How many bands do you know that can play close to an hour’s worth of music without touching a standard six-string guitar? Sleeping At Last can, and they do it well. Though it was more packed than at 12:30 on a weekday, the dark side of Lane was utterly silent while the three-and-a-half-man ensemble played last Friday night.
Singer Ryan O’Neal began the set with a ukulele in hand. Dan Perdue alternated between keys and bass, while stand-in drummer Aaron Mortenson kept the beat for his first ever live show with Sleeping At Last.
In spite of the absence of a guitar, the band achieved a sound reminiscent of the Fray or Coldplay. O’Neal explained after the show that his love for Hawaii inspired him to include the uke on the band’s third album, Storyboards, released Sept. 15. “It’s the most exciting instrument I’ve picked up since guitar,” he said.
The Wheaton, IL natives say they’ve “never been happier with a record.” They branched out with Storyboards, adding new instruments like banjo and mandolin to a more acoustic album than their two previous national releases. “It’s about the craft of songwriting,” said O’Neal. “We want to write music people can relate to.”
Sleeping at Last was joined by solo artist Jeremy Larson, who filled in the gaps where the band couldn’t cover all the needed instruments. Larson also opened the night with his own one-man, five-instrument set, looping tracks and building to a hypnotizing climax on each song.
In addition to guitar, drums and vocals, Larson incorporated violin and cello, two instruments he’d never played live before. “I learned to play them out of necessity,” he said. “I wanted strings on my album and didn’t know anyone who played.”
Larson ended up contributed strings to MuteMath’s most recent album, Armistice, and Eisley’s upcoming release. For him, making music is all about collaboration, so he contacted Sleeping at Last and asked if he could play strings for them. You can hear him on Storyboards track “Chandeliers.”
Larson’s work with the band led to them touring together. They spent two days in a car (three in Larson’s case) to arrive at Gordon and had a ten-hour drive to their next venue. “We really wanted to come here,” said Larson with a shrug.
Why? “Because you guys are awesome,” said O’Neal. “Super awesome.”
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Civil writes
Consider the role of the media in the civil rights movement.
The media, especially television media, made civil rights the problem of people at home - people living in homogeneous sections of society and regions for whom segregation may not have been a legal reality. Not only did it illustrate the actions of those involved in the movement, it also demanded action from those who were not involved. By showing the individuals and incidents shaping the civil rights movement, the media handed other citizens the information they needed to decide who was right and who was wrong, thus enabling them to be responsible and self-governing Americans.
So let's discuss. How can we use the media for the same purpose today? Can the same media even be used? What are the wrongs in our society and how can we expose them? Is racism really gone, or do we as journalists - and moreover, as citizens - need to continue fighting racial injustices? Tell me what you think.
The media, especially television media, made civil rights the problem of people at home - people living in homogeneous sections of society and regions for whom segregation may not have been a legal reality. Not only did it illustrate the actions of those involved in the movement, it also demanded action from those who were not involved. By showing the individuals and incidents shaping the civil rights movement, the media handed other citizens the information they needed to decide who was right and who was wrong, thus enabling them to be responsible and self-governing Americans.
So let's discuss. How can we use the media for the same purpose today? Can the same media even be used? What are the wrongs in our society and how can we expose them? Is racism really gone, or do we as journalists - and moreover, as citizens - need to continue fighting racial injustices? Tell me what you think.
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Elements of Creative Writing
It’s not every day you see wordsmiths gathered in a science building. But then, it’s not every day you see chemists relishing the written word, either. The backwards “celebration of words and letters” took place at the Ken Olsen Science Center on Tuesday, October 20, when the national day on writing converged with national chemistry week.
“It’s not too many times we’ve been able to say, ‘hosted by the departments of chemistry and English,’” said Dwight Tshudy, associate professor of chemistry. At “Of Poetry and Periodic Tables,” students and faculty read their original poetry and CoNTeST entries – patchwork stories, poems and proverbs constructed from only the letters found in the periodic table.
From sophomore Ariel Guiguizian’s story about “BAtBOY Y FISH LaDy” to freshman Joshua Meister’s “PErIODIC PUN” on Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, CoNTeST entries revealed a wealth of wit on the writers’ parts and even greater wealths of patience.
CoNTeST winner Rachel Otto’s “AlAs, THe CHOICe” was the longest entry. While the rest of us were taking quad finals, Otto (’12) was piecing together a full-page parody of Hamlet’s famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy.
“I actually got the idea one day when I was… debating whether or not to go to chemistry class,” said Otto. Although she almost gave up when she realized the periodic table would not allow her to spell “or,” Otto pressed on, hoping to win first prize: a periodic table blanket.
“I was getting kind of cold at night because I hadn’t brought extra blankets,” she admitted. Ulterior motives aside, Otto said she welcomed the chance to combine creativity with classic literature under the CoNTeST’s constraints.
Irv Levy, professor of chemistry and computer science, agreed with Otto: the blanket is perfect for “protecting yourself from the elements with the elements.” Judges waited until mole day, or 10/23 – thus named because the scientific quantity of a mole is 6.022 times 1023 – to declare Otto the winner.
“I take my hat – no, I take my whole head off to her,” said one judge.
Susanna Sousa’s “TReAsURe MoUNTaIN” took second prize, a 550-piece periodic table jigsaw puzzle. Guiguizian and Meister earned honorable mentions along with junior Elise Nedzweckas and senior Rachel Shirron.
“It’s not too many times we’ve been able to say, ‘hosted by the departments of chemistry and English,’” said Dwight Tshudy, associate professor of chemistry. At “Of Poetry and Periodic Tables,” students and faculty read their original poetry and CoNTeST entries – patchwork stories, poems and proverbs constructed from only the letters found in the periodic table.
From sophomore Ariel Guiguizian’s story about “BAtBOY Y FISH LaDy” to freshman Joshua Meister’s “PErIODIC PUN” on Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, CoNTeST entries revealed a wealth of wit on the writers’ parts and even greater wealths of patience.
CoNTeST winner Rachel Otto’s “AlAs, THe CHOICe” was the longest entry. While the rest of us were taking quad finals, Otto (’12) was piecing together a full-page parody of Hamlet’s famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy.
“I actually got the idea one day when I was… debating whether or not to go to chemistry class,” said Otto. Although she almost gave up when she realized the periodic table would not allow her to spell “or,” Otto pressed on, hoping to win first prize: a periodic table blanket.
“I was getting kind of cold at night because I hadn’t brought extra blankets,” she admitted. Ulterior motives aside, Otto said she welcomed the chance to combine creativity with classic literature under the CoNTeST’s constraints.
Irv Levy, professor of chemistry and computer science, agreed with Otto: the blanket is perfect for “protecting yourself from the elements with the elements.” Judges waited until mole day, or 10/23 – thus named because the scientific quantity of a mole is 6.022 times 1023 – to declare Otto the winner.
“I take my hat – no, I take my whole head off to her,” said one judge.
Susanna Sousa’s “TReAsURe MoUNTaIN” took second prize, a 550-piece periodic table jigsaw puzzle. Guiguizian and Meister earned honorable mentions along with junior Elise Nedzweckas and senior Rachel Shirron.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
255 Grapevine Packs the Pews
Shelves outside of the A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel were crammed with canned food last Saturday night, and the pews inside were just as packed with the Gordon students, alumni, friends and family whose donated cans had purchased admission to the new Homecoming variety show, 255 Grapevine.
255 Grapevine claimed the time slot formerly filled by faculty talent show, nodroG, which will now take place in spring. The new event was the brainchild of theater professor Norm Jones and theater/English major Amy Laing ’11 who was also stage manager of the show. Laing said she hoped the show would have “more audience involvement and form… a stronger sense of community between departments.”
255 Grapevine’s 14 acts and 100 performers pulled the audience into the show like no Gordon show had before. Talents ranged from country music to Broadway farce to a four-person piano face-off modeled after the popular Guitar Hero video games, and the audience was supplied with props to participate in each of these.
Alumna Noni Mason (’92) and her husband choreographed one of the main attractions, “Stomp,” which invited the crowd to click their pens in time with the beat. Assistant professor of music Michael Monroe’s four Piano Heroes played the 1812 Overture on two grand pianos. “We asked you to bring cans,” said Monroe. “But we forgot to ask you to bring cannons.” Instead, the audience was given brown paper lunch bags and cued to inflate and pop them when the theme sounded.
The beloved Dr. Marv Wilson told everyone about his wild goose chase after a stolen Gordon van in New York City. “How good it was to come home to 255 Grapevine,” he said. Jenifer Hevelone-Harper, a student turned history professor, shared her experiences as a student and as a faculty member. She, too, considered 255 Grapevine her home.
Students agreed that the message of the interviews was good, but they seemed long and somewhat out of place, disrupting the energy created by standing-ovation acts like “Stomp.” Even so, people walked out with smiles on their faces.
Two days after the show, Laing was still beaming. “I am so happy with the way it went,” she said. “It was fun and created the sort of community experience we were looking for.”
*Alysa Obert contributed to this article.
255 Grapevine claimed the time slot formerly filled by faculty talent show, nodroG, which will now take place in spring. The new event was the brainchild of theater professor Norm Jones and theater/English major Amy Laing ’11 who was also stage manager of the show. Laing said she hoped the show would have “more audience involvement and form… a stronger sense of community between departments.”
255 Grapevine’s 14 acts and 100 performers pulled the audience into the show like no Gordon show had before. Talents ranged from country music to Broadway farce to a four-person piano face-off modeled after the popular Guitar Hero video games, and the audience was supplied with props to participate in each of these.
Alumna Noni Mason (’92) and her husband choreographed one of the main attractions, “Stomp,” which invited the crowd to click their pens in time with the beat. Assistant professor of music Michael Monroe’s four Piano Heroes played the 1812 Overture on two grand pianos. “We asked you to bring cans,” said Monroe. “But we forgot to ask you to bring cannons.” Instead, the audience was given brown paper lunch bags and cued to inflate and pop them when the theme sounded.
The beloved Dr. Marv Wilson told everyone about his wild goose chase after a stolen Gordon van in New York City. “How good it was to come home to 255 Grapevine,” he said. Jenifer Hevelone-Harper, a student turned history professor, shared her experiences as a student and as a faculty member. She, too, considered 255 Grapevine her home.
Students agreed that the message of the interviews was good, but they seemed long and somewhat out of place, disrupting the energy created by standing-ovation acts like “Stomp.” Even so, people walked out with smiles on their faces.
Two days after the show, Laing was still beaming. “I am so happy with the way it went,” she said. “It was fun and created the sort of community experience we were looking for.”
*Alysa Obert contributed to this article.
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