Boxed Whine Opens for Indie Band Slow Pulp

Cat in the Cream hosted indie rock band Slow Pulp and student band Boxed Whine on Monday, Nov. 29.

Courtesy of Khadijah Halliday

Sydney Rosensaft Senior Staff Writer

On Monday, Nov. 29, the Cat in the Cream hosted indie rock band Slow Pulp with an opening performance from Oberlin student band Boxed Whine. Hoping to increase event turnout and revitalize the campus music scene, the Cat is making a concerted effort to showcase more student talent at their performances.

College third-year, Hillel Hinton-Williams is a manager and booker at the Cat. Over the summer, Hinton-Williams learned an effective strategy for boosting event attendance: use student bands as a magnet for additional friends and attendees. His method worked again on Monday, drawing around 160 concertgoers, nearly double the average usual turnout.

“I wanted to have a student opener so we could make sure we get a bigger crowd to come in,” Hinton-Williams said. “Everyone is aware of the student bands that are playing. They have friends and groups that they invite.”

This Monday’s matchup of Slow Pulp and Boxed Whine fell into place naturally. Months ago, Slow Pulp’s agent reached out to Hinton-Williams about playing at Oberlin. Hinton-Williams had seen Boxed Whine perform and was eager to bring them to the Cat, so he offered the group the opportunity to open for Slow Pulp. For most of the band’s members, it was their first chance to share the stage with a professional band.

Jeanne Hill, College fourth-year and lead singer of Boxed Whine, was thrilled about this gig.

“I had never opened for a professional band before, so this was a pretty exciting opportunity, especially because I had already been a fan of their music,” Hill said.

Eamon McKeon, College fourth-year and lead guitarist of Boxed Whine, also excitedly anticipated the set. He especially appreciated meeting Slow Pulp’s band members — all musicians around his age who have dedicated their lives to their band. At first, he was intimidated by the prospect of performing alongside a professional group, but felt comfortable as soon as the show began.

“It felt really cool to have that sense of a partnership with another band,” McKeon said. “It was very humanizing to be like, at the end of the day, we’re all just people.”

While the event was headlined by a professional band, the show equally highlighted the student group. After a year and a half of restrictions, excitement to see student performers again has grown around campus. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, however, McKeon has noticed a shift from his first year. Come graduation this June, there may be just a handful of bands remaining.

The Cat is working to avoid this predicted absence. As one of Oberlin’s key performance spaces, it has a strong musical influence on campus. Managers are actively drawing in more student bands and helping to boost awareness of these bands around campus.

“There’s a conscious effort to get younger student performers inside the Cat in the Cream,” Hinton-Williams said.

In the hopes of promoting student bands, the Cat is hosting a “Battle of the Bands” from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Dec. 11. Students can register their band to compete in a campus-wide musical competition in front of a live audience.

Student bands gain traction by performing in student spaces and rely on peer support to get their names out. Hinton-Williams is fighting for the student music presence on campus to return, something he was only able to experience for one semester during his first year. Hill is focused on encouraging everyone to participate in campus music culture, bringing other students into rehearsal spaces and house shows in an effort to show them how welcoming and supportive the scene is.

By performing in student spaces, Boxed Whine hopes to act as a role model for younger students.

“I want to see more music on this campus,” Hill said. “I hope that after this show, first-, second- and third-years feel comfortable approaching us and talking about the Oberlin music scene — if I knew of any younger bands, I would totally hit them up to play at my house!”

Artistic Director and Designer Virgil Abloh Dies Sunday

Continued from page 10

In 2013, Abloh founded his second and most recognizable brand, Off-White. Here, Abloh trademarked his signature aesthetics — the quotation marks, zip ties, and barricade tape. Irony was essential, executed through reworking the meaning of images or words by placing them next to contrasting ones or using quotation marks to imply self-awareness.

These aesthetic and ideological principles were made even more apparent in his 2017 collaboration with Nike, “The Ten,” where he was asked to rework the brand’s ten most iconic shoes. Some models were made inside out; holes were cut in random spots; the classic “Swoosh” logo was lowered so that it fell over the shoe’s rubber sole; and the sides of soles were labeled with a capitalized, quotation- marked, “AIR,” alluding to the alleged air bubbles inside the base of Air Jordans. The collection was probably the biggest drop in the 2010s and still has new iterations coming out today.

In 2018, Abloh was named artistic director of Louis Vuitton Menswear, becoming only the third Black man to lead a major French fashion house. This was a major decision not only because it broke racial barriers, but also because it changed the meaning of luxury fashion itself. The appointment was the final step towards the complete marriage of streetwear and luxury — the man in charge of the most popular streetwear brand in the world was now also the head of the most popular luxury brand in the world. His subsequent collections brought a new modern take to the heritage of the fashion house, bringing in cultural figures such as Kid Cudi, Dev Hynes, and Saul Willams as models. A year later, he had a collaboration with Ikea and opened his own exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Abloh’s work was not without controversy. His rejection of “original” ideas and emphasis on referencing others’ works led to many accusations of him stealing designs from younger artists who couldn’t protect themselves and shamelessly copying other famous designers. His comments on the lootings that occured at Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020 and on his measly bail fund donation were surprisingly unaware for an artist so intent on introspection and reflection. Nevertheless, the impact he made in such a short amount of time is undeniable. His designs went beyond clothing — they were identity signifiers that recontextualized art, music, and philosophy, creating a new cultural currency. He made the fashion industry much more accessible by bringing his community with him into the exclusive halls of Paris Fashion Week. Louis Vuitton honored the late designer by carrying on with the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2022 Menswear show two days after his death this past Tuesday, ending it with a recording of Abloh himself saying, “There’s no limit. … Life is so short that you can’t waste even a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do versus knowing what you can do.”

Oberlin High School soccer alumni team poses before their 2019 game. Courtesy of John Carter

John Elrod

Contributing Sports Editor

If you step on the field of a local youth, high school, or pickup soccer game in Oberlin, you will see unmatched passion and respect for the game. This would not have been the case 50 years ago, since soccer’s roots in Oberlin are fairly new compared to other sports’. Basketball, for example, has played a central role in Oberlin’s culture for a longer time, and there are unfading local traditions surrounding it. However, over the last few decades, Oberlin has embraced soccer and continues to form a rich culture around the sport through foreign influence, inclusivity, and passion for competition.

Meiraff Meshesha grew up in Oberlin in the ’70s and ’80s and says at that time, soccer was a second-tier sport compared to football, baseball, and basketball; there was little television coverage of the sport across the United States. However, it was around this time that kids in Oberlin began to explore the game.

Meshesha moved to Oberlin in 1978 when he was two years old with his parents, who immigrated from Ethiopia. He was introduced to soccer through local recreational teams which were mostly coached by parents who had little soccer knowledge but cared about giving kids a chance to exercise and be a part of a team. To advance his soccer skills, Meshesha and his group of soccer-loving friends began playing at local fields with Oberlin College players who came from all parts of the world.

“Everything was there — the different styles of play, different attitudes about play,” Meshesha said. “And we learned all these different techniques to do different things. We completely fell in love with it. We were immersed in a ‘world soccer’ culture.”

Meshesha described playing informal games at Hales Gymnasium, Philips gym, and under the streetlights of Harkness Bowl during his childhood. When he was in high school, Meshesha and his friends’ dedication to soccer led to an opportunity to play on teams that traveled to Europe during summers after showing their skills at a local camp. Meshesha believes the experience was essential to bringing a high level of soccer back to Oberlin, and the Oberlin High School team he played on benefited.

“People thought we were a little bit crazy, but they also saw that we were playing at a slightly different level, and it inspired some of the other players,” Meshesha said.

In addition to gaining experience playing at a high levels of competition, Meshesha believes access to watching the highest levels of soccer can help improve a player’s skills. He mentioned the presence of YouTube and the televising of European professional leagues as tools for young soccer players.

Liam McMillin, OC ’17 who grew up in Oberlin and played on the OHS team, echoed Meshesha’s ideas about international soccer’s influence on Oberlin through popular media. McMillin recalled playing early versions of FIFA and how he and his friends would style their play from their favorite players in the video game in the early 2000s.

After graduating high school, McMillin found ways to stay connected to the soccer scene in Oberlin. He served briefly as an assistant coach when he was a student at the College and stayed connected in other ways. One of McMillin’s favorite Oberlin soccer traditions is the alumni game, a matchup between the OHS varsity team and OHS alumni from any year. McMillin and Meshesha both spoke about this annual event.

“Something I remember from my first time playing as an alum was the way the other alumni thought about the game and changed the game,” McMillin said. “For the most part, people were there to help the [OHS] team get better.”

McMillin recalled Meshesha’s participation in alumni games and how he would always take the opportunity to turn plays into teaching moments for the OHS players. Meshesha remarked that the alumni have seen strong OHS teams at alumni games over the years since he graduated in 1994.

“We came back for alumni games where teams that we played were solid,” Meshesha said. “We saw players that played as a team — where everyone was developed enough to hold a quality of play and competitiveness.”

Members of Oberlin’s soccer community have also stayed connected through informal competitions. Meshesha, who now coaches in Los Angeles, organized pick-up soccer for many years in Oberlin.

“I could never not organize ball,” Meshesha said. “I had to play. I have been doing that since 1994. Wherever I go, I advocate for some sort of pick-up.”

McMillin, who now studies law in Cincinnati, had also been a part of this pick-up group for several years.

“Close to 30 or 40 people would come out pretty regularly,” McMillin said. “It was a mix of young players and some older folks. It was a wide range of backgrounds. Sometimes I played with people who I didn’t share any language with but could communicate with in soccer terms.”

This idea of inclusivity and diversity appears to be a central part of Oberlin’s soccer culture.

Janae Johnson, a second-year soccer player at Westminster College, had an illustrious career for the OHS girls’ varsity team and grew up playing soccer in the town on both girls’ and boys’ teams.

“Playing for Oberlin teams allowed me to build relationships with people that I could also spend time with outside of soccer,” Johnson said. “A lot of my teammates became more than just my teammates.”

She also noted the feeling of inclusivity in Oberlin’s soccer culture when she played on boys’ teams.

“Over about 10 years of playing with different boys’ teams in Oberlin, I never felt like I was treated any differently by my teammates or coaches,” Johnson said. “I also think that the inclusivity is unique because I don’t remember seeing many other girls playing with the boys’ teams we faced.”

In addition to a culture of gender inclusivity, there are shifts in racial and economic diversity within Oberlin’s soccer teams. McMillin, who said that he played on mostly white OHS teams a decade ago, feels he has seen these changes in the years since graduating.

“Soccer [at OHS] was generally a pretty white sport, and Oberlin is not all that white a town,” McMillin said. “In terms of the city itself, it’s a very diverse place. Seeing guys come out to play recently who weren’t just College professors’ kids — College professors’ kids playing soccer is such a trope in my mind — is great to see.”

Upcoming Season Looks Promising for Oberlin Track and Field

Continued from page 15 with a top-50 finish in the conference championship and a top-100 finish in regionals, and will be competing with the distance squad in track.

Among the program’s exciting new faces is Coach Rocco Mitolo, who is replacing John Hepp as the throwing coach. He brings with him a fresh mentality and excellent résumé, which includes coaching a national champion in the women’s hammer throw, three NCAA All-Americans, and 18 University Athletic Association champions in his six-year tenure. Coach Appenheimer is optimistic about this new addition to the coaching staff, knowing Mitolo not only brings a winning attitude, but a persistent attitude.

“Rocco has been amazing,” he wrote. “I was lucky to see Rocco coach and mentor a national champion when he was at Case Western. This was an athlete who was coming back from a serious injury. The skill, patience, and determination Rocco demonstrated at Case Western was a perfect match for our program and he is doing a fantastic job with our throwers.”

With a new member of the coaching staff and huge influences from the first-years, Oberlin track and field looks excitedly toward its first meet of the season set to take place this Saturday.

Yeowomen Ready to Set More Records

Continued from page 16

was not bad thanks to my teammates,” she wrote. “I will never forget the first time we all played a pick-up game. I remember calling my dad and telling him how excited I was because we were already gelling and we hadn’t even started practice yet.”

Even before the season started, the team was practicing four to five times a week. Second-year and starter on the team Gina Lombard also felt prepared for the season because of the intensity and seriousness of practices. Despite having only played six collegiate games, she was NCAC Player of the Week and was one of five players from across the nation to earn D3Hoops Team of the Week laurels.

“This season we’ve pushed each other every day, and we’re playing at a college level in practice every day,” Lombard said. “The pace is definitely faster in college games, but I was definitely prepared.”

Fourth-year Sammy Spanier added that the team’s on-court connection was translated off the court, even when the team was separated because of the College’s trimester plan.

“Our team has had Zoom meetings consistently to help us connect over the pandemic because not everyone was on campus at the same time last year,” Spanier wrote in an email to the Review. “Our preparation not only focused on connection, but it focused on on-court improvement as well. I think we looked at the pandemic not as time off, but as a unique opportunity to take advantage of and give ourselves an upper hand against our opponents.”

Looking to the rest of the season, the team is focused on becoming even better.

“Our main goal moving forward is to continue to get better every day in order to be the best team we can be by the end of the season,” Spanier wrote. “There are always things we can improve on and we’re making sure that we are focusing on those things within our practices each and every day. We are committed to the process and focused on our growth as a group.”

Woodard asserted that the team wants each game to be an improvement.

“We want to make sure that we don’t settle and push ourselves to keep getting better,” she wrote. “We want each game and practice to be better than the previous one.”

Dunmyer acknowledged that the road to success will not be easy, but the team’s ultimate goal is to compete for a North Coast Athletic Conference championship.

“We want to continue to push our team culture forward, focus on getting better and on being great teammates every day, and continue to do our best to control what we can control,” Dunmyer wrote. “Basketball season is a long one, and we know there will be bumps along the way. How we respond to adversity and how resilient we are will be determining factors in whether or not we are playing our best basketball at the right time of the year (tournament time). Ultimately, we want to continue to grow as a team and put ourselves in a position to compete for an NCAC championship.”