The Spectrum Volume 61 Issue 40

Vol. 61 NO. 40

Music Issue, Wednesday, December 7, 2011

ubspectrum.com

Vol. 61 NO. 40

Music Issue, Wednesday, December 7, 2011

ubspectrum.com

JAMES TWIGG Senior Managing Editor

Punk Rock and Parking Lots

The lights dim and the band takes the stage. The first notes ring out over the crowd as it erupts in cheers. In the back of their minds they know that after this show they may not have enough money to make it to the next city and that, more than likely, they’ll be sleeping in their van in a to-be-determined parking lot. But as long as they’re on that stage, as long as they’re playing their music, none of that matters.

Pentimento is a punk rock band that formed in Buffalo, NY in the summer of 2010. In the short time that they’ve had to play together the guys of Pentimento have come a long way, amassing a sizable following in their native city.

Recently, though, the band managed to sign a deal with Panic Records and grab some national attention. Now, they’re working on a split EP with fellow rockers Young English, planning a tour in Europe and only looking forward.

The band is comprised of Mike Hansen (drums), senior communication major Vincent Caito (bass), Lance Claypool

(guitar), and Jeramiah Pauly (vocals/guitar). The four have known each other for years as part of the same local music since they were all 13.

think we came together because of the collaborative effort to make something of being in a punk rock band, rather than just playing s***** bars in Buffalo.”

Being a part of the band certainly has its ups and downs, but none of them would rather be doing anything else.

After coming together, the four members sat down and talked out the future of their new project. As a collective they had to decide what this was going to mean for them. They came to the conclusion that it was time for them to fully immerse themselves in a project. They were going to devote their full-time efforts to making the band into what they wanted.

Coming Together Playing in bands for so long had taken its toll on Hansen and Caito. Feeling run down and frustrated, they needed something to get them going again. Something they could take stock in. Something they could get excited about. As it turned out, this mindset was just the impetus to get Pentimento kick started.

Before Pentimento could make a run at becoming a full-time touring band, Buffalo based Pentimento recently signed to Panic Records and is soon going to be “When this project came though, there was still the touring Europe. around it was at a very intematter of what to call themCourtesy of Pentimento gral point in both of [Vinny selves. According to Caito, Hansen said.

“A lot of dead ends, being and I’s] careers as musicians, I guess coming up with a name that four people in bands with guys with poor attitudes, because we’d been through so many could agree on was no simple task. They or lack of work ethic and it always kind projects that we just got burnt out.” started by “coming up with every dumb of stifled what we were trying to do. I

thing imaginable.”

Then, one day, while sitting in a mass communication class at UB, Caito noticed the word “Pentimento” on his syllabus. According to him, the definition is when an artist paints over a picture and the initial drawing bleeds through the canvas. After telling the other members, they realized they had found their name. Even if some people do think it’s pronounced “pen-timentoloaf,” or something equally strange, according to Caito.

“I think when we all learned the definition of the word it was easy for us to take something away from it. Whether it’s personally, or pertaining to the band, or the mood we try to create, or lyrically, whatever it might be,” Hansen said. “Besides, Limp Bizkit was already taken.”

Getting Signed Once the band had a name and a sound, things started taking off. They began writing songs and playing shows at venues like the dive-bar/venue Mohawk Place. News of the up-and-coming punk rock outfit began to spread through the Continued on page 2

Don’t Sleep on Sleep Atlantic JAMESON BUTLER Senior Arts Editor

Thirty kids drift into Mohawk Place on a brisk November night. Handguns, a prominent up and coming pop punk band, concludes its small east coast tour with Forever Came Calling supporting their split EP. The crowd was unresponsive and mild mannered during their sets.

Instead of the crowd emptying out after Handguns, the audience started inching closer to the stage. While Handguns headlined the tour, the show in Buffalo saw native Sleep Atlantic finish the night off.

Sleep Atlantic looks to take over not just the local pop punk scene but the national scene as well.

“I think they put us on headlining because we probably bring more people in and they wanted them there for Handguns,” said guitarist Mike LoGrasso. “But it was definitely exciting knowing that they wanted us to play after them, to support them.”

Courtesy of Sleep Atlantic

Keeping the Balance ELVA AGUILAR Staff Writer College is hard enough on it’s own.

Students are cramming for finals, arguing with their roommates, dealing with professors, saving up for next semester’s impending book purchases, and grappling with other interpersonal relationships; and somewhere in there students are forced to develop a social life.

But as much fun as this wild four-year ride is, it’s definitely a trip, and most students have trouble just handling college on its own. Rapper G-Eazy managed to go on a tour that lasted most of this fall semester while still being enrolled in college and is graduating with this year’s class of 2012.

G-Eazy, who is originally from Berkley, Calif., studies at Loyola University in Louisiana. With help from the staff of Loyola’s College of Music and Fine Arts, G-Eazy was able to network and build the relationships that led him to tour with Shwayze and Mod Sun throughout past November.

However, G-Eazy’s journey as a musician has been anything but stress-free. The senior music industries studies major began toying around with the idea of becoming a performer at age 16 with nothing but a Macbook and his creativity.

Weather for the Week:

“I knew I had to go to college, but I knew I wanted to pursue music,” G-Eazy said.

“That’s why I chose Loyola. I’ve been lucky enough to meet people, and I knew I had until college was over to get it all done.”

The California rapper’s influences, including the Beatles and A Tribe Called Quest, are what helped shape the rapper’s music style as well as his fashion sense.

“I’d be at home, [and] my mom had the Beatles on. What was on the radio was [A Tribe Called Quest]. Two separate worlds became a part of me and I wanted to show both eras I was exposed to,” G-Eazy said.

Having sampled the Beatles’ “Octopus Garden” on one track and utilizing the infectious drum cadences made popular

by A Tribe Called Quest on others, G-Eazy proves that he has no problem building a bridge between two different styles through his music.

With the influx of hip-hop becoming more and more boisterous and arrogant, GEazy’s fan base loves him for his humility and easily relatable lyrics.

“Whatever you do, please don’t stop making music,” said a fan.

Every member of Sleep Atlantic was exactly where they wanted to be; on stage performing the music they made with their best friends for a handful of people. The band’s joy and passion radiated throughout the venue as the crowd took notice of the band’s simple pleasure of performing and increased their intensity.

Sleep Atlantic’s charisma is almost as infectious as the music they produce.

Their Four Year Strong-esque styling has the listener showing off their dance moves while throwing some elbows during the breakdowns.

The band is not only clearly influenced

by Four Year Strong, but also other

current pop punk heavy weights The Wonder Years and A Day to Remember. Combining aspects from each of these bands, Sleep Atlantic produces music that is as brutal as it is playful.

The band’s lyrics talk about the simple things in life: good times and good company. Friendship is what this quintet is all about, and that comes through loud and clear in its music.

In the song “Thunderfist Down Under Fist,” the line “If we spend all our cash in bars/Then I guess we will just f****** starve” perfectly describes the band’s mantra.

“We really believe in giving our music away because we would rather have people listening to it,” LoGrasso said.

“We don’t make money off shows, I probably lose 40 bucks a show. Tickets aren’t free, so when I buy someone a ticket it’s because I want them there. We just want people there and Continued on page 4

Teach Me How To Tango

fan. “I swear if I have to listen to another Wiz Khalifa… rapin’ [sic]… about just liquor, weed and Taylor gang I’m gonna lose it.”

Those are just two of a slew of comments on G-Eazy’s website, and even more feedback is displayed on his Twitter page, both positive and negative.

Despite still being an independent artist, G-Eazy has his sights set on absolute success.

“It’s all about the grind, man. It takes so much time to create [music], and I’m lucky enough to be able to while still getting a good education,” G-Eazy said. “Mainstream is the motivation, but I enjoy having control over everything right now.”

With his graduation impending, G-Eazy has his mind set on moving to New York City to continue to build his music career.

When asked what he’d say to someone with similar goals, the Bay area native responded with: “Do it. If you think you want it, do it. Put yourself in a situation where it can happen. Dedicate at least three hours a day.

Or more. Think of it like: whenever you’re not working, someone else out there is.

Just get it done and make sure it’s ill.”

The UB Tango Club is gradually bringing rhythm to UB and recruiting members to increase the Tango community in Buffalo.

Courtesy of Mia Jorgensen

MARCENE ROBINSON Staff Writer A couple takes the dance floor, solely focused on each other. As they inch closer, with each slow rhythmic step, the tension builds until they finally connect in a moment of passion. The tango has begun.

The art of the tango danced its way to UB one year ago in the form of the Argentine Tango Club. Under the Graduate Student Association (GSA), students, alumni, and members of the Buffalo community are making significant strides toward increasing the tango following in Buffalo.

Every Monday, the Latin sound of sharp and sexy violins echoes through Harriman Hall or in the SU Flag

Room as members of the club work with experienced instructors to learn how to tango. There is no experience necessary to join the club and all students are encouraged to join if they have a passion for dancing.

The tango is a 150-year-old sensual dance traditionally danced by a man and a woman. From the stands, the tango looks like a complicated dance with sharp hip movements, quick kicks, and an intimate connection between partners, but it simply breaks down to walking to the beat of the music.

Nevertheless, the tango is a difficult art to master. Beginners must learn to trust and read their partner’s movements: thus the dance consists of non-verbal communication and can

Opinion * 3 ddd IClassifieds * 12 N/ DailySDelightsI * 11DSportsE

“Finally another rapper that talks some sense that I can relate to,” said another

Wednesday: AM Snow Showers- H: 33, L: 28 Thursday: PM Snow Showers- H: 33, L: 28 Friday: Snow Showers- H: 34, L: 21

As the local act strummed the first chord of their set, the crowd became electrified. But almost as quickly as the crowd’s disposition changed, it was apparent what caused the mood swing.

Email: arts@spectrum.com

Continued on page 4

Page 2

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Continued from Page 1: Punk Rock and Parking Lots music scene and the band steadily became a common venuehold name.

Then the band dropped its first EP, Wrecked. The concert crowds ate it up, but they weren’t the only ones.

“We wrapped up production on the EP in March and our initial idea was to put together a press kit [and] try to do it the right way,” Hansen said. “We had a bio written out [and] we had promo pictures taken to send along with the EP itself. We pressed it through a company called Kunaki based out of Brooklyn, so it looked professional: shrink wrap, bar code, the whole nine. We wanted to send that out so that we could let labels know that we were serious.”

The guys didn’t hold anything back. They invested a great deal of time and money at Buffalo’s GCR Audio to record the EP properly. They were gearing up for a massive media blitz to try and sign to any label that would take them. But they were forced to cut the process short because, as it turned out, they didn’t need it.

Pentimento received an email from Panic Records expressing interest in signing the band. Through a series of emails, the band expressed how serious they were about being a band, about touring, and about putting out a full-length release, according to Hansen. The label was impressed and the band was signed.

“Even as small of a label as it is we know the steps it takes to grow this band and to become what we want to become,” Caito said. “We knew that this was just the beginning of the puzzle.”

Immediately after signing, Panic Records wanted to re-release Wrecked on their label in vinyl, digital, and CD formats. Pentimento was ecstatic. The members knew that it was just what they needed to spread the word and give the band a big push right when it needed it, according to Hansen.

None of it would’ve been possible without Timm McCintosh of Panic Records. McCintosh – and the label in general – circulated news about the band’s signing to numerous websites and magazines. It got the band’s name on the lips of music fans all over the nation, according to Hansen.

“It’s excellent to see a guy like that working within the music industry because of the horror stories you do end up hearing from small area kind of label bands to the big leagues and stuff,” Hansen said. “There’s constant fall-out and war all of the time over money and sales and distribution, so it’s good to call Panic Records home.”

Life on the Road At its core, Pentimento is a band that cares about one thing: performing.

“We want to be on the road,” Caito said. “We want to be able to meet new fans and hang out at different places and really get to spread our music in the basements and attics and dive bars around the country. As lame as it is, we want to live out of the van. Walmart parking lots don’t suck that bad.”

It’s not as simple as just packing up and going, though. From gas to equipment, the cost of touring adds up quick, according to Hansen. If they’re able to walk out of a show with $100 in their pockets it’s “golden,” for the sole reason that they have gas money to make it to the next show.

But financial problems build up for them at home too. Hansen admits that it does get scary knowing that while he’s on the road for months at a time at his bills, as well as everyone else’s, are piling up.

Everybody in Pentimento has to worry about rent, credit cards, cars, insurance, and whether or not they’re coming home to an apartment with electricity. They’ve even had to sell the furniture in their homes at times to afford touring. But as long as they’re doing what they love, they don’t mind.

“Everybody has come full circle with the whole idea of being broke in a band because the passion outweighs the financial struggle,” Hansen said. “So you make do with what you have and you continue to push because it is the dream. And even if the dream only ends up being that I got to see what the west coast looks like, or I got to see what Europe looks like and the only thing that put me in those places was playing punk rock, I’m happy with the struggle.”

their unofficial home away from home. They always stay positive, though. When they leave a show, the van doesn’t fill with griping and complaining about how they’ll make it to the next city.

Rather, it fills with excitement, talk of how crazy the crowd was, and how much they loved playing.

This optimistic attitude pays off. Based entirely on the merit of the band, families have taken them in for the night and provided a roof over their heads.

“We’ve met people who treat us like family,” Caito said. “Like an entire family that has taken us in.

Mom, dad, a young son who’s like 16 [or] 17, two twin daughters at 12 years old and an 8-year-old and we know all of them personally. We stay at their house. It’s incredible to have that relationship.”

Without those kinds of relationships, it’s unlikely that Pentimento would be where they are now. The people they meet and the connections they make is what keeps them going and helps them realize that “the good really does outweigh the bad,” according to Hansen.

“You’re putting your heart and soul into something that you’ve worked for, so the blood, sweat, tears and bulls***, it just totally pays off when you get in front of kids that are interested in seeing your band,” Hansen said. “We go to other places where kids are singing the words to a song I wrote in my bedroom and it’s so fulfilling that it doesn’t really matter that I don’t have any money in my wallet or my bank account sucks. It’s OK.” Looking to the Future Pentimento is looking to keep themselves busy over the next year or so. Currently, they’re recording a split EP with Young English that’s due out in early 2012 and they’re extremely excited to be releasing some new music.

“Not to say we’re sick of the songs on Wrecked, but it’s really exciting to be putting out new music, especially on a split release because we love the guys in Young English,” Hansen said. “They’re a great band. [We’re] so excited to be part of the Panic family with those dudes and we’ve never done anything like this before.”

The new songs that will be on the split are a culmination of everything, according to Caito. The music is drawing from everything they’ve learned since they were younger to the people they’ve met. It all plays a role in the music they write.

As far as the sound goes, they’re careful not to lose what makes Pentimento who they are. They realize that fans like they’re music for a reason and they don’t want to stray from it too much, but at the same time they think it’s important to keep an open mind and be willing to try new things.

The whole process of working on the split has put things into perspective, especially for Caito.

“I thought about that this morning in the shower,” Caito said. “[It’s] my time to collect my thoughts in the morning and I [thought about how] the first split I bought was Anti-Flag and The Bouncing Souls when I was like 14, and the fact that I’m going to be part of something like that.”

“I always think super deep stuff when I’m naked,” Hansen added.

“Well you have to. You’re the most vulnerable,” Caito said.

At the end of summer Pentimento is heading out on a full U.S. tour that will last until the end of February. Immediately after that they’ll be touring Europe for two weeks, and they couldn’t be more excited. They’re looking forward to adding the news songs to the setlist when they hit the road again and finding out what their fans think, according to Hansen.

“I spent the entire last year, from the time we came into the studio to pretty much this point, feeling like I’m 14 again,” Caito said. “I feel like there’s not a care in the world. I’m still finishing school, still working but I just want to be on the road. I just want to make music with my friends.”

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

This equates to a lot of nights spent sleeping in their van and, as such, parking lots have become

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Opinion

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011 EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF Matthew Parrino SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR James Twigg MANAGING EDITOR Edward Benoit EDITORIAL EDITOR James Bowe NEWS EDITORS Luke Hammill, senior Rebecca Bratek Sara DiNatale, asst.

Lisa Khoury, asst.

ARTS EDITORS Jameson Butler, senior Vanessa Frith Nicolas Pino LIFE EDITORS Akari Iburi, senior Steven Wrobel Veronica Ritter Keren Baruch, asst.

SPORTS EDITORS Aaron Mansfield, senior Brian Josephs Scott Resnick, asst.

Andreius Coleman, asst.

PHOTO EDITORS Meg Kinsley, senior Alexa Strudler Satsuki Aoi Troi Williams, asst.

Nyeri Moulterie, asst.

CARTOONIST Patrick Boyle WEB EDITOR Matthew Parrino James Twigg

PROFESSIONAL STAFF OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Helene Polley ADVERTISING MANAGER Andrew Angeles CREATIVE DESIGNERS Nicole Manzo Aline Kobayashi ADVERTISING DESIGNER Aline Kobayashi The views expressed – both written and graphic – in the Feedback, Opinion, and Perspectives sections of The Spectrum do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board. Submit contributions for these pages to The Spectrum office at Suite 132 Student Union or news@ubspectrum.com. The Spectrum reserves the right to edit these pieces for style and length. If a letter is not meant for publication please mark it as such. All submissions must include the author’s name, daytime phone number, and email address.

The Spectrum is provided free in part by the Undergraduate Mandatory Activity Fee. December 7, 2011 VOLUME 61 NUMBER 40 CIRCULATION: 7,000 The Spectrum is represented for national advertising by both Alloy Media and Marketing, and MediaMate.

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The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union, UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 14260-2100 Telephone: (716) 645-2468 Fax: (716) 645-2766 Copyright 2011 Buffalo, N.Y. The Spectrum is printed by The Buffalo News 1 News Plaza Buffalo, N.Y. 14240 email any submissions to info@ubspectrum.com

Turn Up the Tunes to Turn Up the Orgasm KEREN BARUCH Asst. Life Editor The discussion that comes moments before, or even during sex, usually consists of random pauses, which are filled with awkward silences – especially if it’s the first time you and your partner are locking lips.

Music helps to ease tension and set a comfortable atmosphere. When you realize you have nothing left to talk about with your partner, there is something in the air other than the sound of self-conscious breathing and nervous hearts pounding.

“I think [music’s] great to cover up the noise from roommates or parents,” said Dave Eisenberg, a senior marketing major. “It also helps set the mood.”

If you’re sane, you probably don’t want your entire household to know

Page 3

Night of the Living Hair Why the hell is Trump still around?

Just when you thought it was over.

Coverage of his incessant and idiotic gaffes and extreme political flipflopping seemed to have killed his Frankenstein monstrosity of involvement in the political landscape.

On Dec. 27, just days before the early Iowa caucuses, the conservative online publication Newsmax is sponsoring a debate between Republican presidential frontrunners.

Normally, this debate would end up like any other. Mitt Romney would play it safe and the rest would try to attack him by one-upping each other with greater and greater feats of conservatism.

Like a zombie rising from the grave, Donald Trump’s hopes to become a political player have received an unholy resurrection. He will be the moderator for the Newsmax debate, herein referred to as the “Trump Debate.”

Trump has been sitting in the undercurrents of the Republican primary fight since he quit the race back in May. Five of the candidates have met with Trump at least once, and Michelle Bachmann has had four pow-wows with the coiffed disease.

Newt Gingrich has been the newest “flavor of the week” to meet with Trump.

Gingrich recently had to pull his foot out of his mouth for saying that the poor only work hard to make money illegally, so he chose the perfectly sane route of meeting with an idiot who would publicly agree with that statement and rekindle the uproar over it.

Not all candidates are infatuated with the real estate “mogul,” and two in particular are refusing to participate. Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman both came out against the Trump Debate, with Paul’s camp saying it was beneath the office of the presidency, and that it was bound to become a circus.

Paul couldn’t be more right. If the very fact that the potential next president of the U.S. felt as if they had to meet with a reality television star isn’t horrifying enough, the fact that they actually want his endorsement is bordering on pure insanity.

Trump’s failed attempt at the presidency shows what little respect he has for the office.

It’s not about his job – Ronald

Reagan was an actor and George H. W. Bush was an oil entrepreneur – it’s about the fact that he obviously used a serious primary to determine a candidate for the most powerful position in the world like it was a big spectacle to push his own brand.

If the next Republican candidate actually respects the opinion of this guy, then we are in a worse position than anyone previously could have imagined.

In fact, if they had any respect for themselves or the office they wish to hold, every candidate would refuse to partake in the debate. America deserves a professional, unbiased, and lunatic free peek into what their candidates think, not an argument moderated by a national punch line.

Maybe in reality, Trump’s participation in the Republican primary is a complex performance art piece. This whole time he’s actually been working behind the scenes to expose the world to the lunacy of taking reality television and the celebrity culture seriously, and as part of that he’s also exposed how ridiculous the Republican Party has become.

Sometimes, however, we can only dream.

One for the Road

Drunk driving should have harsher penalties Nearly 11,000 people died in 2009 due to drunk drivers, according to the CDC. To some, that is a sobering statistic that shows the dangers of operating a vehicle while impaired.

That amounts to 30 people every day being killed by alcohol-impaired driving.

Numbers don’t stop people, though.

That same year, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested, and that barely scratches the surface of selfreported claims of DWI, which were around 147 million incidents.

With how pervasive this problem is within the United States, it’s no surprise that those from all walks of life get charged with DWI. From the high and mighty to lowly pauper, impaired driving spans cultural and economic borders like few other crimes.

Such is the case for Randy Babbitt, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. At 10:30 on Dec. 3, Babbitt was spotted by a police officer in a Washington D.C. suburb driving on the wrong side of the road.

The 65-year-old former pilot was arrested and taken to the Fairfax City,

VA jail. He was released on his own recognizance to live out what probably ended up being the crappiest Sunday ever for the FAA official.

Babbitt held off on telling his superiors about the incident until Monday, when the Obama administration learned of the arrest.

Because Babbitt was alone while driving the car, and it’s his first offense, he will most likely not be charged with a felony, nor will he face any penalty too severe that it can’t be covered up with a decent lawyer and a bunch of cash.

Therein lies the problem. DWI is treated like a joke in this nation.

People laugh about making it home drunk the night before, and the laws practically reflect that. Even here in New York, your first offense is a felony only in particular situations, like when you have a child with you in the vehicle.

So threatening the life of your own child is a felony, but all the other kids on the road can go to hell. They should have known there would be a drunken jerk on the road that couldn’t be bothered to take a cab home and spend $10. After all, that would be another drink at the bar.

First offenders should be treated more harshly, and DWI should be upgraded to the level of felony.

Almost everyone in the U.S. knows that drinking and driving could kill, and by doing that you’re knowingly committing a crime that could negligently kill someone.

Everyone needs to realize that each time they get behind the wheel while drunk they are essentially committing an attempted homicide.

Of course, at this point, no law can force Babbitt out of office, but elected officials who are the face of this nation must be held to a higher standard. A DWI not only shows a huge lack of judgment, but a disregard for laws that they are supposed to be making and upholding.

Therefore, committing a DWI should also exclude a person from becoming a lawmaker in this nation.

How could they be expected to make a reasonable law about drunk driving when they themselves show that level of disregard for human life?

Sure, it’s extreme, but nearly killing someone because you wanted to go out and get drunk on Saturday night is even more extreme.

Everything was Bonnaroo and Nothing Hurt REBECCA BRATEK News Editor

“It’s like Disney World with drugs.”

A very wise woman from Minnesota shared that sentiment with me upon parting this June.

Bonnaroo is not just a music festival – it’s an experience.

This past summer, I made my first pilgrimage to the 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn. (much to my parents’ dismay). But, at 20 years old, I knew it was time.

I signed up for a credit card, rented a car, packed camping supplies, and hit the road with my two best friends for a 12-hour drive to the time of our lives.

It’s hard to say what I expected Bonnaroo to be. Visions of Woodstock danced in my head – four days of music, bare essentials camping, and a seemingly safe-haven where real-life rules don’t apply. What could be better?

We pulled into the campgrounds around midnight – hours of driving and hours of waiting in line had us past exhaustion. We unpacked our car, set up our tent, and explored in the pitch-black darkness that you can only find in the rural South.

The next morning was when the real beauty unfolded in front of us. Hundreds of thousands of tents, hundreds of thousands of people from different walks of life united for one reason: music.

I can’t tell you what the first show was that we saw, and I can’t tell you every single act I was privileged enough to see. But, I do know that being surrounded by music for four days was a completely euphoric experience.

Not only did I witness what I consider to be some of the greatest musical acts of my generation – Arcade Fire, Mumford and Sons, The Black Keys, Florence + the Machine, Cold War Kids, Ray LaMontagne, and The Strokes, just to name a few – but I was able to do so with thousands of other people who were there for the same reason as me.

I can tell you exactly how it felt to be front row for The Strokes – yes, Julian Casablancas is just as stunning as you could imagine – and I can tell you how it felt to witness what I consider to be the greatest concert I’ve seen in my whole life – Arcade Fire (in case you were wondering) and the performance of their album, The Suburbs, was simply phenomenal.

Who could forget the moment when the whole festival showed up to watch The Black Keys and I wondered how so many people could be in one place? Or when Mumford and Sons played “White Blank Page” and it seemed as if Marcus Mumford’s voice was haunting the entire venue.

But, it was the sense of community I felt on that farm in Manchester that I consider the best reason to go to Bonnaroo or any type of music festival. My parents were extremely worried that they were sending their sweet, naive, 20-year-old daughter into a druginfested colony where people would steal my money and my innocence.

My campsite neighbors came from Minnesota. They shared not only their camping essentials, but would watch our things if we went to the festival grounds and saved us spots at our must-see shows. We left Tennessee promising to keep in touch, and they even gave us a toy duck that still proudly sits on my car’s dashboard.

what’s going on behind your closed doors – especially because whoever constructed the thin walls in the dorms and many off-campus houses didn’t put sexual moans into consideration.

If others are trying to sleep or study while you’re in the middle of plugging your iPod cord into her speaker, bump up the tunes so no one hears the emitting sounds.

Boys, I know that more often than not you tend to mess up situations that have potential to be good. Here are some words of advice before attempting to play music while you’re thrusting away.

If you want music playing during sex, turn it on before the girl arrives or before you make any moves.

If you start kissing and fooling around, and then pause to turn on your iTunes, not only is it cheesy and awkward, technical difficulties can occur. You’ll be left frustrated with your computer and she’ll be left thinking about the funniest possible

way to tell her friends this story the next day.

Make a sex playlist so that your “little sister’s” Britney Spears’ song doesn’t ruin the mood. Not only is it embarrassing to you (because there’s no way she believes it’s your little sister’s music), but also it’s embarrassing for the girl that has her legs spread open.

Choosing the songs for your playlist among all of the different genres can be challenging.

House music is amazing to listen to while doing the dirty, considering the speed build up and drops in the beat, according to Jesse Matarese, a senior psychology major.

Also, the song Crash by Dave Mathews made it onto the “Top 10 Best Songs to Play While Having Sex,” an article written by David Kaminsky. It also appeared in Cosmopolitan’s list of best songs to listen to while getting it in.

Music during sex is highly recom-

mended according to an article by Maura Kelly “Is Music Good or Bad During Sex?” Music can make a girl more rowdy, energetic, and sexy, according to Kelly. The sexier a person feels the sexier she can make her lover feel, and the sexier the act as a whole becomes.

Music during sex may not be for everyone. Sometimes it isn’t needed as a distraction or filler. To some, the sound of a girl having an orgasm is more than enough to keep the sex sizzling like bacon on a frying pan.

Some girls simply find it weird and confusing.

Give it a try and see what happens.

Your greatest fantasies could come true or you could lose the girl you brought home. Either way, it’s worth giving music a shot.

Just be safe, be smart, and be sexual, and hopefully everything else will fall into place.

Email: keren.baruch@ubspectrum.com

Our neighbors on the other side came from Kentucky. One night, they spilled something, but lacked paper towels to clean it up with. We shared our supplies and were welcomed with free Miller High Life and hugs.

Southern hospitality was alive and bountiful on that 700-acre farm.

I’m not lying when I say Bonnaroo was an experience of a lifetime, and I would pressure anyone who has the funds and time to go to a music festival: go. Not only do you get the chance to experience the greatest live music that you possibly can, you also come back with many great memories.

Bonnaroo, until death do us part. I can’t wait until my sweaty, dust-filled summer days return.

Email: rebecca.bratek@ubspectrum.com

Correction: In Monday’s editorial entitled “The Bible as a Shield,” we published that Steven Jackson refused to sign the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship’s leadership agreement. That is not accurate. He did sign the agreement upon being elected treasurer.

ubspectrum.com

Page 4

Continued from Page 1: Don’t Sleep on Sleep Atlantic

Continued from Page 1: Teach Me How to Tango become intimate.

Once a month, Argentine Tango Club holds an event called the Milonga. The event gives members the opportunity to gather for a night of dancing, eating, and showing off what they’ve learned.

“Anybody can go to a club where they can ‘dance’ when they get there, but how cool is it to actually have a dance with style,” said Jamie Lane, a new member of Argentine Tango Club.

Lane joined the tango community when his roommate, a graduate student at UB, asked him to go. Lane already enjoyed swing, but wanted to pick up Latin dancing.

There are a variety of tango dances and UB’s tango club specifically teaches the Tango Milonga. It can be danced in either a fast or slow tempo, and has a special rhythmic pattern to it. The patterns form because octosyllabic quartets are used and structured in a musical period of eight measures in 2/4, according to Gabriela Mauriño, a dance and music scholar and author of Tango and Milonga: A Close

Club and 1997 alumna of UB, originally learned how to tango in Montréal. “[Tango] classes are a great way to make friends,” Hawrylczak said. “The people who tend to do ballroom dancing and specifically tango dancing tend to be very nice, stable, [and] intelligent people who are looking for a structured outlet.”

She has practiced ballroom, country, and swing dance, as well, but always finds herself going back to the tango because of the music that comes with the dance, according to Hawrylczak.

The club also sponsors a Tango Boot Camp each year, where students spend a full weekend learning about the form, dance, history, and music of Argentine Tango, according to barefoottango.com. The first day is dedicated to tango beginners and the second day to the experts.

Relationship.

Miles Tangos, instructor of Tango Boot Camp, has taught in London, Amsterdam, Malta, Zurich, and Buenos Aires, and is making his way to 102 Harrison Hall on Saturday, March 10 to teach the tango to the Buffalo community.

Christine Hawrylczak, an instructor for Argentine Tango

Rozia Patham, a provisional graduate student in pharmacol-

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

ogy and toxicology, attended last year’s boot camp.

we want people to listen to our music.”

“When you dance at a Milonga, it’s like you’re flying,” Patham said. “I can’t explain it. It’s a very blissful experience.”

Alongside LoGrasso in Sleep Atlantic is main singer Sean Hayes, bassist Brad Gottorff, drummer Joe Bartolucci, and fellow guitarist Matt Slomowicz.

Mia Jorgensen, president of Argentine Tango Club and a graduate student in anthropology, originally wanted to learn how to salsa. She was persuaded by friends to try the tango first and fell in love with the practice.

“I come because it’s a really relaxing dance and, as a student, you really need some sort of outlet so you can get away from your work,” Jorgensen said.

“This dance allows you to do that because it’s really about focusing on your partner. It allows you to clear your head.”

Whether people join to relieve their stresses or to make new friends, the tango community at UB is still growing and learning the steps.

“You can only leave [the tango community] for so long before you’re like, ‘I have to dance again,’” Hawrylczak said.

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

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Sleep Atlantic has started to make quite the splash in the local pop punk scene. Their catchy riffs and sing-along lyrics stay lodged in their listeners’ head long after the headphones have been taken off.

The Sleep Atlantic faithful is always a fun crowd to watch, dancing and screaming along with Hayes as if the band was a national act making an unexpected stop in Buffalo.

“We were in another band, it was like Trapt, that kind of music,” LoGrasso said. “We all loved pop punk, but we just didn’t play it so we were like f*** it, lets just do what we love.”

Sleep Atlantic formed in summer 2010 from the ashes of the former band. Bartolucci knew Hayes from UB, and when Hayes saw that they were looking for a singer, Sleep Atlantic was conceived.

Since then, the band has recorded new material every couple of months, occasionally at Watchman Studios in Lockport with Doug White, who has recorded bands like Every Time I Die and Gym Class Heroes.

Their material is free for download on reverbnation, but the band puts in the legwork to get their material out to a wider

audience.

friends.”

“We have been to the past two Warped Tours, we haven’t actually gone into the concert but we will walk around the parking lot handing out CDs and everything,” Bartolucci said. “We do it at local shows around here too, but definitely the biggest response we got was from Warped Tour. Not that they come from all over the place for Warped Tour, but they come from places like Rochester and nearby areas like that.”

While the band has only been around for just over a year, their sound is sure to grab the attention of labels. The band has an idea of what they want to do; they just want to make sure that all the loose ends are taken care of beforehand.

This D.I.Y. work ethic has earned them a spot playing alongside bands like The Swellers, Fake Problems, and Rust Belt Lights.

Next month Sleep Atlantic will be playing the biggest show of their short career: Chris Conley, front man of pop punk gods Saves the Day, will be playing a show at Club Infinity.

Club Infinity is one of the largest venues in Buffalo, and with Conley headlining, there is a good chance of the show selling out, giving the band some much overdue exposure.

Recently, the band shot a video for their song “None of My Friends Listen to Marvin Gaye.”

Sleep Atlantic wanted to use this an opportunity to show its essence, so naturally the video captures them throwing a house party and playing a small house show for their closest friends.

“That’s probably the most fun we have had with this band,” LoGrasso said. “Basically, trying to describe our band as having fun and getting drunk with your

“We have a plan in general, but we have a lot of getting ready to do because you don’t get a second chance when you are presenting yourself to a label,” LoGrasso said.

The band cares more about supplying their fans with good tunes and good times at their show than anything else. This dedication to their fans will undoubtedly pay off for Sleep Atlantic in the future.

In a scene where bands are excommunicated and labeled “sellouts” at a lightning pace, Sleep Atlantic has the attitude that will keep them in good standing with their fans.

“It makes all of our practices and struggling to sell tickets worth it, being there and seeing everyone have a good time makes us have a good time,” Bartolucci said.

Sleep Atlantic is quietly making a name for themselves around the local music scene. It is just a matter of time till the national scene takes notice. Seize the opportunity to see Sleep Atlantic headline a local show before they start headlining national tours.

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

Continued from Page 12: The Buffalo Bulls Shuffli’n Crew “I get questioned about how I started and why,” Mack said. “[They say] ‘You’re a football player, a big guy. Why are you singing and playing the guitar?’ I grew up [around music] and wanted to be different. So I picked up the guitar.”

The four have different musical preferences. Sales prefers the lyricism of Lupe Fiasco, while Zordich relates to the traditional rock of Bruce Springsteen.

Petit likes the neo-soul of Erykah Badu and the experimentalism of hip-hop duo OutKast. Mack enjoys listening to Mac Miller.

The musicians find ways to blend their different tastes when they perform together in jam sessions, strengthening their bond in the process. Zordich recalled playing a Pearl Jam riff under a Sales freestyle during a campfire gathering with members of the football team.

Zordich looked back on the experience and its influence on his teammates fondly.

“All the boys were together,” Zordich said. “They loved it and thought it was cool. I know [junior linebacker] Scott Pettigrew is learning to play the banjo now…and he’s all excited.”

The 2011 Buffalo football team had 102 players on its roster. It wouldn’t be farfetched to say many other talents are being developed by these college athletes.

“Everybody has a bunch of talents,” Zordich said.

“We’re not just football players, you know.”

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The Best Way to Consume Your Tunes Regaining the Crown

Digital Killed the Long Live Rock Scratchy Vinyl Star AKARI IBURI

JAMESON BUTLER

Senior Life Editor

Senior Arts Editor

The music industry has stumbled upon one of the best anti-piracy ideas of all time. They are going to revert back to the way things used to be: vinyl.

This is not just good news for the industry fat cats that will see their wallets return to their nice plump size, but also music fans can rejoice. Finally music is being produced in the format that is most suiting.

I am what most people would consider a music snob. When someone says a band name wrong or butchers the lyrics to a song, I’m the first one to correct them. As a music snob, I am ecstatic that vinyl is resurging.

In every aspect vinyl is better than MP3s. The music is crisper than in MP3 format. The instrumentation is clearer than any other format. Every riff is at the forefront, which adds to the general enjoyment of the record.

As a music aficionado, I get goose bumps when I listen to a record on vinyl for the first time. There is always something new that you cannot hear on digital versions of the song.

I have purchased a lot of my favorite albums on vinyl, and even though I have listened to those albums enough to recite them without even listening to them, when I listen to them on vinyl I notice something new.

MP3s are the same files as a vinyl, except MP3s are compressed to make them small and easy to download. This affects the music because the same music file is made into a smaller version, causing much of the original recording to be drowned out by the rest of the song.

Obviously you can not take vinyl on the go—although that would be so sweet—but the unaltered versions of the album makes it so it does not even matter if you have music on the go.

When it comes to collecting music, vinyl reigns supreme as well. Where a CD gets scratched from just taking it out of the case, vinyl can take more of a beating.

Vinyl now costs as much as a CD, so it makes sense that if you are going to purchase an album to buy it on vinyl.

I have to admit; I have never owned a turntable, an 8-track tape player, a phonograph…or a horse and buggy.

I’m a part of the digital generation. Although I can appreciate classic methods of playing music, they are artifacts of the past – objects to place on the shelf of nostalgia next to chia pets and furbies.

But I’m not saying this from a blank and inexperienced slate.

I’ve listened to a handful of these musical machines and can attest that digital trumps any sounds croaking from a turntable. Here are some reasons pro-vinylists should consider before spitting on the digital age and propping themselves up on a turntable pedestal.

1.) Americans are lazy and digital makes it easier. No one wants to get up, walk across the room, and flip the record over once the side is finished. I have over 20 days worth of music on my iTunes. Twenty glorious days I can spend dedicated to music without once getting up to change the song. Sounds pretty gross. But spectacular.

2.) Vinyls get scratched easily. What happens when your vinyl gets unwillingly scraped up from top to bottom? You have to spend more money to buy a new one. The beauty of digital is if you have a bad copy of the song, you can easily find a new version online.

With one click of a finger, you have good quality files back in your lap.

Jeff Stone

Staff Writer

The next time I hear someone gripe, “they just don’t make rock music like they used to anymore,” I’m going to slap them in the face. OK, violence may be a little bit severe, but verbal threats are definitely fair game.

Rock may seem like it’s taking a backseat to hip-hop and Adele, but its better than ever.

The best stuff may not always be on the radio, but a little homework will lead to the realization that rock is far from dead. Let’s make a few things clear, though: we’re not talking about Led Zeppelin. Classic rock radio is still popular; although someone should remind them that FM is slowly killing itself by playing “Sweet Home Alabama” 75 times a week.

This may seem sacrilegious, but I promise that some music released over the past few years ranks up right up there with

the all time greats. In fact, part of the reason this generation of bands are so good is because they’re clearly influenced by the past and have built onto that foundation. Some of the freshest music is bubbling up from just beneath the surface; here are the big guys:

Lucero – This is gruff, tough, bar rock ‘n’ roll. Almost every Lucero song starts with a big guitar riff and their latest album, 1372 Overton Park, included a whole brass section. Finally, good ol’ fashioned southern rock gets a meaty update for the 21st century.

The Black Keys – The band officially hit the big time with last year’s Brothers and their newest album, El Camino, speeds up the blues-rock formula the duo has already mastered. Their blazing “wah-wah” solos are perfect for some serious air guitar. Caution: if you listen to The Black Keys while driving you’ll catch yourself driving fast.

Dr. Dog – Sometimes the best music is the most difficult to describe. Never letting themselves be stereotyped, Dr. Dog’s poppy jams twist and turn seemingly at will. While sound effects like clocks fire away in the background, every song is a weird surprise.

My Morning Jacket – Part psychedelic space rock, part classic rock, and part Americana, MMJ hit a creative high water mark with Z a few years back, and the tide hasn’t gone down since. This year’s Circuital completes the band’s evolution from Bonnaroo hippies to bona fide arena rock stars.

The Gaslight Anthem – These Springsteen loving punks are starting to be mentioned in magazines like Rolling Stone and Spin: attention which is much overdue. Three albums deep, The Gaslight Anthem catches listeners with big choruses then reels them in with a thick groove that’s tough to notice the first time around. Start with “Boxer,” “I Coulda Been a Contender,” or…well, anything really.

Dum Dum Girls – Proving that the current rock scene isn’t only for boys, this girl group really takes fuzzy, low-key garage rock to new levels. Honestly, it’s no exaggeration to say this year’s Only in Dreams is phenomenal. If you get a chance, try to see this band live as they wear matching clothes and make up, as well as keep their movements in sync.

Obviously, along with these artists there are many others that will inspire the listener to throw a pair of devil horns into the air.

Kanye is at the top of his game and classic rock radio has its place, but there’s no substitute for a fresh soundtrack for having a few beers with friends. Don’t make me slap you.

Email: jstone5@buffalo.edu

3.) Digital is (kinda) free. Although downloading music is technically illegal, people easily find ways to beat around the music industry’s bush. You can’t find vinyl for free in the comforts of your own home. People are able to download albums in seconds and enjoy them instantly.

4.) ‘But vinyl has a unique sound, blah, blah, blah.’ And digital can’t produce the same effect? The full, fuzzy, brassy sound that vinyl bellows can easily be added to a digital track. With the plethora of effects people invent every day, new songs can sound authentically old with added ‘authentic’ noises.

5.) Digital is portable. People can’t lug around turntables in their backpacks or drag it with them on their jog around the block. iPod Shuffles are as big as a half dollar and can conveniently clip onto your pocket.

If you don’t believe me that vinyl has an unmatched sound, go spend a few dollars on a used classic album you love and put it on. Guaranteed you notice a handful of things you never noticed before.

Hearing kids my age talk about vinyl these days is annoying, unless they really know what they’re talking about. Most of them act as if they invented the turntable saying things like, “there’s nothing like vinyl, and it’s the only way to truly appreciate music.”

There is a saying “they don’t make music like they used to,” which is just untrue. Classic music had the luck of being pressed on vinyl, so naturally it sounds better than music that is made as MP3s.

These are the same people with their “vintage” designer glasses, fancy 4G smart phones, and iPod touches with apps that take authentic Polaroid-looking pictures.

Vinyl is the best music recording format of all time.

The resurgence of vinyl is a great thing for music lovers. Toss a record on and experience the best music you will hear in a long time.

If your iPod can take pictures that look like they’re from the 1960s, chances are your digital music files, paired with a good speaker system, can do the same.

Email: jameson.butler@ubspectrum.com

Page 5

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Email: akari.iburi@ubspectrum.com

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Page 6

Free Your Inner Henry

Courtesy of Erica Eichelkraut / City Lights Studio

VILONA TRACHTENBERG Staff Writer Free Henry! isn’t your average local band. For one thing, they’re named after a piece of taxidermy.

This self-managed, independent rock ‘n’ roll band has its roots in a longtime friendship. Bassist Derek Presti and lead guitarist and vocalist Alex Foote met through their mutual musical interests, and have been jamming with lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bob Buckley since 2002. However, the band completed its four-man status when drummer Pat Mannella joined the trio in 2009 and formed the current lineup for Free Henry!.

What sets Free Henry! apart in the Buffalo music scene (aside from their music) is their humility, and their self-deprecating sense of humor.

“We rock harder than any other band,” Mannella joked.

Jokes aside, the band attributes its success to its loyal fans and hard work. In turn, the fans see the their influence in Free Henry!’s music, according to Mannella.

Free Henry! is a force to be reckoned within the local music scene, and has gigs almost every weekend at many popular Buffalo venues like Nietzche’s, Mister Goodbar, and DBDG. The band has also played major Buffalo events like Thursday in the Square, the Music is Art Festival, and the Lockport Canal Series.

Since 2009, the band has released three records. Summers on Neptune was their first album together, and served to quickly reveal the group’s musical aesthetic. Recorded in only two weeks, the band made sure its first products made it into listeners’ hands as quickly as possible. The band also released a compellation of live performances of summer shows in 2010.

Free Henry!’s newest album, Ethereal Gust, released on Nov. 25, took two years to record. Created from the confines of Goo Goo Dolls founder Robby Takac’s studio GCR Audio, the album reflects the progress the band made through the years. The band wanted this record to reflect the band’s emotion through a longer studio process.

The album name – Ethereal Gust – is a burst of powerful energy, the type of energy the band exudes when it performs on stage. According to Foote, Buckley liked the intangible, spiritual, and heavenly connotations of the word “ethereal,” which he believes describes the band’s hard work and passion.

Although each member of the band draws on different inspirations when crafting lyrics, their music follows general themes such as devotion to nature and allusions to romance and love. This is most prominently seen in Ethereal Gust’s “Northeast Geese,” which opens with the sounds of nature.

The jam-band styled songs on this album reflect the energy in the band’s music. The positive sounds and instrumentals combine with the lighthearted lyrics to reflect that band’s love of music.

The layered instrumentals are fully developed and produce a complex melody, which highlights the talents of each member. Longer songs allow the instrumentals to sync and tell a story along with the lyrics.

Lyrically, the light-hearted songs reflect the band as a whole and the enjoyment it wants fans to feel. The vocals of Buckley and Foote attract listeners, and invite them to delve into the lyrics and meanings of the songs.

The name Free Henry! started when the band used to jam in Presti’s uncle’s basement. Displayed there was piece of taxidermy, which the band nicknamed Henry. However, the original inspiration has matured into many meanings, and now holds an intangible meaning, according to Foote.

“When you come to a show, it’s almost like we try to free the inner Henry in our listeners; Henry being any kind of freedom in expression, in creativity, in inner beauty in someone,” said Foote.

Free Henry! has an upcoming show on Dec. 14 at the Ninth Ward in Babeville with Grace Stumberg and Pete Mroz in an event called “tunes4food” to benefit the Food Bank of WNY. Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Chipping Away the Winter Blues LYZI WHITE

years earlier; he knew he had to audition.

The Buffalo Chips, UB’s all male a capella group, live by their motto: “entertaining crowds since 1995.” From performances at UB to competitions in New York City, the Chips have been singing their way across the state.

He didn’t make the group on his first few attempts but last January he decided to audition one last time. After his final try, he got the call he was waiting for and officially became a Chip.

Staff Writer

Last Saturday, the Buffalo Chips held their annual Winter Concert and filled the SU Theater with songs by artists ranging from Britney Spears to Bob Dylan. It also previewed an original short film where club members impersonated celebrities such as Paula Abdul and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino.

Just as the audience is captivated by the energy of the Chips on stage, the performers enjoy looking out into the audience to see the reactions, according to Dan Stafford, a senior psychology major and music director of the Chips.

Audiences add to the energy by singing along to hits like Bruno Mars’ “The Lazy Song,” a crowd favorite.

“I love having the live reaction of audience members when I’m performing,” Stafford said. “It’s a rush being on stage, and I always make sure to dance and look like I’m having a good time. But I also love hearing the perfect tuning and power of a recording studio.”

“It was great to get [to] watch them for years and years and appreciate the group before being [a part of] it,” Burke-Falotico said.

Last year, the Buffalo Chips competed at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) and made it to the semi-finals. Afterwards, the group travelled and sang at Tully Hall in New York City with

Ninety-Nine Problems, but a Pitch Ain’t One LYZI WHITE

Staff Writer

The girls are dressed up and ready to go. Their voices are warmed up; they take deep breaths to keep their cool as the seats begin to fill with an expectant audience. When the lights shine, so do the performers. It’s show time.

The Royal Pitches, UB’s all girl a cappella group, have been singing all over Buffalo – from the sidewalks Downtown to the Center For the Arts, ever since their formation in 1996.

Without the help of any instruments or background music, the girls transform

“When I got to college and decided to major in something [other than music], I felt like part of me was missing,” Eldayrie said.

The Royal Pitches are open to all majors, so Eldayrie was able to pursue her academic interests along with her musical ones.

Not only did Eldayrie get the opportunity to perform with girls she considered her lifelong friends, but she was also involved in the creation of the Pitches’ latest CD, 99 Problems

But A Pitch Ain’t One.

Spence set up and controlled the CD process. The Pitches went into GCR Audio, a studio owned by the Goo Goo Dolls, and recorded every song on the album in one day. It was an expensive process, but the CD showcases some of the Pitches greatest songs from the last couple of semesters, according to Eldayrie.

“Each track has a great story,” Eldayrie said.

UB’s female a capella group, the Royal Pitches, has traveled all over Buffalo since 1996, impressing crowds with their harmonious melodies and vocal talents.

Tavia Garvey /// The Spectrum

The Chips have recorded over 10 CDs throughout their existence at UB. Its upcoming album, which will be out in April, is being recorded at A Capella Productions. Mike Jankowski, an alumnus of the Buffalo Chips, owns the studio. “[There are] some good contemporary songs from the concert, some great old songs from old Chips’ years, and some loud and powerful songs [on the new CD],” Stafford said.

Even after Stafford graduates from UB this year, he plans to stay in contact with the group.

This year, the Chips held their first alumni weekend where past and present members gathered to catch up and sing with each other.

“It was great to see that passion across generations,” said Keegan Burke-Falotico, business manager of the Chips and a senior in the social sciences interdisciplinary program.

Burke-Falotico first saw the Chips perform as a sophomore in high school when the group went to a local school near where he grew up. He came to UB and realized the Chips was the same group he saw a couple of

other a cappella groups from across the world.

their voices into one harmonious melody.

“When we win something together, it’s so great to have [the] mutual joyous feeling [of victory] after a competition,” Stafford said. “[It] makes me feel like I’m part of something successful…

[Also] putting on a successful show and seeing people enjoy it is great [and] really fulfilling.”

“The greatest instrument in the world is the human voice,” said Toni Eldayrie, a junior nursing major and member of the Pitches. “You can create the sound of any other instrument.”

Once, while backstage during a show, Burke-Falotico was approached by a high school student who had heard the Chips’ rendition of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” “[The high school student] said [the song] gave him hope and made him want to pursue music,” Burke-Falotico said. “I’m so happy we could give him that.”

The Chips say it is more than just a group of guys that gets together to sing a couple of times a week.

“We are a team, a group,” BurkeFalotico said. “We fail together and we succeed together. We wouldn't be anywhere without each one of the 14 young men.”

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

The Pitches take the voices of more than 10 girls and try to make it sound as if they have an entire band backing them.

It’s through natural music, their own voices, by which the group expresses itself, according to Katie Spence, a sixth year pharmacy student and member of the Pitches.

“I'm not a person who is very good with words,” Spence said. “Music gives me an outlet and a way to say things that I normally can’t.”

Many of the members had been involved with music long before they came to UB. Whether they were performing in high school musicals, playing piano, or singing in chorus, music has been a part of their lives. Joining the Royal Pitches gave them the opportunity to explore their musical prowess even further.

From hearing a song on the radio, to arranging it for a cappella singers, and finally performing it in front of an audience, it’s the journey that’s the best part, according to Kristen Mazurkiewicez, a fifth year pharmacy student and the Pitches’ music director. “[Singing gives you] the same feeling that a runner gets when they are running, or that a dancer gets when they are dancing. It’s something you know how to do, and you do it well,” Mazurkiewicez said. “It’s a beautiful, freeing feeling.”

The Pitches’ upcoming Winter Concert will be held on Saturday, Dec. 10 at Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall on North Campus. The members will be showcasing the Royal Pitches new look as they perform their latest songs and old songs with a new spin, according to Mazurkiewicez. Not only will there be vocal performances, but the Pitches have found a way to incorporate a light show, adding visual elements to their concert.

A love of music brought them together, but it’s commitment that keeps the Royal Pitches such a tight-knit group, according to Spence. “[It’s a] commitment to each other, to the group and to our music,” Spence said.

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An Electronic Symphony: Gaming’s Decade in Sound Just Jammin’ Out NICOLAS PINO Arts Editor

From the absolutely unforgettable “Overworld” and “Underworld” contrasting melodies in the original Super Mario Bros., to Martin O’Donnell’s haunting “Halo Suite,” games and their music have long been inseparable. Here’s 10 games that in the past 10 years, revolutionized the way the world plays – and hears – electronic entertainment:

10. Grand Theft Auto IV Like its unwieldy and reckless protagonist, sound engineers at Rockstar mixed the sounds of Kanye and gypsyrock, and what came out was one of the best soundtracks of the series. From the Russianimport Vladivostok FM to the smooth bass lines of Jazz Nation Radio, Liberty City’s radio choices were just as diverse as its virtual inhabitants. Whether players were treating their electronic dates to a night at the bowling alley or taking the time to light up parts of the city in a blaze of bullets, GTA IV’s expansive music offerings had them covered.

9. Fight Night Round 3 Where would Fight Night be without the game’s brutal hip-hop and raucous rap that pumped up players to go 10 rounds with some of the greatest fighters the world has ever-known. Even the game’s opener, “Never Gonna Get It” by Sean Biggs is drenched in the blood, sweat, and tears that designers spilled to produce one of the best boxing simulations to date. With a heavy-hitters like Akon, Atmosphere, and Kray Twinz, Fight Night Round 3 packs enough explosive sounds to deliver a musical knock-out gamers won’t want to get up from.

8. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 Before the Hipster scene rolled in on its slick “nonmainstream” style, and the word emo was just a mispronunciation of a Sesame Street character, there were skaters. True lords of Dogtown tore up parks to slick beats of KRS-One, punk prodigies The Ramones, and the Californian funk of Red Hot Chili Peppers all without breaking a sweat. Nearly every track had a feeling of energy unrivaled since, and the Neversoft-produced legend continues to be one of gamers’ highest-regarded tracks for sheer musical depth and presenting them with the blaring beats to make it to the cruise ship level.

7. Bioshock Rapture’s dark and disturbing realm of madness and misery takes the frightening cake when it comes to dismal ambience. From muffled screams to splicers hopped-up on Andrew Ryan’s greatest invention, Bioshock’s haunting soundtrack is one to go down in the record books as some of the most disturbing video game music to ever reach the mainstream.

6. Bastion What made Fox’s Firefly was the thrill of watching a Western turned sci-fi, or vice versa depending on your time-period inclination. Bastion replicates the magic of Fox’s cut-down-in-its-prime program perfectly – all without the help of comic book mastermind Joss Whedon.

The game intertwines twangy acoustic sounds from the days of the six-shooter, ferocious sitar solos and a futuristic-synth that could even make Daft Punk jealous, all while keeping the rough-andtumble narrator the star of the show.

5. Mass Effect Imagine Shepard’s standoff with Saren accompanied by a washed-up band of the ’90s. Imagine Joker’s triumphant saving of the citadel by a techno-mashup full of irritating, high-pitched sirens telling Shepard to “pump up the mix.”

Without the creative direction orchestrated by the music engineers at BioWare, the vibrant feel of space, the nightclubs, the shoot-outs, the Geth – all of it would have been as generic as that latest Three Doors Down album. Gamers, thank your lucky stars.

4. Fable While Molyneux unabashedly lied about every nuance players could experience in the series’ flagship title, the grandiose music and enchanting tale of a make-your-own-adventure story led millions of gamers down the rabbit hole into the world of Albion. Its overtures are nearly as grand as Molyneux’s claims and sometimes even more so, delivering his land of sword and sorcery to even greater heights. To separate Fable from its musical ambiance is to separate the most perfect of unions: both parties will live, but yet will never quite be whole.

3. Jade Empire Jade Empire’s soundtrack is

at times as serene as the beautiful Chinese landscape it accents, and other times as fast, frenetic, and incredibly heavy-fisted as the fighters it contains.

Composer Jack Wall goes above and beyond his peers to create a soundtrack as diverse as they come, all while keeping an oriental feeling of grandeur. Sweeping piano melodies, subtle flute compositions and full-on orchestrations of a vast ensemble, Jade Empire may not have lived long in the disc trays of Xbox gamers back in 2005, but for music aficionados, BioWare’s Far-East epic will live on forever.

2. Guitar Hero 2 It would be unfair to list the gaming’s best music of the decade and not talk about the people who started it all. Harmonix’s contributions to the gaming music exceed that of any single game before it. Guitar Hero single-handedly gave a generation the ability to play guitar without ever learning a C chord.

Suddenly, gamers could play “Hangar 18” and “The Beast and the Harlot” without ever learning about Megadeath or taking time out to hear Avenged Sevenfold’s masterpiece record City of Evil. For that, gamers clad with plastic guitars and wannabe singers world-wide agree, Guitar Hero wears the undisputed crown, with its Sophomore attempt its shining jewel.

1. Halo 3

UB’s Jam Club consists of a group of students that meet each week to work on their music improvisation and slowly learn how to create good tunes as a whole.

Courtesy of John Morrison

RACHEL KRAMER

Staff Writer

A guitarist takes center stage and begins to strum notes that flash to his mind. A bass player joins him shortly after, adding his own flavor to the developing tune. Within the blink of an eye, a full band is on stage, jamming to the beat of the moment.

UB Jam Club meets every Sunday afternoon in the Student Union Theater for a session of musical improvisation. From blues to funk, the Jam Club plays almost every genre of music.

This semester, they are working hard to develop their own unique style.

“We are trying to learn how [other improvisation bands] are so good at communicating with each other through music,” said John Morrison, president of Jam Club and a sophomore history major.

With 20 members in the club, it’s difficult for everyone to play at the same time.

The group breaks into smaller groups of three to five members to rehearse. While each group plays on stage, the rest of the club members watch and prepare critiques for the performers.

“Even though people are better than I am, they make me feel better,” said Philip Dreisin, secretary of Jam Club and a sophomore economics major. “After hearing what they have to say I sound better, so I am always learning.”

The musicians hope to take these critiques and use them in the future. Devan Chrisikos, treasurer of Jam Club and a sophomore business major, plans on pursuing his love for music after he graduates.

variety because everyone plays in a different way,” Chrisikos said. “It helps me see music in a different light. It helps me see everyone’s personal take on how music should be played. I think it will help me be a better musician by helping me play in a unit, rather [than] by myself in a practice room. A lot of people have a hard time making that transition.”

Aside from playing in the theater, the members of the club also perform at the True Blue tailgates and most recently, the SA Winter Gala that occurred last Saturday.

“It’s great to watch the audience, see their reactions, and get feedback on how we sound,” Chrisikos said. “I usually try to just ignore the audience and play my music.”

Although Morrison loves playing for an audience, he feels that sometimes they aren’t really listening.

But this relieves pressure for him because the music is just in the background, according to Morrison.

The club consists of all types of musicians with many different talents.

They have bass, guitar, and keyboard players with varying levels of ability and strength. This variety is what makes the club sound so interesting, according to Morrison.

This year brought all new members and administration to the club because the previous leaders had all been seniors. Morrison was faced with the task of creating original music with his club.

“You could just start off with a small sound and everyone starts building,” Morrison said. “Eventually you come up with music you never would have come up with. It’s conjured from everyone and is just inspired by the moment.”

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

"[Jam Club] helps with learning

Here it is, the pinnacle of soundtracks and as far as the gaming general population is concerned, the best of the best. From Halo’s humble beginnings at Bungie to the elated ending of the “wake me when you need me” line, Master Chief needed a soundtrack fit for a cybernetic god.

Thankfully, Martin O’Donnell delivered. For many his opening suite in Halo 2 sends shivers down their spines, and Halo 3’s E3 trailer made gamers weep, all thanks to a man who decided that Petty Officer John-117 needed a theme that presented the same epic-scale that Bungie’s heroic soldier brought to the battlefield. In time, developers will paint grander soundscapes, encapsulate the emotional spectrum into their theoretical intellectual property, and will manage to do so in an unparalleled pitch-perfect way. But until that day, there stands one franchise whose music has touched and inspired a generation, and for that Halo is the king of the symphonic hill.

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       

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

A Guide to Buffalo’s Local Music Hotspots LUKE HAMMILL

Senior News Editor

So you’ve heard about the corporate venues like Town Ballroom, the Tralf, and the First Niagara Center, where well-known national acts come through on a regular basis. But is your wallet feeling light, or are you hungry for an unknown local band to sweep you off your feet, or both? Buffalo’s music scene, while not nationally renowned, is as vibrant with talent as any other city’s, and there are many local venues where you can get your fix for cheap. To keep this list relatively short, I included only venues within Buffalo’s city limits. Let’s start on Allen Street: Nietzsche’s Allen Street is at the center of Buffalo’s arts scene, and Nietzsche’s is the street’s premier music venue. A hole in the wall from the outside, the bar is bigger than you think due to its depth, and the decent-sized stage in the back includes a sound system and concert-style lighting.

Though Nietzsche’s has played host to all types of genres, the bar is usually home to jam bands, funky monks, progrockers, groups with jazz/blues influences, reggae/dub acts, and world music.

Most local bands play their first notable gigs here. It’s kind of dark and dingy (a requirement of being a bar on Allen), but look closely – yes, that’s Trey Anastasio’s signature on the ceiling. Phish played a jam-packed (pun intended) Nietzsche’s in 1991.

DBGB Across the street from Nietzsche’s, DBGB (Duke’s Bohemian Grove Bar, and surely a reference to legendary NYC punk venue CBGB) has become a staple of the Buffalo music scene after it replaced the recently closed Staples (sorry, had to do it). It’s established a reputation as the go-to spot for DJ/electro/dubstep performances, though jam bands and fusion trios occasionally find themselves on DBGB playbills as well. If you thought Nietzsche’s was dark, DBGB is darker, so bring your glowsticks.

Sugar City Come out of DBGB and head around the bend, as Allen Street changes to Wadsworth, and you’ll come upon Sugar City, a small volunteer-run space for community events, art showings, and concerts. Smack dab in the middle of an Allentown neighborhood, you won’t even know it’s there unless you’re looking for it. Shows must end by 10 p.m. – otherwise, neighbors will call the police, which once happened to my cousin’s band, who had to stop playing mid-set.

Mohawk Place If Nietzsche’s is the home of the groovy long-form improvisational stew, Mohawk Place is where the stripped-down, catchy singalong anthem resides. On East Mohawk Street near Lafayette Square, the Mohawk regularly hosts both local and national acts, which have included bands such as the White Stripes, whose picture is on the wall. Upsides: garagerock mystique, good-sized stage, decent

beer selection, above-average lighting unit, reputation for bringing top punk and indie acts (though, like most Buffalo venues, all sorts of acts play here).

Downsides: location (it’s not really near anything else unless you want to fistpump on Chippewa, which you probably don’t if you’re at the Mohawk in the first place), smell.

Club Diablo Speaking of Chippewa, if you head toward there on Washington Street from Mohawk Place, you’ll find Club Diablo, home of the Buffalo metalheads. If you couldn’t tell from the fiery devil-andpitchfork logo on the front of the bar, you probably shouldn’t play your crossover pop hit at this bar, and you should wear black and play songs about motorcycles, drinking and skulls (preferably, all three). Sabbath and Metallica covers also warmly welcomed.

Tudor Lounge A hole-in-the-wall at Franklin and Tupper (not far from Encore on Pearl Street), the Tudor Lounge’s tiny stage has been graced by many a blues rocking guitar hero. Also known for its karaoke nights, it’s not usually very crowded, which is why the bartender sometimes does double duty as the sound guy. If that’s not blue-collar Buffalo for you, I don’t know what is.

Mister Goodbar At Elmwood and Forest near Buffalo State College, Mister Goodbar hosts live music every Friday night, usually show-

casing great local jam and rock-and-roll bands. Upsides: cool space, good location (ladies, it’s right next to Cole’s), comedy upstairs, pool table near stage, and you get a bang for your buck ($3 cover for four hours of good music). Downsides: bands need to bring their own PA systems, the booking people are extremely picky about what acts they want, it’s near impossible to get in unless you’re actually 21, and, on a related note, the bouncers are usually jerks.

Sportsmen’s Tavern On the other side of Buff State in outof-the-way Black Rock, the Sportsmen’s Tavern is the place to be for old-school blues, country, bluegrass, acoustic, rock ‘n’ roll, and other twangy sorts of music.

The recipient of an impressive recent upgrade, Sportsmen’s is expected to rise in the ranks of Buffalo’s great music venues now that it has a bigger stage, an upstairs bar/viewing area, and a balcony.

Plus, the bartenders are friendly and the cover is cheap.

Broadway Joe’s It’s too bad that the only real music venue near South Campus, Broadway Joe’s, has become so trashy. Once a great venue where UB-born jammers moe. got their start, the bar is now under new ownership who have shadily corporatized the booking process, focusing on manipulating a local subculture that listens to unbearable death metal. Once in awhile, Broadway Joe’s will host a hip-hop show, and for those, the selection is much better (Murs, People Under the Stairs).

Soundlab Soundlab is where a lot of avant-garde and underground acts play, and in keeping with that theme, it’s impossible to find, and it’s actually underground.

Soundlab is located in the basement of a signless, featureless building at the corner of Pearl and Swan (near CocaCola Field), and in addition to hosting concerts, it also throws dance fests called Communist Parties. Avant-garde bands (read: hipsters) also have the luxury of adding to the experimental weirdness by using a projector behind the stage to play films to compliment the music. If you’re trying to booze, keep in mind that there’s no liquor license, so you’ll have to stick to beer and wine.

Pearl Street Grill & Brewery Known primarily as a restaurant and microbrewery (I recommend the Don Cherry Cherry Wheat), the Pearl Street Brewery also has a makeshift stage used for concerts on the weekends. Don’t expect to hear anything very loud here; the loudest it’ll get is a jam band or a blues trio, and even that’s pushing it.

Other clientele includes vocalists and cover bands. The restaurant also boasts multiple TVs and floors, an outdoor balcony and bar, a gaming area, and some pretty good food to boot. It’s also walking distance from Sabres and Bisons games.

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Spectrum Staff’s Top Albums of 2011 JAMESON BUTLER

EDWARD BENOIT

VANESSA FRITH

NICOLAS PINO

Senior Arts Editor

Managing Editor

Arts Editor

Arts Editor

1. Album: Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m

1. Album: Grace for Drowning Artist: Steven Wilson Release Date: Sept. 26

1. Album: The Dangers of Standing Still Artist: Red City Radio Release Date: Feb. 23

1. Album: I’m With You Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers Release Date: Aug. 26

Why: The second solo venture of Porcupine Tree founder Steven Wilson, Grace for Drowning ranks as one of the best straight-up prog albums of recent memory. From the foreboding and metrically unconventional “Sectarian” to the moving and deceptively catchy “Postcard” to the sprawling, jazzy 22-minute epic that is “Raider II,” Grace for Drowning manages to do the nigh-impossible: it covers a massive amount of musical ground without seeming unfocused, pretentious, or over-ambitious. This is the album that Steven Wilson’s lengthy career has been building toward.

Why: Red City Radio is a quartet from Oklahoma City that is quietly taking over the punk scene. The Dangers of Standing Still presents 35 minutes of aggressive punk rock in the same vein as Hot Water Music, Against Me!, and The Gaslight Anthem. Their social critique hits home with anyone that seems lost in translation and their hard-hitting instrumentals will have the listener looking for the nearest crowd to start a mosh pit. Keep your ears open as Red City Radio will become one of the biggest punk acts in years to come.

Why: From the toe-tapping, incredibly catchy single “The Adventures of Rain-Dance Maggie,” to the album’s more eclectic tracks like “Goodbye Hooray” and “Even You Brutus?,” I’m With You brought Red Hot fans exactly what they’ve been waiting for since Stadium Arcadium. Though Fruciante’s soaring guitar melodies are sorely missed and the band’s regressed, in part, back to their funk roots, the album was a fitting conclusion to the scorching 2011 summer of music.

2. Album: Fables of the Sleepless Empire Artist: UneXpect Release Date: May 31

2. Album: Elsie Artist: The Horrible Crowes Release Date: Sept. 6

2. Album: Ceremonials Artist: Florence + the Machine Release Date: Nov. 1

Why: Independently released and largely ignored, Fables of the Sleepless Empire is the mind-blowing third album of French-Canadian avant-garde metal group UneXpect. Each of the album’s 11 tracks is an ode to inventiveness and the subversion of the metal status quo, with “Unresolved Ideas of a Distorted Guest,” “Orange Vigilantes,” and “Unfed Pendulum” standing out in particular. Definitely worth a buy (or, more likely, an illegal download), especially since UneXpect probably won’t be touring the greater Buffalo area any time soon.

Why: Brian Fallon has been winning people over with his punk outfit The Gaslight Anthem, but he put his blues-punk band on hold for a few months to create the best album of his career. Every song is as haunting as it is beautiful. The homage to classic rock greats like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits is done beautifully. Elsie will divide Gaslight fans on whether or not Fallon should be doing TGA or Horrible Crowes full time.

Why: Florence Welch’s amazing vocals and larger-thanlife lyrics contributed to an album that could bring even the staunchest pessimist to their knees in tears. Organs, choirs, and Welch’s heavenly voice place “Shake It Out” on the world’s “must hear before you die” playlist. Plus Florence, being a gorgeous red-head from the land of fish and chips, is exceptionally easy on the eyes.

3. Album: The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues (EP) Artist: Between the Buried and Me Release Date: April 12

3. Album: Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I Am Nothing Artist: The Wonder Years Release Date: June 14

Why: While technically not an album per se, Between the Buried and Me’s latest release deserves all the praise, press, and top-five list enshrinement one could possibly heap upon it. Though just three songs in length, each track is a 10-minute hyper-technical exercise in head-banging epic awesomeness. Songs are wont to change time signature, melody, tone, and even genre at the drop of a guitar pick, so double-digit listens (preferably all back-to-back) are a must.

Why: The Wonder Years went from a shining up and coming pop punk band from Philly to one of the biggest names in the scene with Suburbia. The allusions to Allen Ginsberg are mesmerizing, and the self-references will put a smile on any Wonder Years fan’s face. The pressure of following up 2010’s critically acclaimed The Upsides didn’t seem to faze The Wonder Years at all as the produced what will be considered a quintessential pop punk album for years to come.

4. Album: A Dramatic Turn of Events Artist: Dream Theater Release Date: Sept. 13

4. Album: Taking Back Sunday Artist: Taking Back Sunday Release Date: June 28

Why: Even without legendary drummer Mike Portnoy (whose departure from the band was itself a rather dramatic turn of events), Dream Theater’s most recent release is their best in some time. Sure, the Portnoy-less percussion is a little on the bland side (at least by Dream Theater standards), but every other member of the band shines, particularly Jordan Rudess’ keyboard work, which might just be the best it’s ever been. Mini-epics “On the Backs of Angels” and “Bridges in the Sky” are must-hear tracks.

Why: It has been almost 10 years since Taking Back Sunday released Tell All Your Friends. In their first album with the original line-up since then, Taking Back Sunday returns to form with their self-titled album. Opening with the hard hitting “El Paso,” it is evident from the beginning that this is the best TBS album since TAYF. This album revives the hope of the TBS faithful who started to grow weary.

5. Album: The Hunter Artist: Mastodon Release Date: Sept. 27

5. Album: England Keep My Bones Artist: Frank Turner Release Date: June 6

Why: Though longtime fans may decry The Hunter’s decidedly commercial direction, the album is still superb: it’s technical enough for prog fans, heavy enough for metal fans, accessible enough for new fans, and more than good enough for music fans. Singles “Black Tongue” and “Curl of the Burl” manage to pull off the complex balancing act of being kick-ass yet radio-friendly, while the title track might just be the most mature and moving piece of music the band has ever written. Hunt this album down and own it.

Why: Frank Turner finally began to break into the mainstream with his newest album England Keep My Bones. This patriotic album utilizes Turner’s trademark introspective lyrics while also boasting the country he is from. Turner will put a smile on the listener’s face with his optimistic vocals while also dancing to simplistic instrumentals.

LUKE HAMMILL Senior News Editor

3. Album: Death By Stereo Artist: Umphrey’s McGee Release Date: Sept. 13

3. Album: Wasting Light Artist: Foo Fighters Release Date: April 8 Why: While tracks like “Rope” and “White Limo” can’t quite live up to 2007’s “The Pretender” in terms of quiet intensity and longevity, the album more than compensates with an ode to the band’s earlier days in “Walk.”

Grohl and co. write some of the biggest hooks and lay the most fundamental groundwork for the house of rock, and for that reason, 2011’s Wasting Light should be on every “child of the ’90s” playlist.

5. Album: Bastion (Original Soundtrack) Artist: Darren Korb Release Date: Aug 5 Why: While the Xbox Live Arcade title slipped under the majority of gamers’ radars, its stunning soundtrack managed to resonate throughout industry, and for good reason.

Combining the rough and tumble narration with a haunting mix of western and sitar stylings, Bastion proved that big-budgets and cavernous soundlabs sometimes can’t compete with the games with a holster full of heart.

Why: It says something about music in 2011 (and my awareness of new music) when my pick for album of the year comes from a group of three guys pushing 50 years old. But this album is the best from the Beasties since either Hello Nasty or Ill Communication, both released during the ’90s. Lead single “Make Some Noise” combines the group’s trademark swagger and energy with the classic Beastie Boys sound and updates them for 2011. And “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win” is the party track of the year.

Why: This just came out, and I want to let it sink it before I overreact and say it’s the best Roots disc since Phrenology, but either way, it’s pretty darn good. The concept album follows the life of fictional character Redford Stephens backward, from his death to his decision to enter the drug game in ’90s Philadelphia. The Roots’ compositions are in top form here, and as usual, Black Thought’s rhyming gymnastics help him continue his reign as hip-hop’s all-time-most-underrated rapper.

5. Album: Green Naugahyde Artist: Primus Release Date: Sept. 13

Why: Umphrey’s McGee is the best jam band going Why: New guitarist Josh Klinghoffer might be half right now, and that’s almost entirely thanks to their the age of the rest of the Chili Peppers, but he’s amazing live shows, which have surpassed even giants like Phish due to the band’s innovation, technical brought a new energy and fresh sound to the group.

Many might disagree, but I think this is the best skill, and willingness to go huge every time out. But they’ve also made a fantastic studio album this year.

RHCP album since Californication, if only because it shows the band is willing to change up the formula Death By Stereo showcases the band’s expansive versatility, from the spacey funk of “Booth Love” and a bit. (Is it just me, or did Stadium Arcadium sound “Deeper” to the progressive metal of “Search 4” to the stale?) Bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith still ’80s pop of “Miami Virtue” to the straight-ahead rock form the tightest rhythm section in all of mainstream of “Domino Theory,” perhaps the tightest song the rock, allowing Klinghoffer to build rich textures on tracks like “Factory of Faith” and “Look Around.” group’s ever written.

Why: Full disclosure: I play the bass guitar, so that’s probably why I like Primus. This album is full of Les Claypool’s virtuosic wackiness; his eccentric bass playing and lyricism evokes a bad dream about circus clowns. I’ve always thought guitarist Larry LaLonde had a great job, to have the freedom to live above a rhythm section that sounds like five instruments rather than two. While the band took a hiatus, Claypool continued to record and tour, but it’s clear that he’s at his best in Primus mode. Only the courageously funky need proceed.

2. Album: Bad Habits Artist: Every Avenue Release Date: Aug. 2 Why: The third full-length from the Michigan quintet builds off the more advanced instrumentals of Picture Perfect while shedding the poppy nature of their first album. An evenly balanced mix of fast paced questioning tracks and road weary ballads, Every Avenue works to carve their own niche in the pop punk scene.

3. Album: When You’re Through Thinking Say Yes Artist: Yellowcard Release Date: March 22 Why: Four years after the release of Paper Walls, the violin-toting rockers are back with their most poignant album yet. With lyrical throwbacks to their earlier works, Yellowcard slows down the pace on their 10-track album but still manages to create memorable hooks and anthemic choruses.

4. Album: Dirty Work Artist: All Time Low Release Date: June 7

Nothing Personal, All Time Low relaxes the standards and

Why: Singer/song-writer Adele gave the world its Christmas present almost a whole year early with this year’s critically-acclaimed and speculated Grammy Award-winning album, 21. Together the over-played, but under-appreciated tracks of “Set Fire to the Rain,” “Someone Like You,” and “Rolling in the Deep” provide listeners with a teenage angst and a feeling of love-lost unfelt since the days of their first romance.

2. Album: Undun Artist: The Roots Release Date: Dec. 6

Why: Dan Campbell and crew bring back the high-energy, depression therapy ever 20-something has been waiting for. Building off their previous The Upsides, Campbell takes a look at the dichotomy of growing up and staying close to your roots. With incredibly personal lyrics, The Wonder Years find away to make them relatable while brining back the sound of late ’90s pop punk.

Why: After their painstaking attempts at perfection on

4. Album: 21 Artist: Adele Release Date: Feb. 22

1. Album: Hot Sauce Committee Part Two Artist: Beastie Boys Release Date: May 3

4. Album: I’m With You Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers Release Date: Aug. 29

Nothing

Artist: The Wonder Years Release Date: June 14

takes a try at a few new formats. Ranging from the poppy “I Feel Like Dancin’” to the strictly pop-punk “Heroes,” All Time Low utilizes their spot on a major label to attack the radios while also remembering their original fans.

5. Album: Wilder Child of a Thousand Suns Artist: Barely Blind Release Date: Oct. 10 Why: The first full length out of Barely Blind pulls on the stretches the Texas natives creative boundaries as they produce one of their calmest songs yet. But never fear: the high energy, fast paced lyricism of My Life With a Giant is still present in most tracks, see “Silver Lake” and “Inner Child,” as Barely Blind moves into the next chapter of their careers.

What are you thinking?

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

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Page 11

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Daily Delights STEVEN WROBEL Life Editor

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a…weather balloon.

While many students spend their weekends partying, studying, and hanging out with their friends, one club at UB spent its weekend studying the outer realms of Earth’s atmosphere.

UB Students for the Exploration and Development Space (UB-SEDS) is a club that sets its ambitions skyward to generate interest and activism in the community for any and all space-related topics, according to Sean Lyons, a senior aerospace engineering major.

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Crossword of the Day

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WednesDay,DECEMBER 7 FROM UNIVERSAL UCLICK

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- You're faced with one or two opportunities that may actually require you to do something that goes against the grain. Think twice.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- The difference between success and failure may be as simple as the difference between doing one thing or two things at a time.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Your intentions are not clear to others, though you know what you are doing and why. Take the time to explain yourself in simple terms.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- You can maximize your rewards without threatening the progress of anyone else. In fact, your progress may actually help others.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- You don't have to approach others with a chip on your shoulder in order to get your point across. A gentler approach is best.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Generalities are likely to keep you from understanding the truth of a situation that you are soon to face head-on. Focus on the details.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- You can drop hints all day long, but until you are willing to take a more direct approach you're not likely to get what you want.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Something unusual is likely to attract your attention, and you'll want a little help before you get closer and investigate further.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- You're not in the mood to entertain another's ideas just yet -- but this doesn't mean that you will always turn away from his or her overtures.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- You can prove to others that you are honest and dependable -- unless, of course, you're not. In that case, others may see through you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Your motives may come under some scrutiny, but you're confident that others will understand where you are coming from at all times.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- The doubt that others are expressing has less to do with your own intentions than with their inability to match you stride for stride.

Lyons was the project manager of the club’s High-Altitude Weather Balloon Project (HAWB). The project’s goal was to send aEdited weather by balloon Timothyinto E. Parker December 7, 2011 the sky to measure temperature and THE GANG'S ALL HERE By Jill Pepper atmospheric pressure. In addition, the ACROSS

team wanted to capture pictures

54 Hellos and good-byes on the Island 1 Word in some university namesand

video footage at toadocument the trip and

55 Dante's love 6 31-Across, sushi restaurant

measure the atmospheric boundary

60 Fifth month 11 Physics unit layers.

61 The end-all redhead of classic TV 14 Ancient Greek poet associated with a dolphin

63 Lennon's wife 15 Addition conclusion

“This project is one theremote most chal 64 Counting everything 16 Abbreviation on aofTV

lenging yet rewarding feats of my of classic TV 65 Hindu music pieces 17 The end-all neat freak portrayer

undergraduate career,” Lyons said.

66 Long-eared equine 19 Poetic homage

“The lessons I have learned and [the]

67 First name in skin care 20 Teaches

success of this project have given me

68 Mountain feature 21 Become conscious

an inspiration nofar course at this 23 Long ___ and awayoffered ...

university could ever provide.”

DOWN 24 Bible distributor

1 Appease fully 25 The end-all "The Big Sleep" star

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2 Tramped or trampled 31 Elongated

Saturday, Oct. 22, was the culmina 3 Aboriginal Japanese 32 ___- Croatian (Slavic language)

tion of manyportions hours of planning. The

4 Matchbox racer 33 Lollipop

group to not only raise the funds

5 Angers 37 Fat had measure

to on this project, but it also had

6 ___ Reader (alternative magazine) 39take Artillery outburst

to means

7 Agrees nonverbally 41develop Lessen, the to the Bard by which to

perform all the desirable functions.

8 "Now ___ theater near you!"

42 Submarine sensing system UB-SEDS procured $1,100 in funding

9 Classic arcade game with tractor beams 44 Zigs or zags from from local compa 10 Animosity 46 It'llsponsorships float your boat nies and from Sub I Inc. actor

11 Arouse, as feelings 47 The end-all "TheBoard Godfather"

12 Riding and roping event 50 Asserts authoritatively “The ideaFrench for thisfans came about in either

13 Space traveler of 1962 and 1998 53 When circulate?

October or November of last year, when we saw a video of a father-andson team that sent an iPhone aboard a balloon and recovered it, becoming a temporary media sensation on many newscasts and newspapers,” said Andrew Dianetti, president of UB-SEDS and a junior aerospace

52 Shows wild instability 18 Does penance 55 Liver production 22 Speak off-the-cuff

56 Fashion mag 25 Trio for grand pianos

57 Othello heavy 26 Word with "dynamic"

58 Thunder sound or "space"

59 Word after "who," 27 ___ Bator "what" or "where" 28 Atlanta pro 62 Natural bird-watcher 29 Better equipped 30 rave, biblically 34 Cuban's house 35 "Hooked on Classics" co.

36 Animal that honks horns 38 Waterlogged ground 40 Severe test 43 Gershwin musical adapted by Cole Porter 45 Mill associated with gold discovery 48 Ship's petty officers 49 Expressed out loud 50 Land of Pago Pago: American ____ 51 Shepard and King

Sudoku

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Sports Page 12

ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Scouting Niagara

UB Athletes Strike a Chord off the Field BRIAN JOSEPHS Sports Editor The sounds of sophomore running back Branden Oliver blowing by defenders, sophomore linebacker Khalil Mack obliterating his opponents in the backfield, and the sighs of fans after Buffalo’s nine losses are just a few that were associated with the football team this season.

Game time: Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Few associate the strum of an acoustic guitar, the pounds of a drum machine, and the flows of a rap freestyle with the Bulls.

Location: “Taps” Gallagher Center at Niagara Niagara Record: 3-5 (0-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)

Senior cornerback Joe Petit, sophomore lineman Trevor Sales, sophomore quarterback Alex Zordich, and Mack are football players to the public eye.

However, the four athletes double as musicians.

Sales is a skilled rapper and beat producer, while Mack, Petit, and Zordich specialize in playing the guitar.

Buffalo Record: 4-2 2010-11 Record: 9-23 (5-13 MAAC) Niagara last game: Lost 98-62 to Iona Buffalo last game: Lost 66-60 to St. Bonaventure

Although they have been deeply involved in football for years, the four have always had a passion for music. Their interests intensified when they came to play for Buffalo. Mack, Petit, and Zordich all started playing guitar as freshmen. Each is self-taught, learning through the Internet and each other.

“I always loved music,” Petit said. “I just wanted to do something else. When I first came I was focused on football and schoolwork, and I didn’t want to go out that much. So I just played a guitar to keep me occupied, and I played it every day before and after practice.”

Two players to watch: Freshman guard Juan’ya Green Joe Petit, Trevor Sales, Alex Zordich, and Khalil Mack (pictured from left to right) dabble in music when they are not on the gridiron.

Nyeri Moulterie /// The Spectrum

Petit’s ability on the strings was another reason Mack decided to pick up the guitar back in March.

The linebacker would listen to Petit play, and after being around others who played instruments at his church in Fort Pierce, Fla., Mack was sold. Being occupied between games and practices was an added bonus.

“I wanted to be productive with my free time,” Mack said. “Instead of playing video games I picked [the guitar] up and learned.”

Sales has been making music the longest out of the

Last meeting: Buffalo 82 – Niagara 64 (Dec. 8, 2010) (Alumni Arena)

bunch. The transfer from Delaware State has been producing beats and rapping since he was 14 years old. Sales’ skills as an MC are no secret, however, as he has multiple videos of his raps on YouTube.

His video titled “Trev VS. Jake Rap Battle” has over 138,000 views.

feel comfortable talking to anybody. So in a drum machine, [I’d] express [my] feelings through what my hands are doing and what kind of sounds are coming through my hands.”

Sales, also known as Big Trev, uses his football experience as musical inspiration. The sophomore didn’t play this season due to NCAA transfer rules, but he recalls using music as an outlet after football disappointment.

Petit, Sales, and Zordich are often complimented when they tell others of their musical interests.

Mack, on the other hand, is met with bewilderment at times, as his relentlessness on the field is a sharp contrast to his desire to cover Jason Mraz songs.

“After a tough practice or a tough loss, your mind is kind of like ‘what happened?’” Sales said. “You don’t

Mack wanted to break the stereotype.

Freshman guard Antoine Mason Mason is another oversized, youthful guard. He’s putting up 14.3 points per game to compliment Green. Buffalo’s best defensive guard is Jarod Oldham, but obviously he can’t guard both Green and Mason. Mason is more of a slasher while Green is more of a three-point threat.

Zordich uses his guitar as a stress mediator as well.

All-time series: Niagara leads, 55-28

Continued on page 4

Football Coach Jeff Quinn Top 10 Playlist AARON MANSFIELD Senior Sports Editor

“Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)”

by Manfred Mann Jeff Quinn loves this song for its catchy rhythm and pertinent title.

Can you blame him? Manfred Mann proclaims: “Oh come all without, come all within. You will not see nothin’ like the Mighty Quinn!” Unfortunately for the Mighty Quinn, his defense wasn’t so powerful this year, surrendering 29.4 points per game.

“We are the Champions” by Queen

a last-minute botched extra point and defeated Ohio (MAC East champs) by one. But until the Bulls can play consistently on the road, they’ll need to keep on fighting till the end.

“Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Another classic comes in on Quinn’s list at No. 3. Thankfully for the ball coach, sophomore running back Branden Oliver’s big wheels kept on turnin’ this year. He ran for 1,395 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“All Summer Long” by Kid Rock Quinn likes the old-school tune of “Sweet Home Alabama” so much that he put the new-school remix of it on this list. When you hear “it was 1989, my thoughts were short, my hair was long,” you can’t help but wonder what Quinn was like back then.

We at The Spectrum did some homework. Well, he was 37 and was the Offensive Coordinator at Grand Valley State in ’89. Unfortunately, he never had flowing locks – from what we can find. He’s always rocked the close-crop haircut that he still dons today.

It’s safe to say everybody knows this tune. Quinn hopes some day the Bulls will be able to sing it and he may not be as far off as people think.

While Buffalo only finished 3-9 this year, the Bulls lost to Northern Illinois (MAC West champs) by one on

“Tonight I Celebrate My Love” by Peabo Bryson

You can collectively “aww” – this one made the list because it was Quinn’s wedding song. Quinn also celebrates his love for the Bulls on Twitter every day – he’s usually good for at least one positive tweet about UB per day.

Check him out @UBCoachQuinn.

“American Pie” by Don McLean “Bye, bye, Miss American Pie. Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry. And them good ol’ boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing this’ll be the day that I die.” Buffalo fans have to figure Quinn spent some nights with whiskey and rye – specifically after the heartbreaking Northern Illinois loss and another depressing last-minute defeat at the hands of Ball State.

UB Victory Fight Song – “UB Victory March”

Green is an oversized, young, explosive guard. At 6’3,” he takes advantage of undersized defenders and has averaged 19.5 points, four rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. He even had a 35-point performance in Niagara’s 79-75 loss to Fairfield.

players of the 1985 Chicago Bears – such as Walter Payton, The Fridge, and Mike Singletary. They performed the song slightly before winning Super Bowl XX. This video is a must-see if you like awkward dancing, sunglasses, football, or old-school hip-hop. It even blew up in mainstream audiences, hitting No. 41 on the Billboard list.

“Amazing Grace” Countless artists have performed this classic Christian hymn – originally written by English poet John Newman – but it hits home with Quinn every time. Some fans think Quinn needs Amazing Grace to stick around as head coach after going 5-19 in two years as head coach, but Athletic Director Warde Manuel has made it clear that Quinn has time left to prove himself.

“A Country Boy Can Survive” by Hank Williams Jr.

This song’s catchy, and if you’ve ever been to a football game, you’ve heard it. “Fight, fight for Buffalo, be proud to fight for our dear Blue and White…”

Yes, Hank Williams Jr. performed more songs than just the Monday Night Football theme song. Quinn knows all about being a country boy; he likes to spend his free time fishing.

“Super Bowl Shuffle” by Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Game notes: - Buffalo is looking to go 2-1 in Big Four play, having lost to St. Bona and beaten Canisius - Reggie Witherspoon is 7-4 in his career against Niagara - Buffalo has won seven of the past nine times these teams have played - Senior guard Zach Filzen is coming off a 26-point barrage. He was named MAC East Player of the Week.

- Buffalo is holding opponents to 38 percent shooting from the floor this year, while Niagara is allowing its opponents to shoot 48 percent - Buffalo is outrebounding its opponents by 8.3 boards this year, while Niagara is being outrebounded by 1.2 per game - Senior forward Mitchell Watt is four blocks short of moving into a second-place tie for alltime blocks - Filzen is 72 3-pointers shy of second-place alltime in three-point field goals - The Bulls rank second in scoring in the MAC (71.8) and third in scoring defense (60.8) - Buffalo is currently third in the MAC East behind Kent State (5-1) and Ohio (5-1) Prediction: Aaron Mansfield Senior Sports Editor Zach Filzen, Javon McCrea, and Mitchell Watt have carried the team this year. If we learned anything from the St. Bona game, it’s that those three guys can’t do it on their own. They need some scoring from Dave Barnett, Titus Robinson, anybody really. Also, Oldham and Watson desperately need to step it up at the point. They need to be the steadying presence for this squad.

I like the Bulls in this one, but I think it’ll be close.

Buffalo – 63 Niagara – 54

“The Super Bowl Shuffle” is a rap by

Meg Kinsley /// The Spectrum

Sports Editor’s Top Albums of 2011 ANDREIUS COLEMAN Asst. Sports Editor

Aaron Mansfield Senior Sports Editor

1. Album: Watch the Throne Artist: Jay-Z & Kanye West Release date: Aug. 8

3. Album: Cole World: The Sideline Story Artist: J. Cole Release date: Sept. 27

Why: Anytime you can put a song out, with a word as stigmatized as the “N” word, and perform it as much as 10 times at live shows, there isn’t much that any other artist could do to say they make better music than you. The Brooklyn and Chicago natives produced a brilliant collaboration with at least one song that even hip-hop’s worst enemy could enjoy. Top to bottom, this gets my vote for album of the year.

Why: You know you’re good when you put songs on your album that you recorded two/three years ago, like he did with “Lost Ones” and “Lights Please.”

What defines an artist ultimately is longevity, and what J. Cole has proven is that he is timeless, and knows how to make music. Furthermore, the guy has Missy Elliott featured on his album on a song ironically titled “Nobody’s Perfect,” because the song certainly is. All I’m saying is, Missy doesn't do songs with just anybody.

2. Album: Take Care Artist: Drake Release date: Nov. 15 Why: Drake must be respected. As an industry artist, he’s done the best job of maintaining his originality while being owned by one of hip-hop’s most trendy moguls in Lil’ Wayne. Listening to music is like having a conversation, and the personal fashion in which Drake administers his lyrically ingenious anecdotes makes the listener need more; not want, need. A prime example: “Look What You've Done.” Though it’s solely his story, and any other person can relate to the tribulations he weaves into a beautiful reminiscent basket, and put their problems in it.

4. Album: 4 Artist: Beyoncé Release date: June 28 Why: Just ’cause.

5. Album: Ambition Artist: Wale Release date: Nov. 1 Why: Frankly, I didn’t expect much from Wale after singing with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group. The album made me proud – I was beyond pleased with Folarin’s use of poetry on the song “Illest Bitch.”

The album was way more thorough and retrospective than I expected considering the multitude of MMG’s sounds are shallow braggadocios, but I still like it, and definitely developed a greater respect for the D.C. native because of his versatility.

1. Album: Bon Iver Artist: Bon Iver Release Date: June 21 Why: Bon Iver has ruled the indie panorama since ’08 with songs like “Skinny Love,” but Justin Vernon really monopolized the scene this year. The band’s self-titled second album is only 10 tracks long, but those songs retain the depth of For Emma, Forever Ago while boasting generally less depressing, less introspective lyrics. You’ll be left singing “I could see more miles and miles and miles” and seeing the world in a different light – as overdramatic as that sounds.

2. Album: The Head and the Heart Artist: The Head and the Heart Release Date: April 16 Why: These Seattle natives are the hipsters of all hipsters, but they produce some ear-catching, soul-grabbing music.

You’d expect to find them playing at a coffee shop on open mic night or low-grade bar while wearing cardigans and flannels, but 2009-founded The Head and the Heart has blown up unbelievably since opening for The Decemberists, Iron and Wine, and Death Cab for Cutie. This album is helped along by violin and piano rifts that help the band surpass other indie guitar bands with memorable sounds like “Down in the Valley” and “Rivers and Roads.”

3. Album: Take Care Artist: Drake Release Date: Nov. 15 Why: I know, I know. This album, filled with low bassrhythms and Young Money cameos, has blown up into the mainstream scope with “Headlines” and everyone’s sick of hearing about it, but it’s still a thorough album top-tobottom and a vast improvement from last year’s subpar

Thank Me Later. Wheelchair Jimmy will always be considered a suburban tool because of his start on Degrassi, but he starts Take Care with one of my favorite tracks – the soulful, charismatic “Over My Dead Body” – and verifiably steals the show with “Marvin’s Room,” a drunk-dial turned reflective croon that makes you feel that you honestly know Aubrey.

4. Album: Helplessness Blues Artist: Fleet Foxes Release Date: May 3 Why: Fleet Foxes set the bar high with their 2008 selftitled debut album that included well-published songs like “White Winter Hymnal” and “Mykonos,” but the folk sophomores far surpassed that effort this year. Helplessness Blues is uplifting, optimistic, inspiring. It’s a must-listen. I promise, once you hear the opener – “Montezuma” – you’ll want to hear more.

5. Album: Camp Artist: Childish Gambino Release Date: Nov. 15 Why: Actor-turned-rapper Donald Glover – who stars on NBC’s Community and also raps under the alias Childish Gambino – absolutely kills it with Camp. Childish is arrogant and almost exclusively raps about his haters and getting laid by college girls and girls of all races. He’s witty, intelligent, and just downright swagged out. Camp is filled with “Wait, did he just say that?” lyrics like: “My dick is like an accent mark; it’s all about the over e’s (ovaries).”

Every line has a double-denotation and Gambino makes you snicker, think, and generally feel like you’re cooler than you actually are.