The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful [Music Review]

Members of The Kills, Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince create rhythmic anthems about boredom and straight-laced guys. This duo is a saner version of The White Stripes. In high school, I imagine that they were those rebellious cool cats.

The first song features people clapping as the continual beat from which the song is built around. Every now and then, a snare drum interludes. The snare solo is reminiscent of high school marching bands. The second song, U.R.A Fever, starts off with a strange dial tone that from what I can tell has nothing to do with the theme of the song. This feature is carried throughout the song in a sparse rhythmic pattern. The dial tone also closes the song. The song is very cool and downbeat. Their lyrics are rebellious in nature. The lyrics from U.R.A Fever, in particular “We are fever,” suggest that the duo’s social status is similar to a disease, or maybe I read too much into that one.

Straight up and in-your-face female vocalist, Alison Mosshart, has a sexy, smooth sound. She sounds like a punk cheerleader. Jamie Hince’s vocals are just as sexy and cool but in male sounding ways because he is a man. Together, they create an amazing sound different from regular punk, indie rock.

Centenary Students: Survey and Oppurtunity to Earn $100 Gift Card

How satisfied are you with....?
How important is this to you?

Centenary Students will get a great chance to respond to several campus issues/policies to improve the student experience. A "Student Satisfaction Inventory Invitation" email will be sent out (tomorrow) Wednesday, February 27th asking students to partake in the twenty-minute survey covering different aspects of student life. Think caf food, greek life, tutoring services, and the number of electric plugs in the dorm room. It'll cover a lot. Any student not partaking in this survey is out of their mind. You have to speak your mind. You have to vote. This is, supposedly, a democracy in which we live. Your voice counts! Oh yeah, you also will be entered in a drawing for $100 gift certificates.

The survey was created by several professors and administrators. The professors and administrators are part of an umbrella group known as the Enrollment Management Committee. The committee focuses on retaining students and making Centenary a more student-centered campus. Success will mean a 50% response rate on the two-fold survey. The results will then be provided in a "town hall style" meeting in April. It's great to see Centenary working together to fix its problems. And there might not be any problems. This all depends on the turnout and responses. Hopefully Centenary will publish the results on its website. Communicating student feedback with the rest of the world will only improve Centenary.

Other colleges and universities survey their students. Penn State provides their surveys to the public. However, Penn State's wasn't two-fold as Centenary's will be.

Some example questions from Penn State's survey are:

• How satisfied have you been at Penn State with the extent to which faculty included diversity/multicultural/international resources in their class presentation, assignments, or discussions?
• How satisfied have you been at Penn State with your opportunity to participate in an independent research project with a faculty member?

Get excited, particpate, and spread the word on campus! For more questions, hit up Dr. Lawrence at jlawrence@centenary.edu.

photo creds to mygigi

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[Update] Rumor: Ben Folds Coming to Shreveport, Centenary

Okay, our rumor is being smashed from left and right. Thanks for all the information regarding this event. And please comment below if you have any information.

There are two pieces of information that still point to Ben Folds playing at Centenary. The first, as mentioned in a previous post, is a pamphlet sent out by Admissions with the text, "enjoy a concert featuring Ben Folds." The second bit of information is buried in our Facilities scheduling calendar. Comparing the original date of April 3rd and Folds' Myspace reveals a conflict. Folds is set to play in Tulsa, OK. Thanks to Melissa for that bit of info.

However, there is still an open date on Folds' MySpace. That date is also scheduled in our Facilities Calendar as "Concert". On our end, we still have no confirmation on any specific person playing at the event, nor do we notice any changes to www.centenarytickets.com. Keep your eyes open!

From the Facilities Reservation Calendar:

Thu 4/3/2008 all day     Fighting Squirrels - Concert - Set up     Gold Dome
Thu 4/3/2008 all day     Preview Weekend - Crawfish Boil Set Up     Crumley Gardens
Fri 4/4/2008 all day     PREVIEW WEEKEND     Crumley Gardens, Kilpatrick Auditorium, Centenary Room, Carruth Choir Room, Broyles Choir Room, Whited Room, Fitness Center Gym, Jones Rice Field, Gold Dome
Fri 4/4/2008 all day     Preview Weekend - Breakout Sessions Set Up     Broyles Choir Room
Fri 4/4/2008 all day     Preview Weekend - Picnic Set Up     Crumley Gardens
Fri 4/4/2008 all day     Preview Weekend - Registration/Welcome Set Up     Whited Room
Fri 4/4/2008 all day     Preview Weekend - Set Up     Kilpatrick Auditorium

Fri 4/4/2008 8:00am - 12:59pm     Fighting Squirrels - Concert     Gold Dome

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Actor's Café, All Age Venue Opens Doors [New Venue]

It makes me so happy to see amazing people do amazing things in Shreveport. This is my newest find.

Actor's Café is a new bar/restaurant/venue located at 1401 Fairfield Ave. From venue's MySpace, "Our goal is to provide a fun atmosphere where musicians, actors, artists, and the public can showcase their talents while enjoying tasty food and a full bar."

Jeffrey Nightbyrd, the owner lists several upcoming events:
Thursday is always Actors Showcase. See info below
Friday sparkling Alana Dyson plays and sings with Kern Courtney. 8pm.
Saturday Ladies Night and the Shreveport Belly Dancers will perform. Trudeau has more info.
Sunday Academy Awards Party, doors open at 5pm.
Monday Dan Garner of the Tipitina's Music Co-op brings his popular singer/songwriter jam to the café. This had quite a following at Java Junction (now Skinworks).
Tuesday is when signed Acclaim actors gather to do scenes for upcoming movie auditions in the back room.
Wednesday musicians gather for the Music Jam. All good musicians are welcome.

Attention Aspiring Actors

Every Thursday at the Actor's Café we will be holding an "Actors Showcase".

Come perform a scene or a monologue of your choosing for five minutes on stage without getting the "gong." At least one winner every night. Free beverages for contestants. Fun atmosphere. Over a period of 8 contests we will see who the best of the best is. Real movie casting directors will choose the final winners. The final winners will win an agency contract and photo shoot. So come give it your best shot this Thursday at the Actors Café! Do a scene with a friend or a monologue. Starts at 8pm (sign up early)

Actor's Café address and phone:
1401 Fairfield Shreveport 71101 (google)
318-673-9998

image courtesy of Actor's Café MySpace

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The Gunshy Coming to Shreveport via Jackrabbit

Matt Arbogast & Co. will be performing at the Jackrabbit Lounge (lil' joe's)  this Monday, February 25th. The show starts at 9:00pm. Mustangs and Madras will also perform. Since it's at Joe's it'll definitely be 21-and-up, unless that fake ID you own is super legit-looking.

Matt Arbogast, aka The Gunshy, performed in the KSCL lobby back in November. Now, he'll be right across the street with the rest of his band.

For those unfamiliar with the Gunshy, Arbogast's vocals are raspy and wild. It is truly beautiful. And you wouldn't be able to tell his singing voice by just talking to him on the street.

Jackrabbit's MySpace has some phenomenal upcoming shows. The Lonely H and Parts and Labor will be here in March. The manager of the Jackrabbit is new, too, so make sure you give him a hard time. Joe's (the diner end) is a staple to our area and has had some ruff times in the past months. Support them all you can!

I believe Mr. Christ Jay with the Robinson Film Center created a Facebook event. It's probably the only socially acceptable time to invite yourself to anything. I'd totally be there, but there's the I'm-not-21-yet. But you can tell me about it!

photo credit: oh it's amanda

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In Depth View of Norther Star at NIU, Speaks Volumes of Student Media

I just found this on Sara Hebert's blog. Fresh Cut recently published a video shadowing the staff of Nothern Illinois University's newspaper. Northern Star staffers used technologies that gave them a particular edge on information the day after the incident. Facebook and cell phones are changing the face of journalism.

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Colour Revolt Coming to Shreveport, Harlequin Alley

Holy Hell! Again another amazing poster Shannon Palmer. Who is this person? I want to buy her lunch!

the dirty:
Colour Revolt, Peekers, Porcealin Arms, Jaguar Shark, & And, Wellington
Sunday, March 9th @ 7p / $10
Harlequin Alley (516 Texas Street)

What makes the headliner so special?  Well, maybe it's because they're a cool indie rock band from Oxford, Mississippi. Oh yeah, with looks to kill. And about 22 thousand Myspace Friends to help out. Shreveport, get pumped.

The show, according to the Facebook Event, will be All Ages and cost $10 at the door. Doors open at 6p and the show will begin at 7p. Of course, alcohol will be available for those over the age of 21.

The show is a collaborative effort between Flentge Productions and Carbomb Productions. Mark Flentge, head of FP, states "this is going to probably be one of the biggest shows to hit our area in a long while."

Should be a great mix of local artists and other state-ly talents. Visit the Facebook Event for updates.

les MySpaces
Colour Revolt
http://www.myspace.com/colourrevolt
Porcelain Arms
http://www.myspace.com/porcelainarms
The Peekers
http://www.myspace.com/thepeekers
The Infamous Jaguar Shark
http://www.myspace.com/thejaguarsharkband
and, Wellington
http://www.myspace.com/andwellington


photo credit: Mark Flentge & Shannon Palmer

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