2006-12 Vital Source Mag – December 2006
Beck
No artist is ever completely unpredictable: patterns form and grooves are worn. Some have no need to pull themselves away from the paths they’ve already beaten. Sometimes, like Björk or Beck, they simply realign, rearrange, rethink. At its most functional, The Information is a rethink of Beck’s creative relationship with producer Nigel Godrich (now highly acclaimed for his work with Radiohead and Paul McCartney). Here, Godrich usually finds – or at least allows Beck to enter – a reflective mode, as heard on Mutations and Sea Change. Started before and completed after last year’s Guero, The Information naturally features some refraction of Guero’s compilation-like tendencies. The easygoing hip-hop of “Elevator Music” segues into the (deliberately?) “I Feel Fine”-like treble of “Think I’m In Love,” which falls into the street-corner robot dance and muffled beatbox that activate “Cellphone’s Dead.” The Information also maintains Beck’s dedication to craftsmanship, which tightens the art without restricting it. Godrich, for his part, keeps getting better at adapting his own considerable sensibilities to the artist at hand. On Thom Yorke’s solo album, The Eraser, he shrink-wrapped Yorke’s paranoia; here, he’s like a near-telepathically responsive DJ, slapping down the right sounds to match Beck’s multitudinous moods. The overall vibe on The Information is pleasure. It’s not encoded in the lyrics; keep in mind that Beck can write entire albums, like Midnite Vultures, of near-total absurdity. Nor is it right up front in the tunes, but rather a pleasure that Beck and Godrich take in making music, a satellite orbiting each track, receiving and transmitting information. VS
Dec 1st, 2006 by Jon Gilbertson
Champagne and other delights
By Nathan Norfolk Let’s get this straight. Just because it’s bubbly doesn’t mean it’s Champagne. Champagne refers to a French province northeast of Paris, the only place from where true Champagne comes. The rest, my dear readers, is just sparkling wine. Okay, moving on. Where do the bubbles come from? In the process of making wine, carbon dioxide is produced. In wine without bubbles the carbon dioxide is allowed to escape, but for sparkling wines the carbon dioxide is trapped, creating bubbles and fizz. There are several ways to trap these bubbles, the most renowned of which is used in Champagne. Known as méthode champenoise (Doesn’t that sound pretentious?), the wine goes through secondary fermentation in the bottle. Any winery serious about bubbles uses this method, supposedly invented in the late 17th century by Dom Pérignon. The name Champagne is, however, protected by law and the term méthode champenoise cannot be used for wines made outside the region. Another crazy twist is that Champagne can only be made from a combination of three grapes: Chardonnay, which is a white grape, and Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, which are both red grapes. To keep from tainting the end-product with color, the red grapes are harvested very carefully and then cautiously crushed so that as little of the pigment from their skins interacts with the juice as possible. Some other sparkling wines are made in a big stainless steel tank by the Charmat method. The end result is rarely as elegant as the bottle-fermented method, but it’s much cheaper to produce and therefore purchase. The lowest form of sparkling wine production is the injection method, where carbonic gas is simply injected into the base wine, the same way soda is made. Yuck. The language of bubbles The first thing to consider when buying sparkling wine is how sweet or dry you like it. Here are some guidelines for deciphering the labels. Brut: Typically bone dry. Extra Dry: Less dry than brut, often showing a little bright fruitiness. Demi-Sec: Half-dry, which most people taste as just slightly sweet. Spumante: Simply Italian for “sparkling wine,” many American producers make cheap, sweet styles under this term. Don’t be fooled; spumante just means the stuff has bubbles. Dolce: Means “sweet” in Italian. Cava: Produced in northern and central Spain, and great values for those looking for inexpensive bubbles made in a traditional manner. Blanc de Blanc: Literally means “white of white.” This refers to any Champagne or sparkling wine made solely from white grapes. Blanc de Noir: French for “white of black.” The grapes are actually red, though the product is white in color. Prosecco: Made in the Venato region of northern Italy, this is the de facto before-dinner drink. Light, refreshing, slightly dry and modestly priced. A few fabulous true Champagnes: Joseph Perrier Non-Vintage ($30): This is the deal to end all deals when it comes to Champagne. It’s nutty, rich and crisp with aromas that mingle Granny Smith apples and fresh-baked bread. Duval-Leroy Non-Vintage […]
Dec 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
My mad dream for the holidays
By Lucky Tomaszek It’s been years since I’ve looked forward to a holiday season this way. I think about it every day, and like a kid, I’m getting excited. Each time a new event gets added to my calendar, I am just a little happier about the next six weeks unfolding in front of my family and me. If you’re surprised to read this, you’re not alone. I’m surprised about it myself. I thought that I had lost my sense of winter wonder years ago, and was merely drudging through the season, surviving it, like so many of us. We know that people are more prone to depression during the weeks leading up to Christmas and that the endless Ho-Ho-Ho’ing and shopping and cookie-making and (worst by far) obligations make relaxing next to impossible. But somehow, this year, I don’t care. It’s not that I have more free time than before. In fact, I’m busier now than I can remember being in years. And it’s not that I’ve been the recipient of some large windfall. As near as I can tell, this is going to be the tightest holiday in recent memory. There’s no lack of responsibilities this year, either. As a student, midwife, mother and active member of my tribe, I never stop moving during daylight hours. In spite of all this, however, I am positively longing to find a cheap replacement for my current cheap (and now broken) artificial tree. After that, I want to spend a day with my kids, making a new garland for it out of mini-origami stars then decorating it with a our motley mélange of decorations: a collection of handmade gifts from the kids, cheap sets of ornaments from after-Christmas clearance sales and a few leftovers from my own childhood. After much pondering, I think I’ve discovered the reason for my overabundant (and perhaps a little sickening) enthusiasm. I began back to school in August to finish my English degree, which I started back before Madonna donned her first severe bullet bra. My oldest child is now in middle school and growing a healthy social life. My middle girl is a third-grader, a Brownie and a budding artist. My little guy is a first-grader, cute and cuddly, but with a nightly dose of homework that must be supervised. We are busy. And we miss each other. My dream (and please don’t shatter it) is that the holiday season will allow us to make up for a little lost time from the fall. Hot cider, hot chocolate, warm hugs and kisses. Wrapping paper, bows, endless envelopes to address. All of this sounds so good to me as we head into the holiday season. Heck, I’m even looking forward to poinsettias, though I’ve always found them ugly and they make me sneeze. There’s more, of course. From now till the 25th, we will be making our Christmas cards and signing them. All the kids are now old enough to reliably sign their own names on […]
Dec 1st, 2006 by Lucky Tomaszek
100 hours in America
By In 1994, the Democrats lost control of a Congress awash in the same kind of scandals, unabashed cronyism, unmitigated fraud and unwarranted arrogance that were the Republicans’ downfall this past November. For years, there has been a slowly mounting chorus of voices clamoring for a change in what has been described as the Washington “culture of corruption.” So just like before, the American electorate has “thrown the bums out.” It’s a whole circle of life thing. Now, with the election behind them, the Democrats can turn their attention to governing, but caution may be the word of the day. The essential fact is, they didn’t win so much as the Republicans, and Bush in particular, lost. With that in mind, Americans can only hope that they live up to their promises and prove to the nation that there is an antidote to the right-wing, demagogic hate machine that has for 12 years eroded our economy, our personal freedoms, our well-being and our national and domestic security. Going into the election, it wasn’t clear if the Democrats would be able to effect much meaningful change even if successful in their efforts. Most analysts expected them to take the House, but the Senate, they said, would remain in the grip of the Republicans, resulting in gridlock. But with a narrow victory in the Senate and a strong margin in the House, the Democrats are now in a position to push many of their initiatives forward. Leading the charge is Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to be Speaker of the House. She intends to announce broad changes within the first 100 hours of the new Congressional session and has promised to bring an end to what she terms the “rich mans’ welfare state.” So what exactly is on the docket for the first 100 hundred hours of the 110th Congress? The first 24 hours: Under Republican rule, lobbying in Washington has grown to grotesque proportions. There are over 35,000 lobbyists in DC “buying” legislation at an estimated $200 million a month. Lobbying has sparked countless scandals and cost several members of Congress their careers, if not their freedom. The Republican majority has repeatedly blocked measures designed to curtail lobbying. Because of this, the Democrats have said that they will put new rules in place to “break the link between lobbyists and legislation.” This, they say, will help end the stranglehold that the Jack Abramoff/Tom DeLay K Street gang has had on the policy process. The second 24 hours: To date, less than 50 percent of the 9-11 Commission’s recommendations have been implemented, leaving ports, power plants, planes and us vulnerable. The Democrats plan to remedy this by enacting ALL of the remaining recommendations. “They [Republicans] claim to be the party of national security, yet they have failed to implement these vital recommendations to ensure the safety of our nation and our people,” John Kerry said during a recent interview with the Associated Press. The third 24 hours: In June, the minimum wage […]
Dec 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Harmony in contradiction
By Catherine McGarry Miller forty8 head chef Adam Swatloske, former high school linebacker, perennial Packers fan and rock music junkie, is the type of guy you’d expect to see warming a regular’s stool at the bar where he works. He’d never even tasted anything you’d call gourmet until he was 17 and got his first restaurant job at Eddie Martini’s washing dishes. Now, just seven lucky years later, he’s turning out food that’s tantalizing epicureans around town. Swatloske didn’t come from a family of foodies. His mother, who manages diagnostic imaging at St. Francis Hospital, was lost in the kitchen. “Mom and I joke about it,” her son says with a grin. “I got into cooking ‘cause she couldn’t and one of us had to do it. She made some damn good cookies, though.” “School was my deficit,” the Catholic Memorial alum admits. “I was good at cooking, football and partying. I’m not one to sit in an office; I need to be doing something. I’m high energy, but I also love my sleep.” Swatloske’s conversation today is peppered with highfalutin’ phrases like “food profiles,” but having grown up on tacos and lasagna, he’s still a fan of comfort food. “It’s all about making you feel good.” Andy Stiyer, then Executive Chef at Eddie Martini’s, showed a very green Swatloske the ropes. “Starting at a restaurant like that, you learn what good food really is or you don’t last,” he says. Stiyer’s Orange Peppercorn Beurre Blanc served with Ahi Tuna inspired his protégé with the sweetness and tang of the citrus accented with hot Sichuan pepper. Swatloske says, “I build my dish around the sauce instead of making the sauce for a dish.” After a long apprenticeship at Eddie Martini’s, Swatloske jockeyed about area restaurants. “A friend of mine who was at forty8 said he needed a hand,” he says. It was a perfect fit. “Every time you walk in you feel like you’re being hugged – you can wear whatever. I did the corporate thing, but it’s not really my style.” When his friend quit this past summer, Swatloske gladly took over the kitchen. Several months later, sous chef Ian Somerville, who is currently finishing his culinary program at MATC, joined the team. Adam Swatloske has the excited glow of youth as he describes his job. “We have complete freedom to make menu changes, to go to the farmers market. We leave entrees open for seasonal accents that change regularly. I like mixing sweet and savory in sauces. I like the crispness of fried won ton chips and the crust on our risotto cakes. Ian’s just the opposite. He likes smooth, creamy soups and purees. His cakes are nice and rich.” The back of the house at forty8 is a brotherhood of sorts. There are five in the kitchen including cook Jesus Almazon and Jesse and Juan, who are brothers. Swatloske calls Almazon his own personal Jesus. He’s the happiest, nicest guy. He’s always back there singing. He just […]
Dec 1st, 2006 by Cate Miller
John Sieger
By Blaine Schultz It would be very easy to take John Sieger for granted. It seems like the guy has been around forever, since the heyday of the R&B Cadets at Century Hall in the 80s to Semi Twang’s album on Warner Brothers to a move to Nashville and ultimately back to Milwaukee with his current Sub Continentals. A few years ago he began conducting songwriter workshops, though it is no secret local musicians have been taking mental notes at Sieger’s performances for years. His songwriting and guitar playing belies an omnivore’s musical appetite – from vintage New Orleans to The Beatles, from the reggae of The Harder They Come to Bob Dylan – and he does it all with his own style. No word on when his songs inspired by the 9/11 tragedy will be ready, but word on the street is a Semi Twang reunion may be in the cards. 1. What do you try to teach in your songwriting classes? I try to demystify songwriting and pull the curtains back to reveal the little, petty, manipulative tricks good songwriters use to bend you to their whims. I also try to disabuse anyone of the notion that poetry and songwriting are more than third cousins. Some of my favorite lyrics are truly crap, look at “Johnny Carson” off The Beach Boys’ Love You disc. Brian Wilson was paid in hamburgers to write that and it’s brilliant! 2. What have you learned from your students? Just how ingrained the love of music is and how it’s one of the things that makes us human. My songwriters are all optimistic and creative people who have often chosen a practical career path and accomplished a lot, professionally and personally. I am in awe of them. 3. If you could do the Semi Twang experience again, what would you change? Ouch! I would have read This Business Of Music and begged for fiscal restraint on the part of Warner Brothers Records. They were a spending machine and never met an expense in the making of Salty Tears that they didn’t embrace and then convince me to. Thing is, it was all recoupable… our money they were playing with and when we came up about a half a million short after selling 12 records, something had to give. 4. When did it dawn on you that you were able to write songs? When other people started recording them, including my buddy Paul Cebar, I thought maybe I had something. Then Dwight Yoakam sang “I Don’t Need It Done.” I felt like Otis Redding, who exclaimed upon hearing Aretha Franklin’s version of “Respect,” “That gal stole that song!” 5. Your son is a musician. how do you see his initial experiences differing from yours? It’s hard for me to stand back and not drain all the fun out of it by telling him everything I know, but I think I manage. He seems to be having a parallel experience to the one I had […]
Dec 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Mercy of a Storm
By Peggy Sue Dunigan New Year’s Eve, 1945. Snow is falling furiously, it’s almost midnight. George and Zanovia find the two hours preceding 1946 in a Midwest country club pool house to be infinitely colder than the weather outside in Mercy of a Storm, Next Act Theatre’s production that opened November 19. This performance spends a fascinating two hours dissecting a relationship struggling with love’s long awaited fulfillment and how to live with that love, elusive amidst the realities of day-to-day life. Social discrimination, prejudice, and family loyalties are all handled with a touch of humor and wit while this couple storms the pool house with anger and passion. Mary MacDonald Kerr, in her directorial debut, captures all the sexual tension, twists and turns in the script, and the touching, tender love George and Zanovia have for one another despite the events that could destroy them both. As Zanovia so aptly puts it in the second act, “I don’t want romance, I want love.” Romance vs. love. Cold outside (the winter weather) vs. warm inside (the summer pool house). Wealth vs. working class. Old vs. young. Divorce vs. marriage. This play is a study in contrasts that give the play contemporary meaning in a period setting. Jeffrey Hatcher, an accomplished playwright whose work has previously been produced on Milwaukee stages, subtly captures the conflicts of each contrast, with little resolution, through cleverly and passionately written dialogue. Everything is filtered through the personalities of George and Zanovia, both flawed and hurting, as Hatcher creates characters that he and the audience care about. James Pickering, in a welcome return to Next Act, is a wonderful George, displaying a depth in both his love for Zanovia and his daughter, Tootie. His ambiguity is palpable. Following an outstanding performance in the Stiemke’s Half-Life, Pickering again recreates a believable romantic lead through a unique role. Abbey Siegworth, as Zanovia, matches Pickering’s moves heartbeat to heartbeat as their emotions fluctuate between hot and cold. Her sassy sensuality coupled with genuine affection and compassion for George illuminates the stage. Pickering and Siegworth have a chemistry that evolves throughout the two acts. Chemistry is the key word that both charms and challenges in this production: between director and actors, script and performance and a beautifully recreated 1940’s set and the intimate stage. With Wisconsin’s winter weather turning colder outside, George and Zanovia heat up the inside of the Off Broadway Theatre for an exhilarating evening. As the play comes to a close with yet another one of its exciting twists, Zanovia enters the pool house for a final moment, seeking comfort and says, “It’s cold out there.” Next Act Theatre’s Mercy of a Storm ultimately warms the heart with the premise that it can be a cruel, cold world, inside and out, without one love worth fighting for.VS Mercy of a Storm continues through December 17 at the Off Broadway Theatre, 342 North Water Street. Contact www.nextact.org or 414-278-0765 for information or tickets.
Dec 1st, 2006 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
