Hip-Hop Week offers chance for Kid Cudi opening performance

Hip-Hop Week offers chance for Kid Cudi opening performance

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/02/07/hip-hop-week-offers-chance-kid-cudi-opening-performance

Pitt students will embrace the culture of hip-hop next week as WPTS radio station hosts its annual Hip-Hop Week, which includes DJs in dorm lobbies, a DJing competition, a live on-air show and a dance on Friday.

This year WPTS is collaborating with Pitt Program Council to plan the competition, scheduled for Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Nordy’s Place. Students are welcome to watch the competitors. At press time, 11 groups had signed up to compete.

The winner of the hip-hop competition will be announced after the show on Tuesday and will open for the PPC-sponsored Kid Cudi concert in March.

At least half of a competing band’s members must be Pitt students, but otherwise the contest is completely open to any eager performers, according to Corey Mizell (aka DJ KaraZmatiK), the hip-hop director for WPTS.

Mizell, a part-time Pitt student, has always been a DJ. He said this year’s collaborations between WPTS and PPC presents a major opportunity for students in bands.

“For anyone who’s always wanted to do this, this will be a one moment to actually see what it would feel like to see what it would feel like to perform for thousands for students,” Mizell said. “It can probably get people to pursue this as a career ... It takes a lot of nerves to get up in front of a lot of people on a massive stage and perform your music and hope they like it.”

Former WPTS director Marcus Harris, also a Pitt student, will perform in the competition with his group, the BNVz.

Harris is the founder of Pitt’s annual hip-hop week, which he hopes explains and shares the culture of hip-hop.

“A lot of people think it’s a type of music,” Harris said. “But it’s a culture based on urban storytelling. It’s based on young people wanting to tell their story no matter what their story was.”

Hip-hop culture has its roots in 1970s New York City, according to James Peterson, assistant professor of English at Bucknell University. Peterson teaches African-American Literature and studies hip-hop culture.

Peterson explained hip-hop has four main elements: break dancing, DJing, graffiti and rapping. During the 1970s, economic and socioeconomic factors such as the closing of art centers led to the need for expression in urban areas.

Today hip-hop is “just the most recent installation of African-American oral and folk culture and musical intervention,” Peterson said. “Hip-hop is part of the historical continuum of production which is largely responsible for all American music. Hip-hop is also a repository. It samples jazz, moves like the blues, and it’s basically merging with R&B.”

Hip-hop is also welcome in mainstream music and culture because of historical events, according to Peterson.

“It’s a black art form, but it was based in diverse communities. It was always pretty diverse,” he said.

Music changed in the 1980s. Content shifted from “public enemy” to a “gangster consumerist form of the music that is accessible to mainstream,” Peterson said.

Part of hip-hop culture tends to include alternate names or personas between daily life and stage life, something Mizell says he’s just “always done.”

“There’s always a persona name which is like an alter ego because I’m a completely different person when I’m DJing a party or when I’m outside of my element, or being everyday Corey,” Mizell said. “Now it’s time for me to go to my second job, be the entertainer for the night and bring the energy for everybody. It’s always been that way. If you see them in interviews they’re a completely different person than when you see them at a live show. It’s like a natural instinct.”

“DJ KaraZmatiK” is Mizell’s current stage name and was suggested to him by a friend. Mizell changed names when he switched between performing groups because he “wanted a new, refreshing name to summarize him now.”

Harris, however, has a slightly different take on the alternate name.

“I wouldn’t necessarily call it my persona,” Harris said. “It’s like a child. When a child is born they don’t get to choose their name, but in hip-hop, because it’s about expression, you get to redefine yourself. You get to choose who you want to be. In life you don’t get to do that.”

Harris explained his stage name is MH the Verb, a name that came about because he was a very active, energetic person when he came to college.

“I’m not a noun, not a person. I’m a way,” he said.

Harris also explained some aspects of hip-hop are not straightforward, such as why it tends to be a male-dominated culture, or why the same artist will seem to give conflicting messages in their songs.

“It’s conflicting at times, but we’re all conflicted at times, and that’s the beauty of hip-hop,” Harris said. “It’s a bit of a positive outlet even when it’s not so positive.”

For Mizell, the collaboration of the competition and PPC with Kid Cudi is a significant event during Hip-Hop Week.

“It allows all people to see all organizations can work together and not be so separate,” he said. “This is a major institution but many organizations bringing many people together for one common cause. People rally together for a national disaster or tragedy, but we can’t even do it within the interlinking of our own university, you know?”

CD Review - Philip Stevenson

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/01/28/stevenson-knocks-stars-out-fans-eyes

Stevenson knocks stars out of fan's eyes

Band: Philip Stevenson
Album: Starless
Grade: C-
Record label: Night World
Sounds like: A deeper-voiced Jesse Malin

It would be unfair to say an album called Starless is as dark and depressing as a night sky — it’s not quite that bleak.

But Philip Stevenson’s release is definitely not the brightest sky, either, so to speak.

The first track “Anatomy” opens with a smooth, soft rock feeling and an even softer voice. Stevenson is barely distinguishable, as he harmonizes with his guitar and loses his vocals among the chords.

In the next track, Stevenson follows a similar pattern before finally slowing down from a rock guitar to an acoustic melody. Titled “Fix Me,” there’s no savior in sight. Stevenson’s voice goes from harmonizing to gravelly.

It’s not the music that’s bad. In fact, if this review focused on the music, the album would be much better overall. It would be entirely comprised of a mixture of soft rock to hard rock, from acoustic to jazzy — an eclectic mix yet smooth and refreshing product.

The random 12-second jazz music intervals inserted between three tracks would sound fine. Bad track titles like “I’m A Boy” might even slide.

But with a voice that is hardly remarkable, very little supports Stevenson’s album beyond some pleasant chords.

Slow Club merges old and new

Slow Club merges old and new

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/01/27/slow-club-merges-old-and-new

Slow Club
Yeah, So
Moshi Moshi
Rocks Like: Tilly and the Wall, The Moldy Peaches
Grade: B+

Twelve songs, 12 relationships, one album. Slow Club’s worthy folk-rock album, Yeah, So, is composed of narratives about love and friendship.

Slow Club launches into its album with a slow opening — acoustic guitar and harmonizing vocals that bring to mind a modern-day, updated Simon and Garfunkel.

Updated, meaning that Slow Club is a male/female duo and folk-rock band, with band members Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor embellishing the contemporary music with their own styles and sounds.

The band’s folk nature makes some tracks calming and soothing in style, while other songs are more saturated with drums. The vocals always support the song, rather than the music supporting the vocalists — this album’s about the lyrics, first and foremost.

Titles aren’t mystifying on this album. “Givin’ Up On Love” is exactly what it sounds like – why bother falling in love when so much has gone wrong? This particular song shows the duo’s rock roots, especially when compared to the quiet opening song, “When I Go,” which explores a friendship versus a marriage. “When I Go” demonstrates the band’s ability to alternate between rock and folk sounds.

On the other hand, “Apples and Pairs” displays more confidence from the couple. It’s not necessarily perfect, yet not quite as imperfect as other songs.. Its style is slow and charming, and sounds a bit like a carousal song.

Ultimately, the album avoids overcrowding, yet allows the music to feel full and complete — it generally satisfies the listener.

'Cats' in the 'Burgh

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/01/26/pittsburgh-plays-host-group-jellicle-cats

Pittsburgh plays host to a group of jellicle 'Cats'

“Cats”
Jan. 26-31
Benedum Center
$21 - $53
(412) 456-6666 or at pgharts.org
Pitt Arts Prices: $27.50 - $45.25. Purchase in the Pitt Arts office.

In the animal kingdom, cats are known for their sassy yet nonchalant demeanors. On stage, at least in their namesake musical, they’re known for bombastic love ballads, heavy makeup and spectacular dancing.

The award-winning musical “Cats” sprouted from a small hit-or-miss idea based on the poems in T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats“. Its Broadway run lasted 15 years, and the musical has toured the country for 26 years.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats” is a surreal show. The plot is not clearly defined, though it basically follows the misadventures of a group of stray felines and fills the stage with complex choreography taking place on a set made to look like a junkyard.

This year’s cast includes Point Park graduate Chris Mackenthun. He plays the role of a magical, young and frisky black-and-white cat named Mr. Mistoffelees. Though the behind-the-scenes work put into the show is grueling, Mackenthun described “Cats” as a fun production.

“It’s completely out of the box,” Mackenthun said. “Nobody knew what ‘Cats’ was going to be when it came on the scene. They went with it and said, ‘This is a magical show.’”

“Cats” also reaches audiences of all ages as a family-friendly show — it’s the show parents take their kids to see because they saw it and loved it, according to Mackenthun.

“There’s nothing risqué, there’s nothing questionable,” he said. “I think people have just fallen in love with the magic of the show because it is so crazy.”

Audiences are almost required to have the ability to go along with what is on stage, otherwise risking the inability to fully appreciate the show.

“I think kids are more willing to go with you on it — OK, you’re a cat, I can pretend that. And I also think adults are also willing to suspend the belief,” he said. “I guess if they aren’t willing, then we haven’t done our job.”

The rehearsal process combines singing with stepping correctly and following the choreography of the show, which is one of the most convincing aspects in a show being entirely about cats.

“The show is designed and choreographed and directed to make it, ‘What do you mean, you don’t think I’m a cat?’” he said.

“All movement shows you are a cat, and you are better than the audience,” he said. “It’s really magical when the audience does suspend all belief, sits back, and has a good time, because I know we feel that [on stage].”

“There’s this crazy set and quirky movement that just facilitates the illusion just that much more,” he said. “I think that most of the time the audience is willing to suspend belief and say, ‘OK. This is a group of cats.’”

Mackenthun graduated from Point Park in 2005 with a degree in ballet and a clear view of his career goals.

“I always knew I wanted to do musicals and musical theater, and I discovered I had a talent for dance,” he said. “So I decided I needed to give it a try because I could always do musical theater, but I couldn’t always be a principal dancer at 70 years old.”

Two years after graduating, he accidentally stumbled into the role of a magical black cat. He auditioned for two shows in one day and obtained a role in “Cats.” But it’s not an easy job.

All tours of “Cats” travel with a physical therapist to help take care of the dancers and their bodies. Injuries are common, according to Mackenthun.

“It’s live theater, so you never know what’s going to happen,” he said.”

The basic challenges of — performing properly after traveling, stage setup, transitioning to the new stage — are part of the job, although not always easy tasks.

Mackenthun expressed enthusiasm to be returning to Pittsburgh after five years.

“There’s so much theater in Pittsburgh,” he said. “It’s just growing, and I can’t wait to see what it’s growing into. Everybody just loves going to theater.”

New website is better for two

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/01/21/new-website-better-two

New website is better for two

Relationships. They can give singles headaches and frustrate couples. But for one Pitt alumna, they are inspiration for her new online publication, twodaymag.com.

Founded by editor Natalie Bencivenga and managing editor Joseph Vineis, twoday magazine is taking the step from a monthly webzine to a full-time website and operating magazine Jan. 18.

Bencivenga, a Pitt grad, described twoday magazine as a progressive publication that could affect changes in relationships of couples of all ages.

“Nothing [in other magazines] really fused ... questions about dating, about gay and straight dating,” Bencivenga said. “[These are] the questions that never get asked and never get answered in magazines ... I think we’re still very isolated even when we have a partner. This is a way to change it up a bit.”

The new site features material that couples can read together rather than separately, which sets it apart from the typical print style magazine. The publications will provide a guide for couples that can be updated daily.

The magazine targets people age 20 and older, according to Bencivenga. Otherwise, nothing limits its audience.

“This magazine ... deals with the greatest subject in the world — love,” Bencivenga said. “We can all relate! College students especially, because they are just finding their footing and what they want in life.”

Twodaymag, based in a New York office, launched its revamped website on Jan. 18. It now includes new articles about restaurants, places to go together, interactive articles, quizzes, contests to sign up to together and other information, according to Bencivenga.

On the magazine’s website, three major sections — Live, Love and Play — aim to make couples’ relationships more engaging and exciting.

“Live” focuses on current events and stories about real couples. The topics featured put a couple’s spin on topics seen on the front page of The New York Times. They include people caught in the debate over gay marriage, people in relationships in Iraq and even debate over the basic budgeted gift in the current economy.

“Love” explores a couple’s relationship status, offering tips such as how to deal with break-ups, being engaged and sex.
Play offers reviews and insights on things to do and places to go on any given night.

Bencivenga’s inspiration for the site came together slowly. She graduated from Pitt in 2006 with a double major in biology and philosophy and a minor in chemistry.

She was not committed to her original goal — a job in women’s health — but her reflections within her majors contributed positively to the content of twoday magazine.

“The great thing is, with my philosophy and science background, I had a great way of merging my right brain-left brain,” Bencivenga said. “It just expands your mind and makes you more open, which is great when looking for love and wanting to talk about it [such as in a magazine].”

While in New York, Bencivenga began editing Vineis’ proposal for a small magazine. The two eventually paired up to redo the entire magazine idea. Bencivenga eventually narrowed the redone and renamed magazine’s sections down to Live, Love, Play.

Bencivenga explained that this format allows for the interactive items that she has plans for, such as a comic called “Little Black Dress” about single girl’s dates. She believes everyone will find something to relate to on the website.

“I am on a journey and believe others can benefit from my mistakes and my victories in love,” Bencivenga said. “We all need that person in our lives that can give great advice from a place of experience. I am that person, and my goal is to enrich other people’s experiences in love.”

The magazine’s staff includes 10 staff writers and an advertisement department. Despite Bencivenga’s attachments to other print magazines, she accepts technology as the new thing and as a “greener process” than using paper and ink, and has no plans for the magazines to move into print.

“It just makes more sense,” Bencivenga said. “We have a Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. You can share articles on your own. You can print them. I think the future is definitely online, unfortunately for print.”

Twoday magazine is “an ever expanding, ever changing process,” according to Bencivenga.

“It’s all about bringing people and bringing them together,” Bencivenga said. “Hopefully we will build it [the magazine] up. We want a radio station, video, blogs. We want a lot. This [launch] is just the start-up to see the reaction.”

Bencivenga is confident in the direction this launch could take relationships.

“Love is the big mystery, right?” Bencivenga said. “Everyone deals with this on some level, so what better way to unite them then through this idea?”

The Black Girl Next Door, A Memoir

(Written for The Pitt News. Ran in the print version in January 2010, but was not posted online.)

The Black Girl Next Door: A Memoir

by Jennifer Baszile

Touchstone Books/Simon & Schuster Trade Paperback

Grade: B

Facing the idea of prejudice and racism is not a comfortable experience so much as a necessary one. Brave authors and their memoirs can recall these actions and often open doors and allow great insight into how to deal with this issue.

Author Jennifer Baszile opens another door with “The Black Girl Next Door” and her ability to write prose that looks into the past while being creative all at once.

As a young girl, Baszille grew up in a time after the Civil Rights movement – a time when laws were passed that stated equality while prejudices still fought the progression of human rights. The years between then and now are her focus.

Baszile lived in a California suburb. In 1975, she was in first grade. She opens her memoir with a defining moment in her childhood – how she beat one of her friends in a race, but was told it was OK she won because black people had something special in their feet.

Yet over the course of the memoir, Baszile does not focus solely on stereotypes and racism alone.

She easily switches between her private and public lives, merging the separated spheres in her memoir. She recounts being a good black student at a predominantly white school and at home not totally understanding for years the enormity of even being able to attend such a school.

Her writing is easy going yet tense – it allows time for emotions to brew and yet entrances.

The tale of her childhood and adolescence counters the idea in textbooks that the civil rights movement was the end of the battle. The author suggests that perhaps integration - being the black girl next door – had been as hard on her as segregation had been for her father.

Baszile reveals tensions without always coming out and saying them – for example, how her parents desperately wanted to be integrated in the white community but forbade the dating and close association with white men. She explains how her father could bounce back and forth between a calm and sweet father and a man that could potentially unwillingly injure others – results of the stress of the prejudice he faced in his business.

Dealing with paradoxes in life while also dealing with puberty, Baszile has to discover herself for herself, rather than for a sense of definition by her parents.

It’s fallacious to declare this book is completely about prejudice, the tension after the civil rights movement, or a girl becoming a woman. It weaves elements from all these factors together.

“What was my dream?” Baszile questions. Her parents had her dream – what was her own? Baszile ‘s journey to becoming a woman might be the start to an answer – something to which many demographics could easily relate.

George Carlin uses a memoir to give his "Last Words"

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/01/10/george-carlin-uses-memoir-give-his-last-words

George Carlin uses a memoir to give his "Last Words"

“Last Words”
George Carlin with Tony Hendra

Free Press
Grade: B-

The late George Carlin’s life story was bound to become a memoir. Carlin performed provocatively humorous acts, sparked controversy over Federal Communications Commission regulations and struggled to make a living and keep his life together.

Despite being most famous for swearing on stage as a comedian, such as in his “Seven Dirty Words” routine, George Carlin was also a social critic, actor and author. His recorded comedy albums, which humorously scrutinized society and politics, won a total of five Grammy Awards during his career.

After 50 years of performing comedy, Carlin died on June 22, 2008 because of heart failure. He was 71.
In his posthumously published memoir, “Last Words,” Carlin speaks in an uncensored narrative, yet his book has far fewer dirty words than his stand-ups feature.

Carlin’s longtime friend Tony Hendra, who interviewed Carlin over a number of years to help him document his rich and complex history, compiled “Last Words.”

“Last Words” is not a humorous story, though Carlin’s quirky sense of humor does occasionally arise, easing tension created as he reveals his personal life history. His memoir details a love-hate relationship with his mother, as well asan early love for language and comedy. Some aspects of his past are more startling than others, given his attitudes on stage were the blueprints of the persona most people knew.

As he dissects what he liked — or more often hated — in his early career, Carlin’s story reveals the unseen complications he endured. He also reveals his battle with heart and drug problems, as well as his relationship with his family.

An interesting part of the memoir is that Carlin never says he regrets. Instead, he writes fluently and honestly, never denying or defending himself. He tells his story, and makes it clear that his past led him to become the award-winning comedian whose shows are still featured on late-night HBO comedy programs quite often.

Carlin, who felt comedy held a fascinating power in society, was a renowned comedian who would inadvertently inspire others to find their funny voice. His comedy stirred up the crowds of listeners as often as it entertained them with provocative views and language.

Carlin’s book is not the story of a bad person turned good. It’s the honest tale of a person living his life, who followed his dreams and held to his personal morals and ideas. It’s honestly Carlin.

Review - Sherlock Holmes

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/01/05/sherlock-holmes-all-action-little-mystery

'Sherlock Holmes' full of action, devoid of mystery

photo credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

“Sherlock Holmes”
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams
Director: Guy Ritchie
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Grade: C+

Fans of the mystery and crime genres all know part of the fun of diving into a new tale is picking up on the clues along with the main character, or maybe beating him to it.

The film “Sherlock Holmes” must have missed this memo. Despite being based heavily on the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories, following the famous fictional character of the same name, the film instead took the path away from mystery and focused more on the action.

The fictional face of Sherlock Holmes has been in the brains of fans since Doyle conjured him up more than 100 years ago. Holmes is a renowned character in fiction, with incredible deductive reasoning skills accompanied by a talent for acute observation and an eccentric personality.

At least the film got this right, with actor Robert Downey Jr. taking on the complex and sometimes flat-out ridiculous character of Holmes. At his side is Jude Law as Dr. John Watson.

On screen the two old partners must work together on what is to be their last case as a team. It involves suspected black magic and a dangerous, terrifying force which rises from the death of a corrupt lord intent on bringing about the subjugation of England, America and eventually the entire world.

The film portrays the incredible crime fighters as needing to use their fists and brains to fight their new enemies. At the same time both characters are supposed to be dealing with personal issues, such as Watson’s retirement. In addition to all that, both must deal with matters of love and lust.

It was a bold move, but it didn’t pay off.

Instead of allowing a strong plot baseline and character development, “Sherlock Holmes” carries on through the mystery swiftly and chaotically, with a strong score that pounds on the eardrums and explosions and deaths that are supposed to show off the power and danger the detectives are facing.

The mystery element of “Sherlock Holmes” is, in fact, almost completely lost among the chaos.

The settings and sets are more complete than the characters at times, with costumes and building designs setting the mood and scene perfectly.

By the end of the film, it’s revealed that Holmes himself had been mentally working through the case the entire time, but had in fact picked up most of his clues so early in the film that any audience member who may have wanted to solve the mystery themselves could hardly have done so in the short time span spent on the scene holding the key to the mystery.

Of course, the ending is predictable at best. The set-up for the villain, including his motive and crime, is mediocre. The mystery itself was hardly the most complicated of Holmes’ career and is supposedly connected to a larger crime, therefore setting the stage for a sequel, or perhaps an entire franchise.

Most offensive of all, the ending is an ending that should have been a beginning. The film literally stops as Holmes begins to suggest a larger plot than what he and Watson dealt with for more than two hours previously on the screen.

This new take on the character of Sherlock Holmes needs more work. Perhaps any sequel will be able to pick up the slack.

Ari Hest (older)

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2009/11/22/ari-hest-takes-inspiration-family-variety-talents

Ari Hest takes inspiration from family, variety of talents

photo credit: Courtesy Ari Hest

Ari Hest plays piano, guitar and teaches math.

Ari Hest
Thunderbird Café
Nov. 28, 8 p.m.
$14
412-682-0177

Press coverage has praised Ari Hest for setting himself apart in the musical field.

He has moved away from standard labels and created music that, according to the Washington Post, is a “melodic folk sound [that] bears hints of Bruce Springsteen.”

But even if Hest is aware of such praise, he might not accept such comments as praise at all.

“You can learn some things occasionally, but I don’t pay too much attention to critiques,” Hest said. “There’s no way I’m going to please everybody. If I get caught up in that, it’ll be dark situation. I rely on my own ear.”

The singer has recorded 11 albums and EP releases, all influenced by his upbringing.

He studied piano growing up, taught himself to play his mother’s guitar and listened to many of his favorite artists’ records, including The Beatles, Smashing Pumpkins and The Police.

“Music is in the family,” Hest said. “They never pushed music on me, but I knew I could sing from the time I was a little kid. I liked playing guitar. When I was in high school, it was a nice outlet. It became a bigger part of my life when I got to college. I started to write songs, and little by little, it became a bigger deal to me.”

Hest also played baseball throughout high school. But in college, he said, he knew he didn’t have the talent to continue professionally.

“I didn’t really like academics, but I wanted to get through school,” he said. “After a while, [guitar] seemed like a better idea. At that point, I was playing at fraternity parties in college and getting my feet wet. I didn’t fully grasp things when I started to play, but I had very supportive friends [and family].”

Music not only became his priority, but it showed itself as his gift. Hest doesn’t have much trouble with songwriting.

“I have a head for it, and I’m lucky,” he said.

From his meager college beginnings, Hest began releasing his recorded albums.

His songs were a composition of lyrics inspired by his life and music he often hummed and thought out to himself rather than wrote out on paper.

“I didn’t put too much thought into production on the first album,” Hest said. “It was more my getting used to things. I didn’t know what made an album ... I tend to go from folk to rock to something else without hesitation. That’s the way I write. I don’t like to fit into one category.”

But the act of recording seems to be Hest’s major challenge.

“Recording feels pretty unnatural,” Hest said. “It’s hard to get to a natural place when you’re doing takes.”
Hest has also dealt with rocky times and felt insecure about his music career, he said. He might find an alternative to music, if he ever felt the need.

“I dabbled with teaching — not teaching music,” he said. “I kind of like numbers. I have taught math a couple of times for substitutes over the last two years just to see if it was something I would be interested in. I like it, but not at much as what I do now.”

For now, Hest said nothing is definite with him other than being happy where he is.

“I don’t have a plan for the future,” he said. “Last year, I did this one song a week thing. I wrote a new song and released it on my website ... This year, I’m wanting the pressure off and going more with the flow. I’m trying to do more shows out of the country. But I love what I do. I don’t feel pressure to be famous. I’d love more people to know my music, but I’m happy with the way things are.

“The thing I like the best is coming up with the song I like and feeling good about creating something,” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to accomplish.”

Check out Hest's Myspace page here.

Good Brother Earl brings unconventional sound to Diesel

Good Brother Earl brings unconventional sound to Diesel

photo credit: Courtesy Joe Teplitz

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2009/12/10/good-brother-earl-brings-unconventional-sound-diesel

Larissa Gula
Staff Writer

Good Brother Earl
Dec. 12
6:30 p.m.
Diesel
$10 (includes new album Fiction)
(412) 431-8800

Good Brother Earl is a band with a weird name that doesn’t mean anything, yet it has a distinctive sound formed by a collection of rock, blues, country and pop influences.

It’s an unconventional sound for an unconventionally named band, but this gives Good Brother Earl an edge and more room to experiment. Apparently, the Steel City has the ability to produce an eclectic variety of musicians.

“We’re mostly all Pittsburghers,” Jeff Schmutz, the band’s acoustic guitar player and vocalist, said. He described the band’s journey to spread its name as a challenge that cannot be done alone.

“The local media has been extremely kind with both airplay and in support of not only us, but all local music in general,” Schmutz said. “Pittsburgh is no Los Angeles or Nashville, but it really has it’s own flavor.”

The flavor of Pittsburgh seems to include the media support — with positive coverage from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and City Paper — and fan support alike.

“The folks that see our shows regularly are fantastic,” he said. “They are all extremely supportive.”

Good Brother Earl set out in 1998 as a college band, keeping its shows within the Northeast. It has played at multiple venues in Ohio, New York, Maryland and Pittsburgh, and with the CD release party tomorrow night, the band has released three albums.

Good Brother Earl has the oddball sound and name going for it, but where did the name come from?

“The name Good Brother Earl came from one of our previous drummers,” he said. “We needed to advertise for a show and he said, ‘What about Good Brother Earl?’ The name just ended up sticking.”

With a name chosen, the band went on to develop its sound and try to record albums without being signed to a record label.

“Although with the advances in recording technology, it has gotten much easier [to record albums],” Schmutz said, “Skip Sanders, our keyboard player, has a studio in his house, which ... is great because you don’t have to worry about time constraints. We get to be creative and stress free while we record.”

“Ultimately, I think we’d love to be on a label, because you get to reap the benefits of all the publicity and advertising they offer,” Schmutz said about record labels. “I will say, though, that being able to have the creative freedom of an independent label is very nice. As an independent, we are solely responsible for how the record sounds and what songs appear on it.”

After 11 years, Good Brother Earl has come to enjoy both the hardships of recording and the adrenaline of live performance.

“Recording allows you to put your song and performance under a microscope and shape it and really mold it into something you like,” he said. “It’s more creative. Playing live is great too, though. It’s all about the energy of the music, and the five of us all playing our parts cohesively to make the performance something people can get into.”

Behind the scenes, the band members’ musical tastes are very broad — part of the reason the band’s sound itself is very eclectic. Schmutz named Led Zeppelin, Dave Matthews, U2 and some classical and jazz music as some of the musicians’ favorite artists.

It created a sound so different that categorization isn’t possible.

“We’ve always had a difficult time in trying to classify ourselves,” said Schmutz, “I think that fact that we enjoy so many different styles definitely comes out in our music.”

Good Brother Earl believes it has found a substantial fanbase in Pittsburgh, and next, it wouldn’t mind winning over other cities.

“Ultimately, we’d like to be on a national level, getting radio airplay, touring around the country,” Schmutz said. “But for right now, our local fans and the support we’re received from the local media has been fantastic.”

Column 12 – Inspirational Halloween

(Belated posting, I know. I tend to wait to post these until RKYV is released, and this one came out late.)

Column 12 – Inspirational Halloween

Here’s to keep my miraculous appearance a second time running short and fairly sweet. Hm, sweet? Like, treat sweet? Trick ‘r Treat?

By the time you all read this, I’m sure it will be long past Halloween. (Sorry, Randy, but it’s true.) Still, I think my leading topic can be appreciated year round, especially when the sun goes down and the chill in the houses begins to increase.

Ghosts.

I’m willing to bet every reader has a single defining thing they gravitate towards when they hear that word. Some people probably think of the sheet-like ghost that’s a white see through mass. Others might think of a person, a relative or historic figure known to haunt a location nearby. Still others may go the extra length to think of malicious forces we cannot explain.

The thing is, we don’t know that much about ghosts. In fact, at least in the U.S., the majority cannot agree on whether they exist or not. (I know spiritually differs between cultures. Stay with me.)

But ghosts are pretty darn popular, at least in the U.S. I even went and wrote a story about ghost walks in Pittsburgh for the Pitt News. The newspaper wanted their share of ghosts, too.

Two things made my personal experience all the more worthy. One, our stories are often rooted in historical fact. Two, the man telling the ghost stories was a marvelous professional freelance story teller. Raconteur, was he? Oh yes, he was. He knew how to tell, what to include, what was entertaining, and in the end, how to build the story and keep it flowing right up until the end without letting the audience escape the hook and net he’d made just for them.

See the point yet? Whether these stories were true or not, whether the listeners believed or not: story telling itself is an act of creation. Another person would certainly have shared the tales in a different style and made them a bit different with their own style. It’s the nature of tales to be adopted and changed. Fairy tales are all said to originate from three basic stories that were elaborated on and changed for the cultures and times they existed in. I don’t even want to try to count how many exist now.

Not only that, but creation serves not only a personal desire, but a public desire. I could tell my tour guide wanted to share his stories, and I could tell the audience wanted to be there – or at least managed to enjoy themselves if they were dragged along. It happens.

It’s important to remember when working on artwork, you truly can’t please everyone, but on the other hand: maybe it’s not always the best idea to always create what you specifically want. There has to be at least a sliver of public desire for the artwork to be shared artwork. If you are happy keeping it to yourself as a hobby, by all means: go for it. But if you want to go public at some point, you can try to tone down your own artwork for the public, at least for a time. Maybe you can release a special edition later once you have fans?

This topic of ghosts may be as debated as the idea of being yourself versus selling to the public, and I am sure we all will take on other topics of questionable nature (what is more fun for an artist?) but I think peaceful debate is half the fun.

In the end, the best artist makes the art as believable as my ghost tour guide did – at least for a time. But preferably, permanently. (Which was the case with the walk. Congrats, good sir.)

To read the article I wrote for the Pitt News, go to http://trolleygirl13.blogspot.com/2009/10/pittsburgh-ghost-walks.html .

Best, and Happy Halloween,
-Larissa

Engineer Artwork

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2009/12/01/cecil-balmond-blends-line-between-engineering-art

Cecil Balmond blends line between engineering, art

photo credit: Courtesy Arup

Take a walk through a different kind of maze.

Forum 64: H_edge
Cecil Balmond
Carnegie Museum of Art
412.622.3131

An engineering degree doesn’t prevent the inspired from dabbling in the arts.

Engineer Cecil Balmond has a metallic labyrinth currently featured at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland.

The exhibit, “H_edge,” demonstrates how Balmond has used a visionary approach toward art and creatively applied mathematical formulas, ultimately challenging the definitions of architecture and engineering.

Balmond is an engineer of international recognition who has worked with many architects globally, as well as some artists, according to Raymund Ryan, architecture curator at Carnegie Museum of Art and curator for the exhibit.

“The key point on ‘H_edge’ is it’s an installation,” Ryan said. “It’s a labyrinth. The intention is people will enjoy wandering through this thing but be puzzled how it stays vertical.”

The structure seems so simple, yet it forms an elaborate and decorative maze. It’s composed of around 6,000 aluminum plates suspended between stainless-steel chains, which look like metallic ivy hanging from thin air.

The trick is that it’s standing from panels on the floor.

“The edges of leaves are inserted into the circles of the cables, and the whole thing becomes a taught system,” Ryan said. “It’s very light, but it creates a taut three-dimensional framework so that the thing can span like a portal or a doorway. But it looks very delicate. It’s strong and delicate at the same time.”

This delicate but sturdy creation is essentially an engineering and mathematical premise formed into a beautiful and intriguing object, he said.

“The end product, because it is so thought-out and more than applied science, becomes an art object in and of itself,” he said.

Born in Sri Lanka, Balmond is deputy chairman of Arup, the international design consultant firm based in London. Despite Balmond not being considered an artist by profession, Ryan believes “H_edge” is an admirable structure.

In addition to the actual metallic structure, there is a mirror on the wall that visually elongates the maze, as well as several information boxes, called light boxes, on the walls that contain designs and information about engineering principles.

For example, Balmond explains in short films embedded within the light boxes, the fractal “is a geometric idea that repeats at different scales.”

“In the light boxes especially ... you can see that the notion of a coastline becomes fractal,” he said. “As you zoom in further and further, it essentially maintains the same form. I think you can find these things in lungs. If you take an X-ray you can find strange patterns in the lungs. It’s the same pattern existing in the same scale within itself. That’s one idea he is interested in.”

The boxes also explain connections between cultures and nature that deal with universally important numbers and other ideas and patterns.

Informative as this may be, there’s another goal of the exhibit.

“It should be somewhat mysterious,” Ryan said. “We try to get the lighting right. We want the natural light there, as well, when possible. The light should bounce around the complicated structure and create a sense of mystery.”

All of this information and mystery is tucked into a single room, going by the official name “Forum 64: H_edge,” because Balmond’s installation is No. 64 to go through the separated exhibition space.

The room sits between the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Carnegie Museum of Art. The little room usually holds contemporary works of art with just one or two pieces, creating a teaser for the visitors.

“‘H_edge’ appeals to the core historic mission of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh: the advancement of art and science,” Ryan said. “It plays to the issue of arts and sciences coexisting.”

On Saturday Nov. 21, a Pitt Arts-sponsored trip included a guided tour of the exhibit along with lunch at the Museum Café.

This exhibition takes place from Nov. 14, 2009 to May 30, 2010 in the Forum Gallery of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Balmond will also give a lecture Feb. 6, 2010.

Songwriters in Pittsburgh

Songwriters Circle allows creative outlet for local musicians

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2009/11/29/songwriters-circle-allows-creative-outlet-local-musicians

You don’t need to be signed to a major record label to release an album — at least not in Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh Songwriters Circle has released five albums, all of them featuring an ensemble of local musicians and songwriters — none of whom consider making music their careers.

“I love writing songs just for the sake of writing songs, and the people who come to the Songwriters Circle are the only people I know who understand that,” songwriter Bruce Hoffman said.

The Pittsburgh Songwriters Circle is a local folk-singing group that meets at least once a month to share its appreciation of music and assist others in songwriting.

The meetings allow a chance for feedback and critique of personal pieces in a comfortable environment.

The group is free to join. It’s easy to get in, and yet even its members admit it took a while to grow completely comfortable in the group.

“What takes some work is for each of the members to decide that they finally want to show up and participate,” songwriter Peter Donovan said. “I am not unusual in the fact that I thought about going for years before I finally put my guitar in the car and drove to the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern.”

Hoffman also spent a period of time finding the courage to walk through the door as a newcomer.

“Once I did, I realized this was the place for me, and I have been a regular ever since,” Hoffman said. “I discovered that there were all these other people who shared my interests. That was a revelation for me.”

The shared interest allows for feedback on songs that otherwise might not be available, so composition is always encouraged.

“Songwriting in a vacuum is limiting,” Donovan said. “Sure, you can steal ideas from recordings, but it is so much more fun to steal ideas from talented people in the same room.”

Every month the songwriters pick out or are given an assignment to help narrow the focus of the song topic and idea, which also assists in the composition process.

“The more you [write], the better you get,” Donovan said. “It takes talent, practice and spark [to create music].”

“The assignment that we get each month pushes me to write, because I want to come back the next month with a new song,” songwriter Sue Gartland said. “There are so many different styles of writing represented in the group. One subject can be interpreted in so many different ways.”

With an assignment as a focus topic and limited songwriting time, the next step is to find some inspiration to write the song. The best inspiration seems to be everyday life.

“Real life is probably what informs and inspires all great songs,” Hoffman said. “Though they may be fictionalized or revised or taken way out of context, personal experiences, both past and present, pop up in my songs all the time.”

Donovan and Gartland agreed that their lives are what inspire their songs.

“The Songwriters Circle provides the camaraderie and encouragement and even the technique,” Donovan said. “But real life is what provides the fodder. That’s where the heartbreaks happen and where the spirit moves.”

Then comes the meeting and critique, and over time, the finished work is completed and recorded for CDs such as the newly released Collection 2010.

But organizing and maintaining the group can be a challenge, too.

“You need to have two or three people who are willing to take on the brunt of it and a few others to pitch in as needed,” Hoffman said. “We are lucky to have that. My hope is that when the time comes for those of us who take on those responsibilities to move on, there will be others ready to step up and take over.”

Despite the challenge of scheduling meetings, keeping members informed, recording and even advertising, the songwriters are happy with their group.

“I really appreciate that we have some members of the group that keep us all updated through e-mail, by reminding us that the first Tuesday of the month is coming up, reminding us what the assignment is and maintaining a MySpace site for the group,” Gartland said. “Our annual CD compilation is a project we all look forward to. [We work] on the project, and then when it’s done, [we get] together for our release party, [which] we just had. We have a great time supporting each other.”

Brett Gleason makes mediocre 'Dissonance'

Brett Gleason makes mediocre 'Dissonance'

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2009/11/19/brett-gleason-makes-mediocre-dissonance

Brett Gleason
The Dissonance
Label: Fluxure Advanced Motion Media, Inc.
Rocks Like: A grown-up Backstreet Boy
Grade: C-

Brett Gleason was spot-on in naming his new EP The Dissonance.

The album is inharmonious and tense in composition and style.

The entire album revolves around taking acoustics and revamping them into electronic keyboard mixes. It’s an interesting — if not necessarily good — idea, but it’s done poorly. The end result sounds unnatural and forced.

There is no accurate way to describe the music. Is it electronic? A failed attempt at rock? Maybe both?

The vocals seem to get a bit of a makeover through the synthesizer, making the overall feeling of the album even more unnatural.

The vocals are average, striving to hit the notes rather than convey any emotion. And where’s the emotion and passion within this melting pot?

With lyrics like, “Nothing comes when you need it to / When one thing goes wrong here, what I often do / Give up the hope to achieve it,” this isn’t exactly uplifting music.

But with the lack of emotion, these lyrics are just bland. If the lyrics have to be depressing, the vocals should be emotionally depressing to match.

Nothing on this album seems to mix well, and with its separate components clashing, it looks like the album is the one that’s “Futile & Fooled.”

Flyleaf Performs in the 'Burgh

Flyleaf hopes to leave musical 'Memento' in Pittsburgh
http://www.pittnews.com/article/2009/11/10/flyleaf-hopes-leavew-musical-memento-pittsburgh

photo credit: Courtesy Flyleaf

Flyleaf melds alt-rock sound with dark and brooding lyrics.

Flyleaf
Mr. Smalls Theatre
Nov. 11, 8 p.m.
$25
412-821-4447

Its new album, Memento Mori, dropped on Tuesday and this week it’ll be making a stop at Mr. Small’s on tour. Welcome to Pittsburgh, Flyleaf.

Flyleaf began playing alternative rock in Texas as a two-member band, according to bass player Pat Seals.

Since 2000, the band has expanded, toured, released two albums and been voted as Best Artist and Best Band by MTV and the public on Yahoo! Polls, respectively.

Despite the fact that its first, self-titled album went platinum, selling more than 1 million copies in the United States, its goal remains fairly humble.
“Flyleaf’s mission is definitely to use our music and personas/careers as a platform to convey what has changed our lives,” Seals wrote in an e-mail interview.

“Our band would not exist today the way it does without the many people from home who believed in/helped us,” Seals wrote. “We had a really wonderful base of support from our friends and families, with [guitar player Jared Hartman’s] parents ... letting us use both of their vehicles to get ourselves and equipment to shows for just about two years. My folks allowed me to drop out of college and crash at home while Flyleaf was betwixt showcases and recordings.

“Also, a cadre of other local bands in the Belton/Temple, Austin, Dallas and Houston areas provided us a ‘scene’ in which to exist and gather influences,” he wrote.

Music composition can be difficult, but Flyleaf can make even the difficulty of combining many different and musical tastes work somehow work together well, he said.

“We have a pretty functional system in Flyleaf so far, so it’s only about as hard for us to write a song we feel good about as it is to mow a medium-sized lawn with a push-mower, but in April or so when it is not too hot outside,” Seals wrote.

Topic-wise, the band’s lyrics lean toward the dark and emotional.

“Frequent themes for me are dissatisfaction and longing,” Seals wrote.

“I’m no brilliant or prolific writer, but when I manage to write something I feel good about, it seems to be the result of many ideas I’ve culled by happenstance in a pedestrian manner that have been ‘put into my brain blender,’ so to speak, and then ‘poured into my song cup’ for others to enjoy ... or ignore.”

“I feel great about Memento Mori as far as quality — I also have very high hopes for it,” he wrote. “I feel that [Memento Mori] is a big step forward for us musically and sonically. When our self-titled was released in 2005, I had no idea what to expect or if it would be successful at all.”

With the release of Memento Mori and a tour to complete, the band’s life is surprisingly quiet, according to Seals. Occasionally a prank is pulled or a friend is seen at a show.

“Exploring creepy/haunted venues is fun, and seeing the sights of places we haven’t been before is always a blast,” Seals wrote.

The band continues to set up concerts for its tours, but Seals admits things could change if something unforeseen happens.

“We can’t predict the future — our careers could easily peter out in a few months,” he wrote. “We of course hope to keep doing this, but we are very happy to have what we have at this moment in time. If Flyleaf was over, I would not feel ungrateful for what we got to experience of the past six years.

“Many moments have arisen that made me question the lot in life I have chosen, but for each of those moments there are a few dozen others that confirm Flyleaf’s and my own decision to exist and persevere as the correct one. God has blessed us so immensely with each other, our crew and the ability and resources to do what we do. It’s not roses all the time, but it is honestly wonderful,” he wrote.