Medium Troy

Medium message

A popular Eugene band plugs in to its fan base — wirelessly

By Serena Markstrom

The Register-Guard

Appeared in print: Friday, March 19, 2010, page D1

Not everyone on Medium Troy’s extensive list of contacts knows what the band has planned for its fans.

But the popular band’s 2,000 or so “squirrels” should know that Medium Troy only wants to solidify and bolster its emerging fan community.

Tonight’s show at the WOW Hall features Medium Troy headlining a bill that’s filled with some of Eugene’s more exciting young bands. The opening acts will be playing short, Warped Tour-style sets.

Since Medium Troy started to get popular in town, a “Squirrel Crew” has formed around it. Squirrels are supporters, boosters, street level promoters.

“Kids are kind of squirrely,” said the band’s lead singer, Yonaton “JoJo” Ferreira.

Ferreira has a self-diagnosed case of attention deficit disorder. But he is doing his best to focus on this vision, which he thinks will help the whole alternative music scene.

“I want it to be a vibrant community that knows what’s going on,” he said. “I just think a lot of people don’t try new spots.”

The group’s contact list grows at every show. WOW Hall representatives confirm that no other local band has sold out the venue more times over the past two years.

In other words, Medium Troy could be the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Sugar Beets or Floater for its generation.

Getting the word out

Medium Troy calls its sound bohemian dub. Its lyrics are often about underachieving and partying.

But clearly, the band has some ambition, even if it mostly involves enhancing the party atmosphere.

For its most recent WOW Hall show, the band tested out its new communication system. Anyone who showed they were included in the e-mail blast got into the show at a reduced price.

“It was a little bit of mayhem,” Ferreira said, noting many patrons did not have proof they were on the list.

Medium Troy wants to spread some of that squirrel love to local businesses, too. It is willing to experiment, and is asking businesses to go along for the grass-roots marketing ride.

Ultimately, Ferreira’s goal is to form a mutually beneficial community for people who want to support the underground arts.

People who like to go out would benefit by learning about last-minute deals and knowing about opportunities to win prizes. Local musicians who are friends of Medium Troy but who haven’t cultivated their own list would benefit by tapping into Medium Troy’s partnerships and fan base.

And businesses would benefit from the potential influx of customers referred by Medium Troy.

Most of the information dispersal will take place on the glowing screens of local cell phones. The band won’t give out squirrels’ contact information, but eventually the plan is for people to be able to opt in to feeds from specific businesses they are interested in, Ferreira said.

Recently, the band demonstrated its capacity to mobilize people on short notice.

Many squirrels had only a few hours of notice, yet by 9 p.m. 40 people flocked to the WOW Hall to represent this budding movement in a group photo. (There was no concert that night, but two WOW Hall staffers came in to supervise the chaos.)

The arty-looking crowd included members of the band Sea Bell, with their trademark face paint. Someone wore a hamburger suit; another man had a crystal ball the size of a grapefruit.

Apparently, the guy with the squirrel costume could not get there in time. But Medium Troy “street team master” Nathaniel Klute dressed as the “Simpsons”-inspired Duff beer man.

And someone brought a pig. Yes, a real pig.

Electronic coupons

The diversity of music on tonight’s bill should tell the world a little something about Eugene’s young people. As hippy-dippy as it sounds, these concertgoers don’t follow genres; they follow vibes.

Sea Bell has a big-band indie thing going, complete with themed costumes. Just People writes songs imagining a better world. Ruins of Ooah is mostly instrumental and stirs up an almost-primal excitement.

Like Ruins, Bazil Rathbone features a didgeridoo, but it experiments widely without regard for genre. Two members of the former John Giovanni are expected to unveil new project: Vodum Moi.

It seems Medium Troy’s biggest talent is gathering a crowd. And the crowd expects a party.

Now, Ferreira wants to convert the trust his band has earned into business for folks who have supported local music. Right now Holy Cow, Bio Taxi, Off the Waffle, WOW Hall and Cornerstone Glass Supply have signed on.

Those businesses don’t have direct access to the band’s list. But if, for example, Off the Waffle was having a slow night, it could tell Ferreira to alert the squirrels that from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., people could get two waffles for the price of one.

People who want to take advantage of the deal just have to show the vendor the text message from Medium Troy.

Ferreira is in discussions with a number of businesses interested in climbing onboard. One of the conditions of granting access to the squirrels’ inboxes is that the deals offered must be of true value, not just a free soda or something lame, Ferreira said.

“It has to be something really good,” Ferreira said. “I am assuming 15 minutes (after a text blast) they will have people in the door.

“Some people who don’t even like our music will benefit.”

Call Serena Markstrom at 541-338-2371 or e-mail her at serena.markstrom@ registerguard.com.

Concert preview

Medium Troy

What: Bohemian dub

With: Just People, Bazil Rathbone, Sea Bell and more; Ruins of Ooah play late-night

When: 8:30 p.m. today

Where: WOW Hall, 291 W. Eighth Ave.

Tickets: Pay-what-you-want, $2 to $20 at the door

Become a squirrel: Text to 626-817-3260 or an e-mail to sq@mediumtroy.com to be added to the list; they promise not to spam you
- Register Guard

Best band

1. Medium Troy www.mediumtroy.com

2. Volifonix www.myspace.com/volifonix

3. Mood Area 52 www.rocketboyarts.com/mood_area_52

Nobody describes Medium Troy’s sound better than the band itself: “A nasally white dude with catchy hooks and sick beats,” says the band’s MySpace. This pretty much sums it up. Those beats are liquid, golden and epic, and the instrumental segments of the group’s show will either have you standing in awe or kickin’ back and nodding your head. The guys throw down some sweet rhymes, get silly, jam out and overall just blow minds. Their shows have a tendency to sell out around here, probably because the mixture of hip-hop, dub, reggae and all those other genres is about as strong as the grass in their songs: “I think I’ll smoke a bowl / that’s just the way I roll / I rock pajamas ’cause they’re oh so much more comfortable.” Well, guys, you’ve been voted best band two years in a row now, and we’re pretty comfortable with that. - Eugene Weekly

Medium Troy at the Whiteaker Block Party in August
Hometown pride can make people do strange things: root for teams that lose every season, eat at the same diner every day, and ground future generations into family-upheld traditions. What distinguishes them, though, is the people’s unending support of the product of their community - this is the case of Eugene, Oregon’s Medium Troy, a millennial-generation band whose star has only just begun to rise.

Medium Troy consists of six college-age men: lead singer and guitarist Yonaton “JoJo” Ferreira, bassist Jesse Ferreira, keyboardist Leif Burton, turntablist Connor Sullivan, drummer Parker Cohen, and guitarist Corey Hatcher. They describe their sound as “bohemian dub,” a blend of alternative rock, reggae, funk, dub, electronica and hip-hop; unsurprisingly, it’s hard to compare this genre to any other band’s, but iTunes suggests MGMT and the Red Hot Chili Peppers as similar-sounding artists. The boys of Troy list Ratatat, The Beatles, Bob Marley and Flight of the Conchords as some of their musical influences.

On the band’s website, you can listen to a multitude of tracks from “Bohemian Dub,” MT’s debut album that was self-produced in 2007. Some of my favorite tracks include “Dumb,” a song that includes undeniably-accurate observations about the local drug culture, and “This is Me,” a comical track in which JoJo Ferreira raps about being a fashion-unconscious, smartass stoner (“I think I’ll smoke a bowl / ‘Cause that’s just how I roll / I rock pajamas ‘cause they’re oh-so-much more comfortable”). The MT player also features some unreleased songs: “Space Tree” is a great example of how much the band’s sound has evolved over the years, while “Run Run Run” includes colorful commentary on policemen (“Who took the bullies and gave them all guns / the world’s biggest gangs run on government funds”).

Formed in October 2006, Medium Troy had a lightning-fast rise to fame: within eight months the guys were opening for artists such as Lil’ Wayne, State Radio, The Abyssynians and Sean Kingston. Locally, MT’s cultivated such a strong following that the band’s most loyal fans and street promoters are known as the “Squirrel Crew” (“Kids are kind of squirrely,” JoJo Ferreira said in a March interview with the Register-Guard). Such devotion from Eugenians has earned them the title “Kings of the WOW Hall,” selling out an unprecedented number of shows at the venue and winning awards such as Favorite Local Band and Best Musical Performance of 2009.

Another reason for Medium Troy’s success could be credited to the members’ laidback, down-to-earth attitudes. Sure, these guys’ve been on the Vans Warped Tour twice (two shows in 2008, and three west coast dates this summer) but they sure don’t act like they could be “the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Sugar Beets or Floater” of their generation, as hailed by the Register-Guard. When I first met MT at the Oregon Country Fair in July, I was greeted with unadulterated kindness: Jesse Ferreira recognized me as a patron of Holy Cow Cafe (both his place of employment and one of MT’s local sponsors), Sullivan informed me of a mutual acquaintance (Oregon Daily Emerald photographer Nick Cote, who shot and wrote the band’s March feature), and Cohen handed me a beer before divulging the band’s history.
Perhaps it’s this small-town familiarity that keeps MT grounded, although this may not be the case for much longer: the band jokingly states on Facebook that they “expect to be rich and famous when [our next album] drops, so hit us up before the fame gets to our heads and we don’t write back.”

“Bohemian Dub” can be purchased on iTunes, and mp3’s of the band’s February 2009 WOW Hall performance can be downloaded for free through the band’s MySpace page. Medium Troy will play a free show, along with Portland indie band Water & Bodies, at 8 p.m. tonight at the University of Oregon. - bestnewbands.com

Best Band

1. Medium Troy www.mediumtroy.com

2. Complicated www.designworksoregon.com/complicated

3. Science Heroes www.myspace.com/scienceheroes

Local favorites Medium Troy play what the foursome call bohemian dub, “a mix of all sweet music, with extra emphasis on hip hop, funk, dub, rock and fat bass lines.” Local favorites JoJo, J Say Say, Muffin Man, Parker Cohen and Cornelius Dog are a supergroup of sorts based around good glass, good times and good rhymes. With quirky and comical rhymes like this from “Beautiful Day” — “What a beautiful day / I rode my bike to the cemetery / And I got high / My name is Jonaton let me get my stance on / We hold it tight like the belt that keeps your pants on” — no wonder they were voted Best Band by EW readers as well as Favorite Local Band in the WOW Hall’s poll in 2007. Plus, boys are so cute when they’re goofy.

Full Text
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2009/10/29/coverstory3.html - Eugene Weekly Awards

A recent Friday night, between sets, WOW Hall — the spacious main room was teeming with antsy kids, the swell of anticipation was palpable. The air virtually crackled.

When Medium Troy — a rising Eugene-based band that plays a self-identified brand of “Bohemian dub” — took to the stage, a surge of hollering ensued that was drowned out only by the group’s opening number.

Strata upon strata of people — dreadlocked frumps, gypsy teens, tattooed dudes in tight T-shirts — pressed against the front barrier, while off to the side of the stage and back near the soundboard, dancers, alone or in pairs, spun their wavy-gravy swoon, eyes fluttering shut. The whole audience undulated and hummed with a tidal shiver as the band — led by lanky, charismatic front man JoJo — ran through an energetic cycle of songs.

Full Text
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2009/03/12/coverstory.html - Eugene Weekly

Between Big and Bigger
Medium Troy has built a name and a following
By Vanessa Salvia

In hip hop, people have always borrowed aliases that denote wisdom or inflated egos: Grandmaster, B.I.G., Biggie. On the other hand, rappers choose diminutives like Lil because they’re so big that they can afford to “shrink” their macho swagger. That theory places Eugene’s Medium Troy squarely between big and bigger, and the craft of frontman JoJo Ferreira and his crew of hippie hoppers certainly fits the bill.

Local crowds black, white and everything in between devour Medium Troy’s self-described “bohemian dub,” and hopefully some of them are picking up the message they’re putting down. One song, “Dumb,” speaks out against thugs: “It’s hard to live in Oregon without seeing retarded crackers / Or some ass backwards wanna be thug with his hat backwards.” They would rather be blowing glass than kicking ass, and they take no shame in pointing out that it’s better to get drunk and smoke blunts than mess with any harder drugs.

Ferreira’s effortless flow is well represented on “This Is Me.” His rap is a mix of smart toughness and self-deprecating humor, with plenty of lyrical zingers in between fat bass grooves: “I love two hippie chicks / And sometimes they want me / The problem is I know you got a thing for Michael Franti.”

Most hip-hop artists are used to collaborating with a handful of musicians, but again, Medium Troy is not most hip-hop artists. Ferreira is expecting to have incorporated the talents of more than 100 collaborators from around the world by the time the band is ready to release its second CD, Bong Hits For Jesus. Collaborators contribute their part to an unfinished song file, then the new bit is emailed back and remixed into the whole track.

A film crew will be taping the WOW Hall show for a Comcast On Demand TV pilot episode about Northwest culture and music. Ferreira promises the new CD will be completed in a few more weeks — “for sure by August,” he says. The band is booked for a West Coast tour that month. — Vanessa Salvia

Full Text
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2009/06/04/music2.html - Eugene Weekly

Medium Troy wins the WOW Halls favorite local band award. - WOW Hall Awards

Genre Unspecific

The group that started as a bedroom hip hop project has rapidly ascended to a full-fledged band that has no genre. "We take from our favorite aspects of different genres," says JoJo Ferreira, the vocalist and guitar player of Eugene's Medium Troy. "We took the songwriting from folk, strong drums and bass from hip hop, the dub tradition from reggae and the energy of rock and roll."

This all-encompassing style has helped the band's ever-growing fan base and has led them to receive awards such as the WOW Hall's "Favorite Local Band" in 2007. Shortly after winning the award, the band embarked on its first West Coast tour. During a show in L.A., the self-described bohemian dub hop band was propositioned by Kevin Lyman, founder of the Vans Warped tour, to play dates in Idaho, Washington, Oregon and possibly California for the festival. "We are stoked," says Ferreira. "[Warped Tour] is what we've been wanting to do. It just happened quicker than we expected."

The band is currently working on its second album, which Ferreira hopes to release in the fall. After they release the second album, Ferreira hopes to create an interactive online album that incorporates artists from around the world. "We want to change the face of music for the better," says Ferreira, "and we want to put Eugene on the map." Medium Troy plays with Alliance, Knox, Efekt and Girl Meets Gravity at 8:30 pm Saturday, May 24, at the WOW Hall.
Katrina Nattress

Full Text
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/05/22/music3.html
- Eugene Weekly

Growing up in the mean streets of South Eugene, where it still resides today, Medium Troy has always embodied the soul, style and tradition of this humble West Coast college town. It calls its style "Bohemian Dub Hop" - a tribute to the eclectic stylings of a Northwest renaissance of the spirit of the '60s.

The band maintains the positive vibes, but like most of us who grew up in the age of cable TV and poorly executed wars, it's just a bit cynical. Maybe you've seen a Medium Troy T-shirt or flier around town, or maybe you were one of the people hucking garbage at the group at Mac Court when you heard Lil Wayne wasn't going to show up - or, shoot, maybe you're a part of the Squirrel Crew that never misses an opportunity to go awkwardly dance at one of its shows. Regardless of who you are, you have no excuse not to be at the WOW Hall this Saturday to see who fans voted Best Local Band 2007 - after all, it's free.

Medium Troy has quickly grown to local prominence combining the electronic with the instrumental, forming its trademark blend of dub reggae, Northwest hip-hop and good ol' rock and roll. But this was not without a lot of fine tuning by brothers Jesse and JoJo Ferreira.

Full Text
http://www.dailyemerald.com/2.2360/medium-troy-jump-around-1.193389 - Daily Emerald

"Favorite Local Band" award in 2010 WOW Hall awards - WOW Hall

"Best Musical Performance 0f 2009" WOW Hall Awards - WOW Hall Awards

"2nd Best Musical Performance of 2007" 2008 WOW Hall Awards - WOW Hall Awards