Brad Yoder worth your ‘Trouble’

Brad Yoder worth your ‘Trouble’

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/brad-yoder-worth-your-trouble/

Excellent Trouble

Brad Yoder

Reverie Records

A

Sounds Like: Elliott Smith, John Prine

Proving once again that songs can be both poetry and involved narratives, local songwriter Brad Yoder’s new album Excellent Trouble brings his myriad of lyrical talents to attention.

Yoder’s songs capture the simplicity, sadness and beauty that life experiences afford from reminiscing about friends of school days long past, to losing someone, to heartbreak and falling in love.

The song “Leave Me Like This,” for instance — written in memory of a close friend — is almost guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes with the chorus line, “You didn’t have to leave / didn’t have to leave us wondering / what we could’ve done, if anything?”

Other songs are just plain fun.

In the title track, Yoder reminisces about a night out with a friend, using lyrics like, “We’ll color fluorescently outside the lines / so when, dour-faced, they ask us why we can’t stop smiling / it’s just that it’s all so unbearably beautiful.”

Yoder’s instrumental focus remains on his guitar and his voice — although he’s able to incorporate keyboards and drums when recording in the studio — because with these two tools alone, his songs come through clear and poignant.

Yoder’s album also features other vocal talents backing him up, such as Ray DeFade and Heather Kropf.

Each artist was chosen carefully, and each complements their song’s emotional impact.

Overall, this album offers plenty of heartfelt moments and harmonious melodies.

The singer-songwriter has only improved since his previous release, and it will be exciting to see what else Yoder concocts in the coming months.

Red Wanting Blue offers ‘Magnificent’ LP

Red Wanting Blue offers ‘Magnificent’ LP

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/red-wanting-blue-offers-magnificent-lp/

These Magnificent Miles

Red Wanting Blue

Fanatic Records

B+

Rocks like: Bruce Springsteen

Red Wanting Blue’s album These Magnificent Miles certainly doesn’t leave its listener wanting.

The album kicks off with “Gravity,” a song carried through by a baritone lead singer. Over a solid beat he sings, “I would be a spaceman for you/If it wasn’t for gravity, we’d be gone.”

And on the note of attempting to battle physics, the album continues.

The other songs follow a similar musical style, keeping the chords simple and mixing the guitar and drums reasonably. The result is some enjoyable, emotional rock music.

Though the band remains consistent, the album doesn’t become monotonous.

Tracks like “Where You Wanna Go” bring a bit of a country-sounding melody that adds something heartwarming to the mix. “The World Is Over” picks up the pace, taking the album a step above melodious and making it energetic, with chorus lines like, “So beat that drum/’Til we run out all of the air in our lungs.”

About halfway through, the band offers a rather touching tribute, “The Air I Breathe.” With lyrics like, “I’ve crossed through fire and the stormy seas/Living my life like a kamikaze/Losing you would bring me to my knees/You’re the air I need to breathe/I rescue you/’Cause you rescue me,” it had the potential of being overblown. But the players have complete control over their composition, and the result is music that matches these lyrics perfectly.

Overall, this album is very well done. With a reasonable score that never overpowers the vocal talents and lyrics that offer insight into touching experiences, Red Wanting Blue succeeds in making a cohesive, entertaining and well-balanced album.

What Am I Thankful For?

Non-profits like Invisible Children. Talented artists who provide beauty and food for thought. Parents who can support me as well as they do. Second, third, and fourth chances. Friendships, new and old. Warm blankets to sleep beneath as the temperature drops. And the fact that I’m here to enjoy today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love is never ‘Folly’ in PPC play

Love is never ‘Folly’ in PPC play

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/love-is-never-folly-in-ppc-play/

“Talley’s Folly”

Now–Dec. 12

O’Reilly Theater

$15.75 through Pitt Arts

412-316-1600

www.ppt.org

Times might change, powers might shift, but as the play “Talley’s Folly” demonstrates, romance never falls out of fashion.

Set during World War II, “Talley’s Folly” is a romantic comedy that chronicles the story of two misfits, Sally Talley and Matt Friedman, who meet in a Victorian boathouse in Missouri in 1944. Although the river is far from any battlefields, both Matt and Sally must overcome their own differences before they can consider being together.

Director Pamela Berlin has worked with the Pittsburgh Public Theater four times in the past. As a fan of playwright Lanford Wilson, she was interested in directing “Talley’s Folly” from the beginning.

“This play is a wonderful character study,” Berlin said. “It’s a two-character play with two people who on the surface seem so different. It’s a clash of cultures, and yet they are drawn to each other. But there are huge obstacles keeping them apart, and that’s what the play is about. And it’s not plot-driven, it’s relationship-driven.”

Berlin believes the play offers a singularly compelling frame. “The setting is wonderful,” she said of the boathouse. “You feel as if you’re right there. And it takes place at once. It takes place in real time in one scene.”

Julie Fitzpatrick, the actress who plays Sally Talley, said the humor in the show is one of its strongest points. “The playwright is silly at times and incredibly intelligent,” she said. “The writing is just great. The banter between these two characters really draws me in. It is called a romantic comedy, and it has a tremendous amount of romance, but it’s also really a grounded play. These two people try to find their way to each other, and they go through a heck of a lot. It has a large-scale experience between the people.”

Fitzpatrick’s character is “complicated” and makes for a challenging role.

“Sally is — like we all are — a huge bag of contradictions,” Fitzpatrick said. “There is love there, but there is a huge obstacle. My challenge is to honor the love so I don’t constantly play an obstacle. That’s not engaging. I have to find the ‘yes’ in Sally, since there are no many ‘no’s throughout the show. I find her humor and rhythms. And I dare to take the time the playwright took to let the story unfold. You trust the unfolding process.”

Each person involved with the show has worked hard to produce it. Berlin began researching the play months in advance, hoping this foresight would help her adequately manage the entire production.

“I have to familiarize myself with the play, what it’s about, who the characters are, and I have to cast the characters well,” Berlin said. “The success of the play hinges on the actors. Then I work with a set designer and costume designer and lighting designer.”

Since rehearsals began, the technical crew, the director and actor Andrew Polk, who plays Matt Friedman, have done a “tremendous” job in Fitzpatrick’s eyes. “Pam is bringing out the story in a unique way,” Fitzpatrick added. “I feel so lucky with this team I have.”

Bringing the show to audiences is the exciting and rewarding part of the job for both Berlin and Fitzpatrick. And even if the setting isn’t contemporary, the story might as well be in their eyes.

“It’s specific to a time and place, and yet it resonates tremendously with the here and now,” Fitzpatrick said.

Artists scavenge, surf web for inspiration

Artists scavenge, surf web for inspiration

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/artists-scavenge-surf-web-for-inspiration/

“SCALE: Aesthetic Turbulence and the Search for Lifestyle Panacea”

SPACE Gallery

812 Liberty Ave.

412-325-7723

Nov. 19 to Feb. 6, 2011

Free admission

Everything is changing these days, including the way artists approach their artwork.

The “SCALE” exhibit, presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, attempts to look at ways people can both live and create artwork during an economic downturn. Guest curator Ally Reeves had this exhibit in mind for two years and wanted to bring together artists that she liked from around the area — but first she had to find the “vein of continuity” between each artist.

“The basic idea is that all of these artists have a practice that is a type of creativity that is close to their lifestyle,” Reeves said. “So even in times of hardship they are able to create work, because materials come from salvage sources or because the art helps them make money or relax in some way.”

“SCALE” offers a variety of artistic mediums, including photography collections, woodcarving, silk printing and video.

One of the pieces is a working shower with a wooden frame and a canvas that drapes around the person who uses it. The piece was put together by sculptor Derk Wolmuth using more than 80 percent salvaged materials.

Wolmuth, a Canadian with a background in woodworking, considers himself a non-medium-specific artist.

“The idea behind the shower is that since this is a show about living on margins and somehow not in the standard way, this is a place people can come to use the shower,” Wolmuth said. “It’s a straightforward functioning shower.”

The shower plays around with the “thin line between being homeless with a shower and homeless without a shower,” according to Wolmuth, who wanted to explore the idea of living without an apartment and a place to go.

The entire “SCALE” exhibit considers this type of simplification and explores the essence of who and what people are, he said.

As for his shower, it’s open and available to the public.

“People could just come down and get a hot water shower here in the gallery,” he said. “It offers some closure and privacy with the canvas, and after it you can just relax and enjoy feeling clean in an art gallery. It’s something new.”

Freelance artist Teresa Foley, who is also featured in the exhibit, explored the world of online dating.

She put together a two-part exhibit featuring a clothesline with clothing she drew imitations of men onto, and a TV running slides explaining the significance of images men post online. Her exhibit, “m4w” (men for women), is part of her ongoing research into the kinds of images men post on Craigslist for dating purposes.

Foley noticed that on dating sites women will usually post a simple portrait of themselves, but men do several different things.

“Sometimes they’re sexually explicit and sometimes they’re something sweet, like a guy with his poodle,” Foley said. “Sometimes they’ll even post something they like, like a nature photograph or a beer. So the video is a slideshow categorizing those photographers.”

Foley is using this project as a gauge to look at men’s usage of pictures.

“Artists often look at references for new work, so this is my taking a look at and presenting back to our culture in Pittsburgh in terms of what men are doing with photographs,” Foley said.

Foley also teaches people around the city about media literacy and works with film festivals. For her, technology-based mediums allow her the most feedback, which is what she wants to see.

“I discovered I want to have a conversation of some sort,” Foley said. “That was how I got into doing art. As for picking this content, some of my best boyfriends have been from Internet dating ... So for me, this has a bit of laundry out to air and dry, and it plays with the idea of women’s work, and the images of masculinity are being turned into something feminine.”

As for “SCALE” overall, Foley said she felt excited to see how people would react to an exhibit that explores not just certain topics, but the artists themselves.

“That’s partly what this show is about,” Foley said. “How do artists live and survive? What are their contributions? Do things have to be the accepted way or do artists sometimes get to change that and open up new ways of thinking and doing for people?”

As for Reeves, the projects show a collection of creativity, and this is what she wants to see.

“I think it’s encouraging for people to see people without very much, but who are creative,” she said.

Bad Boy Troy starts charity for sick children

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/bad-boy-troy-starts-charity-for-sick-children/

Bad Boy Troy starts charity for sick children

Troy Tipton might use the stage name Bad Boy Troy, but he’s not all bad.

Recently, the Pittsburgh-based guitarist who has opened for bands such as Cheap Trick, has been using his career as a way to support charities. He’s begun taking part in a long-term series of benefit concerts for the oncology patients at Children’s Hospital of Pittbsurgh, as well as donating song revenue to the same cause.

Rockin’ D’s Entertainment — an agency that arranges concerts for charities — had the initial idea to promote and coordinate several performances in Pittsburgh.

But Tipton felt he could go one step further and raise money for patients on a regular basis. With the aid of Rockin’ D’s, he very recently started his own charity, Troy’s Angels Foundation. He has also released a song completely dedicated to charity, his first time doing something like that.

Dorey Duncan, the president and promoter of Rockin’ D’s, “wanted me to do a couple concerts for [the children], and I said it just isn’t enough,” Tipton said. “I wanted to do something else. Overnight, I decided I would write a song [“You’re An Angel”]. I donated all the proceeds, which will benefit Children’s Hospital and fund things they do there for the kids.”

Tipton and Duncan aim to work with the idea for the Foundation, to which Tipton has donated the rights for his song. Each download requires a minimum $1 payment, and all proceeds go to the Foundation.

Work for the nonprofit beyond this, though, is very new. As a result, no ideas have really been finalized for the project — for example, whether the financial support it provides will restrict itself to only oncology patients or expand and encompass general patients, according to Duncan. The hope, though, is to make performances through the Foundation annual.

“Troy [Tipton] will probably always be involved somewhere,” Duncan said. “But we hope to get other artists to join us in these concerts and grow larger.”

Tipton, who says he “has a big heart for children,” hopes this example of giving all revenue to a charity rather than into his pocket will set a trend for other artists to follow.

“Hopefully, over the years this will bring them a lot of money,” he said. “I just wanted to do something that was ongoing for the kids, and I hope other musicians will see what I’m doing is good and do the same thing. It could turn out to be huge.”

Tipton began playing drums after seeing The Beatles’ first performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” He started playing guitar as a teenager and, by age 17, was playing in nightclubs. He’s been in and out of bands ever since, opening and touring during the 1970s and 1980s with big names like Cheap Trick and Black Sabbath.

Though he temporarily stopped playing during the early 1990s, Tipton returned to the music life with a new album in 1995. He now helps local artists begin their musical careers and produces albums. He also still performs himself, with his current focus on charities.

Duncan says that Tipton’s sound has continued to evolve over the decades, from his ’80s sensibility to one “molded to sound more like 3 Doors Down.”

Tipton hopes to work on projects besides performances, such as producing music videos and continuing to record.

“It’s my true talent, performing for people, writing and recording,” Tipton said. “I try to help upcoming artists as well. I just get a joy out of it. Nothing else makes me feel that same way.”

The overall focus, though, remains on one group of people.

“This is about the kids,” Tipton said. “This is what we’re doing. Anybody with a heart, I urge them to come out, because it’s a benefit for them. All proceeds go to the Foundation to help the children.”

A listing of upcoming performances can be found at rockindsentertainment.com.

Songwriter pens tunes about local issues

Songwriter pens tunes about local issues

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/songwriter-pens-tunes-about-local-issues/

Courtesy Ariel Publicity

Mike Stout

Local songwriter Mike Stout works not only as a musician, but also as an activist and community leader.

In recent years, he’s worked on the board with Just Harvest, an organization that aims to end local hunger and poverty. He’s collaborated with the Coalition Against Offshore Drilling. And he’s gotten involved in the attempt to bring affordable health care to Pennsylvania.

“I only sleep four hours a night,” he said.

The people he works with on each project are as enthusiastic as he is, but Stout’s lack of sleep reveals just how much work he is doing and how much there is to be done with each project.

“There are dozens of people out there willing to help,” he said. “Unfortunately, we need hundreds.”

Stout’s work often chronicles the stories of people who, like him, have stood up to authority.

At a young age, in 1968, Stout played anti-war and civil rights songs in New York City, inspired by players like Bob Dylan. When he joined the steel industry and worked at Homestead Steel Works, he was elected a union head grievance man. The title would stay with him long after his steel industry days because of a journalist’s review in which he was called “the world’s grievance man.”

“In the old steel mills people would register complaints with him and he would take it up with management,” said Paul Carosi, a publicist with Radio Free Tunes who assists with Stout’s music distribution online.

Stout worked in the steel industry for 20 years and used music to rally his co-workers in the union, fighting for pensions and unemployment benefits within the workforce. He went on to organize a benefit concert that drew international press in an attempt to combat foreclosures and unemployment within the steel mill.

Stout said his experience in the industry “affected my outlook in the sense that, as a worker, you saw the need to see a manufacturing base. If it doesn’t provide decent jobs for people, everything else goes downhill. When you don’t have a manufacturing base it isn’t long before you lose a center. Then you have no jobs, and that’s what young people will experience if things aren’t reversed.”

Stout went on to compose upwards of 10 new albums since then, writing in a mixture of folk, rock and pop styles about his experiences and the experiences of people he finds interesting. He financed the recording of each album himself.

“I think 12 CDs by himself is more than almost anyone else, even people with labels,” Carosi said. “He just never quits. He finishes one CD and writes more. And he does it not because he’s become a big star making money. He does it because he believes in it all. He’s always going to meetings and is always involved with activities. He’s a busy guy. Even if you don’t agree with him you have to admire [that] he never quits.”

Stout said he writes about a mixture of topics, but primarily creates “songs about ordinary people we should remember.”

Carosi described those people as “heroes who stood up for people.” And after 40 years of songwriting, the challenge isn’t writing the music so much as telling the story.

“The stories are so deep and heavily laden with facts and biography,” Stout said. “Often it is difficult to tell as story in a three- or four-minute song. But it’s not difficult to write a song, so much as the life story.”

Stout’s most recent songs focus on contemporary issues, such as “29 Miners Buried and Gone,” which tells of miners who died following an explosion in the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. He also wrote a piece about the Marcellus Shale environmental issue that has attracted attention recently.

Songs that Stout writes “change my view of Pittsburgh and American history,” Carosi said. “Just hearing his music changed how I look at things. If you read history, people were protesting and people were killed, for years. But I was taught growing up people were loyal to their government.”

Stout simply believes that people “have to do what’s right” and that ignoring contemporary issues will only make problems grow. He protested during the civil rights movement and against the Vietnam War, despite negative comments.

“Young people at Pitt have the energy and passion, and enough brain left to go out and change the world for the better,” Stout said. “If you don’t now, you pay the price later.”

Calliope caters folk concerts at lunchtime

Calliope caters folk concerts at lunchtime

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/calliope-caters-folk-concerts-at-lunchtime/

Calliope Emerging Legends Series

Takes place weekly in the Cup & Chaucer Cafe from noon to 1 p.m.

Free admission

Ronni and Al, today at noon

With the opening of the newly renovated Cup & Chaucer comes a weekly musical series catering to folk fans.

The Cafe in Hillman Library will feature a one-hour performance each week, usually on Fridays. Performances are part of the Emerging Legends series presented by the University of Pittsburgh library system (ULS) and Calliope, a local nonprofit that promotes traditional and contemporary folk music and arts.

Rush Miller, director of the library system, has worked on the board with Calliope for four years. He soon got the idea to bring local musicians to Pitt’s campus through the nonprofit.

“I thought this would be a nice way to combine music with a cafe,” Miller said. “I wanted guitarists or somebody in there to set up atmosphere and make it more inviting and fun to be in.”

The old cafe featured a couple shows in the past, which Miller described as a “win-win.”

“It gave some publicity to acts, including some of our faculty,” he said. “We’ve had fairly well-known people in folk music come through and perform in the Cup & Chaucer.”

The upcoming program is the first in a series titled “Emerging Legends,” featuring artists affiliated with Calliope. Today’s performance is part of the grand re-opening celebration in the remodeled cafe. Future performances will also be one-hour long, unless the program is successful enough to expand to include other forms of art like poetry readings, Miller said.

“Calliope provides us with American roots and folk music,” he said. “We may have some classical ensembles and individual artists.”

Each artist who comes through will help to make the Cup & Chaucer “more than a coffee shop,” Miller said.

“We want to make it an inviting atmosphere to come to in the library,” he said. “The new shop will have a large screen TV in the wall, food, different seating, outlets for laptops. It will just a place to come eat and listen to music. Bring a little culture and something different into the library.”

The first performance is by Ronni and Al, a piano-guitar duo that has played together for about three years. Ronni Weiss plays the piano, but considers herself a stronger vocalist than pianist.

Weiss practiced the piano as a little girl and continued to play at different points in her life. She never played piano or sang to make a living. Instead, she used it as a creative outlet.

“Al, the guitar player, is the main player,” Weiss said. “As far as vocals go, throughout my life, I’ve sung. It’s my passion. It’s just not something I can do without.

“Over the years, I’ve played with different groups. When I was in college I sang with an all women’s group. About 15 years ago, I played with a group of men. We played a blues-rock style. Al and I [play] blues, jazz, [and] folk.”

Weiss met her partner, Al Bowers, after putting an ad on Craigslist.

“We have similar musical tastes. He’s a wonderful guitar player. I pretty much pick the music and do the vocals, and he is able to pick the stuff up really well. So I play a keyboard along,” Weiss said.

Weiss and Bowers play covers rather than compose songs to perform. The covers they do are distinct in that they prefer to cover songs people aren’t likely to recognize. This includes Taj Mahal, Sue Foley and Tracy Nelson.

Though they have done a couple Bob Dylan covers, “the stuff is pretty much older artists who are still recording,” Weiss said.

Bowers was also the one with affiliations with Calliope, Weiss said. He submitted the duo’s CD to the nonprofit after it announced the upcoming series at Pitt. Weiss is familiar with coffee shop environments; it’s where she plays the most. She’s “curious” and hopeful that students will enjoy what the duo brings to campus.

“I think people will recognize some of the music,” she said. “We’ve played to audiences of all ages, so I take that in mind when choosing a set list. We do a number of kinds of songs. Depending on who we’re playing for, I keep in mind who they are. We do have a lot of college students at other venues, too.”

Miller also believes students will enjoy music coming to the cafe.

“The purpose isn’t to bring in other people [to the cafe],” he said. “The idea is to bring interesting music for students who were already at the cafe.”

Film shows children counting tragedy in paper clips

Film shows children counting tragedy in paper clips

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/film-shows-children-counting-tragedy-in-paper-clips/

“Paper Clips”

Graduate School of Public Health Auditorium

Today at 8:30 p.m.

Free and open to the public

When a group of Tennessee students set out to learn about a tragedy 12 years ago, they managed to create a globally recognized movement.

The documentary “Paper Clips” examines a project that middle-school students in Whitwell, Tenn., took upon themselves one day while learning about the Holocaust. Unable to comprehend just how massive the 6 million person death toll was of Jewish people, the students decided to collect paper clips to help them understand the magnitude of lives lost. This project eventually grew to 11 million paper clips, 6 million to represent Jews and 5 million to represent gypsies, homosexuals, and other victims of the Holocaust, according to the documentary’s website.

The movement became so great that it attracted global attention, gained a name — the Paper Clips Project — and led to the building of a monument in their hometown.

The Hillel Jewish University Center will bring the film’s producer, writer and co-director Joe Fab for a question-and-answer session and screening of the “Paper Clips” documentary at 8:30 p.m. today. Fab has spoken at events before, so the board agreed his presence would add to the screening, said Hillel president Becca Tanen, a junior at Pitt.

“It is particularly appropriate to have Holocaust education programming during the month of November, during which the anniversary of Kristallnacht also falls,” Tanen said.

Kristallnacht took place Nov. 9, 1938. The night marks the Nazi’s destruction of 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses, the burning of hundreds synagogues, the murder of at least 91 Jewish people and the deportation of thousands of Jewish men to concentration camps.

Fab began the film after reading a Washington Post article about the original project. It took several weeks to contact the school’s principal and teacher, but Fab was patiently determined.

“We wanted to do this because everyone in our company [the Johnson Group] loves stories about children,” he said. “We had done films for the [United States] Holocaust [Memorial] Museum in Washington, [D.C.] That made me think about how great it would be to do something independent of the institution.”

The documentary screening is meant to teach people about their role in Holocaust education, said Mia Jacobs, the marketing chair for the Hillel Student Board.

“If you watch a movie it may impact you, and you may remember it, but this isn’t a period piece. It’s about how we are the generation now responsible for carrying this legacy, and we have to acknowledge this is a global issue,” she said.

Fab’s attendance at the screening will add to the documentary and allow him to answer questions like why students today should continue to care about issues from the past, Jacobs said.

“It’s my experience that it’s easy to be beaten down by Holocaust movies and education because it’s so depressing and tragic,” Jacobs said. “But we are in charge of this legacy. We need to make sure people don’t forget. [We’re a] generation that has to remember and teach the future generations who won’t be able to listen to survivors. I think ‘Paper Clips’ illustrates this well.”

Though the film is also about the Holocaust during World War II, the primary story in Fab’s documentary is about the children in Tennessee who wanted to go an extra step to learn.

“The children found they couldn’t say the number and move on,” Fab said. “It was too staggering. When people see the film, they’ll have known it had to do with the collecting [of the paper clips], but they’ll find it’s about a lot more. The project was the trigger. But what the children learn when they hear stories from Holocaust survivors, when they decide to react compassionately to what they learn, they decide to do something.”

Fab also believes that this documentary reveals the power these middle-school children held, and this is a key point people can take from the film today.

“Young people are treated as if they will be ready to participate in life someday,” Fab said. “They’re always in a state of getting ready. I learned while working on this film and being around the kids that they were curious, compassionate and very capable. They did something to say they understood this, and they wouldn’t tolerate this sort of thing in a world they’re creating. Imagine if you could bring scores of young people into the mix and if they could contribute at the age the kids do in this film. We could get a lot more done if we engaged them.”

Fab hopes that the film documentary he has created will leave a lasting impression on the audience.

Though a news article inspired him, the film medium allows viewers to become more deeply involved with the tragedy, he said.

“Reading is wonderful, but you add to this the idea about why I am pleased to be coming,” he said. “People experience it and go through the emotions of the film and feel the emotions of people in the room, and when it’s over we add the idea that we’re going to talk. I think people come away with different reactions.”

Fab also believes that this film will challenge college students, considering that middle-school students began the project with almost no funding.

Fab encourages college students to make time to come to see the documentary.

“It’s easy to have something else to do, but I’ve seen people get something from watching this film,” he said. “You never know what will happen, who will have an idea that will grow into something. I like to point out that when the children were learning about the Holocaust, a student said, ‘Wait.’ That student started something big.”

‘Slasher’ satirizes scary movies stereotypes

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/slasher-satirizes-scary-movies-stereotypes/

‘Slasher’ satirizes scary movies stereotypes

“Slasher”

Oct. 29 – Nov. 7

Directed By Holly Thuma

Charity Randall Theatre (Stephen Foster Memorial)

$20-$25, $10 for students

www.play.pitt.edu or call 412-624-PLAY

30 tickets available for opening night through Pitt Arts, available first come, first serve

If you go to a movie theater, you’ll get one horror film. If you go to Pitt Repertory Theatre’s play “Slasher” you’ll see the guts of many of horror films splattered onto the stage.

“Slasher” takes a satirical twist on scary movie clichés. The stereotypical last girl standing has to face her fears after meeting with a cast of archetypes along the way, the villain is overplayed and melodramatic and there is enough fake blood to satisfy any horror flick’s gore quota.

The show by Allison Moore will take over the Charity Randall Theater in the Stephen Foster Memorial and literally bring the audience on stage, up close and personal with the bloody effects and the story, according to director Holly Thuma.

The play is not meant to parody specific movies so much as the genre as a whole, even though it specifically references a couple of films, including “Scream.”

“Basically, it’s about a young woman living in a single-mother home,” Thuma said about the show. “The mother is a raging feminist, furiously angry. The young woman is cast into a grade-B horror film by a director in town trying to make the film. He puts the ‘low’ in low budget, and is a recovering sexaholic and alcoholic. As she begins to work on the film her life becomes a horror film.”

When making the stage for “Slasher,” Thuma opted to make the theater represent a film set. The crew uses the set-up and lighting to give the entire theater a haunted house feeling in addition to making the audience feel as if they’re on a movie set with the main character.

The fake blood is rampant, but is supposed to play into the humor, Thuma said. This show is meant to be a satire, which means “Slasher” is a commentary as well as entertainment.

“Plays may just be entertaining, but some plays have meaning and are relevant to our lives,” Thuma said. “We usually try to pick a play with social, political or spiritual meaning and value. So this one has entertainment and is funny, but it bites.”

Deirdre O’Rourke, a Pitt graduate student and dramaturg for “Slasher,” assists in the look and feel of the show. She’s also examined the cultural implications the show has.

“There’s a lot of talk in this about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the slasher film stereotype and [the playwright] noticed an eroticization of females in culture,” O’Rourke said. “She wanted to explore these issues and how women are supposed to have autonomy in this culture. She wanted to tackle the issues in a fun, theatrical way.”

O’Rourke set up a discussion set to take place after the Nov. 7 show at 2 p.m. The audience will have a chance to join in a panel discussion put on by Pitt professors. The discussion brings people in from women’s studies and sociology, with the intention of discussing questions about feminism in history and today, especially within the context of the play.

“I think the play itself is in-depth, and we didn’t want that lost,” O’Rourke said. “It’s not to compliment the fun with something educational. The questions are there and it’s part of the fun. It’s purposely left the questions in the open because we all have a stake in the answer to them.”

The play itself is “high energy, fast paced, and theatrical” but doesn’t offer any definitive answers, O’Rourke said.

“I think it’s right after we have the experience we should think about what’s going on,” she said of the panel discussion. “It’s not as though we are placing these things on top of the play. They’re the heart of the play. Anyone who watches it will identify the connections.”

The aim overall is to speak to younger women specifically and urge them to examine themselves in another way.

“It’s our culture, right?” O’Rourke said.

Prime Stage Theatre puts twist on classic tale

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/prime-stage-theater-puts-twist-on-classic-tale/

Prime Stage Theatre puts twist on classic tale

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

Oct. 30 through Nov. 7

Directed by Mark A. Calla

New Hazlett Theater, Allegheny Square E.

$20; $10 for college students with ID

Purchase at proartstickets.org or call 412-394-3353

Director Mark Calla wasn’t a fan of Washington Irving’s novel “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” but after some urging, he took on the job of directing an adaptation.

Under Calla’s direction, Prime Stage Theatre will put on its own version of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

In its show, the story starts out in the present with children telling ghost stories, using flashbacks to tell Ichabod Crane’s story. After overlooking the material for the play, Calla was pleasantly surprised.

“The script is fairly true to the original,” he said. “The way we made [the play] is expanding on it. To make it playable on the stage as a play, not a retelling, was to try to create some greater depth to the main character.”

Calla and the playwright, F.J. Hartland, worked together to make Crane a history not found in the original material, explaining why the “goofy, oddball and quirky teacher” is the way he is, giving him reasons for his behavior.

Brian Czarniecki, who plays Crane, joined the talks to learn more about the expanded character.

“There are scenes with his parents and flashbacks to his childhood,” Czarniecki said. “It’s interesting to see the flashbacks ... There’s his childhood and his adult life in Sleepy Hollow. It’s a coddling mother and dominating father and how they formed who he is. When he’s the schoolmaster, he’s confident and educated. In real life, he might not have common sense and can be bullied still, especially when vying for the attention of Katrina.”

Of course, the Headless Horseman plays a key role, as well.

“Even in the story, he might exist or might not, yet he is a legendary figure, even to the people of the time,” Calla said. “He is the archetype of boogeyman stories. He is the thing in the dark that will grab you if you’re not careful. More than Crane, the Horseman made this story last.”

Calla made some adjustments for this adaptation of the show but wouldn’t reveal his tricks for bringing the Headless Horseman to life on stage.

“There is no way to describe what we do without giving something away,” Calla said. “I think what the script did is unique. I want people to experience it by seeing it and hearing it.”

Calla also put effort into giving the play an atmosphere rather than just a script. This is the only thing he would reveal about his method of dealing with the spooky character.

“One of the things that has always bothered me about stage versions is they become very talky,” Calla said. “There is almost no story to use to drive it in the original story. The original is about atmosphere. Putting a literal actor on stage has always fallen short. So I think something that we did was to create a Horseman in people’s minds instead of seeing a literal figure who we know is a costume.”

Not all the challenges in the play are character-related — some are purely physical.

“I think the biggest challenge for all of us is performing on a multi-level set,” Czarniecki said. “The set has platforms, and the set is going to be a cemetery, in different levels. We rehearse on a flat space, though, trying to imagine the different levels. We try to keep this in mind. There will be different obstacles on the real set.”

The people involved are excited to bring what they consider a seasonal folktale to the stage with the twist of their own additions.

“It’s a classic,” Czarniecki said. “It’s an American classic folktale. So many people know a version of this story. My mother reminded me that I saw an animated Disney film based on this years ago. A lot of kids have heard this story, just like the kids in the play. Going back to these folktales is always fun.”

Quantum takes leap with dream time

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/quantum-takes-leap-with-dream-time/

Quantum takes leap with dream time

“When The Rain Stops Falling”

Oct. 28 to Nov. 21

Directed by Martin Giles

Iron City Brewery, down Sassafras Street; map available on the brewery’s website

$30-$45

A limited number of $16 student tickets are available for select performances with valid ID.

http://www.quantumtheatre.com/season/rain/

In 90 minutes, Quantum Theater will take its audience through 90 years of two fictional families’ histories.

Known for taking theatrical shows out of a normal theater setting, Quantum Theater will present “When the Rain Stops Falling” by Andrew Bovell in a warehouse near the Iron City Brewery. It’s located in what director Martin Giles jokingly described as “some weird place down in the bowels of Bloomfield.”

Though he has acted with various groups in Pittsburgh, Giles came onto the project as a director because of the way he could visualize the show while reading the play’s script.

“I was reading it, and I was seeing it,” he said.

The show follows seven people and several generations from the 1950s through to the future of 2039. Two families pass down “the follies and pain of the previous generation to the next,” and they go through their lives, Giles said.

Even though the approach goes beyond ordinary theater, “When The Rain Stops Falling” itself is a very typical, beautiful play, he said.

“It’s not a bizarre, radical thing,” he said. “It’s beautiful and sad, and the ending is slightly uplifting because it says we can change if we become aware enough, and we’re kind enough.”

“The interesting thing is [the writer] makes everything happen at the same time,” Giles said. “He’s Australian and knows about dream time, the idea of how the past is always present. The generations of the family, you see their stories and how they overlap.”

This means that there are moments where the audience can see two moments in time at once and how one affects the other. The show also examines how the actions of the people affect the world overall.

“The other part of the idea is that what you do makes the world,” Giles said. “If we continue to behave badly and not treat each other well, we’re destroying the world. Every interpersonal reaction affects the world and its stability.”

The show is an interpersonal and global commentary rather than a political one, according to artistic director and Quantum Theater founder Karla Boos.

“The play is interesting for younger people,” Boos said. “There are amazing young characters who are at moments in their life where things could go one way or another. They can’t completely control their destiny since things with their ancestors come into play in their lives. It’s an interesting aspect: It’s community.

“You see how they are eventually able to move forward from a chain that seems present in their lives. Somebody in 2039 changes this course. The play ends on a wonderful note that’s about change.”

Giles has overseen construction of the set and taken part in the evolving vision of the show from the beginning. With Quantum Theater, the set of the play is as important as the show itself, Boos said.

“In general, we feel there’s something about how an audience experiences the play that is an active contributor to what they get from it,” Boos said. “So we choose the site that lets us use something specific for that experience. This play has two things. It has a personal story of a family over generations, and that’s huge the way any personal story is huge. And the play has ideas that have to do with the environment and how people relate to the planet. We wanted this play in a giant place so we could reference these issues.”

The facility offers the chance for large props and backgrounds as well as massive projections of night skies over the audience.

Running the show outside of a theater is not simple. The directors are in charge of simple things like heating, and as Pittsburgh gets chillier, it’s just one more thing to keep an eye on, Boos said.

“We wouldn’t do this if we didn’t believe in the art,” Boos said. “It is much more difficult and expensive than normal theater.”

On the other hand, after 20 years in this business, Boos describes the crew as veterans and experts in the craft.

“Now we know what the questions to ask are,” Boos said about setting up. “The first shows weren’t so ambitious. We once wouldn’t have dreamed of putting things like this on. But that’s the evolution of good artists.”

Anderson: a fortunate flutist

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/anderson-a-fortunate-flutist/

Anderson: a fortunate flutist

Ian Anderson

Carnegie Library of Homestead

Tuesday, 7 p.m.

510 East 10th Ave., Munhall, Pa.

$45-$55

412-462-3444

One of the things that separated Jethro Tull from other bands was its flutist, Ian Anderson.

Anderson’s North American tour will bring him to the Carnegie Library of Homestead’s Music Hall Tuesday evening.

The British singer and songwriter has played music for more than 40 years and has lived and performed through evolutionary periods of rock history, such as progressive, folk, electronic, hard and world. He played the flute in his own rock band, the groundbreaking Jethro Tull.

Today, Anderson continues to share his music — both his work as a frontman for Jethro Tull as well as acoustic and electronic pieces of his own.

Anderson can recall the “rhythmic pulse of syncopated swing music” from his childhood that impacted him and stayed with him throughout his career. While he went through a period of life when he played an electric guitar because it was “the sexy thing to do,” he was raised primarily on acoustic music and soon went back to his roots.

“I was 18 or 19 when I realized I wasn’t good at playing [the electric guitar], and Eric Clapton was,” Anderson said. “I started on the flute, and it happened to be the lucky choice of something good to play, and it got me noticed.”

Jethro Tull gained popularity as Anderson taught himself to play the flute. It was a different instrument from the norm, and as a result the band’s rock music was “not genre rock music” and still isn’t today. Anderson became the man who introduced the flute to rock music, as well as a self-described “unplugged musician in the rock band.”

“A part of me still reacts to electronic rock, but not to the point I want to play it for two hours,” Anderson said. “You can’t escape the fact that you have to keep moving into the current realism of technology in music. But there are acoustic values I’d hate to leave behind me. It’s my musical culture.”

Florian Opahle, who is playing electric and acoustic guitar with Anderson on this tour, met Anderson when he played in Germany in 2003 as an opening act for Jethro Tull. The two then coordinated and played together at two shows.

“From then on everything happened very quickly and, on the next Ian Anderson tour, I found myself on the roads of Italy touring with Ian. A dream had come true,” Opahle wrote in an e-mail.

Opahle never wanted to do anything except play music, and playing with Anderson is an enjoyable way for him to pursue what he loves.

“There are so many fantastic songs which I really enjoy [playing],” Opahle said. “I really like the arrangement, composition and mood of the tunes. I love playing these massive songs like ‘Thick As A Brick’ or ‘Budapest’ that keep you busy regarding the individual parts, switching from a quiet section to a rock one, from a folksy to a classical one. I think that is one of the major things. It is this beautiful variety of different musical styles.”

Opahle occasionally plays solo or collaborates with blues bands in Germany. Even though Anderson has released four solo albums, he’s never gone for a completely solo career — he enjoys the group performances more.

“Being [by] myself would be limiting,” Anderson said. “I’m used to having more colors on my musical palette and working with and bouncing off other music and personalities of musicians. I think that’s part of what makes music more fun to do. It’s the human contact that gives it another dimension or two or three.”

Technology today also allows Anderson to incorporate more influences into his ever-evolving style. He takes what he likes from anything from jazz to Indian flute players to classical violinists.

“I’m all ears, really, to enjoy what’s out there,” Anderson said. “It’s a big world we live in, and we have more access to do it these days.”

Just as with workers in any other career, after 40 years on the job, there are days when he wants to quit music.

“Usually on Mondays,” Anderson said. “But of course you get those feelings. Some days you’d rather be doing something else, like fishing or training to be an astronaut. It’s doing something else for the sake of it or a new challenge. But 24 hours later I wake up with renewed vigor and determination to achieve the things that are immediately in front of me.”

Pomegranates chart growth

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/pomegranates-chart-growth/

Pomegranates chart growth

Pomegranates, with supporting act Hot Garbage

Garfield Artworks

4931 Penn Ave.

Oct. 20, 8 p.m.

Tickets: $6

412-361-2262

Smashing Pumpkins, take note: At least one other band is bold enough to claim a fruit as its title.

Pomegranates, a Cincinnati-based act of college-aged men, adapted the name because it was “the idea that was least embarrassing” at the time, according to drummer Jacob Merritt.

“Pomegranates have a mythology and a cleansing process. The imagery fit our music,” Merritt said.

Pomegranates’ music, which Merritt described as dreamy pop, reflects the tastes of the individual band members, with heavy influence from groups like Pink Floyd and the Talking Heads.

Merritt and vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Isaac Karns formed Pomegranates in 2007. As their old band separated, Merritt and Karns continued playing together, recruiting another vocalist and guitar player, Joey Cook. The group’s first recorded work, the EP Two Eyes came out four months later. Soon, the band was signed to Lujo Records.

By the time their first album, Everything is Alive, debuted in 2008, the members had settled into a new lifestyle, and a lineup change had brought vocalist and guitar player Daniel Lyon to the band. Lyon said he’d been involved in several other groups at the time, but the Pomegranates were refreshingly dedicated.

“In January I decided to come down again and start writing with them after a falling out with the other players [in other bands],” Lyon said. “This is definitely a lot more serious than any other project.”

Merritt has been involved with the music scene since he began playing in high school, finding pleasure in music composition.

“I like the idea of creating something that other people appreciate and somehow makes their lives better one way or another,” Merritt said.

Currently on the road, the band are releasing a third album, One of Us, at the end of October. The album makes frequent references to relationships back home.

“I think with this last album, everyone felt like it was mostly personal experience,” Lyon said. “I think a lot of beliefs come into this. I think there’s quite a number of love songs as a result of us having serious girlfriends.”

Karns, a member of the Pomegranates since its inception, noted that the band’s albums have become less story-based.

“On our last album [Everybody Come Out], we had a few songs we released we could tie together with a narrative,” he said. “In some ways it was easier to write because it was plotted out. Lyrically, we’d fit songs to the narrative.”

The Pomegranates’ third album, however, was not conceived with a blueprint of any sort. Though Karns sees the album as painting a clear portrait, any narrative listeners might infer is unintentional.

“As far as writing, that was a big difference,” he said. “We didn’t have a destination point with the new one. We just wrote. Last time we had a start and a finish and we filled in the blanks.”

Ever industrious, the band is already thinking about producing another album.

“We’ve written a song that we have yet to record and release, but we play at shows, that we’re happy with,” Karns said. “I think we’re all excited to write again. I think we’re always trying to write songs and not take long of a break. We may not use all the songs, but it keeps us going.”

When their tour ends, the members of Pomegranates will all return to day jobs in cafés and restaurants. Most of the members live in Ohio, with the exception of guitarist Joey Cook, who lives in Northern Kentucky.

“When we’re home between extended touring we have to work really hard,” Karns said. “When on the road it’s fun and rewarding, but it’s still hard work.”

Band life for Karns is “halfway between a career and a hobby” — it doesn’t pay the bills by itself. Karns has envisioned working on a farm or in a bookstore but doesn’t see these as “lucrative choices” that could ever replace music.

“I’m happy to do something that I love and share it with people even if it is hard work and not the best money,” Karns said. “I think we all agree it’s worth it.”

Oakland ‘most haunted’ ‘hood

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/oakland-most-haunted-hood/

Oakland ‘most haunted’ ‘hood

Haunted Pittsburgh: Haunted Tour Oakland

Sunday, Oct. 24

Tickets: $15 online at www.hauntedpittsburghtours.com or in person if not sold out.

Meet at: Hillman Library, 6 p.m.

Haunted Pittsburgh makes a bone-chilling claim: Oakland is the most haunted neighborhood in Pittsburgh.

“If you ask someone what is considered the most haunted [neighborhood], people think North Side,” said Michelle Smith, co-founder of Haunted Pittsburgh. “It has the big ghost stories. But we did research and Oakland seemed to have the most ghost stories in a small area. Almost every building or neighborhood seems to have a story attached to it, especially around Pitt.”

Haunted Pittsburgh is a local historical group with the aim of sharing local spirit lore by offering ghost walks, something the city previously lacked. The organization offers spooky tales through ghost walks, dinners and pub-crawls in various parts of the city. It usually offers tours primarily in areas such as Mt. Washington and South Side, but their discovery of Oakland and Pitt’s ghoul-filled buildings have brought them to this neighborhood.

Sean Collier of WDVE Morning Show and Pittsburgh Magazine will host the Oakland tours. The radio personality says he’s not surprised by the amount of ghost stories in Oakland.

“You’ll find a lot of stories associated with most colleges, especially those set in big buildings or dorms, just because there are so many people moving in and out frequently,” Collier said. “Stories are bound to shovel up.”

The Oakland tour will begin at Hillman Library and go to the Quad, the William Pitt Union, the Cathedral, the Carnegie Library, and the Frick Fine Arts building. Many Pitt students and staff use these buildings on a daily basis.

One of the more creepy stories involves the Carnegie Library. A city judge became fond of the building after it opened in 1895. But in the early 1900s, he went to the building to hang himself rather than to complete his work.

“No one knows why he did so,” Collier said. “Soon after he was found and removed, the staff reported seeing writing on the walls. But not at ground level. It was on the ceiling near the level of a hung man.”

The words were written in Latin, and when translated to English they read, “The judge is here.”

“Any library stack is creepy anyway,” Collier said. “It’s isolated. Now you worry you’ll run into a judge.”

Smith feels that people will want to know the creepy lore of buildings they go to everyday because they enjoy the adrenaline rush that comes from feeling scared. Ghost walks offer a safe environment to feel chills up the spine.

“It’s places people are at every day,” Collier said. “You’re in the Cathedral every day for class and it’s commonplace, but to look at it through these stories, it adds intrigue and mystery to what would be a normal place.”

Haunted Pittsburgh is not the same as a haunted house or other Halloween attraction because of its use of historical research and local testimony, according to Collier.

“On all of our tours, we have shorter stories and those from people in the area, as well as Pittsburgh history,” Collier said. “There’s also just a certain sense of reality. I love Halloween attractions, but this is a chance to hear a reportedly true ghost story and be at the place and in its presence. I think a tour like this is so much more real than Halloween attractions.”

Ghost stories might be set any time from the 1700s to as recently as the 1900s, depending on what the tour guides decide to use.

“A lot of our stories are very historic, but we have some new accounts as well,” Smith said. “We are careful using new stories because if there are recent deaths or hauntings, we don’t feel it’s appropriate to tell that story.”

At the end of the tour, though, Smith reminds everyone, believers and skeptics alike, that their job is to research and entertain, not investigate. Collier himself is skeptical of whether or not every element in a ghost story ever actually happened.

“We are not here to make you believe or disbelieve,” Smith said. “You’ll find the stories interesting and learn a bit of history.”

“These stories have survived and it’s an interesting folk tradition all on its own,” Collier said.