Month: January 2012

Ten minutes north of the Downtown Mall the land changes all at once as the suburbs fade into pastureland. Longhorn cattle chewed the grass stubbornly, looking like they had just stepped out of Lonesome Dove, as I drove to my interview with Michael Coleman, a 23–
year-old singer/songwriter whose musical influences bridge the city/country divide I traversed.

Singer/songwriter Michael Coleman will play an all-acoustic set with Rusty Speidel at Para Coffee, January 26 at 7pm. CCSH and Brendan Jamieson open.

Though Coleman is black and was raised on gospel, don’t expect to be able to pigeonhole his sound. He listens to everything from folk to R&B, and his dedication to his art has exposed him to more influences than you can keep up with. Whether it’s heavy-hitters like Stevie Wonder and John Mayer or indie sensations like Sufjan Stevens and Amos Lee, Coleman draws on a wide range of music, but he’s also clear about what feels good to him. “I can’t deny Stevie and John Legend,” he told me. 

Coleman’s music starts with rhythm. He grew up drumming, graduating from pots and pans to a full drum set around age 8. In college, he was thinking about making a run at drumming professionally, but those plans were derailed when a friend gave him her guitar as she was moving out of her apartment. Amazingly, he picked up the guitar and songwriting at the same time, penning his first tune the night he began teaching himself the new instrument. 

Four years later and one year into his run on local stages, Coleman has already developed a reputation around town, playing The Southern just recently and headlining an upcoming show at Para Coffee with Rusty Speidel. We talked about that show and more when we caught up over a beer in his home studio.

How does being a drummer influence your guitar style?

I don’t know where that inspiration came from with rhythm. You know, when I was a little kid, I thought that drums made the bass sound of a guitar. I thought everything was drums. So, from very early on it was drums. It’s kind of always been there. Anything I play that’s not drums, there’s always kind of a rhythmic feel. When I play guitar, I like to turn up the bass a little bit and kind of hit it with my thumb to keep that rhythm. So I’m very much a rhythm guitar player. Especially in the faster songs I play, there are a lot of percussive sounds because that’s what I hear in my head. 

What’s unique about playing in C’ville?

It’s really a community where everyone likes to share and everyone likes to participate in everyone else’s creative process. It’s not out of obligation and not, you know, ‘I’ll do this if they do something for me.’ It’s a genuine love for music and for that person. I feel a lot of support here. Everyone wants to see everyone else do well. For example, on top of guitar, I play drums in three different groups 

[The Hill and Wood, Woe Pony, and Camp Christopher] right now. We’re all playing different gigs but we’re all still supportive of each other. There’s a very strong sense of respect. I can’t help but go back to that word ‘community.’

There’s a sense of release in your songs. Where does that come from?

Whether I’m writing about family issues or social issues, it’s so much easier to get my point across through song. And a lot of my songs tend to be very personal. It’s either been in my mind for a while, or I think really hard about it before I write it. When I do put it out there, I’m kind of permanently vulnerable. One of my most well-known songs in Charlottesville is about a relationship I went through, and when I wrote that song, it was really well-received. But now, the situation is very different, and I’m not in that relationship anymore, so it’s…not awkward but it’s just hard to play because it brings me back to that time which was very difficult for me. As a songwriter, you kind of sign up for it. 

Talk about the best show you’ve ever had.

My show at The Southern really sticks in my mind the most. It was a full band show with Erik Pearson on bass and John Dimeo on drums, and there was so much energy—people were dancing, and at that point they knew the lyrics to a lot of my songs. To hear that being sung back to you—it was overwhelming. My natural reaction was, ‘You shouldn’t know these songs.’ I mean, the first time I went to The Southern was probably almost a year to date, and The Civil Wars played. I remember being there, and I was thinking, ‘I would give anything to play on this stage one day.’ I never actually believed it would happen. But now here I am almost a year later, and I played there and not only that but people were singing along. It’s surreal.

And your upcoming show at Para Coffee? 

It’s going to be great. I feel like it will be one of the better shows I’ve played, just because Rusty’s such a tasteful player. And I’ve been trying to get a more subdued feel with less guitar licks and a stronger presence of lyricism. I’m really going to put myself out there with that show. I think people have either seen the band or they’ve seen me do one tune, but I haven’t done a whole acoustic show in Charlottesville. I think it will show another side of me people haven’t seen before. 

In 2011, the Carolina Chocolate Drops—a traditional string band out of North Carolina – won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album for their first full-length effort, titled Genuine Negro Jig. The group will play a live set on WTJU-FM at 1pm on Tuesday, January 31 in advance of their full-length show at the Jefferson Theater, set for 7pm. Founding member Dom Flemmons talked to C-VILLE about the band’s growth.

Dom Flemmons (left) and the rest of the Carolina Chocolate Drops will be at The Jefferson Theater Tuesday, January 31. (Photo courtesy Crackerfarm)

The band appeared with Dave Matthews at one point. He’s one of our native sons. Any good stories from the tour you can share?

We did a single date with the Dave Matthews Caravan. We did get to meet him briefly and he was very enthusiastic about our music and said ‘let’s do some stuff together’, so we’re trying to figure out some dates with him this year. Both of our act are based within roots music of one form or another. Taking that form and trying to push it a bit farther.

You got radio play with the cover of “Hit ‘em up Style”. Were you ever worried about being kind of a one-hit-wonder string band?

Being a one-hit wonder is a tricky spot to be in. It’s not terrible. If you’ve got your one hit, at least people know about you. We’re hoping we’ll continue to produce great music that people are interested in and maybe have another hit on the radio at some point. You just try to make the best music you can.

You’re playing music in a style that’s been around for a long time. How do you keep it fresh?

It’s all a personal journey that you go on when you’re playing this stuff. For us, it’s not a matter of freshness. A song could be 500 years old and still be fresh. The audience feeds off of what they feel from the performer. They can see the joy you have performing it.

You’ve been able to travel the world because of your music. Which places have blown your mind?

Europe in general has blown my mind. One of my favorite places that we’ve been a couple of times is the south of France, particularly Montpellier. You have French and Spanish and Moroccan culture interweaved in that part of the world. The architecture, food and culture is just absolutely beautiful.

You play bones and jugs and other seldom-seen instruments. How did you learn the skills you needed to play them?

It was a gradual process. With the jug in particular, I just got curious from seeing it on TV on the Andy Griffith Show. I started looking at the Memphis Jug Band and others and that gave me the confidence to approach it like a real instrument that you could make real music with, like Bach and Charles Mingus. I brought it to the band and we started duing tunes like Georgie Buck and Ol’ Corn Likker and those one-chord riffs that could fit within the string-band vocabulary.

In 2006, a lady gave me a set of bones and told me I should learn because it was part of the tradition. I embraced that. A fella by the name of Mike Baytop in DC showed me how to conceptualize the bones in any type of music, because it’s all just rhythm.

Practitioners of folk music are not rock stars. They’re teachers at universities, or musicians in their own communities and you can find them, especially with the internet. You can reach out, email them and let them know you’re interested in learning. They’re more than happy to share.

The new album Leaving Eden hits February 28. Will we get a preview of some of the tunes at the Jefferson?

We’ll definitely have some stuff from the new album. I’m not sure exactly what yet, because we change the set around at each show based on what we’re feeling from the audience. We’ve got a slightly different kind of jazz tune in there with “No Man’s Mama”, we’ve got a South African piece in there, I’ll be singing a great old-time number “I Truly Understand”, a minstrel medley that has double bones on it, and lots of other stuff we’ve learned. We’ve definitely got all the elements that we started to touch upon in Genuine Negro Jig and we’ve taken them a little bit farther.

“Touch” 

Wednesday 9pm, Fox

Kiefer Sutherland returns to television with this new drama-mystery from the mind of Tim Kring. You might recognize that name as the creator of NBC’s “Heroes,” which could be a good thing if this turns out like “Heroes” Season 1, or a terrible thing if it turns out like any other season of that misbegotten show. Sutherland plays a widower who is in danger of losing custody of his severely autistic 11-year-old son, who refuses to speak or even be touched by anyone. But Sutherland’s character realizes that his son is communicating to the world, just through a complicated numerical system that exposes a hidden connectivity between seemingly disparate people. It’s high concept, to be sure. Note that this is a preview airing; the series has yet to receive an official start date.

“Spartacus: Vengeance” 

Friday 10pm, Starz

Starz’s divisive sword-and-sandals series returns with sad tidings. “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” immediately attracted a cult following for its surprisingly high production values, graphic violence, and even more graphic sex. But series lead Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with cancer prior to the start of Season 2, and so the producers decided to buy time for his treatment by shooting a prequel mini-series, “Gods of the Arena,” which aired last year. The plan was for Whitfield to come back for this new season, subtitled “Vengeance,” but he relapsed and succumbed to his disease. So Starz has recast the Spartacus roll with Liam McIntyre, who at least looks great in naught but a loincloth. Finally we’ll be able to see the aftermath of Spartacus’ bloody revolt in the House of Batiatus, including the ex-gladiators’ war on the armies of Rome.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” 

Monday 9pm, Logo

None of us have truly lived until we’ve seen drag queens engaging in a professional-wrestling match. So God bless drag icon RuPaul for giving us exactly that in this fourth season of her fierce reality competition. The 13 queens culled for this season are certainly a varied bunch. Initial impressions suggest that the producers want a plus-sized winner this year, given that at least a quarter of the ladyboys are on the bigger end of the spectrum. We’ve got some legendary drag from longtime L.A. performer Chad Michaels, some gender bending courtesy of cueball-sporting The Princess, and you’ve never seen anything like Sharon Needles, a zombie-inspired drag queen.

I ran into MORGAN, an art student at Virginia Commonwealth University, on the Downtown Mall wearing an oversized coat by Sessun paired with a dress she’d borrowed from a friend. Her outfit was grounded by Frye boots and accessorized with Academy jewelry by Rachel Albright, Karen Walker sunglasses, and a vintage Coach bag.

I loved her distinct look, including a close crop that she declared “kind of an accident,” but a happy nod to actress Carey Mulligan.

“I really like menswear,” said Morgan when asked about her unique coat. “This was the best menswear I could find that was a woman’s coat.” Morgan lists Chloe Sevigny as her style inspiration, and New York boutique Opening Ceremony as her favorite place to shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HELEN, a fiction writer, was chatting with some friends when I spotted her on Elliewood Avenue wearing a J.Jill tunic topped with a Cynthia Rowley cardigan. Her pants and bag are both Banana Republic, and her boots Matisse. Helen is inspired by “oddly juxtaposed colors,” despite the evidence to the contrary. Her gold necklace, a gift from her mother, is a tasteful complement to the deep aubergine of her top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MIKAELA is an Urban Design student at Parsons in New York City. I spotted her on the Corner and literally gave chase as she slipped out of view into a parking lot. After managing to catch up with her, and apologize for popping out from behind a bush, I found out what she was wearing. “I really like basic things,” Mikaela said. “Stuff that can be used in multiple ways, and layering.”

Inspired by Woody Allen films and giving off “an Annie Hall vibe,” Mikaela wore a shirt from Anthropologie and a dress of Danish design with boots by Jenny B and a Michael Kors bag.

There are fairy tale endings like you see in the movies, where the girl gets the guy and trots off into the sunset with a smile on her face. Then, there’re the endings on “The Bachelor,” the ABC television show now in its 16th season, where the girl ends up getting embarrassed in front of millions of people.

Judged! A beauty queen, law student, and contestant on ABC’s “The Bachelor,” Charlottesville native Erika Uhlig has a lot going on, which may explain why she fainted on the air after being eliminated from the show during an episode that aired last week.

Over the past few weeks, the two-hour show has included Charlottesville’s own Erika Uhlig, a talented young woman who is as intelligent as she is beautiful. Uhlig’s resume runs longer than a child’s Christmas wish list. Born at Martha Jefferson Hospital, Uhlig attended Broadus Wood Elementary before matriculating through Jack Jouett Middle and Albemarle High School. She later graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and enrolled at the University of Illinois College of Law, where she studies today. This past summer, Uhlig interned at the public defender’s office in Charlottesville.

“Ultimately, Erika wants to be a lawyer,” Pat Uhlig, her mother, said. “Her father gave her some advice before she went on the show, ‘Don’t cry on “The Bachelor.” You can’t really find love on TV, and remember: You want to be a lawyer one day.’”

For those of you who don’t know much about it—frankly, I had never watched “The Bachelor” until I heard a fellow Charlottesvillian was on the show—the series revolves around one single, eligible bachelor and 25 single, eligible women who do their best to “woo the beau.” The show is more cattle auction than debutante party, as pretty women are paraded and cajoled before a man who stands amidst the herd, ostensibly with all the power in his hands.

As of Monday, January 16, the current season is three episodes deep. By the second episode, some of the women were literally expressing their life-long love for the bachelor, an aw-shucks, 28-year-old winemaker and “self-proclaimed” Renaissance man named Ben Flajnik. By the third episode, a few had even detailed their visions of family, future, and motherhood. Yes, by the third episode!

Now, let’s get back to our hometown girl.

Uhlig, who was unable to speak with this reporter because of contractual obligations with ABC, went through the rigorous interview process and pursued a spot on “The Bachelor” because it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, her mother explained.

“How many people can say they skied down San Francisco?” said Pat Uhlig in reference to the third episode when ABC closed a street in San Francisco and pumped artificial snow so the contestants could ski downhill. “[ABC] treated Erika like a queen. She was put up in penthouses and flown to a lot of places. Really, it was a great experience for her.”

Uhlig first applied for a spot on “The Bachelor” in May of 2011.

“It was a really long process,” Pat Uhlig explained. “The producers asked for photos of Erika and later a video of Erika. Then, she went to Chicago for a casting call so the producers could meet her in person. She had to take tests, answer questionnaires and fly to Los Angeles during the summer.

In the season’s third episode, Uhlig’s network television debut came to a screeching halt, when she was not granted the red rose that symbolizes a pass to the next round. Moments before realizing her fate, perhaps due to the palpable stress in the air, Uhlig passed out, literally fainting on stage as millions of people watched in shock and dismay. A swarm of fellow contestants offered her assistance while others stood around looking dazed and confused.

“I knew it was going to happen and I definitely could see that she didn’t have the color in her face,” Pat Uhlig recounted. “I could see it coming.”

While the culmination was likely not what she envisioned when she embarked on the journey, Uhlig nevertheless left “The Bachelor” with her surname in sparkling shape. In short, she represented her family and her hometown in fantastic fashion. We did not have to shudder in horror as she chugged alcohol; she remained chaste through a series where more spit was swapped than in a trip to the dentist; and she kept it clean as her compatriots tossed around the f-bomb like it was going out of style.

“Erika stayed above the drama,” Pat Uhlig said. “She knew she had to portray herself in a very ladylike manner.”

While pursuing higher education in the Windy City, Uhlig tapped into her experience as a contestant in child pageants and chose to jump headfirst into the über competitive landscape of the Miss Chicago Pageant. She won the pageant and gracefully represented the Chicagoland area as the 2011 Miss Chicago (in the same pipeline used to select Miss America).

Smart, confident, and composed, Uhlig embodies the characteristics most mothers would like to pass to their daughters. Unfortunately, The Bachelor did not see it this way.
“We can raise our children the way we want them to go, but it doesn’t always work out that way,” Pat Uhlig said. “Fortunately, I have been blessed to have three daughters that followed the path we set in place. Erika knows it’s important to leave your footprint in a positive way.”