(Photo courtesy of Parallel 44)
at Volcanic Theatre November 3 at 8:30pm
Parallel 44 Presents the Classic Soul wizardry of Ural Thomas & the Pain with Eugene’s Funk/Rockers Fortune’s Folly on Saturday November 3 at Volcanic Theatre Pub. This is going to be an amazing night of inspiringly soulful live music.
Ural Thomas & the Pain
If life was at all fair Ural Thomas would be a household name, his music slotted into countless sweet, seductive mixtapes between James Brown, Otis Redding and Stevie Wonder (all of whom Thomas has performed with). Straddling the line between hot soul shouter and velvety-smooth crooner, Thomas released a few singles in the late 60’s and early 70’s; most notably Can You Dig It, which featured backing vocals from soul luminaries Merry Clayton, Mary Wells and Brenda Holloway. Thomas played over forty shows at the legendary Apollo Theater before turning his back on an unkind business and heading home to Portland, Oregon.
It goes without saying that a man practically built out of rhythm would never stop playing music. Thomas began hosting a regular Sunday night jam session at his home that ran for nearly twenty years. A de facto mentor to many of the younger players, Thomas reminds us all that “If you care about what you’re doing, you need to build those muscles and do the work. Don’t get discouraged, do it for love. Even if you’re digging ditches, do it with passion.”
One might think after a sizeable taste of early success Thomas would be more than a touch bitter – yet the opposite is true. “We have to be positive if we want the world to get better,” Thomas advises. “We’ve come a long way, but if you carry a grudge with the whole world you’ll stop your growth. We’re a family, all just brothers and sisters, descendants of Adam. You can’t get anywhere without an open heart.”
A developing artist at nearly eighty years old, for Thomas music has always been about bringing people together. “If we play for twenty people we cook it like it’s twenty thousand” says Thomas. “If we make someone smile, we’re satisfied. They’re ain’t no difference between us. It’s all love and brotherhood. If folks listen to my record and feel that, I’ll feel very blessed.”
Standing in bold defiance of the idea that aging is a reason to slow down and stop living, for Thomas the right time to get down is the next time someone plugs in a guitar or puts on a record. Ural is ready – are you?
Fortune’s Folly
Fortune’s Folly is an energetic and dynamic four-piece alternative rock band hailing from Eugene, Oregon. Their mission is to create a passionate, accepting, and engaged community through music and performance. Fortune’s Folly owes its success to the incredible support received from fans turned friends. Their desire is to return that love and enthusiasm through music and create an atmosphere in which people can escape their differences and share their love for art and each other. The FollyFam, our ever-growing network of fans, includes people from all walks of life. Help them expand the community and create something much greater than ourselves. In a world that needs it more each day, let’s provide an avenue for people to accept and appreciate each other through a shared love of music.