March 23, 2001
Otherworldly benefit for Y.A.L.
christens new planetarium
Hunter Bowen
STAFF WRITER
Stars may not have shone on
the newly installed, planetarium
dome of Bryan auditorium last Sun
day, but the musicians that per
formed beneath it to benefit the birth
of YAL. did.
The Young Artists League, or
Y.A.L., is the creation of 22 year-old,
Greensboro resident, Emily
McCravy." I was searching for a com
munity in which young people who
create art of all forms can come
together, support one another, and
feel comfortable," said McCravy of
why she has invested most of her free
time and personal funds in recent
months on developing Y.A.L.
"For the older, more estab-
lished artists in the
munity there is
[Greensboro Artists
League]," said McCravy, also a GA.L.
member, "but there really isn't any
sort of supportive outlet for younger,
less established artists in the com
munity."
For Sunday's benefit, Y.A.L.
could not have chosen a more re
markable or fitting venue than Bryan
planetarium to showcase the thir
teen sundry musical acts it had
thoughtfully selected. The
progressed like a study of the
many different musical con- m d
stellations of the Triad Uni- \
verse. The diversity was re- § I
freshing, keeping the epic % V 1
event from venturing too near
the black hole of tedium.
The Big Bang of the Burn
ing Downs ignited the event around
1 p.m. with their punk infused rock
and-roll. Then the house system
played a recording of Stan Gilliam's
early '7os experimentation of the mul
tifaceted Moog synthesizer, "Bug in
the Pot." Set to these otherworldly
sounds a heavily processed video,
also created by Gilliam, projected
enormously onto the far wall of
the dome.
"This is amazing," Nabil j
Ahmed, Gilliam's assistant in the £
media center, exclaimed. Ahmed,
also coordinator for the event and
member of Greensboro's post-rock
forgers, Softward,added,"we're so
lucky to have him in our presence."
"Bug in the Pot" and Gilliam's
video served as the segue into and
backdrop for the 10-fi, jazz-tinged,
avant-garde country of local Eugene
Chadborne. Chadborne, an interna
tionally known musician and author,
not only added star power to the
features
event, but support. "He's so excited
about what we're doing that he asked
us to participate in his Halloween
party this year," gushed McCravy.
The duo, Ashrae Fax, sent the
audience into the depths of space A
with its saturated synthesizer J
loops and heavily delayed gui- N
tars set to a psychedelic video
with aliens and spinning red
headed dolls. The only act that would
send the audience deeper into the
unexplored would be the one-man
project, the Dotist with his digital
delvings emanating from nothing
more than a laptop and a sequencer.
Incendiary rock performances
by the Kudzu Wish, Palaver, and Dis
band all original in their own rite -
had musical asteroids bouncing off
the dome's panels well into *
the evening, reassuring the
crowd that this quality of mu
sic doesn't have to come from some
far -off place.
Stringing together the perfor
mances seamlessly throughout the
event was DJ John Gilchrist who
spun techno-flavored vinyl as the
lights went up between each act.
Later in the evening, another
bizarre musical experiment was
staged by the Muzak Theory En
semble - members of Softward and
friend John Clinton. Based on Steve
Reich's pendulum music, the experi
ment involves four microphones situ
ated a certain distance above a
speaker so that when swung from a
boom stand, they pass before the
k speaker cone producing feedback
that sounds some
thing similar to a deep
_ whale cry. " I
was hoping for it to last
longer, but we just didn't have the
proper equipment," said Ensemble
member Kevin Holmes, also of
Softward
Short though it was, the pen
dulum experiment left everyone fas
cinated as it segued into Kirche
y. Guard, a three- piece band con
/ \ sisting of McCravy, Ahmed,
J Holmes. Kirche Guard
I lasted for three songs be
fore cutting their fun- filled
set short to allow time for
the long awaited Softward perfor
mance.
Softward, despite technical dif
ficulties, had to end their set and the
night after four songs. But they ful
filled the expectations of all who
came to see them, playing their pow
erful and tightly constructed post
rock anthems with all the energy
and passion they could after putting
together this interstellar event and
keeping the stars aligned.
The Guilfordian
For those who witnessed the
performances throughout the day
and late into the evening, it was clear
to see that there truly is a commu
nity of supportive young creators in
\ this corner of the galaxy. "I've had
J? to coordinate something like this
before and it's amazing how well
[Y.A.L.] pulled this off," com
rpl i •
The week in
Campus Ministries
Daily: Quiet worship, 8:05 - 8:20 a.m. Hut; Morning prayer, 8 a.m.
Boren Lounge.
Friday, March 23
a.m. 8:00 Christian book study, "Going Deeper in God."
Multicultural Resource Center.
Noon 12:00 Community prayer and worship. Moon Room.
p.m. 12:35 Stump speeches! At the stump.
6:00 QLSP potluck and monthly meeting. Hendricks Hall.
8:00 "An Actor and His Passion," Shakespearean actor and
British Quaker, Colin George. Bryan Auditorium.
Sunday, March 25
p.m. 1:00 College Meeting for Worship, led by
Colin George. Moon Room.
4:00 Resurrection and Deliverance Worship Group.
Moon Room.
7:30 QLSP senior seminar with Colin George. 905
King George Dr.
Monday, March 26
p.m. 5:30 Student Activist. Hut.
8:00 QLSP first-years. Hut.
9:00 QLSP third-years. Hut.
Tuesday, March 27
Noon 12:00 Community prayer and worship. Hut.
4:00 Tea & discussion with Elizabeth Duke, Execu
tive Secretary of Friends World Committee for
Consultation. Hut.
6:00 Bible Study. Moon Room.
7:30 Colin George in "George Fox, Live!" Boren
Lounge.
Wednesday, March 28
p.m. 4:00 Tea & discussion with Elizabeth Duke
and Colin George on Friends in Great Britain,
New Zealand, and around the world. Hut.
5:30 Midweek meeting for worship. Hut.
7:00 Hillel meeting. Library student lounge.
7:00 GCRO meeting. Hut.
Thursday, March 29
p.m. 4:30 Seekers Session trip to the Caswell
County Amish community. Leave from the Hut.
5:00 QLSP second-years. Hut.
8:00 Guilford Christian Fellowship, New Life
meeting. Commons.
Friday, March 30
a.m. 8:00 "Going Deeper in God." Multicultural Re
source Center.
Noon 12:00 Community prayer and worship. Moon.Room.
p.m. 12:35 Stump speeches!
Page 7
mented Guilford senior Devender
Sellars.
Despite what the rest of the
world may think, Greensboro does
have a growing music scene as Y.A.L.
and friends can attest, full of ex
tremely talented originals who know
how pull themselves up by the boot
straps and kick *ss!