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(05/27/04 1:36am)
Like many dramatic graphic novels before it, DC Vertigo's "It's a Bird…" by Steven Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen uses paint rather than the traditional comic book coloring to bring the story to life on a more emotional and psychological level. Kristiansen's painting is a contemporary impressionism, giving a grainy and scratchy, yet very realistic portrayal of life typical of such emotive comic books. The death of Aunt Sarah near the end of the story is pivotal and made especially horrifying by Kristiansen.\nThis story is not a Superman adventure, but rather a psychological adventure for one man. The autobiographical story is about Seagle's main character who by no coincidence is named Steven and is facing many dilemmas in his life. The crux of his life is the offer to write the monthly "Superman" comic book. His hesitation to take this assignment, which he had been expected to take eagerly by everyone, is the pivotal point for the plot. \nA superman has long been considered a fictional or living character with extraordinary mental and physical abilities and with a moral capacity above that of the average man, basing values on worldly needs as opposed to herd mentality. Johann W. von Goethe, Edgar Allan Poe, Frederich Nietzsche and George Bernard Shaw have all written about this mythological character before Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster turned superman into "Superman" in 1938's seminal Action Comics. \nSuperman presents a barrier for Steven as his life is defined early from seeing his grandmother die of the crippling Huntington's Disease, but his young eyes are sheltered from actually witnessing the death by a "Superman" comic book given to him by his father. The disturbing message that he overhears his father tell his mother haunts him throughout his life and fosters his hatred of the All-American hero as Steven subsequently finds distaste in "Truth, Justice, and the American Way." \nThroughout the story, we see 18 short stories from Steven's mind. \n"I haven't come up with anything more than fragments. And none of them are very pro-Superman," he tells his boss who is troubled by Steven's procrastination.\n"The Costume" is the first story and tells of a junior high school boy who is noticed by his peers for the first time when he wears the Superman costume to school as a boy, but is ridiculed worse than usual when he wears the same outfit three weeks later. Power is the darkest story on Steven's mind as his hatred of Superman causes him to relate Superman to megalomaniacs like Adolf Hitler and Genghis Khan. Nietzsche is about the famous philosopher's ruminations about the Übermensch, translated as "overman" or "superman." \n"It's a Bird…" gives us a cynical look at the Superman mythology. The man who is usually viewed as icon and a hero is not seen this way through Steven's naive eyes. Through several of the stories, Steven places himself as the Superman of the world or Superman in his own life as he wrestles with his own mind about exactly who he is and where Superman plays into that.\nIn the conclusion, we see that Steven was naive to hate Superman, as it was just a symbol of hatred and fear of Huntington's Disease, a congenital disease which fostered a similar depression in his father. The fist fight between father and son at the conclusion sorts out their issues and Steven finally feels comfortable with the idea of marrying his girlfriend and passing on his dangerous genes.\nAs it turns out, Superman is revealed as a symbol for both the bad and the good things in life as we see a character that is within all of us.
(05/25/04 3:07pm)
Flaw returns with Endangered Species, its second album overseen by producer/mixer David Botrill of Tool and Mudvayne fame. Botrill shows his heavy hand by adding keys and a string arrangement to the softer "Wait For Me," which spans beyond balladry into the category of lullabys. Like many big-name artists, additional musicians trade the purity of the band for layers and details accentuating the music. \nThere is a definite change in Flaw's sound with new drummer Micah Havertape and the solo guitar of Lance Arny after the firing of guitarist Jason Daunt shortly after the first album.\nUnlike Through the Eyes, singer Chris Volz thanks his two children, talks less about spoiled romances and brings a wider range of lyrical content to the proceedings. \nEndangered Species takes on a lighter sound than Through the Eyes, which came out on Halloween Eve 2001. Flaw has replaced its heavy dose of dark and dreary anger with a lighter tone, which adds to its melodic side. "Medicate" and "You've Changed" provide the only glimpses of anger from this changed band. Adding to the melodic melancholy of Through the Eyes are the mellow and relaxing sounds featured in "Worlds Divide," which feels like a journey. The harder songs have less of a grunge/metal feel and more of a straight-up rock 'n' roll vibe as heard in "Worlds Divide" and "All the Worst."\nLike Creed and Disturbed before them, Flaw has shown maturity and musical growth after its first album, while still being able to rock hard. This, my friends, is a good thing.
(05/24/04 8:40pm)
There is a time and place for all kinds of music. I don't mean to degrade commercial rock 'n' roll along the lines of Hoobastank and New Found Glory, but if you've grown tired and find it lame, then The End of Heartache could be just the remedy.\nKillswitch Engage has a sound much like its name implies. Blending death and thrash metal with speed and hardcore, the band will certainly engage mosh pits. Luckily, this doesn't clash with the prettier numbers. You may remember track three, "When Darkness Falls" if you sat through the closing credits of "Freddy Vs. Jason."\nLike the founders of thrash, Metallica and Megadeth, Killswitch Engage brings an apocalyptic sound to "World Ablaze" and "And Embers Rise," which blend together with no definite stop between them. These tracks continue the emotive, heavy sound that permeates the album as the cataclysmic metal-core morphs into an eerie wasteland of lyrical acoustic guitars. This differs from earlier cuts. "Inhale" is a uniquely pretty metal track, as it replaces melancholy with beauty, creating a crystal clear image of a peaceful countryside, while the speed-thrash of "Breathe Life" is a brash return to the heavy metal which dominates this album.\nThe End of Heartache is a joyride through the darker/heavier sides of life while embracing love and joy with a distinctive, masculine voice. It begins aggressively with, ironically enough, "A Bid Farewell," and ends with the scarily optimistic "Hope Is …," including the lyrics "Hope is not Lost" -- too true.
(05/20/04 4:00am)
There is a time and place for all kinds of music. I don't mean to degrade commercial rock 'n' roll along the lines of Hoobastank and New Found Glory, but if you've grown tired and find it lame, then The End of Heartache could be just the remedy.\nKillswitch Engage has a sound much like its name implies. Blending death and thrash metal with speed and hardcore, the band will certainly engage mosh pits. Luckily, this doesn't clash with the prettier numbers. You may remember track three, "When Darkness Falls" if you sat through the closing credits of "Freddy Vs. Jason."\nLike the founders of thrash, Metallica and Megadeth, Killswitch Engage brings an apocalyptic sound to "World Ablaze" and "And Embers Rise," which blend together with no definite stop between them. These tracks continue the emotive, heavy sound that permeates the album as the cataclysmic metal-core morphs into an eerie wasteland of lyrical acoustic guitars. This differs from earlier cuts. "Inhale" is a uniquely pretty metal track, as it replaces melancholy with beauty, creating a crystal clear image of a peaceful countryside, while the speed-thrash of "Breathe Life" is a brash return to the heavy metal which dominates this album.\nThe End of Heartache is a joyride through the darker/heavier sides of life while embracing love and joy with a distinctive, masculine voice. It begins aggressively with, ironically enough, "A Bid Farewell," and ends with the scarily optimistic "Hope Is …," including the lyrics "Hope is not Lost" -- too true.
(05/20/04 2:19am)
After being eliminated from the six-team Big Ten tournament, IU's baseball team will travel to West Lafayette looking to spoil Purdue's postseason hopes. The four-game series begins Friday, followed by a doubleheader Saturday and before the season finale Sunday.\nWith just four more conference games left for the Big Ten, the Boilermakers presently sit in sixth place in the conference standings with Northwestern looming three games behind in seventh place. If IU sweeps Purdue, or even wins just three of the four games, they will open the door for Northwestern to tie Purdue in conference play and climb to sixth place by virtue of the overall record tie-breaker.\nIn addition to attempting to spoil the Boilermakers' season, this weekend's series is important for the seniors, who would like nothing more than to end their careers on a good note. \nThe Hoosiers (24-28, 8-20) have struggled through the Big Ten season, but a series win this weekend will provide the outgoing seniors with some consolation. \n"Right now I'm not trying to count days, but rather make the days count," senior outfielder/designated hitter Ryan Donely said. "This will be an emotional weekend for us (seniors)."\nIU will be led this weekend by senior shortstop Seth Bynum, who leads the Big Ten in hitting with a .397 batting average and ranks first in the conference in hits (77), RBIs (63) and total bases (127). \n"This series is a big one for us, we gotta just play hard and try to pull this one out," Bynum said.\nAdditionally, the Titan Series is on the line this weekend. The series is an annual competition between Purdue and IU varsity sports where one point is awarded for each head-to-head varsity competition, both men and women. This year the schools have competed against each other 20 times in 14 sports with Purdue currently leading the series 10-9, but with the baseball point yet to be determined. \nIf the Hoosiers win at least three games this weekend, IU will score a Titan Series point and end the year deadlocked at 10 points a piece.\nIn recent years, the competition has played to a near stalemate as the series is rarely decided prior to the last sporting event of the year. Last year, IU claimed the Titan Series, edging the Boilers 10-9. The previous year, Purdue's baseball team was able to secure the Titan win for the Boilers 10.5 to 9.5.\n"The Titan series is important for us," Donely said. "We also really want to ruin their season."\nThe Hoosiers will have to reverse their current losing trend in order to spoil their rivals' season. \n"We've been on this slide like we fell off of a cliff," IU coach Bob Morgan said. "We've been beaten up with losing and injuries."\nThe Hoosiers were 7-9 in Big Ten play after beating Illinois April 25, but have gone 1-11 since and currently sit in last place.\n"We need to put together pitching, defense and offense in order to win," Morgan said. "We scored 30 runs (in the Michigan State series) and lost four games."\nThe Hoosiers lost three of four last weekend to Michigan, but played the Wolverines tight in the series' first three games. \nPurdue and IU have been competing against each other since 1897, with the Hoosiers holding a 127-107-2 all-time series lead. Despite IU's recent struggles, the Hoosiers have taken six of the last 10 meetings between the two schools.\n-- Contact staff writer Benjames Derrick at \nbderrick@indiana.edu.
(05/17/04 2:22am)
The IU baseball team approached this weekend with ideas of stringing together crucial wins in the team's quest to make the Big Ten tournament. With the Michigan Wolverines taking three out of the four games this weekend, however, the Hoosiers' hopes and chances of a tournament berth were dealt a fatal blow. \nAfter a rainout for Friday's game, IU and Michigan played doubleheaders both Saturday and Sunday. Senior pitcher Nick Vitielliss started the weekend on a good note with his first complete game of the season in the full nine-inning game. Seniors Seth Bynum, Kevin Mahar and Ryan Donley all contributed to the scoring in their final home victory, 4-1.\n"It felt good to get a complete game for my final game, but the rest of the weekend didn't go so well," Vitielliss said.\nIn the second game of the series, Michigan edged the Hoosiers in a low-scoring affair that featured just nine hits. Sophomore pitcher Josh Lewis recorded the tough loss despite surrendering only two runs.\n"We have not been playing as good of defense as we needed to," Morgan said. "If you play good defense and your pitchers throw strikes, then you have a chance. Basically those things gave us a chance to win today. We played better today, and they were good ball games. We would have like to squeeze that last one out, it just didn't happen."\nSunday's opening game was also close, but it got away from the Hoosiers in the seventh and final inning as senior pitcher Adam Pegg gave up two earned runs. The Hoosiers were unable to mount a rally as they lost game three by a final score of 6-3. The weekend series concluded with a crushing 16-4 loss.\n"They took advantage of our two errors and ran up eight runs on us," Morgan said.\nThe Wolverines came back in the eighth inning with five more runs to make the deficit even larger. \nWith the three losses this weekend, the Hoosiers will remain in last place in the Big Ten with hopes of only playing the spoiler to intra-state rival Purdue next weekend.\nThe season-ending series with the Boilermakers also will determine the outcome of the Titan Series. "We are out for blood," Vitielliss said. "We got to end the season on a good note for the seniors and just to beat our hated rivals." \n-- Contact staff writer Benjames Derrick at bderrick@indiana.edu.
(05/13/04 4:00am)
Flaw returns with Endangered Species, its second album overseen by producer/mixer David Botrill of Tool and Mudvayne fame. Botrill shows his heavy hand by adding keys and a string arrangement to the softer "Wait For Me," which spans beyond balladry into the category of lullabys. Like many big-name artists, additional musicians trade the purity of the band for layers and details accentuating the music. \nThere is a definite change in Flaw's sound with new drummer Micah Havertape and the solo guitar of Lance Arny after the firing of guitarist Jason Daunt shortly after the first album.\nUnlike Through the Eyes, singer Chris Volz thanks his two children, talks less about spoiled romances and brings a wider range of lyrical content to the proceedings. \nEndangered Species takes on a lighter sound than Through the Eyes, which came out on Halloween Eve 2001. Flaw has replaced its heavy dose of dark and dreary anger with a lighter tone, which adds to its melodic side. "Medicate" and "You've Changed" provide the only glimpses of anger from this changed band. Adding to the melodic melancholy of Through the Eyes are the mellow and relaxing sounds featured in "Worlds Divide," which feels like a journey. The harder songs have less of a grunge/metal feel and more of a straight-up rock 'n' roll vibe as heard in "Worlds Divide" and "All the Worst."\nLike Creed and Disturbed before them, Flaw has shown maturity and musical growth after its first album, while still being able to rock hard. This, my friends, is a good thing.
(05/03/04 4:08am)
Thursday night, an audience saw the culmination of the year with the last hip-hop blow out. Hip Hop Congress hosted a MC battle and DJ battle at Vertigo night club. There was a large and interactive crowd bobbing their heads to the music and cheering as each DJ stepped up to show off his vernacular. \nThe event was true to the IU Hip Hop Congress chapter president Aaron Brekowitz's prediction of a large audience of hip hoppers enjoying music. \nBerkowitz said in 2000, IU student Ron Gubitz founded the IU chapter of Hip Hop Congress, the second of 18 chapters of the national organization which was originally founded in 1993 by Reali Robinson IV. The chapters are based in colleges, universities and high school communities. \nHip Hop started in the 1970's as a way for the black New York City community to express its struggles and pleasures in life. Derived from the traditions of slave spirituals, jazz and blues, hip hop expands beyond music into four avenues -- music, poetry, art and dancing. Today, the Hip Hop Congress strives to battle the negative aura of modern hip hop -- glorifying poverty, gang violence, drug addiction, promiscuity and misogeny. Hip hop promotes creative self expression and activism. Community programs include awareness festivals and community action, canned food drives and beach clean-ups, said Berkowitz. \nThe music started at 10:30 p.m. with DJs spinning records with funk, R&B and rap music, warming the eager crowd to the upcoming battles. The crowd was up and dancing off and on starting at around 11 p.m. and continuing until the Master of Ceremony or MC battle commenced at 11:30 p.m. The battle consisted of 16 rappers facing off -- two at a time -- each with the opportunity to show off his lyrical skill for 30 seconds. After two MC's competed, the promoters from Feed The Kids asked the crowd to cheer for their opinion of who won. This format continued until the final round, for which there was a suspense building break with a disc jockey and MC Pugsley Adams, all the way from Chicago, entertaining the crowd.\nThe final round was won by Senior Andrew Mclelland -- Shaw. Shaw survived a barrage of jokes about being white, having a beard and resembling Jesus in Mel Gibson's new movie "Passion of The Christ" only to emerge victorious and win $75 from Hip Hop Congress. Shaw said he was satisfied with the how it turned out. \n"This win makes me overwhelmed, finally there is a crowd understanding skill," said Shaw. "Most battles are all about the punchlines, but this victory wasn't."\nShaw and another rapper from Indianapolis worked with an anonymous DJ to produce the upcoming album "Anticipated Distraction" which is currently being mastered in California. The album, which was exposed and supported by radio stations in Indianapolis and WIUS, will be available at live shows. He and a friend are currently looking for live musicians to play for the shows. \nThe audience payed careful attention to the MC battle but socialized more during the following DJ battle. \nSenior Marc Newman said he felt the DJ battle did not gain as much of the audience's attention because of it's difference. \n"The DJ battle isn't as exciting as the MC battle," said Newman.\nThe DJ battle consisted of five DJs with three to five-minute sets spinning records. Victorious Top Speed, the professional Indianapolis DJ, was mildly pleased because of the lack of competition and attention from the crowd.\n"Hip Hop's back bone is the DJ. It is everything to the party." DJ Top Speed said. Feed the Kids, a non-profit organization which sells its humorous and political uncensored talk show on a CD to raise funds for hungry Indianapolis youth, turned out for the event.\n"It was nice to see such support for hip hop in Bloomington," said Berkowitz.\nThe next big event for IU Hip Hip Congress will be called Bombing Bloomington -- a display of legal graffiti planned for the upcoming Fall semester. Hip Hop congress will also be working hard to promote voter registration in the upcoming Fall semester.
(04/30/04 3:33pm)
Coming from New York, the hub of hardcore and emo-fueled punk, Autopilot Off installs the latest in the pop-punk genre which is taking over these days.\nPop-punk is an oxymoron when you consider that angry punk music emerged in 1960s Britain as a response to pop music, and the mosh pit was the offspring of the 1970s L.A. punk scene as a response to formal dancing. So how did we come to the conundrum? As punk rock became more accepted, it emerged into popular culture making leaps and bounds in the 1990s with Nirvana, The Offspring and Green Day. Nowadays we have sludge like Blink 182, higher quality offerings like Sum 41, and … Autopilot Off.\nMake a Sound, the first major label album from the hard rockers, mixes many of the sounds of punk well. The grimy, melodic and upbeat sounds expand beyond the three powerchords of punk by mixing things up with old-fashioned jazz or current thrash metal. "Blind Truth" strays from the common structure of verses, choruses and bridges with an especially good composition. Autopilot Off plays with emotion and intellect, diving deeper into substance than Blink 182: think jumping into the Atlantic Ocean with concrete shoes. The album concludes strongly with "The Cicada's Song," a somber song about suicide, giving the chilly feel of a crisp wind on a spring evening at twilight.\nOverall the album makes for enjoyable college rock, but you're unlikely to dig it in ten years.
(04/29/04 4:00am)
Coming from New York, the hub of hardcore and emo-fueled punk, Autopilot Off installs the latest in the pop-punk genre which is taking over these days.\nPop-punk is an oxymoron when you consider that angry punk music emerged in 1960s Britain as a response to pop music, and the mosh pit was the offspring of the 1970s L.A. punk scene as a response to formal dancing. So how did we come to the conundrum? As punk rock became more accepted, it emerged into popular culture making leaps and bounds in the 1990s with Nirvana, The Offspring and Green Day. Nowadays we have sludge like Blink 182, higher quality offerings like Sum 41, and … Autopilot Off.\nMake a Sound, the first major label album from the hard rockers, mixes many of the sounds of punk well. The grimy, melodic and upbeat sounds expand beyond the three powerchords of punk by mixing things up with old-fashioned jazz or current thrash metal. "Blind Truth" strays from the common structure of verses, choruses and bridges with an especially good composition. Autopilot Off plays with emotion and intellect, diving deeper into substance than Blink 182: think jumping into the Atlantic Ocean with concrete shoes. The album concludes strongly with "The Cicada's Song," a somber song about suicide, giving the chilly feel of a crisp wind on a spring evening at twilight.\nOverall the album makes for enjoyable college rock, but you're unlikely to dig it in ten years.
(04/15/04 10:58pm)
After a six month delay, it is finally here. With underdeveloped melodies and an emotional core, Godsmack makes up for its first three albums with the acoustic EP, The Other Side. Taking influence from Alice in Chains and sharing its name with a song from 1992's Dirt, Godsmack made this EP eerily similar to 1993's Jar of Flies. \nGodsmack mixes five light rock 'n' roll numbers with two remakes of their trademark straightforward heavy metal. "Re-Align" and "Keep Away," both of which receive radio play, rock hard enough but are a notch below the aggressive, electric originals. Softer offerings include two originals of peaceful beauty. "Touché" is an upbeat conversation between Sully Erna and guest singers Lee Richards and John Kosco of Dropbox, while "Spiral" recreates the African tribal sounds of the concluding song to Awake. The EP finishes with another introspective song, a reinterpretation to the Awake title track redubbed "Asleep." \nThe final two songs implement congas and other alternative percussion, giving the proceedings an exotic feel. The guitar/drum combo provides a deep, resonating sound which fills the vocals of frontman Erna. A combination of softer music, less aggressive vocals and a slower pace gives listeners a good chance to clearly hear and contemplate the lyrics. The more relaxed sound and quaint album art lend the EP a strong personal feel. This is a must for any Godsmack fan and a great listen for those who like tranquilly melodic rock 'n' roll.
(04/15/04 4:00am)
After a six month delay, it is finally here. With underdeveloped melodies and an emotional core, Godsmack makes up for its first three albums with the acoustic EP, The Other Side. Taking influence from Alice in Chains and sharing its name with a song from 1992's Dirt, Godsmack made this EP eerily similar to 1993's Jar of Flies. \nGodsmack mixes five light rock 'n' roll numbers with two remakes of their trademark straightforward heavy metal. "Re-Align" and "Keep Away," both of which receive radio play, rock hard enough but are a notch below the aggressive, electric originals. Softer offerings include two originals of peaceful beauty. "Touché" is an upbeat conversation between Sully Erna and guest singers Lee Richards and John Kosco of Dropbox, while "Spiral" recreates the African tribal sounds of the concluding song to Awake. The EP finishes with another introspective song, a reinterpretation to the Awake title track redubbed "Asleep." \nThe final two songs implement congas and other alternative percussion, giving the proceedings an exotic feel. The guitar/drum combo provides a deep, resonating sound which fills the vocals of frontman Erna. A combination of softer music, less aggressive vocals and a slower pace gives listeners a good chance to clearly hear and contemplate the lyrics. The more relaxed sound and quaint album art lend the EP a strong personal feel. This is a must for any Godsmack fan and a great listen for those who like tranquilly melodic rock 'n' roll.
(04/12/04 1:19pm)
The African American Dance Company will have its 30th annual concert this weekend. The dances in the show will tell the history of African Americans, starting from when they were brought over in the slave ships. The show will include Afro-Caribbean dances, jazz, ballet and tap among other dances from the African Diaspora. \n"No one, whether African American or not, can know what happened on those slave ships, but we can study it and represent it through dance" said Iris Rosa, director of the AADC and professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies. "The focus of the company is to illustrate and educate the experiences of people of African descent."\nThe African Diaspora refers to all people with a common African heritage, including common and similar ethnic names, music and cultures, said Charles Sikes, director of the African American Arts Institute. The AADC fuses many forms of dance, including modern dance, ballet, tap, jazz and ethnic African dances to illustrate the African Diaspora. They dance to several types of music, including jazz, Caribbean and percussive ethnic African music. \nThe company originally was a vision of the late Herman Hudson, founder of the Office of Afro-American Affairs and the Minority Achievers Program at IU Bloomington. Rosa recalled Hudson's passion concerning the African-American diaspora at IU.\n"He was a very visionary man," Rosa said. "The vision that Dr. Hudson had was really to give minority students, particularly African-American students, an opportunity to perform."\nHudson established the Soul Revue, the Choral Ensemble and the African American Dance Company as a part of IU's African American Arts Institute, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next school year. All three branches are credit-earning elective courses as opposed to extra curricular activities. \nRosa said it is not uncommon for students to retake the course and be in the company for a total of six semesters. Rosa also said the branches being courses and not activities is part of why the AAAI at IU is unique among American higher institutions. The Institute is large enough to have three full-time directors, including Rosa, and as a result, the company frequently travels outside of Bloomington to give performances. In the past they have performed in cities like Orlando, Fla., Toronto and New York City. \nAccording to an IU Media Relations article, "IU's African American Dance Company to celebrate with its 30th concert," the company's first concert was in the spring of 1975 and attracted an audience of 200 people at the Creative Arts Auditorium. In the article Rosa said the AADC had to rely on its own members for concert preparation and support. \n"We had to do everything. We had to get a lighting designer, do the costumes and essentially prove to him (Hudson) that we could do this," she said. "We really had to work." \nAlong with a lack of help, the company also had challenges with the dance facilities. Just a few years ago, the practice and choreography facilities at the former African American Culture Center were very poor. Rosa said the company had challenges dancing in a basement of Ashton Center, the former location of the African American Culture Center. Shauna Steele, associate instructor and master's student studying in journalism, whose responsibilities include being the rehearsal coach, assistant choreographer, stage manager and administrative assistant, said the basement in Ashton could not fully accommodate the dancers' needs. \n"The ceilings were too low to practice lifts," she said. "It was common for the dancers to acquire painful injuries like shin splints and heel bruises." \nDuring this time, the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation allowed the company to use its dance studios with soft floors and plenty of space.\n"They were gracious to let us use their facilities for so many years," said Rosa.\nNow, the AADC is based comfortably out of the Near-Marshall Black Culture Center. This allows them to have thorough rehearsals for their shows, including this weekend's performances.\nThe show will be at 8 p.m. Friday in Willkie Auditorium and will consist of nine pieces choreographed by students in the AADC. The show at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater will include five short dances during the first act and a 35-minute suite in the second act. \n-- Contact staff writer Benjames Derrick at bderrick@indiana.edu.
(04/12/04 6:11am)
The African American Dance Company celebrated its 30th year of performances with two packed shows this weekend. The company represented the African diaspora in the United States and throughout the world with a mix of historical and contemporary dance styles.\nFriday's show featured the student dancers performing to a full crowd at the Willkie Auditorium. The dancers in the company are part of A100: African American Dance Company, a two credit hour course through the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies.\n"I have such a wonderful diversity in this dance company from a high school student to Ph.D. students," said AADC Director Iris Rosa, as she introduced the show. "Tonight, the show is all about them."\nThe students danced to traditional -- past and present -- black forms of music, including soul, jazz, rhythm and blues, rap and hip-hop, with a touch of rock 'n' roll and mellow mandarin music. The mood of the dances ranged from smooth and lyrical as in "Stranger in Moscow," to angry and aggressive as in the second half of "Voice of the People." \nAnton LaMon, a sophomore at Bloomington High School North who danced in "Voices of the People," said he doubted the performance during rehearsal, but was very happy with the final product.\nIn addition to the group performances, AADC Associate Instructor Shauna Steele performed a lyrical solo piece, which was also her masters of fine arts audition piece.\nThe featured concert of the weekend was Saturday night at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. It consisted of five short pieces and one long piece, five of which Rosa directed.\n"Our energy was high, and we all danced together tonight," said senior and AADC performer Melike Yetken. \nSaturday's show featured more historical, diasporic dancing styles than the day before, but also had an element of contemporary dance styles. The show opened up with "Pure Movement," consisting of rhythmic African drumming accompanied by a mist and bright lights with pulsing dancing by the entire company. Following this were two softer pieces, including "Deje Mi Pasado" -- a dance about African descendants in the Caribbean. It consisted of Rosa reciting poetry, a dance by Deadra Nelson-Mason Young and featured alumni dancers of the AADC from 1974 to 2004. The second was choreographed by Steele as a dedication to the many Africans who have lost their lives to AIDS. \nOne former performer, Robin Graves, graduated from IU in 1988 and returned to IU Friday to learn the piece for Sunday's show.\n"When you love the arts, you never lose it," Graves said. "Many of us have not danced for 20 years, but we just picked it up." \nAfter intermission, the final piece, "Spiritual Suite: Journey of the Soul," opened with a voice-over of Christopher Columbus narrating, along with lighting and sound effects that helped bring the story to life. Then the dancing started with gospel and soul music, recreating struggles far before the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. \nAfter the show, the company \nhonored graduating seniors for their \ncontributions.\n"My college experience would not have been the same without the dance company," Yetken said. \n-- Contact staff writer Benjames Derrick at bderrick@indiana.edu.
(03/25/04 5:15am)
The Thursday before students headed out of town for spring break, Bloomington experienced a shockwave of heavy metal at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, a place usually reserved for more traditional art forms.\n"I wanted to give the Bloomington metal scene some recognition. I wanted to have it here (Buskirk -Chumley) because it has a big stage and a concert atmosphere," said event coordinator Mark Reeves, founder and owner of Reeves Entertainment, the main supervisor of the event.\n"When I was in bands, it was always great to play in a theater."\nBut Bloomington's first heavy metal concert may be its last, since Reeves plans to move his business to Tampa, Fla. by this time next year.\nThe crowd enjoyed the chance to see live heavy metal rock in Bloomington.\nBlack Earth claimed the prize for the musicmanship contest, audience participation and stage presence. Of the Son was runner-up and Runik took third place.\n"I think everyone was great," said Black Earth guitarist Travis Cider. "I think that we won just because we have more experience than the other bands."\nDespite the common perception of heavy metal as brainless and brash, its history has a link to classical music and the theater. KISS started the show in the 1970s with their elaborate theatrics. It was followed by symphonic-like song introductions and interludes driven by the acoustic guitars of Metallica in the 1980s and Marilyn Manson and the rise of black metal of the 1990s. \nBlack metal is a fusion of death metal with keyboards, bringing in sounds similar to horror movie scores and haunting classical music, like Holtz's "Mars-Bringer of War," Bach's gothic organ in "Tocatta in D Minor" and Mozart's melancholy "Sonata in B Minor." Current black metal bands like Dimmu Borgir and Mushroomhead are well-known for their theatrics on stage and in their videos, similar to Stravinski's and Nijinski's infamous riotous ballet, "The Rite of Spring."\nDespite this current trend of heavy metal theatrics, the Brawl displayed more subtle stage shows. \nThe theatrics of the Brawl was one of three categories judged in the competition. All five bands had elements of creepiness created by their light shows. Eve's Revenge had a short dabble of strobe-lighting while champions Black Earth shrouded their brooding introduction in near darkness. But not all of the theatrics were serious. \nIn a lighthearted play on words during the show, The Exploding Curve used cardboard boxes wrapped in paper and bows with free comic books and old VHS movies as stage props.\n"This was a joke on the category of stage 'presents.' We thought we would get rid of our junk," said Mike Jeffers, vocalist for The Exploding Curve.\nThe crowd didn't become restless during set changes because of a shared four-piece drumset provided by Reeves Entertainment.\n"Otherwise it would be a boring show. The 10-minute changes, you can't beat that," said Reeves Entertainment employee EJ Unsburger.\nRunik opened with an old-fashioned fusion of jazz, blues and metal, with a loyal group of fans providing the evening's only mosh pit. Next came The Exploding Curve with stinging metal-core, followed by Eve's Revenge with their succinct hardcore metal songs. Following them was Black Earth, drawing a large crowd of headbangers with their southern biker-gang style of power metal. \nConcluding the concert was Of The Son, a group with a Christian heavy metal sound with two members formerly of the local secular band, Subzid. The band brought a hard but non-vulgar sound and a large group of young Christians.\nJon Ridens, Of the Sun guitarist and former Subzid guitarist, said the show's success was twofold.\n"This new band gives us a chance to give praise to God and still rock on"
(03/12/04 5:07am)
IU is feeling the loss of former Sociology Professor Frank Robert Westie after he died at his Naples, Fla., residence March 5. Westie was 82.\nWestie enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II before finishing his music degree at Wayne State University in Detroit with plans to compose music for a living. But his experiences piloting a B-17 Flying Fortress changed his psyche forever. \nViewing the atrocities of the war motivated Westie to study the nature of social structures that breed violence and cruelty toward fellow human beings. He received a sociology degree from Ohio State University and became a sociology professor at IU in 1949 before retiring in 1982. \nAlong with his duties of publishing sociology research papers, he wrote a much-appreciated anti-war, novel-style autobiographical account of his experiences called "Ash Wednesday '45." A sequel, titled "Sposh," a character from the first novel, is set to be published later this year.\nThe book served as "his own expression of his experiences," said granddaughter Anne-Marie Tasker, a sophomore at IU and IDS staff writer.\nIn addition to being a professor, he chaired the Beautification Committee at IU, which has had accomplishments, including properly representing Bloomington geology by building the stacked limestone walls across campus. He also wrote a contata called "Pacem In Terra" (Peace on Earth), which appropriately is set to debut Memorial Day weekend in Michigan, his final state of summer residence. It will include a solo for Tasker, who Westie convinced to come to IU.\n"He was a renaissance man," said Suzette Johnson, a friend and neighbor of Westie. "He could, write music, write books, speak at dinner and above all. He was a humanitarian."\nWestie also interacted well with his students, becoming good friends with many, including former graduate student Dave Peter. He showed his appreciation for Westie by visiting him every day at the hospital for the last few weeks of his life. Peter now ranks an autographed copy of Westie's novel among his most "prized possessions." \nJohnson said the war helped make Westie a better person.\n"No matter what, he would treat absolutely everybody as equal," she said. "Seeing the evil of the war really made him open up his heart and become a greater human being. He was a real humanitarian." \n-- Contact staff writer Benjames Derrick at bderrick@indiana.edu.
(03/11/04 5:00am)
After just one year, Days of the New singer/songwriter Travis Meeks fired fellow bandmembers Matt Taul (drums), Jesse Vest (bass) and Todd Whitener (guitar). The three gladly left to hire a new lead singer, Hugo Ferreira, and work alongside longtime Alice in Chains producer Toby Wright forming their new band Tantric. \nWith a songwriting collaboration involving all four musicians and shared backup vocals, Tantric's sophomore album distances itself from Days of the New with a less exotic sound. After We Go is full of straight-forward grunge rock with few frills. It's rock 'n' roll devoid of its current mixture with hip-hop, rap, techno and ochestral arrangements. Unlike hard rock bands such as Alice in Chains or Incubus if you want someone current, who implement soft melodious sounds about 15 percent of the time, After We Go is an even mix -- halfway between light rock giants Coldplay and metal maniacs Korn. \nTantric shows its Louisville heritage by infusing After We Go with a little bit of southern rock, including blue-grass twang and rockabilly rave-ups. This is especially apparent in "The Chain" and "Before." In general, the album grooves along much like "Hey Now," its flagship single, which has recieved radio and MTV airtime. While the album opens up solidly with the heavy "Chasing After," it concludes in a dissatisfying manner with the calm but lame "Awake." Despite lacking the trendy blending of popular musical genres and stumbling periodically, After We Go is generally entertaining.
(03/11/04 12:38am)
After just one year, Days of the New singer/songwriter Travis Meeks fired fellow bandmembers Matt Taul (drums), Jesse Vest (bass) and Todd Whitener (guitar). The three gladly left to hire a new lead singer, Hugo Ferreira, and work alongside longtime Alice in Chains producer Toby Wright forming their new band Tantric. \nWith a songwriting collaboration involving all four musicians and shared backup vocals, Tantric's sophomore album distances itself from Days of the New with a less exotic sound. After We Go is full of straight-forward grunge rock with few frills. It's rock 'n' roll devoid of its current mixture with hip-hop, rap, techno and ochestral arrangements. Unlike hard rock bands such as Alice in Chains or Incubus if you want someone current, who implement soft melodious sounds about 15 percent of the time, After We Go is an even mix -- halfway between light rock giants Coldplay and metal maniacs Korn. \nTantric shows its Louisville heritage by infusing After We Go with a little bit of southern rock, including blue-grass twang and rockabilly rave-ups. This is especially apparent in "The Chain" and "Before." In general, the album grooves along much like "Hey Now," its flagship single, which has recieved radio and MTV airtime. While the album opens up solidly with the heavy "Chasing After," it concludes in a dissatisfying manner with the calm but lame "Awake." Despite lacking the trendy blending of popular musical genres and stumbling periodically, After We Go is generally entertaining.
(03/10/04 4:54am)
A hip-hop team, a rock 'n' roll band and a variety of IU student talent were just some of the features of the Asian American Association's annual variety show -- Club Asia.\nThe event, which was held Saturday at the Willkie Auditorium, also included a fashion show. Freshman and model Athea Acosta said the show wasn't for fashion majors but more for entertainment. \nClub Asia showcased amateur modeling talent within the AAA and gave local businesses, including Wigs Unlimited, an opportunity to market their merchandise. The models also showcased clothing from the more trendy PacSun, The Buckle, Cha Cha and Deb. The showcased clothing ranged from funky to trendy to chic to glamorous. The final piece, titled "So Crazy Baby," was appropriate for anyone going to the beach during the upcoming spring break.The fashion portion of the show also included authentic attire from the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Korea and China. \nThe eclectic Club Asia displayed talent within and connected to the AAA. There were several groups presenting and performing outside of the AAA, including the Malaysian Student Association and several non-Asian groups. The performances ranged from all dance music, including IU Essence, IU's hip-hop dance team and singer and sophomore Aaron O'Brien. The show also included the Ballroom Dance Club. Three couples from the club entertained the audience with swing and Latin dance. \nFormer AAA treasurer senior Ben Leang performed with his rock 'n' roll band "Overnight Haven." The band grooved well with a mix of hard rock, mellow rock 'n' roll and a pinch of California surf music. Leang said acts like his rock 'n' roll band display the multiple facets to Asian-American identity. \n"Asian-American identity varies from person to person," Leang said. \nAcosta said the typical participant put about six hours a week into the variety show -- and for her, it was well worth it. Like the show, the large audience was diverse. It was fun to watch, with much eclectic and high-quality entertainment.
(03/04/04 5:00am)
Disturbed, Chevelle, Taproot and Unloco had so much fun on the Music as a Weapon II Tour they decided to put together a CD/DVD chronicling it. Both the tour and CD have the exact same music -- excepting a bonus video for Disturbed's "Liberate." \nThe DVD shows the tour's incredible final concert in Disturbed's hometown of Chicago, which includes a lot of head-banging energy and great stage set-ups and light shows from all the bands. The album includes two previously unreleased tracks by Disturbed -- "Loading the Weapon," a brooding instrumental introduction and "Dehumanized," a mysteriously dark song. Amid the chaos, Disturbed does a great but shortened cover of Metallica's "Fade to Black," as well as its own beautifully melancholic ballad, "Darkness." \nSharing the spotlight with Disturbed, Chevelle and Taproot is the lesser-known but nonetheless impressive Unloco. In spite of lacking the benefits of commercial radio play, Unloco is given ample opportunity to be noticed by the mainstream heavy metal community with this collection, and rightfully so. \nBalancing the obscure with the mainstream, Music as a Weapon II wraps up with breakout hits including Chevelle's "The Red," Taproot's "Poem" and of course, Disturbed's "Stupify."\nThis product stands out as truly unique -- it's one of few opportunities, outside lame-brained horror movie soundtracks, to have a good dose of hard-hitting heavy metal.