P arkerAs I’m writing this I am turning thir ty years old. The closer I’ve gotten to the day, the more I’ve been thinking “What does it really mean for a person when they hit 30? ” There’s some people that I know (and many that I don’t ) that still feel the need to buy into the fear influenced bullshit that society tries to pound into our heads regarding where we are “supposed to be” when we hit that age. Just think, when you were a child and you thought about being 30, your mind probably wondered to a fantasy of being married with kids, a nice paying job in the field of your dreams, and owning a big house on the hill will a giant backyard, a cool car, and a couple of dogs. Well sorry folks, that is a complete fab-ricated lie that society has weaved into our subconcious. Unfortunately I’ve seen a lot of people in my age group buy into this and go through a “quarter-life crisis” starting at 25 or so. Why do we do this to ourselves? You are NOT a failure if you are 25-30 and aren’t married with kids, have a dream job, nice car, and a mansion. Let’s think about how materi-alistic most of those “goals” are. I think it’s sad and a real problem when you see people go through the motions of life, without really stepping back to see the big picture. It seems most of these people end up more unhappy than not, not fully becoming themselves and living out their real dreams. They rush to try to achieve these false goals of happiness and miss out on what’s important. I know “what’s important” is dif ferent for dif ferent people, but it makes me disheart-ened to think that we are in the 21st century and people still buy into and let the cookie cutter life situations govern them.

A nthonyPing Pong as Art? I went to a recent exhibition on the artwalk. There was a ping pong table and people playing. No ordinary table but a really small table and no ordinary game. The side judge - a trim guy in stereotypical 70’s style moustache, hair, and well-worn plaid suit. Player A, decked in a Oriental fu-man chu outfit while Player B was a caught up spectator.

An art piece that draws you into it.

The table became a foundation for a creative discussion. The players, two mentalities trying to communicate and find mid-dle ground. The ball was a kernel for an idea and it passed from one side to the next. The goal was not to beat the other but to create a dialogue. Trying to pass back to their opponent enough creative spark to spring an idea from the other. Ping Pong as art. Just a matter of skewed perspective and pullng more in than the surface.

M arisa“We see many who are struggling against adversity who are happy, and more although abounding in wealth, who are wretched.” -Tacitus

In Our Neighborhood

New Initiative Encourages Richmonders to Support Local Business This holiday season VCU Graphic Design students challenge local resi-dents to “Shop RVA” by supporting local businesses over big-box chain stores and fast food giants. ShopRVA is a web & print based initiative to raise awareness of local businesses and their impact on Richmond’s unique cultural diversity. ShopRVA originated as an assignment in a senior seminar called “Design Rebels” taught by local artist and activist Noah Scalin, head of ALR Design. Scalin created the class to be a hands-on course about ethical design and design for a positive social impact. As part of the class, the students designed stickers for local businesses to display in their shop windows to let their customers know they are visiting a locally owned business. The logo shows a group of friendly bees circling their hive. Student Jay Frank says that the hive is a metaphor for an active com-

munity, wherein each member does its part to serve the whole. ShopRVA encourages the growth of the local economy through a more active relationship between local businesses and their customers. A list of participating businesses will be available online at ShopRVA’s website. One of ShopRVA’s business partners, Chop Suey, is a lo-cally owned bookstore hosting the Bizarre Market, and excellent local resource for holiday shopping. Ellwood Thompson’s is a grocery store that specializes in organic products, which make great presents. Local business owners wishing to sign up for the program or apply for a free listing may email ShopRVA at contact@shoprva.com. Beginning December 4th, students will distribute print materials, including identification stickers, posters, and brochures, just in time for the holiday season. There is no better time to demonstrate just how much corporate chains infringe on local business. With the deluge of holiday catalogs and seasonal deals flooding the city, local businesses need something like ShopRVA to highlight what makes local businesses special. “When you help local business, you help yourself,” said one student. “You can show your disapproval of corporate behavior in the way no vote can on issues like suburban sprawl, environmental apathy, labor abuse, and animal rights,” said another. Student Stephanie Diederich explains, “At its core though, ShopRVA is less about bringing out the bad in national stores as it is about bringing out what makes local business so good – delicious tastes, one-of-a-kind finds, considerate customer service, and best of all, people you know.” The students hope Richmonders will visit the website, and look for the honeycomb logo in shop windows to support the local economy and the city they love.

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Kaylee Pickinpaugh <pickinpaugkn@hotmail.com>

12

TWO DRAG QUEENS

GREEN RUG

Elizabeth Talbot <talbotem@vcu.edu>

STILL MOVING

LANDSCAPE ON STILTS13

WALLSPANKERS & OTHER DOODLES

Talking Markers and Maine with MWMby R. Anthony Harris

You wouldn’t know Matt W. Moore of MWM Graphics from the next guy except for the tilted sideways cap and pocket full of markers. Dont be fooled, this guy is quietly pulling together a B&W marker revolution. Maybe his work is reflective of sniffing too many but I will go out on a limb and say he is a “Master Of Sharpie.” Now where is that endorsement deal?

R. Anthony Harris You reached out to the creative commu-nity and put together Wallspankers, a very nice collection of printable stickers. Why do you feel the need to bring every-one together for this project?

MWM Wallspankers is a project that I had been thinking about for years, but never had enough money to invest in making it happen in print. But it works great as a free e-zine. My only investment is time, and the community takes care of printing the stickers.

WS serves so many purposes. I have always been interested in collaborating with like-minded artists and designers, especially from all over the world. And the Internet has made that possible. It is such an incredible platform, not only to keep in touch with folks, but also to meet new people with similar interests. My immediate community is so talented, and their communities too. I really wanted to rep these guys and help them get some lime.

There have been some righteous books and magazines about street art and graffiti in the last few years, and there are definitely some great web portals too. But they rarely offer the opportunity for people to participate. Wall-spankers is my attempt to organize a community of artists that not only love art and design, but also have the drive to go out there and share it with their city.

RAH What the hell is going on in Maine? I have had several friends from

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Richmond recently show up there. What is the scene and where is it going?

MWM Maine is fresh! Literally. Clean air and water, no rush hour, tons of freights, great hip-hop and graffiti community, and it’s close enough to Boston and NY to still be in the loop. It is a very unique place. I have really en-joyed my 5 years here. I think Maine artists and writers will be getting more attention in the next couple years. We have been grinding hard. It is only a matter of time.

RAH Do you ever feel your reach is limited by living in Maine?

MWM Yes. But I do travel a lot and stay in touch with people all over the globe. I expect to relocate sometime in the next few years, but everything is going to

well for me right now to uproot. I spent years living out of a backpack, travel-ing all over the country, and I have to say, Portland is near the top of the list.RAH What were you looking at for inspiration growing up? How about now?

MWM Growing up, I was always into geometry, logos, and textile patterns. MC Escher, Herb Lubalin, old wallpaper patterns, cereal boxes, blueprints, topography maps, whatevs… When I started paying attention to graffiti, I realized the potential for the two to be combined. I feel that my current work, studio and street, is a celebration of what can happen when these worlds collide.

RAH What is your obsession with sharpies?

MWM I should be sponsored by Sharpie. Seriously. I’ve gone through hun-dreds of them. I guess it all started when I was really young, snagging them from my mom’s junk drawer. They just rule. I have tried all sorts of fancy pens, but nothing compares to the rich black and the unforgiving flow of a Sharpie. And you can get them anywhere, even at the local bodega at five in the morning.

RAH Any new projects coming up? A new Bangers, maybe?

MWM For sure, I just started working on the Bangers 3 book last week. I’m pumped about it. Honestly, I think it has the potential to be my best work yet. It will be at the press in early 07. I’m also working on a bunch of new tees, 2 solo shows coming up, The WS:1234 book will drop next summer, and a handful of other collabo’s with some awesome companies. Staying busy for sure. Wallspankers Issue 3 will release in January, and the deadline for contributions is 12/31. Please join us. Stay good. Stay up.

MWM Graphics and Wallspankers can be found at www.mwmgraphics.com.

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DiSCiPLE OF THE BLACK OUTLiNEAn electronic conversation with artist Chris Norris. by R. Anthony Harris

Chris Norris in life looks to be unassuming and somewhat plain; a pale face in a sea of people living and working in this doomed megalopolis. His work is something totally different and stands on the shoulders of his peers in Richmond, and his mind is the perfect melting pot of imagery imprinted on him by American media. His work touches a part of the current generation of consumers -- drawing on our nostalgia for harsh comic book coloring and use of heavy line -- it brings back thoughts of early 80s comics and Saturday morning cartoons. Combine those with an impossible-to-read but strange action narrative and you have something that -- at the very least -- will give you pause.

He was nice enough to get back to me before his trip to Scope Miami.

R. Anthony Harris For our readers, your paintings have a distinct illustrative style that defines objects with use of heav y black outlines and color choices that could be seen as “abrasive.” What general reaction have you gotten about your work since the beginning of your career to now?

Chris Norris Sometimes people are dismissive because of the comic-inspired drawing. But usually those people are

abstractionists. If you look back on the whole of twentieth centur y ar t, you will see a lot of black line. Especially in the Dada movement that was mostly comprised of illustrators and graphic designers, but also with such ar tists as Egon Schiele, Arshile Gorky and Francis Bacon. These are my influences and I gestate their work in my head with such comic illustrators as Jack Kirby, Alex Toth, and Windsor McKay. The f ine ar tists deal with formalism and color in a blunt force way while the comic ar tists deal with movement and narrative f low. I’m combining all this into a single image f iltered through my hand. So when people get that they usually enjoy the show.

RAH I saw your profile & ar t in New American Painter. You were in good company. How much does the publicity side of being an ar tist take from your time actually painting, and do you like that side of your career?

CN Yes, I do like that side of my career and I have created an entire side project called FEAST that deals with it . You have to be prepared to take on the whole ball of wax. One of the things not taught in ar t school is, as ar tists, how do you treat yourself like a small business? This isn’t just about the f ine ar ts but ar ts in general . I don’t know a photographer or graphic designer who hasn’t spent time as a freelancer. So much of the business is about networking, but more with your peer group than with Famous Curator X. RAH Do you feel coming from Richmond has limited you in anyway?

CN Yes and no. The great thing about Richmond is that it is blossoming right now in a sophisticated way. Also the Internet has totally changed where you have to be to make ar t. Fif teen years ago I would have to be in New York City to have a career in the ar ts. That is not true anymore.

RAH In painting, there have been so many movements and

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techniques, are there any new ideas happening in contemporar y painting?

CN Absolutely, and expect to see more. I grew up on Saturday morning car toons and comic books. Now an entire generation behind me has grown up on video games, MT V, and YouTube. Expect all that f iltered imager y and information to make a huge impact on people’s perceptions and produce the next generation of avant-garde ar t. And never underestimate the impact of geopolitics in ar t .

RAH What influences your thinking when concepting your next piece?

CN The previous piece. Sometimes I am on roll and sometimes at a cold star t. If I am at a cold star t I will just star t to make marks until I see a stor y. Then the rest just f lows.

RAHAre you going to continue working within the same parameters for future series? Is it dangerous as an established ar tist to change directions?

CN I already have changed directions and reintroduced the f igure to my work. It is refreshing and necessar y.

RAH What exhibitions do you have coming up in the future?

CN It’s been a big year. I have shown in Houston, New York, and London. Next is Richmond at Ada Galler y and Scope Miami in December. The above-mentioned FEAST project will return to Richmond next September at Plant Zero, and that is going to be wild. Chris is a 1997 graduate and adjunct professor at VCU. He has been featured in New American Painting, co-founded the art collective Feast, and is a part of the current stable of artists at Ada Gallery.

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THE FEST V REPORTby Sean Patrick Rhorer photos by Michelle Dosson

Festivals have long been a par t of the Gainesville music environ-

ment. Since as far back as the late ‘90s punk, hardcore, indie

rock and other bands have been converging on the small univer-

sity-centered town in Florida for an annual gathering. Over the

past f ive years, the annual event has taken the shape of The Fest,

run by staf fers of No Idea Records and other local businesses and

organizers.

2006 marks what was dubbed “The Fest V” by organizers, who also

added a nice equation of “420 + 69 = The Fest V” to the free beer

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BRAINWORMS

cozies and various other items being

handed out to attendees. Featuring ar-

guably one of the best lineups of the past

few years’ events, The Fest V had all the

makings of an incredible weekend laid

out for anyone willing to make the tr ip…

and we did.

Over the course of three days in late

October, some of the best bands -- both

established and up-and-coming -- from

around the nation and fur ther, ventured

to Gainesville to play for what might

have been some of the most enthusi-

astic audiences they’ve ever encoun-

tered. Sets from Armalite and Paint It

Black, two of Philadelphia’s own, proved

that just because you might not like a

band’s recordings doesn’t mean they’re

not good live. On the other hand, the

female-fronted pop punk goodness

that is Fif th Hour Hero and the jokester

punk-meets-hardcore outf it Af f irmative

Action Jackson both delivered great sets

as expected. The weekend would have

been a success without subjecting audi-

ences to ASG though, while The Bomb,

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CLOAK AND DAGGER

featuring the former singer of Naked Raygun, made many new fans

without a doubt.

A good number of Richmond’s own helped keep the strange Gaines-

ville-Richmond connection alive. Hometown pop punk favorites

Pink Razors played to a large crowd that appeared to love ever y

minute of their set despite issues with tuning. Cloak/Dagger and

Government Warning both played the punk/hardcore focused show

on Sunday af ternoon, not necessarily receiving their typically en-

ergetic response but playing great sets nonetheless. Singer/song-

writer Clint Maul unfor tunately played to a rather small audience,

yet still gave each and ever y song his all making for an awesome

per formance.

Highlights of the weekend weren’t necessarily unexpected. An-

them-spouting punks Dillinger Four headlined Saturday night

per fectly, leaving ever yone with a post-show high that ultimately

over flowed into numerous house par ties and a house show that

lasted until nearly 5 : 00am the next morning. Presented as poten-

tially their last show, Whiskey & Co. wooed onlookers with their

fun-meets-depressive brand of alt-countr y.

Unmistakably though, New Jersey had the best to of fer this year.

Pop punk geniuses The Ergs! blew away their fans with what one

of the members claimed was their best set ever and it’s likely most

people would agree. It also helps when the de facto king of The

Fest, Dan Yemin (of Lifetime, Paint It Black, Armalite ) stage dives

during your set… the ultimate sign of approval . Headlining Sunday

night and bringing a close to The Fest, Lifetime dispelled any no-

tions that their reformation wasn’t a good idea. Throughout ever y

song the air was f illed with stage dives and people clamoring to

sing along.

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THE BOMB ARMALITE

WHISKEY & COMPANY

27

LATTERMAN

NEW BRUISES THE ERGS

YOU, ME, & THE ATOM BOMB

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THE EVENSby David Donaldson intro by Parker photos by PJ Sykes

Ian MacKaye has been around the block, from the highly influential hardcore punk band Minor Threat, the short-lived post-hardcore band Em-brace, the collaboration with Ministry in a band called Pailhead, and let’s not forget a little band by the name of Fugazi.

He even has his own record label (along with partner and former Minor Threat bandmate Jeff Nelson), Discord Records. Enter Amy Farina which is no rookie herself, having played with the D.C. indie rock outfit the Warmers. In 2001 Ian and Amy came together to form the duo The Evens. Hav-ing practiced extensively and played a few live shows in (what some what call) unusual venue choices the band came out with its first album, the self-titled The Evens in 2005. Now with the release of their second album, Get Evens, Ian and Amy are hitting the road to play a dozen east coast dates in galleries, churches, colleges, and cultural centers. About a week before The Evens played Gallery5 RVA enlisted David Donaldson (from the band Our Stable Violent Star) to get up with Mr. MacKaye and delve deeper into the formation of The Evens, the new album, and the future of Discord Records.

David Davidson How did The Evens come to be? How did you and Amy end up together?Ian MacKaye We’ve been friends for many years, and we’ve spent a lot of time talking about music, and often times playing music together. In 2001things sort of lined up in a way that made it possible for us to play together for a little while. We were not really thinking about being in a band; we were just thinking about playing music together. And we ended up enjoying it so much that we continued to do it for about two or three years, and in 2004 we decided to take it out on the stage.

DD Did you decide initially to keep it as a two piece?IM Yeah, because I mean really it was more of a musical conversation between the two of us. So we were enjoying just spending time together, writing music with each other. We weren’t thinking about it being a band, we were just thinking about it as the two of us working on songs together. We never really seriously entertained adding anybody else. And once we got up and running, I mean, just so much of our operation is kind of based

THE EVENS 2004 GET EVENS 2004

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come out as possible, but more to get people who are interested tocome see the shows. I would also like to impress upon people the sortof possibility that music can appear other locations, other than justthe normal spots.DD When I first talked to you about the Children’s Museum, youmentioned that The Evens were seeking out non-traditional venues and I thought that that was a very interesting idea.IM It’s worked out great for us. I mean, I love it. I have to behonest with you, I really don’t miss the rock club world a bit.DD I don’t blame you. Just the experiences that I personally havehad with the clubs in town, I find it’s a lot easier to do things like dealwith art galleries and museums, at least I’ve found it to be.IM Definitely, then they’re just enthusiastic.DD Right, because that’s not what they have normally going onthere, so somebody must be really interested in doing it if they’regoing to go out of their way to have it at a venue like that.IM Right, and then it exposes people to the venue. So maybe there’s,you know galleries and other places, they’re happy to have otherpeople coming into the room.

DD How was the process of making Get Evens different than the first record?IM We recorded on a _” 8 track tape at Dischord house. So the firstrecord was recorded on 24 track at Inner Ear. And on this one we didall the engineering ourselves, so that was quite a challenge. We werepretty happy with the sounds.

DD Lyrically, what are the songs on Get Evens about?IM We just write about whatever we’re thinking about. At the momentwe’re in a country that has a government that has essentially plungedus into military actions all around the world; you know, that I think,in my opinion are criminal, and I think that it’s just a devastatingblow to our country, and it’s going to be something that we have to con-tend with for years. So at the moment I guess, one thing that’s always on my mind is criticizing the government and alsoencouraging people to join in on the criticism. Because you know, themost powerful party in this country is not the Democratic party, Iknow that they now have control of the house and the senate; it’s not

on the two of us. It would be kind of complicated to just throw in a third just to make it, but also I don’t know that it’s really necessary.

DD The Evens have played in some very non-traditional venues, likeThe Children’s Museum in Richmond. What has been the mostinteresting?IM I don’t know, we’ve played in a whale skeleton in a NaturalHistory Museum in upstate New York. We played in another museum inWales that was pretty nice. We played in a junkyard in Birmingham,Alabama. We’ve played in any number of record stores and artgalleries. We played in the lobby of a movie theater in Santa Cruz,Ca. That was nice. Frankly, they’ve all been kind of interesting. Imean, not playing in regular venues is definitely more challenging,and it is far more interesting. Every night when you go in you kind ofhave to make the gig, you have to figure out how everything is goingto work.

DD I could see that being a little different than just going intoa club, setting up, doing your sound check, and everything runs thesame way it does every other night.IM Right; I love the engagement.

DD Do you find that the non-traditional venues brings a differentcrowd out, or more people or less people, or younger or older?IM Um, I would say that most importantly it brings out people thatare interested in music, and more specifically our music. So the crowdfeels more inclined to have to make something of the evening. I wouldsay, I imagine that if we were playing regular venues we would havelarger crowds. It’s just partly because, you know people have atendency to go places where they’ve been. It’s sort of a natural humaninclination to just go where they’ve already been. Another thing is, Ithink that people that listen to music now have become very-- have beentrained to find their music in advertising in the weeklys, and youknow there is no strip ad for The Children’s Museum for instance. Ifthere’s no strip ad then people don’t really know about the gig. It’sone of those things that you kind of have to search out to find it.Our idea is not necessarily to sort of you know, get as many people to

32

DD What other D.C. bands have your ear at the moment?IM I just finished recording a record with Antelope. We actually re-corded it at Dischord House on the 8-track and I love it, I think it’s a great record. It’ll come out in early 2007. Actually I think the new Soc-cer Team record is fantastic, I saw those guys on Saturday night, I love them. And there was a band I saw, I think they were called Babykiller Estelle. They’re pretty interesting, it’s like a piano player and a drum-mer. I think there are a couple other little things that are bubbling up that are of interest to me, but I can’t think of any at the moment.

DD What does the future hold for Dischord? I know over the years there have been a lot of bands, and short lived bands, and other bands form-ing from those bands; for the other bands, and for you personally what does the future hold for Dischord?IM You know, I just never thought about the future. I didn’t think about the future in the past, I don’t think about the future in the present, and I don’t think I’ll think about the future in the future either. I just don’t think about it. I feel that at the moment our work is, like the Evens, and we just got through releasing 7 releases this fall, we’re really happy about that. This Antelope record is coming together, there’s more. I’m keeping my eye out for new bands in town. I know some bands are go-ing to be going on a break, and I hope that the people in the bands will do something else, and then there’s all kinds of historical stuff we have in our vaults that we’re going to start digging through and just trying to keep putting stuff out. As long as people are interested, we’ll keep put-ting it out. But I don’t really have a sense of the future, because I have no idea of what’s in the future. So I just think that at the moment, our work is in front of us, what we’re doing today. For me, some things are changing at the label, some people are leaving to do personal things in their lives, so that’s been a bit of a transition, but it’s good, all is well, that’s a good thing. And there should be a sense of fluidity at Dischord, I mean, Dischord is never supposed to be an end, an end all kind of zone it really is, as a job it’s supposed to allow people to figure out what they want to do in their lives and hopefully assist them in that effort.

Find out more info or buy their albums at www.dischord.com.

the Republican party, and they have control of the executive branch;it’s the apathetic party, that are in control of everything becausethey’re not actually voicing any real concerns, they’re just trying tomind their business. Speaking from my lyrics, some of the songs Iwould say are definitely, you know being critical of what’s happened,because I feel that it’s dearly in need of criticism. Also I think wesing about liberation, the good things in the world that are allaround us, sort of celebrate that. DD A question about your choice of instrument, why did you chooseto go with a baritone guitar instead of a regular guitar?IM When we first started playing, I did play a regular guitar. But I re-ally had an idea for the way I wanted things to sound. I love low end, I mean I was essentially a bass player first and foremost. I was a piano player as a kid, and when I first got into a band I played bass, and I am actually a very rhythmic player and in Fugazi I essentially played, I was definitely the rhythm guitar player. My rhythm, a lot of the basslines in Fugazi, you know, I wrote them. I think a lot about the bass, I love the instrument. But I didn’t really want to play bass and drums because I find there to be a real sonic limitation. Also I had gotten really used to playing guitar in Fugazi, so the baritone just fit right in. It was kind of a cross between the two. I can definitely get guitar sounds, and I can also illicit bass sounds pretty easily. One thing to think about, I’ve noticed it with the first record, I think a lot of people heard that first record and just thought it was a band, then they heard that it was a two piece, and they thought that we overdubbed the bass. It was actually live, there are no musical overdubs on either one of these records to speak of. There are little tiny things, like there was a piano on the first record, and there are tiny little things I’ve added in on this one, but by in large there’s nothing added in; it’s just the two of playing. But I think that, so the illusion is actually successful people do hear it as a band, but in some ways, I think that once people heard it as a band it became less interesting to them. They just thought, oh it’s just a band. Our job is to write songs that are remarkable enough that they’ll want to remark upon them, and that’s our jobs. Even if though they’re maybe missing the fact that we’re a duo we’ve got to write songs that people are going to say, “man that song just kicked my ass”, so that’s our aim.

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1) Battle of Mice A Day of Nights (Neurot) 2) Jesu Silver (Hydra Head) 3) Grails Black Tar Prophecies 1,2, And 3 (Important) 4) Tom Waits Orphans (Anti) 5) Enslaved Ruun (Candlelight) 6) Cult of Luna

Somewhere Along The Highway (Earache) 7) Matmos The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of The Beast (Matador) 8) Tragedy Nerve Damage (Tragedy) 9) Mogwai Mr Beast (Matador) 10) Bat For Lashes Fur and

Gold (Echo) 11) Ghostface Killah Fishscale (Def Jam) 12) Pit Er Pat Pyramids (Thrill Jockey)13) Melvins (A) Senile Animal (Ipecac) 14) Kayo Dot Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue (Robotic Empire) 15) Hope Con-

spiracy Death Knows Your Name (Deathwish) 16) Envy Insomniac Doze (Temporary Residence) 17) Burial Burial (Hyperdub) 18) Mouth Of The Architect The Ties That Bind (Translation Loss) 19) Homemade Knives No One Doubts The Darkness (Triple Stamp) 20) Year Of No Light Nord (E-Vinyl) 21) Neko Case Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (Anti) 22) Mogwai Zidane (Pias) 23) The Sword Age Of Winters (Kemado) 24) The Black Heart Procession The Spell (Touch And Go) 25) Neil On Impression The Perfect Tango (Release The Bats) 26) Nights Like These The Faithless (Victory) 27) Cat Power The Greatest (Matador) 28) Red Sparowes Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun (Neurot) 29) Morrissey Ringleader Of The Tormentors (Sanctuary) 30) Isis and Aereogramme In The Fishtank 14 (In The Fishtank) 31) Ensemble Ensemble (Fat Cat) 32) Mastodon Blood Mountain (Reprise) 33) Lucero Rebels, Rogues, and Sworn Brothers (Liberty And Lament) 34) Isis In The Absence Of Truth (Ipecac) 35) I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness Fear Is On Our Side (Secretly Canadian) 36) Blame Game Ask Someone (Stickfigure) 37) Mono You Are There (Temporary Residence) 38) Made Out Of Babies Coward (Neurot) 39) Om Conference Of Birds (Holy Mountain) 40) Genghis Tron Dead Mountain Mouth (Crucial Blast) 41) Tides From Silence (TDB) 42) Magnolia Electric Co Fading Trails (Secretly Canadian) 43) Growing Color Wheel (Trouble-

man Unlimited) 44) Six Organs Of Admittance The Sun Awakens (Drag City) 45) Sunn0))) + Boris Altar (Southern Lord) 46) Ultra Dolphins Mar (Robotic Empire) 47) Celtic Frost Monotheist (Century Media) 48) Mono and World’s End Girlfriend Palm-less Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain (Temporary Residence) 49) Pan American For Waiting, For Chasing (Mosz) 50) Agalloch Ashes Against The Grain (The End)

+ FIVE BANDS THAT ALMOST MADE THE ABOVE LIST +

1) Jedi Mind Tricks 2) Across Tundras 3) Scott Walker 4) Raise The Red Lantern 5) Iron Maiden

+ TOP 50 RECORDS OF 2006 +

+ FIVE BANDS THAT ALMOST MADE THE ABOVE LIST + 1) Jedi Mind Tricks 2) Across Tundras 3) Scott Walker 4) Raise The Red Lantern 5) Iron Maiden

by Jonathan Lee images by Adam Juresko

+ TOP 5 LOCAL

RICHMOND, VA BANDS OF 2006 +1) Homemade Knives 2) Lord By Fire 3) Tigershark 4) Cough 5) Mouthbreather

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+ Top 10 Live Bands Of 2006 +

1) Sigur Ros 2) A Silver Mt Zion 3) The Drift 4) Grails 5) Dalek 6) Lucero 7) Mono 8) Tragedy 9) Lord By Fire 10) Magnolia Electric Co.

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As Jonathan sneaks into your family’s house on Xmas eve and drops a

copy of the new

Souvenir’s Young

America “s /t” cd

(Underadar or lp on e-

vinyl) into ever y stocking

over the f ireplace, please remember to leave him some “special ” cookies to br ing him holiday cheer….HO HO HO…cough !37

to mention that this re-cord is a lot more mature and well thought out than anything they have done previously. This album is much less pop punk, still very pop, but a lot more rock and roll (paying tribute to The Boss on the track “Bruce, Oh My Bruce” ), adding texture to a few of the songs with a horn section. A funny thing about this band is that being French Canadian, English is not their first language, so sometimes the lyrics are phrased a little strangely, but come off at times as totally brilliant and much more heartfelt than I would have expected initially. There isn’t one bad song on this record, but my top pick at the

time of this writing is the song “To Split a Rival Like a Fish,” a song in which Olivier is the main singer, which is strange for me as I wasn’t ever really a fan of his throaty singing, but the harmonizing in the chorus between he and Genevieve is impec-cable.

From start to finish, this album is thoroughly en-joyable bringing to mind at separate times the likes of Strike Anywhere, Hot Rod Circuit, and Hot Water Music all the while remaining true to their own perfect blend of pop punk and rock and roll. They may not have reached perfection before, but this might be it. - Brandon Peck

IsisIn the Absence of TruthIpecac Recordings

Words like “layers,” “progression,” and “for-ward thinking” cannot be avoided when de-scribing the sounds that Isis have woven into In the Absence of Truth. The band continues to break new ground within itself on each al-bum, however large or small that may be. With In the Absence of Truth, Isis have ingeniously crafted another sonic soundscape, musically ebbing and flowing compositions while adding new elements to their sound. At times Aaron Turner’s vocals

are cleaner, clearer, and have more dynamic range than on any of the bands previous albums. Don’t worry though, there’s still the moments of hoarse, guttural yell-ing he is known for tear-ing in at the appropriate times when the music climbs to furious heights of chaos. Another notice-able change is the more dynamic and harder hit-ting drumming of Aaron Harris. Not only does he use a double bass kick to pack a punch but the percussion has also become more varied and technical, at times even sounding like tablas (an Indian percussion instru-ment). Together with the multilayered guitars, am-bience, and the sculpted

Fifth Hour HeroNot Revenge… Just a Vicious CrushNo Idea Records

Perfecting perfection isn’t an easy task, not that Fifth Hour Hero was perfect be-fore, but they were damn near close. For those unfamiliar with them, they definitely had their roots in pop punk, half of the time sounding very similar to Discount. Their last full length, Scattered Sentences was pretty astounding, as was the EP that followed it, You Have Hurt My Business and My Reputation Too. Both records while on constant rotation in my stereo were lacking something, and it was easy for me to pick my favorite of the two singers,

Genevieve Tremblay and Olivier Maguire, because they tended to keep their vocals pretty obviously separated from song to song. Tending to lean towards the songs that Genevieve sang on, at one point I just started skipping the songs that Olivier sang on as they weren’t up to par musically, melodically or overall with the songs sung by his counterpart.

Not Revenge… has me reevaluating this band entirely. The vocals are much more success-fully integrated with each other and actually play off of each other quite well. The song structures are better and the hooks are even more prevalent. Not

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electronic tinges and tones, Isis builds another slow burning epic album that reveals new textural nuances with each listen. In fact there are so many layers on this album that it will force you put your ears closer to the speak-ers. This is not music for listeners with ADD or ADHD. In the Absence of Truth is a beautiful album full of a genuine strive for growth, not by leaps and bounds, but a “baby step” mentality put toward the tweaking of the evolution of their sound. - Parker

LifetimeTwo Songs 7”Decaydance

When I was in high school I heard Lifetime for the first time. By the time the

song “Young, Loud and Scotty” ended, I knew I had found something brilliant. I immediately penned a short letter of praise expressing my hunger for more of their music, sealed the envelope and stuck it in the mail. It’s true; I did not yet have the internet. Roughly a month later I was reading a magazine and stumbled across an article about Kid Dynamite, the band that Lifetime guitarist, Dan Yemin had started after the demise of Lifetime. The demise of Lifetime? No! The next day my letter was in the mailbox, unopened, and stamped with “Return to Sender.”For the next 8 years, Lifetime remained a con-

in DC. There is something about seeing a band for the first time after only hearing their song on CD and vinyl for 8 years that is very nerve-racking. I was sure I would be dis-appointed, but when they hit the stage and blasted through 10+ songs in only a half hour, the smile never left my face, and my worries were gone. Which brings us to this 7”. The first two songs recorded and released in 9 years are “Haircuts and T-shirts” and “All Night Long”. Both songs have all of the melody and energy that made me love this band, the lyrics are just as personal as ever and if you ever had any doubt that they couldn’t

pull off this reunion with style I dare you to listen to this a few times. The only pitfall of this record is its brevity, barely breaking 4 minutes. If the guys in Lifetime intended to entice us, and leave us hungry for the next full length, they have undoubtedly succeeded. Bravo, gentle-men. - Brandon Peck

Mass Movement of The MothOuterspaceExotic Fever Records

If you haven’t heard of this band yet, you must not be paying attention. This Richmond / Northern Virginia group of kids does a great job of making music that is impossible to label. Falling somewhere between the keyboard

stant, eventually taking their place in my heart as my definite #1 favorite band. Constantly finding reasons to be inspired by their music and the lyrics of Ari Katz, and even tak-ing part in a Lifetime trib-ute band, it was no secret to anyone that this band meant a lot to me. This is why I was inundated with questions as to what I thought of them reuniting after the totally botched Hellfest this year, which turned into Lifetime playing three shows and reigniting the flame that died out nearly a decade ago. I was torn, and when they announced an east coast tour in July, I bit the bul-let and went to see them

punk rock of VCR, the spastic guitar of Blood Brothers and a host of too many other influ-ences (amongst them, grooving reggae rock), Mass Movement of the Moth have released their greatest effort yet. This album wastes no time picking up speed as the first track “Idle Minds Speak in Binary” comes in full force with its creative guitar composi-tions, yelled vocals and haunting keyboards. By the time this first track is over, you get about 2 seconds to breathe before the second track, “Fang,” comes blasting through your speakers. Other standout tracks on this album are “Ous We

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side project initially started to give Walter Schreifels a band to front, only ever recorded a demo in 1989. Those recordings, released now as an exclusively digital EP, serve as the transi-tion from Schreifels’ hardcore roots into the post-hardcore sound he helped to create (Moondog’s live lineup later morphed into Quick-sand) and demonstrate a bit of both those styles. Sounding sonically akin to the various Schreifels projects (especially CIV for those who believe he penned most of that band’s debut), these are must-have recordings. Although, I feel like a physical release would have been warranted,

remastered and avail-able digitally works too.. - Sean Patrick Rhorer

Off With Their HeadsHi Five For The Rapture 7”Fashionable Idiots Records

For some reason, a lot of bands playing pop punk ala Dillinger Four seem to be popping up these days. Of them, Off With Their Heads definitely offer the most interest-ing music. This new 7” features three anthemic, yet catchy-as-hell tunes that all deliver. As if they didn’t earn enough cred on their own, Dillinger Four’s Paddy Costello plays bass on this re-cording. Awesome band

that I can’t wait to hear more from soon.- SPR

Our Stable Violent StarSelf TitledSelf Releasedwww.myspace.com/ourstableviolentstar

You can immediately tell Our Stable Violent Star had fun making this album, their debut full-length. The patch-work of experimental sounds and styles needed be realized in a setting like Minimum Wage Studios, because the only way to contain a musical beast this out of control is to let it go off. After OSVS wake you up with the film-like intro, a bit of French klezmer nod-

ding, and bouts of manic singing / spoken word, they crash you face first into a watery grave… Then you understand OSVS are just getting started. “Chapter 3” begins with an epic climb as they pull you out, ad-minister mouth to mouth with a steady guitar and bass-line, and push you right back into a noisy, pounding hysteria. While it may be difficult to keep up with the sudden tempo changes, this is no torture session. OSVS ensure that you remain engaged, wondering what they’ll do to you next. This album works kind of like a jack-in-the-box – you don’t know when it’s

Are,” a song that starts with a slow tempo crawl led by creepy keyboards, and slowly picked guitar notes. The tempo picks up a bit before returning to a tempo similar to the beginning in which the title of the song is revealed in the lyrics “Ous we are, so mysteri, ous we are.” We are launched into a long build up complete with yelps and screams before suddenly launching into a total ska-reggae part. It doesn’t make sense on paper, but somehow it all fits together perfectly.

Track after track this record will continue to surprise you with some of the most oddly interesting compositions, and some very creative guitar work.

Everything that could be done right, is. The result is a captivating album full of music that will make you feel like you just sat through a really intense alien / zombie / horror movie. I’m looking for-ward to what is to come from this band with great curiosity and excitement. - Brandon Peck

MoondogMoondog (digital only reissue)Anthology Record-ings

After years only available in various bootlegged formats, the classic recordings of NYHC act Moondog are finally get-ting a proper release… sorta. This band, which was a Gorilla Biscuits

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going to POP and give you that jolt, but you turn the crank anyway, letting the pretty tune lull you into a false sense of security. You may not always like the jolt, but you welcome it and you will definitely FEEL it, and therein lies the power of OSVS. David, Nathaniel, and Natron can tightly segue from one genre to another and you must rely on primal instincts to pogo, dance, or clap your hands. You’ll be guided along by Jameson’s equally expressive vocals, ranging from indie-rock sing-alongs to hardcore shrieks and flattered by his sometimes-atonal chants. Even after one reading of the lyrics, it’s possible to follow the

characters’ feelings of distress, confusion, fury and desperation through sound alone. Just take the opportunity to catch your breath during the cracklings of “A Paedo Baptism” and “Very Sub-tle” or the mutant baby talk of “Bastard Birth.” And as you reach the end of “As Told In 3rd.14 Person” OSVS morph into “Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In a Cave and Grooving With a Pict” (look it up). On this record (and their ensuing live show), Our Stable Violent Star suc-ceed in exhausting them-selves and the listener. As the last pieces of cello and feedback fade

the mix. As the years have passed though, the formula has never seemed to be as good as those first couple of EPs and with the release of Not Enough Saturday Nights, River City High has all but abandoned it altogether. In fact, the majority of this new album sounds more like lame local bar rock than anything being created by former pop punkers. While a couple of songs (most notably “Amy” ) still retain a glimmer of what made this band awesome in the past, the remain-ders truly are disappoint-ing.. - SPR

on “Sequence Raveled Out Of Sound” I’m taken back to imagery from the song prior, “Fractured In Time.” My limbs may be broken, but there’s something about it that’s strangely soothing. And I turn the crank again. - Mike Rutz

River City High Not Enough Saturday NightsTakeover Records

When River City High first popped onto the scene, they showed a lot of promise. Featuring former Funsize front man James Menefee, the band packed all the catchy pop goodness people had come to love from him, while incorporating a healthy dose of rock into

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P a r t y F a v o r sby Clay McLeod Chapmanimage by Jeff Smack

My husband purchased our first camcorder just a few days before Jimmy’s fifth birthday, nearly twenty years ago now. His party’s one of our first memories captured on video, leaving us with hours worth of grainy foot-age, these pixilated visions of party favors waving through the air. There’s at least three tapes of Jimmy opening his presents, blowing out the candles on his cake. Even me cleaning up after everybody had left. Put that damn thing away and help me pick up, you can hear me yelling at the camera, caught swearing on tape for the rest of my life. It may have been our son’s birthday, but it was my husband who was acting like he’d just gotten a new toy -- refusing to put that clunky contraption down all day, recording every spare snippet that caught his eye. The moment I remember best is Jimmy playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, where I’m blindfolding him in the backyard, the rest of the kids forming a circle, surrounding Jimmy as I spin him around three times, all of his friends counting off with each turn, one, two, three, finally letting him go, watching him wobble on his own, back and forth, all dizzy, reaching his arms out in front of him, trying to get his balance back, getting tangled up into the streamers hanging from the trees, suddenly mummifying himself in crepe paper. Searching desperately for that donkey. My husband sneaks up in front of him, trying not to make a sound -- only for Jimmy to start marching straight for the video camera, aiming his pin directly at the lens. There’s about ten seconds worth of Jimmy just filling up the frame, smiling, his eyes hidden behind that blindfold -- reaching out for the camera, only a few feet away from pinning his father with the donkey tail. My husband hadn’t mastered the auto-focus yet, trying to keep up with Jimmy while tightening in on the focal point, following him through the viewfinder -- so most of the footage is a bit blurred. Everybody’s laughing, though -- these images of children in the background giggling as Jimmy stumbles around. I can’t even tell you the last time I watched that video. Had to’ve been years ago. Wasn’t until recently that I even thought about it, having to rummage through a few boxes in the closet to find the tape in the first place, dusting it off and slipping it into our VCR.

I’d completely forgotten all about it -- up until I saw Jimmy on the six o’clock news, blindfolded all over again. The image has the same grainy quality to it, shot on some shoddy camcorder -- the auto-focus fluctuating back and forth before finally settling on his face, his features clarifying themselves after a few seconds. His tussled hair. The bruises on his cheek. His unshaven chin, the whiskers just barely beginning to sprout. They have him kneeling in the foreground -- while right behind him, there are these three hooded men pressing their rifles against their chests. Their faces are swathed in these red-checkered keffiyehs, made from the same material as the table-spreads we’d use for our backyard barbecues -- looking as if they’d wrapped their heads in picnic blankets. There’s a banner hanging from the wall, written in Arabic. Took me three blinks before I could stop myself from thinking it said HAPPY BIRTHDAY in some foreign language. This looks familiar to me, I thought. Where have I seen this before? And sure enough, it all comes flooding back to me in that moment: the blindfold, the banner, the people in the background. This was Jimmy’s fifth birthday party all over again. Hearing him plead for his life -- I remember feeling familiar with that tone of voice, recognizing how it sounded. This is when Jimmy gives up on the game, I said to myself. This is when he pulls off his blindfold to see how far away he is from the donkey, kicking his heels when he sees that he’s only a few inches off. But the men won’t let him peek, insisting that he keep playing -- shoving the butts of their rifles into his back whenever he stops talking, repeating the same statement over and over again. When the anchorman began reporting about a relief worker in Iraq getting kidnapped, I panicked, grabbing the closet video cassette I could find, slipping it into our VCR and pressing record just in time to get Jimmy. He’s wearing an orange jumpsuit that doesn’t look familiar to me. It’s not some-thing I’ve ever seen him wear before. Definitely not something I bought for him. He’s saying something to the camera -- his voice sounding hollow, dissonant. The acoustics of the room are terrible, the microphone picking

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up the hum of the fluorescent lights over his head. You can barely hear him. The news had edited his segment down to a few seconds, cutting out all the parts that are spoken in Arabic -- leaving in Jimmy’s plea to American soldiers, begging the president to pull out from Baghdad. This is my last chance, Jimmy weeps, bowing his head. Please, help me. I ended up accidentally taping over the last half of our vacation to the Florida Keys. There’s about three minutes of me and my husband sun-bathing on the beach, the video camera on me, holding my hand up to my forehead, shielding my eyes from the light -- only to cut right to that yellow and black sunburst, that banner of the Jihad hanging from the back wall. Whoever’s behind the camera, you can tell he wants to frame the shot per-fectly -- staging everything so that he can get the best composition. Getting the lights just right. Where should the hooded men stand, how close they should be to their hostage. An inch to the left, an inch to the right. Take a step forward and stop. But I can’t help myself from seeing my son sitting at the picnic table in our backyard, his friends all crowding around him, all of them leaning over his shoulders just as he’s about to blow out the candles on his cake. What I’m watching on the national news is nothing but some party game. I’ve spent the entire week sitting in front of the television, watching through all of our home movies. Hours and hours worth of our family’s life. When I make my way through one tape, I’ll pop in the next -- sifting through the last twenty years, watching every moment we ever recorded on cam-era. All of Jimmy’s birthday parties. Our family vacation to the Bahamas. Our trip to Disney Land. Trips to the beach. Thanksgiving pageants. Christ-mas dinners. Anniversary parties. Heading off to prom. Jimmy’s senior recital. Jimmy’s high school graduation. Jimmy’s first day of college. What I don’t have is his beheading. None of the networks will send me a copy, no matter how much I beg. Even if he is my son, no one will let me see.

www.needsupply.com / 804.355.5880

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A SPECTACLE MONOPOLIZED – MELTDOWN AT THE MARRIOTT

On election night, my roommate’s car breezed us past the big buses barricading the front of the downtown Marriott from all sides. That corner was to become over the next 48 hours the epicenter of the closest watched U.S. Senate race. Conventional wisdom, even that tacitly falling out from Karl Rove’s office, had for a long time held that the Democrats were going to win the House of Representatives, but far, far fewer individuals predicted the heavy Senate losses visited upon the Grand Ol’ Party November 7.

Drenched, I signed into Webb’s election night Headquarters at the Omni, only to find an all but empty room, and learn that the candidate was camped out in Arlington. I put down my bag and weighed my options. Allen had set up shop in a local headquarters a few blocks west. Besides, the trickle in of Democrats was slow: only five or so milling about. Jim Turpin was there, an Arlington Democratic Committee member. He sat in front of a projector blasting MSNBC onto the wall, and looked pensive. He said the Mayor would come later. I sat down for a minute, but my instincts led me to trudge into the rainy night, back to the Marriott. The Allen set-up was substantial. Reporters had packed an entire wall of a conference room with cameras facing two ceiling-high projector screens with Fox News on, a ceiling-high waving flag image, and the podium in front of it.

That late on the trail, the network news channels by far outweighed CSPAN on immediate tabloid value. George Allen and Jim Webb’s quest for U.S. Senate descended into the bowels of absurdist name-calling. The Senatorial Campaign Committees pushed the most abysmal

and personal of the ads going distinctly negative. The prevalence of the localized TV ads became increasingly ironic as summer ended. Factcheck.org was doing a great job clarifying the claims made by the ads, but I could not find the time to dedicate to Jim Webb’s novels. (Offensive to community standards, or so said the Allen team.) At a Webb rally at VCU earlier on, I turned around to see and meet a guy named Aaron Ledwith who had a big Allen sign covering his lap. He marked up his voting plans in terms of how he saw Webb as “just putting up a front.” He explained, “Once he gets into office, he’s just going to be your typical big Washington politician who is not looking at any [local] issues. He seemed more like a nationalist than a person of Virginia.”

TSB “Allen told me that the people of Iraq are grateful for the U.S. actions against them.”Ledwith “They are.”TSB “They are?”Ledwith “Yeah. There was this one speech Bush was giving at where there was actually an Iraqi woman who said that she gave us our thanks because she is now free and able to live in Iraq. And she came here just exclusively to visit the president, Bush.” The sheriff of Henrico County, Mike Wade, would share with me a generally positive sentiment. “I consider the Iraq War part of Homeland Security… I think we need to continue forward, and not take steps backward.” At the Marriott on election night, Virginia Senator John Warner was standing around in the hotel lobby with a handler. From what I could observe, Ledwith’s overview had apparently turned by early evening

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when returns were coming back from exit polls. TSB “Many polls coming out of MSNBC have said that more people are voting on national issues than local issues.”John Warner “I think that could well be true.”TSB “Well, why does that change from Tip O’Neil’s old adage—”Warner “‘All politics is local’?”TSB “Yeah.”Warner “I think Tip O’Neill, who I respected and knew quite well, is slightly outdated.” (O’Neil served as Speaker of the House for a decade before retiring in 1987.)TSB “Are the people of Iraq grateful for their ‘liberation’ and occupation?”Warner “I was up there about four weeks ago, and I can tell you, I didn’t see much gratefulness.”

The freak-out and the gratitude around Barack Obama in North Richmond were incomparable to anything I ever saw on the trail. Attempting to get near the Illinois senator at VUU was like trying to wade through a crowded metal show. My body was pressed on all sides so that I had to shove my way desperately through the back of the crowd. Most yearned to get a handshake and, invariably, their copies of The Audacity Of Hope signed, but I could not even get a question in.

There, as well as at VCU, governor Tim Kaine (D-VA) and his predecessor Mark Warner stumped for Jim Webb as they made their last minute push through Northern Virginia – the land of milk and honey, and the land of money and cars. “They call us the three amigos,”said the governor. At both rallies, Warner ingratiated himself to the crowds with a pageantry presentation of his successor. I found it amazing at VUU how, a year later

since I first saw him speak, Barack Obama (D-IL) had not significantly changed his stump speech. It was the same old lame jokes about his name ( “people called me ‘yo mama’” ), talking about his family, the same sort of general party-line positivism, and the familiar misgivings about the war. Obama himself is a Jesus freak, and, consequently, VUU’s gospel choir warmed up the crowd before Bobby Scott (D-VA), Jim Nachman (who would later lose to by Eric Cantor (R-VA) in the 7th district), Mark Warner, the candidate and him took the stage. As much of a buzz of a Democratic Obama presidency was locally generating, black support for Republicans had not been totally devoid. As his office had not returned my calls, it was convenient to run into Benjamin Lambert, head of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, who had taken some grief in the blogging world and the Richmond Free Press for his endorsement of the Republican.

TSB “I saw your piece in Style Weekly. What was your biggest reason for supporting Allen? I mean, was it the black college support? I mean, you weren’t really perturbed by the race issue, as, uh, many people in this state appeared to be.” Lambert “George and I have been good friends for a long time.”TSB “Right.”Lambert “His wife and I serve on the [unintelligible] Resources Board. And whenever I’ve gone to Washington, he’s been very kind and receptive… We know how to talk to each other and how to deal with each other, and that’s why I supported him, because I thought he’d be a good merger really.”TSB “Yeah, I mean, I see how you’re really closely connected to the Richmond scene.”Lambert“Yeah.”

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TSB “You have the Lambert Center on Grace Street, and I saw that, and I was wondering, you know, what brings Richmond closer to George Allen? I’m a Richmond magazine.”Lambert “The main thing for me is was, is, he supports the historically black colleges, and a lot of them need tremendous support. He put the budget amendment in for $450 million, which is very good.”

As he dashed about all evening, Allen’s son, Forrest, occasionally chewed the tip of a mechanical pencil. In contrast to what Susan Allen appearance on Fox News, where she claimed in primetime that Forrest had been called “macaca,” he said that the race had “not really” affected his social life, and that “you would be surprised” how little it had.Tim Kaine had made his way off of the other side of the (physical) platform at VUU when I caught him on the other side. I reared my microphone across four reporters’ shoulders while the governor, face forward in consternation, looked slightly exhausted by aggressive reporters. “I spoke to Jerry Kilgore recently, and he told me he thought global warming was one of Al Gore’s fictions, or that it wouldn’t happen until we were all dead. What is your opinion about global warming?” “It’s real,” he said. “Ask the scientists.” A big theme in understanding the party line was the relationship between science and faith, epistemology, and knowing how we know what we do about the universe and our bodies. Such speculation and studies, however, simply did not make effective attack ads. Articulating creationism or evolution in 30 seconds would have been difficult.

On election eve, the “technocrat” Mark Warner bemoaned in a hoarse voice the White House’s refusal of public funding for stem cell research. “Wouldn’t it be great if America led the world in innovation? But hold

on here--” he said, raising an indignant eyebrow. “--that would actually require an administration that believed in science.” This was, of course, a crack at the president’s push for creationism in public schools, and especially his veto of a bill that would have reformed Clinton-era policies that refused funding for embryonic stem cell research. After the rally, I ran into Doug Wilder.

TSB “Jim Webb once wrote affirmative action is as ‘odious’ as Jim Crow laws with respect to white people. I’m trying to kind of carve the party line out here, ‘cause, you know, talking with Edwards, Edwards told me he strongly supports it. Curious about your own opinions about affirmative action in relation to that.”Doug Wilder, RVA Mayor “I think unfortunately sometimes people get caught up in the usage of words to describe what should be done in terms of anything. Jim Webb is for families, he’s for equity, he’s for access, and to the extent that government plays any role in denying that, he’s for eliminating it. I’m convinced of that. I’m certain of that.“In terms of what he may have said some while back, I think you’ll find that even he would modify that today in terms of what he knows to be, what he really thinks of a denial of those rights that we’ve spoken of. So to the extent that government participates, the government has a responsibility to--” Wilder’s voice briefly cracked falsetto in emphasis, “--back off, and made to back off denial.” TSB “Jim Webb says he won’t raise taxes on working families. What does he mean by ‘working families?’ I mean, I guess everyone, including that mega ridiculously 1% –”RVA Mayor “I think what he is saying is, that for those people who are saying that he is going to propose a $2,000 income tax or some tax on some people, that’s not true. And to the extent that people are already

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burdened at that working level, he is not thinking about imposing any taxes on those people. I don’t know, I have not heard of him being in favor of raising taxes on anybody. I don’t know that they’re –”TSB “Nobody tends to run on that.”RVA Mayor “No.”

At about 10 p.m. on election night, the Allen room’s faces and reactions were looking cautiously cheery. As the commonwealth’s precincts reported, I craned around a suit with a Blackberry in the back room as he sent the results flying out to some remote office location. The exit polls he was pulling up on a ThinkPad were amazing. Race had proven to be dramatic factor, just as much as being an evangelical Christian. One CNN poll showed Jim Webb pulling around 82% of “non-white” women, and 75% of “non-white” men. Later, the network’s analysis showed that if you made less than $50,000 or more than $150,000, you were more likely in an income bracket displaying a Webb majority. It was also apparent that people with postgraduate degrees and without high school diplomas shared a preference for Webb. Of those who strongly opposed or supported the President tended to then want to throw their influence against or for his party. The frequency of church attendance was the strongest correlate for voting Republican.

But throughout my conversations in the conference room, I reassured Allen supporters that he would continue to hold on as the numbers ticked in because, in the last issue, I predicted a close but certain Allen win. My honest prediction was wrong. As attorney general Bob McDonnell descended from the podium after trying to fire up the crowd, I told him I could “feel it in my knees.”

He said, “Jim Webb is not going to hold a candle to George Allen in terms

of his experience, and his understanding of everything from the free enterprise policies and the public safety policies that have made Virginia strong.”The conversation shifted to his concerns about “activist judges.”

TSB “What would activists judges do? Would they be, like, uh, you know, enforcing gay marriage? Would it be things like that?”McDonnell “Well, that’s what they just did last week in New Jersey. You had, uh, you had seven judges on the New Jersey Supreme Court telling the New Jersey General Assembly that they needed to enact a law to either have gay marriage or gay civil unions. When activist judges on the, uh, Supreme Court of the United States, uh, I believe, in a keylow decision striking down or upholding the ability to take private property for economic development and employment and tax revenue, I don’t think that’s what our founders meant in either one of those. They understand judges who have an understanding of the historical, traditional limitations of judicial power.”

Following those comments, whispers began to go around that RVA precincts were some of the last to trickle in, which was my first quantifiable suspicion of a turnaround later in the night. Incidentally, while the ballot question barring gay marriage and civil unions in Virginia failed in RVA, the Commonwealth overall granted it a pass.Before going into temporary seclusion that night, John Warner told another reporter, “Let’s examine the returns, and carefully go into how the votes were cast, and for what reason. But, remember, Americans are speaking tonight, and the one good, positive thing out of this election is that so many of them are exercising the valuable right to vote. Period.”But, at just before midnight, the dream came crashing down, and a situation took hold that let anybody who cared about the race know why

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the candidates did choose seclusion. Registered voter turnout in RVA was about 53% (Half the city is not registered), with Webb pulling an unsurprising majority of local voters with about 72% to Allen’s 27%. Even though the map the city sold me was two years old, the results were still pretty clear. In only four precincts, all in the West End, could Allen pull majorities of any kind. It is very safe to say that Webb wiped Shockoe Bottom. In the northern and especially eastern sections of the city he yanked down several counts close to or above 90%. Geographically, one of the clearest things is how the tightening of urban grid led to stronger and stronger results for Webb. The RVA results, although comprising a mere two percent of the electorate, were key to establishing the fateful figure of Webb’s tentative 12 a.m. three thousand majority. That majority is exactly what was shutting down the Marriott bars at around 12:30 a.m. right before Allen took the stage. It was supposed to be a victory party, not an Irish wake.

Waiting for a concession or last minute turnaround, I trudged back from a cigarette. Then, a group of late twenty-something guys started to heckle me. “What is this?” one of them demanded. “Look, that guy told me he voted for Webb. Get out of here!”

“You must feel like a rock star,” one of the drunken guys said sadly.

“No,” I said. “I don’t. I just told 3,000 fucking people that Allen was going to win. This is humiliating.”

One of them mocked me, grabbed my Allen press pass off my neck, and tore it in half. That incident was what woke me up to the sadness slowly tightening its grip on the room, some heads shaking and others even with red eyes. The televisions turned off, the organizers obviously

not wishing to pump out at high volume any Webb victory claims from national television (which actually came an hour later), Allen eventually came out to address the dwindling crowd, the true believers. Warner spoke first, citing a career race in which he won by only 18 votes, trying to plant doubt in the crowd’s minds that it was over. With a smile on his face, Allen took the microphone, thanked his supporters. Lambert smiled when Allen gestured to him, but Lambert looked off to the side ambivalently as the speech continued. “I know you will all be like eagles and hawks watching as every one of these votes are counted,” Allen famously remarked before leaving the stage. That was the last I saw of him.

All through the night and the next day, I was slowly doing my own number crunching, trying to figure out why Allen’s advisors had not pushed him to concede immediately. According to the commonwealth’s election website, the few localities still collecting votes that morning were Loudoun, Halifax, Isle of Wight and James City. Despite whatever the networks were saying, my math told me that all Allen could have statistically reasoned to summon still left him thousands short, unless he could allege fraud or incompetence. The speech in the Marriott was probably a cushioning period, both for him and his supporters, a small transition era to which many at the well have entitled themselves. Only his jovial, Bible-referencing, football-throwing November 9 concession at the Alexandria Carlyle House marked certain Senate control for the Democratic party.

On November 15, Harry Reid appointed Jim Webb to the Foreign Relations, Veterans Affairs, and Armed Services committees.

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NEW STRATEGY: BOTCH JOKESby Frankie Lee

Recently, Dubya dubbed Senator Kerry’s remarks about students de-

meaning toward US troops. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow de-

manded apologies for troop families, while Duck Hunt Cheney said Kerry

was for the joke and is now against the joke. I believe I even heard that

some senators have already made television ads using Kerry’s remarks,

in hopes of influencing voters in their respective contested states. Kerry

and his people maintain he flubbed the lines during his speech, which in

turn changed the meaning of those lines. Allegedly, the lines were meant

to liken a person with a lack of enthusiasm for education to Dubya,

implying that kind of attitude leads to decisions like going to war in Iraq.

Flubbed, the lines took an interesting turn, implying that a lack of enthu-

siasm in education could lead to one ending up in the military and in Iraq

(that’s SO Vietnam!). What’s interesting about this flubbed perspective

is that the administration and a wide range of Republicans (and people

for that matter) demanded apologies for troops and troop families... but

there’s a mildly distinctive amount of spin there. The lines were spun

into implying that US troops have a lack of education.

Despite the fact that Kerry is leaving the campaign trail, he hasn’t

backed down, questioning the Republicans who’ve never worn a uniform

and stating that the Administration is the one who owes apologies. He’s

also been on Don Imus (closet Republican) to talk about the incident.

Imus told him to go wind surfing or golfing and to just keep his mouth

shut. And Kerry has even apologized. There’s a few problems with this

whole incident, the first being that it shouldn’t be an incident at all. In

light of Congressional elections, Kerry’s flubbed lines offer material

for Republicans to grab the politically media-worthy spotlight. Another

problem is that Kerry’s botch shouldn’t be offensive. Implying that a lack

of enthusiasm for education could cast you in the military is... well, it’s

what some people do when they have a lack of enthusiasm for educa-

tion. Not offensive, just kind of true. The military offers an alternative

to those who don’t necessarily want to go to college and opportunity for

those who can’t necessarily afford or get in to college. Even after a spin,

implying that US troops have a lack of education should still not be offen-

sive. Is it not widely known and accepted (or protested) that the military

recruits these types of people? Our military does boast some genius

minds, some of the brightest, but the majority is (I would say) made up of

people who don’t have higher education, thus making the spin on Kerry’s

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botched joke cynically funny (because that wasn’t the intent of the joke

and because the alleged offended comprise the military, including Duck

Hunt and Dubya). The only way this joke is offensive is if every person

in the military volunteered for completely patriotic reasons OR every

person in the military does have a higher education. Neither is hardly

close to truth. Those two instances only apply to an elite (hmm... the

administration’s been known to associate and center itself on the elite)

group of Americans.

Let’s imagine for a second that Kerry would have gotten the joke right,

that a lack of enthusiasm for education can lead one to make decisions

similar to those made by Dubya. Well Dubya graduated from Harvard

Business School (regardless of how or why, he has it). So in this case

the joke really wouldn’t be funny because it isn’t Dubya’s education

credentials that led him to make the decision to go to war. It’s his ego

and distorted perspective on what it means to be an American. In this

scenario, I would join Republicans in spinning Kerry’s joke (assum-

ing it was delivered in taste, muahaha). Now I’m confused as to what’s

funny/offensive and not funny/inoffensive, or what is and isn’t supposed

to be funny/offensive.

Here’s a list :

>> Kerry’s remarks... not offensive

>> The original writing and intent of the remark... not funny

>>Kerry’s inability of delivering a joke... offensive and not funny

>> Kerry’s speech writers’ lack of legitimate humor... funny, but really

shouldn’t be

>> An apology to troops and their families... the insecurity wreaks of

cynicism

>> Republicans using this for benefit of political persuasion... immature

and offensive

>> Democrats sweeping Kerry off the party floor... backstabbingly not

funny, offensive

>> Any politicians’ public thoughts about this incident... Not Funny

>> The media coverage of the incident... also reeks of cynicism

There’s an opportunity here: botched jokes provide Democrats with

tangible evidence that Republicans are lame enough to play the game of

political persuasion instead of actually coming up with better ideas about

how to govern American people. Democrats: quit playing the game with

Republicans!

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WALKING THE LINEC o mme r c i a l Vs . C r e a t i v e : T h e B a l a n c in g A c t A t S t ud i o 10 8by Adam Sledd photo by Grant Pullman

As Jack Hartmann and Chris Williams settle in to spend the next forty minutes swilling Diet Pepsi and talking about their company, the rest of Richmond’s Studio 108 team is gearing up for what Jack considers a typical day at the office: “Let’s see, we’ve got two edits for different clients, graphics for something else, and audio work for the Jamestown edit.” Chris chips in with location scouting in the afternoon, followed by two meetings on “Beast of Burden,” their upcoming co-production with Mark Joy. Says Hartmann, “And all of this is going on in a room that’s what? Seventeen feet by twenty? The structure of the room helps us out. Everyone knows what everyone else is working on, so we can act as a

backstop for each other. Other places I’ve worked it’s all cubicled off. This is the best feel of any place I’ve ever been.”

For anyone looking a for way to eke out a living in the Virginia film industry, Studio 108 stands out for good reason. Created by Hartmann in the late 1990’s as his commercial production business grew, the studio has a steadily growing roster of clients, a Virginia Filmmaker of the Year award, and solidifying plans to move into television and feature films.The extremely shortened origin story goes as follows: arriving in Richmond in 1992, Hartmann moved steadily from radio advertising into television commercials. After years of working with a handful of different companies and after acquiring enough equipment, he opened Studio 108 at its current location in a carriage house behind the Virginia Garden Club. Then, in 2003, Chris Williams entered the picture, looking

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for more short films to add to a festival at the Byrd Theater. Over the course of their meeting, Hartmann wound up watching a cut of Williams’ film “Solitude,” and came away with a vital member of the Studio 108 team: “I was really impressed with his edit. What happens is you get into making commercials to make money so you can start making movies, but then you make some money and the next thing you know you’re in the trenches everyday trying to make a buck. It really takes the planets aligning to bring someone new into the fold to remind you of what you were trying to do in the first place.”

Chris came on with the goal of pushing the studio in a film-oriented di-rection, only to find himself following Jack down the rabbit hole of com-mercial production. Says Chris, “You’re making money doing this, but it’s constant practice. The downside is that, with a retail job, you’re giving fifty percent on your day job and a hundred and fifty percent at night on making movies. Here we just get so busy but you forget about it because the productions are fun, then it’s editing, and it doesn’t feel like work.” “We love what we do,” Jack adds, “but we realized that we had to get back to what we really want to do, which is make films. Films that make money, but are the films we want to make.”

The pair got started on their goal in 2005, adapting a story by Hartmann’s father into the short film “La Bas,” which Jack directed. They entered the film in the James River Film Festival and came away with the Virginia Filmmaker of the Year award. While “La Bas” is an auspicious start, Wil-liams realizes that it’s going to take money and more to get the studio on his preferred track: “We are an independent film company. Our goal isn’t to be those filmmakers who scrape together money and try to shoot on weekends, because in the end that doesn’t work. You forget you’ll need

money for posters, for submission fees, or just to fly out to Sundance if you get in. Dismal, which was just shot out in Virginia Beach, is a great point. They blocked off the time they needed to shoot, they got the actors, they had a great co-producer who was able to raise the money. I hope that they’re successful because that will send the message that if you can do things right you really can make movies here.”

Ideally, the studio’s success in commercials and editing services will lend itself to feature film production. While Hartmann and Williams both agree that finding money is the most difficult part of getting a project off the ground, by building the studio’s capabilities—including the recent purchase of a grip truck-- they are easing future production costs. Williams estimates that their existing abilities and equipment could save a hundred thousand dollars or more on a feature film budget. As Hartmann puts it, “We may still have to go outside the company for a key grip, but we can do a lot with just the group here. Graham does editing and works on systems, but he’s also a DP (Director of Photography). Our sound guy Andrew just came back from Russia where he was studying lighting design. Chris directs and edits, and he’s doing pre-production work on “Beast of Burden.” “I direct some, and edit, and sometimes I’ll produce. I’m the weakest link. I better be good at this because otherwise I’m unemployable.”

Jack knows that commercials have gotten him to this point, and he’s adamant about maintaining that part of his business: “We’re going to do more films, but we love commercials. I love them. You get thirty seconds to tell a story. There are so many great ideas out there, these moments that might not work for a full movie but are great as a commercial.”As they move into new territory, the question facing Studio 108 is one of

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balance. Hartmann and Williams are walking a line between paid work that they take pride and joy in and finding the money to further their creative goals. On one hand, a commercial job is guaranteed money. But while Chris subscribes to the indie filmmakers mantra, “If I can make a movie people come see, I’ll get money to make the next one,” he acknowledges that the financial pressures on a feature film will be much different: “When we work with an ad client, they have a creative input that influences how successful the final product is. But when you’re talk-ing about a movie, you’re talking about limited partners who give you this money just to make a script. And now you have to take their money that has no guarantee of returns and you’ve got to put together something that they’re going to like how it comes out. You have a responsibility to the people who gave you that money, because they know they have little chance to get that back.”

As they look ahead to a long road of raising money for future projects, Hartmann and Williams share the hope that Studio 108’s success will help the Virginia film community as a whole. Any project that brings added attention and production dollars to the region should lead to more work for everyone, even if it’s a rival commercial house. “In this town it’s not so competitive, because everybody needs the work. Everybody’s clients have different needs so we’re not going after the same stuff,” says Chris. Jack looks up from his Diet Pepsi and adds, “I don’t know if everybody feels that way, but that’s what we believe. The best thing that we can see is for another company going gangbusters.” It will take more than one company’s success to put Virginia on the filmmaking map, and the group at Studio 108 knows this. All the same, for those of us wonder-ing who here can get the ball rolling, there aren’t many better places to look than an old carriage house behind the Virginia Garden Club.

images courtesy of Studio 108

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image courtesy of NBC Studios

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THE SORKIN ZONE

Thoughts on three movies, in which TV’s best writer develops a signature styleby Teddy Blanks

Never an avid follower of The West Wing, I’ve found myself pe-

culiarly obsessed with a new show from its writer and creator,

Aaron Sorkin. Last week I dropped twenty bucks on a rather ugly

T V antenna just so I didn’t have to wait a day to download the new

episode from iTunes. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which imag-

ines the making of a late-night sketch comedy show, is completely

laughable if taken seriously because no comedians or comedy

writers are ever this serious. (Not on the sur face, at least. Actually,

comedians have some of the darkest, most troubled souls, which

they mask with a constant need to enter tain, to act out—but that’s

not what Sorkin is getting at, I don’t think. ) But the show works

anyway, because its characters exist in a familiar realm, a cozy

parallel world of the statistic-spouting, line-repeating, high-stress,

I-need-it-done-yesterday; a place where ever yone is smar t and

self-righteous, but the good guys buf fer their arrogance with self-

deprecating sarcasm, where nobody leaves an argument thinking of

what they should have said, a place I like to call the Sorkin Zone.

Aaron Sorkin writes a kind of time-devouring drama that has its

characters feverishly SteadiCam-ed around dark, bustling sets,

always on the way to something more impor tant. If we let ourselves

get into it , we may star t thinking, talking, or acting like these

people. We may not be able to get out. We shouldn’t stop to think

while in the Sorkin Zone ; doing so is neither rewarding nor recom-

mended. Its characters, concurrently snappy and long-winded, say

things that are fuzzy and nonsensical when regarded too closely.

Sorkin’s dialogue, like f ilm itself, f lies by so fast we don’t have time

to look at the individual frames. If we did, we might see that some

are blurr y and warped, unremarkable or dull . Rolling by quickly,

they comprise something seamless ; a pulsing, rhy thmic motion.

A Few Good Men was Sorkin’s f irst feature f ilm. Adapted from

his Broadway play of the same name and directed by Rob Reiner,

it stars Tom Cruise and Demi Moore as militar y lawyers defend-

ing two marines accused of murder. There is a scene, early in the

f ilm, in which Cruise runs into prosecution lawyer Kevin Bacon on

the way out of the of f ice, grills him about a few details of the case,

and then the conversation ends when Bacon has to go another way.

Cruise continues walking outside, where Moore is waiting for him,

and she walks with him to his car, fur ther discussing impor tant

case details. In the shor t making-of feature, A Few Good Men : From

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Stage To Screen, Sorkin explains that in the play, the scene was

staged all in the same room; Bacon’s character would leave when

the conversation was over, and Moore’s would enter soon af ter. Ap-

parently, it was Reiner’s idea to have them moving and speaking at

the same time.

“It was the exact scene I wrote,” Sorkin said, “Rob had just applied

motion to it .” He must have loved the way the sequence turned

out, because he has been writing permutation af ter permuta-

tion of it , in ever y work he’s created since. The Walk-n-Talk, it ’s

been called, and it’s used in other shows and movies, but never

as well or as of ten as in Sorkin’s. (Another name it’s been given

by Sorkin fans : Pedeconferencing. ) As an entr yway into the Zone,

A Few Good Men’s dialogue is comparatively slow-paced, mostly

because its actors, all Hollywood heav yweights, read it like it’s an

ordinar y movie. Cruise is generally ef fective, as is Bacon, but Demi

Moore can’t keep up at all . When reciting one of Sorkin’s puf fed-up

speeches, the only thing an actor needs to do is convince us she’s

smar t and abrupt enough to think of such a monologue on the f ly,

and informed enough to know what she’s talking about—Demi

doesn’t sell it . Sorkin’s writing is never really about case details or

Social Security or how tomorrow night’s sketch is going to go over;

it ’s about the rhy thm and sound of words as his characters talk

about those details and sketches.

And when Sorkin’s most famous bit of dialogue is f inally delivered

by Jack Nicholson on the witness stand, “You can’t handle the

truth! ” sounds as good, hits just as hard as you ever imagined it

would.

Malice, made a few years later, exists because Sorkin was asked to

rewrite a lame T V movie in which a doctor unnecessarily per forms

a hysterectomy on one of his patients. It’s a bizarre, incomprehen-

sible f ilm that seems, at f irst, to be about a serial killer preying

on a small college town’s young women, suddenly switches gears

to focus on a dramatic malpractice suit , and then turns, in its f inal

third, to a stor y about con ar tists. He shares a screenplay credit

with someone, I forget who, so it’s tempting to write of f these plot

acrobatics as the imagination of his co-writer; Sorkin’s scripts

aren’t usually what I would call plot-heav y. Malice is remarkably

bad, but its dialogue is straight from the Zone. Alec Baldwin—star

of NBC’s other behind-the-scenes at SNL show—as the sued doc-

tor, gives a speech that wants badly to be Nicholson’s from A Few

Good Men, and almost is.

“You ask me if I have a God complex? ” Baldwin says, “ I am God.”

62 write something and submit it

Needless to say, it doesn’t get him of f the hook.

In only his second screen project, Sorkin’s words were already

beginning to sound like pastiche. This is the trouble ( if you want to

call it trouble) with the Zone : on a bad day, Aaron Sorkin sounds

like a parody of Aaron Sorkin. The good news is that second-rate,

in his case, is of ten indistinguishable from the best. His writing

is sometimes inspired, sometimes transcendent—but it always

sounds inspired and transcendent. And when you’re in the Sorkin

Zone, what’s the dif ference?

Sorkin’s f inal f ilm before heading of f to T V land is also his best :

The American President is a romantic comedy about a widowed

President of the United States, played by a surprisingly un-creepy

Michael Douglas, who falls in love with Annette Bening’s hapless

pollster. Sorkin has his fantasy President take a real stand on divi-

sive issues like gun control and the environment, and explores the

complicated logistics and negative consequences (accusations of

lacking “ family values” lower approval ratings) of the world’s most

powerful man having a new girlfr iend. Sorkin is a sap, which can be

cloying in some of, say, Studio 60, when no sentiment is called for,

but in this movie, it ’s refreshing, and less sappy than most romance

writing.

American President is also the f irst time the Sorkin Zone is truly

in full ef fect : Douglas and his staf f whiz around a wonderfully

constructed White House set, pedeconferencing ar ticulately about

complicated political and personal issues. The President’s Chief of

Staf f is his best fr iend, played by Mar tin Sheen. Any of this sound

familiar? Watch President and the pilot of The West Wing, Sorkin’s

second and most successful series (af ter the shor t-lived but sweet

Spor ts Night ) , back-to-back and it seems almost like a continuous

work, or at least a sequel with minor re-casting.

When Aaron Sorkin talks about his characters, it is in terms of what

they want, not who they are. He gives them no elaborate back-stor y,

making the specif ics of their situation up as he goes along. All he

knows for sure is how they talk. His secret is this : ever yone in his

movies, plays, and shows, is another version of himself, debating,

musing, pontif icating with another version of himself, existing hap-

pily in their alternate universe. He seems to have been able to take

the feeling some of us get in debate clubs or high school theater

productions while growing up -- the quick-talking, sure-footed

speech of a group of over-confident people all intensely devoted to

the same thing -- and sustained it in his own mind, applying it to an

array of f ic tional workaholics in love with hearing, over and over

again, the sound of their own voices.

63

Jackie Lee Über Bride Cotton fabric, tubing

RICHMOND ÜBER ALLES – WEARABLE ART9by Mary Heffley photos by Nick Kessler

Two hundred people were turned away from the Wearable Art9 runway show on November 11th. Millionaires, Ramen-fed students, and all those in between packed La Difference’s back room to support the 9th annual juried fashion show benefiting 1708 Gallery. The garments of 40 students from VCU, UVA, and Mary Washington University, as wells as professional artists, creatively interpreted the theme – Über, a German word synonymous with decadent excess.

The judging panel was balanced with local philanthropic socialites Pam Reynolds and Katie Ukrop, as well as the discriminating eyes of celebrated Richmond fashion designer Michael Taylor. Judges also included architect Chris Humes, VCU Fashion faculty member and designer Kristen Caskey, artist and Wearable Art creator Sally Bowring; Heidi Story, owner of the Carytown boutique that bears her name, and Mary Washington University professor and artist Carole Garmon.

A $1,000 scholarship was given by Carytown boutiques The Phoenix and Que Bella to Best in Show recipient Diana Cavanaugh for “We Asians Love Our Rice.” First Place and a $500 scholarship, given in the memory of the late VCU Fashion Chair Theo Young, were awarded to Sarah Perry for “Stilted Modesty.” Nedim Sudic took Second Place and a $300 scholarship given by Christopher English and Meda Lane for “Mameha2.” Third Place and a $200 scholarship given by Cindy Neuschwander, Jay Barrows and Heidi Story was awarded to Zac Monday for “Silver Song Bird and White Figure.”

Talented artists - painters, sculptors, and photographers abound in Richmond. Few give credit to the groundswell of avant-garde creators in the fashion category however. A great sign of things to come was evidenced in the lack of a “let’s dress up and pretend we’re in New York” attitude in favor of a “this is truly a Richmond happening” sentiment. Wearable Art9 was a welcomed testament to Richmond’s progress as a world-class cultural destination.

DIANA CAVANAUGH We Asians Love Our Rice wood, ricepaper

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SARAH PERRY Stilted Modesty panty hose, wooden stilts STUART HARNSBERGER Chicken Suits steel pencil rod

AMY WILLIAMS Über Spoon plastic spoons

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ELIZABETH KURZI’ll Clean Your Pipespipe cleaners, wire, cloth

MATT HOLT Über Pop“popped” collars, fabric

MEGAN MUELLER70 Years Bad Luckbroken mirrors

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MEG ROBERTSBeach Ball Gownbeachballs

CAITLIN LANTHAMIn the Center of Elizabeth

ANGIE BACSKOCKYWunderschon fraulein velvet

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Thank you to 1708 Gallery.

12 DAYS OF BURLESQUE by Lea Marshall photos by Kim Frost

A week before Christmas my love whispered to me,

“Baby, what should I put for you under the tree?”

I’d been thinking on this since before Thanksgiving,

“Burlesque,” I said, “It just keeps on giving.”

B urle sque . Now there’s a word with a stigma attached to it . Say “burlesque,” and there is of ten a visible reaction on the face (or body) of the person to whom you speak - perhaps glee (with pic tures of sugar plums dancing in their heads) , perhaps the raised eyebrow from the intellectually-piqued, perhaps pursed lips from disapproving par ties, or f lat confusion ( “what the heck is this “burlesque” you speak of? ” ) . Suf f ice to say, burlesque is a visceral experience. I have no interest in arguing definitions or debating histor y, though it cer tainly is a wor thy and fascinating area of study. Burlesque is almost always -- across the board -- shoved into convenient mental cubbies, which could never hope to contain its scope. Nouvelle Burlesque tr ies to break down these cubbies, cover them in top-shelf booze, and str ike the match. Using a foundation of the big band jazz sound and the classic va-va-voom style, we frost the cake with stirr ing swirls of blues, countr y, funk, folk, Latin, hip hop, and pop. Our dancers, all professional and advanced movers-n-shakers, cream the cur ves with ballet, modern, tap, jazz, salsa, and tr ippy yogic goodness. Our usual emcee, not your standard killing-time-between-numbers comedian, Slash Coleman ties the whole thing into a well-rounded theatrical experience - oh yes, we WILL make you think - drawing on the stellar influence of silent f ilm actors Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. Exploring the themes of femininity and masculinity, the purpose of glamour, and the masks we wear in order to function in a mundane and tr if ling world, our shows enter tain feverishly, forcing the audience’s mind (and all the rest of their faculties) to dance. Bienvenue. Come on in.

A nna L . Tulou , AK A M ama R oux , Creator & Ar tistic Director

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“Ooh, yes!” She squealed, “I know just what to do!”

So she sprang from the bed and called Mama Roux.

“Now there’s an idea that sounds splendid to me,”

Mama Roux said, “Though it will never fit under the tree.”

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“On New Year’s come down to the Sycamore Rouge,

Where we will make it so hard to choose

Between tassels and fans, brass horns and stockings,

That you’ll both have thoughts most delightfully shocking.”

“Ooh, yes!” She squealed, “I know just what to do!”

So she sprang from the bed and called Mama Roux.

“Now there’s an idea that sounds splendid to me,”

Mama Roux said, “Though it will never fit under the tree.”

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These words, I must say, I was thrilled to hear

What better than eye-candy to ring in the New Year?

So my love in her fishnets and I in my tie

Drove down to P-burg ‘neath a wintry sky

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And what we found there has come to be known

(In a bright photo montage you’ll be pleased to be shown)

As a holiday gift far above all the rest

What else could it be, but “The Twelve Days of Burlesque”?

A giant thanks to everyone who made this monster of a shoot happen: Photo-sorceress Kim

Frost who put in countless time and creative energy. Master lens and camera technician Kip

Dawkins, Girls of Nouvelle Burlesque: Anna Toulou, Kat Legault, Damion Bond, Rebecca Fer-

rell, Jamela Williams. Thanks to Mimi Regelson, owner of Exile and her right-hand woman

Gwendolyn for being so generous with their clothes and accessories. Thanks also to Halcyon

Vintage for doing the same. Jordon Waldrop who took off work to lend his hair styling expertise

Make up master: Hannah Elvington - Hair mistress: Marisa Browne - Mary Heffley and Christian

Detres for being awesome. Samson Trinh and the rest of the guys for coming through with their

“dudeness.” Jackie Reynolds assisting and Jon Frost for set building his arse off. Thanks to Lea

Marshall for continuing to promote all that is DANCE in Richmond.

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THE LAST WORD ----->

THINGS I’VE SAID ABOUT LIVING IN RICHMOND THAT ALSO APPLY TO PAST RELATIONSHIPS

> It’s virtually impossible to get anything done without a bribe or six months of incessant arguing.

> Honestly, I just wish all the crying would stop.

> Kinda trashy, but fun when I’ve been drinking.

> I’m constantly handed Christian literature that I’m never going to read.

> There seems to be a lot of sex going on that I’m not a part of.

> I don’t mind the violence for the most part.

> I always talk about getting out, but I know I’d eventually come crawling back, broke and probably drunk.

> All the money winds up spent on stupid arts and crafts projects that just lay around half-finished.

> Lots of nights I lay awake in bed thinking about how I deserve more than this.

> It seems so attractive when I’m out of town, but every time I come back I remember that spandex and racism aren’t attractive.

Paul Lazio

Want the last word? Now accepting submissions and letters to the editors ---> parker@rvamag.com.

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