Webley to perform in Coop tonight
By David Chang
Oct. 1, 2002 9:00 p.m.
Jason Webley described his own shows as “a lot of
fun,” but based on his accounts of his shows he may be trying
for the award for Understatement of the Year.
Webley, whose repertoire of on-stage antics includes persuading
audience members to toss vegetables at a clock in an effort to
“kill time” and having his body publicly shaven and
driven off in a hearse, will bring his strange brand of fun to the
Cooperage tonight at 7 p.m.
Those in need of a larger dose of Webley can catch the madness
at the Smell on Thursday and the Garage on Friday. If Johnny
Knoxville, Weird Al Yankovic, and the Pied Piper were fused into
one single musician, he would probably bear a striking resemblance
to Webley. His “Jackass”-like pursuit of bizarre stunts
helps capture fans’ attention, as well as their loyalty. The
Seattle-based performer has noticed cult followings developing
everywhere he sings his tune.
“I’ve been known to lead huge parades of
people,” said Webley. “In Seattle, I had all my fans
dressed up as pirates and get on one of those commuter ferries. I
was recently touring in Russia. They flew me over there, and now
I’m a minor celebrity in Moscow.”
Webley, equipped with a carrot dangling from a stick, once led a
throng of fans into a park. In a more recent episode, Webley found
himself in a holding cell after pulling off perhaps his grandest
stunt yet.
“I was arrested in Seattle about a month ago,” said
Webley. “I led a big group of people into a big public
fountain and ended up on the top of it. They kind of pushed me up
to the top. It was a very public thing, very beautiful
actually.”
Webley’s prize for scaling the International Fountain was
a written ban from the Seattle Center Grounds. He is now just one
weapons possession charge away from Puffy-esque notoriety. Like
Yankovic, Webley’s weapon of choice happens to be the
accordion. He claims he has yet to master the instrument, but he
has oddly mastered the instrument’s history.
“Thousands of years ago in ancient China, they created
instruments called Chengs,” Webley said. “Eventually
the idea spread to Germany, where the first accordions were
manufactured. They made their way to North America and were
basically the electric guitars of the early 20th century. Somewhere
in the ’50s but not completely until the
’70s”¦accordions weren’t incredibly popular,
appearing in garage sales and pawnshops. In the early ’90s,
an accordion was picked up and somehow ended up in my
hands.”
Lost behind all his outrageous public displays and music history
lectures is Webley’s musical prowess. As a youth, Webley was
influenced by the pop sensibilities of the Monkees. Now, he’s
often compared to singer/songwriter Tom Waits, as Webley writes
perplexing yet original lyrics. Maybe audience members can squeeze
in some attentive listening between the vegetable-lobbing and
fountain-hopping.
Webley remained mum about his intentions for the Cooperage show,
but for those who have already packed their beets and carrots, rest
assured that the show is going to be “a lot of
fun.”
