2005-11 Vital Source Mag – November 2005
Industrial Nature
By Evan Solochek Nebulous shapes and architectural insight, the seemingly mismatched marriage of organic and synthetic, thrive within the sculptures of acclaimed artist Kendall Buster. Somewhere between abstract abodes and biological remnants, her large-scale creations entice both the eye and the body, and offer the viewer the rare opportunity to truly experience art. These mammoth orbs of steel and South African shade cloth are reminiscent of a cored pear or a beehive with a slice removed. These missing cross-sections are an essential component of one of Buster’s chief intentions. The “accessible interiors,” a distinguishing characteristic in Buster’s work, allow for a more profound interaction with the piece. The onlooker is invited inside to not only view the structure, but to be enclosed within it. “For a lot of people, it’s the simple act of penetrating a form,” says Buster. “You’re so accustomed to having this relationship to a sculpture where you’re over here and the sculpture is there and you’re walking around it and very separated from it. You can certainly enter it with your eye, but to enter a piece with your body is a kind of commitment.” Once inside, a myriad of reactions ensue. From playfulness and ease to uneasiness and intrigue, Buster wants the viewer to respond in some manner, any manner, just as long as it is genuine and unexpected. Influenced by the work of twentieth-century theorists Jacques Lacan and Michel Foucault, Buster attempts to incarnate their thoughts on the act of seeing and being seen. Fusing biology with architecture, Buster creates imposing sculptures that are interactive playgrounds where exploration and physical interaction are encouraged. Buster extends this facet through the use of translucent fabrics, which allows viewers to interact with one another by way of the sculpture. “Those inside the piece can see those outside the piece and vice versa so there is a little bit of a play there, which I find very interesting,” says Buster. “[The inside] is a small space, an intimate space. It’s truly a chamber and that leads to feelings of either enclosure or comfort. I like this idea of something being both comforting and threatening.” Suggestive of a cocoon or a womb, these membrane-covered structures envelope the viewer in a manner foreign to most human adults. Buster, who is currently a professor of sculpture at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Arts, finds the worlds of biology and architecture intrinsically linked. “I think there are a lot of interesting things to think about in terms of architecture’s biological roots and the whole notion of how biological forms have informed certain kinds of designs,” says Buster. “For me, the vessel and architecture are really about marking an empty space.” Having studied microbiology at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Buster has always been fascinated by biological structures. From fungal formations to exoskeletons, Buster’s science background is clear in her sculptures. “In one sense, I know it’s a very romantic notion, but there is a part of me that is very attracted […]
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
Neil Young
By Blaine Schultz Reprisewww.neilyoung.com Every record Neil Young releases is an enigma in waiting, and Prairie Wind, with its deft orchestral passages, swelling horns and bluegrass touches, is no exception. On Prairie Wind Young seems to say, “Let me make a record with people I enjoy playing with.” His father’s slide into Alzheimer’s and subsequent passing leads Young to meditate on his own past and take stock. The title track finds Young in that 3 a.m. voice, singing, “Trying to remember what my Daddy said / Before too much time took away his head;” a female vocal chorus echoes “prairie wind blowin’ through my head” as a horn section punches away at Young’s harmonica shards. “Far From Home” is the other side of the coin, buoyed by the horns and sounding like a Saturday-night revival, Young tells of a trek from the trans-Canada Highway to the Promised Land of money and big cars. And only then can you bury him on the prairie. When Young lapses into a sentimental mood (“Falling Off the Face of the Earth,” “It’s a Dream,” “Here For You”) to pay tribute to friends and family, he avoids mawkishness. “When God Made Me” calls to task in a sincere ballad those who have interpreted God’s will since day one. But he’s not afraid to turn the camera on himself. “He Was the King” is a good-natured romp through memories of Elvis and “This Old Guitar” is a love song written for Hank Williams’ Martin guitar—Emmylou Harris’ vocals only sweeten the deal. “When I get drunk and seeing double, it gets behind the wheel and steers / This old guitar ain’t mine to keep, it’s only mine for a while.” VS
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
Sigur R’s
By Eric Lewin Geffenwww.sigur-ros.co.uk When Tortoise and Low first wrote the term “slow core” into the hipster dictionary, the proverbial jury was left to ask, “Is this where rock has lead itself, or are these droning songs little more than a cop-out for bands who don’t want to try?” After Sigur Rós’ additions to the formula and a recent surge of popularity among the indie proud, the verdict seems to be an acquittal. Compared to Rós’ back catalogue, particularly Ágætis byrjun (translated as “an alright start”) and the pretentiously titled ( ), Takk is considerably more subdued, but strange nonetheless. Songs like “Glosoli” and “Milano” build predictably, yet beautifully, leaving little room for argument about Rós’ predilection for the grandiose. “Gong” lets Rós’ Bends-era Radiohead influence show, an experiment held together by Jónsi Birgisson’s Thom Yorke-like wail. And speaking of vocal borrowing, check out the Chris Martin impression on “Anduari” and “Svo Hljott.” Coldplay really is everywhere these days! There’s no room for fence-straddling when it comes to Sigur Rós. With Takk, many are now heralding Rós as the best band in the world and ready to hand the championship belt over immediately. To others, Sigur Rós is about as exciting as a dream about mowing the lawn. Maybe the nay-sayers are confused or just bored. It’s also possible that they just liked Sigur Rós more the first time, when they were called My Bloody Valentine. VS
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
Paul Weller
By Paul Snyder Yep Rocwww.paulweller.com Yep Roc Records is hailing As Is Now as a return to form from the man who brought us Wild Wood and Stanley Road a decade ago. This is a puzzling statement, considering Weller’s never taken a drastic step away from the songwriting that anchored his 1990s classics. It’s just that his albums haven’t been as popular. And truth be told, it may be because Oasis isn’t that popular anymore, either. No one championed Weller more than Noel Gallagher in the mid 90s, and the slew of Britpop bands citing Weller as an influence (even Morrissey covered “That’s Entertainment”) put the man in the center of the movement, whether he liked it or not. Wild Wood and Stanley Road were fine albums. But so was Heavy Soul. And Heliocentric. And Illumination. And As Is Now is a great record, too. It follows Weller’s “it is what it is, take it or leave it” songwriting formula to a T, but it also shows the old man still has a lot of spunk. “From the Floorboards Up” recalls his aggressive Jam days, “Here’s the Good News” is a piano pounding foot-tapper and “Come On/Let’s Go” could be viewed as a three-minute distillation of Weller’s entire philosophy on life: “Come on, baby let’s go / And you say ‘Where to?’ / I say, ‘I don’t know – I just need to run / And you need it too.’” It has its rockers, its lullabies, and its mid-tempo meditations. It makes a defiant statement and then sighs a thought from the back recesses of the mind. It’s really not that far detached from the 24-year-old who wrote “Town Called Malice.” VS
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
Ry Cooder
By Barry Wightman Nonesuchwww.ryland-cooder.com Ry Cooder, the guitarist widely known these days for Buena Vista Social Club, in which he showcased pre-Castro era Cuban musicians, now offers the world the melodic and jumpy Chavez Ravine. That’s CHA-vez. Just as he provided a venue for aging Cubans before they were gone and forgotten, Cooder, in 15 songs, shines a light on the unknown tale of how a dusty hillside Los Angeles Mexican neighborhood known as Chavez Ravine was razed in the 1950s in a “greasy handoff” to the newly arrived Dodgers baseball team. Think of the movie Chinatown. Crooked red-baiting right wing politicos, innocent citizens believing “it can’t happen here,” cool cats being beaten up by GIs, and a UFO-driving Space Vato (space guy) who recognizes the Ravine as the hip place to land; these are the players in Cooder’s loving 21st century concept album. The beautifully packaged Nonesuch CD includes a booklet worthy of a very small coffee table. The record has a handmade, non-digital feel with an airy sound that hints at L.A.’s El Hoyo Club in 1955. The record’s opening track, “Poor Man’s Paradise,” is driven by Cooder’s clean guitar and jazzy harmonies; “El UFO Cayo” is a slow, dreamy, late night swirl of guitars. “Muy Fifi” rocks with a thumping bass under L.A. legend Ersi Arvizu’s gutsy vocals. “3rd Base Dodger Stadium,” a lovely lament sung beautifully by Hawaiian singer Bla Pahinui, recounts how former residents of Chavez Ravine can pinpoint where their own home plate used to be. We should all be so lucky. VS
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
Rogue Wave
By Erin Wolf Sub Popwww.roguewavemusic.com When Rogue Wave appeared on the radar in 2003 with their barely recognized Out of the Shadow, they could have ridden the sizeable Kinks-revival waves that The Shins started churning. But that wasn’t quite in the cards for this California band when push came to shoving them into their next recording. After building from singer/guitarist Zach Schwartz’ material on the first go, the second time around sees Rogue Wave expanding their pigeonhole by recruiting more melodies from drummer Pat Spurgeon, guitarist Gram Lebron and bassist Evan Farrell, now all full-fledged contributors. In Descended Like Vultures, Schwartz’s marvelously mellow, warm voice is played up, shining like a sunbeam through the tangle of guitar hooks, keyboards and layered drumming, as well as the bells and whistles that are part and parcel of most Sub Pop releases. Yet this sonic wall is memorable mostly because of its drive. The songs have something to say, and if it takes assailing the ears with a madman one-two tempo march courtesy of a Casio keyboard, so be it. Schwartz’s lyrical insights are just as captivating as the music, as witty and charming as a David Sedaris book, like this line from “Love’s Lost Guarantee:” “Love comes like a Kennedy curse / The victim role is well-rehearsed.” Descended Like Vultures (receiving its title from former poli-sci major Shwartz’ one-liner on politics) comes off part smart-ass and cheeky in a Flaming Lips way (“10:1”), but also heartfelt in a well-versed, Nick-Drake-on-uppers way (“California”), complete with heartstring tug, cello groan and soaring soprano violin. Descended Like Vultures most certainly has a fuller sound than Out of the Shadow. It is the book to the short story Rogue Wave published two years ago, which was the prologue to a more footnoted, fulfilled manuscript. VS
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
Just To Keep the Story Lit
By Paul Snyder It’s a longstanding debate over whether the God of Rock & Roll is a benevolent one. This God let Mark David Chapman loose in New York City on December 8, 1980 and sent Otis Redding’s plane into Lake Monona back in 1967. But the same God also pushed Mike Love out of the way so Brian Wilson could finally realize SMiLE and, just for a lark, threw George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty and Roy Orbison into the same studio in 1987. And this God has returned Alejandro Escovedo to the stage. For those unfamiliar with the man, the comparisons seem lofty; for those who know, they’re expected. It’s been a hard road back, but Escovedo is grateful to be able to lead his orchestra into Shank Hall on November 11 and the High Noon Saloon in Madison on November 12. “After being sick for two years and not being able to get out there, it’s just nice to feel strong enough to go out,” says Escovedo. “It’s my way of saying ‘thank you’ to the fans who’ve been so supportive through all of this.” Alejandro Escovedo collapsed from Hepatitis C complications after an April 2003 performance. The same disease claimed his brother Coke years earlier. Though Esovedo’s prognosis improved and he adopted lifestyle changes to manage the disease, he was a long way from home free. With no medical coverage, a large family to take care of and rising medical costs, Escovedo was also bereft of his means of making money – playing music. His biggest admirers stepped in. An array of artists founded the Alejandro Escovedo Medical and Living Expense Fund, and released Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, a two-CD set featuring interpretations of his songs from contemporaries like Lucinda Williams, Los Lonely Boys and the Minus 5, and heroes like Ian McLagan, John Cale and Ian Hunter. A critical and commercial success, Por Vida lured new audiences to Escovedo’s catalogue, raised awareness for Hepatitis C studies, and brought the man himself back to the stage in late 2004. Escovedo is quick to use the term “full circle” when speaking of his career, and still talks about music with as much passion as a teenager who spends his entire allowance on new records. He compares the Beatles vs. Stones battles of the 1960s to the Blur vs. Oasis battles of the 1990s. He says that while England has a good pop conscience, the country will never produce the likes of a Sonic Youth. And while there’s a lot to be said for American music, “that Lynyrd Skynyrd redneck stuff can be pretty scary – even to a Southerner like me.” The one thing that becomes most apparent in our conversation is that first and foremost, Alejandro Escovedo is a big rock & roll fan. He’s even fashioned his own orchestra on [Small Faces/Faces legend] Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance label. “I used to follow him around, almost like a […]
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
Read To Me!
By Lucky Tomaszek Since 1919, educators, librarians, booksellers and families have celebrated Children’s Book Week during the week before Thanksgiving. Founder Frederich Melcher believed “Book Week brings us together to talk about books and reading and … to put the cause of children’s reading squarely before the whole community and across the whole nation. For a great nation is a reading nation.” This year, Children’s Book Week is November 14 through 20. Families, schools and libraries all over the country will have the opportunity to relive their favorite children’s stories. There will be book signings, author lunches, receptions, read-a-long parties and other wonderful literary happenings. In our home, we have some children’s books that we continuously pull out. These are the books I buy for other people’s children as well, to share the love we feel for these stories. Family FavoritesOn the whole, our favorite Tomaszek family book has to be Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day, written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz. We follow Alexander, the youngest in his family, through the typical trials and tribulations of a kindergartener, watching him struggle with all the same things that affect each of us. The book ends with Alexander going to bed, hoping things will be better tomorrow. We love this book for its realism and honesty. My children all pick it over and over. Another family favorite is Dr. Seuss’ My Many Colored Days. This beautiful book was released posthumously and is quite different from most of his more well-known stories. Instead of the usual delightful rollicking rhymes, this book shows us in simple language that it’s normal and even good to experience a range of emotions. The illustrations (by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher) are wonderful as well, and draw in readers (and listeners) of any age. Of course, Dr. Seuss has so many great books, it’s hard to only talk about one. Great Day for Up is a wonderful, fast paced rhyming story about the joys of waking up in the morning. Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are has some of the best Seussian passages ever written. I received it as a child, and my older sister and I can still recite most of the book from memory! For bedtime stories, we come back again and again to Jean Marzollo’s Close Your Eyes. With a slow and melodic meter, the lilting text relaxes everyone and helps sleepy eyes close. But the words only tell half of the story here; there is an entire subtext beautifully illustrated by Susan Jeffers about a father and his efforts to get his young son ready for bed. I have given each of my children a copy of On the Day You Were Born, written and illustrated by Debra Frazier, on his or her first birthday. The powerful prose introduces the concept of being part of the circle of life, including the following: “On the day you were born the Earth turned, the […]
Nov 1st, 2005 by Lucky Tomaszek
Around the World and Back Again
By Catherine McGarry Miller Bacchus is a place for celebrations. Its wall of 230 wines encased in elegant glass and chrome is a nod to the restaurant’s namesake, the god of wine. It is not, however, a dipsomaniac’s domain. Bacchus exudes class from its carte to its cultivated customers. Executive Chef Adam Siegal started, surprisingly, in the hot dog business at his stepfather’s Chicago area Red Hot huts. As a boy, Siegal stocked shelves, chopped vegetables, and bussed tables. He still likes a good hot dog – an all beef Hebrew National “run through the garden” – dog talk for topped with every veggie in the joint. Since then, Siegal has graduated to ultra-fine dining with a degree from the Culinary School of Kendall College in Evanston, Illinois, and has apprenticed under some of the world’s greatest gastronomes: At the age of 20, Siegal launched his career at Paul Bartolotta’s renowned Chicago bistro, Spiaggia. There he learned “the simplicity of cooking the way Italians cook. I learned technique to taste,” he recalls. He studied directly under the James Beard Award-winning chef, now Bacchus’ co-owner with brother Joe. “Paul’s been my mentor for 14 years and I don’t think I could have a better one. He’s helped me throughout my whole career.” For two years, Siegal explored classical French cuisine under the tutelage of Chef Julian Serrano, also a winner of the James Beard Award and executive chef of Masataka Kobayashi’s celebrated French restaurant, Masa’s, in San Francisco. “The food was classical yet very modern. It was a very intense kitchen, which suited me because I’m a very intense individual with an intense passion for cooking.” In 1998, Paul Bartolotta arranged an internship for Siegal with his own mentor, Valentino Marcetilli, chef at Ristorante San Domenico in Imola near Bologna, Italy. For Siegal, it was a year-long immersion in European cookery where he acquired an appreciation for where the food came from, the traditions behind it, and the Europeans’ passion for dining. “Their lives revolve around food. They sit at the table for two to three hours – it’s how they enjoy life.” He also helped Marcetilli achieve a Two Star Michelin rating. Back stateside, Siegal joined the team that popped the cork on the D.C. branch of Todd English’s lauded Olives restaurant. He didn’t see much of the celebrity chef, but he experienced the initiation of a national high-end restaurant. He also met his future wife, Daria, who was Olives’ manager. The spin at Olives was Mediterranean, but emphasized “taking the traditional and making it not traditional,” Siegal explains. In 2000, the executive sous chef position opened up at Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro, so Siegal happily returned to the Midwest. “I love Milwaukee – it’s a kind of hidden treasure. People always think of “Laverne and Shirley,” but there’s all this charm and character to the city.” He later took over chef Mark Weber’s toque and recently added Bacchus to his realm of responsibilities. With the diversity of Siegal’s culinary […]
Nov 1st, 2005 by Cate Miller
Forgotten America
By Frizell Bailey First in a Vital Source series examining therole of race in social disparity in America. In his September 15th address from Jackson Square in New Orleans, President Bush spoke of the need to address the persistent poverty that was evident to the whole world in the days after Hurricane Katrina. He called for “bold action” that would ensure more black ownership of homes and businesses and increased job skills – actions not so much bold, really, as common sense. Poverty and racial inequality are nothing new in New Orleans. So how is it that it took a catastrophe like Katrina for us to acknowledge them? Perhaps we were all seduced by the hospitality and charm of the city, served up like ladles of steaming gumbo. Or maybe it was the jell-o shot mindset of “laissez les bons temps rouler,” let the good times roll. More likely, though, we all just looked the other way. No one likes a buzz kill as harsh as extreme poverty. This land is my land.There has been much talk about what to do with New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. It seems the overwhelming opinion is that it should be bull-dozed and not re-settled. After all, there’s no way to raise the land above sea level. People around the country and the world are even privately asking why people lived there in the first place. It’s never been a secret that the Ninth Ward is the most flood-prone neighborhood in the city. While letting the area return to the marsh land is probably a good idea, what people are forgetting in questioning the logic of building a community here in the first place is the original settlement patterns of the Ward and New Orleans as a whole. From the beginning, blacks have taken up residence in the low lying, vulnerable areas of the city, due in large part to economic inequality and just plain bad timing. French colonists who originally settled there purposely chose the best land, meaning the high ground. This includes the Garden District and the French Quarter. It is no coincidence that these areas were not flooded. When blacks were finally able to buy homes in the city in any kind of numbers, only low-lying land was available to them. Most of the “good” land had already been snatched up. Cost also played a part. Blacks could not afford what little higher ground that was still available, so they built communities adjacent to more affluent white neighborhoods to be near their service jobs. Much of my own family lives in the New Orleans area. When I was a kid, some lived on the Westbank in the suburbs; some lived on the Eastbank in the projects and subsidized housing. On a visit to New Orleans as a teenager, I got my first look at the extreme poverty in the city. We had to pick up one of my cousins from his home in the projects near the Lower Ninth Ward. At that […]
Nov 1st, 2005 by Frizell Bailey
