PostedByDan Bolles
on Thu, Feb 11, 2016 at 1:02 PM
Courtesy of Craig Mitchell
Craig Mitchell's Bernie Sanders tattoo
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won the New Hampshire primary in convincing fashion earlier this week — superdelegates be damned. But ol' Bernardo didn't hog the media love for himself. In share-the-wealth fashion befitting a democratic socialist, he shared the national and local media spotlight with a number of Vermonters in the wake of the primary.
Here's a quick roundup of those getting some shine this week.
Vermont musicians were featured prominently at Sanders events, official and otherwise, in New Hampshire, most notably Kat Wright and Brett Hughes and Dwight & Nicole. A picture of Hughes and Wright made the print and digital editions of the Washington Post. And Wright, Hughes and Dwight Ritcher — aka the "Bernie Sanders Singers" — were the subject of the short New York Times video below.
PostedByDan Bolles
on Fri, Feb 5, 2016 at 10:58 AM
Courtesy of Waylon Speed
Waylon Speed
The news about Alan Newman buying a stake in Higher Ground ate up most of this week's Soundbites column, so a few items got bumped. With the weekend nearly here, let's take a quick look at those bits and pieces.
Last fall, local experimental music composer Greg Davis served as the first-ever sonic artist-in-residence at Champlain College. As part of that endeavor, he curated a music series called the Signals Series. It featured notable experimental composers from around the country, including Jeffre Cantu, Ben Vida and Davis himself.
The series was such a success that Davis and Champlain College are bringing it back for the spring semester. The first installment is tonight, February 5, at the Lounge Gallery in the Center for Communication and Creative Media at Champlain College. This one presents Montréal duo Le Révélateur. Here's what you can expect, according to the artists themselves:
After welcoming remarks from CCM Dean Dr. Paula Willoquet-Maricondi, Generator's executive director Lars Hasselblad Torres stepped up to the podium to introduce the series and Pedercini, an assistant professor of experimental game design at Carnegie Mellon University.
"Big Maker is a series of discussions about big and interesting ideas," Torres said. He added that the series aims to drive entrepreneurial endeavors in the state by providing opportunities for makers to connect with people such as Pedercini.
"We're excited to have Paolo because he brings a deep perspective on games and activism," Torres said. "It's exciting to have talent out there that's pushing the boundaries on what games are capable of."
PostedByDan Bolles
on Thu, Oct 29, 2015 at 2:45 PM
Madaila
Local dance pop-phenoms Madaila are playing a big Halloween gig — dubbed Madaila: the Scream — this Saturday, October 31, at the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center in Burlington. In advance of that blowout bash, which also includes performances from Alpenglow, LuxDeluxe and Disco Phantom, the band recently released a new video for "I Don't Want to Rest." And, much like their previous forays in celluloid, it's a hoot.
Directed by Mike Mooney and shot by Tim Bradley — with some magnificent aerial footage by Total Production Designs, to boot — the woodsy vid boasts the highest production value of any Madaila short to date. It also has the strongest narrative thread of any of their previous videos. Think Lord of the Flies crossed with Monty Python & the Holy Grail, add a hint of old-time Baptist revivalism and you're in the neighborhood. Also, neon face paint. And glow sticks.
There has been no shortage of funny Sen. Bernie Sanders videos throughout the early presidential primary season. There was the "Bernie Sanders Is Not Boring" sketch for Funny Or Die. There was the "Bernie Damn Sanders" mashup. And, of course, there was the cold open segment with Larry David as Sanders last weekend on "Saturday Night Live." (BTW, Bernie responded to SNL's sketch with his own impression of David on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" last night.) But yesterday, while everyone else was getting their Back to the Future on, the folks at the Huffington Post quietly raised the bar for bizarro Bernie bits with what might be the funniest Sanders video yet: Sanders playing the bongo part to Ben Harper's "Burn One Down" at last week's Dem debate on CNN.
Obviously, the title of Harper's earnest stoner ballad makes the song rife for a Sanders parody. And that proves doubly true given the weed legislation segment of the debate, which HuffPo video editors Oliver Noble and Ben Craw handle masterfully. But the real brilliance of HuffPo's video is that it tweaks a key Sanders trait that most parodies have thus far overlooked: his emphatically percussive gesticulation. Brilliant.
PostedByKen Picard
on Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 12:33 PM
Graham Hewison and Maxine Longmuir have owned the Sugartree Bed & Breakfast in Warren since 2004. But when the UK transplants decided to put their inn on the market two years ago, they got virtually no nibbles going the traditional route of working with commercial realtors. And, with a glut of similar properties in Vermont currently on the market, the Brits knew they had to get creative.
Finally, Hewison says, the couple decided to "take the bull by the horns" and market the inn themselves. Hewison, a former professional session musician in London, and Longmuir, who ran sports marketing and sponsorship departments for large European companies, decided to write, record, film and edit their own music video to promote the inn's many selling points. Now, they're singing a completely different tune — literally.
Still from "Ripples of War": Lt. Sue Nami prepares a soldier for time travel.
What did you do over summer vacation? The 12- to 18-year-olds who attended Burlington City Arts' Filmmaking Institute in August can say that they donned unicorn costumes, overdosed on cupcakes and "massacred" one another with squirt guns in two different realities, thanks to time travel.
Local filmmaker Michael Fisher, who taught the Institute with Kristen Watson, shared with us the class' final project: an eight-minute film called "Ripples of War," directed by Molly Gary. It stars Cal McCandless as "The General," Mae Mae Morrical as "Lt. Sue Nami" and Claire Delaney as "Sgt. Drippy."
Courtesy of Michael Fisher
The students show off their squirt-gun stances.
Defeated in battle after fueling up on over-sugared cupcakes, the young soldiers try to use time travel to reverse their fortunes. It doesn't go well, despite all the epic tracking shots and slow-mo deaths set to soaring choral music. Think The Thin Red Line meets Looper, with a healthy dose of the sillies.
Courtesy of Michael Fisher
Michael Fisher
BCA offers the Filmmaking Institute in partnership with Vermont Community Access Media. And the camp has been getting some notice. Last year's short film, "F.B.I. (Federal Bagel Investigation)," made by campers with Fisher and Watson, won a national Alliance for Community Media (ACM) Hometown Media Award. You can watch that cinematic crime caper here.
PostedByDan Bolles
on Tue, Jul 28, 2015 at 3:41 PM
Courtesy of Josh Panda
Josh Panda
Josh Panda recently released a new video for "Stick a Fork in Me," a song from his forthcoming new album. The riff-heavy tune suggests a harder direction for the singer than heard on his previous roots-tinged soul turns. Still, there's plenty of Panda doing Panda things, which is to say, gorgeously full-toned vocal acrobatics.
As for the video itself, it's a timely narrative that concerns a young lesbian woman shamed into hiding her sexuality from her conservative father — which ultimately goes about as well as you'd think. It's a well-shot and -acted vignette, with far more emotional pull than your average local music vid. Check it out below. And stay tuned for details on that new record.
PostedByDan Bolles
on Fri, Jun 26, 2015 at 3:30 PM
Courtesy of Pours
Pours
Word on the street is that local electro-indie duo Pours recently finished up a new EP. Said street word was validated this week when the band unveiled a new video for a song from that project, "Ellie." Curiously, the street has been oddly quiet on just when, precisely, that EP might reach our eager ears. Damn you, street.
Anyhoo, stay tuned for more info on that. In the meantime, dig on some fresh jamz.
PostedByDan Bolles
on Thu, Apr 30, 2015 at 12:28 PM
Last Saturday, April 25, Seth Rogen, his wife Lauren Miller and Rogen's Superbad costar Chris Mintz-Plasse (McLovin!) visited the University of Vermont. The trio were in town as guests of UVM fraternity Phi Kappa Alpha and UVM sorority Alpha Chi Omega, which collectively raised more than $30,000 as part of a fundraising contest for HFC U, the collegiate arm of Miller and Rogen's Alzheimer's charity, Hilarity for Charity.
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