singing since I was 6 years old and I grew up doing musical theater. I think I was always at odds with my voice because I never felt like I had the right voice for musical theater. I started taking voice lessons when I was 10, and my first voice teacher used to just scream at me for how raspy my voice was. It’s so funny because now I am so thrilled that I sound different than the ideal, clear-as-a-bell musical theatre voice. I guess most things work out that way.

Another thing that I think affects my singing style is the fact that I also sang jingles for commercials while I was in high school. Doing that really taught me a lot about how to perform and act with just your voice.

E: “Guppy” is an intimate album that touches on anxiety and mental health, but its range covers much more than one person’s problems. How do you approach writing about mental health in your songwriting?

EH: A very cool thing about releasing this record is hearing how many relate to what I’m writing about. I think there’s an aspect to mental health problems that makes you believe that you’re the only person in the world who has ever felt this way, or that your darkest thoughts are darker than everyone else’s and if they had any idea what was really going on in your brain they would be horrified. It’s very isolating, so on a very personal level it feels cool to have so many people relate to it.

I guess in terms of how I approach it, I just always try to tell the truth in the ugliest, truest way I can. I never want to gloss over something or give a tepid impression of what something is like for me because it doesn’t feel cathartic to me, and I doubt that it would be useful to anyone. In my songs I’m usually trying to make fun of myself for the things that I’m most ashamed of. It forces me to laugh about the aspects of my personality that make my day-to-day life kind of difficult. Laughter has helped me through some of the worst moments with anxiety and depression, not in terms of like, “hahaha I’m laughing at a YouTube video,” but laughing at myself and my weird brain. Depression is so consuming and feels infinite and terrifying when you are feeling low, having a sense of humor about it helps me to not feel so “in it.”

E: I’ve heard that there were issues with the first version of “Guppy.” Why did you decide it wasn’t time to release it?

EH: We just knew that we could do better. We knew that we could write better songs and we realized we wanted it to be more of a pop record than a grunge-y, garage-y record. We are all very competitive and all perfectionists, so once we realized we could do better we had to try.

E: What do you want to accomplish now that “Guppy” is out?

EH: It took three years for this record to come out, so personally I’d like to challenge myself to actually just appreciate this exciting moment before putting immense pressure on myself for the next thing. But… that said… we’re already well into working on the next record, and I’m very excited about that. In general, I think the four of us wanna take over the world.

Tickets for Charly Bliss’s performance are available here. Follow Sararosa on Twitter: @srosiedosie

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Most University of Oregon students never cross military checkpoints or narrowly miss suicide bombs, but for some, the violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can’t be escaped — even when living 7,000 miles away.

Students gathered in the EMU Amphitheater on Tuesday to celebrate Israel’s 69th Independence Day at the Israel Block Party. People flowed in and out of the amphitheater throughout the day, tasting food from Caspian Mediterranean Cafe and olive oil while Israeli music blared from speakers.

Organizations such as Akiva, Ducks for Israel, Stand With Us and J Street U all hosted booths exploring different aspects of Israeli politics and society. Although the event was bustling with students sharing food and taking pictures, some did not embrace the festivities. Some found the event insensitive.

For many Palestinians, Israeli Independence Day is known as the Nakba, which is the Arabic word for “catastrophe.” A small group of student protesters stood in front of the Israel Block Party holding signs opposing occupation and supporting Palestinian rights.

Protesters carried signs that quoted Angela Davis and tweets from Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. One held up a sign that said: “From Standing Rock to Palestine: Occupation is a crime.”

Fama Gedi, Hallie Frost, Azadeh Ghanizadeh and Miles Shepard protest outside of the Israel Block Party at the EMU amphitheater on Tuesday May 2, 2017. (Sararosa Davies/Emerald)

Organizers of the Israel Block Party didn’t engage with demonstrators directly; however, some students from the event listened to what the protesters had to say.

“It is never going to be perfect, but it starts with a conversation,” Jewish student Joel Jacobs wrote about his interaction with the protesters.

As illustrated in a 2016 New York Times article, divisive confrontations between Palestinian and Jewish and Israeli community members are common on college campuses in the United States. UC Berkeley is a campus where the Israel-Palestine debate flares up.

In 2001, the first chapter of the student activist group Students for Justice in Palestine was created at Berkeley. In September 2016, the tension between SJP and Jewish groups received national attention when a course called “Palestine: A Settler Colonial Analysis” was suspended. The two communities debated whether the course was anti-semitic, but eventually the course was reinstated.

In the last three years, UO students have engaged in dialogue surrounding the international conflict — bringing the two sides together to hash out their differences and to see the humanity in the other, according to Mohammed Astal, a Palestinian student from the Gaza Strip.

The Arab Student Union, Muslim Student Association, Jewish Student Union and Oregon Hillel Foundation sponsor a community-building event series called Manzil Midrash. “Manzil” means house in Arabic and “midrash” means study in Hebrew. The conversation series covers topics such as the role of Jerusalem and socialist movements in the Middle East.

Astal, an undeclared freshman, said he feels the need to have dialogues like these. He takes every chance he can to engage with the conflict in a constructive manner while talking to others about his life growing up in the city of Khan Younis.

Astal’s father, Kamal Al Astal, is originally from Khan Younis, while his mother, Sameera Al Hamidah, is considered a refugee because her family is from a city north of Jerusalem called ar-Ramleh. Her parents fled to Gaza, west of Jerusalem, in 1948.

Due to his mother’s refugee status, Astal is also considered a refugee and attended a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency while growing up. The organization provides aid to Palestinian refugees. According to Astal, the organization has also expanded its mission to Iraqi and Syrian refugees in recent years.

While living in Gaza, Astal earned a scholarship from the U.S. State Department to be an exchange student. He spent his junior year of high school in Portland, but his arrival in Oregon was delayed by two months because of military conflict taking place in the Gaza Strip and Israel during the summer of 2014. Astal lost his cousin in the violence.

After returning to Gaza, Astal applied to UO. He now turns his traumatic experiences into dialogue. He gives presentations at different churches and synagogues and speaks frequently about his story as a Palestinian. Astal worries about the danger of only telling one narrative.

“You just have to be interculturally competent, to know the other side,” Astal said. “I don’t care about the past. I know it’s really significant but I just talk about my experiences as a human being living in Gaza and losing friends and losing family.”

UO senior Barkeley Saltzman, although not Israeli, is taking a leadership role in the dialogue on campus. Saltzman, who will attend a graduate program in conflict resolution and mediation at Tel Aviv University next year, helps run Manzil Midrash.

He was in Israel during the Second Intifada (Arabic for “shake off”), a Palestinian uprising. He was visiting his family and shortly after they left a pizza place, a suicide bomb exploded there.

He has attended Manzil Midrash the last 3 years and now leads the program. Saltzman believes that these conversations are positive contributions to UO’s campus climate and that each person should speak for themselves and not his or her group as a whole.

“This is exactly what we need,” Saltzman said of the bridge between Jewish, Muslim, Arab and Palestinian students that Manzil Midrash creates.

Drew Williams responds to a question during a small-group period of a Manzil Midrash discussion focusing on nationalism in the Mills International Center in Eugene, Ore. on Tuesday April 25, 2017. (Aaron Nelson/Emerald)

On April 25, about 20 students came together as part of the series to talk about Arab and Jewish nationalist movements and their role in Israel and Palestine.

After the presentations, the group split into two smaller discussions and talked about how these movements manifest today. After about half an hour, the group came back together to discuss in a larger setting.

People’s contributions ranged from talking about Israel on social media to how pride ties into perceptions of culture.

Although tense moments arose, most came from disagreement between two members of the same community rather than those with opposite viewpoints.

Collective laughter rang through the room as one student accidentally called the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the PLC instead of the correct acronym, PLO. Comedic moments like these provided common ground for the discussion to go deeper, and although some disagreed, the discussion was mediated to keep the conversation on topic.

When Manzil Midrash started four years ago, MSA member Drew Williams and his partners in the Jewish Student Union created guidelines to structure these discussions. For Williams, what makes Manzil Midrash different than interfaith discussions on other campuses is UO’s culture.

“Other ones have gotten less amicable than ours and more heated and political. Ours is kind of unique,” Williams said.

Though the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is much bigger than the campus community, Williams said that the conversations happening at UO provide a valuable space for all students involved, if only for a moment. Saltzman, Williams and Astal said they believe that seeing the humanity in the other side is something worth striving for.

“They want to build relationships; they want to learn,” Williams said about the members of the two communities. “They want to be a part of something that may lead to something bigger and better.”

Follow Sararosa on Twitter: @srosiedosie

Correction: This article originally referred to the Oregon Hillel Foundation as UO Hillel. The article has been changed to reflect the correct name.

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Faculty of the University of Oregon’s substance abuse counseling program are petitioning to save their program after UO announced its termination last Wednesday. The online petition currently has 377 of its 500-signature goal.

The Wednesday announcement from the college of education calls for cutting the Substance Abuse Prevention Program in fall 2017. Eighteen non-tenure track instructor positions will also be cut with the program.

But many faculty members in the SAPP program are upset that the school hasn’t put effort into making the changes needed to save the program.

Ruth Bichsel, SAPP director (Image from SAPP website)

Program director Ruth Bischel said that SAPP leadership has addressed the issues by submitting over 35 proposals to fix the program but has been “blocked by the department.” SAPP meets all state standards for accreditation and is the only academic Certified Prevention Specialist program in the state, she wrote in an email to the Emerald.

“If you do not have the support of your department, essential changes cannot be made,” Bischel wrote.

The dean of the College of Education, Randy Kamphaus, could not be reached by the Emerald by phone or email. Kamphaus wrote the letter announcing SAPP’s termination.

Randy Kamphaus, dean of the College of Education, announced  SAPP’s shut down, set for next school year. (Image from COE website)

Bischel wants an external review of the program and said that she feels the COE review was biased. Despite SAPP faculty adapting the coursework to meet other academic requirements, the program is still being cut.

Kamphaus’ letter stated that three reasons for cutting the program include course difficulty, quality of teaching and SAPP courses not being eligible for degree programs.

The petition, created on April 24 at change.org, emphasizes the need for research-based addiction treatment.

A statement on the petition says, “During a time in which many vulnerable populations are under threat and addictions education and programming are increasing all over the country, this is not the time to eliminate or divert this essential community-conscious program.”

UO sociology major Kristine Swinson takes classes in the program and earned 22 SAPP credits. She says it is an essential part of the community because she has seen the toll of addiction both personally and as a child protection services employee.

“The thought of this program being eliminated worries me as an individual but also as a long-term resident of Eugene,” Swinson wrote in an email. “Every SAPP class that I have taken has been interesting, very informative and has contained critical educational material for my career choice.”

The petition is available here.

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New York two-piece Diet Cig’s debut album, “Swear I’m Good at This,” is a rally cry for self-love and safe spaces — a bubbly pop-punk look at the current political moment in all its confusion. Drummer Noah Bowman and guitar and vocalist Alex Luciano stopped in Eugene to play a show at the Boreal on Wednesday night in support of the record.

Each of the show’s openers — Eugene-based sister duo ShiSho and guitarist Lisa Prank — brought a wonderful sense of humor to the night that didn’t just satiate the audience, but instead made them dance. Between sets, the side speakers played a mix of indie-pop wunderkind Frankie Cosmos and Minneapolis hip hop artist/preacher of self love, Lizzo.

After buzzing her lips and tuning her guitar, Luciano launched the band into a rip-roaring version of the song “Sleep Talk.” Luciano’s brown pigtails bobbed up and down as she flailed herself around the stage, jumping off Bowman’s drum set with guitar in hand. Bowman is an ever-steady presence behind Luciano, but he lets her do most of the talking.

When she broke a guitar string broke at the end of a song, Luciano rambled about the band’s visit to Weed, California until Bowman replaced the string. This wasn’t an uncomfortable moment, though. Luciano’s energetic vulnerability in her stage presence is a joy to watch because she comes across as authentic. Clad in a black New Jersey Nets shirt, black jeans and tennis shoes, Luciano jumped off of different parts of the stage, often getting close with the crowd and looking audience members directly in the eye as if to say, “I got you.”

Luciano’s first piece of stage banter included her recommending menstrual cups to “all those who have a uterus in the audience” and telling everyone how “you can find crystals in there, like Gwyneth Paltrow.” The band’s live version of the jangly, quieter song “Scene Sick” accompanied this moment perfectly. The repetition of the lyrics “I don’t care” and “I’m sick of hearing about your band” capture the ennui of being a marginalized person in music or any other artistic movement. When Luciano croons “I just wanna dance,” it’s hard not to dance away frustration alongside her.

Luciano addressed statements like these in a personal way multiple times in the set. She said “being kind and soft is how we will destroy fascism” before dedicating the song “Bath Bomb” to her mother. Her voice often jumped between a croon and yelp, never quite in one place or another, but instead settling somewhere in between.

Before playing the angsty and winding “Sixteen,” Luciano asked the crowd if anyone was 16. After a 16-year-old raised her hand, Luciano said that she hoped the girl had better teen years than she did. Referencing the song, she said that she hopes the 16-year old is not dating someone who shares her name.

Diet Cig closed the set on the equally angsty, but lighter, “Harvard” off of the band’s 2015 EP, “Over Easy.” The crowd bounced its way through the band’s arguably most well-known song until the set was sadly done.

In the song, “Maid of the Mist,” Luciano sings, “I’m bigger than the outside shell of my body / And if you touch it without asking / Then you’ll be sorry.” That sentiment sums up Diet Cig perfectly. This band, though small in size, is mightier than it first looks. With Bowman’s steadiness and Luciano’s presence, Diet Cig has got nothing to lose.

Watch Diet Cig’s video for “Maid of the Mist” below:

Follow Sararosa on Twitter: @srosiedosie

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Sometimes you need to scream about all that’s wrong with the world. Diet Cig, a two-piece band from New York, will be there when you need to let it all out. It’s hard not to dance when singer and guitarist Alex Luciano yelps and Noah Bowman’s drumming provides a cathartic burst of energy. Diet Cig’s debut album, “Swear I’m Good at This,” is the kind of album for yelling about stupid boys who share the same name with you and spending your 21st birthday alone.

The band is touring in support of its debut album, released April 7, and will stop at the Boreal on Wednesday, April 26. 

The Emerald spoke with Luciano on the phone before the release of “Swear I’m Good at This” about the songwriting process and starting out as a band in a college town.

Diet Cig’s debut album,’ Swear I’m Good At This’ was released on April 7.   (Courtesy of Grandstand Media & Management)

Emerald: What was the process of writing “Swear I’m Good at This” like? Any highs or lows?

Alex Luciano: It was really wacky ’cause we were on tour a lot during the writing process. It kind of came together throughout touring and being home for a couple days between tours. We had a lot of songs where we weren’t really sure [where] to go with them. It really took until we were in the studio, in that space where we could allow ourselves to sit and write these songs for real, for that to come together.

E: Do you think there’s a sense of movement in the album then? You talk about being on tour and kind of needing to settle down to write these songs. Does that come through on the album at all?

AL: I think some of my most personal writing happens when I’m out of my comfort zone. I think that getting to travel and experience all that different stuff definitely inspires a lot of the lyrical content of the record, for sure. I also think touring kind of helped us build our confidence writing with each other. Being on tour while writing helped the record in that way as well.

E: In past interviews, you have talked about being from the college scene in New Paltz, New York and then moving to Brooklyn. Has Brooklyn been helpful to making music? What’s it like there compared to the scene you are from?

AL: It’s really different. New Paltz is a small little college town, a little village. Brooklyn is like Brooklyn; it’s the city. It was cool to come up in New Paltz because there was not as many expectations. Everyone was doing it for fun. We had a nice time learning how to be a band without the pressures of feeling like we were in a big city and everyone was watching us. But we moved to Brooklyn two years ago and we were touring so much it didn’t really feel like our home necessarily. It just felt like somewhere we lived. It was very different and I think it was a fun step up from New Paltz. We had been there for long enough to feel like we were itching to get out. Brooklyn was a cool way to get out.

E: What ways did your college experiences influence your music or yourself, for better or worse?

AL: I write a lot about the things I experienced in college. It would be a different experience if I didn’t go to college. A lot of the scene that we came up in has to do with the fact that it was in a college town because every four years there are fresh, new people. Every four years it refreshes itself. The scene really thrives in that kind of atmosphere because there are constantly new people coming and new artists. I think that being in college while writing our earlier stuff and drawing from those experiences for the new stuff was really strong. If I didn’t go to college, I wouldn’t be in this band, for sure.

E: Did you expect music to be a part of your life when you entered college? Or did that happen organically?

AL: It did happen organically. I had no idea I was going to be in a band or go to DIY shows or anything. I didn’t really know what to expect. It was kind of a nice surprise after going to shows and seeing artists that inspired me playing at house shows, doing things that are real and attainable — it was really inspiring.

E: Now that “Swear I’m Good at This” is just about out, what are your plans for the future? What can we expect from Diet Cig?

AL: I think we are going to tour the circuit. We’re really excited to get out there and play these new songs for people. There are people who have been waiting this whole time for us to release a proper record. We’re really stoked to go and tour the whole world, share our music with everyone and create a safe, fun space for everyone to enjoy our music at our shows, so, hopefully, just getting to meet everyone. It’s exciting to feel that community that’s around what we are doing, but in real life. A real goal of ours is to just keep touring as much as possible.

The all-ages show will run from 7 to 10 p.m., and tickets are $10 at the door. Lisa Prank and ShiSho open. For more info, contact the Boreal at www.theboreal.com.

Follow Sararosa on Twitter: @srosiedosie

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Minneapolis musician Jeremy Messersmith can be a little macabre, often spending his songwriting power on graveyards and suburbia. But when the world becomes dark, his music turns to the overtly positive to provide comfort.

He is often compared to Portland’s Elliott Smith, but Messersmith has created his own brand of emotional songwriting. Though Messersmith writes dark indie-pop with lush strings, his music is also undeniably funny in a way that Smith’s music isn’t. Messersmith manages to tackle difficult and varied topics with grace in a way only his offbeat humor can.

On Friday, Messersmith surprise released a 15-minute album called “11 Obscenely Optimistic Songs for Ukulele: A Micro Folk Record for the 21st Century and Beyond.” He’s ventured into a territory all his own with this record; it’s positive in a way that feels necessary. The album cover depicts Messersmith covered in cats as an homage to the first track, “Everybody Gets a Kitten.” It even credits the songwriting to “Jeremy Messersmith and kittens.”

He’s been working on a full-length album supposedly titled “Late Stage Capitalism” for a few years now. After the election of our current president this November, Messersmith closed himself in a cabin in Minnesota for a few days with a ukulele. He came out with a different product than one might expect.

During that cabin stay, Messersmith produced 11 short songs, all undeniably sweet and optimistic like the songwriter himself. In a similar fashion to indie artist Beck, Messersmith first released “Obscenely Optimistic” as a songbook. He invited fans to record videos of themselves singing and performing the songs to share under the hashtag, #ObscenelyOptimistic. On his current tour, he is inviting audience members to bring instruments to participate in the shows and sing along.

As he wrote on his website, “I think communities that sing together are stronger and more resilient than those that don’t.”

While his 2010 album “The Reluctant Graveyard” matches grief with hope, “Obscenely Optimistic” presents only pure joy. The instrumentation is simple — Messersmith recorded the album in one day — with just a ukulele accompanying his voice. Every song has its own music video, featuring Messersmith in his signature glasses, strumming away at his ukulele.

It’s hard not to smile when listening to this album. “Everybody Gets a Kitten” details a future where “All the factories burn rainbows and you can buy a house on Mars.” Sure, it seems silly, but when Messersmith sings these lyrics in his slight falsetto, it’s hard not to take his sentiment to heart, as fan videos show.

The recordings people have shared with Messersmith are integral to how the album is received. It’s not just a positive album, but it’s also a way for people to directly engage with positive thinking.

Most songs on the album don’t contain as much cheesiness as “Everybody Gets a Kitten,” but they are still sincere attempts at making eloquently crafted tiny pop songs.

“Everything is Magical” is only 2:20, but encapsulates the love songs of his last release, 2014’s “Heart Murmurs.” While “Everything is Magical” feels well-crafted and intentional, the track after, “Honeybee” falls flat because it goes overboard on the sweetness.

On his website, Messersmith details his reason for releasing the album: “Because we all need a ray of sunshine every now and again. Because it’s important to not lose sight of how good things could be. Because the first step to a better world is to imagine a better world.”

It doesn’t take much for Jeremy Messersmith to make the world a better place, if only for a few short moments.

Follow Sararosa on Twitter: @srosiedosie

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Last night, Smith Westerns-alumni-band-turned-indie-rock-darlings Whitney played WOW Hall to a rambunctious crowd. Though based in Chicago, vocalist/drummer Julien Ehrlich and bassist Josiah Marshall are both Portland natives. Ehrlich said he has wanted to play WOW Hall since he was a senior in high school who used to come to Eugene to “get fucked up.”

For a band with such a short discography — its debut album, “Light Upon the Lake,” clocks in below 30 minutes — Whitney has enticed a slew of people with its indie-folk meets Chicago-soul sound. “Light Upon the Lake” is a breakup album made for easy listening. It’s perfect for college students walking between classes and sunny days (or not) on a green lawn.

Whitney’s lead vocalist Julien Ehrlich gives a thumbs up to the crowd during the band’s performance at the WOW Hall on Thursday April 13, 2017, in Eugene, Ore. (Aaron Nelson/Emerald)

While the album freely glides between what seem to be simple tracks, the band takes on a spunkier sound in concert. Will Miller’s trumpet lick tied together Max Kakecek’s spiraling guitar with Ehrlich’s falsetto. The band’s sound did not falter under the scrutiny of a drunk super-fan wearing a white Whitney t-shirt with the band’s signature rose emblem, yelling “You fucked!” every few minutes. In fact, the band has honed in on a specific presence: chill, but steady. Not even the drunkest concert-yellers could throw off these guys.

What Whitney is doing isn’t necessarily new, but the band’s sound is full-fledged for a group that’s only been together since 2015. For much of the concert, the band persevered through an obnoxious crowd’s bad concert etiquette, but it proves that the members are veterans at the game.

The band touched on all the hits from “Light Upon the Lake” while also throwing in some covers and a new song or two. After opening with a hauntingly fresh rendition of Dolly Parton’s “Gonna Hurry (Just as Slow as I Can),” the band transitioned into the trickling “Dave’s Song.” The crowd sang along to the lines “I know it’s hard to give up and I don’t want to be saved” in a manner that makes catharsis seem easy. Kakacek’s guitar stood out on the tracks “No Matter Where We Go” and “Light Upon the Lake,” which both took a warmer sound live than the album versions.

Ehrlich’s voice projected throughout the hall during every song. His falsetto is a little scrappier than in studio, but it also feels more authentic in person. Drumming and singing at the same time is no easy feat. With his drum set at center stage, Ehrlich, in overalls and a gray sweater, led the pack like a true leader

Trumpet Player Will Miller raises his instrument toward the crowd as his name is announced while Whitney plays the WOW Hall on Thursday April 13, 2017. (Aaron Nelson/Emerald)

As the night wound down, Ehrlich introduced the rest of the band over a talking, relatively unresponsive audience: Max Kakacek, guitar; Josiah Marshall, bass; Will Miller, trumpet; Malcolm Brown, piano; little brother, merch. He thanked the opener, Julie Byrne, whose rich voice and Laura Marling-esque sound make her deserving of future headlining gigs. Most of the audience missed out on moments like these because of its chattiness and disregard for anything but well-known songs like “No Woman” and “Golden Days.”

Whitney deserved so much more than what the crowd gave last night. Yes, it was a Thursday night in a college town where the members admittedly used to get “fucked up” in. But still, when the band returned for its encore, something was missing and it wasn’t Whitney’s fault. Whitney gave its all to an audience that will largely have forgotten the performance by dawn. The album’s called “Light Upon the Lake” and not “Lit Upon the Lake” for a reason, Eugene.

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Spring break is over and the final term of the school year is here. The new season is a great time to check in with yourself and enjoy the beautiful weather. Whether you want to take stock of your winter clothes, cook new foods or just enjoy the sun, here are some ways to kick off spring term with a bang.

Go outside!

With flowers blooming and the sun out more than it was last term, this should be a no-brainer. Go for a walk; take a look at the trees around campus. Study in the EMU amphitheater. Soak up all the Vitamin D you can get. Make up for all the sun you missed during winter term by spending every moment you can outside. For those who face seasonal depression, this is especially important.

Deep clean your apartment

Spring is also a great time for taking stock of your belongings and organizing the physical parts of your life. Spend a day or two cleaning your apartment or dorm. Wash dishes that have been piling up and clean out your fridge. Turn on some music, open your windows and clean surfaces that have accumulated paper and trash. Toss needless papers into the recycling, then take that trash and recycling out. You can even take this time to reorganize your bookshelf or music collection. Is there a house project you have been wanting to do? Do it now before you forget or run out of free time.

Sell, donate or refurbish old winter clothes

This goes along with spring cleaning, but if you are the type of person who buys new clothes every season (lucky you!), clear out your old wardrobe. Take stock of what you wear and donate last year’s trends. Take the gently-used clothes you don’t wear and sell them at Buffalo Exchange or other consignment shops in Eugene. Not only does this help you gain some cash, but it also creates room in your closet for spring attire. If you don’t want to part with old clothing, look up ways to refurbish them. You could make a quilt out of old t-shirts or liven up a drab jean jacket by adding some buttons.

Celebrate spring holidays

Many religions have practices and holidays regarding symbols of renewal. Spring is a great time to reconnect with religion or spirituality in general. It’s also a great time to seek out and learn about other traditions. Both Easter and the Jewish holiday of Passover are this month. Hillel and other Jewish groups such as Akiva and Chabad have Passover celebrations or seders (in Hebrew) for free or at a low cost. The first night of Passover is April 10. Easter is April 16. There are churches of many denominations around campus. Eat some food and gain some spiritual understanding this season.

Float the Willamette

Rent some inner tubes from the Outdoor Program Barn, grab some friends and enjoy a float down the Willamette. Pass underneath the Autzen footbridge and enjoy the sunny weather. It’s like an actual lazy river, but not at a water park. The Willamette is walking distance from campus, so why not enjoy it?

Avoid pollen and allergens

The Willamette Valley is known for its horrible pollen in the spring, so if you are suffering from allergies, don’t shy away from spending a day away from the flowers. Cook a big meal, invite some friends over and enjoy spring foods. Take some time to read a book under a sunny window. Even though you are indoors, there are still tons of way to celebrate the clear weather. 

Follow Sararosa on Twitter: @srosiedosie

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Walking along 13th Avenue on the University of Oregon’s campus, one encounters countless types of trees with intriguing origins and interesting names like the Yellow Buckeye, but few trees have a story like UO’s “Moon Tree. 

Photo by Kate Abed

Located between the EMU and Carson Hall is the Moon Tree, a seemingly regular Douglas Fir. Upon first look, there’s not anything particularly special about this Doug Fir except for the benches around it and plaque on the ground that reads “Moon Tree (Douglas fir).” The Moon Tree was germinated from a seed that had been to the moon in the 1970s.

In January 1971, the US launched its third manned mission to the moon, Apollo 14. Astronaut Stuart Roosa, who used to work for the United States Forest Service, brought a variety of tree seeds on board the aircraft. According to the Register-Guard, one of these 500 seeds made its way to UO’s campus. After returning from the moon, the seeds were germinated around the country and then sent out to a variety of places and organizations.

According to Jane Brubaker, a campus landscape designer in Facilities Services, UO received the germinated seedling, rather than the seed or tree itself. She said that at the time, “The deciduous trees probably just looked like sticks, but our Douglas fir would have looked like a mini-tree.”

The tree was planted in 1976, the same year as the university’s centennial, according to the Register-Guard. There are a few other Moon Trees around Oregon, including one at Oregon State University and one near the capitol building in Salem.

Once UO’s Moon Tree arrived on campus in the ‘70s, its story didn’t quite end there. According to Brubaker, the tree was originally planted where Willamette Hall is now, but in order to accommodate the growing science complex, the tree was replanted in 1987.

It now sits on the edge of 13th Avenue between Carson Hall and the EMU. On University Day in 2003, the plaque and benches around the tree were added to commemorate the tree’s history.

Today passersby stop to look at the plaque every so often. To Brubaker and others, the tree serves as a reminder of the moon missions from the 1960s and 1970s. UO includes the tree as the first stop on a self-guided campus tree tour, but otherwise, the tree looks pretty normal despite having out-of-this-world origins.

NASA employee Dr. David R. Williams runs a website cataloging Moon Trees around the country. According to the site, there are a total of six in Oregon at the present moment. Dr. Williams’ website was last updated in June 2016. He encourages those who find other moon trees to email him as they aren’t all catalogued. 

Follow Sararosa on Twitter: @srosiedosie

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