2008-09 Vital Source Mag – September 2008
Beneath The Gold Sticker
September: this is the month when writers, editors and sometimes readers in massive polls are asked to pick winners from the tsunami of venues, programming and promising stars careening toward the shore. I have to say it reminds me of scratching off a gold sticker, a sticker that perhaps conceals THE winning number, which you already know isn’t likely to be yours, or if it is, blame it on dumb luck! If I’ve learned anything about the arts over the years, it’s that sublime moments are seldom hidden beneath gold stickers: in fact, I would venture to say that the more the sticker glitters, the duller the “win.” When swamped by hype, I cast a wary eye. Should I desire the sublime, I stick with civilized, tried and true venues simply because they don’t shout or tout like shills at a circus. And no local gallery fills the bill quite like Dean Jensen, an informed survivor with a logo resembling something stamped from steel. Jensen’s shows rarely disappoint, and the man himself, though a poetic writer at heart, is no-nonsense in his approach to art. Should you care about what art “is,” he’s available to share thoughts. Jensen is cut of the cloth I admire: grey flannel, neatly tailored and forever admirable. On fall Gallery Night – October 16 – stop by for Newspaper House, an installation by former Milwaukeean (and current Brown professor) Joan Backes that is just what it sounds like: a space made from newspapers that visitors can walk through and explore. Tory Folliard Gallery also takes a subtle approach, and the staff doesn’t posture in order to outshine the art. Fat chance that would happen, anyway, with the likes of glorious painters Patrick Farrell, Fred Stonehouse and the many other luminaries who will return in 2008-2009. On September 12, Folliard opens a new exhibition by Milwaukee artist Mark Mulhern, featuring the artist’s abstractly naturalistic and softly-lit works, and come February, Folliard will mount their first-ever Photography Showcase highlighting some top (and up-and-coming) state photographers. Folliard gives generous consideration to Wisconsin-based artists, which in turn gives lie to the myth that artists from our state get screwed when it comes to gallery shows. Come on. Can you think of a single gallery or museum that eschews Wisconsin-based artists just because they’re from Wisconsin? The loudest screamers are probably those artists whose works aren’t yet (and perhaps never will be) up to snuff. Time was when I rarely visited the Charles Allis Art or the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museums; if I did, it was to enjoy the summer gardens and a few moments of quiet contemplation. However, their recent shows have been on the upswing, due at least in part to the efforts of Ms. Laurel Turner, a young curator who will be leaving the institution (dang!) to return to academia. But I look forward to the coming season and their competent ongoing Wisconsin Masters series. While a bit uneven in quality, the series is still a […]
Sep 1st, 2008 by Stella Cretek
100 Years of Beautiful Music
Gracious. Elegant. Gifted. Enthusiastic. These classical characteristics describe Thallis Hoyt Drake, recording secretary and publicity chair of the MacDowell Club of Milwaukee, and the prestigious organization itself, celebrating its centennial in May 2009. Drake, a past president and member of the MacDowell Club for 50 years, describes the vision of the first 38 women who were strong minded, talented, and desired a stage to perform and display their musical skills back in 1909, well before women achieved the right to maintain property or to vote. As Drake says, “It wasn’t considered proper for a woman to perform in public,” but these women signed the charter for the club on May 19th of that year, which provided them with a new venue to use their abilities and education. Following through on this original charter, the MacDowell club initiated an all-female chorus and orchestra, conducted by a woman, which presented a series of yearly concerts at the Woman’s Club of Wisconsin, still a historic presence in contemporary Milwaukee. Members either performed or supported the club by attending the productions free of charge. Guests were allowed to listen for a 25-cent admission fee. The concerts, student organizations and musical study groups that developed in the succeeding decades illustrated the MacDowell Club’s mission statement: furthering musical interests in Milwaukee, providing incentive for progressive work for both professional and amateur musicians and acquainting the public with the number and excellence of local musicians. This includes Drake, an excellent violinist and founder of Early Music Now, along with hundreds of music teachers over these years. The club offered an opportunity and outlet for these musicians to enhance their own artistry and a platform to continue performing. Drake believes that the club saved her performance skills and helped her find long-standing friends and colleagues with exceptional gifts who all shared a passion for performing classical music. Membership throughout these years was earned through a blind audition, which continues to the present day. Annual dues now require a $25.00 check instead of three dollar bills as in 1910, but still include free admission to all the performances given in public places and private homes by the members. Today, the Club welcomes members of both genders, but still embraces the mission it was founded upon: the inspiration of the wife of Edward A. MacDowell. Edward MacDowell is one of the first American composers to receive international recognition for his career. After his death in 1908, Marion MacDowell played private piano concerts in people’s homes to raise money for the MacDowell Colony, now based in New Hampshire, which provides sabbaticals and housing for all artists to dedicate solitary study time towards their chosen area of expertise. The MacDowell Colony flourishes, as do numerous MacDowell Clubs throughout the country, all as a result of Marion MacDowell’s efforts. In 2008, Milwaukee’s chapter focuses on their 99th season, leading up to their centennial on May 19, 2009. Drake enumerates the club’s special events for this 100th year. Erin Biank, a graduate student in […]
Sep 1st, 2008 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
Stereolab
The avant-garde has always been the comfort zone for Stereolab, the lounge-y, psychedelic pop/rock outfit whose ardent fans are enamored with the untraditional krautrock sound, blending odd ‘60s-style department store music with fuzzy guitars, the famous ‘motorik’ time signature and the uninflected English/French vocals of Laetitia Sadier. Sadier and co-writer Tim Gane have paired with string and brass arranger Sean O’Hagan (High Llamas) for this release – an odd melding of styles that is even more symphonic, pastoral and spritely than ever. Still, there’s not much differentiation from prior albums. Like a run-on sentence with a giant semicolon after 2004’s Margerine Eclipse, Chemical Compound jumps back into the same subjects and the same quirky song titles (“Cellulose Sunshine,” “Daisy Click Clack,” “Vortical Phonotheque” and “Neon Beanbag”) – a tribute to Gane’s eccentric, electronic, surrealisticdreamland mind. Chemical Compound might be telltale, but it’s solid, with the excellent “Neon Beanbag” leading off the set, its fidgety organ buzzing insect-like in the background, the tempo uplifted into airy and snappy heights. The ore voluptuous, brass-induced follower, “Three Women,” is a brain re-charger after the nervous energy of the lead track. The rest of the CD equalizes itself in similar fashion, and its middle track “Valley Hi” possesses enough energy to carry the rest of the album, with bell-like guitars, uptempo percussion and a warbling but sturdy piano layer. Stereolab shouldn’t be faulted for not being innovative, but perhaps could be chastised for creating their own sticky mess by being too clever before their time and all too happy to stay put. Good for them that it doesn’t seem to be a conundrum, and good news for those who appreciate consistency.
Sep 1st, 2008 by Erin Wolf
Static Thought
Here’s a secret about music reviewers: a lot of them are incredibly lazy. It’s easy to understand sometimes; there are only, for example, so many hardcore and street punk bands one can hear before one reads a press release with quotes like “this album is ultimately about unity [and] deals with a lot of important topics such as sexism in the punk scene” and automatically assumes that they’re in for a cast-off from the glory days of Maximumrocknroll. Heck, why bother to listen to the CD when the review writes itself? That’s part of why The Motive for Movement, the second album from (MRR homebase) Bay Area punks Static Thought, comes off as surprisingly refreshing. Instead of sounding as musically predictable as their politics, the album leads off with a blistering sub-two-minute jam (“Faces”) that evokes the Rollins Band (if Hank had done time in Fugazi first), then ends by referencing early (Bay Area predecessors) Metallica on the shredtastic “Conquest of Saints.” The two tracks bookend a mish-mash of punk-centric musical styles (even throwing in an appropriate ska outro on “Third World”). At times Static Thought seem to be throwing every genre at the wall to see what sticks, but effectively enough to hold the listener’s attention during the few times the album veers dangerously close to stale punk riffs and shout-alongs. The album clocks in at a brisk 30 minutes, long enough to make its point, throw the kitchen sink at you, and get the hell out. The Motive for Movement is a solid take on punk rock in an age where its conventions have nearly been exhausted. It’s engaging, intelligent, thought-provoking rock ‘n’ roll. Good thing we reviewers actually sometimes listen to the CDs, eh?
Sep 1st, 2008 by DJ Hostettler
If you’re in love with value, then I’m in love with you
What happens when two of Milwaukee’s best bands decide to play a Saturday afternoon show at 7 Mile Fair? Turns out, not much. Items discussed in the following column: ridiculous flea markets, drugs, top-flight dental insurance, the unashamed prolonging of youth. It’s a gorgeous day at 7 Mile Fair and I’m staring at a Scarface beach towel that looks like it could cover half the city of Miami. I’ve just come from a productive visit to the helpfully named House of Socks, and before that, a booth offering not only pony rides, but a chance to have your picture taken with a real live monkey. Zack Pieper – of local rock outfit the Trusty Knife – walks up beside me, sipping a beer and smoking a cigarette. His band has just finished setting up on a small outdoor stage located between the bathrooms and a building offering everything from old slot machines to alligator-skin cowboy hats. Surveying the scene, Zack shakes his head and sighs. “This is what happens when a joke goes too far.” Ah, 7 Mile Fair, a place where the joke always goes too far. (Note: I have no idea what that means, but it sounds good, doesn’t it?) Outdoor booths bursting with fresh produce and grilled corn-on-the-cob sit peacefully next to tables full of used auto parts and off-brand electronics that would make even Radio Shack blush. Live animals dot the sprawling grounds here and there, as well as stands up to their proverbial eyeballs in assorted junk and strangely ubiquitous Scarface merchandise. The brainchild of Michigan-born entrepreneur Charles Niles, the Fair is a place that – according to the official website – built in 1961 on a foundation of “simple trust and a hearly [sic] handshake.” Forty-seven years later, I’m here to witness the Trusty Knife and fellow Milwaukee funsters Crappy Dracula play on a whim to a diverse and unsuspecting crowd. A proud tradition of trust and hearly handshakes hangs in the balance. As expected, there’s not exactly a ton of interest in lo-fi psych rock (Trusty Knife) or abrasive, Dead Milkmen-inspired snot rock (Crappy Dracula) from the 7 Mile crowd. The few people lingering near the area walk off with a shrug as the music begins, while the occasional passerby gives nothing more than a raised eyebrow and a puzzled glance. An old woman appears early on and politely asks if the darn racket can be turned down a little. A Hispanic couple takes a short breather near the stage while their daughter jumps to the music. All in all, it’s an enjoyable and ultimately uneventful afternoon, just a bunch of Milwaukee indie-rock goofballs (myself included) entertaining themselves at the largest outdoor junk store in the Midwest. After sneaking off to the parking lot for a quick, um … breather, I wander through the fairgrounds, wondering just what in the hell is really going on. Here I am, a 30-year-old man (gulp), spending the day with my friends as they play music at […]
Sep 1st, 2008 by Matt Wild
Let’s talk about (child) sex (uality)
My oldest daughter turned 13 this summer, and she looks very much like she’ll look until she enters college. She may get a little taller and her figure a little fuller, but her features are all there now. Not one trace of baby roundness touches her anywhere. Lena is a beautiful young woman who turns the heads of young men everywhere she goes. I see her watch herself in the mirror frequently, and remember doing the same thing at her age. She smiles, frowns, flips her bangs up and back down again. Turns to the side, looks at her tan lines from the summer. Stands on tiptoe to see if the back pockets of her jeans look good. Turns back around to make sure she’s just right before leaving the bedroom for the morning. She is blooming – it is apparent in everything she does. Clearly, she’s feeling the hormonal shift of the early teen years and trying to find her place in a world that suddenly seems supercharged with sexual energy. Many adults believe that this is the beginning of sexuality in children – the early teen years when suddenly boys have leg hair and girls have breasts. But that’s simply not true. Human beings are sexual creatures from the beginning of their lives. It’s just that this is the first time their sexuality is immediately visible to the outside world. Birds do it, bees do it… I know that it makes some adults uncomfortable to acknowledge that young children, even infants, are already sexual (though certainly not ready to be sexually active for a very long time). But it makes sense, biologically speaking. Though humans have socially, economically and intellectually evolved to a place where baby-making isn’t the primary goal for many, it is our most basic biologic function. Like every creature on earth, we were put here to propagate. That’s why it feels good to touch and be touched. Just ask any fivemonth-old baby who manages to grab at his or her genitals during a diaper change. This isn’t an early perversion showing itself. It just feels good. Babies in utero are seen touching themselves frequently during ultrasounds. The drive to reproduce is deep in every race, including ours. Toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners and grade schoolers are all, to some degree, exploring their own physical selves, and sometimes the physical self of someone else, too. (“Wanna play doctor?”) This discovery process is normal and healthy. It gives our children the ability to claim their bodies for themselves, so that later, when it’s time to share with someone else, they feel a sense of ownership and therefore the right to say “No” when they don’t want to be physical. House rules So, what’s a parent’s part in this process, aside from being the dismayed mother or father who really can’t have Jimmy playing with himself in the living room during a dinner party? It’s tough. I have tried hard to give my children a sense of positive sexuality without […]
Sep 1st, 2008 by Lucky Tomaszek
New Faces
By Peggy Schulz Arts groups in Milwaukee are used to dealing with turnover – it’s the nature of the beast. But the 2008-2009 season will introduce even more fresh faces than usual. Along with a handful of smaller-scale galleries and museums (see Judith Ann Moriarty’s visual arts preview on page 22), at least five major arts institutions in Milwaukee have new leaders on board as a sixth, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, prepares to welcome a new Music Director and a new Pops Conductor in 2009. Roll call Perhaps the most familiar new face to the Milwaukee arts scene is one known worldwide for composing, conducting and arranging – Marvin Hamlisch, the new Principal Pops Conductor for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Hamlisch’s distinguished career is notable for any number of reasons; he has won virtually every music award that exists, including three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards, plus a Pulitzer Prize for his groundbreaking show, A Chorus Line. Hamlisch is an enthusiastic advocate of the power of music to bring people together. “Music can make a difference,” he says. “Music is truly an international language, and I hope to contribute by widening communication as much as I can.” To further propel the momentum for its upcoming 50th anniversary season, world-renowned conductor Edo de Waart will assume his position as Music Director of the MSO with the 2009-2010 season, but anticipation of his arrival is already feverish. de Waart has conducted every major orchestra in the world, and Time Magazine called him “one of the world’s most accomplished and sought-after conductors.” He is currently Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland. Wisconsin is not totally new to de Waart: he currently lives in Middleton with his family. But it was far from a default decision. Before de Waart would commit to the MSO, he had to conduct them. “I rehearsed with the orchestra in December for two days. I had a ball. It was fantastic.” de Waart is excited to begin work with the MSO in 2009, but for Milwaukee audiences salivating to see the man in action, he’ll conduct two upcoming concerts: October 31 – November 2 and November 7 and 8, 2008 Like de Waart, Daniel Keegan, recently installed CEO of the Milwaukee Art Museum, has ties to Wisconsin – he grewup in Green Bay. Prior to joining the Art Museum in February,Keegan served as Executive Director of the San Jose Museum of Art in California for seven years, and he was Executive Director of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City for three years before that. According to Keegan, “The chance to work here was an offer I couldn’t refuse.” Part of the attraction of the Art Museum is that it’s “an internationally recognized, fabulous collection, and a very talented staff. The opportunity to lead this institution is tremendous.” Keegan already is impressed by the level of […]
Sep 1st, 2008 by Vital Archives
Father & Son Lunch Box Specials
Vanessa Goodman and Erick Fisher met at the The Trellis in Williamsburg, Virginia, where they worked long hours for chef/owner Marcel Desaulnier, a James Beard Award- winner and chocolatiere known as “The Guru of Ganache.” Fisher apprenticed at restaurants while still in school in his ethnically diverse hometown of Long Beach, California. Devon Seafood Grill lured him to Philadelphia and then to Milwaukee in November 2006. Of their three children, Charlee, Erick and Chancellor, it is Chance, the youngest at 6, who has developed a passion for cookery. When time allows, father and son are working on a cookbook together. Says Erick, “It’s his idea. He’ll ask me a question about something and I’ll make him go look it up and then we’ll make it together. He’s really into this cooking thing, no matter how hard I try to dissuade him. When I push him away, it just increases his hunger for it. This is a business that takes me away from my family a lot so you can’t be in it halfway – you have to be really good at it.” To Chance, who started working with food at his Montessori school in Philly, it’s simple. “I just created stuff and didn’t use a recipe – it turned out pretty good!” He is still thinking of a title, but he does believe that his wraps are “very tasty.” VS Chancellor Fisher’s Favorite Lunch Cucumber & Cherry Tomato Salad Photos by Dane Haman 5 medium cucumbers 1/2 cup sour cream 3 T mayonnaise 1 bunch fresh dill, stems removed 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes Salt & pepper to taste Peel each cucumber and slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and slice each half into 1-inch sections (half moons). Place cucumbers in large bowl and add sour cream and mayonnaise and stir until blended. Add dill and blend well. Add cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper. Chill for about an hour. Bologna & Cheese Wrap – makes 4 wraps “Chance likes Lebanon Bologna – it is a tangy & tart beef sausage from Lebanon, PA. It goes really well with Swiss cheese and mustard. We haven’t been able to find it since we left the east coast, so you can substitute your favorite lunchmeat and cheese combination,” says mom Vanessa. 1/2 lb. Lebanon Bologna or Roast Beef 1/2 lb. Swiss cheese 1/4 cup low-fat ranch dressing 4 t mustard 4 leaves of Romaine lettuce 1 kosher dill pickle, sliced thinly Wash lettuce and let dry. Spread thin layer of ranch dressing and mustard on each wrap. Add meat and cheese, then lettuce and pickles, and roll tightly. Finish off this great lunch with a bunch of washed fresh grapes. Erick Fisher’s Grilled Veggie Chicken Sandwich Next time you’re grilling on the weekend, throw on a couple extra chicken breasts and the veggies for this weekday lunchtime repast. Use the veggie relish as an accent to any grilled meats. 1 5-oz. chicken breast, grilled 2 slices smoked mozzarella cheese 2 slices sourdough bread, […]
Sep 1st, 2008 by Cate Miller
The Silent Years
By Kyle Shaffer Maybe it’s time pop music got a little more contemplative. It’s all in good fun to keep the party going, and no one wants to be a walking rain cloud, but maybe the only frontier left for the genre lies in the gap between metallic truth and blinding possibility. To muster all your courage and face up to your existence, greeting it with “Hello, I don’t believe we’ve met,” seems a task for the theologians and philosophers. But The Silent Years make this a mission for the common folk, binding melody to wonder with their most recent release, The Globe. There’s depth in the simplicity and quirky straightforwardness here that will no doubt invite comparisons to Nada Surf or the Shins. Lead singer Josh Epstein makes bizarre observations and realizations that evoke everyday conversations without sounding like a burnt-out Malkmus-ian knock off. Whether in the sunny bounce of “Someday” or the almost withdrawn folk of closer “Lost At Sea”, The Silent Years present an outlook of comfortable uncertainty, never pressing agendas and always looking for input. And for all its accessibility and spunk, there’s not a single note played to be a selling point. There’s a candor in the songwriting and a purpose in the band’s delivery that’s undeniable. The Silent Years are the real deal, and they invite us all to search for meaning beyond our doorsteps. “May we all find something in this. Hallelujah!” Amen, dude.
Sep 1st, 2008 by Vital Archives
