Inside Beat 2012-01-26

JANUARY 26, 2012 • VOL. 29, NO. 25

INSIDEBEAT THE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

Winter Watch List New shows for a new year

SE OF LIES U O H • R HIA DEHA A Z • A L A W AM MAMA D A • D 3 ERWORLD D N U • M ZA FOXY SHA

Page 2 • Inside Beat

January 26, 2012

THEATER

Adam Mamawala: Artist on the Rise

BY ASHLEY PARK ASSISANT EDITOR

Adam Mamawala, a 24-yearold comedian, enter tained a crowd of University students last Thursday. The Rutgers University Programming Association (RUPA) hosted the event in the Cook Campus Center Café.

The event was not too far from where the N.J. native actually began his career — right here in New Brunswick’s Stress Factor y during an open mic night.

Since then, he has won the 2007 New Jersey Comedy Festival and performed in more than 35 colleges.

Fresh out of TCNJ, Mamawala’s jokes are rife with our generation’s college humor. In his joke about the beloved childhood computer game, Oregon Trail, Adam remarked: “Why would I want to shoot Nazis [in Halo] when I could ford a river?” Other jokes involved Snuggies, Degrassi and ridiculous texts by teenage girls gaggling over Zootopia.

His comic style is not crude and heavy on the vulgarity or abrasive, but rather easygoing, intelligent and intimate. He’s also clearly not afraid to share embarrassing memories, like the time he was caught cr ying in a Civil War museum after a

breakup. The show maintained a rather PG-13 tone, fluctuating here and there. When asked where he would draw the line in terms of crudeness, he replied, “There’s a cer tain point where as a performer you have to have a sense of tact and tastefulness and what I think is that you can joke about almost anything if the writing is good, clever and wellwritten. Some things, like 9/11, are never funny.”

For a young comedian, he already made friends with the spotlight and didn’t hesitate to poke fun at the audience; however, it seems he still needs time to brand his own kind of

RYAN SURUJNATH.....................................................ASSOCIATE ASHLEY PARK...................................................ASSISTANT

EDITOR EDITOR

FREDDIE MORGAN............................................................................TV EDITOR EMILY GABRIELE.......................................................................MUSIC EDITOR HEATHER TEDESCO................................................................THEATER EDITOR ZOË SZATHMARY....................................................................FASHION EDITOR JILLIAN PASON..........................................................................COPY EDITOR KEITH FREEMAN.........................................................................PHOTO EDITOR ALEX NATANZON............................................................................FILM EDITOR JASON PEARL...............................................................................ONLINE EDITOR RYAN SURUJNATH...........................................................VIDEO GAMES EDITOR

“Snooki” Polizzi quotes, like “This [is] the things that I'm addicted to: bronzer, boys and alcohol,” and “I will attack you like a squirrel monkey.”

Mamawala truly has a gift for making people laugh, and students leaving the show were all smiles. “I love the fact that I’m not confined to an office. Even calling it a job is weird because it doesn’t even feel like a job,” Mamawala said. If you missed the show, Mamawala returns to the University on Jan. 28 for the 2012 New Jersey Comedy Festival Finals!

Want more Mamawala? Check out his Youtube channel @mamawalacomedy!

INSIDEBEAT

EDITORIAL BOARD Z OË S ZATHMARY .................................................... EDITOR

humor as fellow college-touring comedians have done. Bo Burham, who visited the University in 2008, made a lasting impression with his piano and spitfire-fast songs, which had the audience singing along in between laughs.

Speaking of impressions, the highlight of Mamawala’s act was definitely his impressions of President Barack Obama. They were remarkably spot-on; Mamawala said, “The original Obama can make anything he says sound incredibly important.” To put his theories to the test, he recited in the President’s halting voice some Nicole

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS TO INSIDE BEAT : Diana Cholankeril Jessica Espinosa Saskia Kusnecov Ryan Lizotte Jamie Miranda Cover Photo Courtesy of HBO

Rutgers Student Center 126 College Avenue, Suite 431 New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Phone (732) 932-2013 Fax (732) 246-7299 Email beat@dailytargum.com Web www.inside-beat.com Advertising in Inside Beat, Call (732) 932-7051 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

January 26, 2012

Inside Beat • Page 3

ART, FASHION & TV COURTESY OF TOM TIERNEY

Tom Tierney’s Paper World

BY SASKIA KUSNECOV STAFF WRITER

Before girls were tugging on their mother’s skirts for Bratz and Barbies, the must-have item was a paper doll. The first paper dolls were created in the late 1800s and persisted with the fashion world up until the emergence of be-sparkled plastic dolls. After being cut out of paper by the steady hands of parents all over the world, these dolls were the very fiber of every girl’s imagination at playtime.

As we know, the trend in the fashion, art and entertainment worlds has not been to look forward, but to look back — so it’s not surprising that artists all around the country have been revamping the legacy of paper dolls into a fine art form. Notable among these is the self-proclaimed paper doll artist, Tom Tierney.

Tierney was educated at the University of Texas in fine arts, looking to go into fashion illustration and portraiture. “Getting into paper dolls was an accident,” Tierney said. “I did a paper doll as a gift for my mother who showed it

to a friend, which led to an agent and eventually a book.”

Tierney’s collection features dolls under the categories like “American Family,” “Period Fashions,” “U.S. Presidents,” “World Figures” and numerous others...among them “Vampires.” His 25 dynamic period fashions range from the Byzantine Era to 1980s campus fashions, all in full color and meticulous detail. He said that he most enjoys creating things that he finds exciting, unusual or interesting; he goes by a strong belief that paper dolls do not need to be “cutesy” and standard.

Tierney says in his biography: “I feel that the most important thing about my paper doll books is that I am using the medium of the paper doll as an art form.” His collections are extremely varied in order to avoid stagnation in the set and maintain artistic credibility.

The most popular collection is his “Designer Fashion” collection, where he has tribute booklets to fashion world figures like Coco Chanel, Balenciaga and Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli. For this series, you have a naked figure

EYE ON ZAHIA DEHAR COURTESY OF OLOGY.COM

doll and then you are able to dress her up in various runway fashions.

Most recently, Tierney published a booklet for the Obamas, titled President Barack Obama Paper Dolls: The Commemorative Inaugural Edition, which sold out within the first two months of its release. He’s also published tributes to Michael Jackson, Woodstock’s 40th anniversary and Sherlock Holmes. If you’re unsatisfied with just looking at (or, of course, playing with) the dolls, he also sells coloring books of his many figurine ladies.

Tierney’s dynamic collection brings us back to the days where imagination and artistic appreciation was not something reser ved for introverts and artists alone. The dolls also have the ability to bring that couture you’ve been drooling over out of the magazine, if only in pocketsized form. At less than $10 a booklet, these dolls are a must for anyone who lurks around the art in expensive vintage stores, is interested in illustration or just plain misses the paper dolls they traded in for a Barbie.

HOUSE OF LIES Showtime, Sundays at 10p.m.| CBY FREDDIE MORGAN TV EDITOR

On the surface, it appears that Showtime’s new comedy House of Lies has it all. It stars Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle, TV veteran Kristen Bell and Parks and Recreation’s Ben Schwartz as highpaid management consultants with low moral standards. Unfortunately, while all of these may sound promising in theory, the show is not as good as it should be.

The crux of the problem with House of Lies is that it thinks it’s more clever than it really is. The series’ stylistic gimmick is to freeze all the action in the frame so Cheadle’s character Marty can explain some industry term or a transaction that’s about to occur, but that ends up looking rather, well, gimmicky. The dialogue is stale; characters lack chemistry, and the lines are empty and without humor. But exchanges have been made snappy and fast-paced to trick viewers into thinking the

characters are engaging in witty repartee, like so many polished yet ultimately lifeless shows on USA. House of Lies, however, is desperate to remind us that we are not watching USA for a reason. The opening scene of the series alone, Cheadle’s naked body entangled in a woman’s, is indicative of the kind of scenes Showtime execs think we want to see. The rest of the opening episode consists of three more shocking sexual encounters from Marty, not including the insignificant portion of the plot where he tries to bed the only female coworker in the firm.

As the clear protagonist of the show, Cheadle is fantastic.

He breathes the life into Marty that the script only wishes it can do. While every character is onedimensional and flat, Mar ty is dynamic, in par t because he is the only character where the audience has been granted perspective into his personal life, but more because of Cheadle’s skill as an actor. Cheadle’s

anger, outrage, intrigue and vulgarity make Mar ty almost likable amidst his world of sleazy money-grubbers.

The only plotline with potential is Marty’s family dynamic. He lives with his father, a retired psychologist, and his transgendered son.

He seems slightly disappointed at the beginning, but by the end of the episode he is strongly defending his son’s right to audition for the role of Sandy in a school production of Grease. In these moments, Cheadle makes Marty seem almost human before the show regresses again to a quickie in a panel van in the school parking lot during his son’s opening night.

All in all, House of Lies would be far better if it were done differently.

Character development is shoddy and uninteresting, the dialogue is weak and the comedic talent of the actors is grossly underused — to name a few flukes in a show that has far too many. Unless the show changes its style, there is no way it will last on television.

BY ZOË SZATHMARY INSIDE BEAT EDITOR

Zahia Dehar may be an unknown in the United States, but she’s clearly making her mark in Europe, especially in French popular culture. She originally rose to fame after it was announced in several newspapers, including The Telegraph, that she had slept with three members of the national French soccer team for approximately $2,000 a night. While prostitution is legal in France for those 18 and above, Dehar was then underage. She has, however, noted that she had told all three players that she was 18 and that they all treated her with respect.

None of these headines have hindered her sartorial aspirations, though. In fact, Dehar’s carefully cultivated Lolita-esque persona has won over many working in the fashion industry.

She’s recently nabbed covers for international versions of both V Magazine and Vanity Fair. The strangest project for the starlet, however, is her collaboration with Chanel mastermind Karl Lagerfeld. With the German designer serving as photographer, Dehar created a lingerie lookbook – and is set to debut her much-hyped underwear collection during Paris’s haute couture week. While Lagerfeld has publicly supported Dehar, saying that she is a “very French courtesan, like Diane de Poitiers or the Belle Otéro,” he has firmly emphasized that he had nothing to do with actual garment production. It remains to be seen whether Dehar and her endeavors – such as a rumored perfume deal – will succeed.

Midseason t u O Swap Television’s fall season seemed to have seen more flops than the town pool on a hot summer day. Perhaps it was because broadcast channels were cleverly saving their better shows for winter’s midseason slump. Read on as Inside Beat introduces you to some of this season’s successful shows that will help you put last year’s duds behind you.

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ALCATRAZ FOX, Mondays at 9 p.m.| B+

BY JAMIE MIRANDA STAFF WRITER

“On March 21,1963, Alcatraz officially closed due to rising costs and decrepit facilities. All the prisoners were transferred off the island … Only that’s not what happened … Not at all.”

Named for the year they went missing, the “63s,” as the prisoners of Alcatraz Island are

known, mysteriously disappeared on March 21, 1963 according to the brand new FOX show Alcatraz. Now the 256 prisoners and 46 guards have resurfaced to the present-day. Former prison guard turned FBI agent Emerson Houser (Sam Neill, The Tudors) is determined to find out where ever y last man has been hiding and why they are choosing to return. Each

episode is devoted to capturing a former prisoner; however, there is still a lot in the series that has gone unexplained.

Viewers and characters alike are unaware of the prisoner’s motives; that is, ever yone but agent Houser, who seems to know more than he is letting on to his new team members, Detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones, Sons of Anarchy) and

comic book author/Alcatraz mastermind Dr. Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia, Lost.)

Alcatraz frequently shifts from the present to past memories of an Alcatraz existing nearly 50 years ago. Viewers can easily follow the present investigation, but the ties between past and the present are foggy enough to keep the show from being too predictable. Because

the main focus of Alcatraz is uncovering escaped prisoners’ intentions, the show tends to fall back on stereotypical crime scene dialogue and clichés. The cast is well chosen for each role and the air of myster y will keep the audience on the edge of their seats. However, if questions don’t begin to get answered, the audience might just give up and fall off their chairs.

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What’s Next? A Look Ahead

BY FREDDIE MORGAN TV EDITOR

Luck, Jan. 29, 10 p.m. on HBO Acclaimed director Michael Mann (The Aviator) and HBO’s Deadwood creator David Milch bring us a tale of a group of degenerate gamblers who get hooked on a new high: horse racing. Starring two-time Academy Award winner

Dustin Hoffman as Chester “Ace” Bernstein, Luck gives viewers provocative insight into the world of horse racing, from the owners and jockeys to the betting men and everything in between.

Smash, Feb. 6, 10 p.m. on NBC Perhaps the only thing more exciting than a Broadway musical is the hubbub backstage during a

show. Starring Debra Messing (Will & Grace), Smash gives viewers a behind-the-curtain look into putting together a musical based on Marilyn Monroe’s life, staring from a simple idea. Armed with original music and a knockout production team, Smash will surely be a smash-hit.

The River, Feb. 7, 9 p.m. on ABC Have you ever wondered what

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THE FIRM NBC, Thursdays at 10 p.m.| B

BY DIANA M. CHOLANKERIL STAFF WRITER

In recent years, avid television viewers have gravitated toward cable network television shows rather than shows on primetime networks. Those with cable know these shows are more intense, profane and include more sex scenes than a Jenna Jameson movie. With all of cable’s benefits, what could possibly be so compelling about the new NBC show The Firm? Maybe it’s “just another court show,” but it actually has the makings of a show for which viewers would put aside their precious Thursday nights at 10 p.m., and ironically, it isn’t because of its slightly trite storyline.

The pilot opens with one Mr. Arnold McDeere (Josh Lucas, Sweet Home Alabama) frantically running away from “white-collar” men through the National Mall in a business suit, polished loafers, and a briefcase. Not surprisingly, this Good Samaritan attorney has

gotten himself entangled in a murder investigation larger than his existence and does not know how to avoid putting both himself and his loved ones at risk. Storyline sound familiar? But while the plot isn’t exactly original, the cinematography and the acting talent of these seasoned professionals is what will hold the viewer’s attention. Think 24 and Law & Order but with the surprises and unexpected turns of Prison Break.

Each episode uses flashbacks, constantly bringing viewers back and for th between dif ferent periods crucial to the stor y. Although this editing technique is slightly dizzying, Director John Grisham knows how to draw in his audience with clear captions and slightly puzzling endings that leave the viewers wanting answers. It also doesn’t hurt that The Firm is based of f of a novel of the same name written by Grisham himself.

Even the actors make traditional characters come alive with a

it would be like if Bear Gr ylls went missing? The River makes that fear terrifyingly real. After fictional wildlife expert and TV personality Dr. Emett Cole (Bruce Greenwood, John from Cincinnati) goes missing in the Amazon, his friends, family and crew set out on a mysterious and deadly quest to find him.

more modern spin. Abby McDeere (Molly Parker, Deadwood), Arnold’s wife, grew up in a privileged home with successful parents, only to choose the less flashy, more rewarding career as a grade school teacher. This type of character has been seen before, but Parker gives Abby some refreshing substance as she makes tough decisions at work and offers words of wisdom to her conflicted husband. Even fresh-faced actress Natasha Calis plays her first primetime role as daughter Claire McDeere so earnestly, it’s hard not to believe her when her character displays the intellectual curiosity of a young adult.

For all of those readers out there who have said, ‘I don’t really watch TV anymore,’ try out The Firm. It may not be the show that stakes its name in television history, but it definitely adds new twists to a traditional storyline.

And maybe, just maybe, it might be the show to bring viewers back to primetime television.

Touch, March 19, 9 p.m. on FOX As perhaps the most anticipated mid-season show of the year, Touch chronicles Martin Bohm (Keifer Sutherland, 24), a widower who learns that his autistic and mute 11-year-old son is a numerical genius who can see into the future. The pilot will air as a special preview on Jan. 25 at 9 p.m. on FOX.

Page 6 • Inside Beat

January 26, 2012

FILM

IT’S IN THE BLOOD:

COURTESY OF NJ FILM FESTIVAL

An Interview with Scooter Downey and Sean Elliot

BY ALEX NATANZON FILM EDITOR

In their NJFF film submission, It’s in the Blood, Scooter Downey and Sean Elliot create an enthralling tale of a father and son who, after becoming lost in the woods, must do everything in their power to survive against a terrifying beast whose very form is the amalgamation of grotesqueness and horror. Inside Beat had the pleasure of interviewing Downey and Elliot and to picking at the creative minds behind this film.

Inside Beat: What influenced/inspired you to create this film?

Sean Elliot: From a produtorial standpoint, the film was largely designed to offer the highest production value-to-cost ratio. As all first-time filmmakers know, it is exceedingly difficult to find funding for a film, and even more difficult to sell that film for a return on your investment. With these issues in mind, we wanted to create a film that offered the highest chance for a return on our investment, while simultaneously entertaining the audience. In this way we were able to determine that a psychological horror film would give us the best cost-to-value ratio.

Inside Beat: What were some of the biggest challenges you encountered when making this picture?

Scooter Downey: Every aspiring filmmaker knows that in this industry it’s tough to get your foot in the door. The gatekeepers don’t want change; they want to maintain the machine. So when you’ve never made a feature, and you don’t know who you can trust or even what the workflow is, every aspect of production becomes a challenge. We got kicked in the teeth a lot, both literally and figuratively! I think the biggest challenge is maintaining your faith, your integrity and determination when things don’t go your way. Every filmmaker needs a certain amount of luck and a plethora of providence. Luckily I had a friend in Sean who was there with me every step of the way. I wasn’t alone and that made a huge difference.

IB: This film is ultimately a father and son movie and a young man’s journey of letting go of the past and growing up. Why did you choose to use monsters and supernatural forces as imagery and metaphors?

Downey: Many coming-of-age movies feel like after-school specials, so we wanted to throw the story into a more mythic, psychological and entertaining context. Sean and I both love wilderness survival movies and schlocky creature features so the fit seemed pretty natural. Plus we’re very interested in the way horror movies and horror monsters are projections of the psyche. We may think zombies and Freddy Krueger are modern day concoctions, but these images have been with us in some form or another for thousands of years.

They represent our repressed fears, our buried guilt and our dark side. The only way to deal with these “monsters” is to directly confront them. That’s what a horror movie is all about; that’s why I think we go to see them.

The creature in It’s in the Blood becomes a literal and physical manifestation of the character’s past, a “wilderness” of their own minds. That’s how the film “deconstructs” the typical creature feature. The protagonists are thrown into a situation where the only way to escape is through a confrontation with their own past.

IB: What was it like to work with veteran actor Lance Henriksen?

Elliot: Working with Lance was an overwhelming pleasure. Considering this was my first time as a lead actor, there was a tremendous amount of pressure on me to summon the necessary emotional depth of October’s character. Having the privilege of performing opposite an actor of Lance’s caliber made my job far easier. He is a tremendous actor, an incredibly hard worker and kind to a fault; above all else his is a character of the highest order. In short, they don’t come any better than Lance.

IB: How did you prepare for the physically demanding role of October?

Elliot: The physical demands of the film dimmed in comparison to those of the emotional. Nothing in my life had prepared me for the emotional toll acting this film would take. I can say for sure that acting in this film has irrevocably altered me. At that time, I had experienced very little emotional trauma in my life from which to draw upon for the character. As a result, it was often very difficult for me to go to the places I needed to in order to portray this character.

IB: The creature in the film is a brilliant creative feat, and since the audiences only sees glimpses and parts of it for the majority of the movie; it creates an overall feeling of suspense and anticipation. How did you come up with the idea of the creature, and why did you decide to make it look and act the way it did?

Downey: Like everything in the film, it evolved as we evolved. Initially it was a pack of wolves, then a giant bear and at a certain point it was even the Grim Reaper. What remained consistent was the desire to keep it in the shadows. Movies are a striptease; you don’t want to go full frontal until the very end.

IB: This film has a number of very powerful, yet disturbing scenes, were any of these scenes specifically difficult to film?

Downey: Those scenes were more difficult for the actors than they were for me. Once the camera starts rolling I put on the mask of “manipulator” and become pretty emotionally detached.

IB: Was this the first time [both of you] have collaborated together?

Elliot: Scooter and I first met in kindergarten and have been partners in crime ever since. We have collaborated on countless projects of varying scales and will do so again on countless more.

Inside Beat • Page 7

January 26, 2012

FILM & MUSIC

H AY W I R E Steven Soderbergh | D

BY JESSICA ESPINOSA STAFF WRITER

It’s easy to think that an action movie can do no wrong with the right cast of actors and a halfway decent idea — yet Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire is a glaring example of failure. From the start, this movie completely fails to capture the interest of the audience.

Gina Carano, the famous professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, stars as Mallory.

Mallory is a freelance undercover operative who goes on missions that the federal government cannot officially authorize. Everything seems normal until Kenneth (Ewan McGregor, Trainspotting) double-crosses her. This forces her to go on a “roaring rampage of revenge” which doesn’t even seem all that interesting because of her monotone voice. Carano’s voice

was altered electronically for the film to make it sound huskier, but the technique backfires — she just ends up sounding like a robot. Her line delivery doesn’t make things any better and is heavily forced.

Despite a seemingly star-studded cast — Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor and Channing Tatum — it doesn’t seem like any of the supporting actors put much energy into the film. Soderbergh could have used less famous actors … for a fraction of the cost. Although many of these actors have been famous for years, this movie will not be something people will remember seeing them for. Tatum, who is shown in the trailer, is barely in the actual film.

He’s forgettable — he just cocks his head back and speaks in a tone that is unnatural and unflattering.

Though one may try very hard

to understand the general storyline, which Mallory conveniently explains to a total stranger, it comes across as confusing. There are far too many names and complexities that do not add anything to the simple fact that she was used and double-crossed for reasons she cannot comprehend.

The action scenes are the one and only highlight to this awful film but even those are tainted. Music choice can do three things: help a film, hurt a film or be so bland that it phases into the background and you barely notice it. A sort of jazzy, Pink Panther-esque music comes on during almost every big action scene. It drones over the actual action and forces you to listen to it while missing all the actual sound effects. It is totally out of place and really annoying. As promising as this film may seem it unfortunately proves to be a total letdown.

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UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING 3D Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein | B

BY JESSICA ESPINOSA STAFF WRITER

Underworld: Awakening 3D, the fourth installment of the Underworld series, succeeds in fleshing out the story from the end of Underworld: Evolution, the second film in the series. Kate Beckinsale (Vacancy) slips into her leather catsuit once again to reprise her role as heroine and death dealer, Selene. (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans was a prequel and featured a different protagonist and plot.)

While some films are worth the extra charge to watch in 3D, this is not the case for Underworld: Awakening. The effects take away from the story because it feels almost like playing a video game with blood splattering on the screen.

The effects are cheesy and if anything, they are more distracting than enjoyable.

Underworld: Awakening has one big game changer that adds a new element that was missing from previous installments – human involvement. The Underworld films are normally about

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“Lycans” (werewolves) and vampires fighting for dominance, and in this film, humans become entangled in the melee. To prevent these “diseased” creatures from spreading their illness to others,

the humans decide to kill every Lycan and vampire in sight.

Selene tries her best to escape with her hybrid partner, Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman, The Strangers) but is unsuccessful. In-

stead, she is kept frozen in a cryogenics lab for 12 years without her knowledge. When she awakens she enters a world she does not know anything about. Instead of finding Michael, she discovers

that scientists have been studying her DNA and have produced a child. This child, who is the first hybrid child in existence, is stronger than all Lycans and vampires alike. India Eisley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) plays Selene's daughter well; she is as mysterious as a new character should be.

Selene, with the help of the typical “good cop” character, Detective Sebastian (Michael Ealy, Seven Pounds), tries furiously to uncover the secrets the humans are keeping in the lab and save her newly discovered daughter whom the humans and L ycans want to kidnap. They end up discovering much more than anticipated.

The film overall feels like the beginning of a longer film – the filmmakers leave plenty of room for sequels so as to expand the franchise. Directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein do a superb job of giving enough to peak the interest of the audience without bombarding them with new information. In short, Underworld: Awakening is gruesome yet entertaining.

Foxy Shazam The Church of Rock and Roll | ABY RYAN LIZOTTE STAFF WRITER

COURTESY OF SMALLZ AND RASKIND

Ever y so often, a band comes around that is just too eclectic to be taken seriously. That band is indefinitely Foxy Shazam – they have struck musical gold with The Church of Rock and Roll. In fact, Foxy has been making some noise for quite a while in the underground scene, even as early as 2005 with the group’s debut, The Flamingo Trigger. Having undergone a heavy amount of personnel and stylistic changes, Foxy Shazam’s The Church of Rock and Roll stands out as a rock-and-roll gem.

Foxy Shazam is fronted by vocalist Eric Sean Nally, who proves on this outing that he is indeed the second coming of Freddie Mercury. Songs like “It’s Too Late Baby” and “Wasted Feelings” showcase Nally at his absolute finest, for he continuously hits high notes. Armed with an impeccable vocal range and an overly wacky on-stage demeanor, Nally is the complete package.

Singles “I Like It” and “Holy Touch” feature more upbeat choruses and a full, backing gospel choir. The latter features possibly the catchiest chorus on the entire album, and boasts a pretty hilarious music video. The antics that surround Foxy Shazam are just

about as entertaining as the music itself, especially in a live setting (Foxy is known for a crazy, rambunctious stage presence).

One thing about Foxy Shazam that separates them from everybody else is their unique musicianship. Hardly, if ever, do you find a rock-and-roll band with both a full-time trumpet player and a piano player. Their musicianship shines incredibly during “Freedom,” which features a much more soothing sound than the rest of the album. Each instrument shines a countless amount of times during The Church of Rock and Roll, while perfectly complementing Eric Nally’s vocals each step of the way.

Inside Beat • Page 8

January 26, 2012

MUSIC

BLURBS

MUSIC EDITOR

John Mayer, the man who has seemed to be “Perfectly Lonely” for the last year and a half, has finally announced that a fourth studio album is in the works, after suffering vocal injuries.

NJ native Bruce Springsteen has announced that he will be putting out his 17th studio album on March 6. The album will be titled Wrecking Ball.

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Young Money artist Nicki Minaj is releasing her sophomore album soon. April 3 is the apparent release date. The album is called Pink Friday: ROMAN RELOADED. Suave singer Seal and his supermodel wife and host of Project Runway, Heidi Klum, have filed for divorce. Allegedly, Klum initiated the cut to the six-year marriage.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers’ lead singer Anthony Kiedis injured his foot, postponing the group’s tour in promotion of its most recently released album, I’m With You. The tour will recommence March 29.

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R & B singer Etta James died at age 73. She was ill months before her death and passed on Friday Jan. 20.

J Tillman, the drummer of Fleet Foxes, has decided to leave the band. He played his last show in Tokyo with the group before announcing his departure via Tumblr.

WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO 1. “I WROTE IN BLOOD”

BY STILL CORNERS 2. “PERFECT”

BY KEELEY REED 3. “WATCH AND LEARN”

BY RIHANNA 4. “SACRILEGIOUS”

BY SCHOOLBOY Q 5. “PURPLE RAIN”

BY ETTA JAMES 6. “SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW”

BY GOTYE