ALPHAS: SU’S BEST KEPT SECRET THREE GIFTS YOU WON’T RETURN INSIDE THE CROUSE BELL TOWER
ARBOREA • THE COLOURIST • EMINEM • HOUNDSTOOTH • JHENÉ AIKO • JUST JOE • KENDRICK LAMAR • KREWELLA • LADY GAGA • MIKE POSNER • OHNE-KÁ AND THE BURNING RIVER • SLEIGH BELLS • STEAM POWERED GIRAFFE • STORI • WOODWORKS 1 20 Watts
Cover photo by Adam Gendler Cover photo of Amanda Rogers, founder of Sub Rosa sessions at SubCat studios.
01 WITHOUT 02 PAPER DOLL 03 YOU KNOW YOU LIKE IT 04 ACCIDENT PRONE 05 RAP GOD 06 AUSTRALIA 07 WILLOW TREE MARCH 08 SOUTHERN GIRL 09 CALIFORNIA LOVE 10 L.A. STORY 11 BACK TO THE STARS
UNTIL THE RIBBON BREAKS SAMPHRA
JOHN MAYER
ALUNAGEORGE
JAWBREAKER EMINEM
THE SHINS
THE PAPER KITES
TIM MCGRAW TUPAC
SAMMY ADAMS
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WHAT WE WERE LISTENING TO TWEET @20_WATTS WHAT YOU’VE BEEN LISTENING TO
12 THE WIRE 13 SAY I’M WRONG 14 GUN 15 16 FRED ASTAIRE 17 CREEP 18 6AM 19 SWEET JANE 20 AWAKENING
YELLOWCARD HAIM
BALLYHOO!
CHVRCHES
YOUR LOVE (ALL THAT I’M MISSING) J.D. MCPHERSON
SAN CISCO
TLC
FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
REVIEW // MMLPII
THE FIVE
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20 WATTS WORKOUT PLAYLIST
Q&A // MIKA POSECION
EAR TO THE GROUND
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20 WATTS DEFINITIVE MIXOLOGIST’S GUIDE
Q&A // VICTOR SUAREZ
TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS
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FOR CUSE THE BELL TOLLS
RISE TO FAME
20 WATTS-APPROVED HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
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PHOTO ESSAY // THE F-SHED
CAT’S CRADLE
SOCIAL DISTORTION
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VICTORY GARDEN
THE A-TEAM 5 20 Watts
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EDITOR IN CHIEF Maya Kosoff @mekosoff “I got a gift to a horse supply store in a White Elephant gift exchange.”
SPECIAL THANKS TO: PROFESSOR SHAHIN AND PROFESSOR CATEFORIS
MANAGING EDITOR Kali Mehrotra @kaliiiente
FEATURES EDITOR August Prum @abprum
“A Northface in August. It was my Christmas gift.”
FEATURES EDITOR Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro @pmayocer
“My grandmother gave me a keychain breathalyzer.”
“Every year my mom gets me pajamas.”
ART DIRECTOR Lyndsey Jimenez @stlyndsey “A used giftcard.”
HEAD DESIGNER Jane Depgen @janedepgen “A Furby! No one can deny those things are terrifying.”
PHOTO EDITOR Adam Gendler @adamgendler “One time I got a menorah. I’m not Jewish.”
WEB DIRECTOR Joey Cosco @jcosco “I think one time my uncle got me a bunch of pirated DVDs.”
MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR Shannon Rosenberg @shan_anigans13
COPY CHIEF Rikki Schneiderman @rikksareforkids
COPY EDITOR Erin Singleton @erin_singleton
MARKETING DIRECTOR Stephanie Bronfein @sbfein
“The clothes I get from my grandma--they’re all from the worst sections of Old Navy.”
“The book Call of the Wild, it scarred me for life.”
“I once got a shirt that had a deodorant stain on it.”
“The gift I gave my best friend the year before.”
AD TEAM
MARKETING/SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM
Ali Mitchell Laura Vancil Erika Wegener 6 20Raabe Watts Drew
Christina Fieni Daquan Thomas Sierra Eldridge
Will Skalmoski Rachel Thorpe Timothy Chew
Erika Wegener Taylor Farris Karly Brecher
FRONT OF BOOK EDITOR Ibet Inyang @ibetinyang
FRONT OF BOOK EDITOR Lauren Boudreau @lboud27
“I got a pair of boots that fell apart after a week.”
“Once I had a boyfriend who give me a keychain. It was wrapped in a paper bag.”
WE ASKED: “WHAT’S THE WORST GIFT YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED?”
Contributors WRITERS
BLOG EDITOR Alexa Voss @AlexaVoss “Matching flannel dog pajamas when I was 17.”
SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Jim Coleman @jymcoleman “Coal.”
MICHELLE M. VAN DALEN H.J. LEONARD COLLEEN BIDWILL ASHLEY ARON MARK DIBONA VICTOR SOARES AMY HAHN TOM CHARLES STEPHEN SBIROLI MARGARET ZUKIN SHANNON HAZLITT michael quagliana
PHOTOGRAPHERS
REVIEWS EDITOR Megan Callahan @m17callahan
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Alex Romeo @alex__romeo
“An oversized dolphin T-shirt.”
“Soap. I’ve definitely gotten soap before.”
PUBLISHER Christine Edgeworth @chrissieeeeedge
JENNIFER HALE JAMES SAULSKY JESSICA MARSHALEK ALI MITCHELL TOM CHARLES
VIDEOGRAPHERS NIKKI BLAYOK VEKONDA LUANGAPHAY MiRIAM TAYLOR KATHRYN ISAAC CYPRESS BAI
“Plastic grapes.”
DESIGNERS JORDAN FIRKEY CHLOE HUTTON
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR A year ago I sat in the bedroom I shared in Madrid with my friend Maddy. Our semester abroad was winding down and we were weeks away from coming home. I was eager to see the people I loved, but I wasn’t looking forward to coming back to school. Disenchanted with my magazine journalism major two and a half years into college, I wasn’t excited about any SU publications. I was scared this would translate over to any work I’d do in the real magazine industry. The days in Spain were short, and our basement room was cold. We sat huddled in our beds some weeknights, poring over friends’ Facebook pictures in Syracuse and missing our families. One night, an email flashed on my computer screen: 20 Watts FOB Opportunity. A girl I’d never met, Annie, took a chance and offered me a position at 20 Watts, SU’s recently revamped music magazine. I read her message and something clicked. It seemed natural to me to marry two things I was passionate about—music and journalism. I joined the editorial staff while still abroad. Since last winter, I’ve seen a fledgling, reborn magazine assert itself as a staple on this campus and in the local community. I watched our staff shrink to nearly nothing when we said goodbye to 90 percent of our editorial team at commencement. Then I saw us expand in September, adding a multimedia team and an advertising team. We stickered the campus. We made people know our name. We edited stories until we couldn’t see straight. We printed more copies. We asked for more funding. We’ve never stopped adapting. We’ve captured these ideas of growth and change within the pages of the magazine you’re holding now. Take a look at how The Sound Garden, a Syracuse music mecca, adapted when it almost got shut down earlier this year on page TK. On page TK, SUNYESF’s own WoodWorks adjusts to its role as an established, local music group, trying to make an evolving social media landscape work in its favor. 2013 is coming to an end, but the school year is far from over. 20 Watts still has concerts to cover, voices to amplify, and stories to share. We’re just picking up speed. And I hope you’ll join us for the ride.
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EMINEM // The Marshall Mathers LP II BY MICHAEL QUAGLIANA It was certainly a bold move for Eminem to about every word in Merriam-Webster without announce that his newest album would be a actually saying anything that holds substance. follow up to 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP. The original is widely regarded as his best On a few of the album’s bright spots, Rick Rubin, project to date, and its success launched him executive producer and long-time collaborator into superstardom. Whereas a whirlwind of in the music industry, provides a nice twist to controversy accompanied the original due to an old-school ballad. Eminem teams up with Eminem’s unforgivingly crude lyrics, the sequel Kendrick Lamar on “Love Game,” over a sample comes at a time where there is virtually no of 1965’s “Game of Love” by Wayne Fontana. ‘shock’ in shock value anymore. Eventually It turns out to be a pretty amusing track about the offensive slurs and villainous storylines infidelity, as Lamar borrows a bit of absurdity grew stale, leading him to take a few more from Eminem, rapping that “even chlamydia risks, and more recently branch out to a much couldn’t get rid of her.” Eminem interpolates larger audience with the release of Recovery The Zombies’ “Time of the Season” on “Rhyme in 2010. The pop-infused album dominated or Reason” and Joe Walsh’s “Life’s Been Good” radio but left some dielends its iconic guitar riff to hard fans disappointed. “So Far.” Eminem’s humor Everyone was curious actually shines through WHEREAS A WHIRLWIND to see where he would on a self-deprecating take his music next. anthem about his life as OF CONTROVERSY a “country bumpkin ass.” ACCOMPANIED THE The title The Marshall Mathers LP II is not ORIGINAL DUE TO EMINEM’S Eminem’s technical exactly indicative of an ability to rap is practically UNFORGIVINGLY CRUEL album with the same unrivaled, but no matter LYRICS, THE SEQUEL COMES how fast he’s doing it, brutality and angst as its predecessor. Rather, numerous punch lines AT A TIME WHERE THERE the album can best be like “even Helen Keller IS VIRTUALLY NO SHOCK IN knows that life stinks” described as a rocky trip down memory or “You think you’re SHOCK VALUE ANYMORE. lane. In attempts to special? You’re retarded,” recreate some of the are cringe-worthy and old magic, Eminem’s uninspired. One of the high nostalgia proves to be a hindrance. At the points on the album is not filled will gibberish, age of 41, plotting to kill his romantic interest extended metaphors, or double and triple time on “So Much Better” can come off as a rapping. On “Headlights” Eminem reflects on bit juvenile, and his jabs at pop culture are his relationship with his mother. As opposed to severely outdated. Throughout the album he the aggression he had shown towards her in calls out Monica Lewinsky, Gwen Stefani, and the past, he offers his appreciation and more Asher Roth. Needless to say these jabs aren’t than a few apologies. Between Christmas Eve nearly relevant enough to split anyone’s sides. and the trips to Grandma’s house, he paints a vivid picture for what it was like for him and The album is more or less divided into radio his family growing up. It’s perhaps the most singles and album cuts. It makes for a lack of gracious Eminem has ever sounded on a track. cohesion in subject matter and production. There’s a striking lack of originality in songs The Marshall Mathers LP II is not without its like “The Monster,” which features Rihanna mistakes, and overall it’s a pretty messy project. and serves as more or less a sequel to 2010’s When Eminem isn’t trying to cater to any “Love the Way You Lie.” It comes off as more specific audience, and just speaking his mind, of an attempt at preteen accessibility than it he proves himself worthy of still making great does a contribution to the album’s concept. The music. He’s at his best, as is any artist, when same goes for “Survival,” which should come he is simply being genuine. He isn’t a pyscho as no surprise considering it was originally anymore. He doesn’t have to be. Eminem is too debuted as the lead song for the latest Call of iconic to be worried about what kind of music Duty campaign. Eminem disappointingly rhymes he should be making. Fans simply want to hear “knife in my gut” with “wiping my butt” because an authentic voice behind the microphone and he is “shitting on the mic.” He finds a pun for just that alone should make for an enjoyable listen. 11 20 Watts
FIVE 3
STEAM POWERED GIRAFFE
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HOUNDSTOOTH
2
THE COLOURIST
4
STORi
5
JHENE AIKO
BY MARGARET ZUKIN
1 HOUNDSTOOTH Who: This 5-piece rock ‘n’ roll band looks as if they were cast for the 4 Almost Famous band Stillwater. Sound: Compelling lyrics accompanied by acid rock guitar riffs generate an overall transcendent and hypnotic effect. See Also: The Hush Sound, Sirsy.
2 THE COLOURIST Who: Hailing from the OC, The Colourist’s debut album, “Lido EP,” dropped on Aug. 20. Its synthesized chill-wave sound will likely skyrocket them to the top of the music festival circuit in the season to come. Sound: Indie pop with electronic beats and catchy lyrics. See Also: Passion Pit, Grouplove.
3 steam powered giraffe Who: A rare breed combining steampunk, mime, and music for the revolutionary in all of us. Sound: Theatrical, drawing inspiration from vaudeville acts and enhancing them with melodically modern pizzazz. 12 20 Watts
Fun Fact: Each of the three members embodies a “character” with a fictional name, complete with a backstory. See Also: Voltaire, Air Traffic Controller.
STORi Who: Singer-songwriter from New Jersey who recently signed with Motown Records. Sound: Fuses Lorde’s sultry voice and Nicki Minaj’s ghetto-fabulous lyrics. Her debut mixtape will drop soon. Fun Fact: Her mixtape is all about female empowerment. See Also: M.I.A., Lauryn Hill.
5 JHENE AIKO Who: 25-year-old artist from LA brings a new dimension to rap and R&B with her deep, down-to-earth lyrics. Sound: Soft, soulful, and dramatic with a slow but strong beat. Sitting through a song is more like drifting on a sultry cloud. Fun Fact: Her album cover for Bed Peace pays homage to the John Lennon and Yoko Ono Rolling Stone cover, which features the couple lying in bed. See Also: Drake, Rihanna.
1. “COMEBACK KID” – SLEIGH BELLS
You’re working out to get in better shape, right? But there’s always a more specific motive. Maybe you want to impress someone, or everyone. Maybe you want to beat up a guy you hate. Maybe you’re just tired of being weak. Well, this rock jam hits you both lyrically and musically with inspirational— and selfish— ideas of being the best. So, “try a little harder, you’re the Comeback Kid!”
2. “PLAY HARD” – DAVID GUETTA (FEAT. NE-YO & AKON)
FOUR SONGS THAT WILL PUT YOU IN THE ZONE OVER WINTER BREAK—AND KEEP YOU THERE. BY MARK DIBONA Anyone who works out regularly knows about muscle confusion: you need to switch up your workout every few weeks to keep your muscles growing and guessing otherwise you won’t make progress. A lesserknown aspect of a workout is music confusion. You can’t just keep listening to the same Girl Talk albums over and over. You need to change your workout discography to keep yourself pumped up, especially during long, cold winter nights when you’d much rather be curling up in bed than curling dumbbells. 20 Watts has four songs that are deemed integral to workouts and should be included in every workout playlist.
The world’s been waiting anxiously for this track since David Guetta’s “Better Off Alone” dropped way back in 1998. It took 15 years to pair the sweet hooks from Guetta’s song with a kick-ass beat. You had to try hard with Sleigh Bells and now it’s time to “work hard”…and then play hard, after acquiring your newly chiseled, David Guetta-inspired frame.
3. “OH NO!” – MARINA & THE DIAMONDS
“Oh No!” features a beat created for pumping iron. The lyrics, like all Marina & The Diamonds songs, are about improving your self-image. The Spartan workout mentality you’re adopting clearly means you’re not satisfied with the status quo. I know every time I sign up for a gym membership, I look the trainer right in the eye and say I want to “become my own self-fulfilled prophecy.” Listening to “Oh No!” guides you to that state of mind.
4. “STRONGER “– KANYE WEST
Does anyone honestly not have this on their workout playlist? A poll conducted by Gold’s Gym shows this song triggers the most psychological effects we associate with working out, and it consistently tops polls of the best workout songs. Kanye West never made a track as inspiring as “Stronger,” and you’ll never look as good as you do after working out to this. 13 20 Watts
BY ASHLEY ARON
AA Tell us about yourself and your
experience at SU. What made you choose your major, and how were you involved in campus organizations?
Mp I was set on majoring in
political science and working for the government, but I also wanted something different to do with my free time, so I joined WERW Radio. I came in as a DJ, but worked my way up throughout the years. I realized I was putting as much time into WERW as I was into my political science classes, so I started looking into the Bandier program. I couldn’t transfer into Bandier, so I decided to minor in music industry. That summer, I worked at Skee.TV in LA and I learned about marketing and production. I got back to school after the summer and knew I couldn’t imagine myself not in this industry. Soon after, I found a listing for EMI’s
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new campus rep program, and after interviewing I was chosen. It was cool to be there when it was first starting out, and I got to add to my real-world experience.
AA It’s interesting you studied
government and music industry, which seem like polar opposites. What gave you the push to go into the music industry?
Mp I had an “ah-ha!” moment. I sat
down with my supervisor, who was my very first industry mentor. He asked if I really saw myself working in music. He told me the music industry was the complete opposite of everything I had built for myself in studying for a 9-to-5 government job. This is an industry where there are days you’ll be up for 20 hours straight; there is no routine. Having him say this to me was a real eyeopener. It was at that point that I thought, “How seriously am I going to take this?” I wanted that rush you get
when you hear a song for the first time and think “Wow, this is gold,” or you’re sitting with an unsigned artist who has no reputation and hearing about their passion. It’s all about seeing passion in action.
AA So here we are, six months
after graduation. What have you done since?
Mp My last semester I went on a
serious job hunt. I’d interned for EMI in NYC, so I had experience on both the west coast and the east coast, [but] as much as I loved New York, I loved LA more. Upon graduation, I got a job with Spin Artist Agency. I didn’t really have much of a summer, it was two weeks and then I immediately started working. I run everything marketing related in the company: digital marketing, tour marketing, social media, press, and public relations. What’s great about Spin
is that it’s small with a lot of room to grow. A lot of people can reach their ceiling at a really early point, but I feel like there are so many opportunities and a lot of room to be creative.
AA What’s one thing about the
industry that has surprised you? Is there something you’ve learned now that you’ve gotten real world experience?
Mp This industry is all based on
relationships. People say that all the time and it could not be any truer. Even the people who come to talk at SU are great sources of information. People will reply to your cold emails if they see your passion. I encourage everybody to reach out to people they’ve interacted with; it’s worth it. People are busy, but they’ll take the time to reply. People will make time for you.
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RIS
CALVIN HAR
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TUS UIT APPARA RED JUMPS
JAKE OWEN
LADY GAGA
TIESTO H ERIC CHURC
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RAVAUGHN
KATY PERRY A$AP FERG
UKSLEAMAR M DRIC
KEN 16 20 Watts
N ELVIS DBURROTAHERS
THE AVETT
J. COELBELIND
THIRD EY LIGHTS PRETTY
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VORITE DID YOUR FA HE LIST? T E ARTIST MAK 20_WATTS TWEET US @ E WHAT YOU’V TO TELL US . ING TO BEEN LISTEN
mixologist’s guide BY MAYA KOSOFF
ORANGE JUICE
“BRASS MONKEY” AS MADE POPULAR BY THE BEASTIE BOYS A staple for those who are concerned about their vitamin C intake and want to get drunk on the fly. Start with one 40-ounce bottle of Olde English 800. Pour a little out for the homies —until the bottle’s two-thirds full— and fill up the remainder with orange juice. LIME AMARETTO LIQUEUR
SOUTHERN COMFORT
OLDE ENGLISH 800
“SOCO AMARETTO LIME” AS MADE POPULAR BY BRAND NEW You too can stay 18 forever by throwing back a couple of these needlessly classy drinks. Combine equal parts Southern Comfort and amaretto liqueur in a glass, and top it off with a squeeze of lime. Just make sure you don’t pass out on any overpasses after imbibing.
“CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA” AS MADE POPULAR BY OASIS To best pretend you’re old enough to wax nostalgic about the 90s, mix three ounces of champagne, one ounce of bourbon, and one ounce of port. Pour over ice. Serve with a mint garnish. And realize you really only know two Oasis songs, you 90s poser.
PORT
MINT GARNISH
BOURBON
ICE CHAMPAGNE
“GIN + JUICE” AS MADE POPULAR BY SNOOP DOGG TANQUERAY
SEAGRAMS
While no definitive gin and juice recipe exists, Snoop Dogg, ever the minimalist, suggests enjoying a cup of Seagrams. His accomplice Dr. Dre, however, insists a glass of Tanqueray is superior—particularly when paired with certain garden-variety herbal remedies.
“BLOODY MARY” AS MADE POPULAR BY LADY GAGA Combine three ounces of tomato juice, one and a half ounces of vodka, half an ounce of lemon juice, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, ground pepper, and a dash of hot sauce in a glass. Drink several. Feel fabulous. Baby, you were born this way.
SALT & PEPPER WORCESTERSHIRE & HOT SAUCES
LEMON JUICE VODKA
TOMATO JUICE
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Harlem’s own Victor Suarez brings bass to campus. BY STEPHEN SBIROLI When junior biology major Victor Suarez isn’t studying to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor, he doubles as an up-and-coming DJ. Hailing from the Bronx, Suarez combines his cultural influence with modern popular styles. He already has quite the reputation as a DJ; you can catch him in action every Saturday night at Harry’s. 20 Watts sat down with the Afro-Latino-inspired student DJ to learn more about him.
SS How did you get started in the
music scene? How involved with it are you currently?
VS It all happened by chance. I never knew my uncle was an old-school DJ in college with vinyl records and
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everything. When I came home after freshman year, I told my parents I really liked the social scene at Syracuse, since we are one of the biggest party schools in the country. My uncle decided to go half-andhalf with me on turntables because I loved to play music at parties. I was good at picking the songs and moving the crowd. I started with one speaker and volunteered to play music at small gigs at SU for free, especially with events for La L.U.C.H.A. and Colores. Eventually, my name got out there and I started DJing at Harry’s Bar every Saturday, and sometimes on Thursdays.
SS Describe your biggest musical
influences. What musicians have given you the framework for your act as a DJ?
VS In terms of how I play music and
what inspires me, I’ve recently gotten into house music since coming to SU since it’s so popular here. I like Nicky Romero, Avicii, David Guetta, and other upcoming artists of that style. In terms of old school hip-hop, I really enjoy Funkmaster Flex.
SS How has your upbringing affected
your sound, and how do you balance cultural tradition and modern influence when presenting music?
VS Growing up in the Bronx, I was
heavily influenced by R&B, rap, reggae, bachata, merengue, soca—all kinds of stuff with a mostly black and Latino crowd that listened to all of these cultural styles. The DJs back home would play a lot of old school hip-hop, too. Coming here, you start to recognize what I guess you could call the “Gentleman’s Era” in rap and other kinds of music, like Justin Timberlake’s and Jay Z’s new albums. Music is
becoming more sophisticated, in a sense. It’s always changing, growing, especially with house music. Dubstep, trap—there seems to always be something new. You can play with a lot of different sounds with house music; it’s a totally different animal. I try to mix different genres together in house music, so I can throw in bits of the stuff I grew up with because of that experimental freedom.
SS What do you want people to feel from your music?
VS If you’ve ever been to a concert,
there’s always this point during it when the music builds and builds before the beat drops, and everyone goes crazy. That’s what I like to make happen. It’s fun to be there in the audience, but being the one on stage makes you feel in control of everything. It feels amazing to just let music control you the way it does, and being on stage is the best place to watch it happen. 19 20 Watts
7 things you should know about
the syracuse opera company BY SHANNON HAZLITT / PHOTOS COURTESY OF DOUG WONDERS If you’ve ever wondered if opera is more than just a fat Viking woman singing unintelligibly in French, consider checking out the Syracuse Opera Company. 20 Watts talked to Douglas Kinney Frost, the opera company’s producing and artistic director, to find out what lies behind the red curtain.
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for cuse the bell tolls
BY AMY HAHN PHOTO BY ADAM GENDLER
The Crouse College bell tower’s Chimemasters are responsible for the tunes distracting you from your midday class, but the anonymous nature of its membership is its real claim to fame. It’s Friday at 6 a.m. The sound of clanging bells drifts from towering Crouse College and fills the crisp campus air, except it’s not the kind of music you were expecting—it’s the Game of Thrones theme song. This is the work of the Chimemasters, a secret student organization that plays its unique melodies from the bell tower in Crouse. The organization is made up of six SU students who are dedicated to enhancing the campus environment through music—specifically through giant bells. The bells rang for the first time on June 3, 1889 to the sound of “Carol Sweetly Carol.” Originally, Delta Kappa Epsilon rang the bells but after the organization was temporarily removed from campus, the bells were silent for about 40 years. Cue the Chimemasters. The Chimemasters play the Westminster Chime melody every quarter hour and a 15-minute performance follows. The performance time ends with the SU Alma Mater. The group can also play any tune they want during this time. Cue Game of Thrones, One Direction, or any familiar melody that strikes the fancy of the kids behind the bells. The Chimemasters are mostly music students,
so they try to self-promote their concerts. “Often we will play orchestral excerpts as a sort of subliminal message to come to our concerts. It doesn’t really work,” says Alex Jones*, the current leader of the group. This year the Chimemasters will be bringing back the tradition of a 30-minute holiday recital. Alex says he was told about the organization when he toured the campus when he was in high school. “I just thought this was such a cool club and I knew when I got here I had to do whatever I could to get in,” he says. The Chimemasters themselves may be an exclusive organization, but they need listeners, too.If you want to become an avid Chimemasters fan, there are certain times to tune in. They ring the bells three times a day during the week: at 8 a.m., 11:45 a.m., and 6 p.m. The weekends are free game for ringing, as long as there are no concerts going on in the music school. If you’re ever in the mood to hear a rendition of your favorite song on giant bells, SU is the place to be, and for that you can thank the Chimemasters. *Last name changed to protect the anonymity of the group’s members.
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RISE to fame
It’s hard to imagine that some of the artists we hear on the radio were on SU’s campus before their careers took off. However, Syracuse appears to be a hotspot for artists right before they break. Here are three artists whose popularity peaked after performing at Syracuse University.
BY COLLEEN BIDWILL
These three artists performed at Cuse before ever making it to the top of the charts.
MIKE
POSNER When Mike Posner came to Syracuse, there wasn’t much differentiating him from the students he was performing for. At the time, the singer was a senior at Duke University. He performed on October 28, 2010 at the first Bandersnatch concert of the semester. Only a few months after, he released his debut 31 Minutes to Takeoff. The first single “Cooler Than Me” ft. Big Sean later hit #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. A month after the performance, the album’s second single “Please Don’t Go” reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. Since his time performing at Syracuse, Posner also produced popular songs like Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” and “Beneath Your Beautiful” by Labrinth.
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DRAKE Although Drake was first recognized for his role as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, the soon-to-be rapper stated leaning towards music. After signing to Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment label in June 2009, Drake released his EP So Far Gone with singles “Best I Ever Had” and “Thank Me Later,” followed by his number-one debut in 2010. Drake’s sophomore effort Take Care in proved to be his biggest success, with hit singles like “Headlines,” “Take Care,” and “The Motto” – the latter of which created the acronym YOLO. Yep, you heard that right – he invented YOLO. Drake’s tour for Take Care was the most successful hip-hop tour of 2012, which grossed $42 million. It’s interesting that just two years earlier, in 2010, the rapper performed his biggest show to date at Syracuse’s own Carrier Dome for Block Party.
wiz khalifa Although Wiz Khalifa raps about the colors black and yellow, he’s also a fan of blue and orange. The rapper performed on December 5, 2010 in Goldstein Auditorium for Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity’s third annual Hope Benefit Concert. Tickets for the concert sold out in less than three hours. Khalifa’s rise to fame happened with “Black and Yellow,” peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2011. That same year Khalifa released his first studio album Rolling Papers, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart and boosted sales of 197,000 copies in the U.S. He followed the album with O.N.I.F.C in 2012.
E D I U G T F I G Y A LID O H D E V O R P P AAN S T T A 20MW H A L EGAN CAL BY
Crosley Spinnerette: USB Turntable
Having the ability to rip that ‘67 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band vinyl record you bought from the toothless guy behind Chuck’s onto your USB means you no longer have to pretend you listen to records.
Dancing Water Speaker
Waxing nostalgic over your long-forgotten lava lamp? We are too. These colorful liquid-filled speakers are the new 5th grade swag, but the bass drops have evolved, like your cup size. DIY GUITAR PICK PUNCH
You can now make custom guitar picks for all your groupies. In addition, you can give your groupies guitar picks instead of STDs and have your own custom guitar picks on hand; it’s the gift that keeps giving. Embrace your ulterior motives.
The
GOOD This list of must-haves has been approved by our staff. These gifts are perfect for your little sister, Jimmy John’s delivery boy crush, mailman, biweekly frat hookup, and everyone in-between.
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ANYTHING ONE DIRECTION related
Zayn and Niall do not approve of your One Direction singing action figures, bathrobes, and rollerblades. There is only one reason you should be up all night with One Direction, and impulse-buying any of these gifts on eBay is not it. rockin’ plush animal speakers
When purchasing these scruffy little guys, you simultaneously lose your dignity and your ability to get laid. Good job.
FUR HEADPHONES
Do not release your inner JAP. Stop it. 23 20 Watts
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THE F-SHED Mention the Westcott Theater to any music lover at Syracuse University and they’ll likely be filled with the same warm, bubbly sensation that comes the first time you tuck yourself in bed after nine hours of travel on a Greyhound (Evangelist plug: Fuck Megabus). While there are certainly plenty of other venues— and basements— in the area for live music, Upstate Shows—the booking and promotion force behind both the Westcott Theater and The Lost Horizon—has built a reputation for bringing marquee-level 24 20 Watts
DJs, jam bands, and indie rock outfits to Syracuse. So it was exciting news when they announced the addition of a new venue, The F-Shed at The Market, to its list of locales. On June 7, Killswitch Engage played the venue’s inaugural concert. Since then, the F-Shed has hosted four more concerts: X-Fest, Big Gigantic, Krewella, and Lotus. In case you missed the festivities, 20 Watts was on the scene.
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A sold-out crowd fills The F-Shed for its fourth concert.
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Krewella support act Seven Lions warms up the Syracuse crowd, preceded by sets from Sweet Shop Records co-founders Candyland and local DJ Natronic.
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An entranced fan enjoys a light show, a popular form of entertainment at electronic dance shows using a pair of LED gloves.
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Yasmine Yousaf, pictured here, constitutes one-third of Krewella, along with sister Jahan and producer Kris “Rain Man� Trindl.
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Photos and text courtesy of Tom Charles.
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A downtown recording studio threads together a community of musicians. BY MICHELLE VAN DALEN / PHOTOS BY JESSICA MARSHALEK At the end of a hallway decked with portraits of artists who have recorded music at SubCat Studios—including Switchfoot, Lacey Lee, and New Found Glory—an audience waited patiently for the concert to begin. Rocking a baby-blue Victorianstyle dress, a blue floral headpiece, and wavy golden hair reaching the tops of her thighs, Amanda Rogers’ petite frame stood amid a sea of instruments ranging from the typical guitar and drum set to the unconventional xylophone. She faced the crowd in the recording studio and introduced the performers for the third Sub Rosa session: Thrifter, a band based out of West Monroe, and Meghan Yates & the Reverie Machine, based out of Portland, Maine. Sub Rosa is a concert series Rogers started in July that hosts local and out-of-town bands. In 2012, she began working at the studio, at 219 S. West St., where she now devotes hours on end 26 20 Watts
to the project that she refers to as her “baby,” aiming to make Syracuse a better place for musicians. The sessions, as well as the studio as a whole, act as a place where musicians can come together in a city that many SubCat Studios employees believe lacks a strong musical community. “I want this place to be more than just a recording studio,” Jeremy Johnston, owner and audio engineer at SubCat Studios, says. “My idea for the studio is that I want to make this place kind of a crossroads. I want it to be the pinnacle—so that anybody that’s into art or music in Central New York can come here and use the resources of the studio.” Buck and Shanti Curran of Arborea, a Maine-based duo, performed at the first session in July. The group played one of National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk concerts and Rolling Stone dubbed their album, Red Planet, as one of the “Best Under-the-Radar Albums of 2011.” Buck Curran thinks the Sub Rosa Sessions offer its audiences a diverse array of music. “It’s all equally unique and creative, which is cool because it just works on so many different levels. It’s not trying to fit a particular mold other than presenting pure creativity,” he says. Rogers’ project stems from a pattern she recognized in the types of shows she enjoys performing at and attending the most: those with a receptive crowd, a give-and-take energy flow between artist and audience, with a group of people who want to be part of something special. The Sub Rosa Sessions provide all three concert essentials. At each exclusive, one-of-a-kind session, a small crowd enjoys the crisp sounds of two bands on the third Sunday of each month. After mingling with the group
once the concert winds down, each person walks away with a bootleg CD recording of the show. Essentially, the sessions offer audience members the chance to fall in love with a band they might have missed out on otherwise.
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“Amanda bringing us in was really cool because we played for a lot of people that had never really been to a concert like the one that we had and the kind of performance that we do. It’s just a really special opportunity,” Buck Curran says. He emphasizes that concertgoers probably wouldn’t have discovered Arborea’s music if it weren’t for the concert, reinforcing the idea that both audience and artist benefit from the sessions. “When you’re performing, especially for a recording, that creates a different dynamic that isn’t inherently there. When you’re recording an album you tend to be so isolated or insular. It’s creating a whole different form of expression when you’re actually playing for a live audience. There’s an energy exchange when you’re playing for people,” he says. When she was 18, Rogers, a musician herself, began touring the U.S., Europe and Canada. Along the way, she’s been cheated out of paychecks, played with bands she had never met before, and
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driven across the country living from gig to gig. She’s experienced both the excitement and loneliness of life on the road, renounced her youthful naiveté, and released albums internationally— including Daily News and Hope from the Forgotten Woods—before starting her job at SubCat. “I want it to be a little bit better for musicians here. I’m still working on a plan, but I’ll come up with it,” she says. “I know Sub Rosa might be a key to helping the music scene here.” Though Syracuse is filled with artists, Johnston believes local musicians work separately in pockets rather than collaborate with one another. “If all these people in Syracuse could find ways to work together, the scene here will be so much better and they’ll all benefit,” Johnston says. The small departments at the studio—including graphic design, CD duplication, music lessons, printing, and recording classes—epitomize his hopes to bring artists together for all aspects of their work. The Sub Rosa Sessions add an important layer to the studio that aids this mission. “Adding a performance aspect to it goes along with our M.O. here. I want to be the facilitator to bring these pockets of creative people together,” he says. At the September Sub Rosa session, the featured bands thanked Rogers multiple 28 20 Watts
times throughout their performances for the opportunity to perform in this rare, cozy setting. Thrifter usually plays at popular venues in Syracuse including the Westcott Theater, Funk ‘n Waffles, and The Lost Horizons; they’ve also booked gigs in Philly, New York City, and Buffalo. Although guitarist, pianist, and lead vocalist Cliff Obrist enjoys playing for large crowds, he generally prefers performing in an environment like Sub Rosa’s. “The more intimate setting forces you to listen more and I think people who are going to it know that. They’re going because they want to hear your music and they want to be in that setting,” Obrist says. The ambience provided by the Sub Rosa Sessions remains an unparalleled commodity in Syracuse, where the local music scene doesn’t live up to both Rogers’ and Obrist’s standards. Obrist’s band members, Jameson Dunham and Brandon Fisher, attended the October session, even though they didn’t perform. Buck Curran was rendered speechless when asked about the experience of performing at the session. “We were just so—I don’t know. Just blown away,” he remarks. “We were just blown away, actually. Just overjoyed. I don’t know how to get more eloquent right now. It was just such a great experience and we’re so grateful.”
Jon Lessels, audio engineer and manager of graphic design and duplication as well as Rogers’ boss at SubCat Studios, piggybacks their feelings about the scene for local artists. “It’s a brilliant idea and it’s something this city really needs. There are so many great musicians around this area, and it’s honestly one of America’s best-kept secrets up here,” Lessels says. “But there’s that gaping hole that [Amanda] recognized.” Syracuse venues include noisy bars with drunk listeners and coffee shops with small crowds—none of which embody an environment of captivated, interested listeners that the sessions try to fulfill. Through the Sub Rosa Sessions, Rogers hopes to pour more of a genuine, fromthe-heart sound from these bands into Syracuse’s music scene, which she describes as disconnected. “There’s no sense of community. None of the artists really want to get together and just have a big jamboree and I think we need to do that,” she says with a laugh. The SubCat Studios team stands behind the concert series 100 percent. The staff supported the idea from the minute Rogers introduced it to the staff, even though the sessions don’t directly benefit from the studio financially. “None of us have a problem putting in a 12-hour day on a Sunday for Sub Rosa, because to create that kind of environment—you can’t put a price tag on that,” Lessels says. After the September session, Rogers, Lessels, and the audience members socialized with Thrifter and Meghan Yates & the Reverie Machine in the SubCat Studios lobby over wine and coffee, crackers and cookies. Then the attendees trickled out of the studio, waiting for the next third-Sunday-of-the-month treat.
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social distortion Social media makes it possible to make, listen, and distribute music in new ways, but does it benefit Syracuse area artists?
BY VICTOR SOARES
While Dan Dohman, the 21-year-old fiddler and vocalist for the band WoodWorks, sits at a funeral, his bandmates Sam Beck-Andersen, Zak Masoud, and Joe Sullivan sit in a small study room in Bird Library trying to predict the sensation of playing at the daylong remembrance event for the Pan Am Flight 103 victims of Syracuse University. They just hope to provide people with a pleasurable experience as they sing “Water from the Drain,” a song of their own composition. This is just one of the many preoccupations the four friends have had since they formed their band WoodWorks two years ago. In the beginning, they simply wanted to play some music together. Now, their responsibilities have grown. Besides balancing part-time jobs and 30 20 Watts
the work of full-time students, the four musicians have been working on their first album, which was released last month. The record is a collection of songs they have composed within the last two years. Since last spring, WoodWorks has spent a lot of time and money ironing out details and has placed more focus on the idea of Internet presence. With hundreds of local bands and millions of worldwide bands posting show dates and new releases every day, WoodWorks is having trouble figuring out how to stand out on the Internet. “Music is first and foremost for our own pleasure,” says Sullivan, the band’s vocalist and guitarist. But Sullivan and his bandmates still wish they had more money, time and strategies to get themselves on their feet. “We do take the more laid back approach,” Sullivan says.
Masoud, though, says if they keep doing this for ten years with no real monetary benefit they won’t be happy. It is frustrating that a short Facebook post like “Happy Friday” can get a hundred likes, but a “Come to this show” post will only get thirty, and consequently reaches fewer people. The band points out that having money to invest in paid Facebook posts can be helpful, as well as the fact that people get ahead in the music industry online because of money – not for their musical talent. WoodWorks has also been talking about the best medium of distribution: how many CDs to make versus how many download packages the band should have available on several websites.
measure how legitimate a band is before he writes about them, he checks for whether the band has a professionallooking website or, on the contrary, if the band’s Facebook page only has 20 likes. Baker is more likely to take a band seriously if they have a strong presence online. He has a Twitter feed set up to view only local artists. Those bands posting their thoughts on Breaking Bad or Miley Cyrus’ latest twerking news rank lower in Baker’s quality-control scale.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry released a study showing that digital music sharing is not actually harming the music industry. According to the study, the industry is innovating to adapt to a changing digital culture, and there is no evidence to link claims about overall revenue reduction to individual copyright infringement. In fact, overall sales for the music industry last year rose for the first time since 1999, totaling $16.5 billion, according to the study.
In Baker’s eyes, Syracuse-based artists like Just Joe have a strong presence online. “Every morning, he [Just Joe] posts a question on Facebook. And it’s always something very pointed, obviously about music, sometimes about a rock song, sometimes asking what you think about a certain genre of music,” Baker says. “They are opinion questions that people want to answer.” In between these posts, Joe posts about his new upcoming albums and shows. But the secret, at least according to Baker, is to build an online audience around something else besides self-promotion. “When an artist creates a community online,” Baker says, “people are more inclined to read about them.”
Chris Baker, a music and entertainment reporter for The Post-Standard, says he gets hundreds of emails every week from artists and musicians asking for publicity in the paper or online. Social media popularity has become a gauge of success for Baker. Baker says to
Mark Nerenhausen, professor of practice in the Department of Art & Music Histories and the founding director of the Janklow Arts Leadership Program at SU, says concert venues use social media platforms to assess local bands’ popularity before saying “yes” to a performance opportunity.
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“You can look at how many followers they have on Facebook or MySpace. What kind of Twitter traffic is there. All these things give a sense on not only how popular they are, but also how positioned they are,” Nerenhausen says. Nerenhausen also says that in music business, the Internet is not just about raw numbers and data; even the words a band uses to communicate online can play a role in deciding upon who will gain a place in performance lineups. A problem with concert venues, not only in Syracuse but also around the country, is that they sometimes “don’t even lift a finger to promote a performance online—they solely rely on the artist to promote their own concerts,” says Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, who teaches a course on songwriting in the Honors Program at SU and is the founding editor of Acoustic Guitar magazine. Having a strong presence online has never been more important for local bands if they want to make money out of concerts rather than just revenue from CD sales. Mike Watson, manager of the independent record and music store The Sound Garden, says that on average, for every 60-70 CDs the store sells, only one CD is a local band’s. He advises local bands sell their CDs for less than $9.99. “If you come in to the store and see a $7.99 CD, it’s because they just really want to promote it. But if you come in and see a local band CD for $14.99, they probably want too much money for it,” Watson says. Watson is also a musician, and he believes that giving away CDs is the way to defeat the powerful Internet business. He likes people having music for free; he’d rather have people listen to his music than people not listen to it. 32 20 Watts
“I’d rather give away 100 copies for free to fans, and have 100 people at a show, than sell 10 and have 10 people at your show,” Watson says. Nerenhausen believes giving away CDs can be effective, as long as a strong Internet marketing strategy exists—for instance,when bands offer two or three free music downloads in exchange for signing up for the band’s websites. “What they are trying to do there is to build their email list and spread the word of mouth – to get loyalty,” Nerenhausen says. “You get to know if someone downloaded the music, and if they liked it and forwarded it to somebody else, that’s using the free music as a test of vital marketing.” On the other hand, SU music professor David Rezak thinks giving away CDs is less effective than giving away digital files, as digital files have no manufacture cost. Rezak says monetizing music by trying to get songs to be in video games and selling t-shirts can be more effective for local bands. It wouldn’t bother WoodWorks if the band saw their new songs online for free. The group likes the free online publicity because it’s a form of exposure. Regardless of where this adventure takes them, the bandmates just want to finish the project and feel proud of themselves. Maybe 20 years from now, they’ll be able to get together and play this first album’s songs. At the same time, they recognize that at the moment they need to play as many shows as possible to get their name out there. Playing music has never been a moneymaking objective for them. They prefer the feeling of being on stage and seeing fans singing along to a WoodWorks song. WoodWorks has never successfully contacted mainstream artists online. The band understands the higher an
artist gets in the career, the harder it is to break the barrier between the artist and the agents, who “most times are the ones posting on Facebook and Twitter for their clients,” Sullivan says. The music industry has seen in the last years not a barrier that impedes promoting music, but a wall that impedes artists from monetizing their music. Whoever buys CDs will continue buying them, and whoever downloads songs for free—or illegally—will continue doing that too. The solution, though challenging, is for local bands to become their own managers without sounding like agents online. And on top of all that, these bands have to find time to make quality music. At the end of the day, that’s what matters to them. WoodWorks’ sound is different. The bandmates love not being attached to a certain music genre; they consider themselves a mixture of Americana, reggae, and folk, terming their genre “swing folk.” “The Internet has encouraged artists to define their genre, because on Pandora, you have to type in the genre you’re
looking for,” Sullivan says. “So I don’t know what you’d type on Pandora to find us.” While they like seeing the people dancing, singing, and having a good time, the guys understand that soon they have to make bigger decisions in terms of making money. Playing live music is what they are primarily focused on. “Live performances create a whole new energy,” drummer Sam BeckAndersen says. WoodWorks acknowledges that mainstream artists are the ones listed first in Google searches, and that big artists are the ones filling screen space in an era where everything is available online. WoodWorks owns the technological tools, but the band just doesn’t have the money to use it as effectively as mainstream musicians do. Luckily this only bothers them a little. In fact, they laugh about it. When asked about whether they see music becoming the only thing in their lives, bassist and vocalist Zak Masoud says, “It would be amazing – the best thing that could happen. But we are taking each step at a time.”
VICTORY GARDEN Almost uprooted amid political turmoil, The Sound Garden holds its ground. BY H.J. LEONARD PHOTOS BY JAMES SAULSKY
Walking into The Sound Garden feels like traveling back in time to an era when tapes were the rule and not the exception. Its walls are covered in band posters, and the smell of old records dominates the atmosphere. Despite its vintage vibe, the secondhand music store also sells CDs, DVDs, books, and videogames. But The Sound Garden is more than just a cool place to hang out: It’s a conduit for local bands to get their music to the community. Every city has its record store, and Syracuse’s is The Sound Garden, at Armory Square. But a few months ago, things looked pretty bleak for the music landmark. In June 2012, the Common Council updated Syracuse’s secondhand dealer ordinance to keep stolen goods out of stores. The original 1962 law, which ordered secondhand dealers to give police a list of their purchases, would now incorporate CDs, DVDs, and videogames. The Sound Garden thought it was the end and wound up considering relocation. “We didn’t have the personnel neither a way to catalog everything we have in here,” says store manager Eric Brush. In an article published by Syracuse.com in April, storeowner Bryan Burkert said The Sound Garden receives roughly 500 pieces of used materials on a regular day, going up to 15,000 per month. The origins of The Sound Garden were, however, humble. Burkert first created the store in Baltimore in 1993. Three years later, he 34 20 Watts
opened up a second location in Syracuse with the help of Bruce Miller, his financial backer. “We were a small store. Back then we didn’t sell DVDs. Most of our customers were hardcore punks. We used to sell grunge music,” Brush says. Since then, The Sound Garden has become one—if not the only—place in town where people from all over Central New York go listen to new music, buy and sell old albums, socialize, and catch up on bands from the area. “We sell locally based bands. They bring us down their CDs; they tell us how much they want for the CD; and we just charge them $1.99,” Brush says.
WHAT THE EMPLOYEES RECOMMEND
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CASEY KEEFE Ed Gein, Judas Goats & Dieseleaters (2005)
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NICK SHELTON Ohne-ká and the Burning River, Where the Real Wind Blows (2013)
DAVIS YOUNG Phantom Chemistry, Waiting for Sam (2012)
But besides reserving a big corner of the store specifically for local music, The Sound Garden also helps Syracuse musicians by passing out flyers for their venues—and sometimes hosting the artists themselves. The store even organizes concerts of bands touring around the Syracuse area, giving the public the opportunity to listen to new trends or old classics. “As soon as we know they are touring or passing through Syracuse, we call the managers, and we book them,” Brush says. Steven T. Winston, bass player of the Syracuse band Los Blancos, says The Sound Garden is one of the greatest record stores in the U.S. “The Sound Garden is a destination store in the country. You have people from all over New York seeking records that you won’t find anywhere else. If they left we would lose that outlet,” he says. “We sold tons of CDs at The Sound Garden. And it’s not just selling them; it’s the fact that once they don’t have any more of your CDs, they call you in order for you to give them more. You won’t have that personal contact anywhere else.” THE CONFLICT Councilman Jake Barrett, who supported the extension of the secondhand dealer law as chair of the public safety committee, also acknowledges the relevance of The Sound Garden in the community. “I shop at The Sound Garden; I shop for Bob Dylan records,” he says. Barrett, however, believes extending Syracuse’s secondhand dealer ordinance to media items may prevent thievery by keeping an exhaustive record of resale material. “One of the main purposes of the ordinance was to install software in secondhand 36 20 Watts
dealers shops,” he says. “With that software the secondhand dealer shops would have to register the merchandise they buy from people. That goes to a database where the police department can verify all that merchandise coming in and match their description with any item reported stolen.” Yet along with reporting their purchases to police officers, the ordinance also obliged pawnshops to hold merchandise for a week before selling it and comply with an 8 p.m. curfew. The situation raised tensions between the local authorities and The Sound Garden and stirred up controversy. After reading a story in April about the troubles The Sound Garden was dealing with, Julie Briggs, owner of the boutique marketing firm Red Shoes Marketing, decided to take a stand in favor of the store. She created an action and support group on Facebook, “Save Syracuse Soundgarden,” to raise awareness and educate the community about the problem. “It was really ineffective. There are other important matters to attend to in Syracuse like crime and poverty,” Brigg says, referring to the ordinance. “It really struck me as something really wrong, and people didn’t know. So I started the page to inform the people.”
According to Briggs, the store constitutes a valuable asset for Syracuse residents; it provides them with a great cultural offer while giving a hand to local bands with getting their work out there. “They help local bands to promote their music, they book shows, and they get involved with fundraising. The have a huge selection of local music. There you can find old CDs and music for more affordable prices. They’re also great partners when it comes to selling tickets,” she says. “We’re really lucky to have it. Stores are closing and music is changing. It would have meant a loss for local musicians.” The possibility of The Sound Garden leaving town triggered an energetic reaction among other Syracuse residents, too. By the beginning of May, people were rallying around City Hall to pressure the local government to change the law and allow their beloved store to remain open. And it worked. Though Burkert ended up announcing the store’s closure after months of lobbying, administrators introduced an amendment in June 2013, freeing music, film, and videogame dealers within the downtown business area from the expanded ordinance. But because the amendment only applied to downtown Syracuse, Barrett understood it wasn’t fair for other secondhand sellers to accept The Sound Garden’s demands and exempt the music store from the dealer law. “So The Sound Garden asked for a waiver. And when we didn’t grant it at the beginning, I felt that Burkert threatened to leave Syracuse in order to put pressure to leverage what he wanted,” he says. Common Councilor Khalid Bey, who helped The Sound Garden remain open, says the matter was much simpler than it appeared to be. “Originally the problem was that the law changed and nobody knew. So the police department was pressuring The Sound Garden in order to comply with the new law. The Sound Garden stated that they couldn’t because they didn’t have the employees or the money to hire more staff to classify everything they have,” he says.
the store is located, Bey wasn’t able to plunge into the ruckus until the Common Council delegated the issue to him. “So when they did, I solved everything with three phone calls. One to The Sound Garden, another one to the chief of the police department, and another back to Sound Garden,” he says. Bey is responsible for the amendment that made it possible for the music mecca to stay in Syracuse. The amendment took out the portion of the law that forced secondhand stores to wait seven days to sell the used items they acquire. Also, secondhand stores in the downtown area may now summarize any purchases of five or more items instead of entering each one individually. Regarding its relevance in the community, Bey says The Sound Garden is essential for local economy because it brings life to Syracuse. “I get all my media from them because it’s really affordable. Also, we have to save and promote our small businesses. They support expansion. They provide for the community. It adds to the character and value of downtown. It keeps the youth; it keeps the city young,” he says. THE FUTURE Roughly six months after the Common Council amended the ordinance, The Sound Garden still operates at 310 W. Jefferson Street at Armory Square from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. And though the store has more battles to fight, Brush is positive about the future. “It has been great. The students are back. This is one of the only outlets for music in a 30-mile radius. We’re keeping up on Facebook. We have strong ties with the local community when so many stores are closing,” he says. “Record Store Day keeps going. We have long-term plans for the future regardless of what happens to physical media. Still, there’s a fan base that looks for it. As opposed to the Internet, there are people that really look for a CD or a vinyl instead of storing everything in a hard drive.”
Despite being in charge of the district where 37 20 Watts
THE A
TEAM BY IBET INYANG
PHOTOS BY JENNIFER HALE
In the fall of 2011, an underground rapper from Compton, Calif., graced the Goldstein Auditorium stage. Even before his anthemic album good kid m.A.d.d city and his Syracuse University Juice Jam appearance this September, Kendrick Lamar possessed an inherent charisma. There didn’t seem to be a person in sight who wasn’t at least bobbing along to his set in Goldstein. Lamar was, and—later proved by his Juice Jam performance— is still one of the most entertaining live acts in hip-hop. But in this case, it wasn’t as much who was performing as it was what brought Kendrick to Syracuse two years ago. The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. picked Lamar to headline their annual Hope Benefit Concert that year because they knew the crowd would be a part of his newfound following. Judging by the audience’s reaction in Goldstein that night, the Alphas were right. * * * * * * * * 38 20 Watts
Earlier during the show, the Alphas had also welcomed rappers Travis Porter and Machine Gun Kelly to the stage. As they provided the soundtrack, people danced, fraternity brothers strolled, and not a soul in the densely packed room stood still. This vibe is to be expected from an Alpha Phi Alpha show. It’s become the fraternity’s formula for entertainment success: snag an up-and-coming artist who’s never been to campus before and without fail, the tickets will sell out immediately, creating an event that’s more of a star-studded party than a typical college gig. Alpha Phi Alpha President and SU senior Abdou Diakite says “intimate” is the best word to describe his fraternity’s concerts. The small venue allows the audience to connect with the performer, while making the party more engaging and enjoyable. The Alphas take a low-key approach to concert promotion, and the rest is history. “Honestly, we do
M most of it by word-of-mouth,” Diakite says. “We’re pretty social people, so the word just spreads like wildfire.” Though spreading the word sells tickets, it doesn’t travel very far. Between the Alphas’ membership of 10 brothers and a couple of posters in Schine, a lack of marketing resources may be the reason Syracuse University’s general student body may never experience the underground affair that is an Alpha concert. In fact, they may not even know much about the Alphas at all. Originally a student support group for minorities who faced racial prejudice, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University, where it became the first intercollegiate fraternity established for African Americans. In 1910, members established the Iota chapter at Syracuse University, which disbanded after 13
years. In 1949, the university established a short-lived Delta Zeta chapter, which was quickly rendered inactive. It wasn’t until 1973 that 30 ambitious black men who saw the need for another black organization revived the current Delta Zeta chapter, according to the fraternity’s website. The founders were dedicated to bringing about more changes within the growing black university community. Since then, not only has the group provided a brotherhood for African-American men, but also has shown a commitment to academic excellence and service. Members travel to Southside Academy Charter School weekly for the “Go to High School, Go to College” mentoring program, host an annual turkey drive during Thanksgiving for The Dunbar Center, and raise money for the Home HeadQuarters house developing organization with their much anticipated Hope Benefit concerts. It’s a pretty good setup: A strong and wellrespected fraternity brings acts like French 39 20 Watts
Montana, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, and Kendrick Lamar to campus for a show, and it’s for a good cause. However, the word-of-mouth campaigning strategy has not only made the Alphas unknown to the general public but has also resulted in a lack of diversity in terms of the concerts’ audiences. Diakite acknowledges that although the crowds are becoming more racially diverse, the Alphas’ Hope Benefit concerts still primarily bring in an African American and Latino audience, based on the small community their members are able to reach. Based on demographics alone, the Alpha concerts, as exciting as they are, can be viewed as a representation of the frequently discussed racial and social divides on campus. In the wee hours of Feb. 3, 2013, police arrested nine Syracuse University students after a fight broke out at the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations and the National Panhellenic Council’s “Faded” dance party in Schine Auditorium. After The Post-Standard covered the news, a wave of racially charged comments (many of which have since been deleted) were posted on the publication’s website, pointing to the number of black students involved in the brawl and claiming that the number of minority students who currently attend Syracuse University are to blame for campus violence and lower national rankings. This racially charged commentary sparked necessary dialogue about the racial divide on the SU hill. A few weeks afterward, the “Healing the Scars” panel was held at SU. A coalition of students gathered in Hendricks Chapel to hash out their feelings about issues like minority tokenizing and self-segregation. According to a recent study by University of Michigan sociology researchers Siwei Cheng and Yu Xie, these social phenomena are more common in larger schools, like Syracuse 40 20 Watts
University, where students are more likely to settle into close friendships with those who share similar racial backgrounds. “I think it’s an entity that’s never going to change because we’ve gotten so used to it,” says Omanii Abdullah, Syracuse University Instructor-Adjunct of African-American Studies. He says, “On Sundays our society is one of the most segregated; you look at churches and there are blacks here, Latinos there, Jews here.” Abdullah says that this is a part of how we operate as a society and how we have learned to socialize. We tend to feel more comfortable with people who look like us, speak our language, or
PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO STEP OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE AND KNOW DIFFERENT PEOPLE THAT DON’T LOOK LIKE THEM. hold the same beliefs, and we might not see a reason to venture out of our group. With that in mind, the lack of diverse audiences at Alpha concerts is a legitimate problem. It shows a lack of unity between ethnic groups and more importantly it deprives so many people from up-and-coming musical talent. Diakite acknowledges that the Alphas are fully aware of this, only making them think more about what they can do to help “bridge the gap.” They have already created “Hitched,” an annual speeddating event co-sponsored by fraternities Sigma Alpha Elipson and Delta Kappa Elipson. “Hitched” allows each group’s demographics to intermingle. On top of that, the Alphas plan to perfect a new and
From left to right: Abdou Diakite, Curtis Richardson, Marcus Peterson, Ademar Perez, Patrick Saint-Tulias, Marius Bizimungu, Ricky Gardiner, Marcarthur Abelard, and Andre Graham.
improved marketing campaign that crosspromotes with University Union, Syracuse University’s official programming board. However, fixing this issue is a two-way street. Despite the Alphas’ small-scale marketing campaign, people are aware that they have brought hip-hop’s finest to campus. So why not make an effort to try and find out about the next big concert before it happens? Diakite says it goes back to the issue of comfort. “People should want to know each other,” Diakite says. “People are afraid to step out of their comfort zone and know different people that don’t look like them because they think that they might not be able to relate to them.” But we know that heads bob and feet tap the same way in every nation; there’s a rhythmic tie that binds people together, and the Alphas’ concerts may have the power to be a solution rather than an example of the problem. “Music is a universal language; everyone can relate
to it, so our concerts become a common ground,” says Diakite. “That’s how it needs to be on campus: finding a common ground through personalities and experiences.” Bringing more colors to an Alpha Phi Alpha concert wouldn’t be a bad idea. As students from all countries, racial identities, backgrounds, and beliefs come together, they dance to the same beat and sing along to the same song. Then as Kendrick Lamar, or maybe a history professor drops knowledge with vicious rhymes or PowerPoint slides, the crowd of students on a dance floor or in a classroom will become a unified body there for a common goal. *
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Back at Goldstein, Lamar performed music off his debut mixtape, Section. 80. He extended the mic to the audience with a grin, challenging them to finish the last few bars of the enigmatic “Rigamortis.” “Amen!” the crowd yelled in unison, finishing the song, together, as one.
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