rawr Jazzing up a professor The open road Amelia C. Warden | Rawr
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4.24.15 Vol. 5 No. 28
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page Mixed media Moscow 4
horoscopes The Argonaut
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Your work in
Rawr illustration photography mixed media
Taurus 4/20-5/20
4.24.15
You will sleep through a test this week, unless you set Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” as your alarm. Just do it.
paintings sculptures short fiction poetry non-fiction Rawr is an alternative weekly publication covering art, culture, campus life and entertainment. We are accepting all forms of art and creativity to be featured inside the publication or on the cover. Email: arg-arts@uidaho.edu
Gemini 5/21-6/21 Don’t try to feed the snack machine a nickel. It will spit it back in your face and you will never get your beloved Snickers.
Cancer 6/22-7/22
Be on the lookout for a mysterious figure who will bring you glad tidings. Also, do your laundry. It’s starting to pile up.
Leo 7/23-8/22 Just because it’s sunny for a day or two does not mean you should take off your shirt and talk about crossfit. In fact, that’s really never a good idea, regardless of your sign.
Virgo 8/23-9/22 If you go to the bars this week, you will probably spend most of your money
and consume many beverages. The same thing will happen next week. Consider yourself warned.
Libra 9/23-10/22
Tip your fast food severs. You never know when you will need them to have your back.
Scorpio 10/23-11/21
If you travel to Oregon, you will not be allowed to pump your own gas. Plan accordingly and be prepared for awkward encounters by the pump.
Sagittarius 11/22-12/21 At some point this week you will wish you lived closer to the ocean. Suck it up princess. You don’t.
Capricorn 12/22-1/19 Avoid all stairs this week. Sometimes
Cy Whitling | Rawr
people trip on them and it’s easy to burn way too many calories. Also, avoid the elevator, sometimes they get stuck in the movies.
Aquarius 1/20-2/18 If you made it this far in these horoscopes you will be blessed by 18 minutes of good luck, redeemable at any time.
Pisces 2/19-3/20 There is a high probability a bird will target you for some long range bombing. I recommend wearing a trash bag as a hat whenever you are outdoors.
Aries 3/21-4/19 If you cross the street in front of a red convertible, you will have good luck for a week. If you cross the street in front of a large diesel truck, you will smell like exhaust for a week.
Vigorous vocals Music invokes emotions that sometimes can only be expressed through the trill of piano keys and the fivesecond hold of a pitch-perfect note. Matching these incredible vocals with their acoustic accompaniment makes this playlist one to listen to again and again.
“A Drop in the Ocean” by Ron Pope
“Time” is a vocal performance that will be make you “stay” by your stereo all the “time.”
“Skinny Love” by Birdy Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” is fantastic all in itself — until you hear Birdy belt out the song and you’ll never go back to the original. Birdy has a flawless voice that pairs magically with the piano.
Pope has a reputation of Emily writing music that melts the “I Need to Know” by Kris Vaartstra ladies’ hearts. With a line like, Rawr Allen “You are my heaven” and a voice The season eight winner that sounds like it is literally of American Idol knows how to move from heaven, this song could be stuck people with his voice. The power and on repeat and never get old. passion behind Allen’s vocals in this “Time” by Mikky Ekko song will have you telling him anything he needs to know. Many fell in love with Ekko and his jaw-dropping vocal feature in Rihanna’s “Down” by Jason Walker hit single “Stay,” but even without Riri’s While this song is a tear-jerker, it exotic voice paired with his, Ekko’s
invokes such incredible emotion that it somehow makes it OK to feel like you’re drowning in failure. Molly Reed’s topnotch harmonization with Walker and the piano accompaniment is a mix that will put you into a puddle of tears.
“Home” by Gabrielle Aplin If there is one song from this playlist that is a no-option, must-listen-or-die, it is this song. Aplin’s original composition doesn’t have sufficient words to describe how empowering and passionate each word is sung that it permeates every molecule of the soul.
“Colour Me In” by Damien Rice The gradual vocal and orchestral build-up of this song and his pleading
to “come let me love you” opens up a comfy seat right next to this Irish singer on the piano bench.
“With Love” by Christina Grimmie Third runner up on season six of The Voice, Grimmie knows how to leave a crowd speechless with her vocal range. Add the piano, and she’s got the music world at her fingertips. Expect to hear great things from this young musician in the future. Emily Vaartstra can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu
Rawr
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Rawr Reviews
Write stuff down in Field Notes Analogue notebooks in an age of fabulist
of prints, including ruled, graphed and plain. They also produce quarterly special editions complete with custom covers, paper, staples and designs. Enough of the specs though, let’s get down to In our increasingly digital world, the nitty-gritty of what makes a it seems like every week some notebook worthwhile. technological leader declares I have several things I look the death of yet another anafor in a notebook. First off, it logue object or process. needs to be handy. It needs to In this ecosystem of be the kind of thing I can take tablets, phablets, Internet, anywhere with me. Secondly, bluetooth, megapickles and it needs to be durable. Last but fancy little dealie-o’s, it’s easy not least, it needs to have perto immerse yourself in a fully Cy Whitling sonality. It needs to make me digital world and lose touch Rawr want to fill it up with worthwith reality. Field Notes is a while notes. brand for the holdouts, those Field Notes are pretty handy. weird people who still want to write Their size is perfect for a back stuff down in a notebook. pocket and they are exactly wide Their motto, as stated on their webenough for a normal sized rubber site, reads, “I’m not writing it down to band to slip around them and hold remember it later, I’m writing it down them shut. This is important, because to remember it now.” The company if I need to carry my notebook around produces several products, but their in a backpack and unzip it every time most popular notebook is a 3.5x5.5” I want to write something down, notebook, bound in thick paper. They I might as well just type it on my produce these notebooks in a variety
phone. Field Notes are big enough to fill with doodles and diagrams, but small enough that you never notice it’s there until you need it. Now, if you are going to keep a notebook in your back pocket day in and day out, it’s going to need to be pretty durable. I have experience with two different editions of Field Notes, and their durability was drastically different. The “Expedition Edition” is, as its name suggests, rugged. I’ve been using one of these for two years and it has held up well. It is constructed with a waterproof paper that doesn't tear, the downside is it’s a little slick, so it makes my already bad handwriting all the more illegible. My other set, the “Unexposed Edition,” has not held up so well. One of the covers started to rip off, and I had to repair it with tape. Of course, this isn’t entirely the notebook’s fault — I’ve put it through a lot, including several bike and ski crashes. For a notebook, Field Notes are plenty durable. Just don’t expect them
to stop a bullet. Really though, the biggest reason I use Field Notes is their personality. The brand takes great care to produce the best, most unique notebooks, and they do so in an authentic way. Each edition is accompanied with a video detailing the design, materials and processes that went into the book. Inside the back cover of each book is a list of potential things to document. These include, and I quote, “Minds Blown,”“MBeats Dropped,” “Things to Attach Glo-Sticks To,” “Colleague Suspicions,” “Sherpa Recommendations,” “Decoy Treasure Locations,” and my personal favorite, “Abyss’s Stared Into.” These notebooks would be worth the $10 for a three-pack just for the reading material found in the back cover. Instead, they deliver much more and make a solid case for analogue notes in an increasingly digital world. Cy Whitling can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu
A Crumbs recipe Tostones Ingredients n 1 plantain n 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder n 1 teaspoon salt n 1/4 cup water n Olive oil or butter
Directions 1. Slice plantain and fry in oil or butter until golden brown on both sides 2. Add salt and garlic powder to the bowl 3. Add 1/4 cup water to the bowl
4. Flatten the sliced cooked plantain with the bottom of a cup
5. Dip the pieces into the bowl 6. Fry again on both sides with higher heat until the squished pat is golden brown Silas Whitley can be reached at crumbs@uidaho.edu
Silas Whitley | Crumbs
The Argonaut
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4.24.15
Ameilia C. Warden | Rawr
Christen “Silas” Merrick adds some finishing touches to her piece that will be apart of the mixed media installation displayed on the main floor of the Moscow public library. The piece will focus on literary themes that each student selected, and will be displayed on the main floor of the library. Installation will be finalized April 29.
‘Oh the genres you’ll read!’
Mixed media class to install public art Claire Whitley rawr
Public art, as Nishiki Sugawara-Beda described, is art for a larger audience. It isn’t just art for adults or kids, but art for an entire generation. She said public art should raise questions, celebrate a particular community or document a community. “Art is a visual form of communication,” SugawaraBeda said. “You don’t have to be of an age that needs to read, you can just look at it and understand.” Sugawara-Beda is a professor at the University of Idaho and teaches ART 390, mixed media. SugawaraBeda and her students are in the production stage of a public art installation for the Moscow community. The piece is an aerial view of the Palouse region separated into different segments. Each different
segment is a different genre, Sugawara-Beda said. There are a total of 17 genres represented in the piece. The installation will be placed in the Moscow public library above the DVD section. “The library is a good melting pot,” Sugawara-Beda said. “It’s the head for all Latah County libraries, so it makes a good central place.” Dallan Pickard, a student in the class, is working on the sci-fi section. Pickard, a virtual technology design student, said he created a 3D image of a spaceship and added a space background before printing it off and pasting it on his section. “It’s fun,” Pickard said. “I enjoy making something the public gets to see. And it’s important because Moscow is an art-focused community.” Sugawara-Beda said she hopes the community will look at art students and art in a different way after seeing the piece. “I want them to realize what an art student can do,” she said. “It’s not just pretty, but it raises questions.”
The process for creating the public art piece started at the beginning of the semester. In the third week, students were asked to prepare a concept rough draft and then refine it, Sugawara-Beda said. They submitted the drafts to the library board, which voted on their favorite design. The student who designed the winning piece dropped the class right before, Sugawara-Beda said. Pickard said the class altered the design and made it from the whole class to the library. The installation will be in the Moscow public library and will open to viewers no later than April 29. “I enjoy making something the public gets to see,” Pickard said. “Art is fun. I want to come back in 10 years and see it incorporated more within the community. If I can make an impact, that’s pretty cool.” Claire Whitley can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu or on Twitter @Cewhitley24
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Play smart, play safe “Heart of the Arts” when our lawns are covered in mostly nude, sun deprived Idahoans lounging like so many freshly peeled potatoes? Along with it obviously being offensive to our eyes, premature tanning also holds risks to the perpetrator. Our winter skin is not yet ready for prolonged exposure to the sun, so Swimming these first few weeks of spring usually serve As soon as the sun pops out, Moscow starts up a solid burn and peel instead of laying to feel like southern California and everyone down a bronzed base. wants to go swimming. Unfortunately, the This means in a few weeks when it snows Cy Whitling Palouse area is not quite so temperate and again (and it will), today’s tanners will be dealRawr welcoming to early season swimmers. While ing with sunburnt shoulders while shoveling we don’t have to deal with the dangers of their driveways. Again, I speak from experience sharks, it is important for the intrepid northwestern when I say this is not a good time to tan. swimmer to be wary of ice, hypothermia, pointy Running sticks and the occasional muskrat. Paradise Creek and Spring Valley Reservoir are tempting options for those Let’s be honest, winter is not kind to most of our who are water deprived, but bring towels, hot chocobodies. Holidays, lack of exercise and baggy winter late and preferably a sauna if you go for a spring dip. clothes all give us excuses to let things go a little. This means when spring does come around and we finally Tanning get to take off the hoodies we’ve been wearing for the I’m not sure what it is about northern Idaho, but past eight months, many often find they are carrying as soon as we hit four consecutive hours of sunshine, a little more baggage than they would like. everybody starts taking their clothes off. This is a bad This realization, combined with the suddenly sunidea for several reasons. The most obvious is aesthetic. ny weather, triggers some primal instinct in people to How is Moscow supposed to uphold its status as go on a run. The streets come alive with runners who Despite the best efforts of some scattered snowstorms, it seems spring has finally sprung. Sunny skies and green grass mean it’s time to get out there and do stuff. Before you do though, heed these cautionary tips from a local.
Alone on the top of the world
after a few blocks quickly devolve into joggers, walkers and in extreme situations, pukers. Running is all well and good, but be careful. Your body is not ready for too much too fast, and it’s never fun to realize you can’t run anymore when you are still a few miles from home. I also have to battle a personal temptation to combine all of the aforementioned activities on one outing. I generally start with a light run. As soon as I start sweating, my shirt comes off and I start to multitask while tanning. In extreme situations, I will even make use of a pond or creek and get some early season swimming done too, but more often I will just trip near a puddle and get wet that way. Cy Whitling can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu
Rawr briefs Theater students at national festival Kadin McGreevy, a University of Idaho junior, went to Washington D.C. last week to participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. He attended the event for directing and returned with top honors from the festival. McGreevy also won the national Students, Directors, Choreographers directing award. “Here’s a little thing, it’s less about winning and more about the experience,” McGreevy said. “I am honored to be amongst this capable generation of world changers.” Courtney Smith, a UI graduate student, also placed in the national festival. His design for last spring’s “Cherry Orchard” set placed second in the nation for scenic design, coming in only behind an instructor and graduate student.
A single pink flower on the top of the Seven Devils hiking trail near Riggins, Idaho.
Claire Whitley | Rawr
Rawr
April
24 pg 6
The man with the golden trumpet
Vern Sielert talks about his path through the world of jazz Emily Vaartstra rawr
Vern Sielert started playing his first instrument, the piano, when he was in fourth grade. He said after listening to his mother play, he decided he wanted to make music. Then he heard his brother play the trombone at his high school band concerts, where Sielert also listened to the school’s jazz band perform. It was then when he realized he wanted to be a part of that world — the world of jazz. “I started trumpet in the fifth grade, and haven’t looked back,” Sielert said. “It’s kind of been the main focus of everything I’ve done since then and everywhere I’ve been.” After high school, Sielert picked up his trumpet and left his home in Connecticut to go to North Texas State University, now known as University of North Texas (UNT), which has one of the oldest jazz studies programs in the country. Sielert received his undergraduate degrees in jazz performance and music education before going back to UNT for his master’s degree in jazz studies and to play in the six-time Grammy nominated One O’Clock Lab Band, which Sielert said he played in for two years. He said he wrote and recorded music throughout this time, freelanced around Texas for the next five years and taught as an adjunct professor at Baylor University. Sielert said he enjoyed the idea of running a big band or a jazz program at a college, so the next logical step was to get his doctorate. “By that time, I had met my wife and she wanted to go get her doctorate too, so we wound up going to the University of Illinois together and got our DMA — a doctorate in musical art is what it’s called,” he
said. “We were there for three years, and then we were both applying around for jobs and I got lucky enough to get one at the University of Washington. I taught there for five years in Seattle.” When two jobs opened up at the Lionel Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho, Sielert and his wife, Vanessa, jumped on the opportunity to work in the same program. “We applied and we both got the gigs, luckily, which is kind of really rare for two people in the same line of work,” he said. “Our (focus is) very specific — instrument specific — so for two things to line up and the timing and all that kind of stuff — we feel very fortunate to be in Moscow doing what we do.” Since then, Sielert has been teaching the young jazz enthusiasts of UI and playing with bands around the Palouse, in Washington and in jazz festivals throughout the country. His latest project was a jazz record Clarity he produced with several of his old colleagues, he said. “This record is a project with some friends of mine — one of whom I went to school with at North Texas and another one I went to school with at Illinois, so we’ve all known each other for a long time,” Sielert said. “We all wrote music for it and we all met up in Phoenix, which is where two of the guys are from, and we rehearsed for a day, played a couple gigs and then went in the studio and recorded the stuff.” The record is all original contemporary jazz music influenced by the different tunes brought in by each musician, Sielert said. He said the same group is planning on creating another record this summer. “Most all of us have some kind of affiliation with a college, so we’re teaching and all of us are teaching jazz, but we still like to play,” he said. “I think it’s what keeps our teaching relevant.” As for his greatest influences, Sielert said the names are probably too numerous to mention. Big band music has had a large influence on
Good technique, OK soul
Unhinged Sextet’s debut album has all the technique of jazz, but not all the soul
The talent gets you to a certain point. It’s the hard work and the dedication that gets you further, I think. Vern Sielert
him since high school, and he studied the music of great jazz trumpet innovators such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gilespy and Miles Davis. “Nowadays,” Sielert said. “These are great folks to hang out with. It makes the playing that much more fun. Playing with people that are old friends — it’s just great.” Sielert tells his students they need to be 100 percent dedicated to their music if they want to make it in the competitive field. Practicing and honing their craft is something that has to be a major part of their lives, he said. “There (are) many very talented people out there,” Sielert said. “The talent gets you to a certain point. It’s the hard work and the dedication that gets you further, I think.” He said it is important for aspiring musicians to listen to as much music as they can and to play as much music as they can in a wide variety of styles. If students want to work and make money playing music or be good teachers, they need to be versatile, he said. “The School of Music is great — we have a lot of great things going on,” Sielert said. “I’m just really happy to be associated with the jazz program at U of I and the jazz festival, too. That’s another really big, cool thing about teaching here is the opportunity that that provides for our students. I love my job.” Emily Vaartstra can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu
Rawr Reviews
Amelia C. Warden | Rawr
Music Professor Vern Sielert plays the trumpet in his office during a meeting with a student. Professor Sielert recently produced the jazz album Clarity with his band Unhinged Sextet.
Vern Sielert, associate professor of trumpet and director of jazz studies here at the University of Idaho, is one of the six members of Unhinged who recently released their debut album, Clarity. Unhinged Sextet consists of an alto and tenor saxophone, drums, bass, piano and a trumpet joining together to create different styles of jazz. Each member of Unhinged Sextet brings to Jordan Hollingshead the table their Rawr experience and their own style of playing that blends together to make a good jazz album. After listening to this album over and over again, I would rate Clarity at about an 8.5 out of 10. The music sounds great and was well written. Clarity contains a wide variety of jazz, from fast and intricate runs as heard in their song “Unhinged” to slow melodies like their song “Clarity.” From the first note to the last measure you can hear the experience every member of the sextet has and their stylistic ways of playing. With this album’s wide variety of jazz, it is almost guaranteed that there will be a song to everyone’s liking. The reason this album only got rated an 8.5 instead of a 10 is because of the lack of emotion behind the music. After listening to this album, it felt as though the soul and emotional component was missing. They are in the right key to make it sound emotional, but there is a difference in playing soul and playing with soul. When someone is playing with soul you can tell they are
Unhinged Sextet
Clairity available now playing with feeling. You can tell they are trying to portray their emotions through their music. This album does play with soul, don’t get me wrong, it just felt as though it wasn’t as strong as it could have been. Although it feels like this album may have fallen short in playing with emotion in some areas, there are still many areas where this album excels, such as the wellwritten music and the intricate playing style of the sextet. As soon as you start this album, you are welcomed with a fast paced, wellplayed song with a lot of intricate lines played to perfection. This album is easy to listen to and will soon have people whistling the songs for the next week. Overall this album is a good investment for jazz enthusiasts. While it does lack a little in the emotion department, it isn’t bad. The music is well played and diverse which favors the variety of people who listen to jazz. For those who prefer jazz with a bit more soul, it might not be their favorite, but it will still be a good listen. Jordan Hollingshead can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu
The Argonaut
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4.24.15
Adjunct lager madness PBR wins in the face off of cheap beer PBR
Silas Whitley Crumbs
Beer Comparison Adjunct beers are beers that incorporate other sources of sugar for fermentation than typical barley or wheat. Common adjuncts are things like corn or rice. Adjuncts are typically high in fermentable sugar capability, but low in taste, so they are used to increase the gravity (density, a measure of sugars) of the wort for a cheaper price than using things like malted barley. These beers are the cheaper beers and are typically overpriced, even still. This week, a panel of four, including yours truly, compared a dozen different American adjunct lagers. This was done to determine which cheap beer is the best cheap beer. Comparisons were blind, so judges didn’t know which beer was which. Prices were not included in the determination process, as they are all roughly the same. In general, it is understandable to say these beers “are the same,” but there are still noticeable differences. It was discovered during the competition though — and unanimously agreed upon by judges — that Miller High Life and Coors Banquet tasted exactly the same. The only difference was head retention — which could be affected by glass cleanliness — and a nearly unnoticeable color difference. They both are Miller-Coors beers. Pabst Blue Ribbon won the competition, followed by Coors Banquet then Rainier. The results are not intended to encourage investment decisions.
Events Thursday was the Buy Local Moscow Brewfest, which featured local brewing and winemaking companies. Next
Icehouse
Keystone
Icehouse
Keystone Light
Bud Light
Natual Light
PBR
Rainier PBR
Budweiser
PBR
Rainier Rolling Rock
Coors Banquet Rainier
Miller High Life
Coors Light Coors Light
Coors Banquet
Busch Light
Coors Banquet Claire Whitley | Crumbs
weekend, the third annual Brewfest at the Alehouse will take place May 2 and on May 6, Odell Brewing will take over the taps at The Garden. If you haven’t gone to a tap takeover, I highly recommend it.
Homebrewing Tips The presence of oxygen in the beer making process is typically a bad thing. Oxygen is useful for yeast in order to reproduce and build a strong population before primary, but otherwise causes undesirable affects. These tips aren’t necessary and sometimes differences might not be noticeable, but attempt the following. Avoid aeration of your cooling wort. Don’t transfer it into the fermenter or
any other container for any reason until the wort is below 80 degrees Fahrenheit. This will oxidize malt compounds. If you have a carbon dioxide canister, fill kegs with CO2 before filling them with beer. Filling a keg with CO2 is pretty easy. Close the keg and fill with 10 pounds of CO2 and let it rest for a few minutes before releasing the pressure slowly. Repeat this two or three times. CO2 is heavier than air and will settle to the bottom. Fill any secondary fermenter with the CO2 created from the rigorous primary fermentation via a “blow off” setup. This is doable, but also risks contamination. Run the blow off tubing into the secondary fermenter and let it sit for 20 minutes and remove. Put
an air lock on the secondary fermenter when it is filled to keep it sanitary, then replace the primary airlock or blow off setup. Only do this if a blow off is not likely and fermentation is vigorous. If bottling, try using oxygen-absorbing caps. Keep bottles and fermenters out of sunlight and high heat. Use glass or steel fermenters. Plastic is oxygen permeable. There is a lot of debate about noticeable affects of oxygen permeability in plastic fermenters, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Besides, glass is neat because it allows one to see the fermenting process, and steel is classy. Silas Whitley can be reached at crumbs@uidaho.edu
Rawr
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Local band takes passion on tour Skinny the Kid begins tour Lyndsie Kiebert rawr
Pullman native Nick Van Nuland taught himself to play the guitar when he was a sophomore in high school. “I wasn’t really into school or sports or anything, but I knew I loved music, so I wanted to learn how to play it,” Van Nuland said. “I wanted to see if I could actually be good at it.” He stuck with it, and started the soul-pop rock band Skinny the Kid with a friend from high school. The meaning behind the band’s name remains a secret. “We leave it a mystery for everyone. And any reason we tell is never fully true,” Van Nuland said. When Van Nuland graduated high school, his original band-mate began college, and Skinny the Kid took a hiatus. But a few months later, in the fall of 2013, Van Nuland was introduced to 18-year-old Ethan Stevenson. Stevenson began playing the violin when he was 6 years old, and has since learned to play guitar, bass and drums. He grew up in Elverson, Pennsylvania, but moved to Moscow when his siblings began attending New Saint Andrews College downtown. Van Nuland and Stevenson decided to pick up Skinny the Kid where they left off, and thus began the current version of the band, which has been busy playing shows and recording a six-track EP due to be released May 16. During live shows, Van Nuland plays the guitar and sings, Stevenson plays bass and other musicians, such as Stevenson’s brother and other friends, play drums and other instruments. While recording, Van Nuland and Stevenson play all the instruments themselves. Although Van Nuland began his journey as a musician in high school and Stevenson began playing at an early age due to influence from his older siblings, both say their love of music is based on the intangible magic the notes and tones hold. “I just love the idea of (music) not really existing, but you can still manipulate it,” Stevenson said. “I also just love to play music. I’ve been doing it for a long time, so I just really enjoy it.” Van Nuland said his passion for music stems from the mystery surrounding it. “It’s sort of mysterious, how it’s created,” Van Nuland said. “It’s random tones and sonic waves and notes and
Amelia C. Warden | Rawr
Skinny the Kid, a local band, performs at the Moscowrade Fashion Show before they go on tour. The show took place Saturday in the Vandal Ballroom of the Bruce Pitman Center during the Moscowrade fashion show. things that just sort of erupt out of what you’re doing. It’s just kind of this odd thing that’s just sort of out there. Music is this constant build, this tension and release that makes for a very cathartic experience.” Aside from music, both men said they have hobbies that define them outside of Skinny the Kid. Stevenson is a self-proclaimed movie and TV show enthusiast and dabbles in carpentry. “I like to fix things sometimes,” Stevenson said. “I am somewhat of an amateur carpenter. I worked construction for almost a year, so I enjoy that kind of stuff.” Van Nuland began writing songs in high school, but said he developed a love for the written word early on. “I used to want to be a journalist for a really long time,” Van Nuland said. “Also, when I was in elementary school I wrote terrible, terrible screenplays that I thought were amazing.” However, both musicians agreed their greatest focus is making and producing music, and said most of their current energy is going into building a reputation as a talented and passionate band, reaching greater audiences with
their work. Van Nuland and Stevenson hope this endeavor will lead to a future career in music. “I want to have this be what I’m doing, making enough money from it to live on,” Van Nuland said. “Not like I’m in it for the money, but it’s the only thing that I want to be doing, so hopefully I can be living off of it.” Stevenson, who gained a lot of experience recording music while recording Skinny the Kid’s upcoming album, said he’d be happy with a future in either playing or recording. “I’ve always thought of being a touring musician for a few years and then just playing shows or having people over to my house to record music,” Stevenson said. “I want to be a part of the music community and just be constantly making music.” Skinny the Kid is commonly seen performing at Bucer’s, One World Café, the Pizza Pit and various other house shows. Even though the bulk of the band’s fan base is family and friends, Van Nuland said their popularity has taken an upward turn, as can be seen sometimes on the streets of Moscow. “It’s always interesting when we’re
walking down the street and somebody we don’t know leans out the window and says ‘Yeah, Skinny the Kid!’” Van Nuland said. “It only happens every once in a while, but it’s nice. It’s a very elevating feeling.” Skinny the Kid is going on tour in the coming months. The schedule is comprised of shows Van Nuland arranged through contacts in places like Astoria, Oregon, and Olympia, Washington. Right now, the list of gigs is small, but growing. In August, they plan to go on tour with An American Forest, who Van Nuland described as an “Americana-rock, country-folk” band. Skinny the Kid will be periodically updating its Facebook page with exact dates and locations of the tour. “Basically, what I tell people when I ask them to come to our shows is it will be a good time whether you’re just sitting there watching or you’re being a part of the show,” Stevenson said. “I like it when I see people there having a fun time. That’s what I hope people get from watching us.” Lyndsie Kiebert can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu
The Argonaut
10
4.24.15
Friday Fiction
Leaving it all on the table Bradley Burgess rawr
“Two thousand,” his opponent said as he tossed his chips across the table. Jake smirked and called his bluff. The dealer told them to show their hands. His opponent had two pair, kings and threes. Jake tried not to smile as he showed his hand — a full house. His opponent cried out and stalked off. Jake gathered his winnings and stood up, announcing to the crowd of onlookers. “Anybody else?” “I’ll go.” Jake looked up and stopped. The man challenging him was big and muscular, but that’s not why he stopped. He knew this man. He was Adam, the one Hayley left him for. Even more troubling, Hayley was standing next to Adam, tugging at his arm. “C’mon, Adam, just leave him alone.” Adam shrugged her off. “C’mon, Jake,” he taunted. “Let’s settle this.” The crowd didn’t know about their history together, but they didn’t care. They started to cheer and encourage the match. Left with little option, Jake sat down. Adam followed suit. Jake barely glanced at Hayley, but when he did he saw her mouthing the words, “I’m sorry.” They played a hand, Adam constantly one-upping Jake on his bets. By the last card, the pot was well over $10,000. Finally, the dealer asked them to showdown. Adam had three fours. Jake had three aces. The crowd murmured as Jake started to walk away. “Is it true you’ve never gone all in?” Jake heard from behind him. He stopped and turned back to look at Adam. “What’s it to you?” Adam smirked, “One more round.“ Jake scoffed and started to leave, when Adam said, “Winner gets Hayley.” Jake looked at Adam, then at Hayley. Hayley looked appalled. “That’s not fair,” Jake said softly. “Whoever wins, she loses.“ Adam didn’t back down. “Don’t you want to resolve this?” Jake stared, then sat back down. He took one last glance at Hayley, who looked at him meaningfully. Jake wondered if she regretted how they ended things. The cards were dealt. Adam bet $2,000. Jake called. The flop went down. Two fours and a jack. Adam raised the bet by $5,000. Jake raised by $6,000. Adam called and another jack came down.
Aly Soto | Rawr
Adam bet $20,000, earning a gasp from the crowd. Jake called again. His winnings were high enough that this was not an issue. But more than that, he wanted to end this game. Even if he won, Hayley wouldn’t go home with him. He knew this, but beating Adam meant a lot right now. The last card hit the table — a king. Adam paused for a long time before the dealer reminded him it was his bet. Adam looked Jake square in the eye. “All in.”
The crowd gasped. Hayley buried her face in her hands. Jake flinched. He had famously never gone all in on any bet, no matter how high the pot. Jake stared at the cards and after a beat, he pushed all his chips into the center. “Call.” Adam showed his hand first. He had a pair of kings, making a full house. Jake flipped his cards over — two fours. A four of a kind. The crowd exploded.
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likes. In comparison, it only has 2.8 million likes. Dubai is building the world’s first indoor city, which will be 4.5 million square miles. The CEO of Netflix offered to form a partnership with Blockbuster in the late ‘90s. The CEO of Blockbuster laughed in his face.
Bunkum Insincere speechmaking by a politician intended merely to please local constituents
Example:
During an election year, there are many bunkums citizens have to sit through.
During the 18th century, you could pay your admission to the London zoo by bringing a cat or dog to feed to the lions. Liechtenstein has an incarceration rate of 19 per 100,000. With a population of just 37,000 people, this means there are approximately seven people in prison. The most disliked video on YouTube is Justin Bieber’s “Baby,” with over 4.5 million dis-
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D R WOof the K From wtffunfacts.com
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The Colossally Amazing Adventures of Norbert (and Friends) by Samantha Brownell NORBERT...WAAAAAAH!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH....
Don’t worry, Sammy! Ah, it’s Everything will be that time alright! of year again.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... School will be over soon! There, there. You just calm down and enjoy a nap. It’s Friday. You’re done with the week and almost done with the school year.
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4.24.15
The countdown to summer begins! Grab a refreshment from the Idaho Commons to fuel your study session Idaho Commons: 885 . 2667 info@uidaho.edu
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