Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Sept. 23, 1999, edition 1 / Page 4
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Page 4 The Banner September 23, 1999 Features September 1 \^perHouse brings funk to mountains By Amanda Osteen Staff Writer Vermont’s viperHouse, a nine-piece jazz, funk orches tra ensemble, will be making its way to North Carolina in late September, The band is basically a funky jazz, swing, hip-hop dance party, said front- man and saxophonist Michael Chorney. “It’s a very updated version of jazz...with roots in funk, and we sort of joined the two together” said Chorney. The group’s popularity has reached beyond the state lines of Vermont. They have just recently branched off to tour in such big locations as At lanta and New York. “It’s been since last year that we’ve been touring really hard and getting out of Vermoiit,” said Chorney. According to their press re lease, the concept of viperHouse is based on street bands from New Orleans in the late 1800s called “spasm bands,” named for how the band danced when they played. “They were the very first roots of jazz music, and I really love that image,” said Chorney. “They were playing this really interesring , sophisticated mu sic that people would dance But Chorney is not quick to label the group a jazz band. “(The word jazz) can really scare people away. We are sort of evoking the bands of that era, but we’re not a retro band,” said Chorney. ViperHouse has a nine-piece line up featuring a violin, a Hammond 3-D organ, Latin percussion, and a three-piece horn section, according to the press release. Chorney said the idea for this band was conceived in 1995, while he was traveling through Europe. That spring, Chorney as sembled a group of musicians whom he had met through the manv musical groups he had worked with over the years The band got the “viper” part of their name from an old jazz term from the swing era. “It sort of means low-life,” said Chorney. With the number of shows and fans expanding, viperHouse has been pre sented with a lot different of fers for record deals. “About eight or nine months into (touring), we started get ting approached by record companies, but none of the offers sounded very appealing,” said Chorney. Chorney still remains a bit skeptical when it comes to sign ing a record deal. “I’ve read enough of these stories lately like, ‘we got ap proached by a record company, we signed with them, and we got hosed.’ We thought we’d cut out the ‘we got hosed by the record company’ part of that,” said Chorney. But when the band got ap proached with the idea of do ing a live disc, it sounded like something they could be inter- “The offer sounded pretty good, so we went ahead and made plans,” said Chorney. But when it came down to actually signing thedottedline, viperHouse bandmembers had second thoughts. “There were issues that came up with them that had been glossed over before, like own ership” of their music, said Chorney. Then the band decided to go ahead and do it themselves. “We kind of rallied some sup port, and went ahead with it,” said Chorney. The band plans to release the new live CD on Oct. 10, dur ing their four-month fall tour. According to their press re lease, they also plan to record a studio album in early 2000. Their music is also on the PHOTO COURTESY OF NICOLE SALTUS ViperHouse, a band from Vermont, will visit Western North Carolina in late September. The nine-piece band plays a mixture of funk, jazz, swing, and hip-hop. They will play in Boone and Black Mountain. current season of MTV s “The Real World.” “I guess the director of that program heard our CD some where and called our manager up,” said Chorney. The band’s growing popular ity certainly hasn’tsuffered from their affiliation with the band Phish. The group’s singer, Heloise Williams, sings on Phish’s lat est album, said Chorney. She and viperHouse keyboardist Ray Paczkowski are working; on another project with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio called “8 Foot Fluorescent Tubes.” Chorney said Phish attended one of viperHouse’s shows last year. Anastasio sat in and played with the band for a few sets. ; Chorney said he is really look- J ing forward to touring in the I South for a change. I “The whole attitude toward | live shows down south is re- j ally cool. The audiences seem | genuinely exCited, and the crowds are really diverse,” said Chorney. As part of their four month tour, the band will be playing at the Cottonwood Brewery in Boone on Sept. 26, and the following night at the Black Mountain Music Hall, Sept. 27. Bothshowsstartat 10p.m. “Music that is just fun and enjoyable, that’s kind of what we’re after,” said Chorney. fi Humanities shows film series on the Vietnam War By Megan Wood staff Writer The humanities program will feature a movie each night about the Vietnam War from Sept. 27 until Sept. 30. “We wanted to do something a little bit different to help edu cate the students about that era,” said Mark Gibney, belk profes sor in the humanities program. The screening of the films is scheduled to coincide with the Sept. 24 humanities 414 lec ture on the Vietnam War. “This is a nice way to learn about the war,” said Gibney. “The insanity of the war is cap tured on film. “Most of the students weren’t alive during this time, so it is a good way for them to see what was going on,” said Gibney. This is the second year that the movie screenings have been of fered. “The last time we did this the turn out wasn’t as good as I would have hoped,” said Gibney. “Hopefully, this time we will be able to get more students out.” On Sept. 27, the film “Heart and Mind” will be shown. “Heart and Mind” is a documentary that is set during the time pe- The movies scheduled to be shown the rest of the week are, “Apocalypse Now” on Sept. 28, “Platoon” on Sept. 29 and “Full Metal Jacket” on Sept. 30. These movies, although they are works of fiction, realistically portray the era, according to Giney. The films will be shown in the Karpen Hall screening room at 7:30 p.m. The movies are free and open to the public. It is up to each professor to determine if the films will count as a humani ties cultural event. Gee Haw Whimmy at craft guild By Martha Ball staff Writer The Southern Highland Craft Guild’s Celebrate Folk Art! event held Sept. 17-19 at the Folk Art Center showcased the World Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle competi tion, the highlight of a weekend of mountain heritage exhibits. “The Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle competition was a way to get people involved in crafts at a very simple level,” said Katherine Caldwell, public relations director for the Southern Highland Crafi: Guild. The Whimmy Diddle, a moun tain folk toy, is simply a stick with notches cut in it, with a shorter stick nailed on the end of it acting as a propeller. Another stick, about the length of the toy, is used to rub up and down the notches, causing the propeller to spin. “It’s a nice introduction to mak ing something out ofwood. It gives you immediate gratification,” Caldwell said. “It’s something everyone could do, and have flan, while publicizing the Folk Art Center,” said Caldwell. The competition was entertain ing to watch as grown men and women got very serious about their small wooden toys. The trick is being able to get the propeller to spin to the right, or Gee position, or to the left, the Haw, on command. Children seem to be able to grasp the concept much faster than adults. The Celebrate Folk Art! event, has been combined with the Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle competi tion for about eight years, accord- j ing to Caldwell. i; The 1999 adult amateur cham pion, Lyle Wheeler of Miller’s ; Creek, said he started to prepare for the competition in April. “I knew it was coming, so I prac ticed every day,” said Wheeler. Wheeler also contributed to the Celebrate Folk Art! event by dem- Review onstrating chair-making. Other arts and crafts demonstra tions included woodcarving, treadle wood lathe, weaving, spinning, bas kets and quilting as well as other activities. In the case of the quilting, the finished product was exquisite, but the process was difficult to watch. It is a tedious chore with little action. Sheep shearing, on the other hand, is full of action, and great for those who enjoy watching small animals being held against their will and shaved bald. Actually, the shearing is neces sary to keep the animals from be ing absolutely miserable, accord ing to Janice Sims of South Caro lina. “My uncle raised sheep,” said Sims. “The extra wool gets to be too heavy and warm.” After the wool is sheared from the sheep, it is spun into yarn and can be used in weaving. These dem onstrations were also enjoyable to watch. It makes it re mterestmg to watch if there is a transformation before the eyes. Split Rail, a four-man band, per formed what they called consum able bluegrass. The group had incredible har mony. It takes the ability to appre ciate the talent, not just the music style, to enjoy Split Rail. Celebrate Folk Art! was not geared specifically for UNCA students. However, a trip to the Folk Art Center alone is worthwhile. Currently, in the upstairs gallery, there is an exhibit of different types of hand-made chairs. The whole experience is, by far, the least painful way to earn a hu manities cultural event credit. Dressing up is frowned upon, and admission is free. The Folk Art Center is easily accesssible from downtown Asheville, according to Caldwell. “People don’t realize how close we are,” said Caldwell. “They hear milepost 382 on the (Blue Ridge) Parkway and they think they have to go all the way down.” The UNCA department of music and the Asheville Jazz Society present jazz pianist and composer Loonis McGlohon and his band with singer Maddy Winer in concert on Sept. 26 at 4p.m. In the Lipinsky Au ditorium. The event is free for UNCA students. For more information call 251- 6432. The December 4th LSAT is approaching! Get the score that gets you in! 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