Photography by Sandi Elle
Salem is the capitol city of Oregon, but it is definitely not the capitol of Swag.
Sadly, some people would even go as far as to say that Salem, Oregon has no Swag—or is Swagless. (You may not like the word Swag, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is important to have.)
Jeff Hickok (aka DJ Hit N’ Runn) and David Neely are trying to change that perception of Salem one Saturday night at a time. Together they are known as Wax Trap, a DJ/Drummer duo that rocks free parties at the Can Can every Saturday night.
“There have been times that the bartenders get mad at us because we don’t stop the music until late,” said Jeff.
I met Jeff and Dave at Pete’s Place in Downtown Salem. Their eyes were barely open; previous nights, exciting and survived.
One word came to mind: Swag.
Jeff has been holding down his residency at the Can Can for over five years. His consistency has a lot to do with his appeal to Salem’s youngest club crowds.
“People (who are in their late twenties) tend to come to the bar by themselves, but people that are like 22-23 years old come in packs. When they come they bring all of their friends with them, and then they call other friends who bring another pack with them.”
Jeff now hosts two nights a week at the Can Can; he has a solo night on Thursdays and performs with Wax Trap on Saturdays. Go to the Can Can on any other night, and you will have an enjoyable time with good drinks, good bartenders and interesting people, but you are going to have to search pretty hard to find evidence of Swag.
“If you go in there on a night without them, it seems to be more of a low key spot,” said Casey Berg, a regular of the bar. “It’s a great change of pace when they are there. They draw a great crowd that allows for a more social atmosphere. They bring a uniqueness you won’t find anywhere else in Salem. The live drums change everything.”
Jeff has performed at clubs such as The Crown Room in Portland and The Nectar in Seattle, and toured the west coast with Scarub of the Living Legends.
He teamed up with Dave in the summer of 2010 after watching him perform with a band at an outdoor party at the Can Can. Their first practices were comparable to a disaster, but the two gradually developed chemistry and they started performing on Saturdays at the Can Can last May.
“For the first month we started the parties, I had to wake up and work on Sunday mornings,” said drummer Dave. “People thought it was easy because I sit at a desk all day, but it wasn’t.”
Dave started teaching himself how to play the drums when he was 17.
“At this point I can just kind of look at him and let him know I’m about to change it up and he’ll pick it up,” Jeff said. “The hardest part is only doing it on Thursday and Saturday—instead of doing it seven nights a week. The crowd that shows up knows our style, and likes everything that we play,” said Jeff.
Seven days of Swag could be exactly what Salem and the Can Can need.
“If Wax Trap isn’t there you have to rely on random selections from the juke box. The problem with that is that you have ten different people with ten different moods picking the songs. One minute I’m all pumped and singing, ‘I’ma buy you a drank’ and then Pink Floyd comes on and I’m suddenly feeling melancholy,” said Dagny Geo. Wax Trap is a huge reason the Can Can is her favorite bar in South Salem. “Jeff and Dave set the mood right away—upbeat and happy. It’s how Saturday Night should feel.”