Encounter #2: The Sleeping Concert

“I’ve been here before,” I thought to myself as my roommate and I entered the dark, crowded, energetic music venue. It was just past 5’oclock PM on a Sunday evening – on the evening of Valentine’s Day to be exact – and rather than being out on dates or having a fun girls’ night out to celebrate, we decided to do things a little more on the unconventional side. When one thinks Valentine’s Day, they usually think of flowers, hearts and soft, romantic music, not hundreds of skinny jean-wearing mid-pubescent teenaged boys and with dyed black, long hair, swinging their arms and legs around and moshing with the loud, harsh sounds of metal/hardcore rock music surrounding them. Regardless, this is what I decided to do to encounter the band The Sleeping for a second time, Valentine’s Day or not.

Located near the South Side of Chicago on South State Street, adjacent to Chinatown, Reggie’s Rock Club is one of Chicago’s fairly popular rock music venues. It is a rock concert venue that both allows audiences of individuals who are 17 years and older as well as shows for all ages. Most of the music showcased at this venue is alternative or harder rock music, but more recently has been the hit venue in Chicago for the metal and hardcore rock genres I was searching for. With its downward sloping floor that allows for great views of the bands onstage and 80-person balcony, this venue was surely created to keep fans coming back for more.

Before arriving at 2109 South State Street I had in mind what I should be expecting. I had been to several concerts in my lifetime, some of which included harder rock and even metal shows. I knew the music would be blasting from the speakers, the fans would be throwing their bodies everywhere as they moshed to the music and the alcohol would be flowing from the tap at the bar as if it were water flowing from the famous Victoria Falls waterfall in Africa. And all of this was true for this encounter.

Upon arrival to the venue we gathered along in the long line that stretched halfway down the block. Most of the fans in the queue wore some variation of tight, holey skinny jeans, tight band t-shirts, a bandana around their dyed black and side swept, long-haired heads and some brand of chunky skater shoes or Vans brand flats. Now I am not one who is quick to generalize, but my description here is accurate; at least 90% of the gathered fans wore something along the lines of this. In the music world a person who shows up to concerts (regardless of who is performing) wearing tight skinny jeans and shirts and has that stereotypically “emo” or “hardcore” hairstyle is considered to be a “scene” kid. This means that they are not really there because the music is all that great; they are only there because they want others to see them there – they want to look “cool” by going to a concert. However, I should not generalize in saying all of these young fans were scene kids. I am sure at least some of those hundreds of people were there because they really love bands like The Sleeping or Scary Kids Scaring Kids.

The line-up of the four bands went in order starting at 6 o’clock (shows always start at least an hour after the doors open…no clue why bands cannot be ready by that time) and ending after 11; the band order was Rosaline, Eli, The Sleeping and Scary Kids Scaring Kids. Though my main focus in attending this show was to see and fully experience The Sleeping live in concert, it is important to take a minute to understand how the other bands in the line-up compliment them. Rosaline was more of a lighter “screamo” genre, and Eli was just plain hard rock, while Scary Kids Scaring Kids was post-hardcore and harder “screamo”. I felt that by steadily progressing from lighter rock with a little bit of screaming to ending with very hard rock music combined with harsh screaming and bellowing growls, the fans were given time to easier adjust to the vast difference between silence and loud metal music, as well as to get more and more pumped up about the louder, harsher music that lay ahead.

After listening to The Sleeping’s music on iTunes and really hearing and understanding their lyrics, this concert meant a lot more to me. In the past when attending similar shows, I had really struggled with connecting to the music and with the artists who created it. However, since I closely paid attention to the lyrics and what they were saying, I felt much more connected to The Sleeping’s band members as people and better understood and appreciated the messages they were trying to convey with their music.

With this, in the past it was difficult for me to just simply attend concerts similar to this. That is because at metal or hardcore rock concerts, a mosh pit is generally formed. In mosh pits, fans either move around together in a circular motion – a “circle pit” – pushing and shoving one another, or swing their arms and legs around (often hitting each other) while doing something called windmill dancing or two-stepping. While doing any of these types of “dancing/moshing”, many individuals get hurt – breaking legs, getting black eyes or getting serious bruises – something that I really do not want to do while I am at a concert. When I go to shows I am there to experience music, not get beat up by reckless teenage boys.

However, since I really wanted to encounter this band to the fullest, I figured I had to at least stand on the outside of the mosh pit, which I did. Terrified I would get my nose broken or ribs bruised, I braced myself at the outer, left hand edge of the mosh pit, shoving person after sweaty person as they hurled their swinging bodies into me. I stayed here for the entirety of The Sleeping’s set and luckily I emerged unharmed.

Looking back on things, I probably had too many preconceived notions and judgments about metal/hardcore rock concerts. Before I went to this concert I felt that metal/hardcore rock concerts were dangerous, scary and difficult to listen to. However, I am really glad that I decided to just let go of my worries and fully experience the concert as if I were experiencing it for the first time. Since I was totally open to the experience, I was allowed to understand it without having any judgmental or close-minded ideas before really encountering it.

Surprisingly enough, I really enjoyed this experience. Because I was open to do anything and really let the situation take me wherever it led me, I learned to appreciate the experience for what it was. I truly feel that experiences like this are crucial in the process of learning to appreciate things we do not understand or connect with. This concert was exhilarating to me and I absolutely plan on taking more opportunities in the future to experience other art and cultural events in this way.

Where's your head at?

It did not hit me that I wanted to go into music promotion until about a year and a half ago. And even then I figured I would end up working at a small music venue, alongside small bands or even for a totally un-related company that just deals with event planning and advertising without having the slightest bit to do with music. I never in a million years thought about working for a record label. I mean, yes, it has crossed my mind that once bands get good enough they sign on to labels, but I never really thought about me being the person who promotes them and helps to sell their product once they do so.

After getting this internship at Victory Records I have done a lot of thinking about what this means for my future and where my life is going to go from here on out. Victory has helped me to open doors to so many future job opportunities that I did not even realize were out there. Much like how I never thought about working for a record label, I never thought about working for smaller inter-linked companies, such as record stores, bars, universities, or even comic book stores, that help to promote different artists and the music they create; I did not originally realize how much networking is done within the sales and marketing department – or even in the entirety – of a record label. Having this small bit of extra knowledge has really reassured me in that I do not have to necessarily work for some huge corporation to promote music; I can work for a smaller, more people-friendly company and still get the same goals accomplished. Knowing this has really got me thinking about all of the different types of jobs I could have that I would have never thought of if it were not for Victory.

On a different note, something that crosses my mind on a daily basis while interning at Victory is the question of “What is professional?” Victory has no real dress code, everyone on the staff wears t-shirts and jeans on a daily basis, and with that it has no language code. That is, unless you were to count swearing as a code in the English language. About 90% of the workers there shoot out f-bombs 5 times a sentence while other various curse words are strewn throughout what they say; I have certainly learned the diversity of certain words since starting this internship. Yet at the same time when these individuals are making phone calls or making business propositions with retail stores or what have you, they are continuing on with this harsh verbiage. Regardless, I think that some of the recipients of those calls or propositions are dealing out the same sort of speak.

But like I previously mentioned, all of this casual dress and profanity is really making me question the difference between being professional and not. In my past jobs professional meant uniform clothing, whether this be a literal uniform you would see in a food services job or the uniform dress of business casual seen at an office job, and “professional” language, meaning all employees speak clearly, confidently, intelligently with no slang or profanity. So after delving through this definition I now am left wondering does this mean Victory is not professional?

After thinking it over for a while, I have come to my own individual, personal agreement that the word “professional” is applied differently to each company. Each company is its own culture; it has its own language, its own style of dress, its own way of doing things. It is funny that I would come to this conclusion too, as I just took a Communication Studies course to fulfill my major entitled Communication in Organizations. The extra funny part is that we discussed the cultures of organizations and that they differ depending on each diverse organization. I guess that class really did pay off in the end.

Even though Victory has its own definition of what it means to be “professional”, I still find myself acting a bit up-tight, making sure I always speak formally and politely, even though the culture at the record label does not require me to do so. My biggest fear is that if I were to stop acting this way for some reason, I would lose my ability to act “professionally” and end up making myself look like an idiot in future workplaces or “professional” situations. I do not really feel that companies mean to have a certain “code” for how to do things; the employees there construct their own definitions of things and truly make the culture what it is based on how they do things. So I suppose what should happen if you are new to a company is that you should just interact with people in the organization, see how they do things and how they talk and dress, and sort of mimic them. If everyone at the company has a unified understanding of how things are run within that company, it seems as though things will run more smoothly and the individuals will feel more connected.

But these things do not really matter much to me. I try not to focus all of my time worrying if what I am wearing will be socially accepted by my 30-something supervisor who curses like a sailor and dresses like most laid-back college students. What really matters to me at Victory is that I absolutely love it there. I love the people. I love the atmosphere. And most importantly, I love what I get to do. When did I ever think that I would be the person putting together marketing plans for bands at a real life record label? I never could have imagined that! Furthermore, it makes me feel SO important that everyone at the company looks at these plans that I have created AND they think they look amazing! While I see so many people in this program groan when they have to drag themselves out of bed and pull on a pair of business slacks, I spring out of bed, pull on a pair of jeans and happily sing to myself on my way to work. I have never been so excited to wake up in the morning and start my day. It brings me such joy and personal pleasure to be able to…to be honored to…do the job that I get to do. You know you have finally found just exactly what you want to do with your life career-wise when you come to the point where you would rather be at work than at home.

We'll bring the noise.

"It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

An Irish Night

Celtic music has always been a very important genre in my life while aging. I began listening to it at a very young age, particularly after gaining an increasing interest in traveling abroad to the United Kingdom. At that very young age I knew the type of music traditional to the United Kingdom was Celtic music, as the Celts were some of the first inhabitants of the area. After learning this, I remember asking for my first Celtic music compact discs as early as 10-12 years old and wore them out as soon as I got them. My love for this genre has lasted just as strong every since.

In having a long-lived love for the genre of traditional Celtic music, attending the Old Town School of Folk Music for some traditional Irish folk music felt just like home to me. Patrick Finnegan’s intro in class with his different versions of flute got me really pepped up to what we would hear later that night. Just hearing the gorgeous staccatos his fingers made as he blew through his wooden instrument gave me shivers, taking me back a year ago when I stood on the green, rocky, sheep-filled Aran Islands Patrick described as he gave us our talk. I closed my eyes as he played through his Jigs, Slip Jigs and Reels and reminisced on what life is actually like in the beautiful land of Ireland.

Listening to live, traditional Irish folk music with fiddles, tin flutes, Bodhran drums, wood flutes, mandolins, Ulian bag pipes and song on Saint Patrick’s Day was more special to me than I could have ever asked for. Not only was it an important event because of my love for Celtic music and that it was a traditional Irish holiday, but it was also very special to me because it helped to take me back to a place where I actually was exactly one year ago; I have always felt that music has quite the sneaky way of taking us to places – whether it be through memories, spiritually, mentally or emotionally – and this musical experience really helped to take me back to a place in memory (which evoked strong mental images and emotions) that I have needed to be since I left. I have missed the United Kingdom every day since I left, so this performance truly helped to at least take me back to my love in some sense.

The Old Town School of Folk Music was an extremely interesting place. The large building surprised me upon arrival; I did not realize how large it would be, especially how many floors it would have. It seemed as though hundreds of musicians of all age, stature, skill and instrument poured out of the building while we Chicago Semester students were trying to enter. That first impression was very impacting to me. It showed me several things. First, it taught me that anyone of any age can learn music. It does not matter how young or old you are when you pick up an instrument. All that matters is that you are doing it and loving every moment. Second, it showed me that what I was going to hear would be good. If that many people knew about the school who were just students, it meant that the talent there of experienced individuals had to be immense. And finally, it reminded me how all different types of people enjoy all different types of music. Sometimes it is hard to remember that not everyone follows the stereotypes set before them. It does not matter your race, age or appearance – if you are black, brown, purple, 75, 32, 5 – you can love creating music, and folk music at that, just as much as the next person.

The show itself was exhilaratingly wonderful. I felt that starting off with high school students really emphasized what Patrick had said about very young people picking up their instrument of choice and accomplishing a lot well before their peers with other genres of music; traditional Irish folk music really is something that runs in families and is picked up by children at a very young age. I enjoyed clapping along to the several jigs, slip jigs, reels and polkas this group performed. It was also very neat when all 45 of the people got up on stage and played together with all of their different types of instruments; seeing that tin flute and those bag pipes really got my heart racing.

My favorite instrument played was definitely the wooden flute. Fiddles and drums come in at a very close second, but for some reason the flute has always had my heart. I just love how it floats so effortlessly and quickly with sliding (possibly made up/not by-the-book) trills atop its fellow melodic fiddles with its higher range and warm, whistling tone. Because of this, my favorite portion of the performance was when the one high school boy played his set of songs with the one male drummer as accompaniment. But when it comes down to it, to really get the hoot-n-hollerin’, perfect traditional Irish sound, all of the instruments together is really necessary for the best, most realistic sound. I also very much enjoyed hearing the one woman sing her piece that was both in English and Gaelic. This was probably my second favorite portion of the performance. It is not often that you hear a soloist sing Gaelic a cappella music 30 feet in front of you. I think she did a beautiful job, even though she was very, very nervous. I found it very interesting that the singing she did reflected that of the flutes, and thus the bag pipes, in that she used lots of staccatos and sliding notes. It was very beautifully done, and I wished she could have sang more.



Now I need to be perfectly honest. I ended up leaving right at intermission so that I could attend The Tossers’ concert at Metro at 10:30 that same night. The Tossers is a Celtic rock band that is on Victory Records’ label, and it was highly encouraged by my supervisor that I attend, especially because it was just three other girls and me that really promoted our hearts out for the cause. I also felt that by attending that concert, I got a heightened sense of accomplishment because I was able to stand there amongst the 900 people there and say “I did this.” I was one of three other individuals who did all the work to attract 900 people to one single event. That is just amazing to me.




However, I did get to apply some of my newfound knowledge to this concert that I had previously only thought I would be able to apply to the traditional Irish music. Patrick taught us all about jigs, slip jigs, reels, tin flutes, fiddles and many other things. Well, not only did we get these at the Old Town School of Folk Music, we also got these exact SAME things at Metro, a famous rock and roll venue in the heart of Wrigleyville, Chicago.

I had never analyzed a rock and roll concert so closely until I went to this show. Acting as a human metronome, I listened very carefully for tempo and time, seeing to what type of song the majority of The Tossers’ songs were. The results concluded that about 90% of their songs were 4/4 reels, followed by a close second of slip jigs of 6/8 time with regular jigs bringing up the rear. I deduced that the reasoning behind having so many songs with the exact same time signature and style was that it is just honestly simpler to put words to music that is in 4/4 time and in the reel style.

Some other comparisons I saw were the type of instruments used. The main vocalist played the mandolin, which Patrick told us was a common accompaniment instrument. There were also two regular guitarists and one drummer on a drum set – which are not out of the ordinary of any other rock band. However, the two main instruments that stood out were the fiddle and the tin flute. Yes…all one musician played was two different tin flutes for the entire performance. However, something that bugged me throughout the entire performance was that he had his hands in the WRONG place! Or at least in the wrong place as to what Patrick told us was the right way. This musician had his right hand on top of his left rather than the other way around. I wondered if this was because he was never formally taught and is left handed so it just made sense at the time, or if he is just left handed and decided he wanted to be different. Regardless, he played his staccatos and trills just as beautifully as anyone we heard with the more traditional music. The female fiddler was probably my favorite piece in the band though because she just played so smoothly; I definitely felt that, much like Patrick, she had picked up the instrument at a very young age in some bar in a suburb of Chicago. Very good!

So what types of conclusions have I come to after all of this? Irish music is the same at the very heart of things. It all revolves around the same styles – jig, slip jig and reel – and it requires the same instruments, such as fiddle and flute, to sound what we think of as “Irish”. Even more so, they both evoke the same exact reactions from people. In both venues beer was widely accepted and encouraged (much like it is in the real country), and audience members reacted the same to each style, clapping along, yipping, cheering, shouting and dancing.
I feel very blessed that I had the opportunity to go to both shows and really learn for myself what Irish music means to people – both audience members and musicians alike – and delve even deeper into a culture I was already so enthusiastic about. I have so many more thoughts about these events that words truly cannot describe, so hopefully there will be time in class for me to enlighten the class a bit more about what I learned. All I know is that I love both of them through their differences and similarities, and it was definitely the best way I know possible that I could have spent my Saint Patrick’s Day.

No person is ever truly alone

No person is ever truly alone.
Those who live no more,
Whom we loved,
Echo still within our thoughts,
Our words, our hearts.
And what they did
And who they were
Becomes a part of all that we are,
Forever.

Uncle Jim

James D. Corwin

Born: September 16, 1932
Died: March 02, 2010

Iowa CityJames “Jim” D. Corwin, 77, of Iowa City died at his home Tuesday, March 2, 2010 following a brief illness.Memorial Services to celebrate Jim’s life will be at 11 am, Monday, March 8, 2010 at Coralville United Methodist Church with Rev. Doug Williams officiating. Inurnment will be in the columbarium at Oakland Cemetery. Visitation will be Sunday from 5 to 7 pm at Lensing Oak Hill, 210 Holiday Rd, Coralville, where a Masonic Service will be held at 6:30pm. Memorials may be directed to the Coralville United Methodist Church or to Camp Courageous.Jim was born September 16, 1932 in Marion, IA, the son of James and Blanche Remington Corwin. He was raised in Anamosa. Jim received his bachelor’s degree in speech from the University of Iowa. Jim lettered in fencing at the University of Iowa. From 1953 to 1955 he served in the US Army. On June 2, 1963 he married Barbara Becvar in Marion, IA. Jim and Barbara were longtime residents of Monticello, where Jim was a cashier at the Monticello State Bank for 37 years. In 1995 he and Barbara moved to Iowa City. Jim served on the boards of the Monticello School System and Junior Achievement. He was past president of the Jones County I Club, the Monticello and Iowa City Lions Club, Jaycees, past treasurer of the Camp Fire Girls, and member of the Monticello Masonic Lodge and Order of Eastern Star. Jim was a volunteer at the Iowa City Senior Center and played in the New Horizons Band and Swing Band. He served on the University of Iowa Board of Women’s Athletics “Iowa Plus Board” and the Speak Up Program. In 1997 Jim received the Governors Award for his volunteerism.Jim was an avid supporter of University of Iowa athletics. He especially enjoyed football, wrestling and all women sporting events.Jim is survived by his daughter, Janelle (Christopher) Roberts and granddaughter Cortland “Coco” Roberts, all of Iowa City; his sister, Bettymae Ketelsen of Marion; nephew, Kim (Susi) Ketelsen and niece, Jana (Ray) Carson, both of Marion. He was preceded by his parents and his wife, Barbara in 2004.Online condolences and memories may be directed to www.lensingfuneral.com

ARGH!

I'm so TIRED of feeling like a number!

When am I going to MEAN something to these people with whom I interact!?

You're my school...my place of higher education...my institution...my home for 4 years.

So WHY must you treat me like I do not matter!?

You don't know me. And I feel like you're happy to get rid of me.


STOP

sending me e-mails of events I cannot go to because I am not on campus.

STOP

disregarding the specifics I tell you in my e-mails.

STOP

sending me housing information as if I'm staying there another semester or year.

Just STOP

I am NOT insignificant.