Diverse Acoustic Band with Lou Reed, Boy George Connections Coming to Lincoln City, Oregon Coast

Published 01/24/2013

(Lincoln City, Oregon) - The second installment of the First Saturday concert this year will be happening on February 2, at the Lincoln City Cultural Center in Lincoln City, Oregon.

The featured band is Satori Bob, a four-piece Eugene band that conveys a vibrant energy in diverse settings, coaxing audiences into its shows with compelling lyrics, uncanny improvisational interplay and strong arrangements. The band crosses many musical boundaries with songs ranging from strikingly gentle acoustic pieces to dynamic gypsy and bluegrass-inflected compositions.

On that Saturday, February 2, doors to the LCCC auditorium will open at 6:30 pm, and the music begins at 7.

Satori Bob is a fluid acoustic ensemble that currently features composer, vocalist, and guitarist John Baumann, with Devin Newman on banjo, Russ Wilbanks on guitars and sound tapestries, and Jeff Langston on bass. Satori Bob has toured throughout the East coast, Colorado, and Wisconsin, and is now based in Eugene. The band has played a wide array of bars, outdoor venues, private parties, coffeehouses, and benefits.

This all begs the question regarding the group: Which one is Bob?

It seems there is no real answer.

Singer John Baumann has been performing for over 20 years, fronting bands, duos, trios, and traveling widely as a solo singer/songwriter. He is the main one penning songs for the band, with influences ranging from Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, John Prine, and Jerry Garcia. His own original songs range from slow, intimate ballads to gypsy-inflected fast waltzes to upbeat country/folk melodies.

Baumann originally formed Satori Bob in northern New York state and has been its main architect since.

Woodstock, NY-native Devin Newman has been playing various instruments since an early age, working on percussion, saxophone and stringed instruments. He has had an extremely diverse musical career over the year, having played jazz on an aircraft carrier, sea shanties with the Skeptical Ministers, saxophone with the Motown Wall of Sound, and has been playing guitar and banjo with John Baumann for the greater part of 20 years. His banjo playing is non-bluegrass and unconventional, and inspired by Tony Furtado, Tom Waits and Bela Fleck. Newman says he thrives on pushing boundaries.

Guitarist Russ Wilbanks has been writing and performing music professionally for 30 years, having started back when he was 17. Currently residing in Eugene, Russ Wilbanks plays with Satori Bob, The Last Drags, Japple monkey and as a solo act under his own name.

Bassist and guitarist Jeff Langston has been playing for over 20 years, and hails from the hallowed musical halls of Berklee College of Music. He also is a member of the group Antony and the Johnsons, which in 2005 won Britain’s prestigious Mercury Prize. That band also had music used in the movie “V for Vendetta.” The group has performed in renowned venues around the world including Carnegie Hall, La Salle Pleyel, and the Royal Albert Hall. The band recorded at Abbey Road studios for a taping of the television series “Live at Abbey Road” (UK). Other TV appearances include The Late Show with David Letterman, Jonathon Ross (UK), The Culture Show (UK), and as a featured artist on Canal Plus (FR). The group’s most recent full length release entitled ‘The Crying Light’ (2009) debuted on the European Billboard charts at no.1, and was named by Spin Magazine as one of the 20 best albums of the year. Both with the Johnsons and as a freelance bass player, Langston has had the privilege to record and/or perform with many wonderful artists including Lou Reed, Boy George, Rufus Wainwright, Marc Almond, Shawn Colvin, Phoebe Snow, Roger McGuinn and many more.

Tickets to the Satori Bob concert are $10 in advance, and $12 at the door, on sale now at the LCCC, 540 NE Hwy. 101, Lincoln City. Or, they can be purchased over the phone using Visa or Mastercard; call 541-994-9994. Leave a message, and a box office volunteer will call back to confirm.

This First Saturday concert is presented by the LCCC, with lodging generously provided by The Historic Anchor Inn.

The Lincoln City Cultural Center offers performances, fine arts, art classes and visitor information inside the former Delake School at 540 NE Hwy. 101, in the central Oregon coast town.

The upcoming schedule includes two performances of the play “A. Lincoln,” featuring Steven Holgate as President Abraham Lincoln, on Feb. 9 and 10, and Valentine’s Day concert with Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys. For details, call 541-994-9994, or head to lincolncity-culturalcenter.org. Or, join the party on Facebook.

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