The Wake, Issue 2, Fall 2012

All Killer No Filler

Ultimate Guide to Fall Drinks

06

Q & A: Panther Ray

14

24 September-08 October 2012

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Editorial

Production

Editor-in-Chief Alex Lauer

Production Manager Sean Quinn

Managing Editor Alyssa Bluhm

Graphic Designers Sean Quinn, Taylor Wichrowski

Cities Editor Alicia Johnson

Social Media Manager Tara Mrachek

Voices Editor Justin Miller

Advertising Manager Steve Sitek

1) Because I’ve always wanted to recreate this Sum 41 album cover, and apparently so did a bunch of our writers.

Sound & Vision Editor Zach McCormick

Staff Writers Tyler Lauer, Logan Wroge

2) Because there aren’t any R. Kelly album covers with a lot of people on them that we could recreate. I mean, I guess we could do one in the vein of “Trapped in the Closet,” but that would make no sense at all.

Obituaries Editor Kelsey Schwartz

Art Director Alex Lauer

This Issue Cover Artist Taylor Wichrowski, Alex Lauer Photographers Shonna Korsmoe, Alex Lauer, Zach McCormick, Kelcie McKenney, Habakkuk Stockstill Illustrators Noah Czarnecki, Noah Freeman, Jiun Kim, Steve Sitek Contributing Writers Courtney Bade, Emily Den Boer, Matthew Cermak, Joey Cronick, Tommy Finney, Katherine Fischenich, Sara Glesne, Cassidy Godfrey, Jack Hanisch, Lauer, Elizabeth Ireland, Josh Jones, TylerLauer, Walker Leonard, Zach McCormick, Kelcie McKenney, Alanna Norton, Vanessa Nyarko, Brianna Kathleen Powers, Juan P. Ramirez, Sam Schaust, Robert Schoen, Logan Wroge

©2009 The Wake Student Magazine. All rights reserved.

Established in 2002, The Wake is a fortnightly independent magazine and registered student organization produced by and for the students of the University of Minnesota.

After you tried to figure out if you know anyone on the cover of this issue (Alyssa Bluhm, Sara Glesne, Cassidy Godfrey, Kara Hakanson, Beth Ireland, Tara Mrachek, Juan P. Ramirez, Logan Wroge, and me) so you could compliment them on how beautiful they look, you probably thought, “Why is this the cover?”

3) Because The Wake IS all killer, no filler.

Here at The Wake we stress writing and publishing articles that we as students truly care about. We are completely student-run which means that none of our story ideas are given to us. Students come to the meetings and tell us what they want to write about or pick up articles that our staff pitches.

Business Business Manager Chee Xiong Advisory Board James DeLong, Kevin Dunn, Courtney Lewis, Eric Price, Morgan Mae Schultz, Kay Steiger, Mark Wisser

Can’t get enough of The Wake?

Facebook.com/TheWakeMagazine Twitter.com/The _ Wake Wake-Mag.tumblr.com

For this issue, that meant printing pieces on topics like the renovated Uptown Theatre, the "war over women" in this presidential race, and even pumpkin spice lattes. We don’t leave anything out.

While some people may say a guide to fall drinks or a page with old polaroids from our vaults is filler, it’s not. Students at the U love their fall drinks, nostalgia, and staying up-to-date on all facets of the important election coming up on November 6th. It's all killer Also, I’d like to welcome a new section to our magazine: Obituaries.

I should probably make it clear right away that this is not a list of people who have died. It’s our creative writing/art/comics page, so if you’re interested in any of those things you should email KSchwartz@wakemag.org to get more information and submit!

You can go listen to "Fat Lip" now.

12:2 The Wake Student Magazine 1313 5th St. SE #331 Minneapolis, MN 55414

Alex Lauer

(612) 379-5952 • www.wakemag.org

Editor-in-Chief

The Wake was founded by Chris Ruen and James DeLong.

The Wake is published with support from Campus Progress/Center for American Progress (online at www.campusprogress.org).

disclaimer The purpose of The Wake is to provide a forum in which students can voice their opinions. Opinions expressed in the magazine are not representative of the publication or university as a whole. To join the conversation email mfoucault@wakemag.org.

cities

Ending Campus Bike Wars!

Knowing the rules can help ease the tension between bikes, pedestrians, and vehicles.

BY Elizabeth Ireland

Getting to class often feels like a battle. Pedestrians are mad at the cyclists, and cyclists are mad at pedestrians, and the cars are mad at everyone. It doesn’t help that no one seems to know exactly what the rules of biking are.

Some people want bikers off the road, and some people are mad at bikes for riding on the sidewalk, and WHERE has all the bike parking gone??

The reality is that the rules aren’t difficult, and if more people familiarized themselves, traffic on campus wouldn’t have to be so confrontational. Educate yourself!

U Students: U Should Care Being an informed voter is essential in the face of the upcoming election.

By Katherine Fischenich With the much-anticipated 2012 Presidential Election drawing near, students and faculty at the U of M can feel the heated atmosphere. I went out last week to gather some student perspectives on the upcoming election. While a majority of students on campus realize the impact of this decision on their future, some students admitted to not following politics or just not caring. Come on people. Not cool. Being informed about politics and the world around us is important as we live in a democracy, where students have power. Issues that directly impact students will be on the line this election: healthcare, gay marriage, environmental policies, and tax policies.

When asked if President Obama deserved re-election, many U of M students seemed to believe that he indeed did. Olivia Cashman, a freshman and first time voter, gives her vote to Obama, “I agree with Obama’s social issues such as gay mar-

THE BASICS

EXTRA CREDIT

• Traffic laws apply to bicycles. State law considers bicycles to be vehicles, so they have to behave like cars on the road. A lot of biking rules are logical extensions of this one.

• Helmets are not legally required to ride, but you should wear one anyway. You can get a helmet and headlight set for just $20 at Boynton if you show your University ID.

• Ride in the road. If there’s a bike lane, use it. If there is no designated lane, ride as far right as possible.

• Make yourself as visible as possible. Bicycles are small and thin and can be difficult for drivers to see. Use reflectors and bike lights, follow the rules, and be careful when turning.

• Biking on sidewalks is only okay in residential areas. Don’t bike on sidewalks in business areas or on campus (unless specifically marked as a bike lane).

• Ride in the direction of traffic.

• Use turn signals. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the “correct” signals. Point where you’re turning. It will get the message across and keep you safe.

• When riding next to parked cars, be cautious of car doors.

Ride far enough away from the cars that if someone opens a door you don’t get clothes lined.

• In general: Look around you, keep aware of traffic, and stay safe.

• Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

• Obey dismount signs – you could get a big ticket for biking in dismount areas.

• Headlights and reflectors are legally required for biking at night.

• Don’t lock your bike to anything other than a bike rack, signpost, or parking meter. Fences, trees, and streetlights are off limits.

• Stop at stop signs and stoplights. However…

• Concerning red lights: Minnesota’s Affirmative Defense Law for cyclists says that bikes can cross an intersection against a red light IF the bike has been brought to a full stop, there’s no oncoming traffic, and the light isn’t changing.

riage. I also believe he will better help the environment.”

While some students were clear on the reasons they were voting for certain candidates, others admitted to voting just for the sake of voting. A few students stated that they were not voting in the upcoming election due to the fact that they were uninformed voters. Layna Mestad, another first-time voter for Obama, admitted, “I am voting for Obama, but to be honest I have no idea why.”

The poll clearly showed students’ massive support for the current president. The mood around campus seemed to be pretty optimistic about re-electing Obama. Many students were concerned about our lagging economy and social issues, such as gay marriage, believing Obama would be the clear choice. On the other hand, there were some students who supported presidential candidate Mitt Romney, believing his economic policy would move the economy forward. While some students seem to believe Romney would magically fix the lagging economy, it was a less than enthusiastic support. A U of M junior explained, “Romney is the lesser of two evils... Obama has done nothing to fix our economy even after four years with the opportunity.”

For many college students this presidential election will be the first time they can vote.

“For my first election I am undecided, but I feel as though Obama has done nothing for our country,” said another U of M freshman.

As a student at the University of Minnesota, being informed about the upcoming election is not a difficult pursuit; there are many student political organizations on both sides of the political spectrum to join on campus. By joining a political club you will better understand how different political parties will doom our country in their own special way. Might as well know which party will do less damage, right?

The 2012 presidential election brings up hot-button issues that directly affect students here at the U of M. Taking the time to vote is taking the time to care about the future. Do not be an uninformed voter. Make the founding fathers proud and vote this upcoming election!

Noah Czarnecki

04

24 september - 08 october 2012

cities

1st Degree Murder of the Cinematic Experience: The Remodel of the Uptown Theatre

BY Tyler Lauer Who goes to the movies anymore? How can we get people to go back to the movies in an age where it’s easier and more convenient for a person to stream a movie online?

These are the two main questions running through the minds of all of those involved in the movie theater business. The

famous Uptown Theatre recently posed a possible answer to these pressing questions with a six-month, $2 million dollar renovation. All of the press release-like articles I read about the renovation touted big, comfy seats; a bigger screen and digital projection; no more lines thanks to reserved seating and online sales; un-scummy bathrooms; and gourmet food alongside a fully stocked bar.

Before analyzing the success of the renovation, you first have to understand what the theater was. While some of you may have frequented the old Uptown Theatre, it’s just as likely that you never experienced it.

Opened in 1913, and only having been drastically overhauled late in the 60’s, the Uptown Theatre was a one-of-a-kind movie-going experience. This will be important to remember: it’s uniqueness. With its old-school marquee and ticket booth in the entrance, stepping into the Uptown Theatre was like warping back in time. It had a nostalgia factor. This is lacking in the new, frequently sanitized, money-grubbing AMC powerhouses. The decor was a mix of sea foams, purples, deep reds, gold railings, and muted, golden lighting from chandeliers. You could take the grand, curving staircase up to the balcony where you could sit as if at a play or musical.

If entering the auditorium from below, the vintage doors opened to a huge, sunken seating area, spreading itself widely under the awe of murals and massive red curtains. Sinking into the worn-in, super comfy seats after walking through the shoe-sticking aisles completed the transformation. While somewhat decrepit, the worn-in seats conformed to your body. Sitting there gave one the feeling of being a part of history, participating in an act that has been around for decades and hopefully centuries to come. I like to think of going to the movies as the new going to church. The pre-renovation Uptown Theatre was like entering an old European Basilica untouched by time. The newly renovated Uptown Theatre is like entering a mega-church.

Now, to be clear, the Uptown Theatre is like a mega-church in most aspects except the ample seating. Going from 800 worn-in seats to 350 massive pleather chairs, the theater has managed an almost impossible task: building a smaller auditorium that lead to a more alienating experience. I believe a movie-going experience should be a communal event. All of the moviegoers should experience a new perspective on life together. That is one of the benefits of theaters over sitting at home, staring at your computer screen. The old theater offered short seats crammed together on a very low incline, letting audience members pack in, conversing and observing one another, gaining a sense of community. The new theater, with its towering, squeaky pleather chairs gives one a feeling of solitariness in the quest for entertainment and enlightenment. To add to the alienation, for the opening movie Sleepwalk With Me (and for apparently all movies henceforth) I had to buy advance tickets online. Not just that, but I had to pick the exact seats for my friends and me. Forget standing in line on a beautiful fall night, waiting for tickets with other movie-lovers like I did when Juno was released. I now was forced to be sure of my place in the theater before ever seeing the new place. What if I wanted to switch seats? What if I saw some friends or met new friends and wanted to sit next to them? A thing of the past!

Alex Lauer

Upon my arrival at the theater on opening day, carrying the least biased mind I could muster, I entered the doors. Expecting to see an expansive lobby full of innovative movie

theater decor, I was instead greeted by a somehow smaller lobby coated in bright orange and green paint with a discordantly placed ticket desk on the right and a concession stand straight ahead, leading to converging lines. It was like an optical illusion. Somehow the lobby AND the auditorium felt more cramped than before. The concession stand had beer and candied-nuts, but the whole aesthetic screamed AMC. I felt as though a designer who was denied employment at AMC theaters was hired to revamp this theater.

Continuing the cramped, claustrophobic theme, two indiscriminate orange hallways both lead to the funnel into the theater where many employees hoping to lead me to my seat greeted me. While eager and earnest in their desire to help, these extra employees lead to more stress, constantly inquiring as to where I was going when all I wanted was to have a look around the theater. The theater claims to have “preserved the history” by leaving the wall murals in the auditorium. They did all but paint over them. The renovations leave the murals alone, but built around. They left no room for them to breathe. It’s like saying, “We kept the Mona Lisa intact!” but renting out ad space around it.

It’s like saying, “We kept the Mona Lisa intact!” but renting out ad space around it.

Like vinyl recordings, the nostalgia factor of the Uptown Theatre was doomed to transform in favor of the new-age vehemence of style over substance. Die-hard movie fanatics like me would love to hang on to our “vinyl”: vintage, film-based theaters showcasing the shining example of what a moviegoing experience can be. Apparently holding on to the past isn’t profitable, and the Uptown Theatre has removed almost every aspect of its past. In trying to update a seemingly drab theater, they removed everything that made the Uptown Theatre unique. Audiences will be coddled by the video screens in the lobby, entranced by the tacky colors, dumbed down by the alcohol, and given a horrible déjà vu feeling in the cubicleesque pleather chairs, ultimately leading to a soon to be commonly uttered, “pretty ok experience.”

Alex Lauer

www.wakemag.org

05

cities

The Wake’s Comprehensive From the standard Pumpkin Spice Lattes to Cinna S’more Mochas, we’ve put together everything you need to know to satisfy your insatiable appetite for Fall drinks.

BY Kelcie McKenney and Joey Cronick

It’s that time of year again! Fall is here with its crisp weather, cozy mittens, changing leaves, and Fall drinks. But where does one even start when there are so many pumpkin-this and pumpkin-that lattes to choose from? Lucky for you, we have set out to discover where the best pumpkin drinks are located on campus. From West Bank to Dinkytown, Washington Avenue to Como, we walked everywhere testing the level of Fall-goodness each drink had to offer. If this doesn’t answer all of your questions about where to get your liquid Fall fix, I don’t know what will.

THE BEST Pumpkin Chai Latte – Mapps (Kelcie) Words cannot describe the deliciousness of this delectable drink. With just a hint of cinnamon and apple blasted with a whole lot of pumpkiny goodness, this was by far my favorite.

On top of that, the chai was phenomenal, probably due to the fact that Mapps makes their chai tea. Overall, the flavors of this drink are so dynamic; you get a different taste at the beginning, middle, and end of each sip. Every flavor is powerful, but it isn’t overbearing at all. Mapps is kind of far, considering it is located on west bank, but I’d suggest bringing some homework over to their cozy location and casually enjoying a Pumpkin Chai Latte.

Pumpkin Pie Latte – Purple Onion and Espresso Expose (Kelcie) The first sip of this immediately brought me to my grandmother’s kitchen. The warm, homey pumpkin taste with a dash of cinnamon brings a sweet and creamy sensation to all of my taste buds. It was like drinking pure comfort, the kind that comes with fresh baked pastries and a cozy blanket.

Even better yet, you can find it at the Purple Onion and at Espresso Expose, since they both have the same owner. I really like my coffee sweet, so if that isn’t for you this may not be your drink of choice.

Cinnamon Hot Chocolate - Mapps (Joey) A generous warm mug of rich chocolate to warm your fingers on those crisp Fall days. Milk chocolate shavings melt upon a frothy top sprinkled with cinnamon. Simply put, this hot chocolate was delicious. Sweet but not too sweet, with a hint of cinnamon spice. If you’re a chocolate lover, put Mapps on your map.

Lumberjack Latte - Purple Onion Café and Espresso Expose (Joey) Upon ordering this drink, the first thing you’ll notice is the wonderful aroma. Spiced cinnamon with praline and maple sweetness. The Lumberjack Latte is smooth. I found it to be one of the smoothest and creamiest drinks of the Fall season. Maple sugar crystals and praline mix well with the dark roast coffee to create a drink that is a staff-picked favorite for good reason.

Kelcie Mckenney

06

24 september - 08 october 2012

THE WORST Cubano Con Panna – Purple Onion and Espresso Expose (Kelcie) This coffee is crazy strong, as in way too strong for me. The coffee is almost overpowering, and the taste is very smoky and dark. I felt like I was drinking a campfire, a very spicy campfire. Maybe dark roast is your thing, but for me the Cubano Con Panna was way too much.

Pumpkin Chai – Caribou (Kelcie) I think the best adjective for this drink is “meh.” It isn’t absolutely terrible, it isn’t even that bad, it’s just really boring. The flavors are really bland and dull, and they don’t exactly make me want to drink more. I can hardly notice any pumpkin flavor either, just a little dash of it. If you don’t like overwhelming flavor, you may like this drink. I just think this Pumpkin Chai is a little too boring for me.

Overflow Pumpkin Spice (Joey) This drink did not mix well. In fact, the pumpkin flavor used was physically separating out of my coffee. The coffee was strong and more bitter than I have a taste for. Not worth the walk.

Dunn Bros Pumpkin Spice Latte (Joey) This drink was less sweet than the others with more spice.

Dunn Bros coffee is strong and I found that their fall drink flavors were easily masked by the darkness of the roast. The coffee was bitter and a little overpowering. If you’re a coffee purist then check out Dunn Brothers. Not for me.

cities

G uide to

waste your = don’t money on it

FALL D RI NKS

GET THIS = GO DRINK NOW

Kelcie’s Ratings

Joey’s Ratings

Locations

Mapps

Mapps

Mapps Coffee and Tea

Pumpkin Chai Latte Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Pumpkin Chai Latte

1810 Riverside Avenue

Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Dunn Bros

Dunn Bros

Dunn Bros

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Maple Latte

Pumpkin Maple Latte

Education Science, Lower Level Wilson Library, Lower Level 530 University Ave SE

Sea Salt Caramel Latte

Sea Salt Caramel latte

Autumn Spice Latte

Autumn Spice Latte

Espresso Royale

Espresso Royale

Maple Frappuccino

Maple Frappuccino

Pumpkin Chai Latte

Pumpkin Chai Latte

Muddsuckers

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Spice Latte

1500 Como Ave SE

Muddsuckers

Muddsuckers

Chai Tea

Chai Tea

Purple Onion/Espresso Expose

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Spice Latte

1301 University Ave SE

Purple Onion/Espresso Expose

Purple Onion/Espresso Expose

600 Washington Ave SE

Cinna S’more Mocha

Cinna S’more Mocha

Toffee Nut Latte

Toffee Nut Latte

Overflow Espresso Cafe

Lumberjack Latte

Lumberjack Latte

2929 University Ave SE

Cubano Con Panna

Cubano Con Panna

Pumpkin Pie Latte

Pumpkin Pie Latte

Toasted Chai

Toasted Chai

Overflow

Overflow

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Caribou

Caribou

Pumpkin White Chocolate Mocha

Pumpkin White Chocolate Mocha

Pumpkin Chai

Pumpkin Chai

Pumpkin Latte

Pumpkin Latte

Starbucks

Starbucks

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Espresso Royale 411 14th Ave SE

Caribou 917 Washington Ave SE

Starbucks 615 Washington Ave SE Coffman Memorial Union, Ground Level Lind Hall, Ground Level Hanson Hall, Second Level

www.wakemag.org

07

voices voices

“War Over Women” Bound to Leave Behind Some Casualties Presidential candidates battle over women’s issues in the race to win.

By Sara Glesne There’s no denying the ongoing U.S. presidential election has at moments been wrapped up in a feminine mystique. Major television news networks MSNBC, CNN and FOX News, among others, have taken their stances and garnered viewers’ attention through editorializing an ongoing “War Over Women” in both nominees’ campaigns, and more broadly in current U.S. politics.

As Mitt Romney’s endorsement by the Republican Party became more certain in April, so too did criticisms of Romney and his party’s politics in regards to women. CNN, in particular, cited Romney’s attempts to spotlight economic failures under President Obama in an attempt to use a “charm offensive” to gather votes from women across the political spectrum. In response to these accusations, the Obama administration questioned Romney on his lack of support for the Lilly Ledbetter Act, which could theoretically provide legal protection for women suing for gender-based pay discrepancies at work.

all so interested in my vagina, but no means no.” Representative Barb Byrum’s proposal to add to Michigan House Bill 5711, a ban on vasectomies for men unless the procedure could be deemed “life-saving”, also led to Byrum’s excusal from the conversation.

Aug. 19, 2012: The phrase “legitimate rape” entered into national conversation from the mouth of Todd Akin, a Republican nominee for the Missouri senate. His bold, and medically unsubstantiated claim that female bodies host mechanisms that can self-abort fetuses conceived from violent, “legitimate” rape scenarios received criticism from not only the left, but also from his own team as some Republicans encouraged him to bow out of the race.

So, yes. It seems relatively safe to admit women’s rights have been dealt some demeaning, even if at times symbolic, blows in recent months, most prominently by right-wing politicians.

But that assessment fails to mention another, broader issue the War Over Women is stirring up: the portrayal of women (and their issues) within politics at large.

The most recent U.S. census pegged women at approximately 50.8% of the U.S. population. That fact in mind, the representation of women’s issues as more divisive than say, nominees’ stances on the economy is noteworthy. Bodies like the National Women’s Political Caucus exist to shed light on the Equal Rights Amendment, access to contraceptives and abortions among other legislation impacting American women.

But they don’t necessarily tackle anything as nuanced as the semantics of the War Over Women.

Both Michelle Obama and Ann Romney gave speeches on the first night of the Democratic and Republican national conventions that brought them to more positive public opinion poll ratings. In their respective speeches, Michelle and Ann both highlighted the personal strengths of their husbands rather than the public and political stances they have taken.

While both women may have expressed sweet sentiments, the blatant tactical placement of these speeches is jarring. If it wasn’t obvious earlier in the campaign season that women’s

rights can be manipulated and transformed into objects to serve the ends of politicians tugging on the shirtsleeves of political clout, it is now. These speeches serve as a reminder that representations of femininity in politics rely on the assumption that womanly, motherly nature equals emotion.

In an attempt at a tear-jerker moment, Ann Romney addressed the crowd, “I want to talk not about what divides us, but what holds us together as an American family… Tonight, I want to talk to you about love.”

If the War Over Women is about the creation of divisions in American public opinion, then Romney’s speech served as a meager attempt to sweep away some less than subtle evidence pertaining to women’s roles in politics. Women in politics are still seen as diminutives of their male counterparts, be it literally the representatives themselves or the citizens whose rights are being re-written by the legislative branch.

I’ll commend Michelle Obama’s speech in that she doesn’t so blatantly appeal to the deliriously large concept of feminized love as an ideal for an entire nation. Her consideration of many of her husband’s political moves (including his stance on the Lilly Ledbetter Act) anchors the sentimental feel of much of her speech. However, the use of her voice as a ploy to assemble more women supporters doesn’t sit right with me.

Last election season, U.S. citizens observed a female candidate for the Democratic nomination struggle with maintaining a public image that wouldn’t overemphasize her capacity to be commanding while simultaneously working to justify her right to have emotions. The spotlight on Hillary Clinton thus emphasized the double standard that women can’t be forthcoming without being bitches, and also can’t be emotional without being out of control.

This time around, let’s not allow the issue of female representations in politics to fade into the background. Instead, consider how the “War Over Women” might just be the tip of a forgotten iceberg that has begun to resurface.

In recent months, news stories have smacked of the harsh awareness that some higher-ups are frankly not interested in placing women on equal footing in the political arena, though their bodies are fair game for political agendas including increasingly repressive stances on contraception and abortion rights.

The metaphorical ball that is women’s rights has been tossed back and forth between the nominees’ campaign rhetoric over the last several months, so let’s take a peek at a few of the more controversial events to assemble an image of why this “War Over Women” has received the attention it has so far: Feb. 16, 2012: House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) holds an almost all-male panel on the justification of religious freedom to exempt certain institutions from a requirement to provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives. The panel drew attention upon its refusal to hear testimony from a female Georgetown University student, who would have been the only female in favor of contraceptive rights on the panel. Issa later referenced the hearing as, “not my greatest success.”

Jun. 14, 2012: Representative Lisa Brown (D-MI) was banned from the House floor during a conversation about reproductive rights legislation after she replied, “Mr. Speaker, I’m flattered that you’re

08

24 september - 08 october 2012

noah freeman

voices

It’s okay to be gay… but what’s too gay?

expressed. It’s the idea that people don’t want something so sinister “shoved in their face” – much like we have little interest in seeing a heterosexual couple feel each other up on a park bench.

By Tommy Finney

What makes me guffaw the hardest is to see and hear how simple-minded so many straight, “gay friendly” people actually are. They claim to be accepting of all backgrounds and lifestyle choices, but when it comes to actually seeing two guys kiss or a gay male wear nail polish, heels or a pink bra they just have no time for it. Some of this I understand – who really wants to see a busted tranny at 2 am ordering a deluxe McChicken?

No, but actually. Platform heels? Glitter infused nail polish?

What about a Michael Kors purse? Let’s be honest, if you’re a guy and you own any of these… you’re pretty much a flaming homosexual. The question is, what (if anything) is wrong with that? I mean it’s pretty obvious that today’s society is totally accepting of people being gay, right? Absolutely! Except when you choose to show it. You can be as gay as you want in your bedroom, but when you’re in the streets it’s expected that you will be as heteronormative as possible. Whether you’re holding your boyfriend’s hand while checking out the Nordstrom’s fall heel collection or ordering a quick McChicken in slutty drag attire, society has no interest whatsoever in seeing people express their homosexuality.

But society has become so accepting, right? No. But we’ve progressed so much! No. But even gay marriage is starting to be legalized in some states? No. Okay maybe. But as much as we all want to believe that America has accepted homosexuality and the culture that comes with it, we have to face the reality that this is just not the case. Ideologically, America, for the most part, has come to understand and accept the concept of being gay. However, beyond this basic understanding of homosexuality (i,e. two men or women sleeping together) society as a whole has no interest in seeing homosexuality

Who Wants a Free Pony?

Vote for Vermin Supreme, America’s friendliest fascist.

By Logan Wroge When November 6th comes and you’re standing in that booth, deciding the fate of this country for the next four years, or whether Romney or Obama should lead us, don’t forget the very important write-in space and that our future lies in ponies. Okay, maybe ponies aren’t the ideal future for most, if not all, Americans, but one presidential candidate thinks they are. Vermin Supreme, the self-proclaimed “friendly fascist,” is a political satirist, activist, anarchist, and one of your choices when electing our president.

Supreme often says, “A vote for me is a vote completely thrown away.

With an undisclosed birthday and birth name, Vermin Love Supreme is a mysterious man with very humorous ideas to rebuild our nation, one of which is switching to a pony-based economy. This election isn’t his first attempt at becoming Commander-in-Chief. Supreme has been campaigning since 2000, although he’s enjoyed little political success. Each elec-

tion he has run in has only seen a handful of votes with the name Vermin Supreme, but he keeps reappearing every four years.

The name Vermin Supreme is odd enough, but his appearance and political platform is what makes the whole package. On top of his head sits a boot that appears to get taller with time, and he now rocks a beard even longer than Grizzly Adams’.

On occasion, Supreme carries around a large toothbrush to promote his proposed mandatory tooth brushing laws. For professionalism, he sports a mustard colored jacket with multiple neckties. In short, he looks like the type of person you would see on the street and go the complete opposite direction from. Along with Supreme’s tooth brushing laws, he plans on giving every American a pony, generating electricity from zombies chasing brains, and time-travelling to kill infant Hitler. It’s safe to say that his focus on more zany issues sets him apart from other politicians.

My concern, however, is that when a male wants to express his sexuality (or femininity more so) through family friendly ways that would be acceptable for any biological woman to do, he becomes an attention-crazed lunatic who is angry at the world. As a minority, the homosexual community is exposed to heteronormative behavior all day, everyday. So yes, it is a bit frustrating when we make a conscious decision to express our sexuality in public, whether it is painted nails or holding our boyfriend’s hand in Coffman Union, only to find insecurity-masked resistance by the public. What disgusts me the most about this resistance is when I see it from people from our own generation. To be completely fair, our parents and their parents grew up in different times. But as for today, in 2012? If you still feel uncomfortable with homosexuality, it may be time to look at your own insecurities and do some self-assessment.

abolishment of government, a lesson can be learned from Vermin’s campaign. Make a wise choice this election year. If you don’t want to vote for Obama or Romney, write someone in that you truly believe would be a good leader. But if you just can’t make up your mind, remember that a free pony would always be nice.

Supreme often says, “A vote for me is a vote completely thrown away.” So if any of you non-brushers were worried, don’t be. His secret dental police wouldn’t be kicking your door in any time soon. As his new song suggests, he is a meme, but that doesn’t mean he’s not spreading his beliefs.

Vermin’s campaign is meant to wake Americans up to how useless and, often times, outrageous politics and politicians can be. He’s using the power of the Internet in his presidential campaign to promote his own government-less ideas while at the same time mocking American politicians. Even his name is a mockery of politics as he once described; he is the supreme vermin of all the politicians since every one of them is a rat. Even if you don’t believe in his fictitious platform of zombie-powered turbines or his real-life beliefs in the steve sitek

www.wakemag.org

09

feature

Why Cassidy, Courtney, Walker, Sam, Sara, Emily, Jack, and Kelcie chose to spend the most important years of their lives in the Twin Cities.

And why you chose right.

Cassidy Godfrey

•

from: Rapid City, SD

•

photos by Alex Lauer

major: Journalism, Fashion Studies minor

I’m from Rapid City, South Dakota (wait, South Dakota?), with a population of 70,000, an untouchable majority of which is comprised of white, middle-class conservatives. Rapid has the occasional Muslim family, some clusters of Native Americans, and maybe two democrats, but is otherwise pitifully lacking in diversity.

During a college visit a couple of springs ago (which, admittedly, also served as a visit to my long-distance lover), I was enchanted by an evening in Uptown. Shopping at Everyday People and Ragstock was a fun start to the outing, but I fell in love with dinner at Namaste Café, an Indian/ Nepalese restaurant located in an old Victorian house at the edge of Uptown. While my neck of the woods does have a curry restaurant or two, none compare to the intimate atmosphere, buzzing location, and flavor variety experienced here. I ended up with coconut curry, a choice I wholeheartedly recommend, but the menu of curries varies from mango to squash with bison—the most pressure customers experience is deciding which to taste! Namaste Café, though a brief encounter, opened my eyes (and mouth) to the endless ways to adventurously and culturally waste days in Minneapolis.

Courtney Bade

•

from: Minnetonka, MN

•

major: Journalism (radio...hopefully)

I used to religiously preach about escaping from suburban Minnetonka. If you had asked me where I wanted to go to college a year ago, I would’ve said Seattle. But then I started spending more time in the city, going to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, seeing shows at the Cedar Cultural Center (best acoustics ever), sitting at the Witch’s Tower at midnight looking at the city skyline, and going to Rock the Garden. I ventured down to the Electric Fetus on a weekly basis (and by weekly I mean three or four or five times per week…) and the Seward Co-Op for fantastic groceries (and sexy hippies). I was rarely home, now that I think about it. And yet, I was still fairly set on leaving Minnesota. Until one night back in February when my friend Rachel and I were sitting on the bridge that connects the Sculpture Garden to Loring Park, looking at and listening to the cars driving down Hennepin Avenue and I-94 at midnight, screaming Ginsberg’s “Howl” at the top of our lungs. It was beautiful. I realized in that moment that I couldn’t leave Minneapolis. I was, and still am, too much in love.

Walker Leonard

•

from: Minneapolis, MN

•

I grew up listening to strange music. Well, it’s only strange if you look at it from the point of view of today’s youth culture. Other than that, it’s not strange at all! Well, maybe that’s a stretch; I would say most everybody considers the accordion to be quite strange.

Yes, I was raised listening to the accordion. My father, Dan Newton, has made a living playing the accordion in the Twin Cities for over two decades. As I have grown to realize, Minnesota is kind to the strange.

Strange may not always mean the same thing: it ranges from stigmatized, to over-the-top, to something that is just so new that people don’t know how else to think about it. Sometimes, you experience something so great and unexpected that it becomes strange just because of how good it is. Minnesota has all these things, and being a musician who has spent his entire young career in the metro area, it’s a wonderful environment to expand your boundaries and broaden your interests.

From upcoming indie rock band Whistle Kid, to jazz-fusion-alt-rock-awesomeness Bomba de Luz, to conscious-boosting-hip hop group Lifted Minds, the young talent in Minneapolis and St. Paul is abundant, and ready to embrace the strangeness that the cities bring. Each of the above musical projects are dark horses in what is an ever growing scene of local talent.

This is why I love the Twin Cities. You can always find something that’s right up your alley, no matter how strange!

10

24 september - 08 october 2012

major: Sociology

feature

Sam Schaust

•

from: St. Paul, MN

•

major: Journalism

I was never born “in love” with Minnesota -- being here is more of a lifestyle choice, the same way choosing organic versus conventional foods can be. I ran away when I was 18, to Boston, a city I felt spelled my name on the rusted cobblestone streets laid before me. And each day on the breezy coast was unlike anything I’d encountered in everyday past. One raw night, as I smoked on the docks of the Boston Harbor flicking nicotine ashes into the sea, I felt the same sense of freedom the colonists did overboarding British tea two hundred and thirty-ish years ago. Yet a void still remained. A void that called for scantily hidden Canadian accents, dairy foods from cows so god-like they will make a local practice Hinduism, and plaid, lots and lots of plaid. Minnesota is consumed by trademarks it is not willing to share. Nowhere else can someone find Electric Fetus, 15,000 plus natural lakes, and good-natured people raised on “Minnesota nice” all under the same roof. After a year away, I called it quits. Now I’m finally home where I see my name paved into the blacktop roads of the Twin Cities suburbs.

Sara Glesne

•

from: Minneapolis, MN

•

major: Journalism

Some nights in Minneapolis call for a chance to simultaneously make and rid the mind of memories: there are few places better suited to that purpose than Palmer’s. Where most dives are destined to land as belly-flops, Palmer’s carves its unassuming niche on the West Bank almost gracefully.

The narrow barroom and spacious patio house an array of characters fit for a novel. Strong, yet cheap, pours at the bar make for high spirits and dramatic outbursts around the fire out back, where a rotating cast typically prove it’s possible to be both an asshole and a good neighbor at the same time.

The warm fuzzies this place gives me comes from something more profound than just the whisky-ginger catching up with my head. Here, it’s easy to lose track of pretenses and drop walls that living in Minneapolis for over twenty years can unwillingly create.

Beyond people watching, Palmer’s is a participatory sport. Due to the nature of the physical space, you’re going to have to make conversation with at least a few strange strangers. After skirting sideways into debatably the world’s least spacious bathroom, I’ve let out an audible laugh after spotting the scratched-on stall’s proclamation “I LOVE IT HERE!”

Emily Den Boer

•

from: cedarburg,WI

•

major: English, Political Science

Imagine a place where everyone knows your name (no, not the Cheers bar) and the stoplights turn off at 10pm.

Welcome to my hometown and my previous life. That being said, the closest thing we had to a concert in our city limits was an outdoor park gathering every Friday night in summer. Add a talented act, and subtract the North Shore Nancy’s doing some serious wine drinking and it had the possibility to be a good time. Yet, my musically inclined-self had some good concert venue yearning going on, and Minneapolis seemed like the right fix. So after some other deciding factors, I came here. My first stop was The Varsity for a The Morning Benders show. Literally steps out of my door, this instantly became the coziest and coolest place to see a band. And I will refrain from describing how I may or may not have a real interest in taking up residence in their bathrooms.

They are so. cool. Right away, I had satisfied my need for good music in a close location. Every week since, I’ve been left pining for larger paychecks to be able to frequent more venues. And every week I am ecstatic that I have this dilemma.

Jack Hanisch

•

from: Arlington Heights, IL •

major: Journalism, Art

Coming from a small Catholic School in the suburbs of Chicago, I needed to get the hell out. I wanted to attend a huge school so I decided to check out the U. I loved it, not only the campus but the surrounding areas as well. My friends and I road tripped to Minneapolis for a concert, (Bass Drum of Death, they rock) so I had a chance to explore the city, mainly Uptown. I visited the Electric Fetus, which is now my favorite place to buy records, and many other interesting spots. I had a taste of what it was like to live in Minneapolis and I loved it! The Twin Cities are full of fun and genuine people, and there’s always something to do. Whether it be going to a concert or a walk on the river, there’s no reason to ever be bored. I visited Minneapolis for the U and stayed for the lifestyle.

Kelcie McKenney

•

from: eden prairie, MN

•

major: Journalism

If you haven’t heard the daily “No Apologies” track chosen by Mary Lucia, the slightly overjoyed laugh that follows Mark Wheat’s attempted English humor, or the easy banter between Jill Riley and Steve Seel at the 9:30 Coffee Break, you are clearly missing out on this city’s most outstanding radio station. I think it is safe to say that 89.3, The Current, is the main reason I was drawn to the Twin Cities. Through constant involvement of local artists, like Jeremy Messersmith, Dessa, Peter Wolf Crier, and Trampled by Turtles, The Current suddenly opened my eyes to the unbelievably stunning array of musical opportunities found not so far from home. No matter what time I tuned in, The Current always managed to introduce something new and bring back an old track the world had already forgotten. I was obsessed. After hearing about a last minute, free Jeremy Messersmith show, it got to a point of desperation; I had to be closer to The Current. After realizing I couldn’t live in a city where good music didn’t exist, Minneapolis became my new home.

www.wakemag.org

11

sound & vision

The Revival of Twin Cities Soul Secret Stash Records revives the local genre with a retrospective album and release show.

By Josh Jones It’s safe to say that the Twin Cities holds an abundance of art support. As of late, the city council and mayors of both cities signed off on September 16 through September 22 to be “Twin Cities Funk & Soul Week.” This has been a result of the positive response for the album Twin Cities Funk & Soul: Lost R&B Grooves from Minneapolis/St. Paul 1964-1979 being released by Secret Stash Records. The release party wrapped up Funk & Soul week on September 22 at the Cedar Cultural Center featuring all-stars from the Twin Cities.

Secret Stash Records has produced a plethora of work in the cities which brings more creative works to light. VP of Sales & Marketing, Eric Foss said, “It’s nothing more than a reflection of what we enjoy listening to.” The label’s past releases “focuses on funk and soul related and enriched music, most

EDM is NOW

Electronic Dance Music has taken over the world. Get with it.

BY Juan P. Ramirez House, techno, disco, trance, dubstep, minimal, progressive, I could keep naming electronic music subgenres for ever. But they all sum up into what is mainly known as EDM (Electronic Dance Music). This movement, started mainly as an underground scene in the mid 80´s and 90´s, and was Commonly played in strategic places like warehouses and basements.

However, 30 years later EDM is one of the most popular genres around the world. Artist like David Guetta, Scrillex, Avicci, Deadmau5, and Swedish House Mafia are some of the biggest, and better-known artist of this repetitive, but catchy music. You might be thinking: when did our generation become so involved in this movement?

As has already been said, electronic dance music has been around for a long time. However, when pop artist started doing collaborations with DJ´s, producers, and to mix electronic sounds into their songs, both artists and DJ´s notice the huge impact that these had on the mainstream culture. Songs like “When Love Takes Over” by David Guetta which featured Kelly Rowland, “Sexy Bitch” featuring Akon, “Memories” featuring Kid Cudi are some of the first collaborations between DJ´s and pop artist that became famous on the mainstream.

Nevertheless, in my opinion the big explosion of EDM was in 2009 when The Black Eye Peas release “I got a feeling.” This song was also produce by David Guetta, and it was nominated

12

24 september - 08 october 2012

of which has been from around the world. We’ve done records from Nigeria, Ghana, Haiti, Peru, Iran” said Foss.

dar... It has pretty much been as much work as the album itself,” said Foss.

What sets Lost R&B Grooves apart is that it’s music from the community collected from past artist and artist in the cities now. “We’ve slowly been doing more and more domestic albums and this new release has been a reflection of that change,” said Foss.

The work has paid off. Lost R&B Grooves perfectly presents the lost story of artists around the cities from the support of Secret Stash. There is no equal to this passed over underdog story.

The album revives music that was never widely distributed in the 60s and 70s and tells a story from the period.

“Once we started telling the story people really connected with it. It wasn’t hard to get the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to declare it Funk & Soul Week once all the work was done,” Foss said. The album reflects very diligent work from the label.

Secret Stash’s search for the Lost R&B Grooves yielded 21 tracks from various artists. Foss voiced that it started by asking if they wanted to come by the office to talk for a few albums, “‘Just tell us your story.’ And that’s not hard because pretty much everyone we’ve run into is really excited to tell this story because no one really has asked them to tell it.”

Creating the album has been a huge undertaking for the label and they have continued to set the bar high with the release party at the Cedar Cultural Center. “We’re going to have 15 or 17 musicians that are going to playing at the Ce-

5th on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.

T.V commercials, ads, and video games are some other reasons why EDM has become so popular in our generation. For example, “Reptile’s Theme” from Skrillex was used in one of the Mortal Kombat video games and its commercials. Also, some of the most of the prestigious brands in the world like Absolut, Hyundai, Microsoft, Mountain Dew, Pizza Hut and Under Armour, are using EDM to convince their clients to buy their products and have a better experience while looking at their ads.

Furthermore, Minneapolis EDM movement is becoming bigger every year. Thanks to companies like Sound in Motion, and Hydrive Shows, the Twin Cities had the chance to get to listen some of the most famous and popular DJ´s around the world. Artists like Paul Van Dyk, Ferry Conrsten, Infected Mushroom, Markuz Schulz and many more had the oportunity to play in front of the Minnesotan public thank to these two companies.

If you are a big EDM fan and want to know some more about this type of music, you should definitely read The Wake´s next issue. We will have some interviews with up coming DJs in the local scene as well as some EDM promoters and event planners from Minneapolis.

secret stash records

Don’t know about EDM? Check out these artists Swedish House Mafia • The Bloody Beetroots Vaski • Above & Beyond • Felix Da Housecat Martin Solveig • Roger Sanchez • Thomas Gold

JIUN KIM

sound & vision

ficult so Heinitz leaned on a friend to bring in the headliner with help of his booking company.

The origins of Hip-Hop Harambee began after Jake organized the Audio Perm Block Party last summer. He wanted to help the community in Minnesota that he feels gets the least respect: the East Africans, using urban music in an urban environment. After going through names like “PhaceKnock”, “Yaw Mean” and “Naw Mean” Jake settled on Hip Hop Harambee after a car ride with some friends and help with his Kenyan host-mom. He said Kenya is the personification of “Harambee” due to the community togetherness he witnessed while there. He wanted to recreate that in the festival in the Twin Cities.

Hip Hop Harambee draws on East African roots to help the West Bank come together.

The festival brought an assortment of people it was very much a community effort due to friends telling friends and so on.

D.Js such as D.J Akiem, DJ Kush and Taylor Madrigal mixed during the intermissions. The rapper Manny Phesto made a shout out to his parents and girlfriend who came to support him at the festival. Hip-Hop Harambee was hosted by Alicia Steele who said “I’m very excited to see every artist and I’m feeling selfish because I’m enjoying all my favorite musicians in one place.” True, it was hard for many of the fans and even artists to say who their favorite musicians were: from the hyped up music of Audio Perm to the relaxing sounds of Mankwe or the truthful lyrics of Haphdunz. This festival also recognized some of the issues rising up in Minneapolis at the moment, artist Mankwe, a native of West Bank, Minneapolis reminded fans about the controversial marriage vote. The festival’s organizers even provided staff to help register concertgoers to vote in the upcoming elections. A profound spoken word piece during one of the intermissions by sought to remind the audience about the purpose of community.

By Vanessa Nyarko

Hip Hop Hip Hip Hop Hip Hip Hop Hooray! Hey! Ho! Similar to the chorus of Naughty by Nature’s “Hip Hop Hooray”, The Hip Hop Harambee on September 15th was a mass celebration of hip hop music. The event took place at Nomad Parking Lot at 501 Cedar Ave. on the West Bank. Hip Hop Harambee (pronounced huh-rawm-bay) was put together by former University of Minnesota student Jake Heinitz. Amidst, the festival there were hipsters, hippies and even the homeless who all came together to enjoy the great music playing that day. The festival is the only other all hip hop festival in the Twin Cities other than Soundset which moved to Shakopee, Minnesota.

The idea of this festival came from the location: Cedar-Riverside. Harambee is Swahilli for “coming together” and it was Heinitz’s intention to bring all the hip-hop aficionados in the Twin Cities together with disregard to race, sexual orientation or socioeconomic background.

The concert had local Twin Cities artists such as Audio Perm, Sean Anonymous, Mankwe featuring Medium Zach, Bomba Umoya, Sims, Big Zach, Manny Phesto & Axel Foley, Duenday, Grittee Committee Haphdunz, META, Up Rock, Mike the Martyr, Lizzo and Larva Ink Big Zach and More than Lights and other special guests. The main headliner was Talib Kweli with his live band who performed last in the evening. Jake being a well connected individual booked a stellar lineup by calling up most of his favorite artists in the Twin Cities whom happened to be his friends.Getting Talib Kweli, famous for his work with Mos Def in the group Black Star, was more dif-

shonna korsmoe

shonna korsmoe

The relaxed chill vibe of the festival was almost derailed during Big Zach’s set when someone in the audience threw water at another onlooker. The MC asked the man to apologize to the audience but he refused and the man was escorted out.

Big Zach didn’t want anyone disrupting the positivity and togetherness of the festival. Some of the audience had similar shirts and stickers on to promote the clothing brand :Create Karma. Local artist Sean Anonymous had this say about the festival “ It’s really tight, good people having a good time which is the reason why people are here today.”

The Hip Hop Harambee also teamed up with the Brian Coyle Center to promote the Cedar-Riverside youth. Jake and muralist Jordan Hamilton decided to make a mural in Cedar Riverside by the Brian Coyle Center. When Jake and Jordan spoke to the youth they all decided on a mural of mothers.

Mainly, because mothers in the Cedar-Riverside do a lot for their kids so they decided it was a great way of showing appreciation. So far they have the sketch done but they are hoping the mural will be done in early October. Many of the youth at the Brian Coyle Center will assist in painting the mural as a part of a community effort. As part of the festivities there were also food trucks, but the main attraction was Assase Yaa serving up Ghanaian cuisine which everyone seemed to have a plate of. Towards the back were most of the sponsors like Heineken who were selling alcohol and vendors that were selling festival shirts and CD’s.

The festival took place from two to ten o’clock with Talib Kweli setting it off at night. That led to the after party at Nomad’s World Pub with attractions like That Dude Trey and Toki Wright. Almost all of the 21 and older fans went to after party to experience both hip hop and house and electronic music in the pub.Overall the festival was well attended and it accomplished it goals of bringing people together with the assortment of people with different styles and ideas but all brought together by good hip hop. Jake’s plan for the next year is to block out a whole city block and then the flowing year two city blocks and so on. He hopes one day if possible to take it national maybe internationally but right now he is absolutely happy about and having a strong base in the city.

When asked before about how the festival would go Jake said, “the festival is already a success not based on audience numbers but because we accomplished out plan of bringing the community together recognizing East African culture.”

www.wakemag.org

13

sound & vision

The Wake brings you the best in new, local music:

Q&A: Panther Ray

BY Zach McCormick While their origins may lie in noise-rock freakouts and tenminute feedback jams, my first impression of the St. Paul band Panther Ray had them pegged as Sixties throwback group. Mixing classic, British-invasion songwriting chops with modern studio-wizardry, this young group manages to sound incredibly polished beyond their years. Their debut EP Parallel Motions was released in March of 2012 and is total headphone-crack for all you paisley clad psych-heads out there. The Wake met up with Panther Ray and their many, many cats at their apartment in Midway to talk about their forthcoming EP Palermo Stallion and their transition from studio to stage.

The Wake: When did Panther Ray start playing together as a band? I remember hearing about you guys a little while back.

Evan Kramer: Roughly 2008?

Andy Rockwood: Yeah, I think the first time all four of us played together was late August, early September 2008. And that was back when you [to Dan] had a big cable and shit and were doing all that noise stuff. And you [to Joey] were playing Trombone like, “Whoa, what do I do?”

Evan: It was very different.

Joey Johnson: My Trombone had all sorts of effects pedals and stuff, we just made noise for like the first two years.

Dan Reis: Pretty much. We used a lot of samples, pedals, feedback loops as well as microphone feedback.

W: Was there a “Panther Ray” before this group of guys got together? How did the band get rolling?

D: I would say it roughly began with these jams we used to have at our practice space at CitySound Studios. It was kind of loose in the beginning, where we’d have a lot of people that were all involved, like 8 people would be in on it. Everyone would be sort of interchangeable at that point, sometimes there’d be vocals, sometimes there wouldn’t, sometimes there’d be guitar and sometimes there wouldn’t be guitar. Slowly over time it pared down to the core group of the four of us.

A: All four of us were usually there. When did we start actually writing songs?

J: Summer of 2009. That’s when we took the name on too. We didn’t really have a name until then.

W: I love the name, how did you guys come up with that?

14

24 september - 08 october 2012

A: Well, me and Joey played in a Jazz combo that was called “Manta Ray,” and then we found out that there was a band in Spain called Manta Ray, and so, as a joke, I suggested “Panther Ray.” That didn’t fly with those Jazz cats, so we used it for this.

J: It’s a predator…like US! [laughs]

W: What was the first song that you guys wrote or performed that really felt like “Panther Ray,” rather than those early jams?

[In Unison] “Beasters” A: For a while we’d have like, a general idea for a song, maybe like one melody or a sort of feel and we’d just go on that for a pretty long time until everybody decided they were done.

Those all eventually developed into songs, but the track “Beasters” that will be on the next EP was probably the first one where everyone knew what to do.

J: I think you finally write one and then the band has to say, “Well, now we’ve got a song. We’d better take this somewhere.”

D: It evoked the feeling of what we were doing very well at the time, hence the name, I mean…. [band chuckle] D: Shortly thereafter it became less about jamming. That one exclusively came from just playing together in the room and just coming up with the parts, but most of the stuff following that has been either, at least brunt of the chord progressions and the structure has come from one person for the most part, since then. Which is usually me or Evan, for most songs.

Andy has a couple.

J: Personally for me, it’s a lot of jazz, and hip-hop, and that doesn’t really come through a lot in the way the songs come together.

D: Initially it felt like the greatest influences involved were along the lines of bands like Black Dice and Sonic Youth, and other kind of noise-y rock bands. I think over time the music matured with us, but in a weird way it’s also regressing back to things I liked initially like The Beatles, Jefferson airplane, and The Byrds. That stuff is all very influential, and sticks with me at lest.

A: At least in the past year the biggest influence has been late 60’s psych-rock bands.

D: Psych is definitely a consuming pastime of mine. [laughs]

W: How does your songwriting process work now that you’re writing individually more?

D: Songs usually start by either me or Evan bringing in the chord-changes, it’s usually a fairly formed idea by the time it gets introduced, at least the parts of it are there, maybe not the vocals or something like that yet. Then everybody puts their piece in. We do things kind of analytically I guess, when we record stuff. We do a lot of this overdub kind of stuff, and we typically only record 2 or 3 instruments live at a time, and then fill in the rest of it afterwards, so it’s pretty deliberate.

Everything is sort of under the microscope a little bit. Being a big fan of psychedelic music, the recording process for that stuff is really catered towards highlighting certain portions of the sound. One of the things we talked about doing for the first EP was wanting to make the recording something that was not do-able live. The actual final project was not possible to do with all the instruments we added and only the four of us, we’d need extra people involved.

W: How has Panther Ray changed since that earlier era of the band?

J: “Watertower” is one of the tracks on the EP, and we only learned how to play it as a four-piece about 3 days ago.

J: More recently it’s been “record first, learn songs later.”

Like, piecing songs together for a recording, working them out together, but not really learning them as a live band until after they’ve been recorded, or as they’re being recorded.

W: What’s attractive to you about that sort of recording style?

E: We’ve found that this approach takes a while.

D: It does take a while, but it’s seemingly, at least for the resources we have on-hand, the best that we can do.

J: It should be noted that all the recording is done at Dan’s house. He does all the recording.

W: What are some musical influences that inform what you guys do as a band?

D: I guess it’s because a lot of the Indie Rock records these days, at least the few ones that I do hear and manage to be popular, it seems like the albums stick with a unified feel the entire time. They have one kind of sound for the drums and one kind of sound for the bass, and the guitars and the whole kind of album just rolls with that sound. I guess one of my favorite things about...let’s take the album Revolver by The Beatles, is that every song sounds very different from the others. I don’t feel like a lot of bands worry about whether they’re going to be able to play their songs live, and I just wanted to throw all that to the wind and make a really unique experience on the recording. I want that experience to be very par-

sound & vision

Zach McCormick

ticular to the record itself, something that you would not be able to have in a natural environment.

W: What’s it been like trying to make that transition from the studio to the stage?

D: We’ve definitely been playing a lot more shows this summer than we have in the past.

A: We all really like playing shows, and I think we’ve done a pretty solid job of figuring out what parts from songs need to be there live, like not every guitar overdub is totally necessary.

D: I like the fact that in the studio you can record something and be happy with it, and get it down right the way you want to do it, without being concerned with all the little technical things that can happen at a venue, like somebody breaks a string… [band laughs, Andy broke a string at a performance earlier that day] You can hone on what you want to do.

E: Or how you want the final product to sound, it might sound pretentious, but it’s kind of like doing a play versus writing a book. Doing a play you have one shot, that night, to do everything, whereas with writing a book you’re really crafting it.

D: The way we record, nothing’s really static. If a part isn’t gel-ing after a few weeks, we’ll redo it. There’s been a bit of an overlap too, there’s some stuff on our new EP that was re-

corded at the same time as the songs on Parallel Motions.

W: What kind of process went into recording your first EP? It sounds like you’ve been working on it for quite a while.

A: I think the first thing recorded on Parallel Motions was parts of “Watertowers”, which we started in around January of 2010.

J: You can really tell the early recordings from the stuff we do now, some of the earliest stuff we’ve re-done just to catch the songs up with the recording quality. “Aught”, on the new EP, was first recorded in the summer of 2010 and we’ve re-done it multiple times since then, because the first time we recorded it in a garage using a microphone hanging down from the ceiling.

D: I’m definitely the dorkiest when it comes to all that studio stuff. I was raised in that kind of environment, my brother’s a big engineer, and he does a lot of recording and stuff like that.

His stuff has got kind of a Phil Spector vibe. His influence on me is pretty hard. A lot of the stuff that I couldn’t figure out at first was technical problems that he helped me fix. “You didn’t do the staging of this properly” or “you might want to try mixing this through a compressor” or something like that.

Over the time it’s gotten easier for me, and there’s definitely a particular sound to this new EP, it’s a little more unified than Parallel Motions. There’s still a lot of difference song-to-song though. I want the repeat listens to be rewarding, so if there’s interesting things about each track, when you listen again, two or three times after, that this little part has a totally different drum sound than the rest of the song, or the bass tone

changes for just a few bars. I listen for that kind of stuff when I listen to music, so I guess I try to put those same kind of moments into my songs.

W: Let’s talk about your new EP for a minute.

D: We’re calling it Palermo Stallion.

J: That’s an anagram.

D: Yeah, it’s Parallel Motions switched around. The two were meant to be kind of companions. We’re kind of mulling over the release date at the moment, and the big hang-up is whether we’re going to release it on Vinyl. If we do, we’ll release our two EP’s as one single LP, with Parallel on the A side and Palermo on side B. If that pans out we’re probably going to try to release it on the Mayan Apocalypse, December 21st or whatever. If not, we’ll probably shoot it out sooner than that, sometime in November or late October or something.

Panther Ray is: Joey Johnson - trombone, bass Evan Kramer - drums, vocals, guitar, piano, percussion Daniel Ries - guitar, vocals, bass, drums, organ Andy Rockwood - bass, guitar, backing vocals

Check them out: PantherRay.bandcamp.com

www.wakemag.org

15

S W E I V E R Why We Do 3

sound & vision

This - The Soap Factory

BY Robert Schoen

The current exhibit on display at The Soap Factory, in NE Minneapolis, is a solo project by Minneapolis artist, Andy DuCett. This exhibit is quite the stunner. It has many large pieces and they all come from a real life experience point of view. With a functioning thrift shop and record store included in the exhibit, DuCett begs the question of why we,

as a culture, have made habits of certain things. Or in essence: “why we do, the things we do”. Each element of the exhibit brings a new subject to the foreground, for the art viewer to ponder. Pieces range from a canoe in a pool of water surrounded by real vegetation, to a faux Mayan temple with balloons ready to be set free, the day the Mayan calendar (placed next to the temple) comes to an end. With subtle hints of hilarity and strong emotions of realism, this exhibit sometimes feels absolutely real. The potential museum-goer may not even realize that DuCett has created a scene and wander aimlessly around it, wondering what the significance of a beach like area is and why the flashing pinball machines are placed there. Some of the more interesting parts of the exhibit were the cloud watching area (where one can lay on plastic grass and watch a reel of fabric with toy story-esque clouds pass by), and the bootleggers home (seen through a hidden space and a hole in the wall). As a whole this exhibit is true to Minnesota and most certainly worth a quick bike ride from campus.

Habakkuk Stockstill

The Brothers Size The Guthrie Theater

By Alanna Norton As the audience takes their seats in a tiny, intimate studio theater, jazz music with African rhythm roots plays in the background. A man wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, shorts, aviator sunglasses and a sports cap plays the only live instrument: drums.

My first interpretation of the set, before the actors came on stage, was that it was extremely organic. Gloomy blue-grey lighting revealed grim wooden platforms stacked haphazardly on top of one another. Underneath these were random car parts, crates, and clothes that were occasionally used as props. The play itself followed a similar minimalist theme: there is only one writer, one director, and one set designer.

This gave the play a very focused and up-and-coming feel, something the Guthrie claims to strive for in their studio the-

ater, as written in the studio programmer’s note.

The actors never changed costumes, the set was stagnant, and the focus was purely on human interaction and emotion, which the actors portrayed beautifully. The playwright, Tarell Alvin McCraney, juxtaposed poetic dialogue with blunt street slang at random. Although a good idea, put into practice the clashing of violent swearing and dreamlike narratives was both jarring and slightly discomforting. The use of such coarse language was obviously to reflect the rough neighborhood the characters lived in but it felt forced. Despite this and sudden bursts of singing and a stomp number, the actors really pulled it off and managed to keep the heavy emotional language present and real. I enjoyed this show for the talent of the actors, but I just wish McCraney had allowed his words to flow more freely without always forcing scenes to be in a specific artistic structure.

The Brothers Size plays September 7-29 at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

Michal Daniel

WHY? – Sod In The Seed EP

By Matthew Cermak

3 years since Eskimo Snow WHY? returns to their unique brand of hip-hop with the Sod In The Seed EP. Fans of WHY?’s 2008 LP, Alopecia can rejoice, this album is more hiphop than their last. But for those left disappointed by 2009’s “songy” Eskimo Snow, know that this isn’t an Alopecia reprise. Wolf does as much singing as he does rhyming here.

Frontman, Yoni Wolf, bounces between being a wide-eyed optimist and an eye-rolling cynic. His lyrics are still the star of the show, unflinchingly honest, always skirting the line between uniquely perceptive and wincingly awkward. Wolf often makes you think, “I wish I didn’t just hear that”.

The title track, “Sod in the Seed” is a satirical examination of

16

24 september - 08 2012

the mainstream hip-hop tropes of materialism and so-called “first-world problems”. Opening with the sneering quip, “Let’s review some recent facts. I make decent cash, I’m a minor star. And we can’t last if she don’t drive a hybrid car.”

“Shag Carpet” contains Yoni’s best lines. It discusses the catharsis songwriting provides and its inability to ease Yoni’s feelings about being an aging hipster-lothario,“I use the first person cause it sounds more urgent. But the truth is I probably knew myself less than you did. I’m so lonesome that I’d let you take me out, If you looked like my ex-girlfriend or Zooey Deschanel.”

“Probable Cause” succinctly chronicles a sob story delivered to a state trooper. At one minute long, it feels incomplete. But a tease seems like the goal of the EP. WHY? delivers a morsel to tide you over until their full-length in October.

Obituaries

The Autumn Effect

By Brianna Kathleen Powers The sickly neon lights flicker in the train station. Humanity marches onwards through time, Godless and without reason.

Disembodied voices of the dead whisper into the crowds’ ears.

“Wake up.”

A young couple with hollow hearts and empty eyes say goodbye. They walk away slowly from one another. Without even so much as a second glance back as her lover’s train leaves the station the girl lights a cigarette and continues on her way to nowhere in particular.

A ring of smoke hangs over her and she drags her feet as she pushes the giant glass spinning doors that lead outside. Her steps outside were shallow like her soul, there was no substance no purpose, just the movements that were necessary.

The sloth in the grass quietly makes its way towards the girl.

She didn’t even blink as the sloth sluggishly slid around and bit her left ankle, in fact she just stood there, burning cigarette in hand, admiring the venom in its fangs. Once the sloth left she knelt down and grazed her fingers over the punctures

with a blank expression on her face. Questions went unasked for she did not care if the venom was lethal.

Like a ballerina on a needle the girl began to spin in the street outside the station. Twirling this way and that. She was graceful yet unwilling to move forward or to anywhere. It was as though a spell had been cast. Even through the dizzy haze she saw others spinning too just like her in place with luggage and umbrellas in hand.

The sloth had done its work and it slithered back to its place within the grass and watched the dance of humanity spin in place to the poisonous hymn of sin.

Someone, an ancient man, whose name does not matter asks: “Who is going to stop this?”

“No one” answered the sloth.

“Where did it go wrong?”

“No where” answered the sloth.

“When did humanity cease to care?”

“It never did” answered the sloth.

“Why did the sloth and not the snake bite humanity?”

The sloth smiled slowly and morphed into a monarch butterfly and answered. “I am the snake.”

And then it fluttered away into the autumn sky. Hell breathes starting the Autumn Effect. It swiftly stole the breath of the Holy Spirit, the love of Christ, and the mercy of God from humanity. No one and I mean no one, was there to say goodbye to life or ask for salvation as the butterfly flew off into the now red sky.

How beautiful the apocalypse was in its eve, and silent as there was no one there to cry out when the end finally did came upon the earth in the most agonizing manner possible.

It melted eyes like the flash of an atom bomb, it suffocated each person with water in their lungs, and it shook the world to its knees. But no one was there, except the ancient man, to say “Please don’t do this!” to the beast that rose from the mouths of each human and formed a monster so great God himself wept at the sight of his creation’s creation.

Silent ending, no one and I mean no one, the ancient man died at the hands of his own people he tried to save, was there to give a damn as the world fell from its knees into oblivion.

www.wakemag.org

17

Obituaries

18

24 september - 08 october 2012

“It Smells funky In Here” www.wakemag.org

19

THE WAKE

NEEDS the new eye

YO U ! the new title logo the eye is punched out of the circle

WRITERS EDITORS ILLU ST RATOR S GRAPHIC DESIGNERS WEB DESIGNERS the new eye

the new title logo the eye is punched out of the circle

the new eye

the new title logo the eye is punched out of the circle

the new eye

the new title logo the eye is punched out of the circle

the new eye

the new title logo the eye is punched out of the circle

the new eye

come to our meeting. cuz we’re awesome.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 8 8:30 pm th

email abluhm@wakemag.org for our new location