16 blocks magazine - issue #19
DESCRIPTION
Blacksburg Elections, 88 Keys, Cowboy Junkies Interview, Downtown RecyclingTRANSCRIPT
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b l a c k s b u r g a r t s & c u l t u r e issueno.19
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WHEELSonBillboards
WHEELS
12 cooking with trent16 More Zombie Portraits18 Halloween Fun!20 artist: jessey schaudt21 a night with the keys
Local artist Kat Mills interviews Michael Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies before their October show at the Lyric
Sustainable Blacksburg, the Town and Downtown Merchants collaborate on a downtown recycling plan
16 Blocks interviews the Candidates for Town Council
4 Hands - Matt LaBarge and Shawn Brenneman
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Musicians on Music
trasH tHe duMPster
blacksburg elections
88 keys
24 expatriates: gregory bros.25 logos: big red26 to do list30 idle Minds31 support our advertisers
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CoverJesse Sigman: Zombie WaitressPhoto by David Franusich
Pg 16 & 17 Photos by David Franusich
Pg 18 & 19Illustrations by Danny Phillips
pinwheels for peace at the new school
16 BloCks Arts and Culture MagazineOctober 2009 Issue #19
A division of16 Blocks Media LLC.
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no.19
Hart FoWlerEditor in Chief, [email protected]
DavID FranuSIcHHead Print Designer, Art [email protected]
cHrIStIna o’connorDirector of Photography, Art [email protected]
amy SPlIttEditor [email protected]
DavID [email protected]
tyler GoDSeyBusiness Development [email protected]
KevIn FItZGeralDHead of Distribution
Danny Phillips - Illustratoraerin toler - Illustratortuan Pham - Photographeral Fayez - Photographertrent crabtree - Features WriterJeffrey Pillow - Guest WriterKat mills - Guest Writerchuck ronco - Chess Guru
CoNTrIBUTors
sTaff
PublisHer’s note: by Hart Fowler
a nIGHt WItH tHe KeySmatt labarge is taking a 15 minute nap in my base-
ment. at least that’s what he's attempting to do. It's mid-october and just before the piano exhibition "a night With the Keys" and I think he must have too much nervous energy to be comfortable. I left him to cool out down there on the couch with quiet funk music and dimmed lights. upstairs in the main room, the classical meditations from his solo piano on his newest cD "october", softly trickle from the house speakers, above the wine pours and chatter as more and more arrive for the show. recording microphones are adjusted, chairs are placed. His wife Shawn Brenneman is also performing, and she is enjoying the front porch with a handful of folks now including labarge, who could take no rest. Inside, the strings and hammers and keys and pedals of the 100-year old upright piano at the far end of the room are idle. the lights are turned down and the living room audience of thirty or so take their seats as the show is about to begin.
a house show feels different, and this kind feels old fashioned in a way I like. a few friends entertaining a few friends.
tHree PIanoS, a BrIDGe Game, anD a Hotelthe first time matt laBarge and I spoke at length was
at attitude's Bar where I play the piano in the early evenings. He had sent me some information about his newest recording and I invited him by for a meeting after my gig was over. I was pleased he showed up early and played a set of his own pieces. Better still, each one was practiced, and full of depth and emotion. that same evening I met laBarge's wife, Shawn Brenneman. She is a contra-dance caller and a piano player as well. Keyboardist and owner of the aforementioned antique piano, aaron noe (Hope Hop), showed up and played a set at
attitude's that night as well. Brenneman had to leave for a Bridge game and from there we decided to go labarge's to play his big old Steinway and Sons grand and his young chang upright. after that session, naturally, we went on back to what we call the tavernacle, a fine two story rental house on main to play the old royal.
tHe tavernaclemy performance I can't comment on so much, but
I think the audience and I had a nice time getting into some pieces I am composing. the one I like the most was inspired by long walks on sunny days I used to take with my little sister, conner. the next player was aaron noe, who tuned the royal himself and is a finely trained player who played some original instrumentals and a Phish cover as well as the charlie Brown theme. the finale was played by laBarge. Before he began to play, a rich quiet settled into the crowded room gathered to listen.
He looked down at his hands, pushing down keys to hammer the strings to resonate and decay through the wood of the piano and into the open air. He played songs from "oc-tober", the album he released this month. the room of 30 people seemed to drift into a daydream, rapt. thirty minutes later and he stood up to a rousing applause and it felt like the afterglow of watching a great film.
more wine was poured, the chairs were put against the wall, and the second half of the show began. Brenneman played the waltzes, ragtime and blues on the piano and la-barge harnessed himself to the Hohner accordion and the dancing began. We took turns sharing duets on the piano and someone played the spoons and the night drove on. lightning could've cut the power and we wouldn't have missed a beat. old-fashioned, I like it.
a PlayFul SPIn on a GloBal ISSueon September 21, schools around the world celebrat-
ed the International Day of Peace by constructing vast quan-tities of paper pinwheels and displaying them outside their buildings. this year, 16 Blocks followed a tip from new School mom and vt faculty lakshmi Jayaram and found a gloomy Bleaksburg day lit up by the students’ colorful pinwheels.
a pinwheel is easy to make. take an 8 1/2 by 11-inch piece of paper in your favorite color and pattern, and fold and cut to leave a square (or just start with a square piece of pa-per). Draw a very small circle in the center. this will be the an-chor point. Draw straight lines from each corner to the circle, then cut along those lines, stopping at the edge of the circle. Fold each corner gently towards the center without creasing the paper. then use a thumbtack to attach the center of the pinwheel to the eraser of a pencil.
a pinless method is to make holes in the corners the same size as the center circle, which should be the di-ameter of a bendable drinking straw: put the short part of the bent straw through the center, then thread the turned-in corners onto the end, then trim the straw end so that it’s not too long, but leaves enough room for the pinwheel to twirl. Keep the pinwheel in place with a bead of hard-dry-ing clay pushed onto the trimmed end of the straw. Stabi-lize the stem by putting a pencil or dowel up into the straw. then, plant your pinwheel and visualize whirled peace!
*Check out our article on Matt Labarge and Shawn Brenneman on Page 14 and Tuan Pham’s photos of the show on Page 21
05I S S U E 1 9
Would it be a part of your agenda for this council to push for the one-laning of college ave?
06 1 6 B L O C K S
Get to know the folks running for Blacksburg Town Council
election day is noveMber 3rd,and vying with the changing foliage for Blacksburg's attention are scads of campaign signs. But what's in a name, anyway? let's vote with our brains. to give (and acquire!) some perspective on the array of candidates, 16 Blocks asked each of them the following questions.*
* For brevity’s sake we chose what we thought were the best answers from each candidate. View the candidates’ complete responses online at www.16blocksmagazine.com. Also, we never received a response from Frank Lau but encourage you to research his positions yourself, we’re sure his answers would have been good.
What are your thoughts on the potential of a downtown mural project?
last three music or arts events attended, and favorite local artist/musician?
lots of people have dogs in Blacksburg, yet there is no official place for people to let them run. Would you support building a dog park somewhere in town?
When was the last time you went to an art gallery or museum? What was the show?
How do you feel about the arts in general in Blacksburg? What would you do to improve the atmosphere/culture of creativity?
any thoughts on a downtown wireless initiative, similar to roanoke?
Why run for town council?
What is your method of transportation (be specific)?
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bryce carter
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susananderson
continued on Page 8 & 9
candidates Presented in alPHabetical order
Question 1: I believe a downtown mural project would be an exciting adventure and would support it if a good loca-tion could be identified. In new mexico you can see this kind of public art in many places, especially in the plazas in the town squares.
Question 2: I saw richard thompson solo, Buddy Guy and his blues band and the Del mccoury band at the Jefferson center relatively recently. I also caught lucinda Williams’ show, and John Hiatt when he toured with the north missis-sippi allstars in the Big tent at the charlottesville Pavilion.the most recent show I saw at the lyric was alejandro es-covedo and his fine three piece band. What a great show. I wish more people had been there. I also saw numerous acts at the Steppin’ out festival in august. I go out to the Gen-eral store in Floyd at least one time every summer. Peetie Hastings of harmonica fame is certainly one of the greats around here and he is also a tremendous individual. I played in a band with him and Gerry Skenderian called loose Shoes
in the 80’s and in a band with him and nick romantini and norman olmstead called Full House Blues in the ‘90’s. He is a true talent, as are the other individuals I mentioned.
Question 7: I think the recent council has been an improve-ment, but with the retirement of three members, we have a big hole to fill. We will miss the leadership and intelligence of al leighton, tom Sherman and mike rozenzweig. this election is important for continuity and for renewing our commitment to open, accountable and responsive local gov-ernment that values and preserves the high quality of life that we all experience in Blacksburg. Future development in Blacksburg is the key issue facing our town. I pledge to sup-port the 2006-2046 town comprehensive Plan as the guid-ing vision and road map for how to approach sustainable local solutions to mixed use retail, affordable workforce housing and creating community for aspiring retirees that want to return to their alma mater hometown.
Question 3: on october 9, I went to the Perspective Gal-lery at virginia tech to view “Primal States and Portals: Sculpture by Kurt Steger.”
Question 5: the Downtown revitalization committee, of which I am chair, has drafted a tax incentives ordinance through the help of our town attorney and staff for the downtown commercial district as a tourism district. If passed by town council, new businesses which may be able to use the ordinance include fine arts studios, arts-related personal improvement services such as theatre, dance, music, or art instruction; and arts-related commercial in-door entertainment including live theater, motion picture theatre, concert hall or music hall. town council is sched-uled to vote on the ordinance in november.
the Downtown revitalization committee intends to work on creating an arts district in the coming months. I have proposed that the Downtown revitalization committee look into the town allowing by permit street musicians,
similar to the “acoustic café” program in Greenville, South carolina.
Question 6: I believe the more advanced the information technology infrastructure we have downtown, the more likely businesses are to want to locate here. We want to en-courage this development.
Question 7: Blacksburg is at a critical point in its history and development. I want to contribute to preserving what is great about this town while helping to guide us into an even better future based on the shared values of our com-munity. I want to continue to encourage and work toward a vibrant, thriving downtown. I want a safe downtown—safe for our students and our year-round residents, a downtown where all residents want to shop, eat, and enjoy the com-pany of friends and colleagues, a downtown where you can pick up a prescription or buy a set of sheets, as well as pur-chase pizza and virginia tech merchandise.
Question 3: Went a couple weeks ago to the Perspective Gallery in Squires and saw the Primal States and Portals: Sculpture gallery created by Kurt Steger. I loved the blend-ing of nature and balance in each of his pieces.
Question 6: as we continue to develop downtown Blacks-burg into a focal point for the community, I believe it is im-portant to seek out opportunities to encourage the free flow of information and enhance the area as a common commu-nal space. I feel there is tremendous opportunity for collab-oration between Blacksburg and virginia tech in creating a wireless zone downtown where students and residents alike will be able to access the internet for free. Blacksburg was considered the world’s most wired community in 1998; let’s use this initiative to take the lead again.
Question 7: With this being my fourth year engaged as an involved organizer and campus leader in Blacksburg, it made sense to me to take the next step forward and work
to make a positive difference in our community by running for Blacksburg town council. as the only undergraduate candidate, I feel I am in a unique position to engage with expanding the student voice and involvement with local politics. through my studies I have become passionate on the issue of sustainability and smart, community-oriented growth. I believe Blacksburg is on the cusp of deciding on how we will develop into the future and that this is a criti-cal time to engage with our community in working to ad-dress the issues we face. I feel with my experience I am well qualified to outreach and promote this engagement and move Blacksburg forward with community-oriented development.
Question 8: I bike from my apartment as regularly as I can to and from class and for many chores around town. When the weather is foul I take the Blacksburg transit bus and if I go shopping I usually carpool with my roommates.
Paullancaster
gregFansler
krisHacHacHra
08 1 6 B L O C K S concluded on Page 9
Question 2: I saw the Zac Brown Band (Salem), michael Havens (he performs at up on the roof), Darius rucker (Blacksburg) — I attended a lot more live music events be-fore school! my favorite local musicians are leslie Brooks and Sol creech — I’ve been supporting them for years.
Question 3: I saw the Burden Boat Project display at the Perspectives Gallery in Squires at virginia tech and also Susan Hensley’s watercolors at the center for Peace Stud-ies and violence Prevention in norris Hall’s art Gallery. I also am an avid supporter of local artists and attend the local exhibits featured at art Pannonia - in particular I’m a big fan of John Bishop.
Question 4: many of my friends are dog owners and they are very happy to take their dogs to the “unofficial” dog park behind the vet school. until the economy is in a better state, I believe we need to use our finances in areas where there are more pressing needs such as downtown revitalization
and helping to attract more businesses. this will increase the town’s revenue from retail sales that could help build a permanent place for dogs to run in the future.
Question 6: this would be an excellent idea and a return to our roots as the most “wired town in america” - it would require a partnership with industry and the town just like roanoke had with the the new century technology council (nctc), Downtown roanoke Inc., the city of roanoke, the roanoke Higher education center, and cisco Systems.
Question 9: community events draw people downtown and then people stay and spend money in the local busi-nesses and restaurants. In order to make downtown more event friendly, we need to make it more pedestrian friendly. there is talk about extending college ave’s sidewalk out and making it one-way so restaurants can have outdoor seating. the other idea that may work is shutting down college av-enue to make it entirely pedestrian on the weekends.
Question 1: I don’t have enough information on a specific mural project. I have proposed a children’s drawing wall in the downtown area, perhaps along college avenue.
Questions 2 & 3: no answer.
Question 4: I worked with Parks and recreation Director Dean crane on trying to create a dog park during my first term in office. I’d like to come back to council to finish the job.
Question 5: I have been serving on the Blacksburg Part-nership’s arts Initiative, chairing the committee on technol-ogy and the arts.
Question 6: this is one concept my committee has been pushing.
Question 7: to continue working on issues mentioned above, to bring sustainable economic development to town, to develop a workable redevelopment plan for the old Blacksburg middle School property, to work with virginia tech on enhancing the arts in and around downtown, to implement the 2006 comprehensive Plan as the only candi-date to have worked on the plan.
Question 8: Depending on the weather, time and other cir-cumstances, I walk, bike, ride thebus and drive.
Question 9: not until I study that option as compared to others.
Question 2: Perpetual Groove at attitudes 10/6 - Boogie-burg at cabo Fish taco 10/2 - Blues night at the cellar 9/21. Favorite musician - Blues night band accompanied by reid Doughten.
Question 5: I believe the arts initiative backed by virginia tech and Blacksburg is very exciting for our town. the ad-dition of theatre 101 and the eventual completion of the center for the arts in 2012 at virginia tech will only bring additional artists and performers to the area. to improve the atmosphere/culture – I would communicate with the surrounding towns and cities to ensure our festivals are not competing on the same day. Both Stepping out and the virginia tech Wine Festival conflicted with major events in roanoke this year. It would behoove the region if we had a collaborated effort.
Question 7: Blacksburg is a very special place to me and my family. I believe we are at a pivotal point in our town’s history. tech alumni ask me the same question, “What’s
new in Blacksburg?” recently I have discovered my answer usually is: “you would not believe it! We had a major shop-ping and entertainment center come in on South main that was fought every step of the way, main Street has numer-ous vacancies, and we have missed opportunities for prog-ress.”
Question 9: It would be part of a well thought-out study. on the surface, would it help with pedestrian safety? I am not sure that is fact. underneath, does it help or hinder downtown merchants? Does it help or hinder the growing traffic and parking problem? Does it prevent businesses from receiving goods? How will it impact theatre 101 with stage and concert trucks? I would examine towns similar to ours that have one-ways. after the research has been completed I would talk to the businesses and landowners that would be positively or negatively affected. I know the town has paid for traffic consultants to examine downtown traffic. I would like to read these reports before making a decision.
MicHaelsutPHin
toMrogers
cecilenewcoMb
10 1 6 B L O C K S
Question 1: I have admired quality murals in other locales, and am open to exploring this possibility for downtown Blacksburg.
Question 2: the last three music events I have attended are Floydfest, new river land trust landjam, and the Wild turkeys at Gillies. my husband and I have tickets to see the cowboy Junkies at the lyric this month. Picking one favor-ite local musician is too hard; but here are three favorites: 3-minute lovin, Kat mills and the Wild turkeys.
Question 4: there are plans to create a dog park behind the ball field on tom’s creek road, where the shooting range is being vacated by the police. this is a desire that many Blacksburg residents have had for years and I am glad to see it being addressed.
Question 6: a wireless initiative in downtown would logi-cally be an attractive communication amenity, and I am all for attracting people to our downtown businesses. How-ever, before making any decisions, I would need more in-formation on how this would be funded and whether there are any Fcc stipulations, etc. We would also need to ensure that there would be no negative effects on our emergency response systems.
Question 8: I choose to commute by my shoes and bicycle whenever possible. my bicycle is a Peugeot “city express” that my husband retrieved from a landfill without a scratch on it, except a bent rim that it received as it was thrown into the landfill. He put a new wheel on it and I was good to go! (as an environmental consultant he has several landfills as clients) When I need to drive, I drive a 2005 Prius that we bought used. It’s a fantastic car!
Question 1: not sure what this is. I looked at your web site and I couldn’t find it. I would need to know more to answer this question.
Question 3: never.
Question 4: yes. Dogs need to run. this should be a fenced in area to keep things under control.
Question 5: I am not against it. I understand tech is plan-ning to build an arts building on main Street. I believe that this will help promote the arts in Blacksburg. at this time I cannot give a constructive comment.
Question 6: mixed thoughts on this one. I think that it is a great attraction but you could get people who will occupy tables and tie them up for hours. my example would be Starbuck’s downtown. When I would go to Starbuck’s, it was
hard to find a place to sit for the people sitting around with their wireless surfing the net or doing their home work. I believe there need to be areas like the old smoking and non smoking.
Question 7: I believe that the direction of the town needs to change. I want to improve retail in the town so the people of Blacksburg can shop in Blacksburg. right now, besides the specialty shops in Blacksburg, we do our shopping in c’burg. this to me is not a community. By improving the retail business in Blacksburg, we will also improve our tax base. With an improved tax base, the projects of the town will have a greater chance.
Question 8: It is mixed between walking and driving. Be-fore I started my running for council, I was walking about 6 miles a day, monday through Friday.
Question 2: the last three music events I attended were Boogieburg at rivermill, the Jugbusters at the cellar, and a showing of Hairspray on Broadway over new year’s. one of these does not fit with the others. as for a favorite local musician, I pick the Jugbusters because they are the only Blacksburg band I have heard with any regularity. Is lady Gaga local?
Question 3: last week, I visited the Perspective Gallery in the Squires Student center. on display were several sculp-tures by Kurt Steger, a california-based sculptor who uses mixed media.
Question 7: I am running for Blacksburg town council to bring new ideas, positive energy, and a fresh perspective to the community I have called home for the past seven years. as a 2006 virginia tech graduate and a permanent resident of Blacksburg, I have what one roanoke times columnist described as “a real chance to build a bridge between town and campus.” my campaign focuses on four key issues. one,
we need to take a holistic approach to our downtown area that creates incentives for entrepreneurs, attracts and retains retail and commercial ventures, and markets our central business district as a welcoming place for locals, students, and visitors. two, we need smart growth that en-courages mixed-use development, protects neighborhoods and their property values, offers a range of housing oppor-tunities, conserves open and green spaces, and creates an accessible community. three, we need to expand and con-nect our bikeways and sidewalks and improve bus service to selected areas in Blacksburg, especially our commercial centers. and four, we need to involve all residents and tax-payers in the decision-making process through openness, accountability, and better lines of communication.
Question 8: I drive a 2007 nissan versa to work, except on Fridays, when I carpool with my co-worker liz. I would ride my bike or walk more often if I lived closer to campus and downtown.
11I S S U E 1 9
302 North Main Street, Blacksburg Va 24060
Visit us online atwww.the-cellar.com
540.953.0651
biggestcalzones in town$5.75 Lunch SpecialPita Pizza with threetoppings and a Coke
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302 North Main Street, Blacksburg Va 24060
Visit us online atwww.the-cellar.com
540.953.0651
biggestcalzones in town$5.75 Lunch SpecialPita Pizza with threetoppings and a Coke
2 full bars1 smoke free
Live musicNo Cover Charge
Now open for lunch7 days a week
* Composition and artwork created by the Collegiate Times is property of the Collegiate Times. If you would like to use any parts of this ad, please contact the Business Manager at 961-9860.
Client:Sake House Rundate: 1-20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29Ad Size: 2col. x 4 in.Date Sent: 1-19-09
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12
nothing beats the toothy grin of a carved pumpkin. For most the fun ends after the pumpkin has been carved. You have your Jack-o-lantern and a big pile of stringy, orange goo, which usually makes it to the trash. But believe it or not, this goo is the best part of the pumpkin. At least the
best part to cook with. Once prepared correctly the pumpkin guts can be used to make pumpkin bread, cookies, cupcakes, soup, cheesecake, pancakes, or pie.
You can eat almost every part of a pumpkin with the exception of the rind. One of the more creative pumpkin guts dishes I’ve made in the past is Pumpkin Ravioli topped with Pumpkin Seed Pesto. This isn’t the easiest dish to prepare for the inexperienced but it is absolutely delicious! Here’s how to make it:
after you’ve carved your jack-o-lantern use a spoon to separate the membrane from the inside of the pumpkin. Scoop out plenty of the ‘meat’ from inside the shell, too. When it cooks it will soften. In order to use the gooey pumpkin guts you have to get the seeds out first. this is messy but well worth the effort! rinse the seeds off and set to the side - you’ll use those later. take the stringy membrane that’s left, add the pumpkin meat and throw it all into a food processor or blender and puree until it’s the consistency of baby food or applesauce. It may look watered down and gross, but this is 100% pure pumpkin and much better than any canned puree you can buy at the store. two cups of the pureed pumpkin guts is equivalent to one can of store-bought pumpkin.
by Trent Crabtree photography by David Franusich
Cooking With Trent
1 6 B LO C KS
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Ingredients:1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted and hulled1 1/2 cup packed parsley (fresh)1 small clove garlic1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil1/2 cup parmesan (fresh, grated)1/4 tsp cayenne pepper1/4 tsp ground cinnamonsalt to taste
Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread pumpkin seeds on rimmed baking sheet and toast for 5 minutes. let cool. remove the husks to get to the inner kernel (note: this takes a while, so you can use store bought husked seeds if you want - and toasted seeds with the husks still on make a tasty snack, too, seasoned as you like, so don’t toss ‘em).
combine seeds, parsley, and garlic in food pro-cessor and process until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil in a steady stream and process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Scrape mixture into a bowl and stir in parmesan, cay-enne, and cinnamon. Season with salt. Pesto will be thick.
by Trent Crabtree photography by David Franusich
Happy HaLLOWeen!
Ingredients:1 cup ricotta cheese1/2 cup pumpkin puree1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 cup tomato paste1 tablespoon olive oil2 eggs2 tablespoons water
mix the cheese, pumpkin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the nutmeg. Set filling aside. mix the flour, and 1/2 tea-spoon salt in a large bowl; make a well in the center of the flour. Beat the tomato paste, oil, and eggs until well blended, and pour into the well in the flour. Stir with a fork, gradually bringing the flour mixture to the center of the bowl until the dough makes a ball. If the dough is too dry, gradually mix in up to 2 tablespoons water.
Knead lightly on a floured cloth-covered surface, adding flour if dough is sticky, until smooth and elas-tic, about 5 minutes. cover, and let rest for another 5 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. roll the dough, one part at a time, into a rectangle about 12 x 10 inches. Keep the rest of the dough covered while working.
Drop 2 level teaspoons filling onto half of the rect-angle, about 1 1/2 inches apart in 2 rows of 4 mounds each. moisten the edges of the dough and the dough between the rows of pumpkin mixture with water. Fold the other half of the dough up over the pumpkin mixture, pressing the dough down around the pump-kin. cut between the rows of filling to make ravioli; press the edges together with a fork, or cut with a pastry wheel. Seal edges well. repeat with the remain-ing dough and pumpkin filling. Place ravioli on towel. let stand, turning once, until dry, about 30 minutes. cook ravioli in 4 quarts of boiling salted water until ten-der.
Set aside one cup of pasta cooking water, drain ravioli, and return to pot. Gently stir in pesto and enough reserved water to moisten ravioli. Serve im-mediately.
14 1 6 B L O C K S
when staging a photo shoot, one of the biggest difficulties is making the subjects look natural. When matthew labarge and Shawn Bren-neman showed up for the 16 Blocks
photo shoot with the 100 year old royal piano in my living room, it was clear from the beginning that this would not be a problem. they simply sat down and started playing blues, ragtime, and waltz duets, smil-ing, giggling and foot-stomping, while al Fayez hov-ered around and the camera flashed away for two straight hours.
"We really don't play the piano together that often," labarge said at an el rodeo dinner after the session. Brenneman agreed with a nod. that's hard to believe of the married couple that was celebrating their one year anniversary the weekend of the shoot. they have a home on Broce Drive they share with a young chang upright as well as the Steinway and Sons grand piano where labarge recently recorded his third album of classical compositions for solo piano, "october", just released this month. Brenneman also recently recorded "uncorked", an album with her band, House red.
the reason the couple is so fluent together on the piano is that they do play regularly together at con-tra dances. Brenneman is a caller ("Swing your part-ner round and round") and also plays the piano with her fiddle player. the set has more recently included la-
Local musicians share a lifeof music, composition, andperformance
by Hart Fowlerphotography by al Fayez
15I S S U E 1 9
barge on accordion. they also play at the Blacksburg Farmer's market and other similar events.
"contra dance music is based on traditional fiddle tunes from Ireland, canada and new england. It's evolving.... People take liberties and add new stuff to it," Brenneman said. "We're not trying to preserve a tradition."
With and without labarge, Brenneman travels the united States playing, calling and dancing contra dances nearly every weekend. the couple met years ago in Blacksburg, but reconnected at the ymca's monthly contra dance that draws 50-100 dancers.
"I like the accordion because of the Pogues and tom Waits, and stuff like that," labarge said. "my idea was to add that sort of edge to make it a little more interesting."
labarge's relationship with the piano began at age five. He and his friends gathered by a window to howl while his older brother was in a lesson. this stunt convinced labarge's parents that he was old enough for lessons.
In his 20's he played keyboards in rock bands and was heavily influenced by tony Banks, rick Wake-man, and Keith emerson. He later indulged his love for classical music by quitting his job as an electrical en-gineer at 28 and entering into James madison univer-sity's music composition program. He stayed to attain his master's degree in computer Science because he had found his musical mentor in professor John Hill-
iard, and wanted to continue working with him. "He disavowed me of the notion that classical
composers have some special mystical gift and deep understanding of something that no one could possi-bly understand," he said. Hilliard is a Fulbright Scholar who became best known for fleshing out a fragment of a lost mozart cello sonata that was unearthed a few years back.
"Hilliard taught me that great composers are the people that listen to the music that's inside of them really, really carefully, and manage to tease it out," la-
barge said. He and the professor still keep in touch to this day.
Brenneman and labarge are able to make music whenever they please now. However, before making the envious comment, "must be nice," the wise will note that before "selling in" to the life of a full time musician, labarge worked 16 hour days with little or no vacation or pay for two years, until the internet startup he started in 1999 finally paid off and was bought by a large company.
labarge is planning on using this time "off" to write piano and violin compositions with more classi-cal leanings.
Brenneman added: "We are in a position where we can afford to do this for now, but maybe one day we'll have to get real jobs again. I don't know. It's great to be able to focus on what we want to do now. I'm as busy as I want to be right now."
It's a refreshing story that seems to be occur-ring more and more here in Blacksburg: the story of creative people who choose to live in this part of the world not as students or faculty but because they are inspired by and involved in the community here.
Spend any amount of time around labarge and Brenneman and it is obvious they are also very much in love with each other. money and fame of-fer no guarantees, but falling in love (with a person, a town, a career) is still "nice work if you can get it, and you can get it if you try."*
“It's great to be able to focus on what we want to do...I'm as busy as I want to be right now.”
*Lyrics copyright Irving Berlin
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with her brush, she paints a different world, one in which the physical bound-ary is not limitable but bounded and re-placed by the firing scintilla of the imagi-
nation. From her stained fingers, acrylic paint is flicked onto the canvas, and she watches it run, trailing down-ward only to sputter out, catching hold to a groove on the woven fabric medium; the trail of paint, blues and greens, yellows and reds mix, then harden; the seed of a new creation hatches, “released from any already existent thing, [the] content lies in [itself],” as neo-plas-ticist naum Gabo said some seventy years past.
a native of Pulaski county, virginia, Jessey Schaudt of christiansburg is one of a fleeting breed: the american painter. Gone are the days it often seems when busy hands till the soils of their mind, watering the seeds of a vast imagination, bringing to life some new idea, some creation expressive of one’s soul. If idle hands are the Devil’s playground, the Devil himself can only smile as new generations fervidly text message their lives away. thankfully, it is the unwavering atti-tude and history of the artist to reject much of what the contemporary world offers, and to instead center every spare minute on recreating an intimate sense of Self both clothed and unclad.
“I grew up in a family of strong women and consider myself one of them now,” Schaudt says of her upbringing, “and I think my paintings reflect that.”
case in point, “Self Portrait with Parrot,” 24” x 36”, which can be seen at schaudtgallery.mosaicglobe.com. the artist sits erect in the foreground. Her wide eyes attentive, looking directly ahead, her expression almost challenges the viewer to turn his or her eyes from her stare. With her left arm horizontally posi-tioned underneath her chin, a green feathered parrot with a dash of red sits unruffled on her index finger. like the viewer, the parrot’s attention rests on the art-ist. Its vivid beauty is secondary to the unblinking, stal-wart expression of Schaudt. a strong woman indeed.
asked which artists have influenced her, Schaudt is quick to mention many of the greats: Pica-sso, Frida Kahlo, and chagall, but says, “my friends are my favorite artists: Bitsy Pina, laura Pierce, allie Kel-ley, and Jesse Holland”; and it is with this sense of a greater community and purpose that the character of Schaudt is clearly portrayed in her work.
“I prefer to do portraits and build the world around them, like a blend of science fiction, romance, and biography,” she continues. “I love bright colors, and especially the juxtaposition of complementary colors to make the subject most memorable.”
Schaudt, it can only be said, embodies a spirit and outlook on her craft similar to those of america’s first Impressionist painter, mary cassatt. as cassatt once said, “I have touched with a sense of art some people; they felt the love and the life. can you offer me anything to compare to that joy for an artist?”
For more information on Jessey Schaudt, in-
cluding queries on a commissioned piece for your home or collection, visit www.schaudtgallery.mosaicglobe.com or contact her by e-mail at [email protected].
by Jeffrey pillow
16 BLOCkS PRESEnTS’ october show featured piano performances by matt la-barge, Shawn Brenneman, aaron noe, and Hart Fowler.
the players performed on a 100 year old upright royal Piano with the hammers and strings exposed.
after the piano performances, the chairs were put against the wall and many of thirty or so audience stayed to dance to the blues, ragtime, and waltz jam.
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photography by Tuan pham
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the Cowboy Junkies are living the dream. A jaded glance at 21st century music tends to reveal two extremes: the lonely street trouba-dour playing for tips with a chip on her shoul-
der, and the big-name, big-bucks, paparazzi prey that graces television and tabloids. But this four-some from Toronto, Canada has managed to find the elusive middle path of independent musicians. Margo Timmins (vocals), her brothers Michael (gui-tar) and Peter (drums), and Alan Anton (bass) have played together for over 20 years, riding waves of critical and chart attention. Their dreamy sound is at once distinctive and familiar, and they continue to have a vision for the future that includes more than playing old hits.
Many a working songwriter (this one in-cluded) would love a taste from that well.
A key element to their success has been their own label, Latent Recordings. Creative con-trol allows them to work when they want to, release lush original tunes both online and on CD, and play the kind of venues that suit their atmospheric sets. We welcomed them to Blacksburg on Thursday, October 15, at the Lyric Theatre—a band of grace, depth and mood in our midst. It should be a lovely evening.
I had the honor of posing a few questions to Michael Timmins, guitarist and chief songwriter. Here are his thoughts…
16B: Tell us a bit about Latent Recordings and how it has changed things for the band. mt: We have had latent up and running in various forms for close to 30 years. alan and I formed it to re-lease our first band, Hunger Project, back in 1980. In the late 1990’s, after we left Geffen, we resurrected it to create various cowboy Junkies album projects which we then licensed to smaller labels or distributors. In the last couple of years we have begun to expand the scope of latent. We will use it as the primary label for the next cowboy Junkies album. We are also using it to record and release other bands (such as lee Harvey osmond, who are on tour with us). We have developed a new website around latent (latentrecordings.com) which is a full service download site and the primary site for cowboy Junkies. 16B: Online tools (web presence, digital distribu-
tion, tour diaries) are becoming more and more important for the independent artist. What is working for you in this
arena? What is proving to be a challenge? What's fun and what's a drag? mt: When we left the majors in the late 90’s, we went full steam ahead with developing a website that would become the focal point for our audience. the online store has been very successful and the internet in general has allowed us to survive these past ten years. With the new latent site we are taking the next step, which is providing downloads directly to our audience. We can now record a song or a show and have it up for sale within a few days. conceptually this is great, but it isn’t exactly working from a financial point of view just yet. We hope that in time we can build a community around the new site and it will begin to pay off. It’s all fun and it’s all a drag...and it’s all a challenge. this is a very tough business to stay alive in these days. 16B: Please let us know about your latest recording projects.
mt: the latest release from latent is lee Harvey osmond…which is a very cool album…check it out: latentrecordings.com/leeharveyosmond. We have also just signed a young band by the name of Huron—sort of a cross between Black Sabbath and Big Star. as far as Junkies material is concerned, we are beginning work on a new album, but we are always adding new material to the site which can be streamed for free or downloaded.
16B: The Lyric in Blacksburg is a great old theater. I know you choose your venues carefully. Can you share with us some details about your preparation process for tours/shows? mt: We are touring all the time so we try and keep the repertoire fresh and changing and we always have forty or so songs that we are comfortable with per-forming on any night. If we can keep our crew from tour to tour then everything runs pretty smoothly. We have a pretty lean operation in which everyone has re-sponsibilities and if everyone does their job then it all flows. 16B: Do you have any rituals before you go on stage? How/when do you create set lists (if you do)? mt: no real rituals….I usually create the set list after sound check, once I feel out the stage and the room. I also look at old set lists, if we have been through the town in the past couple of years, and try to not repeat any songs. 16B: What kind of vibe can listeners expect? Any special guests? mt: We have a pedal steel player out with us for this run, which adds a nice element to the sound. the vibe falls somewhere between a laid back psychedelia and an acoustic schizophrenia. 16B: Have you spent much time in the southern United States before? mt: Quite a lot, but not enough. It’s probably the one region that we don’t get to as often as we would like. When we were a young band traveling in vans, we were in the south quite a bit. It was an area that we were able to get gigs. I think our first uS gig was in raleigh. 16B: I have found that siblings who play music to-gether have a special magic. There is an ease of communication on stage that shows through. Care to comment? mt: I think that has always been true for us…it also doesn’t hurt to be performing together for 25 years. Kat Mills is an independent singer/songwriter based in Blacksburg VA and touring throughout the east and be-yond. She has just released her third solo CD, “Townie”. Info at www.katmills.com
by Kat Mills
glass bottles. Steel and aluminum cans. Plas-tic. Plate scrapings. to this date, downtown Blacksburg restaurants have had no man-ageable way to keep all of those items from
ending up in the same place: the common dumpster. In the spring of 2008, Sustainable Blacksburg,
a town and citizens’ initiative, officially took on the task of planning and implementing a comprehensive recy-cling program with the goal of salvaging the material resources generated by downtown trash disposal in-stead of sending them to the landfill. the volume of waste generated by downtown businesses is in the process of being estimated by the town, however at this time figures are not available.
Downtown residents are already included in the town’s existing pickup plan. Why don’t we already have downtown re-cycling for businesses? according to rachael Budowle, the former community Programs coordinator for the town of Blacksburg’s office of Waste reduction & recycling, the main obstacle over the years was “a lack of stakeholder involve-ment.” a comprehensive recycling program requires the input and commitment of citizens and down-town merchants as well as government. customers must be charged fairly and re-warded for recycling. Says Susan Garrison, the town’s Sustainability manager, “People worry, ‘you’re going to make us change the way we do things,’ but our plan directly involves building owners and managers.” She adds, “It’s been a community effort.”
as it has never been before, today the down-town constituency is primed and ready for change. “I think the timing is right for this program. not only are merchants and citizens interested in revitalizing a vibrant downtown, but environmental efforts are be-coming more and more important to this community.” Budowle says. Green initiatives are also sweeping campus: Budowle recently took on the position of Sus-tainability coordinator for Dining Services at virginia tech.
Bill claus, a former microbiology professor at virginia tech, became the chair of the recycling ini-
tiative in a way that he claims is not all that unusual: “What some people don’t realize is that a person typi-cally becomes chair of a committee simply by raising their hand at a meeting.” claus was equipped with 14 years of involvement with the Downtown Planning commission and a dedication to the ongoing quality of life in Blacksburg.
according to claus, the town began seriously focusing on environmental concerns around 2002. In the past three years in particular, “sustainability” has become a household word. If saving the planet was sounding too bombastically ‘90’s, in the new century americans have scaled it down, perhaps to greater ef-fect, with local populations working together on what
they can do to improve their towns and neighbor-hoods.
early in 2007, Sustainable Blacksburg began polling business owners and residents
along the corridor between clay Street and Price’s Fork road to determine what that con-
stituency would need in order to support a recy-cling program. a core group of five people formed a committee to build a draft proposal.
they initially met in downtown restaurants like Gillie’s and awful arthur’s with the en-
couragement and active input of business owners ranae Gillie
and mike Soriano. the advisory committee that developed over
the following year grew to include, among others, Gillie, Soriano, and elizabeth Gilboy, the
Director of vt’s community Design and assistance center (cDac). In november 2008, Sustainable Blacks-burg made its first formal presentation on recycling to the town council, and in april of this year the town of Blacksburg hired its first Sustainability manager. Downtown merchants of Blacksburg officially voted to support the initiative in June.
now that the committee has a general vision of what would be desirable for downtown, the next step will be to send requests for Information to waste management companies in order to determine what services are currently feasible and available. this pro-cess will inform the creation of a strong request for Proposals that can be put out to bid.
the goal is for the town to contract with a
single vendor for comprehensive services. It is worth noting that if contractors only have to make one trip to pick up a single kind of waste from all local sites instead of all kinds of waste from a scattered group of sites, they will have less incentive to cut corners. as it is, a piecemeal, multi-contractor pickup plan in ef-fect encourages drivers to pack separated items into the same truck for the sake of fuel and labor economy (Downtown denizens still do sometimes see this hap-pening with existing trash and cardboard dumpsters). If the same company collects all trash and recyclables from downtown, fewer trips per truck should be need-ed. an economy of scale would result, saving dollars and carbon emissions.
once a contract is in place, the owners of downtown buildings that contain businesses will con-fer with the town and contract managers on how best to serve their tenants. Participation will be mandatory but oriented to the needs of the customer. the final re-sponsibility for compliance will rest with the building owner. the town will transition away from dumpsters to providing businesses with sets of wheeled carts to allow for easy sorting: one container for bottles and cans, one for mixed paper including corrugated card-board, one for inedible compostable waste, and anoth-er for other kinds of trash. the designated location of each business’ carts would be worked out on a case by case basis.
Billing will also be customized. Initially busi-nesses will be charged by cart size and type (recy-clables will be cheaper to have removed), and the frequency of pickup, but committee representatives state that their desired goal is a “pay as you throw” system based on the net weight of refuse and recy-cling from each customer. on high-volume weekends (i.e. vt home games) the town will provide extra con-tainers to collect the excess.
the Blacksburg recycling initiative is truly grassroots, not some master plan brought in from on high. although other municipal areas including roanoke, chapel Hill and charlottesville, have offered Blacksburg advice based on their own successes and setbacks, it is remarkable that no outside consulting firms have been hired. Sustainable Blacksburg, the town, and Downtown merchants are taking a commu-nity centered approach to address the specific needs of this area.
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by amy Splitt
B r i n g i n g R e c y c l i n g t o D o w n t o w n B l a c k s b u r g
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youTube phenomenon Auto-Tune the news by the Gregory Brothers has millions of page views and has put these unknown Radford natives on Cnn, MTV, and most impressively, one of Jay Leno’s final epi-
sodes of The Tonight Show. On that show, Leno in-terviewed katie Couric and joked about the “Very Thin Ice” segment from Auto-Tune #2, the group’s breakout piece.
Auto Tune the news #9 was released the day after this interview was conducted and reached nearly 300,000 views by the time we went to print a week later. The group includes Andrew’s younger brother Michael, who handles most of the auto-tun-ing and green-screening, older brother Evan, and wife Sarah. Andrew has lived in Brooklyn, new York for the past two years.
16B: Describe the inception of Auto-Tune the news.
aG: It started a year ago during the campaign season when michael made a video where he green-screened himself into the presidential debate to sing along to it. then evan had the idea, 'Why don't you green-screen yourself in, but rather than you singing, why don't you use auto-tune technology like you hear on cher's voice or t-Pain's voice, take that and make it the candidates themselves singing. Give that a shot.' those videos got watched a lot but they really didn't go viral, but it was seen tens of thousands of times, mainly by insiders. then the idea was to do it more regularly with your standard news, and when we put the second one out it just went totally viral: it got picked up by every blog covering what's hot on the Internet, got put on the ra-chel maddow show.
16B: Describe watching that happen.
aG: It was wild and crazy, in part because my e-mail address had been posted on the video so all sorts of people started getting in touch with me, everybody
from entertainment lawyers... to shady business types to television producers.... It just felt like for a brief moment the whole
world was trying to get in touch with me. In episode 2, I was in what ended up being maybe so far the most famous moment of the videos, which was that duet between me and Katie couric about global warming: «very thin Ice.» ...Katie couric was interviewed on the tonight Show and they played that clip.
16B: How have you evolved as a team?
aG: michael does most of the work, and one of the cool things is that he just keeps pushing the envelope in terms of wacky green-screening. He just keeps mak-ing the videos more and more interesting. He's really kept himself on his toes in that sense. number 9 is go-ing to prove to be as exciting as the others. I don't think it's getting old. [We're] going to feature cameos from a bunch of people from the un General assembly as well as the first appearance by Keith olbermann.
16B: Did y'all get to meet T-Pain when you were fea-tured together on Jimmy kimmel?
aG: We've worked on two projects with t-Pain now. one was the video we worked up for the Jimmy Kim-mel Show that he had us auto-tune, and the other one was where he actually appears in auto-tune #8. By all accounts he has a great sense of humor and when he saw the videos, he told his manager and the head of his label he really wanted to work with us. We sent him a script, they shot a couple of takes, [and] sent the mate-rial back to be in auto-tune the news #8.
16B: Describe some of the big interviews. One min-ute you're doing this weird project and the next thing you know you're in MTV studios and on Cnn. What was it like going into some of those rooms?
aG: the funny thing about it [is], all those people are such pros that for them it's just another day at the of-fice. We may go in and seem pretty excited, but they're so used to doing this every single day that you get re-laxed pretty easily, you get used to it. the Pas, and cameras, and producers and the host, they're good at their job [and] sort of have a real relaxed attitude about it all, which has been really helpful for us. over the
summer evan and michael went on every network from Fox news to cnn to mSnBc, and finally mtv in august. 16B: After a year now, any moments that have stuck out in your memory.
aG: What really stuck in my memory in terms of real-izing how big auto-tune was from the beginning was when we were on the maddow show. We knew we were going to be on it. We knew they were going to play something from it. We'd gone over from there to my brother's house, because we didn't have tv and the segment was much longer than we expected. It was a five-minute piece where they showed our album cov-er, they talked about our band, they talked about our name, they'd clearly done all of this internet research. For me that was the first moment that I realized, 'Holy crap, this is turning into something really big.'
16B: The Gregory Brothers were originally a soul band and you recently completed a three month na-tional tour. How has Auto-Tune the news benefited the band?
aG: the band is still playing. We've played a couple of shows in virginia and north carolina including Steppin' out [in Blacksburg] and [roanoke's] Kirk avenue music Hall. this coming month we're playing a wedding and a college show. We're still playing some, but at the same time we're really focused on auto-tune the news. al-though a lot of people sorta know about us now, we're still reaching out, still getting attention from people in tv and from the entertainment industry, so we want to focus on that because that's what's hot.
16B: How do you see it growing? What's next?
aG: I think right now that would be our dream, see-ing it as a launching pad. the wild thing about it [is] that a year ago none of us expected this to happen, but now that that door is open with the wild success of auto-tune the news, all of us are curious about what it would be like to walk through that door.
by Hart Fowler
an interview with expatriate and comedian andrew Gregory on the explosion of Auto-Tune the News
we called it Big red. It was a run-down old barn, a place where all sorts of activities took place. Fact was you never knew what you were going to get at Big red.
you went there for the party. It could be a bonfire with kegs of beer, BBQ hog on a spit, gambling – anything. you just didn’t know until you got there.
after parking my car I walked toward Big red slowly taking in my surroundings. It was a pleas-ant october afternoon, sunny with a slight breeze. Great day. I’d been out there dozens of times in my life but I didn’t know most of this crowd. the people were a little bit older, more serious than the usual. I knew I was in for something new, something I wouldn’t ordinarily expect.
as I walked in the barn the first thing I no-ticed was an open pit in the middle of the floor, se-cured with a wire fence. there was a crowd of men gathered, talking and laughing together while pass-ing around bottles of bourbon. off to the side of the pit I saw two men carefully attaching leather bracelets with metal spikes to roost-ers in separate cages. It immediately dawned on me: those spikes were cockspurs - I was about to witness a cockfight. I hadn’t seen a cockfight before but looked forward to this with a rather morbid curiosity. Knowing I did not really belong, I tried to be casual as I ap-proached the pit.
“Fresh meat,” a gentleman to my left said a bit too loudly to himself as I walked by. “care to make a bet, boy?”
“think I’ll sit back and watch the fight first, see what the odds show me.” I replied, posing as if I were a seasoned veteran of this type of thing.
“Sure” he replied shortly, already losing inter-est. I walked on and found a seat on a bucket near the fighting pit.
I glanced over to the two gamecocks who were soon to be flaying each other to death. Both had bright, beautiful plumes of feathers, and strutted as if they possessed an ego. they sat in their separate cag-es with their butts up and chests out, eyeballing each other as if to psych the other out. It seemed these two cocks knew they were about to fight and had accepted the chain of events that would, inevitably, lead to the deaths of one or both of them.
men immediately crowded around the fight-ing pit, waving money in their hands, trying to make bets with the owners. the owners barked like auction-
eers.“this baby of mine always wins,” one guy
bragged. “He’s a sure bet!”“my bird is the meanest thing on two feet!”
the other owner roared in retaliation. “If he wins,” he pointed accusingly at the other cock owner, “I’ll buy him a chicken dinner!” everyone laughed approvingly.
Both owners had thousands of dollars riding on their prize cocks by the time the bets were called off. Both men then nodded towards each other, ac-knowledging the beginning of the fight.
an announcer jumped into the fighting pit and announced the owner of each cock (as if the men
themselves would be fighting). men cheered.“yeah, I’m getting all three grand
back that I lost at the last fight,” one spec-tator belched out between snorts of Jack
Daniels.“not with your luck, ya bum!” another
yelled back, laughing.Both owners lifted their respective
fighters out of the cages with a surprising gentleness, rubbing their backs before let-
ting them down.“It’s on!!” someone yelled from be-
hind me.Both cocks streaked to-
wards each other screaming like tires spinning on asphalt. Blood be-
gan to literally spurt within mere seconds. the smell of blood mixed with the drunk-
enness of the spectators. Fists and jaws alike were clenched in anticipation of the result of the fight. the air around the fighting pen was beginning to get thick. violence was in the air.
the fight had been going on for six or seven minutes when one of the cocks began to falter. the losing cock’s owner was screaming desperately, bare-ly heard over the roar of the crowd. one might have thought he was losing his home in a fire by the horror that was in that scream. “no! no! nooo!!!” one more triumphant peck and his bird lay dead.
the winner, stained with the blood of its vic-tim, danced around the ring, celebrating its win. the winning owner jumped into the fighting pit, picked up the victor and held him over his head, laughing. “my baby! yeS!!”
Some of the men groaned as they walked off. others cheered as they collected their winnings. even-tually everyone migrated to a separate corner where a game of craps had started.
I stayed back, lingering, looking at the dead cock. I nodded my head toward the losing cock’s owner as if to say sorry. He glared back at me accusingly, his eyes daring me to say a word. not having a death wish, I walked away. after walking a few yards, I turned to get one last look. What I saw bothered me. the owner had the dead bird cradled in his arms and was cry-ing weakly. It was obvious he had lost something he loved dearly. Possibly his love for the animal stemmed from a financial dependence, but who knows for sure. I would have liked to ask him but don’t think he would have obliged.
by Trent Crabtree
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16 blocks to do listfind out what’s goin’ on!
More on Page 27!
mUsicsun. 11/1, 7pMcaptured! By roBotsAwful Arthur’s Towers2229 Colonial Ave. Roanoke, VAnot really a solo act if you judiciously apply the turing test -- one man and his mechanical/cybernetic musi-cal companions JBot, GtrBot666, DrmBot 0110, the ape Which Hath no name, Son of ape Which Hath no name, automatom, and the Head-less Hornsmen. What better act to pair with the lightbulb-busting madness of the Bastards of Fate! $Free
sat. 11/7, 9pMlarry Keel & natural BridgeAttitude’s900 Price’s Fork Rd, Blacksburg“cowboy hippy hillbilly folk” band whose shows always pack in the crowds for lots of twirling, stamping, hooting and hollering. $12
fri. 11/13, 8pMcadillac sKyThe Lyric Theater, Blacksburgw/michael Ford Jr. and the apache relay. ass rockin bluegrass that’s not afraid of the dark. $20/$23
fri. 11/13, 10pMtK-421Awful Arthur’s213 Draper Rd SW, BburgHard rock played loud by 4 bar band veterans who have won a remarkable amount of airplay in the Southeastern uS based on a self-produced cD.
fri. 11/20, 7-11:30pMfirst anniVersary BashThe Taubman Museum110 Salem Avenue SE, Roanokecelebrating the success of roanoke’s most ambitious fine arts space with a concert by Southern culture on the Skids. the last time the editor saw this band she ended up dancing on stage with 2 dozen women eating fried chicken. $25 members/$35 general.
sat. 11/21 10pMtrue soundAwful Arthur’s Blacksburgthe return of rock and reggae at its best. this superstar group has existed in one way or another for nearly a de-cade and they continue to evolve.
11/1, 4, 5, 6, 7:30 pM 11/7, 8 2pMdead Man’s cell phoneUpstairs Studio Theatre
Hollins Universitythe new comedy from Pulitzer Prize
nominated playwright Sarah ruhl,
author of “eurydice”, recently per-
formed at vt. this play also explores
absurdity and the idea of an afterlife
within a darkly funny postmodern
context. call the theatre Box office at
362-6517. $10.
sun. 11/1, 7:30-9:30Made in taiwanTheatre 101, College Ave, Bburg
the debut show in the new Black Box
theater. If it’s not one thing, it’s your
mother. michelle Krusciec, vt theater
arts masters grad wrote and pro-
duced a one-woman show about com-
ing of age and dealing with culture,
family, and marriage. $7-$9
thurs. 11/19 - 21, 7:30pM the fantasticKsThe Olin TheaterRoanoke College, 240 High St, Salem
a truly weird classic musical. $10, call
540-375-2333 for tickets.
theater
27I S S U E 1 9
visit us online: www.myspace.com/gilliesmusic 153 college avenue | downtown blacksburg | 540.961.2703
Acoustic Music
Every Thursday
and Saturday
@ 7:00 pm
Non-Smoking Venue
Late NightStage
@ Gillie’s
GroovaScapeFri Oct 23 | 9:30P Roanoke funk/jam
The Kusun EnsembleFri Nov 13 | 8:00P advance tickets $8, $10 at the doorfeaturing African drumming, dancing, and dinner specials
The ApatiteFri Nov 6 | 9:30P local rock
Special performance BY…
Projexorcism *16mm film experience* with guest Dead Man Kelly Fri Oct 30 | 9:30P
The Olivarez TrioSat Oct 31 | 9:30P Charlottesville gypsy jazz
Halloween Dinner with
Mas Y Mas and Facepaint Fri Nov 20 | 9:30P | indie showcase
CLAY O
FFICE SUPPLIESCARDS & S
TATIO
NER
Y DRAFTING HOBBY KID
S
CLAY OFFICE SUPPLIES PAINTING
ART SUPPLIES & SO MUCH MORE!125 N. MAIN ST. . DOWNTOWN BLACKSBURG . 540-552-1020
CLAY
OFFI
CE SUPPLIES PAINTING PRINTMAKING
FRAMING MARKERS CRAFTS DRAWING
CRAF
TS
CLAY OFFICE SUPPLIES CARDS
& S
TATI
ONER
Y DR
AFTIN
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THIS MONTH AT THE GALLERY AT MISH MISH
What do animals think? What do they feel? Can animal mind be investigated with scientific methods? What do scientists tell us about the inner life of animals? Are questions about animal mind relevant to how we treat animals?
At the Lyric Theater (11am—1pm). Background Sessions at the Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown in downtown Blacksburg. This forum is open to the public at no charge.
Nov. 5th
Choices and Challenges The Inner Life of Animals
www.choicesandchallenges.sts.vt.edu
Brought to you by the Department of Science and Technology in Society at Virginia Tech and The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)
your adhere
October 2nd - November 5thExplOriNg AbstrActiONAcrylic paintings by Martha Dillard
16 blocks to do list
continued!
tues. 11/3, 6aM-7:30pMelections!your local PollInG Place -- find
it online! election Day! vote, you en-
franchised bastards!
tues. 11/10, 7-11 pMdrag Queen BingoSharkey’s Blacksburg, 220 N. Main St
Presented by the nrv roller Girls with
emcees Barbara mayberry and enya
Salad. Prepare for high camp drag per-
formances and derby-style mayhem.
Door prizes are pretty sweet -- tat-
too gift certificates, scooter rentals,
and fine jewelry suitable to adorn a
diva. Portion of proceeds benefits the
Drop-In center in roanoke, grassroots
champions for StD and HIv preven-
tion. $10 advance (contact mejones1@
vt.edu)/$15 door gets you all you need
to play.
sat. 11/14 7-9:30pMthe Mane eVentGerman Club Manor
711 Southgate Dr, Blacksburg
a wine tasting and silent auction to
benefit Flying changes of virginia,
a non-profit program specializing in
equine assistance therapy, which has
been shown to help people with physi-
cal and developmental disabilities as
well as at-risk youth. Horses are mag-
ic! $20 advance/$25 door.
wed. 11/18, 7pMnrV roller girls recruitMent party!
Adventure World200 Midway Plaza Drive, Cburg
rent skates or bring your own (quad,
not blades) and prepare to rumble. See
if you’ve got the eggs to join our very
own american Women on the track
(don’t worry if you are rusty, a begin-
ner or a total klutz - they will teach you
how it’s done).
sun. 11/22, 6-9pMVintnersLatitudes International Grille
900 Prices Fork Rd, Bburg
an evening of gourmet and wine
education and enjoyment without
the stuffy vibe. Start off with hor’s
d’oeuvres, then on to a 5-course re-
gionally or seasonally themed meal
with wine pairings throughout. re-
serve your place via email: jasonrizzo@
yahoo.com or Kathleen Hannold khan-
[email protected]. $25/person or $40/
couple. attitudes bar/lounge will be
open afterwards for drinks.
sun. 11/27, 11:55pMMidnight MoVieThe Grandin Theatre
1310 Grandin Rd SW, Roanoke
“Breaking 2: electric Boogaloo.” yes,
I said it. HaPPy tHanKSGIvInG anD
GooDnIGHt everyBoDy.
moRe good stUff
thurs. 10/29, 5-7pMsilKscreened art exhiBitXYZ Gallery, Blacksburgartists still tBa. come check out this versatile visual form that has been a mainstay of public art since the days of Dada.
ends 10/31the Mt laKe worKshop 1983-2009Montgomery Museum and Lewis Miller Regional Art Center 300 Pepper St, Cburg“the mountain lake Workshop 1983-2009: a Phenomenon of collaborative art-making.” 16 Blocks has been want-ing to run a profile on local artist and mountain lake Workshop director ray Kass for about a year, but it would take up an entire magazine. For over 2 decades mountain lake has been a watershed for innovative projects by John cage, merce cunningham, and Jackie matisse as well as local talents like Joe Kelley, chico Harkrader, Pat West and of course Kass himself. See this show before it goes.
tues. 11/3, 7-8:15pMeMBodied dislocations: the art practice-Based research of siMone paterson210 Robeson Hall, VT Campusa lecture on her approach to concep-tual sculpture and multimedia instal-lations by aussie transplant Paterson, a professor at vt. She deconstructs concepts of gender, especially femi-ninity, and uses new media forms to envision and document a way of being beyond essentialist myths and stereo-types.
wed. 11/4, 7-10pMcollaB festThe Water Heater, 813 5th St RoanokeBasically this is artists getting togeth-er and making stuff Stone Soup style. Bring your stuff and dump it in for more flavor. yum!
sun. 11/8, 10pM-Midnightthe unKnownWilson Hughes Gallery117 West Campbell Ave, Roanokethe Salon presents tHe unKnoWn: “an interactive, experience based sto-rytelling environment that dissolves the boundary between audience & art-ist.” $20 or what you can. alSo check out Suzun Hughes and John Wilson’s installation: “control: the ultimate Illu-sion” also at the gallery.
thurs. 11/12, 8pM16 BlocKs fashion showAwful Arthur’s 213 Draper Rd SW, Blacksburg“16 Blocks Presents: recession chic”. the sequel to last year’s “art as Fash-ion” show, the bust to its boom as it were, but we’re here to prove that the new Great Depression doesn’t have to mean an end to glamour. FmDS’s de-signers repurpose, reuse and recycle castoff finery and make it fierce and fabulous again.
ends 11/14internal MedicineThe Perspective GallerySquires Student Center, VT Campusrosemary Feit covey uses the nearly lost technique of wood-engraving prints to render a visual documentary of her friend David Welch’s struggle with terminal cancer. covey reveals the beauty and terror of a mysterious disease’s deadly impact on the body while celebrating the resilience of the human spirit.
wed. 11/18, 7pMfashion showcaseXYZ Gallery, 223 N. Main St Bburgvt’s student designers (FmDS) pres-ent their 3rd annual Showcase of the arts. vendors, apparel and accessory designers, and artists of all sorts will set up in the XyZ, a landmark of the the old-school downtown Blacksburg art scene. refreshments served. $3 to get in.
aRt
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16BLOCKS PRESENTS
RECESSION CHIC
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 12, 8PM $5AWFUL ARTHUR’S IN DOWNTOWN BLACKSBURG
A RUNWAY SHOW FEATURING LOOKS BY STUDENT DESIGNERS OF VIRGINIA TECH’S FASHION AND MERCHANDISING DESIGN SOCIETYALSO FEATURING APPAREL BY LOCAL AND NATIONAL MERCHANTSDOCUMENTARY FILM SCREENING ABOUT LOCAL THRIFT STORE SHOPPING.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3
1 4 1 5 1 6
1 7 1 8 1 9
2 0 2 1 2 2 2 3
2 4 2 5 2 6 2 7 2 8
2 9 3 0 3 1
3 2 3 3 3 4 3 5 3 6 3 7 3 8
3 9 4 0 4 1
4 2 4 3 4 4 4 5
4 6 4 7 4 8 4 9
5 0 5 1 5 2 5 3
5 4 5 5 5 6
5 7 5 8 5 9 6 0 6 1 6 2 6 3 6 4
6 5 6 6 6 7
6 8 6 9 7 0
Across1. Brewer's need6. Stagnant11. Drunkard14. Chou ___15. Feels for16. Bambi's aunt17. Sacred song18. Pertaining to the eye19. Immerse20. Obscure road22. Expeditiously24. Breakfast choice28. Shares viewpoints29. Remove the antlers30. Ships' officers32. Golf club which can benumbered 1 to 933. Proposed, perhaps35. Image39. Male parent40. Corrida cry41. Gambling game42. Canvas shelter used oncamping trips43. Examined furtively45. A dish with manyingredients46. Pertaining to the smallintestine48. Concurs50. Eccentric man53. Quiver54. Extra-terrestrial being55. Orange-brown earthpigment57. Cover58. Name60. Light grayish brown65. Broke bread66. Expression peculiar to alanguage67. Religion of the Muslims68. That woman69. Brahmin, e.g.70. Ogles
Down
1. "Sure thing"2. Printing widths3. Like4. Gal of song5. Wood6. Frown7. Spanish snack8. Bohemian9. Wreath of flowers10. Elude11. Four-door12. In reserve13. Ribbons21. Pull abruptly23. Pea-shaped24. Writer of lyric poetry25. Nest of a bird of prey26. Sharp-pointed plantoutgrowth27. Coin into money28. Polo Grounds legend30. Pertaining to song31. Away from the wind34. Director Ephron36. Biblical spy37. Style of bay window
38. Snare43. Latin word which means"for every"44. Challenge to complete atask47. Living in still water49. Small burrowing rodent50. Australian cockatoo51. Best of a group52. Bird that gets you down53. Topic55. Elevator man56. Coagulate59. Agency of the UnitedNations61. Compass pt.62. ___-de-France63. Needlefish64. The middle of summer?
30 1 6 B L O C K S
ChuCk RonCo’s
CHESS PROBLEMS
Solution: 1.Qxa6 if 1...bxa6 2.Bxa6# if 1...Bxa5 2.nxa5 with mate next move by 3. Qxb6
Crossword Puzzle provided by Bestcrosswords.com, used with permission
SOLUTION ON NEXT PAGE
Solutions at top of page.
anastasia’s Mate
Here, White does not have a com-manding control of the center, and he is two pawns down. one thing he does have going for him is the fact that his white-squared bishop currently holds the Black king immobilized. Generate a perpendicular attack that will make a pair of crosshairs on the Black king.
White to move and mate in three.
The Third annual Hokie Memorial Chess Open was held on October 17th. Congratulations to all of the winners! please keep your eye on the Chess Club at VT’s webpage www.chess.org.vt.edu for details on our upcoming events!!
f o o d f o r y o u r b r a a a a a i i i i n n s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3
1 4 1 5 1 6
1 7 1 8 1 9
2 0 2 1 2 2 2 3
2 4 2 5 2 6 2 7 2 8
2 9 3 0 3 1
3 2 3 3 3 4 3 5 3 6 3 7 3 8
3 9 4 0 4 1
4 2 4 3 4 4 4 5
4 6 4 7 4 8 4 9
5 0 5 1 5 2 5 3
5 4 5 5 5 6
5 7 5 8 5 9 6 0 6 1 6 2 6 3 6 4
6 5 6 6 6 7
6 8 6 9 7 0
Across1. Brewer's need6. Stagnant11. Drunkard14. Chou ___15. Feels for16. Bambi's aunt17. Sacred song18. Pertaining to the eye19. Immerse20. Obscure road22. Expeditiously24. Breakfast choice28. Shares viewpoints29. Remove the antlers30. Ships' officers32. Golf club which can benumbered 1 to 933. Proposed, perhaps35. Image39. Male parent40. Corrida cry41. Gambling game42. Canvas shelter used oncamping trips43. Examined furtively45. A dish with manyingredients46. Pertaining to the smallintestine48. Concurs50. Eccentric man53. Quiver54. Extra-terrestrial being55. Orange-brown earthpigment57. Cover58. Name60. Light grayish brown65. Broke bread66. Expression peculiar to alanguage67. Religion of the Muslims68. That woman69. Brahmin, e.g.70. Ogles
Down
1. "Sure thing"2. Printing widths3. Like4. Gal of song5. Wood6. Frown7. Spanish snack8. Bohemian9. Wreath of flowers10. Elude11. Four-door12. In reserve13. Ribbons21. Pull abruptly23. Pea-shaped24. Writer of lyric poetry25. Nest of a bird of prey26. Sharp-pointed plantoutgrowth27. Coin into money28. Polo Grounds legend30. Pertaining to song31. Away from the wind34. Director Ephron36. Biblical spy37. Style of bay window
38. Snare43. Latin word which means"for every"44. Challenge to complete atask47. Living in still water49. Small burrowing rodent50. Australian cockatoo51. Best of a group52. Bird that gets you down53. Topic55. Elevator man56. Coagulate59. Agency of the UnitedNations61. Compass pt.62. ___-de-France63. Needlefish64. The middle of summer?
31
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I S S U E 1 9
Prices Fork rd.
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Washingto
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Draper rd.
church St.
roanoke St.
Jackson St.
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Wondering how 16 Blocks gets published, when we have never charged for a single copy? Does a grant or bank loan help us bring you the unique content and provocative, beautiful graphics we’ve become known for? Do we have wealthy parents or did one of us seduce a millionaire? none of the above.
every issue of 16 Blocks magazine comes to you courtesy of our advertisers. Businesses from our community entrust our team to bring you their messages along with our own. We give thanks to our advertisers for their continued support. We could not exist without them.
A: Beaux Arts Galleria (Ad on pg. 5)
B: Crossroads (Ad on pg. 5)
C: Ceritano’s (Ad on pg. 11)
D: The Cellar Restaurant (Ad on pg. 11)
E: Cabo Fish Taco (Ad on pg. 11)
F: Sake House (Ad on pg. 11)
G: Mish Mish (Ad on pg. 27)
H: Gillie’s Restaurant (Ad on pg. 27)
b
g
c
d
e
F
Ha
S. main St.
