How I Learnedto Drive

How I Learned to Drive

INSIDE BEATTHE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

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I AM ZOZO• OF MONTREAL •COUTURE REPORT• LA BOMBA• TOWERS• PAUL MCCARTNEY

Time for a driving lesson!

February 16, 2012Page 2 • Inside Beat

EDITOR’S RANT & ART

Spence BlazakDiana CholankerilJessica Espinosa

Shama HuqAshley Lagzial

Rebecca Makulowich

FREDDIE MORGAN............................................................................TV EDITOR

EMILY GABRIELE.......................................................................MUSIC EDITOR

HEATHER TEDESCO................................................................THEATER EDITOR

ZOË SZATHMARY....................................................................FASHION EDITOR

SASKIA KUSNECOV...........................................................................ART EDITOR

JILLIAN PASON..........................................................................COPY EDITOR

NOAH WHITTENBURG.................................................................PHOTO EDITOR

ALEX NATANZON............................................................................FILM EDITOR

JASON PEARL...............................................................................ONLINE EDITOR

RYAN SURUJNATH...........................................................VIDEO GAMES EDITOR

E D I T O R I A L B O A R D

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CONTRIBUTORS TO

INSIDE BEAT :

ZOË SZATHMARY....................................................EDITOR

RYAN SURUJNATH.....................................................ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ASHLEY PARK...................................................ASSISTANT EDITOR

Cover Photo Courtesy of Heather Tedesco

BY JASON PEARLONLINE EDITOR

A little bit longer ago, in agalaxy about the same distanceaway, Darth Vader was a naïve bratand interstellar politics took centerstage. At least, that’s the way somewould describe the beginning ofthe Star Wars saga. While manyoften deride the Star Wars pre-quels for various reasons (chiefamong them Jar Jar), I’ve always

ON THE ORIGIN OF STAR WARS

BY SASKIA KUSNECOVART EDITOR

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art illuminates a crucial de-velopment in the history of art in their newest exhibit, “In Wonder-land: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and theUnited States.” North America was once a place where artists couldfree themselves from the European artistic traditions, especially forsurrealists from the US, Mexico and Europe itself. These female artistswere able to explore their own subconscious and depict images fromtheir imagination, as opposed to simply posing as models, as was typ-ically the custom in the male-dominated European art scene. Their artbecame a matter of identity and featured different takes on traditionalportraiture, such as double portraits and masquerades. The freedomto paint as they wish helped artists like Frida Kahlo, Lee Miller, Reme-dios Varo and Dorothea Tanning – who are all featured in the exhibit– move away from being the dream to creating it.

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held them in a place of high re-gard, a space right next to the orig-inal trilogy.

I’ve always found it interestinghow fans so dedicated to a storiedfranchise could so easily disregard50 percent of it. In fact, it’s usuallythe most hardcore supporters ofthe series who so vehemently dis-parage the prequels while ex-tolling the virtues of the originals.To me, this has always seemedlike a contradictory viewpoint. For

the record, I’m not saying thatEpisodes I-III are on par with theoriginal trilogy, but they’re defi-nitely better than they’re givencredit for. I believe therein lies thebasis for the ubiquitous prequel-bashing. Because people havesuch a strong affection for IV-VI,and due to the fact that the pre-quels are admittedly a bit lackingin certain areas, the de factostance has been to shun the latterwhile embracing the former.

So what do the prequels offerthat makes them laudable? Forone, they offer the same epic senseof scale and significance, with thefate of an entire galaxy hinging onthe actions of the main characters.In addition, the grand spectacle ofevents like Attack’s Battle ofGeonosis is easily comparable toEmpire’s Battle of Hoth. The bestcontributions of the prequels, how-ever, are its fantastic new charac-ters. With no prequel trilogy there

would be no Jango Fett, Qui-GonJinn, General Grievous, MaceWindu, Darth Maul — the list goeson. Where would the world betoday without podracing and dou-ble-bladed lightsabers? Chancesare you’d agree that all of thosethings are worthy extensions of theStar Wars lore. So while many wor-ship only at the altar of the originaltrilogy, I make sure to pay defer-ence to prequels as well. I find yourlack of faith … disturbing.

Painting La Bomba

February 16, 2012 Inside Beat • Page 3

ART, THEATER & FASHION

George Street Playhouse | A

BY REBECCA MAKULOWICHSTAFF WRITER

A performance based primarilyon dialogue, John Logan’s Red cap-tivates the audience from the verystart of the play. Red, a story of selfdiscovery and partnership set inlate 1950s New York City, is a bio-drama of the life of Mark Rothko,the celebrated American painter.Having premiered at the DonmarWarehouse Theatre in Londonback in 2009, Red has a four-weekrun at the George Street Play-house under the direction of An-ders Cato, a George StreetPlayhouse native. Cato has di-rected a number of plays includingSouvenir, Doubt and The Seafarer.

Red centers on Mark Rothko —a tortured artist, portrayed by BobAri — who is wrapped up in show-ing the tragedy of art and his life.Bob Ari (Frost/Nixon) is accompa-nied by Randy Harrison, whoplays Rothko’s assistant Ken

RED

BY SASKIA KUSNECOVART EDITOR

The ancient Greek termmimesis refers to the imitation oflife. Aristotle called poetry aform of mimesis in his treatisePoetics, arguing that art is an im-itation of that which is around us.Magda Luccioni Baez’s vibrant,brilliant artwork is living proofthat it is not just the literary artsthat seek to mimic the joys andtragedies of daily life, but also vi-sual arts. The Center for LatinoArts and Culture hosted an eventtitled “Images of Loss and Mem-ory,” displaying Magda’s paint-ings, as well performing as therhythmic inspiration that helped

BY ZOË SZATHMARYINSIDE BEAT EDITOR

Haute couture is not for thefaint of heart — the handmade,often avant-garde garments areextremely expensive and gener-ally only available for purchasevia special permission of a de-signer’s atelier. While the cus-tomer base for haute couture isconstantly dwindling, its beautyis no less startling. At Paris thisyear, Karl Lagerfeld once againtweaked the classic designs ofCoco Chanel — his tweed skirtswere given peplum silhouettesand extra-cropped blazers. Gior-gio Armani maintained theimage of ladylike grooming, butwith tailored, androgynous suitsand Asian elements. Modelswalked down the runway with

HAUTE COUTUREHEADLINES

Painting La Bomba

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origami-inspired headdressesand silk-print clutches.

Not everyone maintained de-mure collections, however; Irisvan Herpen and GiambattistaValli whipped up space age con-coctions. Dresses and coats werecut in swirling geometric shapes,wrapping around the body. Ac-cessories and bold makeup, in-cluding black lipstick, lent an“alien” presence to the models.Alexander Vauthier avoided thewacky silhouettes, but fully em-braced the color red — he used itin practically every piece of cloth-ing in his collection. And ofcourse, fashion’s enfant terrible,Jean-Paul Gaultier, managed toproduce something along thelines of sumptuous loungewearfor Vegas showgirls. At Paris, theoptions were endless.

(Wicked), a studying artist with atortured past. The two form a stel-lar partnership, complimentingeach other’s styles.

On the outside, Red appears tobe a story of student and teacher,but has a much deeper meaning.With this circular plot, the simplequestion of “What do you see?” is arecurring theme. Rothko asks thissimple question that carries theplay, delving into the deeper anddarker side of color … for whichthe play is named. Movement, heclaims, is the key to his work –throughout the performanceRothko searches for the movementof the painting, often speakingabout the art as if it had feelingsand thoughts of its own. Ken, ayounger artist with still much tolearn, thinks Rothko is crazy andarrogant in his lack of an openmind. Ken thinks of Rothko as adying artist, calling him out on hisblatant diminishing values. The stu-dent-teacher/ employer-employee

relationship very soon begins toshift as the two begin to teach eachother, as they begin to open theireyes to possibilities in art that mayhave been lost along the way. In atime of change with the emergenceof pop art, Red illustrates the strug-gles of artist Rothko and his assis-tant Ken as they strive to attain atrue understanding and strongmoral compass.

In many ways Red is a play ofdiscovery and truth. Throughoutthe show each character strugglesa great deal. Their struggles rangefrom conflict between past and fu-ture, fighting for success and thedifficulty in remaining true to one-self in one’s art. Rothko and Kenchallenge the morality of their1950s world, including everythingfrom art to high life society. Basedon the true story and questionablepersonal and professional deci-sions of Rothko, Red questions themotives of this preeminent Ab-stract Expressionist.

to create them: the music of labomba. “I hadn’t painted for 30years,” Luccioni admits. “Be-tween work and kids, I just didn’thave the energy. But then Iheard my husband’s drums. Sud-denly, I was inspired again.”

In la bomba, she said, thedrum is playing to you. La bombais typically played with two drum-mers; as it was performed at theevent by Luccioni’s husband anda University faculty member, thedrums were accompanied by astrong group of female singers,filling the room with resoundingmovement that brought the wholeroom to their feet.

“In la bomba,” Luccioni said,“the music is playing to you. It

makes you dance.” A similarwild, uncontrolled, vibrant na-ture is seen in Luccioni’s paint-ings, done in bright acrylic paint.Her style is reminiscent of DiegoRivera’s lively frescoes and FridaKahlo’s surrealist paintings. Theimages in the paintings depictspirits and mythical gods fromher home country of PuertoRico, as well as loved ones shehas lost along the way. The mostemotionally evocative piece forLuccioni was “Ebo de Chango.”Chango is the god of fire, thun-der, power and sensuality fromthe Caribbean; in the painting,he wears a crown and a stern,powerful expression on his face.Luccioni said she encountered a

great shock while in the processof painting Chango.

“I woke up one morning atthree o’clock — because I paint atnight — to find a face in the cloudI had painted,” Luccioni said. Inthe right corner of the painting is acloud, and if the viewer looks at itfrom the right direction, they canperceive a face in the white. After-wards, she called her sister toshare her discovery. Luccioni’s sis-ter told her that it was a messagefrom Chango and that she shouldleave it, so it stayed. “I’m a veryspiritual person,” Luccioni ex-plained. Another emotionallywrought painting was Nancy, afiery yet melodic piece dedicatedto her friend of the same name,

who was diagnosed with cancerduring its production and laterdied. Luccioni choked up as shedescribed the relationship be-tween the bomba dancer in thepainting and Nancy’s spirit.

The most compelling aspect ofLuccioni’s artwork is the integra-tion of her visual art and the musicof her homeland. Because sheuses acrylic paint, she is also ableto paint works on tambourines,one of which she uses personallywhen she dances and performs labomba. She moves beyond mime-sis in this way, making her musealso her medium.

Luccioni’s artwork is on displayuntil March 30 in the Center forLatino Arts and Culture.

Hanging Out WHow I Learn

The actor’s process is one that can be very stressful and cause a lotDrive. This cast, though, knows how to have fun. Inside Beat went

about their personal processes and all the things they l

TAYLOR MCKAYSENIOR, ENGLISH AND HISTORY

BORIS VAN DER REESENIOR, THEATER ARTS AND COMMUNICATION

AMANDA PADROSENIOR, ENGLISH AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Inside Beat: What do you like about acting?

Mark Mills: Among many things, I really enjoy the role of the actor in the collaates an overarching theme and adds his or her interpretation to the playwright’s mate an entire universe behind their character, which can often be much more fasctheir thoughts and emotions, but their behaviors and reactions to other charactersterwoven with the other actors and the director during collaboration, and this can

Taylor McKay: I love that I always take away something from the characters I pat least a small part of you? I learn something different from every role I play, and

IB: What other aspects of theater do you enjoy?

Amanda Padro: I respect every occupation found within theater — theater isof theater is significant to the body of the production. Directing is amazing to me —can often see things that the actors can’t. It’s certainly a position of great responsispective while the director adds the macro perspective. Scenic design is also wondto create a world for characters to reside in is a job I’d love to have.

IB: What is your acting process?

Boris Van Der Ree: For this particular show, I used a mask technique. Each I can specifically portray the emotional connection that the main character Lil' Bit

Stephanie Van Huss: Using the script as a springboard to delve farther into thfun. I have to ask a million questions about the character and make sure that I have acter “tick” in order to justly portray them. I am also a huge believer in the effort othe process is working together and trusting one another.

IB: Do you plan to pursue acting outside of college?

Taylor McKay: I would love to pursue acting outside of college. I probably wilarating about a live audience that I think I’ve become addicted to. Every audience iseeing a different reaction every night.

Amanda Padro: Theater is not my primary goal at the moment; however, Iin a Broadway show. At this point of my life, I’ll work hard and take opportunitieof the liberal arts. That’s what I want to be ... I want to explore this world and uI’ll genuinely and sincerely grow.

IB: What has your acting experience been in the past?

Stephanie van Huss: Honestly, I’m still pretty new to it. I was in several plays ielaborate. The different projects have been very versatile, which is a blessing, but

Mark Mills: I got involved with acting later in life, around sophomore year in ca few plays, but two years later How I Learned to Drive will be my 12th production

IB: Talk about your favorite acting role. Why was it your favorite?

Mark Mills: Although I have a bunch of serious and challenging roles that I hthat my favorite roles are the ones that were just a lot of fun. My all-time-favorite htering from the ceiling in a heavy duty scissor lift, sliding down poles and spiral stairand overall outrageousness was simply an incredibly fun experience. But my favorDrive you would never guess that that was me.

Boris Van Der Ree: I started acting with the serious intention of making it a lifeAdo About Nothing — because of this I have a strong love for classical drama. In fwhere we lip-synced all the songs and my shtick was that I inappropriately hiccupp

Amanda Padro: In the past, I’ve been very blessed when it comes to acting. Iand experiencing different aspects of their lives. I started theater very late in life. It wasn’t until my first year in college that I began to pursue theater faithfully. Sincthat time, I've worked with some amazingly talented directors, artistic directors, mfour years I’ve been a college student — lessons that reverberate so much farther to live so many lives. It’s a rewarding profession. So, a really good cast becomes a fbe through hardship or happiness, the actor grows more as a person — it is a prof

How I Learned to Drive opens February 17th at Cabaret Theater.

STEPHANIE VAN HUSSSOPHOMORE, ENGLISH AND THEATER

MARC MILLSSENIOR, THEATER ARTS AND PSYCHOLOGY

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HEATHER TEDESCO

With the Cast of ned to Drive

t of frustration, especially with a serious show like How I Learned tobackstage with the cast of How I Learned to Drive and learned allove about theater. - By Heather Tedesco, Theater Editor

aborative process. The playwright sets his or her ideas onto paper, and the director cre-message (as well as inserts his/her own separate message). But the actor gets to cre-cinating than the relatively few words spoken during the play, which dictates not only as well, since the actor brings the character to life on stage. This work all becomes in-be an incredible experience.

play; when you act you become the character, so why would the character not becomeI think that’s the beauty of acting.

s, in many respects, a collaboration of artistic minds. In this way, every particular part— good directors are truly compelling; their perspective is on a grander scale, and theyibility and an irreplaceable one to the performance. The actors provide the micro per-derful! I love to paint and draw and creating a set is a daunting and rewarding task —

of my characters has a distinct set of expressions and habits — a mask. By doing thishas to the memory of that person.

he details of a character’s life. The process can be long, sometimes arduous, but alwaysstrong answers from the character’s perspective. I have to know what makes the char-

of a team, your fellow cast mates can make or break your performance. A huge part of

ll try to stay within live theater though instead of film; there’s just something so exhil-is different every night; they laugh at different things, respond to different lines. I love

I do like to entertain dreams of joining a prestigious MFA program and being castes where I see them. Someone once said that a true actor, a true artist, is a studentunderstand more of it before I seek to portray it truthfully on stage — that is how

in high school and performed at Cabaret Theatre last season, but my résumé isn’t thatI’ve only been a performer in five shows — I have a lot more to learn and experience!

college, but I have been barreling through ever since. I have done mostly musicals andn at Rutgers University.

hold dear since they were stimulating and made me a better actor, I would have to sayhas to be playing Frank-N-Furter this fall in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. From en-rcases, to entering the world of Frank’s over-the-top drag queen clothes, voice, makeuprite thing about roles like Frank-N-Furter is that when you come to see How I Learned

fe choice in high school where my first real part was as Leonato in Shakespeare's Muchfifth grade I played a cowboy in a Western-themed musical called Wagon Wheels Westped at comic intervals. It’s still the most fun I’ve ever had in a show.

I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of portraying some wonderful characters on stageI did a few shows in high school, but I never considered it as something I truly loved.ce then, I’ve been cast [as a] lead in almost every show I’ve been in, which is nice. In

musical directors, stage crew and, of course, cast members. I’ve learned so much in thethan the stage. The thing about theater is that it’s a true portrayal of life — actors getfamily and instructs one another, through compassion and care, about life. Whether itfession of the soul. I hope to do it for the rest of my life.

February 16, 2012Page 6 • Inside Beat

FILM

BY ALEX NATANZONFILM EDITOR

The world is dealt a harsh blowthat quickly drives the human pop-ulation into mass extinction. Themain culprit behind this annihila-tion, however, is not a nuclearholocaust but good ol’ cell phonesand the towers that transmit theirwaves. Jet Wintzer’s Towers is atake on the classic, post-apocalyp-tic future film with a trippy twist.

A few years after the disasterstrikes the world, a young womannamed Pedal is living alone in ahouse deep in the woods. Eachday, her morale drops as depres-sion and loneliness strengthentheir hold on her. One fateful day, amysterious girl named Jane radiosin on Pedal’s CB. The two instantlyhit it off. They share their survivalexperiences, discuss life and in-dulge in the abundant cocktail ofdrugs that Jane possesses. Jane de-

EYE ON...TOWERS

BY ALEX NATANZONFILM EDITOR

Who knew that board gameswere so dangerous? I Am ZoZotells the chilling tale of a groupof friends who get together onHalloween to celebrate theweekend at a lake house. Whenthey decide to have some inno-cent fun playing with a Ouijaboard, they unintentionallysummon the infamous demon,ZoZo. Inside Beat was able toget the inside scoop on the filmfrom producer Zack Coffmanand director Scott Di Lalla.

Inside Beat: What drewyou to the topic of Ouija boardsand the lore of ZoZo?

Scott Di Lalla: A hobby ofmine is to just surf the net for in-teresting true stories of the un-known and unexplained.Specifically, I love reading aboutOuija board stories and cameacross a few that seemed strik-ingly similar. These were sto-ries about people coming acrossthe demon ZoZo while playingwith the Ouija board. Thesewere the creepiest stories I haveever read and thought thiswould make a great movie.When it comes to a good horrormovie story, it is very importantthat it is based in reality.

Inside Beat: What weresome of the biggest challengesyou encountered when makingthis movie?

Scott Di Lalla: The biggestchallenge was shooting a fea-ture length film on Super 8mmwith a 30-year-old camera. Toadd to the challenges, we'dnever shot on film before. Themain disadvantages lie in thefact that Super 8mm was basi-cally always intended to be aconsumer-grade format so thecameras may not have all theflexibility of a pro-level 16mm or35mm setup. Testing and prepa-ration was key. We tested thecamera under many differentconditions until we found itssweet spot. After extensive test-ing and research I knew what f-stop was ideal and which onewasn't. In regards to the smallgauge format, too much lightcoming into the camera is notideal. Most of the film was shotin low light, so to achieve my f-stop we had to painstakinglylight for it.

Zack Cof fman: Yeah thesound was an issue we didn'tquite respect enough, but afriend introduced us to a crack-erjack sound guy (Mike Fox)who had been the dialogue ed-itor on The Grudge and he

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cides to break Pedal out of her rutby taking her on a cross countryroad trip to the East Coast insearch of the only radio DJ on theplanet, the mysterious “Spectacle.”

Towers has the unique feel ofan acid rock-meets-indie musicvideo. Backed up by a catchysoundtrack and intertwined withintoxicating camera effects, direc-tor Jet Wintzer gives the movie thefeel of “seeing the end of the worldthrough a counterculture perspec-tive.” The journey of self-discoverythat the two main characters em-bark on is montaged in indiemusic video fashion. Beautiful,scenic shots of lush natural land-scapes coupled with those of run-down houses and desolate localesprovide for a very distinctive tone.While the apocalypse story linecould be elaborated upon, the ulti-mate message of the movie isabout the importance of love andcamaraderie between people.

worked many late nights re-moving the camera sound fromthe dialogue. Strangely enoughwe found that the sound was al-most too clean so we actuallyhad Mike go back in and add avery soft continuous layer ofcamera sound to the wholemovie which gives it a real vin-tage Seventies horror feelmatching the Super 8 look.

IB: Why did you decide toshoot the film in 8mm?

SD: The decision to shootthe film in 8mm came after daysand days of searching for theright look. There are a lot of in-gredients in the recipe of mak-ing any given film, so when itcame time to decide what Iwanted to shoot the horror filmon, I knew the look was as im-portant as all the other compo-nents. At first, I wasresearching cool looks I couldget from a digital medium, but Iwas never truly satisfied; it justwasn't matching the look I hadin my head. I really wanted it tolook like film, but I also knewfilm was very expensive. ThenI started wondering, if I shot iton film what would be thecheapest way to do that? Theonly obvious answer was thesmallest gauge film available —8mm. After a few more hours ofresearching I came across anamazing music video, “FakeEmpire,” by The National, shotentirely on Super 8mm. After Isaw that video, I basically fellout of my chair. This was it!This was the look I was after!

IB: Why did you decide touse a lakeside cabin retreat asthe setting of the film?

SD: We didn’t have a bigbudget for the film, so where wewould shoot it became very im-portant. I wanted to have agloomy setting, so the Seattlearea was perfect. After Zack toldme about the beautiful islandssurrounding Seattle, we felt itwould be a perfect balance ofgloom and beauty. The islandand its surroundings not onlylooked fantastic on film; ithelped raise the productionvalue of the project.

ZC: The isolated setting re-ally helped create a creepy vibein the film. The owner of thehome actually is a huge film buffand had a dream of somedaybeing involved in a film so hewas very generous with therental of his home for the shoot.To save money we had thewhole cast and crew bunk theretogether for the shoot and it cre-ated such a wonderful spirit ofcamaraderie and helped the ac-

tors really develop their charac-ters on site.

IB: Who/what inspired youto become a filmmaker?

SD: I’ve asked myself thisonce, and I couldn’t come upwith a definitive answer. It feelslike I have carried this desirefrom some past life. I was a bitof a dreamer and I was very for-tunate to have parents that al-lowed me to believe that mydreams could come true. Notlong after I learned how to talk Istarted expressing both howmuch I wanted a motorcycleand how much I wanted to en-tertain people. My parentsweren’t in the entertainment in-dustry nor did they ride motor-cycles, but it did make themvery curious. When I wasseven, they gave me a taperecorder and I spent most of mytime recording myself playingdifferent characters in some fic-tional story I would make up. Ialso started riding motorcyclesas soon as I was able. WhenZack and I formed One WorldStudios Ltd. back in 2001, ourfirst feature film was a motorcy-cle documentary called Chop-pertown that developed a realcult following around the worldand allowed our company to beself-sufficient ever since.

ZC: My dad is a writer andeven went to film school backin the ’60s, so I guess it kind ofmakes weird sense that I endedup doing this, although I neverreally thought I'd be makingfilms professionally until onething led to another and I fellinto the business while livingabroad in Korea. After cuttingmy chops out there I started tofeel that it was going to be areal career for me. Scott and Ihad been friends since our col-lege days and one day we fi-nally just said, “Hey, let's makea film company!”

IB: Have you previouslyworked on other projects withany of the other members of thecast or production team before?

SD: Zack and I made fivedocumentaries before this one,but it was our first time workingwith everyone else involved.

IB: Is this your first time sub-mitting a movie to a film festivaland how do you feel about it?

SD: This is not the first time,but the acceptance of every newfilm into a film festival is as excit-ing as the first time.

ZC: Three of our docs wereaccepted into festivals, andeven won some awards, buthaving our first narrative filmaccepted into festivals is adream come true.

yet willing to take a few riskswithout compromising the depthand raw emotion which has culti-vated many fans since the 2005debut release of debut releaseHow to Save a Life.

Listeners who have enjoyedThe Fray will most likely enjoythis album, as the members havestayed true to themselves evenwhile evolving and makingchanges. The result is beautifuland engaging when they are at

their best. This albumcan also serve as an al-luring introduction forlisteners who have notpreviously heard TheFray’s music. The onlyreal critique here is inthe unfulfilled potential

that still remains. This may not bethe group’s absolute best offering– a bit more piano scatteredthroughout would have been morethan welcome — but they’ve cer-tainly made a fine effort. It’s a tes-tament to their abilities asmusicians that The Fray’s mem-bers have not lost any of thepoignancy or the subtle charmthat has come to define them, allthe while not being afraid to let goa little and grow.

PAUL MCCARTNEY

February 16, 2012 Inside Beat • Page 7

MUSIC

BY SHAMA HUQSTAFF WRITER

The Fray’s third studioalbum, Scars and Stories, findsthe Colorado band tacklingmuch of the same subject matterit has previously explored, oftentouching upon themes of love,loss, hope and redemption. De-spite the familiarity of the subjectmaterial, frontman Isaac Sladehas a talent for bringing lyrics tolife that are still refresh-ing and filled with hon-esty and inspiration.The Fray is able to trulyconnect with its audi-ence, in large part dueto Slade’s dynamic vo-cals, which are instantlyrecognizable and expressive.

However, the group hasbranched out stylistically with itslatest offering, taking a breakfrom its piano-driven songs. HereThe Fray’s members are foundexperimenting with a more gui-tar-based sound and other instru-mentation, such as the stringssection on “Munich” and a pleas-antly surprising funk-tinged bassline on “Turn Me On.” This is aband comfortable in its own skin,

Scars and Stories | B

BY SPENCE BLAZAKSTAFF WRITER

After being in the undisputedbest band of all time and havingone of the most successful solo ca-reers of the 20th century, Paul Mc-Cartney knows what he is doing,and at age 69, he isn’t about to takemany risks … but is that a badthing? On his newest album, Kisseson the Bottom, McCartney showshis jazz side and covers some

20th century standards.

Kisses on the Bottom | B

Paralytic Stalks | C+OF MONTREAL

TTHHEE FFRRAAYY

BY DIANA CHOLANKERILSTAFF WRITER

It is hard to think about theindie pop confection Of Montrealwithout consulting past musical re-leases such as Satanic Panic in theAttic and Hissing Fauna, Are Youthe Destroyer? With such fun andfrightening, yet enticing, titles likethose, the group can hardly beconsidered forgettable. They areentertaining combinations of jit-tery, orgasmic funk-pop songs.Unfortunately, listeners may cometo Paralytic Stalks and feel a littleempty-handed.

Since the 2004 Satanic Panic inthe Attic release, Kevin Barnes hasbeen the lead songwriter for all of

PAUL MCCARTNEY

LOCAL CORNER

ARTIST PROFILE: LIGHTNING JAR

BY ASHLEY LAGZIALSTAFF WRITER

There’s nothing quite like the enchanted feel-ing that resonates while lying in the grass duringa warm summer evening watching a sunset.New Jersey’s own indie folk band, Lightning Jar,captures this moment via song. Coming out withthe debut studio album So Long Traveler onMarch 24, the band hopes to bring its vision of “afolkloric childhood summer image” to life.

Hailing from Morristown, N.J., these fourhigh school friends reconnected several yearsafter graduation with a new passion for creat-ing music. Lightning Jar, consisting of JasonPomeroy, Sean Marshall, Nate Maier andJason Reynolds came together in “a naturalprogression of things” to form an official bandin the summer of 2010.

Giving new vitality to the Asbury Park music

Find them on the web: lightningjar.org Follow them on Twitter: @lightningjar

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the group’s songs. With past hitssuch as “Lysergic” and “YourMagic Is Working,” it’s a surpriseto pay Paralytic Stalks a listen; youfeel as if you’ve come up musicallyempty. The most unfortunate as-pect of the album is that thereseems to be a lack of life and indi-viduality behind the music. Barnesoften treats songwriting as his ownpersonal therapy session and letshis emotions flow along the musi-cal bars of his compositions, whichcan often lead to great musicalworks of art. But just like with al-bums, therapy sessions aren’t al-ways revelatory periods ofself-cleansing; sometimes they’rejust devoid of any real purpose andare a bit mindless. Siphon off this

emotional dribble, and you haveParalytic Stalks.

That’s not to say that the albumdoesn’t have its good notes. Thesong “Spiteful Intervention” openswith a funky psychedelic melody,but then quickly dissipates into amelancholy drone. That’s often theproblem with this album — somesongs have potential to be solidpieces of music, but then they taperoff into more down-tempo beatswithout any real hook.

But give Paralytic Stalks achance. It has its worthy listens. Forthe first-time listeners who want tosee Of Montreal at their best theymay want to give the past, more ar-rant albums, a better listen. ParalyticStalks does not do the band justice.

scene, the band can usually be found playing ven-ues such as Trinity and The Pope and The Saint.They opened for such acts as The Devil MakesThree, Dangermuffin and Nicole Atkins but as-pire to one day share the stage with artists suchas Gillian Welch, a fellow folk singer, and Wilco.

Sean Marshall prides his bandmates ontheir amazing “attention to detail in all of oursongs” and urges listeners to take the time tosit down with the record and absorb it. Theband feels it could not have asked for moreout of its debut album.

With the first record soon to be releasedand a constant flow of new songs being de-veloped, Lightning Jar’s future seems to beglowing as bright as the group’s name. Thenext goal for the band is to widen its audienceby playing surrounding cities, so keep youreyes peeled for a chance to see this inspiringband at a venue near you!

Accompanied by Diana Krallon piano, McCartney takes theeasy listening genre to a new levelby giving it some substance. Jazzguitar and a McCartney that isstaying away from any high notesadd up to create a “comfort food”type of album. It is also of note thathe does not pull a Rod Stewart andmerely offer covers of all the pop-ular old songs like “My Way” and“Mack the Knife,” but instead hefinds a group of songs with whichaudiences aren’t quite as familiar.

While fans will have to wait alittle longer for a McCartney rapalbum, Kisses on the Bottomshould tide them over for a littlewhile. The album isn’t made to bedissected note for note like Radio-head’s Ok Computer, but it’smerely meant to play in the back-ground while you play Scrabblewith your pals from the office.Does every song kind of soundthe same? Yes, but as far as jazzylounge music goes, it gets the jobdone just fine.