Mar. i6, 2007
FEATURES
www.guilfordian.com
Page 7
Greensboro. N.C.
Bonner work trip
repairs houses
Sara Blau| Staff Writer
On March 4, more than 30 stu
dents climbed into vans headed
towards Riegelwood, N.C., in or
der to spend their spring break
rebuilding and repairing houses
damaged by a Nov. 17 tornado that
killed eight people. *
Joining the North Carolina
Friends Disaster Service (FDS),
students slept in a Presbyterian
church and ate hearty and heart-
heavy meals at the neighboring
Baptist church. From 8 a.m. to 6
p.m., volunteers re-roofed houses,
repaired dry wall, set the founda
tion for a new house, and complet
ed other small, but much needed
projects.
Much of the student volunteer
effort went toward one family in
particular. The Martinez family
had lost three members to the dev
astating tornado. In an amazing
display of appreciation and love,
the family cooked dinner for the
entire FDS crew and Guilford stu
dents, more than 70 people in all.
In addition to completing sat
isfying work, students learned life
lessons and skills from the elder
FDS members. They realized how
a small group of people could af
fect the lives of one town in a big
way. And they formed dozens of
new friendships because, despite
being the largest work trip group
ever, everyone got along.
Every night of the work trip
was a "hypes and gripes" ses
sion where students could discuss
highs and lows of the day as well
as any concerns that surfaced. Ev
ery night the hypes overshadowed
and outnumbered the gripes. Here
are some of the hypes:
"Finishing the roof of the Mar
tinez' temporary house was an
incredible feeling ... my hype was
being able to see the result of our
hard work and knowing that it
would benefit a family who had
lost so much." — Kylie Gilliams
"Coming together with fellow
students to work as a team, figur
ing things out, and helping oth
ers in a community that needed
assistance was a really awesome
experience." — Mo Crumbly
"(My hypes were) the FDS
men who all had so much to
share and the same silly old men
jokes to make; amazing food
and fellowship with the Marti
nez family; and getting to know
some wonderful, amazing, spirit
ed and unique people on this trip
who all truly wanted to spend
their spring break doing some
thing meaningful to help others."
— Laura Houpt
"I was delighted to see such a
marvelous mixing and mingling
of folks from Guilford who nor
mally don't hang out with each
other on campus. After the tough
weeks we've had at the college
following the 'late unpleasant
ness' of Jan. 20 and the soul-
searching about fissures in our
campus community, it was won
derful seeing such seamless inter
mingling. And not only among
ourselves, but with the older FD-
Sers, too." — Max Carter
"It is satisfying to see the fin
ished job of a new roof on a solid
foundation that you put your
muscle and sweat into. Not only
was the work fun, but it was also
meaningful since the people we
were helping were so grateful for
our services in a time of crisis and
transition. Picking up the debris
from a house that was leveled
by the tornado, I rediscovered
how fleeting and destructible the
material world is." — Malcolm
Kenton
"My biggest hype was getting
to know the Martinez family. It
amazes me that after such loss,
the family is still strong, and
the kids seem indestructible.
They would fall and literally
bounce back up from cement or
gravel. It was amazing." — Matt
Blalock
Photo courtesy of Matt Blalock
Fannie Dooley (on porch) watches as a volunteer with Friends Disaster
Service picks up debris left from her roof.The damage was unrelated to the
RECENT TORNADOES BUT THE HOUSE WAS IN DESPERATE NEED OF REPAIR. DOOLEY
TEACHES AT A LOCAL SCHOOL AND HAS LIVED IN RiEGELWOOD FOR 40 YEARS.
WQFS hosts Underground concert
Simon Kelly | Staff Writer
For fans of experimental indie,
rootsy folk rock, and psychedelic
pop, the WQFS-sponsored show
held Feb. 22 in The Underground
turned out to be a true sensation.
The bands were, in order of ap
pearance, Dead Elephant Bicycle,
Health, and Dr. Dog. The Phila
delphia psychedelic pop outfit.
Dr. Dog, was the headlining act.
After a
nice leisurely
sound check,
the full five-
piece assem
blage of Dead
Elephant Bicy
cle took to the
stage. Fitting
the profile of
an artsy, idio
syncratic in
die band, the
group looked
rather hope
ful at first, as
everything
from their at
tire to their
unconven
tional array of
instruments,
which includ
ed a trumpet,^
a cello and a^ ” -
mellotron, seemed to be full of
promise.
However, promise and words
of its ilk that generally connote
good feelings may be misplaced
when used in reference to the
music of Dead Elephant Bicycle.
While singer Dylan Angell's lyrics
were compelling, their unflinch
ing bleakness may have been a
little draining on the serotonin
stores of the average listener, es
pecially in songs like "Drunken
Child." Opting for a kind of fu
nerary minimalism, the musicians
didn't so much play their instru
ments as lament over them. And
indeed, as their set limped on,
piling one dirge on top of another,
members of the audience may
have begun to feel as though their
psyches were being rolled over re
peatedly by, yes, a dead elephant
riding your pouty 14-year-old
sister's broken Huffy.
I watched the set from one of
the benches towards the back.
It was there that I was fortunate
enough to meet the one person
in the audience who was quali
fied to help me comprehend the
ominous otherworldliness of this
band — the venerable "Doctor"
Caleb Gardener, music connois
seur.
"Dead Elephant Bicycle is
experimental, so they generally
don't fit easily into a category,"
said Gardener, "but if you must
call them something, it would be
Post-Americana."
Post-Americana, eh? A glos
sary of musical jargon might be
useful at this point.
"I'd say that they were heavily
influenced by Joan of Arc and The
Rachels," said Gardener. "Put that
in your story; they'd like the com
parison."
To be fair. Dead Elephant Bicycle
was admirable for their intriguing
mixture of narrative and gloom, as
their performance made for an al
together haunting experience that
few groups are able to match. Ap
propriately enough, they also cov
Dan Katzman/Guilfordian
Dead Elephant Bicycle played in the Underground on Feb. 22
ered a Tom Waits song towards the
end of their set. Like most of their
songs, however, it was received
with polite, but subdued applause.
"I couldn't understand what
the guy was saying," said first-year
Jonathan Richter after their set,
"and now I think Tm feeling a little
depressed."
The next band to take the stage
was Health, serving a breath of
fresh air with their rootsy, honest
folk rock. Instantly, the composi
tion and disposition of the audi
ence changed as Shaina Machlus ,
the WQFS organizer, cheerily bid
everyone to stand saying that "this
is the kind of music you're going to
want to get up and dance to!"
And indeed, spirits were raised
and legs were stretched as lead
singer Jonathon Moore led the band
through their set of bouncy, open-
hearted rockers with his warm Mid-
westem-sounding voice that belied
his Maryland origins. As said on
the band's MySpace page, "Health
is real American music," putting
them in a league with other no
frills acts like Wilco, The Jayhawks,
and The Black Crowes. Ideal for
midsummer highway coasting to
no place in particular, their music
invoked all that is wide-eyed and
wonderful.
Health's members first met as
undergrads at Guilford College,
and in the spirit of the school, their
music is at times openly egalitar
ian. Take for instance the painfully
short "I Do" (available for listening
at myspace.com/healthyportions)
which, half way through, turns
into a soaring call-and-response
dialogue between Moore and bass
player Mark Wingfield.
Where're you from? ... I'm from
aroimd.
Whatcha done?... Walked on the
groimd.
Who do you like? ... Folks that
I meet.
Who do you meet? ... People on
the street.
I had planned to conduct at
least a semi-formal interview with
members of the
group after
the set; how
ever, the unex
pected struck
in the form
of Mr. Haling
W. Dwang,
self-described
sculptor of
potpies. His
work, he says,
is most com
parable to
that of photo
realistic artist
Chuck Close.
"Some of
the potpies are
open; some
of them are
intact," said
Dwang, "It
sounds weird,
but when
you're in a helicopter and you're
looking at my work, it's (right) on."
Mr. Dwang answered for the
band when they felt they could
not and claimed that his personage
alone has served as the primary in
fluence on Health. Moore and key
boardist Anna Murray could only
nod humbly in agreement.
The third and final act. Dr. Dog,
was also the most anticipated. Hav
ing opened for acts such as The
Raconteurs (Jack White's other
band). Dr. Dog has garnered con
siderable success thus far, and un
doubtedly has much still to come.
In fact, they managed to land a spot
on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
for Monday, March 12. This may be
due in part to their irresistible style
of catchy, yet sophisticated, pop
melodies that unfold in the kaleido
scopic fashion of "Sgt. Pepper's"-
era Beatles, complete with vocal
harmonies that rival The Beach
Boys or The Zombies at times.
Of Montreal also came to mind
for many listeners. However, vm-
like Of Montreal, Dr. Dog's canon is
refreshingly devoid of long-winded
song titles. While cheery psych-folk
numbers like "My Old Ways" seem
to bear the bands signature sound,
songs like The Jackson 5-esque
"The Worst Trip" and the mellow
countrified strummer "California"
show that Dr. Dog is a band that is
in a continual state of evolution.
"They played really happy mu
sic," said first-year Anne Marie
Drolet, attesting to the concert's
about-face from start to finish. The
evening certainly ended on a posi
tive note.