Professor Rick Steiner has a challenge for this week’s “Cluster Douche” award winner, University of Alaska President Mark Hamilton.

Too bad Hamilton hasn’t taken a cue from Palin and quit…with his upcoming retirement, he’s a lame duck president.

President Hamilton –

Given recent circumstances, I would like to invite you to debate with me, openly and publicly, re: the issue of academic freedom, and the influence of corporate donations to the university.

You have said many things in support of academic freedom over the years, but when push came to shove in my case, you made a decision in opposition to free speech.

In 2002, you received an award for your support of academic freedom from a group calling itself the “National Association of Scholars”, who it turns out, actually opposes sustainability movements on today’s college campuses.  They say that sustainability is “deceptive, coercive, closed-minded, a pseudo-religion, distorts higher education, shrinks freedom, programs people, is anti-rational, by-passes faculty, and is wasteful.”  This group apparently supports free speech only when they agree with what is spoken, and opposes it when they disagree with what is spoken.  Apparently this is your position as well.  That you chose to accept an award fro this group calls into serious question the progressive character of the University of Alaska.

All of this is an extremely serious transgression of the very role a university is supposed to fulfill in civil society.

I look forward to your reply, and to debating this issue publicly and honestly.

Sincerely, Rick Steiner, Professor

ACEFACE: FOON YAP

There is lots of magical people in the city of Calgary.  Sometimes they are right in front of you, sometimes they aren’t.  Sometimes, like Foon Yap, they are right in front of you but have a certain aura of mystery surrounding them.  Foon Yap, the energetic violin-playing pixie in Calgary’s Woodpigeon, has an interesting musical history and future that is lesser known than her recent claim to fame.  Also playing in the all-girl surf band The May Pangs, which includes the female members of Woodpigeon, Foon is constantly surrounded by music.  Currently, working on her own solo project, multiple collaborations, and an EP expected out soon, this girl is busy.  Luckily, I got the chance to sit down with the songstress in her incredibly huge closet to talk about music and eat delicious confections!  

Kait Kucy (KK):  Okay, so here we are in your closet.

Foon Yap (FY): Oh my god, I’m nervous all of a sudden.  I think I need some alcohol!

KK:  Well, our interviewee just left the room, she’s scared apparently.

 ……

KK: So, anyways, we are here in your huge closet and I was wondering what you do in here normally besides host dinner parties?

FY: I write music in my bra and then I break in my high heels at the same time so I can walk around in them without looking stupid.  I multi-task, I break in my high heels and make music.  And look good. 

KK: Anything else happen in here?

FY: Not yet…

KK: Your present fame is directly linked to Woodpigeon, but what people don’t know is that you didn’t always play violin in an indie folk band.  You actually started off as a classical musician.  How old were you when you started?

FY:  I was four when I started playing violin.  I had an intense Polish Communist teacher and she would only teach you if you were talented.  So, all my siblings went through her but she sent them all away and she kept me as her project.  I think she had a vision of me becoming an intense classical violinist but I don’t think she predicted that I would be so wayward.  The classical world is very rigid and you just interpret other people’s work.  I was just a bad classical student – I think I was just bored. 

KK:  How long did you do it for?  I think when I first met you, you were just finishing that all up.

FY: I was in the conservatory from age 12 until 17.  You do chamber music, everything.  But I dropped out the year before graduation.  I don’t think I would ever go back.  It’s just too different.  It’s like ballet versus just dancing for fun.  Anyways, how I learned to play music with other people is my Mom forced me to play music in church.  She is super Catholic and I always looked so bored in mass, so she made me play with the church band.  That’s how I learned how to play music by ear. 

KK:  You said you would never go back to the classical world, but do you take aspects of it with you?

FY:  Yes, totally.  I still practice classical violin every once and awhile.  I like that it gives you a solid technical base, so I can do whatever I want.  Fiddle or gypsy, or I can play indie folk.  It makes me versatile. 

KK:  You are working on some solo stuff right now.  Sounds pretty romantic, I would say.   Do you find inspiration in just daily life?  Or if not where?

FY:  A bunch of things.  Daily life, for sure.  Also, sometimes I don’t know what I am writing about until I am done writing it.  School.  I am totally inspired by school all the time.  Going to university, I don’t think I would ever drop out of my degree because what I learn in school I totally use in my music all the time. 

KK:  I know you plan on collaborating with some other local songbirds for your EP, do you mind naming a few?

FY: No, of course not.  Definitely Kris Ellestad because when he sings I feel like I die inside.  He has such a beautiful voice.  And Mark (Hamilton of Woodpigeon) is going to produce it, so I am going to be working with Mark a lot.  I am pretty anal, so I want to keep it at just that.  I want to have really strict creative control over this stuff.  Oh, and Kiarra Albina.  [At time of interview...] I haven’t talked to her yet about it but I am sure she’ll do it.  Not for the EP, but in the fall I want to do a show where she makes a piece based on a song I write and then I make a song based on one of her pieces.  Then we do a song together and draw and paint and sing at the same time.  And THEN at the opening, she could draw and paint on me….I don’t know – we need to talk about it.  But I think that will be my fall project. 

KK:  What is exciting to you right now?

FY:  Right now I am really excited about all kinds of beans.  Especially black beans because they are so good for you.  I am really excited about KNOTS (Neil Moignard).  And also Laura Leif’s stuff.  I guess I am just really excited about my friends’ stuff.  Del the Funky Homosapien!  I am very excited about him.

KK:  I am really in to TOP 5s and TOP 10s right now, so I was wondering if you could give me a TOP 5 records of the moment?

FY:  I don’t really buy CDs…  Hmm… Marianne Davies. I’ve been watching youtube videos of her singing all the time.  I also have been listening to a lot of B-52s.  I love them.  There is a Chad Van Gaalen song called ‘Molten Light’ that I will put on repeat over and over and over.  There is Bob Dylan song called ‘Lay Lady Lay’ that I put on repeat as well.  Oh and ‘Shake Your Coconuts’, the DFA remix!

the delicious closet afternoon meal prepared by miss yap

***interview & photos by kait kucy

August has featured a number of exceptional pitching performances, so it was nice to look through some box scores tonight and see something impressive on the offensive side of things for a change.

Heading into the top of the eighth inning against the Round Rock Express, the Memphis Redbirds held an 8-6 advantage.  With the 2-3-4 hitters coming up, the Express brought in newly acquired Armando Benitez to make his 2009 affiliated debut.

The first two batters, Tyler Greene and Nick Stavinoha, were retired harmlessly.  Then, as often happens when Benitez is on the hill, all hell broke loose.

Troy Glaus hit his second homerun of the year to left…Allen Craig hit his 23rd homerun of the year, also to left…Mark Hamilton hit his sixth homerun of the year, once again, to left…and Daniel Descalso hit his second homerun of the year, mixing it up by taking it over the wall in right-center field.  Every infielder except the shortstop (Greene) went deep in the inning.  Both corner outfielders also hit homeruns in the game: right fielder Stavinoha in the first and left fielder Craig in the eighth.

Four consecutive homeruns by one team has been accomplished six times at the major league level (in two different clusters: 1961-64 and 2006-08), most recently by the Chicago White Sox on August 14, 2008.

Did you hear about the woman pregnant with 12 babies?

A married woman in Tunisia (sorry – not another Octomom) is pregnant with six boys and six girls. She told doctors she wanted to give birth to all of them naturally, and they asked her if she’d been smoking crack.

She said no, but that she had been taking fertility drugs.

—-

Did you hear about the neighborhood group in Durham, NC, that has been posting signs threatening to shoot speeders with paintball guns (watch the video here)?

The group known as Angry Neighbors With Paintball Guns will pop your car if you’re speeding through their neighborhood, and I have a feeling if they keep it up someone is going to pop them (only it probably won’t be with a paintball gun).

Something you need to understand about shooting a car with a paintball gun: the paintballs don’t just leave a little wad of paint on your ride – they’ll put dents in your car!

Angry Neighbors With Paintball Guns, take it from a guy who’s had dents put in his car from an idiot who shot me while I was driving - stop before someone makes you wish you’d never heard of a paintball gun.

I hope this is a joke. Update: heard this was a joke, and that’s a good thing.

—-

Work at Lake Merced is coming along nicely. The renovation is going well, and I have a Bible study with someone later today.

I believe we’ll have a couple more baptisms soon … we’ll see.

I’m off to breakfast with a few church members now … have a great day, and don’t speed – someone might shoot your car with a paintball gun.

MARK HAMILTON: US media economist Robert Picard says the ‘net isn’t to blame for newspaper classified woes; Jeff Sonderman disagrees.

Picard: “One of the biggest self deceptions in the newspaper industry today is that the Internet is stripping newspapers of advertising dollars and is a primary cause of its economic woes…” READ MORE>

MARK HAMILTON: Now, all you need is an iPhone to shoot TV news. READ MORE>

US  TV channel CBS4 claims it “made history when we aired a news story which used nothing but video from the latest generation of iPhone which was released that day:

“Using his brand new iPhone 3G S, I-Team producer Gio Benitez created a story about the people standing in line outside of an Apple store waiting to get their hands on the new phone.”

MARK HAMILTON: A whole new one-stop site, product of Rich Beckman’s University of Maimi class, that brings together a wealth of information of what’s being done with multimedia in journalism. SEE HERE>

MARK HAMILTON: An interesting piece at Lens, the New York Times’s photo blog, about Todd Heisler’s black and white portraits in the ever-engaging One in Eight Million project.  SEE HERE>

Heisler:

“The images are all shot digitally and toned in black and white. I set the camera to the monochrome mode, which gives me a sense of the environments and helps me think in black and white…”

MARK HAMILTON: At Creative and innovative uses of online video, one of the media web’s best curators and publishers, Mark Luckie, has some eye candy/inspiration for those using the new tools.

NOTES FROM A TEACHER: There is a wealth of tools and sites out there for upgrading journalism skills and learning new ones, says Mark Hamilton, Canada.

“Some links to what I have recently come across,” writes Hamilton, a journalism teacher who blogs regularly:

• Both the Reuter’s Handbook of Journalism and the CBC’s Journalistic Standards and Practices handbook are available to all online.

• YouTube Reporters’ Center has a number of short videos (from people such as Katie Couric and Scott Simon) dealing with different aspects of doing the journalism.

• 10 Inspirational New York Times multimedia and interactive features at 10,000 Words isn’t a how-to. Mark has smartly chosen 10 examples of how multimedia can be used to spread information.

• 100 best blogs for journalism students is at the cutely-named website Learn-gasm. It’s a solid list that students can mine to build their own collection of continuing must-reads. (Found via Multimedia Shooter, which should be on everyone’s list.)

MARK HAMILTON: “I need a kick in the brainpan: somebody tweet me a word, I’ll go out & try to photograph it; share the results later. Deal?” Tweeted Hamilton. See what it led to: HERE>

I’m at work. Listening to Woodpigeon. Sweet. Can’t wait to see Mark & band tonight:

The commander of Coast Guard Sector Anchorage, Alaska, has been fired amid allegations of misconduct, the service announced.

Rear Adm. Arthur Brooks, commander of the 17th Coast Guard District, temporarily removed Capt. Mark Hamilton from command May 11. A Coast Guard news release cited alleged misconduct and a loss of confidence in Hamilton’s ability to command as the reasons for Brooks’ action.

Lt. Richard Eggen, 17th District spokesman, said an investigation is ongoing.

He would not comment on the specifics of the allegations, and said he did not know how long the investigation would take.

Brooks told the Anchorage Daily News that a month-long investigation had produced enough evidence of misconduct for Hamilton to be relieved.

“I still don’t know the full extent of it, or the degree of this, and so decisions on what to do and where it will ultimately go still pend,” Brooks told the newspaper. “But I’ve reached a point where I needed to relieve him.”

Hamilton was reassigned to the district staff to do administrative work for the chief of staff, Eggen said. The service’s commandant will decide if the relief is permanent or if Hamilton will be reinstated, he said.

Hamilton took command of Coast Guard operations for Anchorage in July. He previously was deputy commander at Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach, Calif.

Capt. John Kenyon, who has been the 17th District chief of prevention, has temporarily taken over command of the Anchorage sector.

The Coast Guard’s Anchorage operation includes verifying compliance of fishing vessels and tour boats, inspecting vessels transporting freight and passengers between the lower 48 states and western Alaska, and inspecting waterfront facilities, tank ships and barges associated with the oil industry.

What luck! Woodpigeon have a date this Friday. I’ve missed Mark’s last two London shows so I’m glad to finally see him play again. I can’t wait! I was going to go see Jay Jay Pistolet at Flowerpot, but… I guess I’ll have to catch him another time. This show is put on by Duke of Uke and tickets are a square £10 from the website.

I was lucky to spot this show, I nearly missed it. Serafina Steer is on the line up too, she also sounds very good, and I saw the show in her tour dates. I didn’t know Woodpigeon would be there too until I ventured onto the Duke of Uke site. Honeybear, also from Calgary, is on the lineup as well. It’s a seated venue in the posh Great Hall of the Art Workers Guild in Bloomsbury. Only 80 seats (!), snap up your ticket quick. Come sit next to me and be my seat-BFF. Yay.

“To be honest, I don’t really have a favourite space where music seems to come out consistently, although I’m rather fond of strumming and singing out new ideas in my bedroom in Canada, as well as the back yard under a large weeping willow tree planted by my grandparents almost 100 years ago. I tend to write a lot of music away from home, as we get to visit so many inspirational places – just a couple of days ago we played in Norwich, and took a visit to the Luminarium complex, built of plastic and lit up inside entirely by natural light. I’m sure something will come out of that experience.

If often work in my bedroom, it’s the smallest room in the house. Just enough space for a small bed, some poster art on the wall, a couple of guitars and a small air organ. The window looks out partially out onto the playground across the street. It’s within a house that my grandparents actually built, and that I now personally rent. I can’t imagine not always having that house in my possession – even if I’m only there for a short part of the year.

My first ever guitar, which I bought from a local drag artist wanting to fund their coke habit (indeed) sits in the corner gathering dust, but I do pull it out from time to time. Otherwise, the air organ gets a bit of use. I’ve got a nice old 110-year-old piano in the kitchen as well, but that involves getting up off the bed and moving through the hallway. The most important things for me to have here are light, peace and guitars. There’s loads of notebooks in there too. Some are just full of possible song titles. I thought of a really good one the other day, but without my notebook I’ve since lost it. Note to self: always travel with paper and pen at hand.

I typically need to mess about with ideas for about an hour or so a day or else I feel as though the day’s not complete. There’s no real schedule in place for that, though – I’d say it’s a pretty much constantly used space for inspiration and creation. When the summer sun hits, I spend an equal amount of time outside in the back yard. I’m lucky that my neighbours are actual fans of my music. Sometimes I catch them listening in… and they’ve even called out requests in the past.

When I’m working, peace and quiet for the most part is pretty essential, but then I’ve also written some of my favourite songs in busy spaces. The entire Houndtooth Europa record was written in the individual places the songs themselves are named after, for one instance. I sat with a ukulele on buses in Scotland, airports in France, and busy squares in Germany just writing away. So, re-reading this answer, I suppose the more accurate response would have been both “yes, entirely,” and “no, give me a crowd.”

The creative process is such a daily thing for me that I can’t really plot out how it works. The songs often just seem to write themselves, and I’m just trying to catch up. I bring a small dictaphone with me when I’m out to catch the other stray, hummable ideas that come up. Sometimes I’ll have a melody stay with me for three years without words, and I’ll have to force myself to sit down and figure it out. I’m dealing with that on a couple of things now…

Seeing as I don’t really have a standard space, I can only really describe my ideal creative space – a beautiful view above all else is my primary need. We just spent three nights working at the Bracknell Arts Centre in the UK, and out back there’s an incredible park with a stream and small bridges. A couple of things came out from just being there right away.”

Musical Rooms was talking to Mark Hannigan of Woodpigeon

****************************************************************
Woodpigeon are an indie folk rock band from Calgary in Canada, consisting of eight members: Mark Hamilton (vocals, guitar), Kenna Burima (piano, vocals), Michael Gratton (bass), Annalea Sordi (accordion, flute, vocals), Daren Powell (drums), Peter Moersch (electric guitar, vocals), Foon Yap (violin), AJ Benoit (vocals). To date, they have released two studio albums, several EPs and have garnered comparisons to Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear and Camera Obscura. They play the Roisin Dubh, Galway on May 18th, Auntie Annie’s, Belfast, on May 19th, The Academy 2, Dublin on May 20th and Cyprus Avenue, Cork on May 21st. For more details, visit www.myspace.com/woodpigeon.

About Musical Rooms
Musical Rooms Full Index

1.

Best UK unsigned band - Live in Staines

Loaded Dice
Apr 05 2009
Hobgoblin
Staines

The last time AD PONTES saw this young band at The Hob, Staines we described the sound as ” Refreshingly effervescent cherry-pop fizz for a (spring) day…”

This band got to the UK final of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest a few years back. Currently, the lads are teetering on the very edge of ‘stadium’ success having won the title of the “Best UK live and unsigned band”. We wish them well. They are BIG local talents and you should get up to the HOB and support them…

Read the full ADPONTES-STAINES review of Shepperton’s LOADED DICE here

Link:

www.myspace.com/theloadeddice

http://www.buckleuppromotions.com

2.

Melodramatic Popular song…  Live at Windsor

To Arms Etc
Apr 03 2009
Firestation
Windsor

To Arms Etc is a psychedelic keyboards based pop band with a huge following and great expectations. The ‘Don Henley’ drummer/singer Richard Perman takes the audience into melodramatic songs, emotional adventures and rock overtures.

If you enjoy sophisticated rock sounds then you should try this.

http://www.myspace.com/toarmsetc

3.

Exciting Alt/PowerPop- Live in Staines

Danny Roulette
Apr 02 2009
Hobgoblin
Staines

If you like your pop/rock supersized and powerful the try Danny Roulette…

Sounding like Biffy Clyro / Mars Volta / Weezer this band is sure to please!

Links:

http://www.myspace.com/dannyrouletteband

http://www.buckleuppromotions.com

DEMURE

Danny Roulette will be playing with the ever popular DEMURE. See this band now- they have just released their EP and are starting to grow is stature and success. The band plays Alt- Rock in the conventional sense but with overtures towards noise rock, especially in the way that the percussion and the bass are given the freedom to spread out their wings and have dissonant aural adventures of their own, but framed within the main architecture of each song.

The last time ADPONTES saw DEMURE we said that they reminded us of ‘Sonic Youth’ or ‘Butthole Surfers’. To check out the full ADPONTES review click here

4.

6-Piece Soul/Funk Covers – Live Ascot

Soul Selecta
Apr 04 2009
Jagz
Ascot

Soul Selecta is a tight 6-piece Soul/Funk covers band, made up of members from Bucks, Herts and London. The band have been together since 2003, although each individual member is a true professional in their field with several years of experience with other bands. Having played many a bar/club/wedding/corporate event and private party, they are masters of their game, providing solid entertainment and style!!

Soul Selecta predominantly cover classic and modern R’n’B, Funk and Soul; from James Brown to Beyonce, but for occasions such as weddings, are adaptable and versatile to cater for all across the genres and decades.

Their performance is fuelled by their love for the music, and filtered through the bands own soul.  Whilst being faithful to the originals, they also bring their own edge involving the audience in a new moment, which demands you to dance!

They have a natural vibe and the ability to capture the mood and generate the groove!

Saturday, 4th April
Show will start at 8.45
Ticket cost: £8.00
Doors open from 7.30pm. £26 for 2 courses and entrance (£30 for 3 courses). Entrance for the bands is £8 but is strictly limited and on a first come first served basis. Entrance for dining or just the band INCLUDES free entrance to the nightclub

Link:

http://www.myspace.com/soulselecta

5.

Classic Rock Superband -  Live in Staines

Frayed Knot
Apr 04 2009
Jolly Farmer
Staines

Last time we saw this Staines Superband we said:

“These boys play the songs that make the crowd yelp with joy, but served up with a sabre-sharp ice-cool quality that would make lesser bands look on enviously”

See what we mean at Jolly Farmer STAINES (Egham Hythe) Apr 4th

Check here for the full ADPONTES review

Links:

http://www.frayedknotmusic.co.uk/

Def try to catch them at this safe & friendly pub this weekend !

Other dates (if you miss ‘em) :

18/04/09    The Red Lion, Egham
29/05/09    The Carpenter’s Arms, Hayes
27/06/09    The Fox Inn, Bisley
04/09/09    The Carpenter’s Arms, Hayes
10/10/09    Ye Olde Swan, Burnham

-Visit AdPontes-Staines Regularly for Staines Arts-

This morning started by the opening speech of Joe Hartly. He then invited March Hamilton and now he is talking about Sun’s HPC growth target and strategy.

Beginning of second day, Joe Hartly is making an opening speech.

Marc Hamilton is talking about Sun’s HPC Growth Target

End of Marc Hamilton’s speech. He gave us great ideas about HPC technology and the road map.