Q: What exactly does the position of Resident Coordinator [RC] entail?
A: The primary job of an RC is to administrate the building, handling everything from loan key inventories, to room switches, to keeping an eye on the facilities in the building. I supervise 22 resident assistants [RA], administrative assistants and desk assistants. I also supervise mail operation and serve as judicial hearing officer. All RCs essentially function as satellite offices for the dean . . . noise violations, drugs, alcohol, missing persons, fights, fires, etc.
Q: Why did you decide to become Resident Coordinator for HECHT? How long have you held this position?
A: I have held the position less than a year. This is my first year at Miami. UM is a very special place, a diverse place with a lot of really good people who are committed to helping students, but more importantly, they have a vision of how they want their campus to be and what they want to give their students and I wanted to be a part of it. Hecht is a largely freshmen building and I love to work with the freshmen and the staff here – I’m blessed with an incredible staff of student leaders who are here for the right reasons and are willing to put in a lot of those intangible things that you can’t get back – a lot of hours making bulletin boards and doing things for people.
Q: What is the best part of your job? The worst?
A: Best: supervising the staff and any opportunity I have to interact with the students. Part of our job is the expectation that our apartments will be open for students to have places to program, to congregate, to meet. My apartment was used a lot and it’s great. Also, the opportunity to help people start to figure out what they’re capable of and then give people the tools to recognize their own unique potential.
Worst: I don’t really have a most hated part of my job, but anytime I don’t have the opportunity to interact with the students – like the paperwork, although many would think it would be the judicial part of the job. I don’t really feel that way because I think every time we have the chance to talk to a student who’s been caught for an offense, we’re not going to judge them and it’s really an opportunity for them to start learning what it is to be a part of a community and begin making better choices in the future.
Q: What is the craziest thing you’ve ever heard as RC?
A: Students that smoke marijuana in their room and then get caught because they go to smoke a cigarette because they didn’t want the marijuana smell in their room. We’ve had some people that have urinated or defecated in their room. Some roommate conflicts are crazy – some that can’t have a speck of light in their room and they duct taped the door shut at night so that no light can get in.
Q: What is the most difficult situation you’ve encountered?
A: I think when you do the job that I do or that the people that live in the buildings do, it’s difficult to pick one situation that stands out, but I would say ones where students have truly, truly been hurt or are so desperate that they’ve run out of places to turn. For example, suicide ideation or sexual assaults, severe eating disorders, mental health cases are the most difficult things to deal with because a lot of times, to the people helping these folks, the answer is so clear, but the only person who can ultimately change the situation is the person who has the problem.
Q: What’s the dumbest question you’ve ever been asked by an incoming freshman?
A: People will come to our front desk and ask what the number for 8-CARE is. We’ve had students that got caught drinking alcohol in their rooms say “Can I finish this first?” We had some folks throwing stuff out of a window and asking, “What does it matter if it didn’t hit anybody?” “Where can I get a good ID?” comes up a lot.
Q: What do you think is the greatest misconception new students and freshmen have when coming to UM?
A: One of the biggest ones from my perspective is that they have to fit in to this Miami image – whatever they define that image to be, because it is a pretty place with pretty people. I think that leads to a lot of the issues with drugs and alcohol, and with sexual assault and with eating disorders, because they’re putting themselves out there in a different environment and they’re trying to be something they’re not. I think that one of the misconceptions is that everyone that goes here is very well-off financially. And I think that one of the biggest sources of conflict we find in the residence halls are the issues of socio-economics. It’s a source of tension and it comes back to that Miami image thing.
Q: What was the most dangerous/frightening situation you’ve ever had to handle?
A: For the purposes of protecting students at UM, I won’t disclose those situations, but in other places where I worked. . . there actually was someone standing in the window sill of their fifth floor window of their room urinating out the window and then he decided that he was going to jump; being the primary responding person to that situation was scary. I’ve had to deal with arsonists before, students that have weapons or students that have all the components in their room to produce explosive material.
Hurricane Administrative Spotlight Q&A with Keith “Fletch” Fletcher, Hecht RC
SpectrUM’s Spring Awareness Week
Monday, April 7
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Discrimination in the Military
Tuesday, April 8
“Discrimination in the Bedroom”
Anti-Gay Sodomy Laws
Wednesday, April 9
National Day of Silence
National Day of Silence Project
Thursday, April 10
“What’s wrong with this Family?”
Florida’s Anti-Gay Adoption Ban
Friday, April 11
“Unlawfully Wedded”
Bans on Gay Marriage and the VT Civil Union
New student-run website helps ‘Canes get a life
Tired of being ripped off by the UM Bookstore? Looking for the perfect Friday night party or a ride to South Beach? A new website in cyberspace for UM students promises to alleviate these problems and provide a forum for communication exchange.
The new site, www.thecaneweb.com, was created by students, for students. Its two founders, both UM students who chose to remain anonymous, stress the separation of the site from UM administration.
“The whole premise to the website is to give it to students,” one of the students behind the website, Mike, who chose to keep his last name anonymous, said. “There are basic freedoms that should be the staple of the college experience, and we are just trying to fill that void.”
Currently on the website are several message boards where students can rant and rave about everything from sports to entertainment to sex and dating. Pornographic images and photos of UM students having fun are also posted on the website.
Also, soon to be up and running are areas where students can post their evaluations of professors and a place where students can “swap” books at discounted prices.
These features of the website will be available by the end of the semester, and many students feel the book swap idea will be the most useful aspect of the site.
“The book swap sounds like a good idea,” David VanGroningen, a freshman majoring in architecture, said. “It would be a lot more convenient than buying from the bookstore.”
Another feature soon to be incorporated is a forum where students can learn about parties going on in the surrounding area.
“UM isn’t really a party campus,” Lacey Hickle, former UM student, said. “Parties happen off campus, so the website is a good place to find out what’s going on.”
Other students feel differently and say this service won’t be of much use to them.
“I don’t have any problems finding parties,” Nathalie Dessources, a sophomore majoring in health sciences, said. “I am the life of the party.”
According to many students, advertising for the website has been crude and most UM students still don’t know this site is available to them.
“I found out about the site when one of the guys handing out fliers just walked into my open room,” Josh Frank, freshman, said. “My roommate and I were like, ‘Who the hell are you?’ But I checked it out and figured it’s pretty harmless fun.”
Frank went on to say that he signed up for the website after he saw a picture of a chipmunk taking a hit, although he says he is looking forward to using the website for reasons other than entertainment.
“I think when they get some of their ideas up about the professor ratings, the book swap, etc., it will actually get some usefulness,” Frank said.
Word of this new website is spreading and the brains behind this idea have received positive feedback from those who have visited it thus far.
Even students who have not yet had the opportunity to visit the site say they plan to do so.
“The site sounds like a good source of information, especially for freshmen,” said Tamielle Horn, freshman. “I would use it.”
Angelique Thomas can be contacted at aperivale@aol.com
SpectrUM wants students to taste the rainbow
SpectrUM, formerly the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Community [GLBC], presents Spring Awareness Week, a week when the organization strives to educate all UM students about issues that affect the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community.
Each day of the week will be dedicated to a specific issue ranging from national issues, such as the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of the U.S. military and the Texas sodomy case which was recently taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, to issues closer to home like the Florida adoption ban currently targeting gay parents.
“The issues are cool. I’m curious to hear about the Florida adoption ban for someone other than Rosie O’Donnell,” Zack Armstrong, sophomore, said.
Many students realize the importance of such informational events.
“It’s important for us to learn about such important issues because they affect all of us, not just gays and lesbians,” Heather St. Pierre, freshman, said. “They should hold more educational events throughout the year because it’s stuff that people may not be familiar with.”
Officers of SpectrUM could not be reached for comment.
However, according to the official website for the organization, throughout the week, SpectrUM will be educating the campus community through tabling in the UC Breezeway, guest speakers and lecturers and interactive events.
On Wednesday, SpectrUM members will be wearing red armbands and engaging in silent protests in honor of the National Day of Silence.
Organized by students in more than 1,900 schools across the country, with an estimated participation of more than 100,000 students, the National Day of Silence has been described as the largest single student-led action toward creating safer schools.
“We participated in the National Day of Silences at my high school,” Sandra Johnston, freshman, said. “It was a really big deal because it helped bring us all together.”
“Education is the best way to create tolerance,” Johnston said.
Currently, SpectrUM has a support group for students who may not feel comfortable attending SpectrUM meetings that are advertised and open to the public. The support group is facilitated by a member of the University Counseling Center staff, and all attendants are pre-screened to insure that their intentions are correct.
For a complete schedule of Spring Awareness Week, visit the SpectrUM website at www.miami.edu/studorgs/glbc. SpectrUM meetings are held every Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Flamingo Ballroom, on the second floor of the UC.
Leigha Taber can be contacted at l.taber@umiami.edu
Campus Calendar
TODAY
If you’re looking for happiness, try stopping by Learning Center 170 at 8 p.m. The Department of Religious Studies of the College of Arts & Sciences and the Society for the Study of Religions and Cultures present Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the topic of “How to Live a Happy Life.” He will explain in simple terms how the very thing we are seeking is never separate from us. Lama Zopa Rinpoche is director of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, a world-wide organization of 135 Tibetan Buddhist centers, schools, hospitals and publishing houses. He is one of the greatest Buddhist masters and one of the first Tibetan Lamas to bring Buddhism to the West. For additional information call Ada Orlando at 305-284-4733.
The Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) hosts the Take Back the Night walking vigil at 7:30 p.m. beginning at the UC Rock. The walk will circle the campus, then return to the Rock for a ceremony including guest speakers, poetry readings by students, music and singing.
International Week: “Around the World in 8 Days” continues with Africa Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fun continues with Africa Night from 7 to 9 p.m.
Save a life by becoming a blood donor. The Wellness Center is holding a blood drive from 4 to 9 p.m. in the atrium. For more information, call the Wellness Suite at 305-284-5433.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 9
Want to be on TV? Then be sure to attend the taping of a new improvisation comedy show, the Canes of Comedy, to be aired on UMTV and around South Florida. Audience members will not only get to watch eight hilarious UM students perform Whose Line is it Anyway? type scenes, they’ll get to participate! Doors to the Studio Theatre in Hecht open at 8 p.m., but arrive early because seating is limited. Plan to stay about two hours and you could win prizes! For information, contact canesofcomedy@hotmail.com
International Week continues their trip “Around the World in 8 Days” with European Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festivities continue with European Night from 7 to 9 p.m.
Stanford Residential College would like to welcome students to attend “A Slice of Life” at 8 p.m. in the Master’s Apartment. Come Join Jessica Rios, doctoral student in the School of Education, for a lively evening of activities promoting Cultural Awareness as well as a sampling of delicious desserts from around the world!
THURSDAY APRIL 10
Some Latin flavor comes to International Week with Latin Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and with Latin Night from 7 to 9 p.m.
Scientist and professor of ecology Robin L. Chazdon is the featured speaker at the 2003 Gifford Arboretum and Sigma-Xi Lecture and Art Opening at 7 p.m.at the Cox Science Center Lobby and Lecture Hall. The lecture, titled Tropical Forest Recovery: Legacies of Human Intervention and Natural Disturbances, is free and open to the public. The lecture, preceded by a tour of the Arboretum and followed by a wine and cheese reception from 8 to 9:30 p.m., will be featuring an exhibit of sculptures and paintings on the theme of Regrowth, Renewal and Regeneration. For more information, contact Carol Horvitz at 305-284-5364.
FRIDAY APRIL 11
International Week continues with Caribbean Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fun continues with a Pacific Night Luau from 7 to 9 p.m. But that’s not all! Don’t miss the Caribbean Night Concert from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
SATURDAY APRIL 12
International Week comes to an end with a Feast of Nations. Don’t miss the International Week Banquet at Crowne Plaza Hotel from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
MONDAY APRIL 14
Join FEC in celebrating Three Days of Cuban Culture. The days begin with Opening Ceremonies at 11 a.m. on the UC Patio. Come watch a children’s cultural performance. Enjoy Cuban coffee, pictures in traditional costume, music and dancing.
Three Days of Cuban Culture hosts a domino competition at 2 p.m. on the UC Patio. Pay $5 a pair and play against the older generation of domino players from the legendary Calle Ocho park as you sip Cuban coffee. Winners get a prize. Also, pass by and pick up a freshly rolled Cigar as you play.
I-Week takes UM around the world
The Council of International Students and Organizations [COISO] will attempt to go “Around the World in 8 Days” during International Week [I-Week]. According to organizers the theme was chosen to help the UM community experience various cultures from around the world.
“The theme alludes to the book, Around the World in 80 days,” Minal Ahson, I-Week chair, said. “It was formulated in the hopes that students will have the opportunity to visit and actually experience the different regions of the world during the 8 days of I-week.”
Students say that the giant balloon that was setup next to the stage in the UC patio adds further to the allusion.
COISO is the umbrella organization for over 20 international and multicultural student organizations and represents the needs and interests of the international student body at UM, which comprises over 10 percent of the total student population.
COISO organizes other events, such as United Nations Day, as well as retreats, excursions and other social events for international students.
Ahson believes that I-Week will help bring people together and promote understanding of different cultures.
“I hope that people are able to experience other parts of the world as well as learn about and appreciate other cultures,” Ahson said. “Awareness and understanding lead to tolerance and acceptance – I hope that students will be able to experience this.”
As part of I-Week, the Filipino Students Association [FSA], Indian Students Association [ISA], Asian-American Students Association [AASA] and Japan Club took part in Asia Day, held on Friday in the UC patio and consisting of Asian food and activities. The event was tied in with Asian-American Awareness [AAA] Week.
Later, a large turnout of Gables residents, students, parents, faculty and staff were able to participate in One Night of Asia, a series of events that began to the beating of drums and a colorful display of Chinese Lion dancing by the Wah-lum Kung-Fu Group.
The ISA, FSA and AASA also performed traditional dances that showcased the diversity of Asian cultures.
“There was a lot of talent on display and I learned a lot about Asian culture,” Andrew Toma, sophomore, said. “I enjoyed it.”
“I was really impressed by all the time the people must have put in to organizing the show,” Diana Kramer, senior, said. “My favorite dances were the ISA ones and the coconut dance. I’m looking forward to the other events later in the week.”
Over 20 organizations are taking part in I-Week, including the Brazilian Students Association and the Polish Club.
I-week continues with days and nights for Africa, Europe and Latin-America.
A Caribbean day and Pacific night luau are also scheduled.
I-Week ends with “A Feast of Nations” banquet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Saturday, open to all COISO members, which includes members of all the organizations that comprise COISO.
Organizers hope that students will take advantage of the opportunity offered by I-week to educate themselves about cultures which they have never experienced.
“I hope that students will take the initiative to learn about a culture that they are not familiar with,” Ahson said. “Then the goal of I-Week will be accomplished.”
As a reward for participating in I-week, participants are eligible to win two round-trip tickets to anywhere in the Continental U.S., courtesy of STA Travel.
All that participants have to do is cut out the “Passport to the World” printed in today’s Miami Hurricane and have it stamped by an I-Week organizer on five out of the six days.
For more information, contact COISO at umcoiso2001@aol.com.
Arnab Basu can be contacted at basuarnab@hotmail.com
eye filler: Reggae Fest at the Convocation Center
Lighting up the joint: UM’s Convocation Center is turning into quite the lucrative concert venue. This past Saturday, Power 96 and an auto-maker hosted a reggae event that had a sold out crowd of local Miamians and UM students getting “irie.”
Opener Red Rat took stabs at political commentary, telling everyone that Dubya should smoke some herb and chill out. Inner Circle performed their “Bad Boys” signature before the Marley Brothers lit up the stage with an extensive ensemble and got people shaking their “ting” to the riddim.
Before the headliners appeared, booty dancers entertained the crowd. When Sean Paul, Beenie Man and Wayne Wonder hit the stage, the venue was happily dazed.
film review: Spider ***
Spider is a perfect film for the chronically depressed moviegoer nursing a fetish for the mentally ill. Its main subject is a man named Spider, played with a sort of withdrawn brilliance by Ralph Fiennes (Schindler’s List), who stumbles and mumbles through a story of perplexing mystery and heavy drama. The result is a movie exercising a sense of mood and timing that is entirely original.
Spider begins the film by checking into some kind of halfway house for the mentally distraught. His disorder is not immediately revealed, but it’s obvious that he has one, with a demeanor that mirrors an overly neurotic Woody Allen. Fiennes is the rare actor who can get away with having no understandable dialogue throughout an entire film and still give a superb, but more importantly, unpretentious performance.
A strict older woman runs the halfway house and this provides the work’s underlining setting and relationship. The only other place Spider visits is his surreal past, visualized by director David Cronenberg (The Dead Zone, Scanners) as a creepy place where the modern day Spider is a peeping Tom who observes his younger self and his troubled parents.
The idea is similar to “A Christmas Carol,” wherein the characters from the past don’t notice the main character’s eerie presence. A logical problem with these flashbacks is that Spider often follows his parents, played by Miranda Richardson (The Crying Game) and Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects), on their journeys away from the younger version of himself. Careful, sober viewers will detect that Spider doesn’t really know what occurred in these scenes, and can only imagine them. For those confused by the film, this is the key to placing together the plotline.
Nothing else really happens. Spider slips between his present residence in the halfway house and his past in a small, claustrophobic home. Newcomer Bradley Hall, whose ghostly white skin and delicate frame complement an impressive performance, plays the younger Spider. The character’s deep psychological complexity, as both child and adult, is the lingering accomplishment of the film.
Unlike A Beautiful Mind, Spider is unafraid to be consumed by the uneasy world of mental illness, obviously at the cost of entertainment. The film’s colors are grayed and worn, much like the minds of the men in the halfway house, and Cronenberg is certainly a master storyteller, even if, on the surface there’s not much of a story to tell.
The ending of Spider delivers the realization that’s been so carefully plotted from the first few minutes, and it’s satisfying enough to justify the extensive set up. Still, it’s so buried in depressed and repressed memories that it’ll leave many viewers thinking the film ends abruptly.
See Spider for its “case study” acting, Cronenberg’s haunting direction, and a plotline that challenges until the end, something not said for most of today’s releases. But if you and your date are in the mood for “lighter” mental illness fare, skip Spider and go rent the way funnier Tom Cruise flick Rain Man.
Shawn Wines can be reached at shawnwines@aol.com.
Grass is an epicurean delight merged with haughty service
If you are a member of the trendier-than-thou crowd (or of you think you are), you’ll feel right at home at the Design District’s newest restaurant-cum-lounge, monosyllable-named spot called Grass.
Once past the muscled bouncers and black velvet ropes guarding the otherwise unassuming entrance (reservations required), the space itself is quite decadent. A grass-thatched, pitched roof covers a central lounge area in the otherwise uncovered space. The larger booths have their own pitched roofs, inspiring a feeling closer to Polynesia than downtown Miami. The tables are of dark woods, lit by candles that fill the space with a yellow glow. The lounge area, filling half the restaurant, has low couches and tables, again of dark wood, while grass grows in planters on some of the tables and on the bar.
My dining companion and I arrived at precisely the time of our reservation and were directed to wait at the bar for our table. We enjoyed a cocktail and waited. Now, some wait for a table is understandable, but to be made to wait 45 minutes past the time of our reservation was not, especially as the restaurant seemed empty and I could see many open tables. In fact, the couple waiting next to us at the bar grew tired and annoyed at the wait, and left.
While we hung around (and waited, and waited), we enjoyed a live DJ spinning ambient house. Grass attempts to be both a restaurant and a lounge, with the kitchen closing at midnight, but the lounge open till three. My companion remarked that this would be a better experience if we had come only to lounge.
The crowd was typical Miami see-and-be-seen; waif-thin models hanging off the arms of too-tanned, potbellied middle-aged men old enough to be their fathers, an assortment of hipsters, well-dressed and groomed; these folks fit in here at Grass as they would at B.E.D., or Nobu, or any of Miami’s uber-trendy hotspot-of-the-moment places. The bartender told me to come for Happy Hour on Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m.
When we were (finally) seated, the menus were presented with small reading lights and four sections: appetizers, salads, ceviches and main courses-all Asian-fusion cuisine. I started off with the Lemongrass Coconut Roast Pumpkin Soup, which was spicy, but the flavors combined were each so subtle that they overwhelmed each other. My companion chose the Merida Ceviche, and here was an outstanding choice. The fish was very fresh, combined in perfect proportion with avocado, red Bermuda onion, and other vegetables. The presentation was colorful and inviting, with crisp wonton-skin crackers.
For our main course, I ordered a Shitake and Edemame Bean Risotto.
This was prepared with truffle oil, and served with a furikake parmesan
waffle placed on top. Here too I questioned the chef’s choice of ingredients. The flavors of the mushrooms and the soybeans were undetectable because of the richness of the truffle oil. As a fan of truffles however, I enjoyed my truffle-flavored risotto.
My companion chose a salmon steak, prepared with a ginger sauce, and served with asparagus. This was delicious-the salmon a generous portion, flaky and moist, with crisp asparagus. Other items on the menu that we wanted to try included Cumin-seared Beef Tenderloin served with Jerusalem artichokes, rostoi potatoes and an Aji panko sauce. Also sounding yummy was a Shitake Ginger Lamb Ossobucco.
The ambience more than made up for any minor culinary disappointment, and I didn’t mind spending the $7 – $15 per appetizer, nor the $15 – $30 per entr
album reviews: Mr. Scruff & Wildchild apply the “less is more” formula to beats
Wildchild
Secondary Protocol
**
Wildchild’s debut solo album, Secondary Protocol, is an album that shows signs of brilliant potential but never follows through. The timid beats coupled with uninspired, generic subject matter make for a boring rap album from an artist who never quite made the impact he should have. Wildchild is not new to the hip-hop scene. He’s one third of the group, the Lootpack, who achieved kudos from critics with their 1999 debut album Soundpieces: Da Antidote. Wildchild comes off as a typical west coast MC who tries so hard to avoid rapping about gang banging and partying that his lyrics actually suffer as a result.
Don’t get me wrong, Wildchild is a talented MC but the production almost seem to confine his talents. Wildchild’s flow is fast, and the beats here seem to come off as if they were made for a Jay Dee swag smoke session. His skills definitely shine through on numerous tracks, such as “The Movement Part 2,” where he spits about the impact of hip-hop over a guitar-laced track courtesy of producer Oh No. On “Knickknack 2002,” Wildchild invites Medaphoar and underground legend Percee P to trade verses with him on a track locked up in old school detention.
Ironically, the song’s lyrics express frustration with the current state of hip-hop. On “Operation Radio Raid” he takes aim at the payola tactics of mainstream radio. He seems as frustrated with the critics as they are with him. On “Puttin in Work” he burns off a tangent about society and critics rhyming “words of remorse will get you knocked off course. Regret it. Take negative criticism, cock back and watch me embed it.” He is no doubt defiant enough to achieve what he wants artistically. So, why is this intelligent rapper holding back? Secondary Protocol is merely a mid-1990s party album that won’t find play at any decent party this year.
– Kevin Jaeger
Mr. Scruff
Trouser Jazz
***1/2
So, you’re sitting around with nothing on your mind (not even the lyrics to “Many Men”) but you’re still looking for something to bob your head to…you may be in luck. Trouser Jazz, the third album from Manchester crate raider Mr. Scruff, has enough daydream loops for the chronic hummer to entertain pretty girls in elevators for weeks on end. Take note that there’s rap with an English accent on “Vibrate,” but that’s the only transatlantic hip-hop lint you’ll discover in these pants.
The rest of the songs provide fitting background music for activities ranging from…well, it’s background music, figure it out. Each track is stunningly uncomplicated and does little to offend and a lot more to keep you moving, but the back-to-back break beat format wears a little thin after a bit. Most of the tracks tend to sway away from full compositions, instead relying on a few loops to keep the beat going.
Tracks like “Sweet Smoke” and “Shrimp” start off with a kind of “call waiting” tune that quickly turns from a melody you’d hang up on into one the fools at Talking Fingers needs to intercept. The dreamlike “Valley of the Sausages” is a sublime departure from the light, bouncy, but equally enjoyable “Ug” and “Giffin.” There’s a sort, “Who is this?” response from unacquainted ears when they hear this disc – not because it’s annoying and people only desire sounds from mouths that they see everyday on every channel and every billboard, but because it’s different.
As I’m sure you’ve been notified by via a billboard or TV: “Different is Good.” If you’re not familiar with trip hop or you think Tricky is a weird little elf, then maybe this is the ideal kind of vessel to cruise on.
– Sven Barth
The Life & Art staff can be reached at HurricaneAccent@hotmail.com.
Fishbone raids the Miami waters
Bordering on the rickety edges of insanity is part of the creative engine fueling veteran L.A. punk and ska band Fishbone. Their poignant and impetuous performances has lead them through a madcap musical journey for almost two decades now and their vigorous dynamism hasn’t ebbed down yet.
“Everyone’s a little crazy and has the potential to be really crazy,” says John Norwood Fisher, the group’s bassist and co-vocalist. ” ‘Cause everybody got a thang, whether it’s freaky or like a super-duper powerful man who likes to get beat, spit on or shitted on by women. If there wasn’t football, most of those huge players would be thugs. Everyone has to find a way to channel their energy and have an undiscovered potential of insanity.”
Settled in the lounge area of BillboardLive as engineers go on with sound check for last Friday’s show, Fisher packs a small pipe and mulls over the prevalence of the word “nuts” in their lingo (“nutmeg,” “nutcase,” “nutwerxx”…).
“It’s like insanity is the last taboo,” he explains. “[A while ago], one of our band members lost his motherfucking mind and we all lose our minds in a way or another on a regular basis.”
Perhaps Fishbone also lost their tolerance of the music industry since they recently founded their own label, Nuttsactor 5, and severed most of their ties with major record companies. They’ve been at it for a while, since the original crew formed the band in 1979 while still in junior high. They played the local clubs around L.A. in the early ’80s and soon signed to Columbia, releasing their first LP, In Your Face, in 1985.
Combining a pulsating tour de force in their live shows with their freewheeling experimentation in music, prodding through the boundaries of funk, ska and rock, they generated a battalion of albums that amply contributed to the evolving late ’80s and ’90s alternative scene-notably, Truth and Soul in 1988, The Reality of My Surroundings in 1991 and Chim Chim’s Badass Revenge in 1996.
Despite a widespread following, they never reached mainstream success or substantial record sales, and after 2000’s The Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx, disgruntled by the distributions of profits, they moved on independently (composed of vocalist/saxophonist Angelo Moore, Fisher on bass, Spacey T on guitar, John Steward on drums and Walter Kibby II on pocket trumpet). Lately, their Friendliest Psychosis of All EP features an extensive jam with Primus, Styles, George Clinton and Buckethead and Sony produced their Essential Fishbone LP this year. They’re shooting for a new studio album this fall. Having no fear of getting old, their demeanor is still youthful and they don’t give a damn that the music they play doesn’t always appear on Top 40 radio, as long as the right people are listening.
“It’s a matter of visibility and touching the kids,” Fisher says. “Ska was never big in the mainstream. It would have to go through some sort of metamorphosis or it’ll come back later as a revival thing. And, sure, it’s being electronicized. Jungle music is part of that.”
Amidst a proclivity to ironic mischievousness and playful nuttiness, Fishbone has always been a band spreading sharp social commentaries and uncensored political messages, advocating the legalization of pot and selling “Fuck Racism” T-shirts at their concerts, for instance. After taking a few more hits and explaining how the group has been Cannabis Cup judges two times in Amsterdam and always tastes the local herbal flavors wherever they go, Fisher gives his thoughts on current political situations.
“It’s amazing to hear a soldier saying to CNN, ‘Yeah I’m against the war, but when I talk to my troops, I tell them I still have to do this,” he says. “Something is bothering me deep down inside and it has nothing to do with what I’m seeing. People need to demand more info because there’s some backroom bullshit happening. There’s a war going on and the casualties are kinda low, but there’s a lot of destruction and, at the same time, a lot of our liberties are being taken away.”
The group also created a soundtrack for a porn movie, showing their affinity for sexual entertainment, and Fisher smiles puckishly when it’s mentioned.
“Most of us grew up watching some porno at some kind of level and, you know, you become a rock star or whatever you wanna call it and get to meet your favorite entertainers,” he says, laughing. “A lot of soundtracks to porn are shitty, so I figured it would be a lot easier to watch if it had cooler music. I also wanna do this side-project-a fully improvised 25 person jam with a porno going on at the same time for an internet pay-per-view film.”
Yet one of Fishbone’s greatest assets and what sets them apart from the rest is their tremendous vehemence and showmanship on stage-Moore has dived into the crowd from massive speakers, popped out his knee when performing histrionic acrobatics and, at their Miami show, stirred up crazy sound effects with a theremin, played by moving a hand between two electrodes.
“We watched a legacy of great entertainers when growing up,” Fisher remembers, “like KISS or P-Funk, and I was a teenager in the first few years of punk rock, watching the Sex Pistols, and everything around us was wild, even the streets we were in. When it comes to hit the stage, it’s like somebody just discovered electricity. Shit gets lit the fuck up!”
No doubt, there’s no better way to word it.
Omar Sommereyns can be reached at SOASIS@aol.com
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