Author: andrew-cedermark

As we approach the August 20 Democratic nomination for City Councilors, a question that’s been asked on the state and federal levels is worth asking here. What should be the city government’s role in supporting the arts?

In the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the City budgeted more than $1.6 million on local arts organizations, the vast majority of which goes to the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library. Other recipients include the Charlottesville Municipal Band (which gets $72,885 annually) the City Center for Contemporary Arts ($31,958), McGuffey Art Center ($23,477) and Piedmont Council for the Arts ($21,590). See full numbers here.

That $1.6 million does not include another $100,000 the City spends on community events like our major local film, photograph and book festivals.

I asked candidates to respond by e-mail to this prompt: Many artists and arts institutions enjoy support from the City, from the Piedmont Council for the Arts to the Virginia Film Festival. Meanwhile, faced with the need to provide essential services in tough economic times, the temptation grows strong to jettison support for the arts. Given the above, should the City fund the arts? If so, what kinds of arts projects or organizations should it fund?

Read the candidates’ statements below. (An abridged version of this feature will run in the Best Of issue, which hits stands tomorrow.) Read more about the candidates here.

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Scott Bandy (I)
The Arts and Schools are two things that go side by side in a well-rounded life-long education. It is the eye with a taste that is disserviced by the further mistaken notion such is all about starving artist stereotypes. What besides the arts is there for anybody to model or instill refinement from?

Barring the miraculous phenomenon of all nations forgiving every others of debt, I don’t see how in days ahead the city governmental body can unavoid partial discontinuance in respect to some arts. We don’t need that azure figurine from North Carolina Mr. Huja’s preoccupied with. As far as arts priorities, the LAST thing I’d stand seeing cut would be those directed and related to our children and elderly. Even the Festival of the Book bows to some criteria. Hopefully the standard of criteria remain contemplative with regard toward diversity.

Paul Beyer (D)
Cutting money to the Arts in Charlottesville is a case-study in being penny wise but pound foolish. We don’t spend much as it is, and we have not begun to explore the economic potential the Arts offer. The Arts play a significant role in fostering middle-class jobs, driving our local economy, and providing the cultural distinction which makes us an attractive place to live. I have an Arts background, and I would support the Arts whether they ever made us a dollar. The fact is, though, they do. So I support strategic organizations that connect arts, tourism, and city departments and begin to leverage their tremendous potential. My platform is “Jobs-Sustainability-Arts.” Those concepts are tied together by a common theme: expanding opportunities to succeed in Charlottesville. A diverse middle class and working class jobs are important, and the Arts are an underutilized source and inspiration for those jobs.

Colette Blount (D)
The arts are integral to Charlottesville. Not only are they a source of relaxation and entertainment, but they also help mold our children’s life-long appreciation of the creative world. City Council, as outlined in its Vision 2025, aims to uphold its partnership with Piedmont Council for the Arts. Because of PCA’s broad, community outreach, I would support this link. Charlottesville is home to some fantastic festivals: book, cultural, film, and photography. Their local, national, and international draw is a boon to our economy. Toward the goal of sustaining our children’s engagement with the arts, priority consideration should be given to programs/festivals with well defined community outreach, especially with underrepresented groups. Partnerships like the one between The Festival of the Book and our schools are to be maintained. Charlottesville’s diverse local music and burgeoning spoken word and comedy scenes merit support, as they provide engaging outlets for our young adult community.

Brevy Cannon (D)
I grew up in schools that gave me the opportunity to do art from 1st grade through 12th – painting, sculpture, music and theater – and in a family that appreciates art. My brother is a professional musician. Art should be supported for its own sake, because it enriches our lives. A great city deserves great art.

Especially in tough economic times, we must support our city’s world-class festivals of film, books and photography, which draw visitors from around the nation and the world, create jobs and add to our economy. One dollar spent supporting them creates many dollars of benefit to our community.

We get far less economic "bang for our buck" from direct commissions to artists – such as paying for a single "Art in Place" piece. That would be my general metric for prioritizing arts funding – the economic "bang for our buck" generated by a project or organization.

Brandon Collins (I)
Arts and arts education are essential to a decent quality of life. We need to ensure that all people in Charlottesville have access to the arts, not just those who can afford it. I would like to see the city include outreach to low-income people and children in the new assessment policy for funding of non-profits, whether it be for free participation in programs or free admission to performances. We need to continue to support art, music, and theater education in our schools, support the Music Resource Center and continue to provide some funding to the PCA. We also must allow the organic growth of the arts in Charlottesville. I firmly believe that one of the best ways to do this is to change zoning law to allow live music "by-right" in downtown Belmont and to raise the dB limit city wide including for musicians and performers on the Downtown Mall.

Bob Fenwick (I)
I am a writer, a poet, a lyricist and a wannabe guitar player. There is abundant precedent for governmental support of the arts, if for no other reason than it forces community leaders to acknowledge books, paintings, song, dance and the myriad other art forms. I would encourage city support of the arts but would try very hard to minimize political considerations in the support. Too often projects are supported based upon whom you know or whom you have befriended instead of artistic ‘merit’ and once government gives monetary support it usually expects some kind of control over content. This is disastrous to the personal creativity, simplicity and beauty of any art form. Since the city can find millions of dollars for expert consultants (an expert consultant is someone who will take your watch and tell you what time it is) we can find money to support the arts without shortchanging basic help for those who need it in a deep recession.

Kathy Galvin (D)
Cities all over the U.S. know the importance of integrating arts programming into their regular operations. Charlottesville’s direct funding for the arts and arts festivals is under one percent of the 2011-2012 budget – it’s money well spent. Whether you look at the direct economic boost our local businesses receive (hotels, restaurants, and more benefit from arts tourism), or at the confidence and inspiration that participation in the arts can give to every child – every person, in fact – the arts are an essential, if intangible, infrastructure that nurtures our individual minds and our community’s heart. We must continue to support arts in our schools and the community, and look for additional ways that the city can incorporate arts and artisans into the fabric of Charlottesville – perhaps through housing options (as Ventura, CA, has done), public exhibition and performance opportunities, or artist-in-residence stints with summer camps, to name only a few possibilities.

James Halfaday (D)
Art, whether the fine arts or the performing arts, is one of the fundamental expressions of the culture of a community. As such, there should always be a place in the city budget for the support of local artists and arts institutions. Tough economic times can result in the reduction of available funds in a lot of areas, and it is certainly critical to provide essential services and educational opportunities to all of our residents, but is also important to support the vitality and growth of our culture and community through the arts. The projects and organizations to be funded should focus on providing support for local artists and on bringing exposure of the art of our county and the rest of the world to the residents of Charlottesville. Permanent expressions of art should always be provided from local resources and by local artists where possible. Support should be divided among the fine arts and the performing arts, as well as the literary arts.

Satyendra Huja (D)
I am a strong supporter of art and cultural activities in our community. Art and cultural activity make a great quality of life for our citizens and also brings visitors and revenue to the city. I will continue to support: all our festivals, Piedmont Council for the Arts, McGuffey, Live Arts, Paramount, Discovery Museum, Art In Place, the Charlottesville Municipal Band and many other cultural activities in our community. Arts enrich our lives and make us unique and deserve our support.

Paul Long (I)
I strongly support the city of Charlottesville supporting the arts. If elected to City Council, I would consult with the arts community, the business community, as well as the philanthropic community, to determine the level of financial support the arts need to survive. The city’s support of the arts should be all-encompassing. We should be supporting both professional and community theater. We should be supporting all types of musical performance. We should also be supporting ballet, as well as other forms of dance. We should also be supporting painting and sculpture. I believe that the city’s financial support of the arts should be open-ended. I believe that the City should be an equal financial supporter of the arts, along with the business community, and the philanthropic community as well.

Dede Smith (D)
I believe that exposure to the arts is essential to a well-rounded life. I support public funding of the arts and would favor programs that reach the widest range of age, income, race, and ethnicity. Programs for children, such as those that bring a diversity of music, theater and art experiences into the schools support multiple goals. One priority for me would be to assure that initiatives that receive public funding strive for inclusion of the many cultures represented in our community. Likewise, the use of city venues and city support of festivals should be sensitive to representing a diverse population of artists and audiences. In terms of funding in tight economic times, the economic benefit of attracting tourism to Charlottesville for artistic events should be considered.

Andrew Williams (I)
Safety, the homeless, jobs, housing, representing the underrepresented and our local economy in general are the most important priorities hands down. Fortunately funding for the arts is still within our reasonable means and is an idea I fully support, without forgetting we need to monitor our localized circumstances.

The beautiful and thought-provoking works of art in Charlottesville should be recognized as an extension of our very own City. As the resident is the primary shareholder of Charlottesville in my opinion, it would be wise to focus on the interest of the majority and address the concern of the few. In general, I believe we can give people what they want by scrutinizing the departmental budgets and making sure that there is balance regarding City allocations. Cville should continue to support various children’s organizations associated with art and certainly the Fine Art Department in our schools.
 

This week’s Feedback column I interviewed James McNew, a former Charlottesville resident who went on to great success as the bassist of Yo La Tengo. When not playing that band, however, McNew records music for his sideproject, called Dump, which plays in town this weekend at the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar.

Birdlips rarely passes through town without some fanfare on this blog, so the fact that I’m mentioning it so late is something of a first. (Chalk it up to our work on the Best Of issue, which hits stands Tuesday.) The once-local duo has been on the road as part of its "DRIFT" project, wherein they pretty much move around and record music wherever. Lucky! Austin’s Royal Forest and the eclectic local rock group Manorlady open. That’s Saturday at the Southern.

Another event that rarely escapes our notice that did this time: CLAW returns to the Blue Moon Diner tomorrow with all funny outfit wearing, arm-wrestling, super-sassy ladies you can handle. This month’s theme: ACLAWcalypse Now. Read about how CLAW is sweeping the nation here.

Slightly NSFW ACLAWcalypse trailer.

And for you classicists, tonight the Jefferson hosts Alligator, the local old-guard celebration of early Grateful Dead. The band features members of Indecision, Skip Castro Band, William Walter, and The Casuals. Sounds fun!

The Dead plays Alligator in August of ’67.

But that’s not all, folks. Be sure to pick up a copy of C-VILLE and check out our arts calendar. We work hard on it!

What’re you up to this weekend?

"Places" is a new feature where local artists show us the places around town that inspire them.

Guest post by Anna Caritj.

How much inspiration can four white walls yield? Miki Liszt’s Studio 20 in the McGuffey Art Center naturally invites this question. The space is bare, defined only by a high ceiling, shining wooden floors that Liszt mops daily, a stretching studio mirror, and grand whitewashed windows where tree tops sway against a grand expanse of sky. As Liszt puts it, it is, “Just space. Pure space.”

She begins her work in solitude, often staying in the studio four to five hours at a time. She describes this as a lonely yet essential step for every artist trying to “identify his or her individual voice.” The studio plays an integral role in this process. Rather than relying on external forces to inspire her, Liszt uses the space to wash herself of outside influences:

“I come in and I can be clear. What comes out of the space has its own life not directed by outside structures. The space is neutral. In this way, the environment is not intrusive into my headspace. My head can then coordinate with the rest of my body and coordinate with the rest of my thoughts and my physicality can find some harmony that’s dissociated from the press of a particular environment.”

For over 25 years, the studio has supported not only Liszt’s personal work, but also that of the community. She uses the space as “a form of physical and financial support,” for independent dancers and dance companies in need of rehearsal or performance space. Liszt has also held numerous dance classes for all ages and experience levels.

“I want to offer students a place of emotional safety where they can take artistic risks,” Liszt said. “Artists are very vulnerable. We’re vulnerable in putting ourselves out there and being willing to be judged. [In the public eye], it’s either thumbs up or thumbs down. But actually, there never was a thumbs down, it turns out. It’s thumbs up or…this.” Liszt wagged her thumb sideways, indicating neither full approval nor disapproval.

“We normally think it was thumbs down, but it wasn’t.”

Despite Liszt’s connection with the studio, she is thinking of leaving it. The desire to continue collaborating, educating, and encouraging Charlottesville’s artistic community has driven Liszt to contemplate this change, her eyes trained on an empty studio on the first floor of McGuffey.

The main difference? The new studio’s glass door allowing passersby to see inside the studio rather than wonder at its secretive contents. Liszt hopes that a more welcoming space may encourage others to join in and try something new. Further, she imagines that not only dance, but other cross-disciplinary activities would flourish in the new space: “[I could organize] lectures or a poetry reading with movement incorporated. Acoustic movement with video or film.”

When asked if she’ll miss the old studio, Liszt glanced wistfully at the light-soaked room around her, “[I’ll miss] the trees. That view. Down there, it’s all dark and there are these black drapes hanging that I find very oppressing. The view downstairs is out to the parking lot. But, I’m at an age where I can create a space that is conducive to my work. If I don’t have the trees, I’ll be all right.”

I interviewed Yo La Tengo’s James McNew last week for my Feedback column, in advance of his gig here—his solo project is called Dump—next Saturday at the Tea Bazaar. People are psyched. Since it was an e-interview, it’s already typed up, so, hey, why not post? Below is the complete transcript.

Catch Dump at the Tea Bazaar on Saturday, August 13 with Sloppy Heads and Girl Choir.

It’s been about eight years since the last Dump record, A Grown-Ass Man. Why the delay? Is any work forthcoming?
I have been working on it, albeit extremely slowly. There is at least an album’s worth of new songs that have accumulated since [2003’s] A Grown-Ass Man, I hope to finish it someday. I even have a title picked out. A few Dump items have managed to see the light of day in the last few years, such as a split 7" & remix for Jennifer O’Connor, a Why? re-make remix, and a few songs for The Best Show On WFMU’s marathon premiums.

Will you be playing new songs?
I don’t think so. Going to concentrate on hits.

People are saying that this is the first Dump show outside of the New York area. True or false?
False. Dump gigs have happened in many far-flung locations. But Dump gigs rarely occur at all: in Dump’s 19 years of hermetic existence, there have only been about 20 shows.

What is the occasion for the Charlottesville show? What is your connection to town these days—do your folks live in Charlottesville?
They asked! Plus, who could say no to a dream bill with The Sloppy Heads and Girl Choir? I might have driven down just to see those two bands play together, after eating at the Riverside. My mom still lives in town, as do a few good friends.

Can you tell me about the Dump recording setup? Is it still strictly true that you record on a 4-track? Even today?
No, the 4-track died ages ago. I bought it at C-ville Music in 1986, and made every Dump record on it until 2001. A Grown-Ass Man and That Skinny Motherfucker With The High Voice? were both recorded on instantly-obsolete digital formats; since then, I’ve joined the world of ProTools just like everyone else. But I like it, you can misuse it in very pleasing ways.

You’re a veteran of two of Charlottesville’s most esteemed (kind of) cultural institutions: you were a WTJU DJ and an attendant at the Corner Parking Lot. Do you reflect much on those experiences today?
Both of those things were a huge part of my life, and the transition between high school and the real world circa 1987. I was fortunate enough to meet a bunch of generous, intensely creative people who took me under their wings.

Namely, Maynard Sipe, Chris Farina, Phil Townsend, and John Beers. Between them, they booked shows and brought tons of legendary bands to town, DJ’ed and/or ran the WTJU rock dept., put out fanzines, made films, were in great bands who put out records on real labels (or they’d also put out their own records) and toured the world, and supported the otherwise unsupportable. By themselves, in Charlottesville, in 1987. That was incredibly inspirational to me.

If those guys are not hailed as true cultural attaches of Charlottesville, it’s a shame. Why is there no Iwo Jima-style statue of The Landlords on the downtown mall?

As a longtime Yo La Tengo fan, one of the interesting things about listening to Dump is that it contains the elements—a melodic sensibility you might say—that turned YLT from an interesting band into a great band after you joined in the early ’90s (Fakebook aside). Do you try to keep your Dump work and your YLT work separate?
I guess I do, but not for any stylistic reason, I don’t believe in any creative boundaries for either entity. I just really enjoy making things, and learning how to make things; all Dump songs come from that. I never felt like it came from a singer-songwritery place—I am just as interested in the recording and the textures as I am in the songs.

As a member of Yo La Tengo, you’re among the first round of indie rockers to achieve "elder statesman" status, which you cemented with storytelling tours (including one that I caught in town at the Satellite Ballroom). What advice, if any, do you have for the young Charlottesville resident who is looking to start an illustrious, two-decade career in a celebrated indie rock band?
Well, GOOD career choice, first off. It’s not like we set out to be an illustrious, two-decade old celebrated indie rock band, it just kinda happened that way. Actual advice? Jeez, I don’t know. Trust your gut. Be yourself. Work hard. Don’t read Pitchfork, or any website comments, ever. Eat right.
 

People around here are freaking out about this show. When you lived here 20 years ago, what illustrious former residents did people celebrate the return of?
I was going to say Ralph Sampson, but now that I think of it, I don’t remember him ever returning.

I was a little kid in New Jersey in the late 80s and early 90s. I don’t want to seem too wide-eyed here, but from a distance, there must have been something in the water in Charlottesville then. Stephen Malkmus and David Berman were around, you were here, and right there, you’ve got members of three of the most critically lionized bands of the ’90s, to say nothing of Dave Matthews, all coming from a small city in the South. How do you explain it? Did Charlottesville have anything to do with it?
As far as three of us are concerned (I’ll let you guess which three), WTJU probably had A LOT to do with it. I can’t really speak for Stephen and David B, but I know that at an extremely formative time in my life when music meant absolutely everything to me, the station was a priceless resource. As far as the water, I grew up in Charlottesville; Stephen and David B came here as students. I know nothing about why Dave Matthews came here. I guess I could Wiki it.

Guest post by Anna Caritj.

Last Wednesday at Random Row books, a drummer beat on a microphoned bicycle helmet, which reverberated through the speakers. But the energy it took to power the show won’t show up on the bookstore’s next Dominion bill.

Rather, the entire sound system—including the amps, microphones and anything else electric—was powered by a tandem bicycle, jerry-rigged beside the stage by members of the Petrol-Free Gypsy Carnival Band, a bicycle-powered tour throughout the Commonwealth with stops in Staunton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Northern Virginia, and Charlottesville.

The tandem bike that powered the show.

At Random Row, audience members bopped their heads to the music and made small talk with their neighbors as they waited in line to pedal, thus powering the show. As singer Nick Melas told the audience, “No bike, no music. You’ve all got to help.”

The bike troop, fluctuating between 10 to 20 riders from Harrisonburg and other parts of Virginia, is in their second week of a month-long tour. Although they stop every other night to perform a mix of gospel, chant and folk-inspired protest music, not all members of the Gypsy Tour are in the band.

Melas, one of the creators of the Petrol-Free tour, described the trek as half fueled by music and half fueled by social change. “Our songs are about justice and the pain that goes into this petrol fueled culture,” Melas says. “We thought it was crazy to be singing about social and environmental justice and still be driving our cars around. This is a way to speak to the community and teach by example.”

Melas accurately sums up their protest in a song entitled, “Turkey Truck.” He chronicles his own experience of being passed by a rattling truck, feathers flying in its wake, as a turning point of realization: “If the things that we’re doing are creating stench and noise, crying and tears, then something’s not right.”

A powerful, chanting chorus of voices beats against the walls of the bookstore: “Will I speak for peace? Will I speak for peace? This is laziness—I won’t stand for this.” The lyrics speak of a common push for justice, the power of an entire community epitomized by the five voices harmonizing together with one collective goal.

But while it’s easy to stand up and shout with a whole room of supporters behind you, the song ends with one lone voice—“I won’t stand for this."

A short documentary about last year’s tour.

This weekend a couple of theater festivals round up: First is the Heritage Theatre fest, at UVA, with a performance tonight of The 39 Steps, the John Buchan novel-turned-Hitchcock film that, onstage, also happens to be a hilarious physical comedy; Saturday will see both matinee and evening performances of She Loves Me. (Read a C-VILLE Review of an earlier Heritage performance. Details.

Meanwhile, Ash Lawn Opera rounds up its season with performances on Saturday and Sunday of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I at the Paramount. Check out a review of opening night here. Tickets are here.

The Blue Ridge Swim Club, out on Owensville Road, has recently been in the habit of combining two amazing things: swimming and music. The latest concert in a summer music series is the acoustic bassist and wide-ranging experimentalist Jason Ajemian who performs Saturday at 6pm with his band The High Life. Sample the good below, and bring something to swim in.

Big weekend for music coming up. Tonight Dave Matthews’ perennial sideman Tim Reynolds performs in trio formation at the Jefferson Theater, before returning later this month to the Pavilion with Matthews himself. The experimental shredder was nominated last year for a Grammy for his tune, "Kundalini Bonfire." Reynolds is said to be astounding live, but seriously, dude can probably afford a graphic designer for album covers, no? Tickets are here.

Say whaaat?

Over at the Pavilion on Sunday, Bruce Hornsby (who I interview in this week’s Feedback column) and his band The Noisemakers share a bill with the original lineup of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. "Original lineup" means that zany brother duo of ace bassist Victor Wooten and his brother "Future Man" are on board. Look forward to a night of genre-hopping and jammy experimentation. And if you’re wondering what Future Man’s got in hands, worry it—it’s just a drumitar. Tickets.

What are you up to this weekend?

The New York Observer reports that Deborah Eisenberg, who counts among her recent accomplishments a PEN/Faulkner Award and a MacArthur "Genius" Grant, is leaving UVA to teach at Columbia University. Eisenberg has taught writing at UVA since 1994. 

Like UVA’s, Columbia University’s writing faculty is one of the country’s most illustrious. Columbia’s faculty ranges from Philip Lopate to Orhan Pamuk and Gary Shteyngart. Eisenberg’s short story collections were released in a single volume, The Collected Short Stories of Deborah Eisenberg, last year.

Last year UVA’s writing department lost another of its crown jewels: the Pulitzer-winning poet Charles Wright retired from teaching in May 2010.

In a recent C Magazine feature, a writer described Eisenberg’s style: "Stylish and carrying just the slightest hint of self-deprecation, she professes to love teaching and walking through crowded city streets on warm days. She favors high heels and cuts a strikingly urbane figure wherever she goes."

Au revoir.

Guest post by Chelsea Hicks.

In the niche-driven world of independent rock, Decemberists staunchly stand apart as blenders of genre. And if Bon Iver’s and Sufjan Stevens’ departures from folk to electronic music with Bon Iver and The Age of Adz can shock, then the Decemberists’ wild jumps from folk, to prog rock, to old school country beat those bands in the game of album diversity.

The Decemberists’ eclectic show last night at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion was no different than the band’s catalogue; it served up everything from heavy rock, to light folk and everywhere in between. The moodswing-inducing setlist spanned the hard-core Hazards of Love to their latest album, a country effort called The King is Dead, among the latest indie hits to reach #1 on the Billboard Charts.

But even with such a wide variety, the band’s histrionics pushed the music to the backseat at times. Between frontman Colin Meloy’s switching places with drummer John Moen, who told a tale of jumping into the lake with his phone—complete with Moen writhing on the stage floor to convey his self-deprecation—and Meloy’s pointing his box fans at sweat-dampened audience members for almost five minutes, one began to wonder: Is this a variety show? Clearly, The Decemberists enjoy a bit of drama, but how much drama does it take to turn a rock concert into a musical?

The Decemberists. More below.

But with such experienced orchestrators as The Decemberists on the stage, there can be no doubt there is reason to the rhyme. The Evanescence-meets-Neil-Young feel of the night was intentional. Meloy, long a resident of Portland, moved to a more rural spot outside the city to write The King is Dead, but still sometimes misses “the epic-ness of the other albums," he said in a recent interview. "…But it’s nice to get all of the information across in three minutes. It’s like going from reading a novel to reading a bunch of short stories."

Whatever they’re playing, blending Americana and dramatic storytelling is just The Decemberists’ way of keeping it epic.

What did you think of the show?

Cool Charlottesville-specific flyer!

The honey-voiced old-timey singer (and sometime Robert Plant collaborator) Alison Krauss headlined the Charlottesville Free Clinic’s annual fundraiser at the Pavilion on Saturday night, with the young folk act Dawes in tow. Crack photographer John Robinson was on hand to catch some of the action.

Krauss was accompanied by her band Union Station, as well as the incredible dobro player Jerry Douglas. Check out the setlist here—it seems they played tracks from Krauss’ latest, Paper Airplane, as well as classics like "Man of Constant Sorrow."

See if you can identify the people catching some free tunes from the Ninth Street bridge, behind Krauss in the first photo. It’s a benefit, you deadbeats!

What did you think of the show?