Whether its alternative, groovy and progressive or progressive, groovy and alternative, Greenlander will awaken your 90’s tonal senses while indulging your more modern tastes. With a firm foundation in the academic branches of the pursuit of musical excellence, these rock practitioners stand at the ready to help you get your boogie on. Greenlander joins the cast of the mixed genre (rock and hip-hop) extravaganza which will be performing with The Everything Show on March 27, 2010 at Riley’s in Albany, Oregon (more info at the end of this article).

How long have you all been at it and how did you get started
GL Greenlander has been playing together since we were sophomores in high school, which was back in 2004.

How would you describe your sound and what makes it different from other bands who may be in a similar genre?
GL Our sound is heavily influenced from 90’s alternative rock. We love to groove and we do so through the use of funk, syncopation, and unison riffs. We are a progressive, groovy, alternative band.

What is a live experience with Greenlander like?
GL When our bass player doesn’t have a dislocated ankle, mono, or SARS we are a very energetic band. Our music is the source of our energy. On stage we’re not acrobats and we keep power jumping to a minimum. However on rare occasions our energy sources will level up to a bewildering 48 jewels and then we get “buck wild” and pull wicked cool combos.

What are some of your best and worst experiences at a live show?
GL As far as our worst live show goes, one time we were playing on the UO campus and the sprinklers turned on during our second song of the set. Our best live experience was when we headlined a 4th of July show at Dexter Lake and had the opportunity to share our music for 3000 awesome people.

Where do the sons of Greenlander hail from?
GL Half of the band is from Cottage Grove and the other half Creswell, Oregon. After high school we all moved to Eugene where we live now.

What do you enjoy most about the local scene there in Eugene?
GL We love the laid back helpful attitude of the other bands we play with. It is nice to be able to hang with the other bands in the area.

Who have been some of the people that have helped you as you continue to develop your sound and presence as a band?
GL When we were going to high school our music director James Phillips was a huge influence, he really helped Merlin and Thomas get heavy into music. Our parents were also really helpful providing encouragement, food and rehearsal space. Now that we are in Eugene, James Book of Ninkasi Brewery has been really supportive of our band and has been really helpful with booking and production. Also our manager Austin Kovac has been amazing with everything he does.

What are some of the best memories for Greenlander from 2009?
GL 2009 was a great year for us because we started to get sponsorship deals. Both Ninkasi and Sparks sponsored our band in 2009. Also Trevor got arrested in Mexico.

What are you looking forward to most in 2010?
GL We are really pumped for 2010 because now that we have a manager we are really starting to get our act together. We are planning a tour in the summer and planning on doing some more recordings.

What do you hope fans will take from your music?
GL Our music is all about having fun. We want people to be happy and have a good time when they listen to our music.

Any favorite stories fans have told you?
GL One of our fans told us this story: When he was 5 years old he went to visit his aunt and uncle. At this point in time he had never heard of a ferret. So he strolled into his aunt and uncles house wearing his favorite sweatshirt, excited by the prospect of seeing his relatives. He sat down on the couch, an unassuming young boy in his favorite sweatshirt. When all of a sudden out of the back room his aunt’s ferret came streaking across the room leaping through the air toward the boy. Claws extended, like a cat pouncing on a startled mouse, the ferret assaulted the boy. He can’t remember if the ferret started pooping before or after it landed on him but he was certain the feces and the ferret hit at the same time. Upon landing the ferret began clawing and twisting and really just going crazy. The boy lept up screaming and running around the room trying in vain to remove the bloodthirsty ferret. Quickly his aunt came to his aid and removed the ferret. His favorite sweatshirt shredded and covered in ferret crap the boy wept. Since that day he has had a deep-rooted hatred for ferrets.

Recent trend that you will never join?
GL College boys with their flat billed hats with the stickers still on and college girls with the giant sunglasses that make them look like flies on acid.

Anything interesting that you’ve read recently?
GL We are musicians we don’t read for fun. All of the books we are reading now are text or music type books.

What has been grabbing your attention musically?
GL The band is on a really big Porcupine Tree listening binge. We are also into Dream Theatre, Mutemath and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In your spare time, what do you enjoy watching?
GL We are watching The Office, 30 Rock and Blazers basketball.

Any crazy pre-performance rituals? When you are all divas, what will you demand be in your dressing room?
GL We don’t really do anything before shows. But when we are rock stars we are going to demand appropriately sized bread and cheese, a miniature basketball hoop, an open bar and all we can eat Charleston Chews.

What are the top 5 songs in your personal playlist right now?
GL Arriving Somewhere But Not Here – Porcupine Tree; Aeroplane – Red Hot Chili Peppers; Typical – Mutemath; Set it Off – Audioslave; Home – Dream Theatre.

For more information, interviews and updates for live local music concert tours. Local bands, artists, concerts, venues, tours and events from rock, hip-hop, metal, pop, punk, hardcore, alternative, acoustic, power pop, thrash, R&B, soul, reggae, indie, heavy metal, organic, progressive, funk, death metal, rap and more. Stay tuned to hurdcore.com, friend us on myspace and join us facebook

Through hurdcore we have met artists, bands, promoters, fans, supporters…individuals who are teaming together to support local music. Its always inspiring to meet people who are actively chasing their dreams and using the tools they have to make a difference in their community. Of this caliber, there are few people working harder at the ground level for local music than Kit Day and Daniel Langenberg, whom hurdcore readers may recognize from their work with getting TreeHouse Venue up and running in Eugene, Oregon. So, we take pleasure in sharing our recent interview with Kit Day, of The Great Exploration, as he shares a bit of the story of how these man-students stepped out to add writing and playing music to their already robust efforts in promoting and hosting it at the local level.

The Great Exploration is fairly new as a band, how would you describe your sound?
TGE mixes progressive/experimental/and alternative all under the same roof.

You’ve played a few select shows and had some great turnouts, what is one of the coolest things a fan has ever said to/about your band? TGE Wow, that’s a tough question! We recently read an article in the paper where we were compared to Coldplay, Seabird, and Danyew. We thought that was pretty cool.

What was your favorite memory as a band from 2009?
TGE Honestly, our favorite memory was recording! We work with a close friend who is a recording engineer and had a blast with him.

TGE has a polished sound and you all play well together, as a band you’ve said, “Musically we strive to grow in the creativity God has given us and to give it back to Him through worship.” Is The Great Exploration a worship band, as in you play regularly for a church on Sunday mornings?
TGE I hope I don’t confuse you with my answer! Is TGE a worship band? Yes and No. When I say no, I mean we don’t “sound” like a typical worship band. We are beginning to progress more towards a experimental/progressive sound. When we create music, we try to be unique. When I say yes, our lyrics are completely geared towards worship.

Alright, so for those who still have trouble understanding the distinction, what’s the difference between a worship song and worshiping God?
TGE Music in general is worship. When you come to the realization that God is the one who has given you the talent and creativity to play music, you in turn give it back to Him. This is worship. Giving yourself in complete surrender. This is the difference between a worship song and worshiping God. It’s funny, we all go to different churches. Some of us play on worship teams, others don’t.

TGE had a strong upstart in 2009, what are you all looking forward to most in 2010?
TGE As for 2010, we were looking forward to playing at Tom Fest. Unfortunately we just read that the owner is revamping some things and will be postponing Tom Fest until next year. Oh well.

What has been your favorite show to date?
TGE Our favorite show was last Saturday night (Feb 6th)! We played with some fun bands and had a HUGE turnout of 500 people!

Have you had the chance to tour yet?
TGE Ha, no tour. We’re all in school full time, so a tour is kinda out of the question. Maybe someday!

At the time of writing this interview, your TGE MySpace profile quote reads, “Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation.” What do you mean by this?
TGE As a band, we believe God has sent us to love, not condemn people. You will find this mindset deeply rooted in both our hearts and our music.

Your song “Comforter” is obviously a spiritual tune, is this a general song about God or is there a specific circumstance that inspired the writing?
TGE “Comforter” actually was inspired from scripture:

Ecclesiastes 4:1 (NIV) Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed—and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors—and they have no comforter.

John 14:16 (ASV) And I will pray (to) the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever.

It’s a song to remind us that we have a comforter who is watching over us no matter what situation we may be in.

How is He [God] a comforter? Is He only a comforter to those who believe/obey Him?
TGE He is our Comforter in this crazy world. Not only is He a comforter to those who believe in Him, but he can be a comforter to those who choose to let Him in. It all starts with a personal choice.

A lot of people say that they believe in God or some kind of higher power. Saying that you believe in God, and maybe even being a Christian, doesn’t necessarily tell a complete story, what specifically do you believe about God?
TGE We believe God is love. Absolute, complete, pure and perfect love. God is truth. He created us. He inspired creation. He is in us and around us. He chose to love us so much that He gave his son Jesus Christ to die a gruesome death so we might live forever with Him.

You’ve stated, “As a band, we don’t want to be surface Christians. We want to continue to grow deeper in our relationship with Christ and spread his love in every way possible. Every day we aim to discover more of this incredible God who has shown us so much love and grace.” When did you become a Christian?
TGE This is a hard question! Only because there are 6 of us and we all came to Christ at different points in our life. I personally (Kit Day) grew up in a Christian household. I will admit, when I moved away to college I slipped a little. It’s funny how when you have absolute “freedom” to do whatever you want you tend to give into the pressures of society. I can tell you I hit a point where I asked myself, “Is this really how you want to live?” My answer, of course, was no. I sensed I was distant from God and it felt horrendous. Once I made a point to turn back, God swooped me right back into His arms. It felt, for a lack of a better word, monumental.

What are the origins of TGE? Can you pinpoint the moment when you knew you wanted to get serious about being in a band?
TGE When TGE was formed, it wasn’t meant with the intentions to last. Dan and I needed a 3rd band to play at Treehouse, so we thought why not put some songs together? We collaborated with some of our music buddies and put some songs together in a month’s time. After that, we realized we loved playing together and it took off from there.

We thought we recognized some of your faces from The Treehouse Venue (see hurdcore article from 2009 on THV) how is this effort going?
TGE Daniel Langenberg and myself (Kit Day) operate a local music venue called Treehouse Venue. It’s been open for about a year now and slowly getting its feet off the ground. We’re in the middle of a transition phase (new building, new sponsors, and lots of other new stuff!). I can’t really go into details because nothing has been finalized, but we’re exhilarated with anticipation!

So, you have become a two-headed monster with your efforts in TreeHouse Venue and now The Great Exploration, are you all native Eugeneians? What makes Eugene special?
TGE I think I am the only one who is not a Eugene native. I come from different places in Oregon, California, and Washington. I finally ended up in Oregon after moving away to college. Our favorite feature in Oregon is how beautiful and green everything is! The summer’s here are also amazing!

Who has been the greatest influence and/or support in getting you to where you are now?
TGE My greatest support would definitely be my wife! She has been amazing during this process and I thank God for her every day. Our close friends also supported us tremendously.

What are the weapons of choice for TGE?
TGE Uh-oh, now you’re asking for a LONG list! Where do I start? We love having as many instruments on stage as possible. I won’t post everything we use because the list will tire your eyes. Here are the important brands we enjoy:
Fender! (Fender guitars, fender tube amps); Taylor Acoustic Guitars; Boss, MXR, Fulltone, Vox, and Ernie ball Pedals; Furman Pedal board; Schecter Bass; Ampeg Bass Amps; Pixiphone; Xylophone/glockenspiel;
Lots and Lots of percussion

As a fan of music, who are you digging right now? What would be the top 5 on your ipod playlist?
TGE Here are our the 5 that inspire our music the most: Future of Forestry, Deas Vail, Glorious Unseen, Mutemath, Danyew.

…A few quick questions: If I had an extra $1000, the first piece of equipment that I would purchase for the band is a massive glockenspiel!? Currently reading Come Thirsty by Max Ludado, listening to This Will Destroy You and watching Ice Age (yes, all at the same time!)?

Our thanks/kudos to Will Foster Photography for the pics of TGE.
Follow Treehouse Venue to keep current with local concerts in Eugene, Oregon.

For more information, interviews and updates for live local music. Local bands, artists, concerts, venues and events from rock, hip-hop, metal, pop, punk, hardcore, alternative, indie, organic, progressive, rap and more. Stay tuned to hurdcore.com, friend us on myspace and join us facebook

It’s time to get low and wake up the hardcore hibernating within the borders of Eugene, Oregon. A Year In Review has taken upon themselves to blast through the encumbrances, guitars ablaze with brutal riffs dripping from sincere smiles and packaged with extreme energy. AYIR puts everything on the line in their shows, whether playing for small local crowds or preparing for an upcoming venue headlined by nationally acclaimed hardcore act Bleeding Through (August 26th, 2009 in Roseburg, Oregon). They may have been hiding under the bridges of Lane County, but Oregon residents will not want to ignore A Year In Review as they are primed to set fire to local venues and far beyond.

HC What inspired the name of your band?
AYIR Well when we came together, it was basically after the falling out of two other bands that we were all members in, and it was around the turn of the year when we started getting into the swing of things as a new band, and it just clicked. Basically, at any moment in time, if you sit back, and review an entire year, there is so much growth, so much change, so much that occurs in 365 days, that it’s really amazing to think about.

HC How would you describe your musical style?
AYIR That’s actually a question we struggle to answer. It’s sort of a-typical to say “it doesn’t sound like anything else”, but it really doesn’t. We’ve had people listen to us and call us crazy, all-over the place metal, and then we have had others compare us to early Senses Fail. If I had to peg it, I’d say it’s post-hardcore with many pop and metalcore elements.

HC You are currently based out of Eugene, Oregon, are you all natives – I know at least you drummer is from afar, Ohio right?
AYIR Yes, I know Aaron (drummer) was born in Ohio, but I’m not sure how long he actually lived there. As far as I know, we’ve all basically been raised in Eugene, and have all started out even picking up music here.

HC Eugene seems to me a bit perplexing as it is typically referred to as a “hippie town” by outsiders such as myself but there is also a strong metal presence with venues like Samurai Duck, how would you describe the local scene, especially as it relates to hardcore?
AYIR Eugene is an interesting place… the difficulty here is booking, and response from the local scene. There’s simply not many venues, and the few we have are generally 21 and over (Samurai Duck is actually fairly recent, and are off and on with actually being all ages as far as I know), and not exactly receptive to the more “hardcore” scene. There’s definitely a large metal influence here. It seems to me like the younger generations of bands coming out of high school, are all more towards hardcore or an indie-pop movement, but the bands that can book the 21 and up venues are all very metal influenced, aside from a few, probably the most notable being Aeolus. It’s an interesting place… just incredibly limited by the lack of venues. The best shows here are done in makeshift-venues.

HC I recently was able to see you play with Roseway at Treehouse Venue in Eugene (awesome!), you guys play with a lot of energy and can get remarkably low (literally), any secrets to where your energy comes from?
AYIR Haha, we do practice getting low. Probably comes easiest when you’re 5-foot-nothing like me. When we look at our energy, it all comes from putting something out that we want to play. When we write, I think we all have it keyed in as to how this will come out when it’s played live as an end result, so you see that in a lot of our songs, they’ve all got parts specifically made to evoke energy. If there was any advice, just play and write music that gives you an energy by itself, and the actual movement will come easy.

HC You mentioned in your song, Oh Lisa that people do not have to objectify themselves because we are all beautiful, that seemed to be a very personal song, is there a true story behind it?
AYIR Ah, yes, “Oh Lisa”. We’re actually quite proud of that song. I’m not sure how much Luke (vocals) would want me to give away about the details of the origins of that song.
However, yes, it is a very personal song, but it also applies to everybody. His theme with writing lyrics is about inspiring ways to improve ourselves as people, and the ways we interact not only with others, but with ourselves. That song is probably the best example of that, because the lyrics span across band and audience.

HC Where can those interested best connect with you to find out about news, releases and tours?
AYIR myspace.com/ayearinreview is probably the best resource, we generally keep it very updated. If you happen to see one of on or around MySpace, we’re all very relaxed guys that would like to chat and can also keep you up to date on what we’re doing.

HC What are your plans for the near future? Are you working on writing and/or releasing an album?
AYIR Right now we’re in the middle of just demoing some of our newest songs just to get out there, and planning on writing some more. We’re also incredibly excited to open up for Bleeding Through, Carnifex, Miss May I, and Motionless In White in Roseburg. We’ll definitely be working on stepping up our game for that show.

HC Where are you currently grabbing inspiration and/or frustration from and how has this been affecting your music?
AYIR As people, we all draw inspirations just through ordinary life as most of us do. We’re all recent graduates, or about to be recent graduates, so there’s obviously aspects that a lot of people go through with becoming adults that I think can be found in some of our music and lyrics.

HC What have been some of your greatest influences as musicians and artists?
AYIR I can’t speak for the entire band when it comes to what inspires us as far as other bands. With their personal listening, Jordan (guitarist) leans towards alternative, Dan (guitarist) is into really heavy kind of stuff, Aaron has the poppier side, Luke is all over the place, and I’m into the singing kind of post-hardcore.

HC What have been some of the most important lessons for you as aspiring artists?
AYIR We’ve all definitely learned that a lot of what you do, whether it comes to practicing, writing, is all in how you deal with each other. It all needs to be respectable, but you also have the right to hold your position until it’s heard out, no matter what it is.

HC Are there any favorite/funny/scary memories from shows/tours that you’d like to share?
AYIR There was a date in Waldport where we were given time to do a soundcheck earlier in the day, so we assumed that portion of it was done. Somebody in the venue told us it was time and to gather people up to come in (It’s an upstairs venue), and some people had gathered up, so we started into our intro track as well as our first full song, only to be stopped half-way through by the guy telling us our soundcheck was over.

HC What has been the most challenging part of taking your band public? Any words of encouragement for aspiring bands?
AYIR The most difficult part is just getting kids to shows and getting your name to different places. There’s not too many places to play in Oregon, and chances are you’ll end up coming to the same place multiple times, generally to the same kids. If there’s any advice to give, it’s just to go out and hang out with people at the venue when you’re out of town. Some of the people that come to like and follow as a band aren’t people that we’ve blown away while we’re on stage, it’s the ones that we took the time out after the show to get to know, become friends with. The job isn’t finished when you step off the stage.

*UPCOMING SHOWS*
8/26/2009 8:00 PM
@ Riversdale Grange w/ Bleeding Through, Carnifex, Miss May I, Motionless In White, A Year In Review and others! (See us for AYIR for tickets)
4856 Garden Valley Road, Roseburg, Oregon 97470
Cost: $12 Pre, $15 Door

Venue: TreeHouse Venue
*Grand Opening 04/25/09
89 Centennial Loop
Eugene, OR (near Autzen – Oregon Ducks)
*All Ages Venue

Hurdcore.com recently had the honor of interviewing the curators of TreeHouse Venue via email through MySpace. From TreeHouse:

hello to you all.
i am ecstatic to announce
a new venue will soon be opening its doors
to the eugene/springfield area.

the atmosphere will be all age friendly
and music genre will vary
from hard rock, to alternative, to acoustic.

if you have any suggestions or questions
please feel free to leave your thoughts.
for booking info please contact:
treehousevenue@live.com

HC Is there anything significant about the name of your venue?
TH TreeHouse represents a place to get away and have fun. That’s what we’re all about, just hanging out and listening to some good music.

HC When/how did your venue go from the dream stage to actually having a site to get the music out?
TH It actually happened extremely fast! I had the idea back in October ‘08, and within just a couple of months it took off like a wildfire.

HC Where is your venue located?
TH 89 Centennial Loop. Eugene, OR

HC Is your venue all ages? Do you have any sort of a snack stand?
TH We are an all age venue. Currently we sell water, rockstars, and soda. We do hope to have a more broad concession stand down the road.

HCDo you cater to a certain genre of music? Are there any musical styles that are off limits?
TH We cater mainly to the alternative/rock/hardcore/acoustic audience. I think the biggest “no no” for us is country music.

HC For those who are unfamiliar with your area, is there good parking close to the venue? If they arrive early are there points of interest close to your venue?
TH We have lots of parking that is FREE

HC Where can those interested best connect with you to find out about updates, shows and other events?
TH The best way is checking out our myspace at: myspace.com/treehousemusicvenue

HC Are there any favorite/funny/scary memories from your history or a show that you’d like to share?
TH Well, since our first show is April 25th, we don’t have any good memories yet. But definitely soon to come…

HC What has been the most challenging part of establishing a local music venue? TH The most challenging part is advertising. It’s just knowing where your target audience can be reached and figuring out how to get the kids to come to the shows.

Upcoming Shows:

:: 4/25/09 (Eugene) Emsley w/ Eight Seven Central (Indie/Trance/Rockabilly)

:: 5/9/09 (Eugene) The Seatbelt Tragedy (Indie) w/ Returning Grace (Alternative)