Target Audience Magazine Summer 2009 by Target Audience Magazine

Find yourself Hit your target Issue #5 - Summer 2009

IN THIS ISSUE: FROM THE COVER Live Review: Dream Theater... P. 16

Creative Nonfiction Contest Winner ... P. 11 On Rejection... P. 5 ...why writers should seek it by Jennifer Margulis

Lost for Words: Get Rid of Writers Block.............................................................................................................................2 On Rejection.................................................................................................................................................................................5 Atlanta Symhony Orchestra....................................................................................................................................................7 Six Aphoisms on Writing..........................................................................................................................................................9 Drum Clinic: Emrah Kotan..................................................................................................................................................19 Review of the Reader: Mind, Body and Morality.............................................................................................................22 Live Review: Electric Desert at The Empty Bottle.....................................................................................................25 Interview: Blair French..................................................................................................................................................27 Featured Artist: Marlene Burns..........................................................................................................................................31 An Interview with Savanna Film Founder....................................................................................................................34 Book Reviews.............................................................................................................................................................................39 CD Reviews.................................................................................................................................................................................45 Featured Poet: David McLean...............................................................................................................................................55 Poetry Section............................................................................................................................................................................59

? s d r o W r o f t

Los

Get Rid of Writers Block By Anya Hastwell Pro pe wri

r ty

ters

It happens to the best of us at some

and the brain feels like a fair-weathered point… the will is there, but the words aren’t. friend who left once the champagne ran out and didn’t call the next day. Self-worth drags In fact, the harder you try, the worse it gets. along the floor like a flat tire. As a last resort, Yes, writer’s block is a condition that is well known among writers of all disciplines, when in an attempt to unblock oneself, some writers may even go to Wikipedia and the author loses the ability to produce new work. A deadline could be fast approaching; consider destroying any professional credibility they ever had or aspired to have. the bills need to be paid; but the creative Searches for “trepanning” bring considerflow has gone. Many “blocked” writers stay ations of whether or not a quack could help. unable to work for years on end and some Razor blades start to look like fun. eventually abandon their careers. These are the symptoms: the prospect of filling a single sheet of white paper seems to grow to the size of a tablecloth. Then, to a football pitch. The laptop hums with malevolent intent and in sets paranoia. The blocked writer feels he has nothing of interest or amusement to impart to the world. Words refuse to shift, as they once had previously,

So, what causes this dreaded affliction that sounds like the start to a Stephen King film? Why does Inspiration run dry? Adverse circumstances in a person’s life or career which can contribute include: physical illness, depression, the end of a relationship, financial pressures, and a sense of failure. Sometimes, the pressure to produce work may itself contribute to writer’s block, especially if a

person is compelled to work in ways which are against their natural disposition, i.e. too fast or in some unsuitable style or genre. Previous big success can be a blocker too, with the pressure to maintain the same level of achievement. If the dreaded block strikes, remember you are not alone. Some of the best writers suffered from writers block including Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, Joseph Conrad, and Katherine Mansfield. Writer’s block is not a sign of weakness; it may just be a sign that the writer is taking himself too seriously and that nagging selfcensor in the head is telling them their last two chapters/stanzas/scenes are less than Shakespearean brilliance. Being over-precocious doesn’t help either Poet Philip Larkin suffered intermittently from writer’s block all his life. He wrote little poetry in his final years and lamented, “I haven’t given poetry up; poetry has given

“You don’t know what it is, to stay a whole day with your head in your hands, trying to squeeze your unfortunate brain so as to find a word.” - Gustave Flaubert me up.” Even as an Oxford undergraduate his writing fluency was sporadic; after Finals, he conquered his block by writing schoolgirl lesbian fiction. Rest assured that a career in porn is not the inevitable outcome of writer’s block. But I’ve heard it pays the bills quite nicely. Just as bad as writer’s block, if less common,

is its opposite, writer’s superfluity, when an author has no trouble summoning words, but doesn’t know when to stop. Instead of a blank sheet of paper, he or she ends up with a 300,000-word, epic, Lock Ness Monster of a manuscript that hasn’t done what the writer wanted. Frankenstein’s creation has nothing on it. It’s an editor’s worst nightmare; yet it is still, in many ways, far better than an empty page of nothingness. At least, there’s something to work with. Better to have too much than too little or nothing at all. Yet it is still like a form of diarrhea which gives the editor the thankless task of wading through a quagmire of editorial effluence to discover whether the author is full of shining wit or not. Fear not, as help is at hand. Numerous therapies are recommended for block-sufferers: * Reading, watching movies or plays, or similar activities might bring inspiration. * Keep a notebook, write as though sending a letter to a friend, go to the gym, eat apples in the bath (Agatha Christie’s recommendation for kick-starting the imagination). * Engaging in brief periods of “free” writing or in which you impulsively write whatever comes to mind. * Listening to a hypnotherapy or a meditation tape. Calming down the internal ranting can then allow inspiration to flow uncorked again. * Listen to music. * Join a writing group or join a free online writing group. * Doodle - aimless scribbling or drawing can release creativity. * Sex is allegedly a good unblocker. Personally, I won’t say.

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SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

On Rejection By Jennifer Margulis

“I’ve had the same New Year’s resolution for several years in a row: to get more rejections.” Jennifer Margulis has written or edited four books and makes her living as a full-time freelance writer, supporting a family of five. She wrote the cover story in the November issue of Smithsonian (and it was recently chosen to be included in BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE WRITING 2009), and as of June she has articles in More magazine, Fit Pregnancy, Oregon Business Magazine, the Oregonian, and on family.com In Psych 101 in college we learned about situational versus dispositional thinking: people who think situationally in the face of adversity believe when something bad happens it’s because of unfortunate circumstances; people who think dispositionally when something good happens give themselves credit for their success. These people tend to be well adjusted, have high self-esteem, and a positive outlook on life. The idea is that you take credit for the good things that come your way and chalk the bad stuff up to bad luck, someone else’s indigestion, or some other factor outside of your control. I never learned to think situationally about the bad stuff or dispositionally about the good stuff. In college when I was elected to Phi Beta Kappa I decided it was because my teachers were in a good mood and liked me. In graduate school when a thick envelope arrived on my doorstep announcing I had been awarded a highly competitive fellowship, I called

my father and asked him if he thought the selection committee made a mistake. If I belittled my own successes, I also took every rejection as an indication of my worthlessness. If a guy I had a crush on didn’t like me it was because I was ugly and unloveable, if I didn’t get a job it was because I hadn’t prepared my application carefully enough. So why at this point in my life would I possibly be seeking out rejection, the very thing that makes me feel so _____(ADD PEJORATIVE ADJECTIVE HERE)? Because in order to be a successful writer I know I have to learn not to take rejection personally, and to see every rejection as a new opportunity. What better way to change my thinking and my life view than to actively seek out what makes me cringe the most?

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And it works. I pile up rejections. In fact, I receive enough rejections to wallpaper my entire office but since that is my goal, I feel oddly successful. Even better, as a byproduct of trying to get rejected, I have also been accepted, which is what I’m really after, of course. I’ve published in markets I’d been afraid to try. (You can’t be rejected if you don’t submit, but you can’t be accepted either). I broke into the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, Parenting, and Smithsonian Magazine, among others. I’ve also doubled my consulting fees and applied for grants that my fear of rejection kept me from trying for in the past. During my first rejection-seeking year, I also became the creative nonfiction editor of Literary Mama, a position that required me to sit on the other side of the desk and be the person who writes the rejection letters to other aspiring writers. Writing rejection letters was the worst part of my job. The last thing I wanted to do was close the door on women writers, and tell them they could not come in. I hate being rejected so much that I’d rather have the flu than hurt someone else’s feelings in that way. But I did it. I got more than a dozen submissions a week and I probably rejected 98% of them. The stories that made it past my desk didn’t necessarily make it into the magazine. I forwarded them

to the senior editors who ultimately had the final say. As much as I disliked rejecting others, being an editor made me understand that as often as not rejection is situational, not dispositional. Literary Mama has unique needs as a magazine. I often received pieces that really weren’t “ right for our magazine.” Maybe we had run a similar story recently or had one in inventory, maybe the voice wasn’t lyrical and original enough, or maybe the submission was too much of an essay or opinion piece when we were looking to find creative nonfiction that told a story with vibrant characters, interesting dialogue, and plot. None of this had anything to do with the merit of the writing per se, it had to do with what that particular publication was looking for at that time. Although your writing often feels like an extension of yourself, having a piece rejected has nothing to do with you as a person, no matter how personally you take it. Remember Christmas in July? Why not celebrate New Year’s in August? Make an August resolution to get more rejections. You may be surprised at the positive results. And actually give yourself some of the credit for them.

Star Wars and More

Atlanta Symhony Orchestra performs John Williams and Gustav Holst July 11, 2009 The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra smartly mixed classical music with pop culture playing a 25-minute set of John Williams’ famous “Star Wars” movements followed by an astounding act of Gustav Holst’s “The Planets”. Images taken by NASA showed the surfaces and features of the planets while the audience awed in wonderment of what Holst must have thought about the far-reaching galaxy and its inhabitants.

crowd even more inside the music of the movie. The strong and intimate dynamics included fierce staccato sections. Playing as part of the orchestra, on stage, must create an exhilarating feeling with the music in your chest and the vibration under your feet. Certainly watching them play in unison, on stage, was visually impressive.

First violin, Justin Bruns, came out to the sound of everyone applauding and played a note for the orchestra to tune against. Conductor Mei-Ann Chen bowed to the audience then had the orchestra do the same. As the music started, the crowd slowly started to quiet down to an eventual silence, showing respect for these amazing musicians.

After the “Star Wars Suite”, an interview with Conductor Mei-Ann Chen was conducted backstage and broadcast on the screens for the audience to watch. When asked what she likes about the Verizon Amphitheater she said she really enjoyed “the intimate setting”. She said she wanted to be a conductor since she was ten-years-old and her advice for anyone who wants to be a conductor was to have a love for music because, “it’s the passion that’s going to sustain you through this career; the ability to communicate with so many people through gesture. Mei-Ann let the audience know, “conducting is so much more than waving arms”.

After playing “Sunrise, from Also Sprach Zarathustra, Opus 30” (theme for “2001: A Space Odyssey”); Chen turned to the crowd with a lightsaber, which elicited laughs from the audience. The A.S.O. Won the crowds’ complete attention after starting the “Stars Wars Suite”. The xylophone seemed ever present like it celebrated the fact that it could finally have its voice heard. Many individual instruments sounded out more noticeably live than on the movie recording. During “Princess Leia’s Theme”, images of the movie danced inside audience members’ minds, bringing tears to some eyes. During the “Imperial March” the 501st took the stage which drew the

Intermission

When asked the difference between conducting a movie compared to conducting a piece like “The Planets”, she said, “With the film scores you know the context of what the music tries to portray.” She also discussed how something as abstract as Holst’s “The Planets” allows for use of the imagination from the colors the music produces. “Our hope is that the people take away more than visuals; that the music touches the heart.”

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Holst’s “The Planets” “The Planets” suite began with an ominous sense of arrival from the dark, building introduction of “Mars: the Bringer of War.” The song “Am I Evil” by Diamond Head shares note choices in its introduction which adds to the idea that modern music shares ideas with classics, but takes on different approaches with instrumentation. The percussive parts of the intro were strong and perfectly placed. The colors in the music brought thoughts of Martian crevices deeper than Earth’s Grand Canyon to mind; a vision the audience witnessed from the NASA photos, but one which Holst could only imagine. “Venus: the Bringer of Peace”, seemed oddly titled for such volatile looking world. Some may have been reminded of the planet Mustafar from Star Wars. Then again, the sad sounds seemed to fit for a planet that could be sad since it can’t sustain life. The crickets in the background seemed to chirp in unison with music adding another intimate effect like the soundtrack to a sunset. “Mercury: the Winged Messenger,” began playfully like one might expect a winged messenger might act. The wings on his feet would aide in escaping such a sun-scorched world reaching temperatures of 810 degrees Fahrenheit! “Jupiter: the Bringer of Jollity” seemed at home in ancient times where kings and queens, wizards and warriors, and magic and swords would feel common place. The the contra bass sounded like a giant moving across Jupiter, perhaps jumping from moon to moon as the strings swelled with the orbiting Voyager.

Photo by Ellen Eldridge

“Saturn: the Bringer of Old Age” brought to mind feelings of going home when you don’t quite know where home is. The jazz undertone reminds of Miles Davis and the ending of this piece really gave the feeling of being at rest. Lulling sounds accompanied images of Saturn’s rings as if drawing the crowd into a sanctified sleep. This “bringer of old age” certainly brought images of wives resting on husbands’ shoulders. “Uranus: the Magician” was a roller coaster ride of emotions. The phrase, “The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but we can not stay in the cradle forever” flashes across the screen as deeper into space we travel. Those seated on the lawn could choose to look to the darkening sky shrouded lightly in cloud cover at tiny gleams of light. Back on the screen, space was projected more and more in digitally generated images. In the beginning part of the final movement, “Neptune: the Mystic”, a single note sounded on the violin so delicately audience members may have expected it to break. The rings of Neptune on the screen called to mind unfinished brush strokes on a canvas the painter has not yet finished. The evening provided all with a breathtaking display of musicianship. Anyone interested in visiting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra can obtain information about upcoming shows and events at: http://www.atlantasymphony.org Review by Russell Eldridge and Ellen Eldridge

Six Aphorisms on writing by David Boyle

Writer’s block is symptomatic of lack of imagination. Many are reluctant to write for fear of exposing their flaws. Others put the pen in motion, unabashedly, and flourish by making mistakes. Reading voraciously trains the brain to interpret information in a variety of ways. Writing regularly teaches the brain how to translate what the mind sees. When these two techniques merge, a writer has magic at his/her fingertips. Don’t just dream it...make it flesh on the page. Critics are given far too much clout and, unfortunately, artists cater to their opinions by striving to please them. This approach is unhealthy, illogical, and absurd. When a writer’s creative intentions are pure, the final work of art is dynamic.

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career, that proved to be the turning point. He decided to diversify his creative interests and began composing an assortment of writings: science fiction, drama, thriller, suspense, horror, romance, and crime. He found it more fulfilling to focus on bringing to life the pictures he was seeing in his imaginationregardless of what they were- as opposed to being stalled in one place.

avid Boyle began his writing career exploring the darkness of horror. The world of cinema is what originally sparked his imagination and instilled in him the passion he needed to interact with language. His first book, Blood Works -a collection of nine short stories, was published by Arctic Wolf in February 2008. Shortly thereafter, another stroke of luck came into his life: One of his tales, “Blindsided,” was made into a short film by Director David L. Jackson from Canada. The film was accepted at The Small Town Film Festival and premiered on Halloween 2008. “Blindsided” can be viewed online at www. reelconnect.com. Eventually, he introduced more of his work to the world and managed to publish stories in magazines and books. Being a horror writer alone (although he is still a huge fan of the genre and writes those types of tales) did not completely satisfy David. The notion of working within set boundaries made him rethink his agenda, his platform. It was that development, early in his 10

David followed his heart and began assembling an extensive catalogue of varied short stories, essays, poetry, editorials, articles, and volumes of aphorisms on the writing craft- a handful of which are published here at Target Audience Magazine. Today, David’s approach to his craft remains unchanged: He writes what he feels, what he sees, what he hears, whenever his muse beckons. Indeed, that is the path that warms his soul every day, the one he’ll continue to tread, and he is thankful to have fans reading his experiments. Grateful for his success and eager to help and inspire others, David has thoroughly enjoyed the numerous opportunities he’s been given to speak with various writing groups, and he continues to spread his passion for the art when called upon by libraries in his home state of New Jersey. He also takes great pleasure in meeting new and enthusiastic people at book signings and other appearances. Readers can learn more about David by visiting him at: Myspace.com/davidbfear

Winner Holly McAtee

Choosing the winner of this creative non-fiction essay contest proved difficult with entries spanning topics and stylistic personalities. The guidelines asked for a loose theme of independence which we found in almost all the entries including a submission about mentally stalking and judging someone in a coffee bar from a table to escaping crazy characters in a WalMart parking lot. The editors of Target Audience Magazine chose this essay for its style and voice, its alignment with the idea of independence skewed to the context of a writer dependent on her computer. We feel this essay speaks to the genre of creative non-fiction and deserves recognition. We sincerely hope all who submitted and all who read this agree.

“Diary of a Port Pirate” The beginning of the end… Tonight I sit with my computer in a cathartic state, watching a blinking blue screen with the Microsoft XL download slowly completing. It’s at 27%. My chest tightens and releases spasmodically with every blink of the hard drive. Upstairs my two children and husband are sleeping soundly, while I madly stare madly at the screen from across the room. Locked inside the tower like fairy tale princesses are my other children ---my novel-in-progress, some short stories, essays, and poetry. I can hear them banging the metal chamber, begging to come out, yet I am helpless. It makes me think of that toddler who was wandering about and slipped into a well. It was almost ten years ago; I remember because I had moved back home with my parents for a little while. My dad would sit watching the news in his boxers and a t-shirt in his sitting room, yelling out

to any passer-by. I can hear him now, “Look at this. Oh, my God. A little girl is trapped in a well.” What was her name? Jessica? Baby Jessica, I think. If I had my computer, I could Google it and find out. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked a friend to help me with these upgrades. He only recently completed a six month computer course. But he was free, and I’m broke. The whole computer problem might have started when I bought a used computer from a big corporation that was selling off equipment. I was thrilled to have a fairly new computer for ninety dollars, but that initial savings has come at a price. So, my friend has been helping me with my computer malfunctions. He has been doing a pretty good job, but this time he doesn’t look so confident. I feel like any minute he will come to tell me that there was a terrible v-i-r-u-s. Something awful. Luckily I don’t have any friends in medical school, or I’d be stuck letting them practice surgery on me.

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The windows are open. The crickets are humbucket under my bed at night to catch the steady ming. The wind whispers to me and kisses my drip of words that leak from my head. cheeks, trying to tell me it will be ok. I try to remain calm, as I recline on my black leather sofa and wait. It’s still at 27%. My chil- Without my computer I am the amputated dren are still weeping and knocking on the tower walls, begging “please Ahab, unable to fully function, with phantom mommy, let us out.” And I am so powerless. I wish that I could. pains shooting out of my fingertips. It makes me flash back to being in labor. The belt around my bulging belly with cords connected to the monitor. On the screen, the lines hit peaks and bumps recording my contractions and my baby’s heart beats. It was a waiting game. Wait for the anesthesiologist. Wait for the doctor. Try to push---the baby is stuck. Wait for the surgery room. They wheeled me down the white corridors. My husband squealed that he wouldn’t go in. He was finally urged into the room anyway; this wasn’t the fifties when men could just pace the waiting room chain-smoking. Then, more anesthesia in the operating room, something stronger, I don’t know what. A tent was put below my neck, all I could feel was my head, perhaps my body had been sawed off in an elaborate magic act. Was the doctor wearing a magician cape and top hat? Did he have a wand in his hand? The music was playing, something tropical. My arms were flopping so badly that there was someone one each side of me to hold down my arms. They said there was going to be a bit of pressure and tugging. I guess there was. I feel that pressure now from my hip bones to my chin. The knife slices across and the hands dig in. At my son’s birth, a green nursing student passed out. There was also a nurse whose job consisted of counting the gauze that was put in and taken out of my body, so that none were left behind. The pressure is building. The screen is at 28%. Oh, I wish I could let my children out. I want to go into their files and run my cursor through their hair. Tuck them into their chapters. Or get them out and play, write page after page. It’s building up. I’ve been without my computer for over seventy-two hours now. I can write with pen and paper, and I do, but to see my words on the screen in courier font, I feel like such a proud mother. Without my computer I am the amputated Ahab, unable to fully function, with phantom pains shooting out of my fingertips. I breathe words and images. They fall out of my head almost faster than I can grab them. I put a

This is making me feel so much better, writing this out. My chest is loosening. I might make it after all. The children have stopped whining, they’ve probably fallen asleep at the foot of their door. I guess I’ll go to bed now and let the computer finish up on its own. It’s at 29%. I can’t believe it is only at 29%. Wait it just flickered. No, false alarm, it’s still at 29%. # It’s the next day. They came to take my computer away from me. The vacant spot where my computer usually sits is driving me mad. I can’t bear being in my home with her gone. Her scent still lingers in the air; it is trapped in my clothes. My mind is flashing with memories of nights spent with just the two of us. She is my true love and I am lost without her. My chest is caving in, the barbed wire corset tightening. I inhale and exhale but I can’t catch my breath. I’ve left my house. I’m at the park face down in the grass trying to gulp in the oxygen that is being emitted from the blades of grass. The download failed. My computer was taken to a sterile laboratory where she is strewn about in a thousand little pieces. I call every few hours to check on her status. “When will she be out of surgery? Is she allowed visitors? Can I please come see her?” All of my friends and family are quite worried about me with my computer gone. They know how I am. The way that I can’t stop writing, it is a sickness bubbling out of me leaving me with chattering blue lips and a vacant stare as I sink further and further into my plots and subplots. When they took my computer away, the children screamed from the tower, “mommy what is happening? Where are we going? When will we be back?” I fell to the ground and cried out in anguish as my children were being driven away in the back seat of a white sedan. They were staring back at me out of

the car window with tear-filled eyes, the look that suggested I was a bad parent. The driver just shook his head in disgust. I ran out onto the front lawn to ask if they were buckled up in their car seats. Did he have the diaper bag? Is there a binky for the baby? She needs it, especially at bedtime. The white sedan that pulled away looked like a police car, and I panicked thinking that maybe it was the thought police coming to take all of my thoughts away. Could I even think with my children strewn about on a table, their arms and legs at different corners?

I think this ant and I understand each other. I will build her a tiny little room inside my room. My husband tried to get me up off the floor. I was a soggy, pathetic mess. He grabbed hold of me and squeezed me as I rocked back and forth with a makeup-smeared face. He told me it would be ok, but that he thought it would be best if he left the house for a few days until my computer was back safely in its armoire. He called her an “it.” He doesn’t think she is alive. The two novels that are brewing inside her are not alive to him. I push my nostrils further into the grass feeling the blades rise up between them, sucking in nature’s exhalations. An ant crawls across my notebook and I wonder if she could understand my passion for writing. Is there something that haunts her to the core? Does she wake in the night with phantom pains shooting out of her fingertips like an amputee? I’m feeling that right now. Sure there is the release of black ink on paper, but as my right hand scribbles my other hand cries out---what about me? Does this ant secretly long for “money and a room of her own” like Virginia Woolf talked about? Would she be more productive at harvesting her creativity if she could close the door and lock it, shutting out the world? If she didn’t have to scramble all day to bring back food scraps to her antlings, and have a large chunk taken away by the greedy queen would she be a more powerful force in the fiction world? Do her children cling to her knees while she tries to type away at her novel? I think this ant and I understand each other. I will build her a tiny little room inside my room. The two of us can toil away on our novels together at night after the children have gone to bed. It will be a mutual

muse ship. But still, we will each have our own locks on our doors. Even muses need separation from one another. We will both need our alone time. Perhaps we will devise a secret sign to one and other to let the other know we can be interrupted. Should the sound of the printer buzzing and releasing be our cue to peek our heads out of our rooms at one and other? Oh, we do need our own room(s). I push my nose into the earth to suck in the last breath of air and whisper to my new friend: don’t worry I’ve got a plan. I’ll get us a room of our own, and a little bit of money. ## Two weeks later… My computer wasn’t able to be fixed. I don’t really know why. My friend gave me some strange computer speak and said that it would be best if I started to look for a new computer. I felt my stomach rock violently back and forth, reminding me of the time my husband and I were on our honeymoon on a cruise ship. We had sucked down as many cocktails as we could before the ship had left the port, and then around dinner time, the boat started to sway. Our glasses slid back and forth across the table. My husband and I spent the rest of the first night in our cabin room fighting over the toilet, and trying to get the small room to stop spinning. It was so very romantic.

As if I wasn’t neurotic enough about trying to pursue my creative abilities, I was told to start wearing the travel drive around my neck---like a latch-key child. I had this flash drive on a string around my neck, but still no computer. My husband quickly left the house. I thought perhaps with the news of my crisis he was just going to go and hide out at a buddy’s house for a while. A few hours later, he came back with a new flash drive. I was told that all of the files that I had were on this small piece of plastic and metal that came on a string---in case I wanted to wear it around my neck. As if I wasn’t neurotic enough about trying to pursue my creative abilities, I was

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told to start wearing the travel drive around my neck---like a latch-key child. I had this flash drive on a string around my neck, but still no computer.

made us go to those classes. And now, twentytwo years later, I waited to see if my new computer would work. I clutched my travel drive that hung proudly around my neck, I had lived on the run with no computer for a and ran my fingers over it, waited. And waited. I week, shoving my travel drive in wherever I could. and held my travel drive up to my and sweetly kissed it for I was a port pirate. I had cruised cyber cafes and lips, good luck.

libraries until I hit their thirty minute limits.

It was a family crisis. I heard my husband talking to our friends and family on the phone in a hushed, concerned voice. He was begging for help. My father stepped in and bought me one. While my new computer was making the journey to me, I became fixated on sneaking on other people’s computers and inserting my memory stick in. I was violating their hard drive. This flash drive has become my favorite piece of jewelry. It is the most romantic gift my husband has ever given me. Four days after that… Today, my new computer finally arrived. Ohhh, that smell. The Styrofoam. The Plastic Bags. The Cardboard box that my new lovebox was delivered in. I wanted to swing around my living room like Mary Tyler Moore and sing “You’re Gonna Make it After All.” Maybe I did. I’ll never tell. My father and stepmother assembled it in my black armoire---office in a cabinet. They were juggling the new monitor, hard drive, and keyboard into place. Then the big moment came when we sat around the screen and waited for something to happen. It was like the time when I was eight and my family got our first microwave oven. That day, my dad unwrapped the strange black box and set it on the laminate counter in our kitchen and told us all to stand back. My brother, sister, and I were bursting with curiosity. We had this new thing called a microwave and it was going to be cool--even though we didn’t know what it did. My father had told us that we could all take classes on how to use this new piece of technology. The appliance store that he bought it from offered family classes on “how to cook with a microwave” and “how to safely enjoy your new microwave.” Imagine how strange that sounds now, but my dad almost

I thought about Virginia Woolf’s famous essay where she states that the key elements that are holding women back in the literary world are: lack of money and lack of a private place to do their creative work. I had lived on the run with no computer for a week, shoving my travel drive in wherever I could. I was a port pirate. I had cruised cyber cafes and libraries until I hit their thirty minute limits. Virginia was right. A woman did need her own space and money to really be able to create. But then again, a woman could survive with a good travel drive and some ports to temporarily call home. But I’m glad to be home. My two children are snoring upstairs in their beds. My husband has already gone to sleep too. Tonight it is just going to be me and my new computer---alone at last. Just the two of us. Alone at last.

Holly McAtee Holly McAtee spent the last decade stomping around in the “pink-collar-ghetto”. She secretly longs for “a room of her own” to write a little more. But for now she lives with her husband, two children, dog, and two cats. She scribbles on the wall when no one is looking. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Kentucky Studies, Miller’s Pond, The Licking River Review, and Cautionary Tale.

James LaBrie

Dream Theater The downtown Atlanta weather conceded to the arrival of Dream Theater by bringing the black clouds and rain as Dream Theater took the stage. The smokers all came inside and gathered around the band who would provide the silver lining to the evening. Opening acts included Zappa Plays Zappa, Bigelf and Scale The Summit who all did a fine job of prepping the audience for the return of Dream Theater to the Tabernacle. Before the show, Target Audience Magazine editors, Ellen Eldridge and Russell Eldridge, sat down with James LaBrie for a 45-minute interview which touched on topics from music business advice to the vocal techniques learned from Jaime Vendera (who was recently seen on MythBusters shattering glass with his voice). LaBrie listed several influences from his life on his vocal career and touched on rupturing his vocal chords in 1994 and the long road to recovery. 16

John Petrucci

John Myung

Recovered, indeed, LaBrie led an amazing show with Dream Theater which included several tracks off Black Clouds and Silver Linings as well as older material. The show started, just as the album, with “A Nightmare To Remember” and images of black clouds floated across the screen above the band as real rain clouds moved in closer calling the crowd to the stage. Highlights included “One Last Time” and “Take The Time”; both songs left the audience with a feeling of accomplishment and pride in the history of Dream Theater. They played Tabernacle last year and returned in 2009 with a new release which made the top ten on every country’s Billboard charts. The encore, “The Count Of Tuscany” made perfect sense to say goodnight as it is the ending track on the new album.

Petrucci behind the curtain

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

All Photos by Ellen Eldridge

Mike Portnoy

Jordan Rudess James LaBrie

: c i n i l C m Dru

Emrah Kotan

Woodstock, G.A - June 23, 2009 Photo by Ellen Eldridge

Ken Stanton Music in Woodstock,

G.A., held a drum clinic with special guest Emrah Kotan featuring world percussion mixed with drum set music. A quiet crowd of about 70 people watched, deeply engaged, as Emrah sequenced his thoughts and emotions into odd meter patterns from far away lands like Turkey, where he was born. Watching the expressions on Emrah’s face as he played, one could only imagine building tension on the toms and snare strikes released into cymbal splashes. A mesmerized audience unconsciously drummed fingers on friends’ backs as they tapped their toes in admiration. The sound of drumsticks dancing over bongos and clave called to mind rain cascading into thunder as the double bass drumming kicked out paradiddle and triplet phrases. After the 45-minute performance concluded, Emrah opened the floor to questions. Alex Mattingly, a bass instructor at Ken Stanton Music, asked, “Can you recommend any exercises for beginners interested in metric modulations?” Emrah responded by speaking

about sub-dividing patterns in one’s head and why, sometimes, it is better to simply feel the groove and change tempo and time signature more naturally. Emrah recommended creating phrases in the drummer’s mind starting with the upbeat and retorted to Alex’s comment about more metric modulation in pop music as sales dwindling. The crowd laughed. Emrah also answered questions about free-form soloing on the drums and positioning the drum set. “When positioning the drums, start with the kick, snare and hi-hat. Close your eyes and imagine where you want the snare to hit.” He said this was a trick he learned from studying with Dave Weckl. Part of Emrah’s inspirational sound comes from a mixed set comprised of a Gretsch Catalina Elite with a 16” bass drum, a set that is no longer available, several cowbells, clave and an assortment of cymbals including Zildjan, Sabian, Bosphorus and Wuhan. Emrah sets his drums up so that the tuning on the right side sounds in closer intervals than on the left.

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Interviews

When performing more worldly styles he loosens the snare strainers and adds clave. The second demonstration included sitting on a cajon while drumming on a compact conga head mounted to a stand and using a pedal to kick a floor tom. He mentioned the “Gypsy” feel of 9/8 time feels more natural to natives of Turkey and recommended drum students count in three groups of 2 and one group of 3 for the time signature. As he played on a doumbek and then on his drum set, he counted the 9/8 time as, “1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 3”.

For those musicians in North Georgia, Emrah Kotan will perform at a second Ken Stanton Music clinic in Stone Mountain on Thursday, June 25 at 8p.m. See KenStantonMusic.com for more details.

FALL 2008 ISSUE

In these modern times of garage bands and MySpace music websites, creating a professional press kit is essential to making a name for your band. To be taken seriously by booking agents, media professionals and radio stations a band or artist should have a press kit containing professional photographs of band members, live shots, press reviews, audio tracks and set list requirements. Anyone can forward a MySpace link to try to book a gig, but having an electronic press kit is much more effective in conveying professionalism. This contest is designed by Target Audience Magazine to inspire independent musicians and bands to get an electronic press kit with SonicBids.com. Free trials are available, but if you decide to enter this contest you can sign up and submit for only $10. To enter visit www.SonicBids.com/ YourBandCouldWinAPhotoShootAtlanta

Review of The Reader: Mind, Body and Morality Review by Stuart Kurtz

Cynthia Ozick and Manohla Dargis, among others, have roundly criticized Bernhard Schlinkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book, The Reader, as sympathetic to Hanna Schmitz for her illiteracy and for excusing her monstrous actions in WWII because of that illiteracy. While these writers build a strong case, the book, now a motion picture (directed by Stephen Daldry, screenplay by David Hare, Produced by Anthony Minghella and the late Sydney Pollack) contains a deeper substrate of themes which the reader can render out. The act of reading, so central to the themes, provides clues to this buried subtext.

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Michael Berg, a 15-year-old boy in post-war West Germany (1958), is coming home from school one day when he takes sick from Hepatitis (in the book, Scarlet Fever in the movie) in the breezeway of an apartment building. Hanna, a streetcar conductor who lives in this building, comforts him and invites him inside, where she cleans him up. The two begin a physical relationship for the summer. Hanna demands that Michael read to her from literature, as he is a good student.

Warning: Spoilers

The romance abruptly ends when Hanna disappears one day in order to veil her secret, illiteracy. Michael encounters Hanna by surprise eight years later while he is a law student. She is facing prosecution for a war crime while she did while she was evacuating prisoners from Auschwitz in 1944. Michael and his peers evaluate the guilt of their elders, and Hanna still conceals her great secret. The trial concludes, and Michael provides tapes of his readings for Hanna while she is imprisoned. He later faces the daughter of a Holocaust survivor regarding Hanna’s crime. The film concludes with an older Michael revealing his affair to his grown daughter. In Commentary Magazine, “The Rights of History and the Rights of the Imagination”, Cynthia Ozick rejects Schlink’s apparent motivation for Hanna. She argues Germany had the most literate population in Europe, yet the “plot turns on...an anomalous case of illiteracy, which the novel recognizes as freakish”. Schlink, says Ozick, mitigates Hanna’s guilt because she could not read an advertisement for jobs at the Siemens factory and chose to be an SS guard instead. She otherwise would have been a factory girl instead of a war criminal, said Ozick. In fact, the book explains that she was already working at Siemens and that she took the SS guard job rather than being promoted to foreman at the factory. The implication is that being a foreman hinges on some reading. In “Innocence is Lost in Postwar Germany,” Manohla Dargis says the film asks us to pity Hanna and that the film is about making the audience feel good about a historic catastrophe. These reviewers should look at the subtle clues Schlink offers. When characters, such as Michael and Hanna, read literature, their choices, if it is a good novel or film, direct the reader/ viewer to themes in those novels which are also relevant to the first characters. Michael reads Lady Chatterly’s Lover to Hanna in the film, though not in the book. As to the distinction between mind and body in the novel, Richard Hoggart argues, in the introduction to the Penguin edition of 1961, that “Body without mind is brutish; mind without body...is a running away from our double being.” Hanna lives a physical life that is empty and disheartening. She is very good at her job, as it is based on repetitive physical acts. She is all mechanics. Sex for her is similarly mechanical. In war time she excelled in being a guard for the same reasons, and her life at Auschwitz was all brutality. Hanna knows that

“body without mind is brutish,” so she enlists Michael to read to her. If she were a heroine who changed in a full way, whereby she could join humanity again, she would integrate body and mind. Schlink perhaps means no such sympathy for her - her crimes are too great. We may take note that the crimes of letting 300 people burn, and assorted every day barbarism at the camp are physical crimes. After having taught herself to read, Hanna should thereafter have a full human experience of mind-body balance. The fact that she decides to take desperate measures (I won’t spoil the plot that much) indicates that she may realize that she cannot live by mind alone. She is now literate, but a sexual relationship with an older, wiser Michael is impossible. Now that she is stigmatized in her country, she will probably find no lover. She will also find no job higher than menial labor. Schlink could be saying that education does not alone make one moral. The Germans who committed these crimes, says Ozick, were highly literate. One needs to be educated and aware of the consequences of bodily actions, as most Germans of the 1930’s and 1940’s denied. Michael, his law professor (Bruno Ganz), and peers are all highly intellectual and literate, yet they are also aware of the physical crimes of their elder’s generation and in their own time. Michael’s moral education in these scenes is set in 1966, a time when many more physical crimes were being waged in the world. The student demonstrations -usually physical actsgoing on off camera/in background are about that necessary mind/body integration: education + righteous physical action = just and whole human beings. Another book Michael reads to Hanna in the film, though not in the book is Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain said this about his novel:[it is] “...a book of mine where a sound heart and a deformed conscience come into collision, and conscience suffers defeat.”

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

Hanna could learn much from Huck. Huck was illiterate and, in some ways, brutish. The Widow Douglas and Miss Watson try to “Sivilize” him, but Huck doesn’t take to it. He shows humanity to Jim, though he knows it is against his conscience. He has been sold a bill of goods by the corrupt culture around him, just as Hanna and Germans had been by Hitler, Goebbels, etc. Huck’s good heart allows him to be humane and try to free Jim. Hanna could have allowed the 300 to escape the burning church, but she did not due to her brutish sense of duty, a non-intellectual act of following orders. Germans might have listened to their hearts rather than the sense of conscience the Nazis imbued upon them. The Cartesian duality between conscience and heart is another split on which right and wrong action impinges. The Odyssey is yet another great book Michael reads to Hanna. Aside from another idea from the epic found in the book, it deals with abuse of men. Circe turns Odysseus’s crew into pigs, and Kalypso makes him her sexual slave. In that spirit, Hanna does not treat Michael as a mature woman should treat a lover. There has been little critique of the fact that she commits yet another crime by abusing- and statutory rape is abuse- a minor. Hanna is unskilled in the act of reading, but Michael is yet unskilled in the art of love or physical act of love-making. This is a sick relationship based on a kind of power each has over the other. One reviewer called it Nazi Porn, but it is not that. The movie, “Night Porter”, is that and execrable for being so. This is a relationship that should arouse repugnance in us. We must look at other works Michael reads to Hanna from the book, though not in the film. The Slovak National Theater describes Friedrich Schiller’s Intrigues and Love, another work Michael reads to Hanna, as about “love that wants to possess the other, love that seeks to manipulate the other.” This is the kind of love Hanna has for Michael, and the Nazis had for Germany. Emilia Galotti is the tale of a Machiavellian prince who uses power and violence to possess Emilia. It is also about righteous government needing to crush violent and bad government. Heine deals with the loss, suffering, and agony of love, and antagonism of lovers. Mörike deals with a betraying lover. Fontane’s Effi Briest is about the consequences of an illicit affair. Frisch wrote about a man on trial for murdering a call girl in Bluebeard. Schnitzler’s plays pair sex and death. These examples are all about unhealthy sexual and love relationships, as was that between Michael and Hanna. It is not one-sided either; Michael admits to learning from Hanna to take possession of her in their love-making. Some of the other readings deal with the crimes of the Nazis. In The German Lesson, by Siegfried Lenz, Siggi Jepsen is in lock-up and asked to write a lesson on the joys of duty. He

writes about his father’s wartime crimes. Lenz said, “I was trying to find out where the joys of duty could lead a people.” Ingeborg Bachmann’s poem, “Early Noon”, deals with German atrocity, resulting shame, and the need for hope. “Every Day” and “To a General” are anti-war and anti-authority. “Message” has the line, “Our godhead, history, has ordered for us a grave from which there is no resurrection.” Uwe Johnson’s book, Third Book About Achim has a hero who was a Hitler Youth and whose grandfather was a Nazi. Max Frisch wrote on antiSemitism and general bigotry in Andorra. It is interesting that his book, Stiller, deals with the problems of lying about one’s identity and past, as does Hanna in The Reader, regarding her illiteracy. In Chekhov’s stories, “Protagonists are disillusioned by events that force them to reevaluate their personal philosophies and understanding of the world, and this disillusionment usually happens near the end of stories” (Sparknotes). It seems by this reference we may posit that Hanna undergoes a realization about her past behavior. Hanna’s last act hinges upon her education in moralism she attains from the above writers. Her values of earlier days, based on the idea that literature is heroic and thrilling give way to a maturity about life’s meaning. She would not be reading Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel in prison if she had no perception of the crimes of wartime. It is also not sufficient to say she makes her final decision and action based on the slim chances at meaningful work or finding someone to love her. It is not firm enough to say Michael is the only one who has a path to discovery. Though we justifiably revile the monster, Hanna, we might consider that evil doers sometimes come to realize their evil. According to Manohla Dargis, Michael is a victim and a survivor. It comes out in the trial that Hanna forced young women at Auschwitz to read to her, and then dispensed them to the gas chambers (to cover her secret). Michael would have been designated to the same fate had he been at the camp. The act of reading, after he learned this, is something he might re-evaluate. The fact that he does not is a shortcoming of the book/film. Again, intellect without a moral responsibility for bodily acts brings peril. Therefore, if we plunge the depths of this novel and film and get into the murky themes, we see that maybe Schlink is not creating sympathy at all for Hanna. She is not a heroine who comes to change in a full way, one of new behavior, when she realizes something. She does realize something; that is that intellect alone doesn’t make a full person. She doesn’t realize what Michael and his colleagues know; that is that intelligence does not make us moral. We are physical embodiments too, and we can’t deny that. We need to integrate the two sides, and we need to act with humanity, whether we can read or not.

w e i v e R e v i L Electric Desert The Empty Bottle, Chicago, 5/25

Review by Evan Tyler I got to The Empty Bottle in time to meet Hawk. He gave me a bear hug as usual and we talked a bit, until he excused himself to try to pass a bribe. He held out a fist of bills to the sound guy, who told him don’t bother, he’s getting paid the same as anybody else here. “OK,” said Hawk. “Don’t use any white lights on us. All the other colors, but no white.” No problem.

The band took the stage in the dark and began with a distinct Leonard Cohen vibe. The carefully crafted vocal harmonies between Hawk and Brittney were backed by swelling drum work and some smooth, brassy guitar and organ sounds. Hawk’s soaring soul screams brought the song to a head, exploding in a flurry of real, honest, and gorgeous rock n’ roll.

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

Hawk Colman on percussion

I marveled at Steve playing the second drum kit behind his immense Kwai MP9000 keyboard, while Ali’s Theremin wailed above all and Brittney’s sedate leading vocals made me feel like I was on an endless trip. I felt like I was roaring through the desert in a classic convertible--even the name of the band was perfect. Gabe sneered as he ground away on his bass. After three songs, a guy walked up to the stage and told Travers to play his guitar dirtier. Travers just shook his head. He knows what he’s doing. The sound was big, and I couldn’t get enough, but it did end, all too soon. Check them out at: myspace.com/theelectricdesert

Brittney Nini on the mic

w e i v r Inte

Blair French

“She’s a multifaceted dynamo who draws from cultures and traditions of other countries, adds her knowledge of and products from different fields such as health, fitness, food, fashion and décor, then mixes them with a person’s own style, routine and personality, and voila - a recipe for a lifestyle inherently one’s own. Ultimately, French wants people to drink in a different perspective on their lives by her providing inspiration, motivation, resources, and products that help to define every individual’s unique way of living. In a sense, she is like a life coach--but one offering more fun and flavor as opposed to a linear and set path. Having been educated in all the disciplines that she imparts to others, French is the perfect blend of teacher, motivator, creator, and healer in one. She helped put herself through school cooking and catering parties and events. After obtaining her degree and license in physical therapy, she moved to New York City and worked in the field for seven years, specializing in performing arts medicine and tending to dancers, mostly on Broadway. Later on, she went back to school and studied one of her passions, interior design, at The New York School for Interior Design. Blair French is an expert in a variety of topics, from enhancing or changing your personal life to cooking and entertaining for others.”

Lifestyle Tips for Continuing Creativity: Target Audience Magazine strives to both provide resources for artists and self-promoting writers and musicians as well as to promote through reviews, interviews and networking. The goal is to achieve a real community of independent artists who can find inspiration through crossing genres; where a poet can hear a song and write from its inspiration or where a painter can create something from the energy emitted from a poem. This community revolves around the medium of a quarterly magazine. The idea is not quite like other art magazines and this interview fits because Blair French brings the idea of lifestyle focus and bettering to the front of any artistic endeavor. Here she elaborates on her

ideas and extends a hand to all artists and readers. TAM: What does being a “life-stylist” mean to you and who does your company target? B.F. The short answer is...I’m a clever wordsmith. The longer answer (I think you’re really asking) is…I speak to any and all things ‘lifestyle’. I have a varied educational and professional background that lends itself perfectly toward helping anyone live their fullest, most authentic, stylish, and best life. TAM: How can artists use the idea of identifying one thing to focus on concerning their lifestyle to encourage and inspire creativity?

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

Interviews

B.F. For those creative and expressive artist ‘types’ who have a tendency to ‘be all over the place’, this exercise of focusing on Just One Thing may set some parameters from which to expand upon. Ultimately, the individual will have to determine if this is helpful to their creative process, however, when that One Thing is within an area of life that needs improving; anything that is in the best interest for the individual is also in the best interest of inspiration and creativity. When you feel better about your personal life, your professional life benefits-whether you’re an artist or a banker.

life. I love that! The ability to connect with people is paramount to a happy life.

TAM: What do you think of Feng Shui? Can the simple act of rearranging furniture release energy and perhaps cure writer’s block?

B.F. Sure. When decorating a home, I employ some of the same design fundamentals as a fine artist would such as color, scale, composition, light, texture and the principals of point, line and plane.

B.F. I don’t have much experience with Feng Shui. However, I believe that any discipline or philosophy that encourages a sense of flow and function, whether real or perceived, is beneficial. TAM: How do you feel about liberal arts education and going into business for oneself through fine art, music or even a small interior design business? B.F. I believe education, whether from a liberal arts university or otherwise is important. More important, however, is that one’s profession is an extension of their inherent talents and passions. How do you feel about your own varied background in dance, catering and physical therapy? I’m proud of it. I love that I have all these disciplines to draw from. I’ve always been a curious and fearless mind. If I’m interested in something and don’t know anything about it, I take a class (or several)! Now, when I see an opportunity, I usually have the skills to tackle it. And, I can relate to a lot of different people from different walks of

TAM: Do you think the arts can further expression of the mind with regard to learning how to think? B.F. Absolutely! Varied expressions and perspectives lead to expansive thinking. TAM: Do you consider decorating a home an art?

TAM: How can creative minds use home decorating to inspire creativity without a background in fine art or interior design? B.F. You certainly don’t need a degree to find inspiration or decorate. For creative minds to use home decorating to inspire creativity, I’d suggest surrounding yourself with objects, photos, colors, fabrics, etc., that evoke feelings or memories. Most art evokes feelings from those viewing it. While the feelings experienced by the viewer may be different than those of the creator, if the art form was conceived on inspiration from a feeling or memory, it will surely hold that feeling within its final expression. TAM: Do you think home style reflects lifestyle or vice versa? Do we become where we live? B.F. This is a great question and has several considerations. In short, yes to both scenarios. It can be a two-way or one way street. It really depends

on the individual, the feelings they are looking to come home to, and the lifestyle of the city they live in. With respect to the lifestyle of the city, I do think we make choices that reflect where we live. Designers in South Beach probably aren’t using a lot of dark woods, antlers, and wool fabrics, as they may be doing in Jackson Hole. With respect to the feelings an individual is looking to come home to, I must answer this question with design “language”. I find that some people have an oppositional tendency toward their living environment, while others demonstrate analogous preferences. For example, I personally lean toward the oppositional end of things. When I lived in Manhattan, I wanted to come home to a soothing relaxing home environment. I needed this opposition to balance the chaotic energy of the city. But for other’s who “can’t get enough of it” and may crave more stimulation and energy, the design choices employed for their home would compose an analogous feeling to the city. Career is also a major consideration in this decision. A librarian’s working environment is different

from that of a trader working on the floor of the Stock Exchange. Generally speaking, it all comes down to whether a person seeks to be soothed or stimulated. TAM: Would you describe for readers your “brief course in color” with respect to learning the “why” behind what colors you like and the words to describe them, i.e., neutralized, saturated, etc. Learn what a color wheel is and how to use it”? B.F. Color is a science and also perhaps one of the most subjective areas in design. Whether a person is talking about his hair color, the color of his living room, or car, I am often left trying to interpret what he means and what he wants. One person’s “bright” is another person’s “light”. My intention with this discussion is to help ‘unify’ the language a bit and help the student gain awareness on his personal preferences and tendencies toward color as well as how to describe, i.e., communicate those tendencies using ‘design’ terminology.

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

your art could be Here

Artists!

Help us create a calender for 2010

We need artists to submit artwork for each of the twelve months. Each Artists may submit up to three entries. One work will be picked per month to be printed with the calendar Those interested may send submissions & question to Art Director:

CyanJenkins@gmail.com Please include your name, e-mail, and month the painting is for. Paintings must be in a digital format 10 x 8 wide 300 dpi. Deadline for submissions is November 13th Royalties from calendar will be split between the artists.

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t s i t r A d e ur

Feat

Marlene Burns

â&#x20AC;? artists view the world through different eyes. because of that, i feel obligated to report what I see

painting has always been my medium. in particular, i love acrylic paint for its easy application and quick drying time. it suits my need to move quickly in making a statement and seizing a mood. my emphasis is on the process. it is passionate, focused and meditative. when I veer off course and get too concerned with the product, the authenticity of my work suffers. if i had to label my work, i would call it abstract expressionism. the masters of that movement have influenced me with their work and their words. it is always thrilling to start with a blank canvas, allow my innermost feelings to take over and see what develops. when i paint for myself, it is incredibly exciting not to understand the depth of a painting when first completed. i need time to study it just as any observer would.

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

as the abstract expressionists did in their time, i experiment with the medium. the technical process involves using airbrush ink to create the shapes and then allow the ink to drip and move around on the canvas. additional texture is built with layers of gesso, molding paste and acrylic paint. I then hide what isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t needed in fields of color that wash areas of the canvas, leaving a myriad of subtleties to discover. i am presently experimenting with a combination of handmade papers, metallic paint and geometric appliquĂŠs. my biographical highlights include two degrees in fine art. working professionally over the years, i have taught art, consulted in the field, run a business catering to commissioned pieces, been represented by galleries from new york to california and kept up a full art festival schedule. i especially enjoy interaction with the public about my art. it serves to balance the solitary process of painting, as well as giving the observer a comprehensive visual experience.â&#x20AC;? -marlene burns

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Submit to CyanJenkins@gmail.com Be Our Next Featured Artist

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

lm i F t n ende

Indep An Interview with Savanna Film Founder It is a little known fact that over 7000 independent short films start in preproduction every year and collapse before a single shot is filmed. The complexities, the legal issues, the insurance and liability, and the scheduling are something that, on a full-scale film, would require a comprehensive crew working full Alan Warren time. More often than not, independent film producers are working around their “proper” jobs in the dogged pursuit of TAM: What is your role(s) at Savanna Film? A.W.: Technically, I suppose you could say I am the keeper of the Savanna Film castle which means running the day to day activities and drinking many large mugs of tea! However, I do take a far more creative role than most proprietors in that I wrote almost all the film ideas that Savanna Film plans to produce over the next years. I direct and edit them; plus, I could also be considered a producer as I manage the budgets. TAM: When did you decide to take up the challenge of filmmaking - a path many have followed, yet at which few succeeded? A.W.: It was my ambition to make a successful cinemareleased (as opposed to direct to DVD) film since the age of 11 and my whole working life has been focused towards this goal. Savanna Film is now almost two years old, but we still have not completed our first film. It certainly is an almost impossible task, but I think there is a genuine market for quality films that challenge the audiences’ perceptions and make them ask questions as opposed to the usual, same old Hollywood blockbusters that get turned out month after month. All too

something as elusive and sought after as the Holy Grail - film success. Like having a number one record or winning the lottery, many fall by the wayside while the few do well. But, successes do happen. In 1999, the “Blair Witch Project” made $248,639,099 worldwide, against a $22,000 budget. This made it the highest profit-to-cost ratio of a film ever, making back $11,301.78 for every $1 spent (USD). Savanna Film is a British independent film company that sprung up in 2007, which aims to challenge the perceptions of what has been previously thought possible on features not backed by investors or Hollywood studios. Alan Warren, a video editor and compositor who knows these trials and tribulations very well, started it. Target Audience Magazine caught up with Alan to ask him what it was all about. often, I find myself guessing the entire plot of a film within the first five minutes of the opening titles. In my opinion, film should not just entertain; it is a powerful medium that has seemingly lost its way in the fog of Hollywood hype and computer-generated tattle that will never be a substitute for good screen writing. As such, there is a distinct lack of films that meet audience expectations, it is a shockingly regular occurrence to hear cinema goers complaining that the film was not worth remortgaging the house for the cost of a cinema ticket! The concept behind Savanna Film is: after the audience leaves the cinema, they do not even think about the cost of the ticket. In fact, I hope they will just rush back in to see the next screening! TAM: Is this the first time you’ve launched into a filmmaking quest? A.W.: As I said, Savanna Film is just starting its third year and we are now in pre-production on our second project. The first was entitled “When I Choose” and told the difficult story of a young woman diagnosed with terminal cancer who lives out the dreams of the rest of her life in just one night, helped by an accomplice who may or may not be a figment of her imagination. The pro-

duction was never conceived to be a full length film and was finally written at a length of about 30 minutes, but this gave a whole set of issues that, one by one, brought the project to a standstill. In essence, the problem was that it was a great idea which had no easy route to audiences because of its duration, and yet had all the costs of a full-scale feature. The location costs alone spiralled to £25,000, which was double the original budget for the whole production! As a result of all these problems, and the economic downturn in the Autumn 2008, “When I Choose” was closed down. However, the time and energies of all those who worked on its pre-production phase were not entirely wasted, as from the film’s ashes rose a new Phoenix. TAM: So it didn’t put you off then! What did you learn from the experience that has been invaluable when approaching the challenge again? A.W.: The biggest thing I learnt was that when you are establishing your first film, you need to write within the confines that your circumstances limit you to; after the closure of “When I Choose”, I sat down with my Production Manager and lightly thrashed out a sketch of an idea based upon everything we had been able to coordinate for “When I Choose”, but that cost as little as possible. From that point, we went on to produce the full treatment for a full-length feature film entitled “The Roadside”. This is currently being revised into its final screenplay and will go into production around mid October 2009. The best thing is that the idea is fundamentally simple, as are the locations, and it only needs a small cast and crew and yet it is completely compelling and absorbing; I hope an audience will not be able to take their eyes off the screen. It all just goes to prove the key point, that you can tell an incredible story on a limited budget and yet still rival (and often show up) the big Hollywood blockbusters. “Saw” (Lions Gate) is an amazing example of this - utterly captivating and yet the story was entirely dictated by a limited budget. TAM: You’re in charge of a new independent British film company. What’s your view on the film industry today and where do you see Savanna Film sitting in that picture? A.W.: British film seems to have slightly lost its purpose and in many ways it’s ironic to think that without question we have probably the best on-screen talent and off-screen technicians in the whole world, and yet nowhere near the cinema penetration of our giant American cousins across the pond! The studios are fantastic here, but almost always filled by films that are funded by Hollywood and when the odd British gem does shine through (Danny Boyle is good at these), then you find out on what a miniscule budget they have been achieved; it begs the question: imagine what we could do if we had

the kind of investment in films that exist in Hollywood? It almost feels like the whole world has to be dictated to by the American studios even though most countries could probably do a better job on half the money if they were given a chance. In fact, you only have to look to India and Bollywood to see what could be possible if we embraced film production for the artistic and creative legacy it is instead of leaving it to struggle along helped primarily by Film4 and Working Title who do a superb job given the current situation here in the UK. TAM: Who is working with you at Savanna Film? A.W.: Savanna Film is really just like a big umbrella which encompasses a whole group of freelance creatives who come onboard just for specific projects; because we are still in script development for “The Roadside” currently only myself, my Production Manager and two additional writers are involved, but we have a regular list of people we have worked with over the last 15 years who are on standby for when the project moves into production. Most notable would be our Stunt Coordinator Lee Sheward who was responsible for the action blockbuster “Sahara” and thrilled audiences with the breathtaking car chase in the “Bourne Supremacy” for which Lee was responsible for 90%. Across all the freelance people who we have associations with you would be hard pushed to find any production they have not been involved on in the UK. TAM: How did you recruit for it? A.W.: Most are people I have had the pleasure to work with throughout the past 15 years whilst I edited for television and blue chip corporate companies and, indeed, this is still something I do and really enjoy. When it comes to casting and finding technical crew that we do not have an existing contacts with then we either use either personal recommendation or place listings on industry websites like StarNow, Casting Call Pro and Mandy. TAM: Where does your inspiration come from in the script writing process? Do you have a routine for getting in the writing frame of mind? A.W.: Inspiration is a bizarre thing, I have no special routine and often it can be infuriation as I can be right in the middle of say driving or even sleeping and suddenly I will have a Eureka moment. To be honest the idea for “The Roadside” came whilst I was sat in the bath and resulted in me nearly destroying my laptop as I was so eager to write down the idea before I forgot. I also sleep directly beside my laptop because on too many occasions I have had a brilliant idea at 4am and thought to myself, “I’ll remember that in the morning”, only to wake up four hours later with a complete blank! I think I am blessed in many ways as I have a very active and creative imagination, my Production Manager always wonders how I come up with

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the outlines for script ideas and, to be honest, even I do not really understand it fully; I will just start writing about something then all of a sudden I have an idea which just grows and grows until I have another film treatment. To date I have written nine other films and they are all waiting to go into production, but all of them need substantial investment. This is why “The Roadside” is so significant, Savanna Film is able to entirely fund the production and so it will stand as an example to what greater potential the company has to thrill audiences all over the world. TAM: Who are your favourite directors and why? A.W.: They vary greatly. For example, I love Michael Bay because he is an amazing action director, however, often his films lack any real substance, he really knows how to edit a film and get the best look on screen and this is because, like me, he was an editor before being a director. It is often said that editors make the best directors, but I think whilst it’s true they have the ability to visualise an entire project before anything is shot, there is so much more to directing than just a film’s look and pace. Therefore, in juxtaposition to this I love Ridley and Tony Scott’s films, yes they are action packed, but they also have fantastic well-thought out stories and superb casting. I used to like the Cohen Brothers, but in their recent work they seem to have lost their way like several other directors. Paul Greengrass does a pretty good job, but sometimes gets carried away shaking the camera just a little bit too much. I remember watching “Bourne Supremacy” and begging there to be one fluid tracking shot, but it never came. The point being that you need contrast to appreciate what is different so if you shake the camera in the action bits then please hold it steady when the action has slowed otherwise you end up with a relentless collection of ‘wobblevision’ that looks more and more like a home video! Finally, I must mention Christopher Nolan (“Memento”, “Batman Begins”) who is without doubt probably one of the best directors ever. His ideas always hook the audience; his editing and how he changes the narrative flow and yet still keeps the geography and chronology is amazing. If you have never seen a film by him then make it your mission in life! TAM: What’s the best film you’ve seen recently? A.W.: Strangely enough it was not in the cinema, it was a DVD my brother bought me for Christmas that I had been wanting to watch for so long, but never found the time. Ironically, it is a film by Christopher Nolan (hence I knew it would be good) starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale and an enchanting performance by Michael Cane, entitled “The Prestige”. It

is the story of two rival magicians that are driven by jealousy and guilt to outdo each other both on and off stage. It is one of the few films that I could not have guessed the ending and with superbly directed performances from all the cast, including Scarlett Johansson! With more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, it truly is a work of complete genius and as the credits rolled I thought to myself that it is probably one of the best films ever made. TAM: Any advice for anyone else thinking of making an independent film? A.W.: To be honest, this is a very difficult question because many of the problems that I encounter as an independent film producer are directly as a result of so many people ‘claiming’ to be so. So many people come out of university stating that they are making films; they upload terrible short clips to YouTube with zero production values; in essence many are just glorified home movies that maybe friends and family will be polite and say are good, but, in reality, are horrendous. This means that when genuine independent film producers like Savanna Film try to contact locations or corporate sponsors, we get grouped with all the other so termed ‘wannabes’! So my genuine advice is unless you have considerable - as in years of - experience and have built up a successful network of professional industry contacts and are seriously wishing to benefit the British film industry then just leave well alone. I always knew this is what I was born to do, but I still did not finish my education and shout to the world that I was a film director. Instead I put into action a long-term strategy, which has taken almost 15 years to come to fruition. If you are genuine and really feel it deep down in your heart that your calling is to make independent film then work at it quietly, build your contacts and the equipment you need to make high quality productions and then, when the time is right, you can launch the final push, just like I did in 2007. Even after all this effort, your first attempt is most likely to fail, so you need determination to stop, think, refocus and try again. I could have just given up after my first attempt, but instead I used all the lessons I had learnt from that production and created a new concept that has grown into possible one of the best I have ever written and is the most likely to become a reality. I hope in 2010 audiences will have the opportunity to discover what fate awaits at “The Roadside”. Many thanks Alan, Target Audience Magazine wishes you the very best of luck for Savanna Film.

It took an entire team of monster hunters to wrangle these little guys and get them packed into the boxes, but it’s finally done! While dressing our wounds we discovered these little guys can guzzle an entire cup of coffee in one sip if you look away, so guard yours with care.

we will come across on our hunts. They are elusive little monsters! Another reason is that once they are captured, we can’t risk them getting loose, so the box gets sealed right away. The third reason is that surprises are just so much fun. Get yours for just $45 at www.bryandrinkscoffee.com in the SHOP.

Inside the box you will find one 3” custom vinyl Dunny, hand painted with acrylics and clear coated with a glossy shine. You also get the original pencil drawing concept used to plan out your Beast Buddy (includes the name of your Beast Buddy), and a bryandrinkscoffee.com sticker. Each one of the Beast Buddies is an original and is a mystery until you open it. Hunt down as many as you like! GOLDEN TICKETS! One in every ten boxes wins a free prize! Free T-Shirt, print, or even a Beast Buddies MiniMunny??? If your box has a ‘Golden Ticket’ you win a FREE limited edition T-Shirt, 8”x10” print, or the grand prize Beast Buddies Mini-Munny! (Odds of winning: 8”x10” print 1/10, Limited Edition T-shirt 1/20, Beast Buddies Mini-Munny [$150 value] 1/100) Why are Beast Buddies mysteriously packaged like this? One reason is that we don’t know which ones

Bryan Collins Beast Buddies are here!

http://www.bryandrinkscoffee.com SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

we will have a review of this event including band quotes in Fall 2009 online Dec 21, 2009

Book Reviews

“Beyond The Eyes”

BEYOND THE EYES Written by Ellen Eldridge with Illustrations by Cyan Jenkins (Copyright 2009) Eldridge states on the back cover that “poetry is most often written and least often read.” And, though probably true, that’s a shame because there’s nothing like saying something succinctly in verse. Furthermore, with a good poem, the reader is frequently taken on an intense journey, albeit generally a short one, to the oftentimes obscured essence of what I’d call the consciousness of one’s psyche. Every poem in this heartfelt work of 49

pages took me on such a journey. My favorite poems were: “Like Fruit Gone Rotten,” “Repugnant,” “The Syncopation of Humanity’s Heartbeat” and “Tick-Tock of the Kitchen Clock.” Moreover, I think many females can relate to being a Repugnant for at least one point in their life with this poem on page 29:

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Poem on Next page

Repugnant Repugnant! Repugnant! Let down your hair! Relax your eyelids! Un-scowl your stare! Terrible times yet nothing to fear The princes line up Beside their strong steer. The ugly girls fawn as they sigh and regress, forgetting their tattered rags for clean dress. She tells him so subtly, squeaks it out like a mouse. She’d do anything for him just to “play house”. He won’t see past her culture, her frown. He can not see what she’d be like in his crown. The narrator exclaims, “Repugnant! Repugnant! Let down your hair!” Show him there’s something To love still in there

Tell him the heart’d pump blood like a river if he’d just come home To baby delivered.... Repugnant! Repugnant! Don’t throw it all in Don’t drown in your sorrow When so well you swim Just tell him! Oh, tell him! What can go wrong? But after it’s over, It’s just a love song.

In addition, the illustrations greatly add to the general feeling of each piece. Definitely worth picking up a copy for a release from the mundane and more. Review by G.L. Giles anyone can purchase a copy directly Cyan Jenkins save on shipping Contact Cyanjenkins@gmail.com

pg 28 & 29 of Beyond the Eyes 40

Book Reviews Drowned Sorrow by Vanessa Morgan

Drowned Sorrow brings an original twist to small town ghost stories; it pulls the reader in different directions so that when he thinks he knows just what to fear the truth has all but suffocated him.

Other travelers arrive in Moonlight Creek seeking solutions to medical ails, but something about the locals and the town stirs deep within the sense of security. The lake which seems to possess potent powers of healing also contains the residents of the village and they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be left alone or have their secret let loose.

This short, gripping tale combines the universal need for hope and faith in miracles with the unrelenting horror of drowning. Like the characters in it, this novel will grab hold of its readers and will not let go until all imagined details course through the mind like rivers of consciousness.

Some will go willingly while others may fight, but Drowned Sorrow will drag each reader on an emotional undercurrent.

When Megan Blackwood finds her less-than-attentive parenting skills lead to the loss of her son, she attempts to escape the pain and reconnect to her daughter in what would seem a small town with a â&#x20AC;&#x153;fountain of youthâ&#x20AC;?.

Review by Ellen Eldridge

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Imaginary poems By Elizabeth Mariani Elizabeth Mariani published her first volume of own realm. There is a melding of similarity between poetry in 2008 by Semperverdi press, entitled, different species, that can be compared to pres“imaginary poems for my imagient culture. The two nary girlfriend named anabel.” embark on a private Earning a B.A. in American journey, away from Studies, with a concentration in media that wishes Cross Cultural Studies from the to cover the story University at Buffalo; Elizabeth of the tiger who has has been a dynamic force during killed, away from the rise of the poetry scene in the police and the Western New York. This 28-page reporters, into a volume is proof of her childlike dream state dedication to the written word. existing purely for tatiana and anabel. The highlight of this volume can be found on page 25 where ElizTatiana and anabel abeth describes her focus for this escape into a entry: “tatiana: the siberian tiger reality of their who escaped from her open air choosing, one most cage in the san francisco zoo on of us recognize, December 25, 2007. she killed to view the world one human and injured two oththrough the eyes of a ers. this is a story about tatiana child and an animal. and anabel, my imaginary girlThrough metaphor, friend.” this text causes one to understand why Elizabeth writes: “anabel and the tiger escaped, tatiana / made a pact / anabel said / to tatiana /over why the animal should not be caged and why this air and space / energy wind / and friend face / the girlfriend, although imaginary, likens to the tiger. bosom buddies / of different species / made a blood Tatiana too, feels outcast, as the tiger, blamed for its red saffron pulse / of a jugular country road pothole instinct, judged for being an animal. Caged as / slow down for the turn pact.” humans often are, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually; this piece focuses on the world today. The In this piece, Ms. Mariani manages to bring the the need to regain self and to look within and beyond tiger (tatiana) caged then escaped, joined by an the paparazzi that so often muddles the truth. Cont... imaginary girlfriend, (anabel), together into their

Book Reviews This is apparent in the lines: “how could it be / said lawyer a to lawyer b / that zoo animals / insist on being free / how can it be / said reporter a to reporter c / that reporter b / is too scared to write / what he sees.” Elizabeth continues: “and tigers reaching / for natural terrain / reject the notoriety / and the fame / of the living / of the living mammal / caged for cuteness.” Elizabeth Mariani is an avid supporter of Human and Civil Rights, The Environment and Art in every genre. Her volume of poetry speaks of her own experience, told through the vision of a woman. Elizabeth’s website can be seen at: LIZMARIANI.COM and she is available for speaking engagements. There are extensive links to publications, radio, websites and many of her fine accomplishments listed. Ms. Mariani has been featured in publications such as:

College.)

Hammered Out (Hamilton, ON), The Buffalo Forum, Artvoice Magazine, and Njozi Magazine. She has had various speaking engagements highlighting: The International Dub Poetry Festival, (Toronto, ON) , Hamilton Public Library, (ON, CA), Jamaican Dub Poetry Collective, (ON, CA), Women’s Studies Dept, (University at Buffalo), Underground Railroad Celebration, (Niagara University), Women’s History Month Celebration, (Erie Community College), and A Celebration of Black History Month, (Erie Community

“imaginary poems for my imaginary girlfriend named anabel” can be purchased on Lulu.com or Amazon.com. Review by Susan Marie

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

CD Reviews Dream Theater Thunder crashed and the music began. Measure by measure I listened anticipating each brilliant storm cell. Each second throughout my maiden voyage of this album likened a journey toward infinity. Sharp waves pulsed oddly against my feet and started to pull me under a constant motion I knew would take away my pain. Behind black clouds, I could see the sound bouncing off a glass moon imprisoned by a killing hand. I awoke at six o’clock that night and tried not to step on the remaining pieces of my fortress. I became the silver lining, surrounded by a perfect since of timing and harmony. Notes ran by, at times, like the forsaken who could never rest. A simple, catchy chorus twisted my heart and focused my eyes deeply, allowing an emotive relationship to the song; it filled in what most can’t understand. Sadly, I wished everyone knew how their voices spoke to me. Sit down and listen, then let go of your negativity and learn to breathe. The storm is just beginning to get louder.

The above poem is what Dream Theater’s music does to the mind through sound. Dream Theater improves their formula of musical expression with every album; each of which leaves a different impression in the sand. The album, Black Clouds & Silver Linings, is filled with very memorable passages and ideas. The guitar tone has changed slightly. It seems to have a little less gain than on Systematic Chaos, which can make it easier to hear some ideas. The keyboardist experiments with some sounds on “A Nightmare to Remember” which adds a new element to their already amazing sound. The song “The Best of Times” brings chills with a heartfelt intro then turns more into a sound of celebration for a loved one now gone. It encourages us to celebrate life instead of mourning death, to look at the happiest moments and how that someone has changed their life for the better. All in all Dream Theater did not disappoint, with yet another masterpiece. Review by Russell Eldridge

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

Our Lady Peace In 2009, Our Lady Peace produced their seventh album, Burn Burn, released on Warner Music’s Independent Label Group. The 10 tracks will be available on July 21st, 2009. This album is their first since 2005, self-produced by the band at Raine’s home studio in L.A. Our Lady Peace surpassed Platinum sales status in Canada, sold over 5 million albums worldwide, won four Juno awards, The Much Music Awards and have shared the stage with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Faith No More, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Ramones, Stone Temple Pilots and Alanis Morrisette. Our Lady Peace is: Raine Maida: vocals, lyricist Duncan Coutts: bass

my head in the clouds / time on my side / my feet off the ground . . . I’m not comin’ down.” “Paper Moon” is delicate elegance. Steve scorches throughout the track, as surreal as Raine’s hypnotic vocal range: “I was thinking if you know a way out / then I’d like to go with you / and we can burn out like candles / under that paper moon / . . . they just don’t know anything at all” All four of them (Raine, Duncan, Jeremy and Steve) annihilate the idealism of what “music” is today, bringing it right back to what works: simplicity. Raine ends: “There’s a time that you get turned around / life itself just wears you out / you keep getting ready for that big parade.” This tune is one for the stadiums.

Jeremy Taggart: percussion and Steve Mazur: guitar For years, music has been lacking acoustics, raw vocals, live instruments and pure driven rock and roll. The days of full bands performing with energy directed to the crowd, have been long gone. The monotonous subjection to the business of music and its lack of knowledge and experience with the subterranean has forced fans, as well as musicians, to revert to what they already know and like. Burn Burn is proof that music is indeed, still alive and thriving. “I’m not for sale / but I’ve been sold”, anthemic lyrics from the first track, “All You Did Was Save My Life”, intros Steve’s aesthetic guitar to Raine on vocals, “You looked at me as you walked in the room / like a Red Sea you split me open / somehow knew these wings were stolen / All You Did Was Save My Life.” The tune progresses with the addition of Jeremy, then Duncan, in brash harmony with “I’m not dying.” “All You Did Was Save My Life” is an introspective self realization.

To purchase Burn Burn on and after July 21st, 2009: www. ourladypeace.net stocked with video, music, and studio sessions. Also Myspace: www.myspace.com/OurLadyPeace.

“Dreamland” is reminiscent of mid 90’s sublime (the definition, not the band) interspersed with extreme positivity that can only be gleaned from being thrust into a world where morals and ethics are oftentimes difficult to maintain. Raine pleads: “In mystery land the kids are alright / and the sky is blue / we all got wings / you know I love flying / I’m headed to the moon / the sun on my face /

Review by Susan Marie

Our Lady Peace will be performing at Western New York’s largest series on July 3rd, The Molson Park Canal Concert Series, 5:30 - 10:30pm: www.canalconcerts.com.

CD Reviews Prestorika A drummer sent a query calling his band, Prestorika, the “only heavy metal act in India”. He continued, in press release style, about playing alongside Megadeth and Machinehead in March 2008 at the “Rock in India” festival and mentioned a feature in the Rolling Stones Magazine, India. Of course, Prestorika drummer, Nitesh Vasandani, got my attention, but I still wasn’t 100% sold. I agreed to have the debut sent to my office, when completed, thinking in the back of my mind this may just be another screaming death band or otherwise abrasive act I wouldn’t be able to stomach. I grew up listening to Megadeth and Metallica; Pantera was the first live show I attended at NYC’s Roseland Ballroom, but mentioning any of the metal I loved as an angry teen would not sell me on a band’s album…then it arrived and I am still wearing the twisted smile which came to my face as the first track exploded into my car. Unpacking the envelope and loading the debut album,The Most Confidential Knowledge, I worried the singer would scream obscenities or chant about suicide. Much to my pleasant surprise, “Access Denied” ripped through my stereo and connected with my ears in a way only the soundtrack to being late for work can do. I couldn’t wait to

tell my metal-loving music editor about this amazing sound which cascaded me right back into eagerly reading lyrics and seeking out meanings. “Access Denied” is actually about some sort of attempt to access a networking site to listen to music. The amusing lyrics, “Logged in you’re in the queue…” call to mind bands rampantly trying to add MySpace friends in hopes of making it big. “But two words you heard, access denied” resound as clearly as the tirade of double bass beats. Imagine a zipper closing up a pair of pants or even a body bag (if you want that disturbing thought in mind); that is the sound of these amazing solos. Notes on the guitars glide together seamlessly and clearly. I could go on for paragraphs and days about the intricacies of the music, the technical skill and chops of these players as well as the quality of the lyrics and the messages contained. Not only do Prestorika make songs perfect for pits, they have aspects of melody which leave you singing along. With Metal music one must truly care about seeking out the lyrics (mostly because the intricacies of soloing guitars and crashing cymbals make it hard to hear) which often results in destroying the sense of art and beauty in a song. Certain bands create timeless lyrics with messages running as deep as wounds. These bands made it in metal not only because of the amazing technical solos and shred factor, but because they had something to say. Prestorika now pushes the envelope all the way from India with the release of The Most Confidential Knowledge. Review by Ellen Eldridge

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

Mark Northfield: Ascendant At first listen the Beatles come to mind with the song “Waiting for the Green.” Every song is poetry with twists and turns, metaphors and possible dozens of meanings, which is the fun part. Allowing the listener to interpret the songs in their eyes which lets them grow closer to the music and relate to each song their own way. The way the chorus builds, “Fingers, thumbs and toes

grabs the soul and leaves it wondering for a moment until all thoughts are collected like pools of tears running the course to the river. The chord progressions are like a surprising journey leading you sometimes to a dark place overloading the auditory sensors. “Sleeping Beauty” seems like it was born on stage from a true life event. Groove mixed with beauty hits hard with “Decidedly Dumb”. The Musicianship is remarkable throughout every song and the poetry of the lyrics are breath taking as as well as thought provoking with lines like, “what’s the point of being half in love?“

sensory overload Review by Russell Eldridge

all rebounds like...” and continues to climax into, “God I loved you”,

Galanor: Fragments (demo 2008)

silence is powerful.

Presenting selfdescribed “pop-metal” from the Netherlands, the band Galanor flows in and out of memorable choruses and groove with creative use of negative space proving that

The song “Reign” takes one back in time to a Queen demanding submission and loyalty from her people. Both guitar and keyboard solos were well written and well placed. With “Silver Seigh” the story of infatuation dances around and plays with the soul. This song starts you out with a foot stomping march then into a candlelight embrace. The vocal harmonies in the end add another color bringing out a new dimension to a tempting melody.

“Superman” starts with a recorded riff which sounds like a record playing in its production, but the vocals start a song to which many could compare their own lives. “They never seem to understand; their fate lies entirely in their own hands” signals a theme many may consider purely American; the idea of searching for a “superman” to rescue each from his or her own demons and decisions. The dynamic way the female vocals are offset by the harmonizing male voices makes the chorus stand out as a dichotomy of the simple idea that we each control our own fate, but we desperately search for that hero to make us safe and whole. Galanor have a bright future ahead of them. Sit back, be patient, and listen. The lines will appear. Galanor will be touring Japan from September 19 until September 24 Review by Russell Eldridge

CD Reviews Phineas J. Whoopie: Down the Rails

psychedelic influence.

A rock band formed in Florida during the peak of the alternative movement, Phineas J. Whoopie recalls the days of ‘90s rock with catchy melodies, spacey guitars and a slight

Their song, “Break Me Little”, features the former items listed with a U2 bend thrown in for good measure. “Wait” sounds like it could fit on any teen movie soundtrack with its up-tempo beat and urgent lyrics about wanting to be with that special someone. “Black & White” shows the band going into acoustic territory and once again one can hear the grunge/alternative influence.

Why this band never reached the success of bands like Collective Soul or Smashing Pumpkins is beyond me, as this band had all of the tools to be successful when alternative was king. Of course, it is no longer 1995, but 2009 and the musical landscape is certainly different from what it was 15 years ago. Quickly done Mohawks and tight, black jeans have replaced flannel and long hair, and band development has gone the way of the dinosaur as music labels snatch up musical artists based more on singles than actual talent. In an environment such as this, does a band like Phineas J. Whoopie stand a chance? There is no perfect answer to this, but Phineas certainly deserve national recognition after being together for over a decade, having four albums under their belt. The quality and longevity of their music speaks volumes in today’s musical climate. Review by Jerel Johnson

Street Sweeper Social Club: Self-Titled

Club’s self-titled debut.

Landing at number 37 on the Billboard 200 chart in the first week of its release, Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) and Boots Riley (The Coup) join forces to unleash a new blend of political rap-rock with Street Sweeper Social

The title of the opening track, “Fight! Smash! Win!,” recalls things scrawled across high school notebooks, but some of the verses call to arms the mentalities of the masses who need to pay attention to what may be a crumbling economy. “Just like getting up in the club with a fake ID, if it don’t work we gon do it again” shows audiences (who may have missed Rage Against the Machine songs) the power of the people who don’t quit. The song works as a rapped rally trying to educate audiences while Riley’s words rapidly cruse over Morello’s classic riffing.

A wise choice for SSSC’s appearance on Jimmy Fallon live was the second track and single, “1000 Little Curses”. The marching snare makes this song along with Riley’s raps and Morello’s signature moves. The chorus cutely exclaims, “All my real down people we got love for you here, ‘cept for that motherfuckas right there, get ‘em!” Imagine the scene at a show when Riley chooses the fan at which to point! Critics could criticize Morello for attempting to re-create Rage Against the Machine in its political content or success, but this team triggers the awareness needed for a generation who may have missed out on former bands or disconnected from political rock. “Somewhere in the World It’s Midnight” acts as one of the more well-crafted songs, lyrically, on the album. It tells a solid story with characters from all walks of life from kids getting out of school to guerillas in the mist. Check it out when you buy the debut from Street Sweeper Social Club. Review by Ellen Eldridge

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

Kind Words From Bad People: Rhythm Unconscious When listening to “Kinds Words From Bad People” listeners can sit back and let an andante trance permeate to the tip of their soul. vocals differ like east and west. The east is the rapping which flows with triplets and intense visualizations through creative use of spoken word. Then, you have the west where beautiful melodies and a sense of intense relaxation calms your soul, bringing you close to an Alpha state or peace. Both styles flow back and forth grazing fingertips as they pass. “Patient’s Dream/Sweetest Arsenic” screams a love

story of acceptance. The line, “Kiss of her venom” seems to be saying, “No matter what you do to me I will Love you.” With “Sometimes I Play The Fool” visions appear of someone trying to make it famous, but unsure if it’s what they want, and tire of hurting friends. The chorus of “Beginning Of Where You Left Off “ is full of energy and sticks in your head, bounces back and forth till your head is moving to the rhythm. “Fly on a Wall” is an impressive mix of Blues and Hip-Hop. “Kind Words From Bad People” has a sound which gives hope for the constant evolution of Hip-Hop through a creative mixture of Blues, New Age and Rap. Review by Russell Eldridge

Kotadama: 2009 Debut scheduled When listening to Kotodama daydreams walk in and out of the ears playing movies of an emotional roller coaster. For example, somebody walking down the street alone listening to their I-pod and “See You Tonight” starts to play reminding them of their fallen relationship. Wishing they could see them again hoping they would forget the past and understand that no ones perfect. “Three Simple Words” is full of pain from someone reaching for something that wasn’t there. Like someone was played cold and left in a negative oasis.

“Earth verses man” brings vision of someone falling in the rain slowly turning around to see the end but too late to do anything about it. Kotodama is a Japanese belief of the power of language. The band Kotodama seems to take the meaning seriously with songs about love, pain and the earth. Maybe someone will be inspired to treat their loved one better or to take better care of our environment. Review by Russell Eldridge

CD Reviews

Portugal. The Man: The Satanic Satanist The quirky band name does little to divulge their catchy sound, but the song titles on this fourth album fit like a glove. John Baldwin Gourley’s high-pitched vocals blend effortlessly with dense instrumentation throughout this collection sprinkled with subtle treasures. As a whole, the album works like a story and I think of Quentin Tarantino’s style, except for the dating of tone--he strives for a 70s style, while The Satanic Satanist sounds quintessentially 90s with a lot of added flourish drawn from so many disparate sources as to defy any sort of pigeonhole. The album opens with “People Say”, a cautiously optimistic song (“All the people sing, they sing, it’ll be all right...”) interspersed with keyboard through a sweeping Leslie speaker. Next on the track list is “Work All Day”, intricate, and bearing a laborious, climbing coda with small synthtone sweeps in the background. It is by turns psychedelic, driving, restful, inspiring, rousing, and dreamy. “Guns and Dogs” is about living an isolated life in Alaska, but it feels like strutting through the old part of town in the west with braggadocio and kick drums. “Do You” has the aura of redemption, followed by the pleading and promising, yet hateful “Everyone is Golden” and the hurt, mournful pushing of “Let You Down” (“It’s all right, all right, all right, all right. Just go. Please don’t go--’cause I won’t let you down. Watch the world.”) Again, the theme of things being ‘all right’. You can tell they’re not. The album wraps with “Mornings”, an almost cheerfully nihilistic, fuzzy song with another nice subtle line, this one from a violin. Description of the album is best summarized as Beck on downers--all the soul influence, choral harmonies, and unique sounds from every instrument available, but toned down, less hyper, more normal. Review by Evan Tyler

Paulina Logan: Wallfowers We live in a place in time where music has taken a backstage to most other forms of media and entertainment; record sales have dissolved for most artists who chose to keep their integrity and originality. Only those who appear on ‘American Idol’ seem to see any of the limelight today and who, in all honesty, can call them musicians when, in reality, they are only a fleeting memory in a ratings war of commercialized redundancy? That being said, Paulina Logan, a California singer/songwriter, is a breath of fresh air with her enthusiastic and eclectic styling. Her voice is at times angelic and other times it has a raw edgy feel that ranks her high on the list of up-and-coming musical acts of today. She has the potential for greatness. Listening to her music for the first time is like arriving in heaven, an overwhelming euphoria takes hold of you and it’s impossible to shake it. There is a hypnotic rhythm to her voice that exudes enormous undertones of sexual energy. You can sense the growl of something special is in the air. Dim the lights, loosen your collar and enjoy. She has been compared to the likes of Jewel and Joni Mitchell, but in all honesty I don’t see it. She is truly an artist who has invented her own unique and original sound. It’s only a matter of time before she is a household name unlike any ‘Idol’ star you care to name. With songs like, “Hold On” and “Too Far Gone”, her musical range is explicitly displayed with a rare expertise not often found in today’s music industry. The listener can only hope that Logan’s music plays on forever. Wallflower (2007, Warrior Girl Music) is available through her website: www.paulinalogan.com. Review by Darryl Salach

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

Alternates: The Alternates EP The Alternates are a young band from California that sounds like a hodge podge of a few bands. The song “Changing Course” sounds very similar to “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, by the Rolling Stones and Iggy Pop simultaneously, in the beginning of the track before slowing into acoustic bliss and speeding up at the end. “Who Can You Trust These Days” is an easy going song with stretched out vocals over somber chords. The bluesy solo in the middle chugs at the heart a little; this song could be a hit on radio. The Alternates’ strength is drawing influences from diverse genres of music ranging from rock, blues, acoustic

and alternative. This could also act as a weakness if the band lets their influences get the better of them and they sound like other bands opposed to themselves. Still, it’s good to hear newer band play good guitar solos in an era where most rock bands think strumming a few chords and throwing a pinch harmonic in there is a lead. The Alternates are not revolutionary, but they are a good band that deserves a chance to be heard. They registered with BMI Records, released an E.P. and have been featured in such music media sources as Music Connection Magazine and Junior’s Cave Online Magazine. Review by Jerel Johnson

Theresa Flaminio: Momento Currently in the studio recording their debut effort, called Momento, this collection of original jazz songs will no doubt carry this band up the Billboard charts. The talent is ripe and ready to topple down on us from the heavens and what a treat we are all in store for! The song, “Good Thoughts”, is filled with a magical jazz feel with Flaminio’s songwriting resonating from some faraway place I’ve not yet visited but can’t wait to get to. The next track, “Coulda Woulda Shoulda”, is simply exquisite with its soft opening and haunting guitar parts that follow in the middle section, Flaminio’s voice beckoning for another chance, “now I have fallen/ I don’t want to get up or I’ll have to give up on you”. The song, “Run”, reminds one of a Red Hot Chili Peppers

song; it’s aggressive and rhythmic jazz lines are incredible and very well presented. I was able to listen to a half dozen or so tracks and my appetite for more is wanting. There is a remarkable mix of musicianship here that is, simply put, rarely found in today’s regurgitated music place, everything sounding too easy and lacking in honesty. Theresa Flaminio hails from the rolling hills of southwestern Pennsylvania and was raised by humble parents. She started playing the piano at the early age of 5, violin by 8, and was singing by age 10. Her love of music started early and after spending a year with the renowned Claudia Pinza, the daughter of opera legend, Ezio Pinza, she realized her passions resided in more contemporary forms of music, and the world of jazz is where she landed. Review by Darryl Salach

White Owl-

CD Reviews

If Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Korn, and a Celtic Violinist had a child it would be a White Owl. This eclectic band blends a mixture of polar opposite styles of music. You could call them Folk-Core, BiPolar Rock, New Age Celtic Thrash, Nu Modern Folk Metal, take your pick. Original bands like White Owl make music exciting. Just when you think everything has been done you have pioneers who ask the question, “What if”?

another path, but this time through a college town hoping to break the constraints of typical negativity encouraging creative thinking to free your mind. After listening to White Owl, inspiration to do something different breaks free leaving a layer of skin that was suffocating the breath of the muses. Review by Russell Eldridge

The cover of “Dead Man’s Chest” is brilliant and seems accurately played as if Davy Jones was in a band in modern times. “Cunla” has a fun, energetic sound that is easy to sing along with. “Miksi Ne Jeijot”, which can be translated as “Why do the maidens...?”, reminds one of a drum circle at the center of a medieval style festival. “Personal Jah” leads conciseness through a system of dreams encouraging you to state your creativity to change an old world. With “Just Chains” they show

Tailgunner Joe & the Earls of Slander: The Red Scare A distinctive groove and a fist-pumping excitement sets Tailgunner Joe and the Earls of Slander apart from what is typically found in the music scene. There’s a concrete substance to be found here among the riffs? There exists a tone among their sounds, but it isn’t distinctive enough to give them a character all their own. A lot of slower tempo riffs, along with shouting, creates a certain amount of entertainment, but a more interesting form of playing might be desired where the audience can hear the band taking more chances in their approach.

an outfit that tries to groove its way into your veins and does a decent job overall, but we wish they’d go the extra mile. Furthermore, I wish the vocalist would sing more than he does shout at this brings down the style of the band slightly more overall. If it wasn’t for the rather bland style of the band, they might show some promise, but there isn’t anything particularly exciting to be found here. Review by Adam McAuley

Tailgunner Joe is somewhat reminiscent of Sonic Youth, but without excitement to grab; thusly moving along at a monotonous pace. The band has some promise, but doesn’t go the extra mile to try to captivate the audience as effectively as one might want. Thus, we’re just left with

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

Kamilah Marshall

Forthcoming Debut Fall 2009

Kamilah Marshall has already had her share of successes with appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, David Letterman and Jay Leno’s Tonight Show. She is currently one of Bette Midler’s Harlettes, appearing in The Showgirl Must Go On at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Exhausted yet? After listening to a few of Marshall’s tracks, it’s obvious this young woman has an exceptional gift. Her voice has exceptional range and her ability to sing the blues is second to none. While listening to the tune, “Jami”, it’s easy to picture oneself sitting in a seedy Vegas bar desperately needing the blues, sipping countless shots of bourbon, wanting more of Marshall’s version of the blues; she brings the feeling of Chicago to the listener with a masterful zest. Kamilah has surrounded herself with some fantastic musicians who helped her to capture the essence of each and every song she currently performs. Her style is wide-eyed and never harnessed but country blues is no doubt where her heart lies and her passion for it is quite evident. Raised on the sounds of Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, her father schooling her on the jazz sounds of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock, it explains her versatility and ability to interpret a song and make it hers on the stage. Listening to the song, “Sis Shaw”, an original ballad written by Marshall, its sheer breathtaking brilliance shines like a starry night, comforting all who chose to listen to the vulnerability of each word she exudes from her sweet voice. It’s evident the world is a better place with the music of Kamilah Marshall in it. God knows, we need some goodness in this world, now don’t we? She is currently in the studio recording her debut record. Review by Darryl Salach

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Photo credit C. Sahbage

: t e o P tured

Fea

David Mclean

Image Credit

David McLean has been hobby writing for a few years but only

submitting and writing more seriously for just under three. Details of online and print work and books and chapbooks out and forthcoming are at his blogspot.

He is mostly inspired, if that’s the word, by his unwillingness to believe in easy religious answers to humanity’s existential problems, he is also inclined to discuss the problem of childhood and the child as ghost, a living being subjected to a stream of words that are either concealed advertising for society’s norms, or, nowadays, just out and out adverts for crap. He tries to write in a way that shows the sickness in society, they way words are weapons and are used to subject unruly bodies to society’s discipline, in a way that lets the ghost of the child in everybody rest in peace, and see beyond mothers and preachers and teachers and their duties. - Like Bob Dylan says, he becomes his own enemy the instant he opens his mouth to preach. He uses a lot of pop culture imagery, for example his forthcoming chapbook hellbound is based on the Hellraiser mythology. He regularly references songs too; everything from “Peter Perrett” to “Burning Spear”.

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

He edits two zines for epic rites press, who are soon publishing an anthology, laughing at funerals, and a chapbook, hellbound, by him. The zines are lines written w/ a razor and the thin edge of staring. Guidelines for submitting to these zines are: “Epic Rites Press does not currently accept unsolicited manuscript submissions. In order to be considered for entry into either the workers in blood chapbook series, the bad blood chapbook series and/or as a feature book publication, your work must first appear in an Epic Rites Netzine. The epic rites journal does not accept submissions & publication therein is at the sole discretion of the editors. We contact you if we are interested. For submissions to the thin edge of staring and lines written w/ a razor we are always on the look out for raw passionate material, written with blood, for lines, and for work that explores the creative process for the thin edge. McLean edits these and will not read prose, he actively dislikes the graphic arts, so no pictures, and, please, no academic garbage. Send 3 - 5 samples of your best work embedded into the body of an email to regnruta@gmail.com No attachments. Reprints are fine as long as they are good. Simultaneous submissions are fine too, but McLean usually answers within minutes if he is awake and sober.” The link for the guidelines is at the epicrites homepage: www.epicrites.org He has a virtual office at epic rites too.

over the city over the city is a sky where they said was death and the dead, there were beings in it that lived in a sense, but no beating hearts in them, and Silesius said that god only knew one word which encompassed everything, this was not dim of him, but it was best to know one word well, one that created earth and heaven and worse, than to know them all and be a run of the mill living thing. and over the city lives the same sky still, but we do not imagine angels live in it unless we are very primitive, even children here do not believe in gods and devils and angels; but they don’t even really believe in themselves, not yet, they are still convinced that their mothers were ever supposed to love them, so many kids have razors that sting, because it is disappointing that mothers are not always what you expect. still, the sky is fresher here now that god is dead and there are no devils or angels left for anybody to dream about, no hell but the fact of death and lies that mothers leave in children’s heads

POETRY sweetly raining blood

sexuality and cognition

it is raining sweetly blood from a child’s eyes and the town is soaked by it

when knowledge is discussed through sexual metaphor, knowledge and carnal “possession”

it is offensive to the dull soil and soldiers are coming they are carrying flowers and guns it is raining sweetly blood in the soldiers, they are from another culture, or so i hope, i hope they will kill us

as if this were something easily understood, something simple and amenable to understanding at all, not just bodies ravaged by need and fucking like beasts, with tight pussies and ample sufficiency of penis, we are tempted to reject them then, if we fuck like beasts indeed, and wonder how these thinkers fuck i think the fuckers just don’t fuck too good

Be The Next Featured Poet! Submit up to three poems and a bio to TargetAudienceMagazineEIC@gmail.com

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

Poetry Submitted by readers!

Twitter.com/ HitYourTarget

Tweet Your Poetry Twitter.com/HitYourTarget We will publish the best tweeted poetry in our upcoming issues. Just send us your poems as tweet messages to Twitter.com/HitYourTarget We are always looking for writers and artists to contribute independent work as well as ideas for articles and reviews of local events - from ANYWHERE!. Interested in advertising or linking to us? We are willing to do banner exchange with other creative independents and will sell ad space VERY REASONABLY to anyone trying to survive as an artist

You can reach us on twitter or voice your opinion through e-mail: TargetAudienceMagazineEIC@gmail.com Submit Poetry for Fall 2009 by Sept. 15, 2009:

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

I Have By Brigitte Lewis I have a fear of slowing down of not being enough of never having achieved enough cos its been ingrained in my brain that as myself I am nothing that as i I must create a self to encapsulate this empty space I call my own cos fear is our daily dietary proclamation and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m taking three serves to keep me sane and healthy they say and I fall to the hum drum beat of monotony even before Monday has her grimy hands around my waist cos Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m scared Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m afraid and I know that all this emotion is really bullshit sold as truth in a reality where we believe in nothing

Art by Tony Kinnard

but the purpose built we have forgotten to remember that before all this consumer creation we exist as divine we exist as reflections of each other no matter how many faces we master in the mirror.

POETRY Sludge By Jeffrey S. Callico Deep within the system Where the stench remains Limbs, bones, varicose veins There are people without faces Their jugulars still showing Large aortas pumping red Gushing into pipes and tubes And all the people saying of the stench How lovely on a fine bloodbath morning When the sky is filled with bile The whole world awash in vilest sludge.

Art by Cyan Jenkins

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

ode to my soul By Brigitte Lewis Let me strip you of your desires with fingers so soft they will linger in every cell Let me take each crimson red part of you between my lips so you may know that pleasure is not my tongue against your skin but who you are Let me breathe into your mouth so you may feel that who we are is two explanations but one breath colliding outside-of-control Let me touch the sacred part of you where your body aches so you may experience the illusion of where I begin and you end And so with (dis)passion I will become my own excavation worker I will pull down every last piece of this cage I’ve built as mySelf and polish the glimmer

where my bones once lay and I swear I would make you my wife if I could find the words to pry us and this thin line apart I would bow down on one knee

Art by Cyan Jenkins

look up at you with love devotion and utter awe recite you poetry one for each year we’ve spent exploring the expanse of these boundaries one word for each conjoined breath and then I would paint love all

over your body and succumb to your every whim for I yearn to join you up there in the sky where stars dreams and fairy tales live where only beauty exists and time is still stagnant beyond the duality of all these worldly exclamations together we will fall head first into the territory of each others seamless skin but not before we’ve reached up into the sky where the trees whisper loudly to each other hoping some of us will hear one one one So I prostrate myself before you in the hope that I may know you for more than an exhale in the space where love began in the places where I come undone.

POETRY Wondering By Jeffrey S. Callico Your glow of morning laughter Still soft over the horizon And I am beckoned to awake. Will today be mine yet again Or do you have other plans, Ones that I have yet to know. I gaze at you from my silent window, Wondering.

Art by Cyan Jenkins

SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

Talking in the Family Room By Victor Schwartzman They were waiting for answers I hate these family meetings I’m okay if I don’t start before noon eye drops and mouthwash keep my secret I feel normal until I stand sneak drinks when she’s shopping I worry about getting caught but not enough to stop We looked at his glazed eyes where did we go wrong he seemed on track in school then he dropped out started drifting through life eyes bloodshot, legs stumbling he is in the room but somewhere else waiting for the next drink Dad is loaded most of the time I see it in his eyes smell it on his breath we all keep up the lie I need my father not this drunk I tried talking, yelling, crying he is never there for me I will never forgive him

Art by Cyan Jenkins