Star City Blog

Blind cat discovers Internet celebrity, local band Smith's Cloud

By Ladd Wendelin

This is the story of a local band named after a massive cloud of hydrogen in the constellation Aquila, its bassist, a blind kitten and the auto-harp that brought them together.

But first, before the sudden clap of thunderous Internet celebrity, forged in the primordial cyber-goop of social networking, a prologue. It starts the day after Thanksgiving of this year late one evening as my mother browsed that breeding ground of instant audio-visual stardom –YouTube.

“Come here! Look at this,” she shouted from the office. “This cat is blind. Isn’t that something?” And it was something. The brown and black striped-kitten, a tiny specimen of rambunctiousness and surprising agility, is shown playing with his first toy, a small, green ball. The ball rolls toward him, and his ears immediately perk up, honing in on the sound of the jingling bell within the ball. He paws at it, and the game is afoot! Soon, he’s pouncing and rolling on the floor in a state of feline ecstasy, the noise of the ball informing his every move as he follows it with uncanny swiftness. A perfect example of how even in the animal kingdom, when deprived of one sense, the others compensate in seamless anatomical harmony with one another.

This is Oskar, the Blind Cat, as he’s known to his 20,000 followers on his official Facebook fan page, and his older brother, the one-eared Klaus, who was adopted from the Cat House, the Lincoln-based no-kill cat shelter. But to his owners, Mick and Bethany Szydlowski of Omaha, Oskar was simply the runt of the litter on a family farm nestled in the Loess Hills of western Iowa, just across the Missouri River. Unlike his siblings, Oskar was born without fully-formed eyes, but this did little to dissuade the Szydlowski’s when they adopted him in July of 2011.

“Oskar won us over with his personality,” said Szydlowski, whose reason for visiting Oskar’s Iowa home that fateful day wasn’t to adopt a cat, but to buy an Oskar Schmidt brand auto-harp. “He clearly doesn't know he has a disability, and he probably thinks that everyone is just like him! When you see him playing you would never guess he is blind.” Away from the winged predators and scavenging carnivores who’d otherwise make late-night Lunchables out of disabled cats, a world of safety, comfort and the instant notoriety afforded by the World Wide Web awaited Oskar.

Enter Smith’s Cloud, the Lincoln folk-rock outfit headed by guitarist and singer-songwriter Evan Todd and multi-instrumentalist Travis Bossard. Long-time friends, Bossard suggested Szydlowski purchase the auto-harp from Oskar’s owners after seeing it advertised on Craigslist. In its unpredictable fashion, fate intervened, and not only did Oskar have a new home but a namesake as well. The day after his arrival at the Szydlowski residence, the video that in the last month has received over 2 million views was shot.

To accompany the video, Szydlowski, who also serves as the bassist for Smith’s Cloud’s live sets, picked the album’s title track, “A Change of Days”, for background music. A furry little star was born, and Smith’s Cloud found themselves hurled into the stratospheres where popular music and the Digital Age converge.

“It’s a celebration of living a good life, making personal sacrifices and the right choices,” explains Szydlowski, who along with Oskar has appeared on Good Morning America and MSNBC. “I don’t think the video would have been as popular without “Change of Days”. People have embraced it because the story is a positive one, and that's getting harder to find these days.”

The sweetly melodic and mellow acoustic number fits the video perfectly, with echoes of innocence and saving grace that elicits the most heartfelt outpourings from the most unlikely of viewers. “If you look at the demographic of the views, it’s all men,” said Bossard. Other comments on the video range from “I’m a 42-year-old ex-Marine and I’m bawling my eyes out right now.” to countless “Awwws”, leading one commenter to astutely note, “The Internet is held together by duct tape and cats.”

For Todd and Smith’s Cloud, the attention is nearly overwhelming, especially for a band just starting out. “Change of Days” has been downloaded over 500 times with over 50 downloads of the album itself, according to Todd. Smith’s Cloud has even appeared on the Top 100 artists in the singer/songwriter category in several countries.

“I definitely couldn't have paid for that kind of promotion,” said Todd. “I'm largely in the dark about what kind of personal reactions people are having to our music, but it's also really amazing to think how many people have heard this little song that I wrote in my bedroom.”

These days, Oskar and Klaus enjoy each other’s company as they romp around the Szydowski household. Days may change, but for but for Szydowski, Oskar, and Smith’s Cloud, the stars, even the cute and cuddly ones, are aligned.

***

Smith’s Cloud, Evan Todd and Travis Bossard along with Mick Syzdowski (sitting behind drumkit), perform “Change of Days” live, 12/2/2011.

For more info on Smith's Cloud, visit http://www.myspace.com/smithscloud 

"Deck the Halls" With Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra

Start your holiday season off on the right note with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra!

LSO will feature mezzo-soprano Adrienne Dickson, the Lincoln Suzuki Strings, and the Lincoln Midwest BalletCompany on Friday, December 2, at 7:30 PM, at the Lied Center for Performing Arts. The concert, performed underthe baton of Dr. Tyler G. White, includes popular holiday favorites Sleigh Ride and excerpts from The Nutcracker, andworks by Bach, Bizet and Bernstein.
Come early to get a start on the festivities by enjoying a cash bar and photo opportunities with Santa Claus.

Dancers from the Lincoln Midwest Ballet Company will again join LSO for “Waltz of the Flowers,” “Chinese Dance,”and other excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s holiday favorite, The Nutcracker. Members of the Lincoln Suzuki Stringsstudios will collaborate with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra for the first time, with nearly 100 local string studentsperforming side-by-side with the orchestra.

“This concert is an audience favorite year after year, which is why we are proud to present it as a Lincoln tradition,”said Barbara Zach, LSO executive director. “The program reflects on all the moods of the holiday season, fromchildhood nostalgia, the beauty of the sacred rituals we associate with this season, to the dramatic joy of TheNutcracker.”

Tickets are $25 and $10 for adults and $5 for children 17 & under, made possible by the Lienemann CharitableFoundation Student Ticket Program. Tickets may be purchased by calling (402)476-2211 or online atwww.lincolnsymphony.org. Ticketing and facility fees apply to all tickets sold.

Corporate Sponsor for “Deck the Halls” is Lincoln Industries, and the Media Sponsor is KFOR.
Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 85th season with nine exciting performances, including five classicalconcerts, two family concerts, a holiday concert and a pops concert. The season includes Beethoven’s SymphonyNo. 7, a “Classics by Request” concert featuring audience favorites, and Britten’s War Requiem.

NWU Jazz Ensemble to Perform Free Concert

Join the Nebraska Wesleyan University Jazz Ensemble for its fall concert Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 7:30 p.m. at O'Donnell Auditorium on the campus of Nebraska Wesleyan University. The ensemble will be performing selections including Sammy Nestico's "Wind Machine," "Big Dipper" by Thad Jones, Kris Berg's arrangement of "Oye Como Va" by Tito Puente, Charles Mingus' "Gunslinging Bird" arranged by Steve Slagle, as well as many other jazz favorites. The concert is FREE and open to the public.   The jazz ensemble will also be performing on the Capital Jazz Society's fall season on Monday, November 28, 2011, 8:00 p.m. at Brewsky's Jazz Underground in the lower level of Brewsky's Food & Spirits in the Haymarket. Please note the later-than-usual starting time for this event. Admission for this event is $6 for adults and $5 for students with valid I.D. Food and full beverage service is also available.   Members of the NWU Jazz Ensemble:    Saxophones: Megan Kautz (Gering), alto; Joey Schrotberger (Omaha), alto; Michelle Oswald (Lincoln), tenor; Bobby Brown (Lincoln), tenor; Liz Boschult (Scribner), bari Trumpets: Lauren Fletcher (Auburn), Dan Haden (Aurora), Jameson Bellairs (Clarinda, IA), Robert Lighthall (Aurora, CO), Erin Kautz (Gering) Trombones: Derek Vallis (Lincoln), Cole Gebhardt (Saint Paul), Jordan Zimmerman (Council Bluffs, IA) Rhythm: Allison Behrens (Red Oak, IA), piano; Danny Layher (Springfield), bass; Nick Johnson (Fremont), percussion; Zach Schiermann (Blair), percussion     NWU Jazz Ensemble directed by Dean Haist Wednesday, November 30, 2011 ● 7:30 p.m.   O'Donnell Auditorium ● Rogers Fine Arts Building   Nebraska Wesleyan University 50th & Huntington ● Lincoln, NE NO ADMISSION CHARGE   Monday, November 28, 2011 ● 8:00 p.m. Brewsky's Jazz Underground ● Brewsky's Food & Spirits 201 North 8th Street ● Lincoln, NE Adults: $6 ●Students: $5

 

Can Abendmusik Handle Messiah?

The Handel scholar, Winton Dean once wrote of Messiah, “There is still plenty for scholars to fight over, and more than ever for conductors to decide for themselves. Indeed if they are not prepared to grapple with the problems presented by the score they ought not to conduct it.”

Lincoln’s own performance company, Abendmusik, is prepared to grapple with those problems as they attempt one of the pantheons of orchestral work, the Mt. Everest of choral performance, this holiday season at First Plymouth Church on 20^th and D St. 

Abendmusik: Lincoln has been dedicated to community outreach in Lincoln since it was founded in 1972. It’s a nonprofit organization that gathers some of the best musical performers of the nation to inspire and promote unity among Lincoln citizens. They’ve hosted some of the world’s finest musical ensembles (The Vienna Boys Choir, Paul Winter Consort, The Estonia Male Choir, Chanticleer) and are well adept to the task of the evoking every aspect of baroque practice that Handel’s Messiah demands. 

Abendchor is Abendmusik’s company of world-class singers who will be joining the chamber players. This is only their second season, but with such a powerhouse team behind them, they’ve already managed to attract a lot of attention. (The Lincoln-Journal Star has called their singing “errorless”.) Under the co-direction of Therees Hibbard and Tom Trenney, the Abendchor and Abendmusik chamber players are going to sweep you into the holiday season with some of the best music in town. 

 

Date: Sunday Nov. 27

Time: 4:00pm  

Tickets are $20 for Adults; $18 for Senior Citizens (age 62 and over) and $10 for Students (grade school through full-time college students.)  Special rates are available for groups of ten or more.  For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.abendmusik.org or call (402) 476-9933.           

 

In Short: Events for the week of 11/7/2011

Tue: Asian Film Series: "A Village Called Versailles". Free and open to the public. 7pm at The Sheldon.

Thu: Film: "The Adventures of Loop & Rhett", at the Rococo Theatre. A western  that features Nebraskan actors. Don't miss this one night showing before it begins the film festival circuit. Doors: 6:30 pm | Show: 7:00pm /9:30pm Price: $$5.00 donation @ the door.

Thu-Sat: Nebraska Youth Theatre Advanced Acting Company presents the hilarious comedy "Scapino!", Nov 10-12 at The Haymarket Theatre. For tickets call 402-477-2600.

Fri: Toubab Krewe at the Bourbon Theatre. Doors at 8pm, 18 and over. $13 advance / $15 day of show. 

Fri-Sun: Angels Theatre Company Production of "The Crucible" at The Sheldon, directed by Becky Key Boesen. "A classic story with modern problems...and a body count!" $15 for general admission, $5 for students. For tickets call 402-937-1690 or visit www.angelscompany.org

Halloween Release Party: "Touch People" et al at the Bourbon Theatre

By Cory Kibler

There are many sides to Darren Keen. Those who are unfamiliar with his live act are often alarmed, yet fascinated. Those who have followed his musical trajectory have witnessed his undying dedication to a unique aesthetic. Keen's aesthetic is not a narrow one, however; listening to one of Keen's musical monikers means letting go of any expectations.

The Show is the Rainbow, Keen's most popular project, is a frenzied in-your-face rap/dance/electronic act that is best experienced live. He shows his gentler, creepier side with Darren Keen, which is his solo guitar-based music. He's also created electronic dance music under the name Bad Speler. Bad Speler, which isn't anything like popular electronic acts like Deadmau5 or Pretty Lights, can be called schizophrenic, restless, startling, etc. Just as a hurried groove becomes thematic, Darren's on to the next self-produced beat, already bored with anything that's too straightforward. 

Touch People, the newest of Keen's acts, is already starting a ruckus. His debut LP, Show Me Your Dimensions, was officially released on October 25th on the Illegal Art imprint (most notably the home of Girl Talk). Like all of his musical ventures, it is anything but predictable. Unlike most of his acts, it's what some might call "down-tempo." Whereas The Show is the Rainbow and Bad Speler feel like unnerving and exhilarating carnival rides, Touch People takes its time.

That might be a little misleading; Show Me Your Dimensions is sometimes jittery and always unconventional. But throughout the record, Keen allows his beats to build and grow, taking on layers as they culminate. There are also discernible themes that go on for some time, allowing for a more-standard "hook." But it's Keen's MO to never let anything get too standard.

To celebrate the release of Show Me Your Dimensions (as well as a companion EP, Sound Expression), Keen is throwing a Halloween party on Monday, October 31st at the Bourbon Theatre (1415 O Street). Performing alongside Touch People will be local favorites UUVVWWZ, Machete Archive, Bassthoven, and The Outerspacemen. The front room will also feature DJ sets curated by DJ Blac.

Sample Track: Depth Of Width Part1

If you want to get freaked out by a large shirtless red-haired man in a packed room full of costumed weirdos this Halloween, the Bourbon Theatre is the place to be Halloween Eve.

Abendmusik Presents a Tribute to Veterans November 6

The Abendmusik Chorus and Orchestra will collaborate with the Doane College Choir to honor our veterans with beloved American music as well as the powerful and poignant setting of Walt Whitman’s poetry in Dona Nobis Pacem by Ralph Vaughan Williams on Sunday, November 6 at 4:00p.m. at First-Plymouth Church, 20^th and D Streets in Lincoln.

The concert will open with Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” and then be followed by the Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem. This large six movement work for choir, orchestra and soprano and baritone soloists combines phrases from the Latin Mass (Dona nobis pacem translates as “Grant us peace”) with three poems by Walt Whitman, a political speech and selected biblical verses. This performance will feature soloists Zuri, soprano and Kevin Smith, baritone.  

The second half will include patriotic selections such as “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” along with selections that continue the hopeful theme of peace – “Let Peace then Still the Strife,” “Saints Bound for Heaven” by Mack Wilbert and the famous F. Melius Christiansen setting of “O Day Full of Grace.”

Tickets are $20 for Adults; $18 for Senior Citizens (age 62 and over) and $10 for Students (grade school through full-time college students.) Special rates are available for groups of ten or more.  For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.abendmusik.org or call (402) 476-9933.

Nebraska Jazz Orchestra to Feature Kelley Hunt on October 11

In some ways Roots R&B/Americana singer/songwriter/piano player/guitarist Kelley Hunt is a rarity and a challenge to the music industry's penchant for easy artist definitions -- a woman who has muscled her way onto the scene on her own terms with an identity steeped in blues/roots/gospel traditions and a refreshing originality. She makes music with it's righteous roots intact that also crosses boundaries, has an open-minded, exploratory attitude and takes on social and political issues. Together with a commanding, passionate stage presence and superior vocal, keyboard and songwriting skills she has earned the respect of critics and fans across North America and Europe.

Born in Kansas City, Hunt's love for her craft was ignited listening to early blues, R&B, roots rock, jazz and Gospel influences -- artists like Ruth Brown, Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, Ann Peebles, Ray Charles, Dinah Washington, Aretha Franklin, Charles Brown, Wanda Jackson and a crossection of the New Orleans/St. Louis/KC piano traditions of Professor Longhair, Toots Washington, Johnnie Johnson and Kansas City masters Jay McShann and Mary Lou Williams among others. Before that came the sound of her mother singing jazz and blues - her first musical memories - and the influence of her New Orleans Gospel singer grandmother. Reminders of these very traditional influences are evident in Kelley's live performances and recordings but the lyrics, soul and passion are all her own. Her career path so far has been a story of fierce independence, incredible will, unassailable cred as a blistering live performer and hard-won accomplishment. That narrative includes 1500+ performances with appearances on a long list of premier North American and International festival stages, six times on American Public Media's 'A Prairie Home Companion', nearly 150,000 indie units sold on her own label and critical praise reflecting her conviction from the outset to make her path in the roots music world not just as a performer, but as a forward-thinking songwriter as well.

The Nebraska Jazz Orchestra will be joined by singer/songwriter Kelley Hunt. The acclaimed vocalist, pianist, and guitarist will be performing big band arrangements with the 17-piece Nebraska Jazz Orchestra, including "Why Musicians Can't Dance" by Bill Liston; "Waltz for Debby" by Bill Evans, arr. Don Sebesky; "Kansas City"; "Alright, OK, You Win"; and "I Got News for You;" as well as arrangements by NJO musicians Dave Sharp and Mark Benson and some of Kelley's own songs. This will be an exciting performance not to be missed.

The concert will be held Tuesday, October 11, 2011, at the Cornhusker Marriott, 333 South 13th Street in Lincoln, Nebraska, at 7:30 pm.

Tickets are available from the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra at 402.477.8446 or njo@artsincorporated.org. Tickets are $25 for adults and $12.50 for students.

Season tickets for the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra are also available at $90 for adults and $45 for students. Season tickets include admission to all four of the NJO's 2011-2012 performances.

Choirs Join the St. Olaf Cantorei October 17

Three of the Midwest’s finest choirs will collaborate with organist John Ferguson and conductor Anton Armstrong (from St. Olaf College) to present When in our Music: A Sing for Joy Hymn Festival as part of the Abendmusik Series on Monday, October 17 at 7:30 PM at First-Plymouth Church, 20^th and D Streets in Lincoln.

The St. Olaf Cantorei will collaborate with the Concordia University A Cappella Choir and the Abendmusik Chorus to present this festival of hymns. In addition to the 250+ choir members, the audience will have a prominent role in this event as all who are present will be invited to “raise the roof” on a variety of hymns and hymn anthems. It’s a very audience interactive event!

Featured repertoire for the October 17 concert will include well-known, traditional and interdenominational hymns arranged by John Ferguson who is well known around the country for his creative leadership of hymn singing. Ferguson will be joined by his friend and colleague Anton Armstrong who conducts the famed St Olaf Choir from Northfield, Minnesota. The program will feature hymns old and new.

Single tickets are available.  Adults are $12; Senior Citizens (age 62 and over) are $10; and Students (grade school through full-time college students) are $5.  Special rates are available for groups of ten or more.  To purchase tickets or for additional information visit www.abendmusik.org or call the Abendmusik office at (402) 476-9933. Tickets may also be purchased at the door 45 minutes prior to concert time.

Famed Alloy Orchestra returns to The Ross

by Justin Senkbile

For over 20 years now, the Alloy Orchestra has been composing and performing their new scores for silent-era classics around the world. Though it's estimated that about three-fourths of all films made during that relatively brief period in film history have been lost forever, there are still a lot of amazing movies that have survived. And from Buster Keaton's “The General” to Dziga Vertov's “Man With a Movie Camera”, Alloy has composed scores for most of them.

They call themselves an orchestra, and live musical performance with movies is an old idea (an essential part of silent-era moviegoing, in fact, and the biggest source of employment for musicians in America until the depression). But there isn't much about The Alloy Orchestra that one could call “classical”. Made up of Terry Donahue, Ken Winokur and Roger Miler (co-founder of and guitarist for post-punk juggernauts Mission of Burma), Alloy composes and performs their distinctive, surprisingly versatile scores using what their website calls“an outrageous assemblage of peculiar objects”.

Of those objects, Donahue is responsible for accordion, musical saw, the occasional bit of vocals, and junk – a term used affectionately to describe the group's rather large rack of unusual bits and pieces of percussion. Winokur, the director of the group, plays clarinet and also dabbles with the junk, while Miller mans the synthesizer.

For the first of their two performances this year at The Ross, Alloy is performing their new score for Karl-Heinz Martin's rare “From Morning to Midnight”. I, unfortunately, am one of the many who have not yet been able to see the film. But from all accounts, its a first-rate German Expressionist freakout, one that supposedly exceeds even the gothic hallucinations of its famous cousin, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”.

Adapted from Georg Kaiser's play, “From Morning to Midnight” was apparently so unusual that German theaters refused to show it after its release in 1920. It was thought to be a bit too challenging for the average viewer; and the Nazis liked it even less when they showed up. An original negative was found in Tokyo in 1959, and was restored in 1987.

Their second performance will be alongside a compilation of silent shorts collected under the title “Wild and Weird”. Lively one-reel shorts were what film studios churned out most until feature-length movies took hold. Not only are all of these ten movies truly strange, they also provide an interesting look at the variety of subjects and styles in vogue at the time. From stop-motion animation to trick films to flat-out avant-garde exploration, there's a little bit of everything in this program.

The longest of the bunch is “The Cameraman's Revenge”, a marital infidelity tale performed impressively by reanimated bugs that lasts for about 13 minutes. There's also the alternately grotesque and funny “The Acrobatic Fly”, an early experiment with the extreme close up that, since it required so much light, produced a stark, high-contrast image and presumably a few fried flies. There's also a wonderfully creepy magic-trick movie called “The Red Spectre”, which additionally serves as a nice bit of kitsch just in time for Halloween.

There's an unforgettable thrill in seeing films in a theater with live musical accompaniment. No less than Roger Ebert, who's certainly seen this sort of thing a time or two, opines that Alloy is simply “the best in the world at accompanying silent films”. These two performances would qualify as unmissable events, even if the films weren't already so interesting in themselves.

The Alloy Orchestra performs alongside “From Morning to Midnight” on Wednesday, October 5^th, and “Wild and Weird” on Thursday, October 6^th. Both performances are at 7:30 pm at the Mary Reipma Ross Media Arts Center, 13^th and R streets.