Iron Man 2 is a worthy sequel

http://pittnews.com/article/2010/05/11/iron-man-2-worthy-sequel

Iron Man 2 is a worthy sequel

“Iron Man 2”

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke

Director: Jon Favreau

Studio: Marvel Studios/Fairview Entertainment

Grade: B

Nothing says summer has arrived like the release of “Iron Man 2,” and if this is any indication as to how the best months of 2010 will play out, we’re in for a wild ride.

First, the plot: “Iron Man 2” opens with a flashback to the first film’s surprise ending, in which Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) reveals that he is Iron Man.

Now, six months later, Stark has seemingly found the key to world peace. Because he is — or at least believed to be — the only person with the ability to create the Iron Man technology and suits, no one even tries to match him in a fight.

Demonstrating his typical flamboyance, Stark heaps credit upon himself for ending global conflict, promising never to share his suits or technology with anyone.

But behind the smiles and the flash, Stark is in trouble — the very device keeping him alive and powering his suit is poisoning him.

Also, there’s a fierce old Russian (Mickey Rourke) emerging with one purpose in mind: get revenge on Tony Stark for his father.

Soon, Stark finds himself battling friends, enemies and his failing condition — warding off both supervillains and the military’s constant attempts to steal his technology.

But enough about the plot. “Iron Man 2” is, after all, an action film, which means that only the action should impress — and it does.

Although “Iron Man 2” isn’t quite another “Dark Knight,” the impeccable fight sequences keep viewers satiated.

Some of the gadgets Stark created in the first film have been reinvented, and some new toys have been added. They’re flashy, they’re powerful and they’re fun to watch in action, particularly on the big screen.

Of course, the actors bring their own enjoyment.

Downey Jr., for his part, plays his character in a similar fashion to the first film — walking a fine line between lovable overconfidence and insufferable arrogance.

In other words, even when there isn’t a large explosion or a shiny suit to admire, nothing falls short. When there aren’t gun battles and fist fights, there are lively back-and-forth quips— usually concerning the fate of the Iron Man technology.

Of course, the ultimate question with a sequel is whether it surpasses or betrays its big screen predecessor.

Well, “Iron Man 2” by no means surpasses the first, but it’s certainly worth watching on the big screen.

Audiences will get Anchored at Altar Bar

Audiences will get Anchored at Altar Bar

http://pittnews.com/article/2010/04/21/audiences-will-get-anchored-altar-bar-0

Anchored
Altar Bar
April 25, 6:30 p.m.
$17
(412) 263-2877

The band Anchored markets itself as a band that plays “dirty Southern modern rock,” but the newly formed five-person band doesn’t feel that’s the best way to describe its music.

“It’s Southern pop rock, pretty much,” singer Brandan Narrell said. “They put dirty in because of the first single [titled “Dirty in Texas”]. But it’s a clean record with no swearing. It’s about happy and kind of chill songs where you could be on a boat fishing or in a club.”

Anchored is Southern-oriented in many ways, according to Narrell. The band formed in Texas nine months ago, gaining support through radio shows before beginning its first tour.
The band will perform at the Altar Bar along with the groups Saliva, October and Bishop Clay as part of its kick-off tour.

But Dallas, where the crowds were especially fun, had plenty to offer the band, Narrell said.

“It’s always a wild show,” he said. “All the bands around [Dallas] are super hardworking and nice. With some scenes you never know, but I love all the guys and bands.”

As Anchored tours and brings its music to other cities, the members hope to discover welcoming music scenes other than that of their home-base city. The band brings plenty of its personality on tour to welcome new fans.

“At some shows we do a Texas BBQ so we can get closer to the fans,” Narrell said, explaining he hopes the band will have cookouts and grill by the tour buses so that fans can come speak directly to them and “just have fun” getting to know the members.

The tour will also include quirky merchandise that anyone can buy, including stylish undergarments and condoms, Narrell said. It’s the merchandise and music that will give the band a strong financial base.

“For every guy in the band, music is our life,” Narrell said. “It’s cliché, but it’s true for us. We can’t go away until we get this out. That’s why we try to sell all of our merchandise as cheap as possible, and we also care about the fashion. You may not like the band, but you may like the products.”

The band’s tour will also be the only place to find its new album for at least three more weeks. The album is actually the reason the band exists, according to Narrell.

“It just sort of happened,” Narrell said about the band’s formation. “I wrote the whole album about a year ago. The [other members] came in after-the-fact. The band was created because of the record.”

And since he was composing and writing it, Narrell’s life became the focus of “Listen To This.”

“I wrote the album based off of life at home,” Narrell said. “This time I did it in a home studio. So I was in the room 12 hours a day for a month. Every word on the album is true, and it happened because of my daughters or my wife. I tried to put a twist on it to where you can relate it to anything.”

The stories about relationships and everyday life are all stories that could happen to anyone or anything, Narrell said.

“This album wasn’t that hard to write, because for three years I wanted to do an album like this,” Narrell said, explaining he used to perform in a band, Advent, that sounded more like Drowning Pool.

Now that the album is composed and recorded, the band is on tour for the first time. All of the members enjoy similar things, and although they currently spend their weekends on the tour buses, they would rather cook, go fishing or go out with other bands, Narrell said.

“Everybody’s got humor,” he said. “You’ll see that [if you see us perform]. We’re just a bunch of good old boys that like to play music.”

Too Late for Roses 'Debut' a dissapointing album

Too Late for Roses 'Debut' a dissapointing album

http://pittnews.com/article/2010/04/13/too-late-roses-debut-dissapointing-album

Too Late for Roses
Debut
LPE
Sounds Like: Pacific Dust
Grade: C+

Too Late for Roses? But the band’s album Debut is just debuting now; don’t they deserve roses?

Described as alternative and punk, Too Late for Roses kicks off its album Debut with a song that fits its genre mold. “Take Me Out” runs through swiftly with a solid-sounding instrumental mashup of guitars, drums and the other necessities of just about any punk band.

The vocals sound like they were run through a synthesizer, blending into the music. When are they understandable? When the singer screams, “Take me out.”

The band tones it down for most of the album, begging the question: Why compose two hard punk and techno style songs that don’t fit in with the rest of the album?

None of the other songs really tune into the “punk” genre, instead becoming soft alternative and guitar based. Even then, whatever the band members sing is often not noteworthy. It’s easier to listen to their music and stare into space daydreaming than it is to pay attention to their lyrics.

But the last track on the album, “Winter Tide,” is almost 20 minutes long. And while it starts this finale off with a fantastic acoustic guitar, it fills about 15 minutes with what sounds like static. What was the point, guys? Static is for bad cable connections, not album releases that need to make a good impression.

This album isn’t bad for a “debut” — but seriously, it lost a ton of points for static.

Mucisian Votolato stays true to folk music passion

Mucisian Votolato stays true to folk music passion

http://pittnews.com/article/2010/04/11/mucisian-votolato-stays-true-folk-music-passion

Guitarist Rocky Votolato has always felt that he belonged in the folk music scene.

Even when he performed as the guitarist for punk rock bands like Waxwing, he wrote acoustic songs on the side for himself. Votolato described the composition as an unconscious process.

“I played in a bunch of punk bands, but on the side, I was always writing country-sounding songs,” Votolato said. “I was always writing on the acoustic guitar. My mom bought an acoustic guitar from a pawn shop, and that was always the guitar I was writing songs on in my bedroom.”

In 2003, Votolato emerged as a solo artist with songs that combined his life and fictional aspects. He has used this songwriting style ever since while slowly gaining support.

The singer prefers to perform in small venues, often participating in charity shows. Ten percent of the royalties from tomorrow’s show will go to One Day Foundation’s wages to help fight extreme global poverty. Votolato said he does not consider himself a large-scale, famous singer.

“I’ve always been kind of under the radar with my career,” he said. “I do good in a lot of places in the country, but I started out kind of subtle and it was a slow climb.”

Votolato stayed positive and always had help from a support system of friends, family, fans and reliable music labels. His name is known in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Even though his name has gone international, he still holds to one of the values of folk song writing — closeness.
“It’s still at a level that it’s very intimate,” Votolato said about his music. “Most of my shows are from 200 to 500 people. I like that right now. I’m happy with it. If it continues to grow, I’ll try to do two nights in each city since I like small venues. It’s just me and my guitar.”

Votolato said he also loves the “sense of community” he creates with his music.

“The communication at shows, having a group of people there to experience art and take away something meaningful” is his favorite part of the shows, Votolato said.

“That’s what drew me in originally,” he said. “It has the ability to change people’s lives, hopefully for the better.”

He said his own life has taken extremely fortunate turns.” He balances time between tours and playing music with being with his wife and children in Seattle.

“In Seattle, it’s beautiful,” Votolato said, explaining he dislikes seeing scenic landscapes disappear, and he is lucky to be able to walk in the forests with his children. He plays at least once per year for a show that contributes its proceeds to conservation efforts.

Most important to Votolato is having good music to perform.

“It sounds obvious, but there are people who want to market and have a plan,” Votolato said. “But I think it comes back to the songs. People know it when they hear a good song, and if they feel it, you have a shot at a career. I stay focused on the music and writing, and stay true to what’s in my heart with it.”

Votolato’s music career thus far has given him a sense of longevity, and he said he is grateful that his life has worked out the way it has.

“I knew from a young age this is what I wanted to do,” Votolato said. “When I had kids, I struggled with the idea of if I could take the chance [of performing for a living]. It’s a big risk, especially if you have kids. I worked other jobs, but no other vocation I really wanted to do. I got my degree in English literature, so maybe I could have taught, but I don’t know. For me, I’ve made up my mind.”

Share Heart-filled adaptation of 'Wizard of Oz' comes to Heinz Hall

Heart-filled adaptation of 'Wizard of Oz' comes to Heinz Hall

http://pittnews.com/article/2010/03/28/heart-filled-adaptation-wizard-oz-comes-heinz-hall

photo credit: Courtesy Peter Coombs

The cast of 'The Wizard of Oz' takes a trip down the yellow brick road.

“Wizard of Oz”
March 20 – April 4
Heinz Hall
Presented by PNC Broadway Across America - Pittsburgh
(412) 392-4900 or at pgharts.com
$27.50 through Pitt Arts

Just as the Tin Man embarks on a journey to gain a heart in the perennial classic “The Wizard of Oz,” Peter Gosik sees his involvement in the musical in a similar fashion, and he would like audiences to take away a message he has learned from the show.

“Everybody, as we grow up, has to have a heart and [has] to love people,” Gosik said.

All of the characters — and all of the heart — from the classic 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” are singing and dancing their way into Heinz Hall in a family musical meant to bring the magic of the movie to the stage.

Gosik, who graduated from the University of Michigan in 2008 and plays the Tin Woodman, or the Tin Man as he is more commonly known, said the stage version of “The Wizard of Oz” only adds to the fantastic elements of the film.

“You can’t get away from the movie, and you don’t want to because it’s such a classic piece of culture,” Gosik said. “We keep and honor everything wonderful about the film, but we do things that you can only do on a live stage.”

The additions to the stage show include an extra dance number (“Jitterbug”) that was filmed but never added to the final version of the movie, as well as extra lines of dialogue that flesh out the characters.

“You get to know the characters better than you do in the movie,” he said.

According to Gosik, this also helps the theater make the production unique to that particular creative team.

“You don’t want to go into it trying to copy the movie,” he said. “That is somebody else’s performance, not yours. We’re fortunate in that our script fleshes out [my] character more than in the movie, where they just find him and he comes along. You get backstory.”

The backstory includes a romance that ends with the Wicked Witch casting a spell on the Tin Man and replacing his parts with tin, Gosik said.

“It was a revelation when I read that,” he said. “He really is a real person. Approaching him that way and finding honest emotions, not being a caricature of a walking statue, helped me come at it not from 1939 but in 2010. His quest to find a heart is very special to me.”

The Tin Man travels with Dorothy looking for a heart, only to be told by the Wizard of Oz himself he is lucky not to have one at the end of his journey. The Tin Man, however, says something that strikes Gosik.

“There’s a moment where he says ‘I still want one,’” he said. “For me, that is the message of the show. You have to risk having your heart broken. To me, playing that part is really affirming.”

Gosik grew up watching the film with his mother. He believes the show has something to offer everyone and that “The Wizard of Oz” is not dated, despite its age.

“The ultimate message is that you have all these people who think they are missing something, and I think everybody feels that way — that there’s something wrong with them. What you come to learn is you are good enough; the thing you think you lack has always been there, you have to see it in yourself,” he said.

Gosik also hopes that children who see his show will react the same way he did when, in the second grade, he saw his first musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” with his mother.

“I fell in love right there,” he said. “This is my first tour and I’m glad to do it because of the kids. I hope there are kids who react the same way I did and that I can spark a love of theater, as actors or audience members.”

The Cave Singers bring 'Welcome Joy' on second album

The Cave Singers bring 'Welcome Joy' on second album

http://pittnews.com/article/2010/03/30/cave-singers-bring-welcome-joy-second-album

The Cave Singers

Welcome Joy

Matador Records

Rocks Like: A toned down The Alternate Routes

Grade: B

The Cave Singers deserve to emerge into the spotlight. Welcome Joy is the Seattle-based band’s second album and a welcome new addition to the genre of indie folk. I’ll say this up front: This band knows its way around a guitar.

The Cave Singers boasts both a harmonious acoustic guitar and an electric guitar, and the guitarist knows how to manipulate both instruments to instill the right emotions in the listener. With such prevalent guitar playing, the songs match the instrument: simple, sweet, soft and emotional. They blend together to form a story meant to be heard in one go, so don’t turn off the iPod before it’s over — it’ll ruin the vibe. The album has a slow tempo overall, with only one song notably faster than the rest. There’s an echo throughout the album adding an element of folk sound and mystery.

Even if this means it’s not always possible to understand the lyrics, the great guitar makes up for the lost words. There are also harmonicas and other blues and folk instruments introduced at certain points, but really, the guitar steals the show.

Though the album will not revolutionize the genre, it will still be a “welcome joy” for The Cave Singers and indie folk fans alike.

The Unthanks are something to be grateful for

The Unthanks are something to be grateful for

http://pittnews.com/article/2010/03/29/unthanks-are-something-be-grateful

The Unthanks

Here’s the Tender Coming

EMI

Rocks like: A pop-style Loreena McKennitt

Grade: B

The Unthanks might deserve a round of applause for style, but its songs’ topics on the album Here’s the Tender Coming are a bit of a downer.

Labeled as an English folk band, it’s hard to ignore that The Unthanks has a hint of pop stirring beneath the surface, with a sharp drum and piano accompanying almost every song it composes and releases.

Yet it focuses on old-style topics, like drowning sailors, young mine workers and weddings gone tragically wrong. It uses classical music brass and string instruments instead of simply guitars, as well.

The piano especially feels like the centerpiece instrument that helped create the band’s identity, adding an element of eeriness to every song.

The keyboards create relaxing atmospheres yet stay sad throughout the album. The vocals are so soft they sound ghost-like.

Randomly introduced instruments, such as a brass instrument, don’t feel random at all. They might only be used once, but they are used perfectly, easing into the song in which they are used and fitting the mood.

But the beautifully haunting vocals work and draw attention to topics, and the melancholy beauty makes the listener think.

The Dig comes to Pittsburgh

The Dig comes to Pittsburgh

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/03/18/dig-comes-pittsburgh

The Dig

Mr. Small’s

March 20

8 p.m.

$12

(412) 821-4447

Rock ’n’ roll isn’t all parties, girls and booze. In fact, sometimes it’s Ramen noodle dinners and part-time jobs. New York rock band The Dig can tell you that.

To stay afloat and keep making music, the band resorted to having yard sales, teaching music lessons and pedaling merchandise to get the money to record its album.

But despite financial obstacles, The Dig put out its album and made it on tour, during which it will stop in Pittsburgh tomorrow night, opening for Portugal. The Man at Mr. Small’s Funhouse.

For The Dig, opening for the popular alternative band is a great opportunity to get its name out there.

“It’s a big challenge,” guitarist Emile Mosseri said. “We were playing in New York for years, and we’re still always working to build our fan base up. There’s so many bands out there. It’s a big challenge. We’re starting to branch out more and play all over the country. You tour with great bands who attract people. We have to pick people up one at a time, but every time you play, you get your name out there. We’re just starting to be part of these tours and great shows.”

New York’s music scene and the band members’ growing up listening to Nirvana, Talking Heads and Dave Matthews made a notable influence on The Dig’s music. The band’s new album, Electric Toys, puts a contemporary spin on its influence from its early ’90s predecessors.

The Dig is made of band members David Baldwin (guitars and vocals), Mosseri (bass and vocals), Erick Eiser (keyboards and guitar) and Jamie Alegre (drums).

Mosseri said he loves the upcoming record, on which half of the recorded songs are stories that “are not autobiographical, but experiences and some imagination” combined.

Touring and playing in a new place every night has become Mosseri’s favorite part of band life. Being on tour also allows greater support for The Dig overall.

“The more we play, the more we have a chance to sell a CD and T-shirts,” Mosseri said. “We’ve been able to keep our head above the water by selling merchandise. People and fans support us.”

But whether its pedaling tunes, merchandise or old lamps to make ends meet, The Dig isn’t in the music business to make a fortune.

“You try to make as much an impact as you can to have money for gas and BLTs,” Mosseri said.

Even if money is tight for The Dig, music is in the members’ blood.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s ever an option for anything else,” Mosseri said. “We’ve always been playing, so I don’t think anyone has any other plan or knows anything else.”

While on tour, The Dig is recording an EP for future release, using works the band composed on the road.

“We’re recording in motels,” Mosseri said. “Any city we’re in [for] two nights, we get some equipment to record in the rooms. Hopefully by the end of the tour, we’ve have six or eight EPs of songs we’ve been writing.”

AM Taxi's latest doesn't stand a 'Chance'

AM Taxi's latest doesn't stand a 'Chance'

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/03/16/am-taxis-latest-doesnt-stand-chance

AM Taxi
We Don’t Stand A Chance
Virgin Records
Sounds Like: Ballyhoo!
Grade: C

AM Taxi does not stand out from the crowd, and the album title We Don’t Stand A Chance might be more foreboding than it intended.

The lead singer has an average voice, with vocals that aren’t outstanding — but not quite awful, either.

The band’s sound is eclectic, playing smoothly one minute and “rocking” with a rough-and-tough beat the next. Yet even this isn’t done well enough to earn an above-average approval.

AM Taxi tries to alter pitch and tone with what one has to assume is an attempt at changing emotion within the song. This only manages to sound repetitive in chord choice, essentially creating an album of the same song repeating over ... and over ... and over.

Once in a while there are a few bars moved about in an attempt to create a new tune, but it’s not enough change to make that same old song into a brand new song.

Worst of all are the mediocre lyrics. AM Taxi hardly lives up to its rock genre with songs like “Mistake” lamenting, “I will be the razor, baby/I will be the pill/I am the ambulance that never comes/The antidote you spill.” Really? That’s all you could come up with?

It’s time to dub this band AM “Average Music” Taxi. They have not created anything awe-inspiring or moving — at, least not this time around.

Ladies cherish their Irish heritage

Ladies cherish their Irish heritage

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/03/01/ladies-cherish-their-irish-heritage

photo credit: Courtesy Larry Shirkey

Cherish the Ladies puts a feminine spin on traditional Irish music.

Cherish the Ladies

Byham Theater

March 5, 8 p.m.

$20.50-$32.50 — available through Pitt Arts for $10.50 or $27.50

(412) 456-1350

After performing for 25 years, it’s safe to say Cherish the Ladies has more than the luck of the Irish on its side.

Cherish the Ladies is an Irish-American group of female musicians and performers that retell and create folk-style Celtic music.

“The music can be so achingly gorgeous and sad, and then happy as it can be one minute later,” Joanie Madden, the Cherish the Ladies’ flute and tin whistle player, said. “I don’t know what it is, but it never ceases to amaze us when the audience is not all Irish people, but an all spectrum of ethnicities.”

Madden said she’s excited to return to Pittsburgh after a five-year hiatus.

Cherish the Ladies will bring four dancers and an 11-piece band and feature Pittsburgh dancers from the Burke-Conroy School of Irish Dance in its performance.

Madden said she is amazed that Cherish the Ladies has lasted for 25 years. Its creation followed a suggestion from traditional Irish musician and scholar Mick Moloney.

“I never thought it would make it two and a half weeks, let alone 25 years,” Madden said. “Our success is that we combine music, singing and dancing and that we have a ball on stage. I’ve always surrounded myself with first-class musicians, singers and dancers. I guess that people come out, enjoy themselves and come back and bring a friend.”

Cherish the Ladies takes its name from an Irish jig that all of the group’s original members learned as young women.

The group never set out to create a performance act and only thought of truly forming Cherish the Ladies after Moloney suggested the members showcase their musical abilities.

“For hundreds of years, Irish music was passed man to son, and now it was fathers to daughters,” Madden said. “We never started out to have a girl band. In the early days when we started, people said it was a marketing ploy [and that we were] some type of Celtic Spice Girls. Then they realized we could play.”

Madden said she surrounded herself with talented people who she only sees as musicians, no strings attached.

“Everyone can stand up in [his or her] own shoes,” she said. “I’m proud of who I have on stage with me. Everyone is a champion in what they do.”

In addition to being talented, everyone has a shared Irish heritage.

“I grew up in an immigrant household,” Madden said. “All of us in the band come from homes where our dads played music. This music was passed down to us by our fathers, lovingly so.”

The Irish folktale music is “a great sense of a community” for Madden.

“I fell in love with it early on, and my father was thrilled to have a daughter carrying the music on,” Madden said.

On stage, Cherish the Ladies demonstrates its talent by bringing old-style songs to the stage while composing new songs that only sound old.

“We compose our tunes, but we always try to make sure they sound like they’ve been around for 200 years,” Madden said. “But we also play some traditional songs. We always try to make it fit and make it sound old. That’s the testament of the tune.”

But while the group performs olden style music, the reality of the present stays strong. Madden described Cherish the Ladies as straight-up lucky.

“Anyone will tell you music business is not an easy business,” Madden said. “While you still do a craft you love, you need to become a business person. We’ve had to overcome stigmatism of just being a girl band.”

Madden said she is “humbled by people enjoying us so much” and aims to continue to play and enjoy herself until Cherish the Ladies loses support.

Only one thing can make a night even more enjoyable than the chance to perform, Madden said.

“We’re working towards a standing ovation,” she said. “We got one every night so far.”

Ghost in the 'Jukebox' Machine

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/02/28/ghost-jukebox-machine

Ghost in the 'Jukebox' Machine

Jukebox the Ghost
Mr. Small’s
March 7, 7 p.m.
$8 - $10
(412) 821-4447

An necessary part of being a touring musician is the love of traveling, especially for ghosts.

The best part about being in the band is traveling to new places, Tommy Siegel said in an e-mail to The Pitt News. The vocalist and guitarist for Jukebox the Ghost was in Europe at the time, finishing up his most recent tour.

The current tour abroad is the second international tour for Jukebox the Ghost, an established band that has been praised for entertaining piano-pop music that provides entertainment and optimism. The band sounds like a harmonious combination of The Morning Light and Owl City.

Jukebox the Ghost consists of Ben Thornewill (vocals and piano) Jesse Kristin (drums), and Siegel (vocals and guitar). While this is only their second tour abroad, the band began touring extensively in 2006, using the time to develop their musical skills and establish a name for themselves.

Before they started touring, Jukebox the Ghost went by a different name.

“The band ‘officially’ started as The Sunday Mail, and existed under that name in college for a couple of years,” Siegel said. “Ben and Jesse had already been playing together for a year when I put up an ad in the college music department in an attempt to start a band.”

From an ad in the paper, the new trio set out on the road all new bands travel. They performed and gained support locally in their neighborhood, specifically the Washington D.C. area music scene.

“It was a challenge for a few years, but once we caught on at our school, [we were] quick to catch on locally,” Siegel said. “One of the hardest things about any local music scene ... is the lack of small, all-ages venues for local bands to get their start. We couldn’t even find a way to play outside of campus events regularly until our senior year of college, which definitely impeded any attempt at playing for new people.”

As they searched for venues the band continued to compose, taking inspiration from “anywhere and everywhere,” Siegel said.

“On the first record, all of the songs I wrote were about the apocalypse, so I was using some of the weird imagery in the Book of Revelation as my source of inspiration,” Siegel said. “Currently, my inspiration (and Ben’s) comes from all over the place.”

The eclectic mash of inspirational sources may contribute to the fact that the band’s composition process is “pretty natural.” But it does make for an interesting viewing, he added.

“I think an outside observer would be surprised to see how much nitpicking goes on,” Siegel said. “When we arrange a song, we’re all painfully aware of what everyone else in the band is playing. We micro-manage every part of a song and try to make sure the whole thing is airtight. To an outsider, I’m sure it would sound like pointless bickering, but it’s an important part of the process.”

Jukebox the Ghost has also managed to find a strong fan base during the recovery of the economy, especially because of the Internet.

“If anything, we’ve benefited from the viral quality of the Internet from people passing our album around,” Siegel said.

Behind the scenes, Siegel recently dealt with vocal nodules — tissue masses that form on vocal cords and make speech difficult — but noted this was the only issue he’s had with his music career.

“[I] had to get surgery, which was a pretty brutal experience. But if anything, that just made me more dedicated to the band and keeping myself healthy. I don’t think any of us have ever really second-guessed the band,” he said.

With their abroad tour at an ending, Jukebox the Ghost is preparing for the upcoming months.

“We just hope to keep moving forward and to keep making music,” Siegel said. “We’re releasing a new album this spring, and we’re all excited to hit the road to play some new material.”

Pittsburgh Hollywood Theater gives audiences retro films, food

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/02/24/pittsburgh-hollywood-theater-gives-audiences-retro-films-food

Pittsburgh Hollywood Theater gives audiences retro films, food

Hollywood Theatre Feature
“Julie and Julia”
Sunday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.
$30 per person — includes food, dessert, movie
RSVP by Friday, Feb. 26

If you want to see Leonardo DiCaprio in a mental institution this weekend, then don’t plan a trip to the Hollywood Theatre.

Located in Dormont, a community approximately seven miles from campus, the Hollywood doesn’t show the newest movies, like DiCaprio’s “Shutter Island.” Instead, the theater screens older films like “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

“We’re a repertory film theater,” Jordan Paley, assistant manager, said. “We operate a nonprofit theater, so it’s easier for us to get older movies that way. Would we have been able to afford [first runs]? It depends on who comes and how many people show up at the doors.”

And it’s not just a movie that the theater offers. This weekend you can see “Julia and Julia” and eat a specially prepared meal from Enrico Biscotti, a Pittsburgh restaurant.

The film tells the tale of two women, one of whom is Julia Child. Both women experiment with cooking at different points in time, and the narrative shifts between the two.

The dinner includes cassoulet, roasted root vegetables, brioche with an orange butter, salad and macaroons — a menu that may sound familiar to previous viewers.

“We try to tailor the menu to fit the movie,” Paley said. “We basically try to cater the meal to work in conjunction with the film.”

The Hollywood makes up for not running recent releases by heightening the experience of going to a theater, hosting events that consist of dinner and a movie. Paley said he hopes the theater gives movie-goers “the older style feeling of going to a movie and an event rather than just something to do” for entertainment.

“It’s a feeling for people who went to the theater in the ’50s, and who went to watch cartoons on screen before their film and went for dinner and got drinks before and after,” Paley said. “It’s the feeling of something to be remembered versus something to do.”

Previous events featured films such as “A Christmas Story” and “The Godfather,” and Paley said they plan to continue hosting the event with a new film and meal once a month. The dinners mark one of the ways the theater has changed with the times.

All of this is due to this classic old theater reopening with a new concept.

The original Hollywood Theatre opened in 1933 and over the decades underwent several modifications, including one by Warner Brothers Theaters in the 1940s. The theater managed to stay open until 1998, according to Paley.

The theater was reopened in 2007, but closed again in 2008. It reopened yet again in 2009. Motion Picture Heritage Corp. currently sublets the theater from the Bradley Center.

The theater’s website describes the past décor of the theater, particularly during the ’50s and ’60s, as artful, with a small 100-seat balcony, and furniture and a TV in the lobby.

In 2006, the Bradley Center outfitted the theater with Dolby Digital sound, added seating and updated the projection booth.

Ideas for future restorations and improvements include a café, a liquor license and live music performances. Film ideas, however, are easily influenced by the public.

“We have a suggestion box in our lobby, so as people suggest movies, we put them up as they get requested,” Paley said.

Currently “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is reported as being in high demand at the theater. “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is a popular film as well.

Hollywood Theatre workers also have plans to play the entire “Indiana Jones” trilogy onscreen during a single day. This date is not yet finalized.

In addition, Saturday nights tend to be more of a cult movie night “so everyone can have a really weird, fun time,” Paley said.

The theater has also made plans to host independent film festivals when possible.

“We plan to bring independent film festival films and films not given regular distribution the chance to play in theater,” Paley said. “We’d like to have directors there for Q&A afterwards. Not a lot of independent filmmakers get to see their films on the screens.”

Beyond their special events, the Hollywood operates much like a normal theater during the week. Its prices vary from $4 to $6, and it sells food and drink to go with its films.

“The plan is to just give the best program we possibly can to everyone in the city,” Paley said. “We feel strongly the concept of a movie as an event will make people love our theater and will keep people coming to the movies again.”

'Percy Jackson' elicits more on-screen 'Lightning'

'Percy Jackson' elicits more on-screen 'Lightning'

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/02/17/percy-jackson-elicits-more-screen-lightning

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”
Starring: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario
Directed By: Chris Columbus
Fox 2000 Pictures
Grade: B-

Greek mythology is working its way back into 21st century pop culture, and the Greek gods are alive and well right here in the U.S. — at least in one new movie. They’re even having children.

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” tells the tale of Percy Jackson, the son of the Greek god Poseidon.

The film is based on the first book in a young adult series written by Rick Riordan. All five books are set in the U.S. and intertwine Greek mythology with daily life.

Main character Percy Jackson, a teenager who has dyslexia and ADHD, lives in New York — at least until he’s attacked, and his mother and best friend usher him out of the city and take him to Camp Half-Blood.

In a hurried pacing of plot, Percy’s mother is kidnapped, and his best friend Grover reveals himself as Percy’s protector. Oh, and Grover is a satyr (half goat and half man).

It’s disclosed that Percy is Poseidon’s son, and that Zeus currently believes Percy stole his mythical lightning bolts. If Percy does not return the bolts, a war will break out between the gods that will destroy the Earth.

The logic of why Zeus thinks Percy took his lightning bolts is never explained. Instead the film focuses on a side quest to save Percy’s mother.

Put simply, the film is very fast. It never lingers on a single scene or moment for very long, but rather charges through with action while barely touching on the real mystery: Who actually stole the lightning bolts?

Unfortunately, for those expecting some iota of mystery, the culprit becomes obvious after about half an hour.

The fast pace covers up frequent moments of wooden acting from the cast, who do a decent enough job to get a barely passing stamp of approval.

And be warned, mythology fans: Some parts of Greek mythology will be altered to suit the film’s purpose. (Being half-god doesn’t make you a demigod, writers. Duh!)

Yet the film makes up for any flaws with at least one thing — good humor. The writers keep everything clean and family-friendly. They even make the recession funny, at least for a few seconds. The character of Grover, played by Brandon T. Jackson, has the most energy of anyone on screen. His every line will keep anyone from taking this movie too seriously and will remind him or her it’s time to sit back and laugh.

Put simply, “Lightning Thief” is not the most emotional, most philosophical or most beautiful film of the year, and it’s probably not the best interpretation of a book to be rolled onto screen. But it’s worth seeing just for good, innocent giggles with friends or family. And maybe, even when the cast really isn’t acting their best, it’s worth being laughed at.

***

NOTE: It's my understanding that despite a standard dictionary definition, traditionally in Greek mythology the sons/daughters of a god and a mortal were recognized as heroes, while demigods referenced another division of godly children.

CD Review - Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-Heron mixes poetry and music

http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/02/08/gil-scott-heron-mixes-poetry-and-music-0

Band: Gil Scott-Heron

Album: I’m New Here

Grade: B-

Record Label: XL Recordings

Sounds Like: A blues singer at a poetry reading.

Poetry and music often go hand in hand. I’m New Here takes a poetry reading one step further and becomes a bold statement about the opinions of artist Gil Scott-Heron.

Best known as a spoken-word soul performer during the 1960s and 1970s, Scott-Heron had not released any albums in 13 years, and this not disappointing.

Scott-Heron’s deep and soulful voice contributes to the power of the issues he addresses in his songs. His style, instead of focusing on rhyme, focuses on power and meaning. And the rhyme he does make is a bonus to his presentation.The background music is simple yet powerful, drawing on the strongest points from hip-hop, blues and gospel music to create an eclectic combination that defines Scott-Heron’s unique style.

Keyboard and string instruments contribute toward a sense of impending drama. But Scott-Heron’s true power and emotion comes from the inflection and pace of the poetry, with the lyrics easily separating themselves from the music.

The album begins with “I Came From a Broken Home (Part 1),” explaining in vivid narrative forma history of giving and loss within a family. He creates an identity and a persona which he carries throughout the record.

Scott-Heron not only sings, but also inserts interlude tracks where he just speaks. With his deep voice and storytelling style, it’s hard not to feel like a child sitting and listening to grandpa.

I’m New Here ends with “I Came From a Broken Home (Part 2).” It sounds exactly the same as the opening track, but the words have changed as Scott-Heron explains why he is a man. The last 30 seconds of the album run without words, leaving the listener to take in what he has said.

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?”