After years of practicing their craft, Keene State College music majors Danielle St. Amand and Joe Conti brought their music to life in front of a nearly packed Alumni Recital Hall audience.

On Saturday, Oct. 29, KSC senior St. Amand played the flute, while KSC junior Conti played the trumpet for the KSC Music Department’s latest installment in the junior/senior recital series. Assisted by staff accompanist Vladimir Odinokikh playing the piano, both performers traded off center stage, each playing nontraditional and traditional songs and scales from a classical repertoire of chosen music.

Luke Stirgou / senior photographer

The set of songs played came with a variety of sounds, tones and speeds as each displayed their ability to play an array of songs that changed in tempo throughout the performance. The performance built up to a duet finale where Conti and St. Amand shared the spotlight. The duo performed a piece titled “Ballade, Pastorale and Dance for Flute and Piano II,” by Eric Ewazen (1954).

After receiving a standing ovation, Conti and St. Amand took the time to thank all of those in attendance in the lobby after the show. Both performers expressed their relief in knowing that the performance was well-received afterward.

St. Amand said, “I felt that it went really well. I’m very happy with it.”

Conti added that both of them have been working on this performance for years and that he couldn’t believe the recital was actually over.

“I think it’s really gratifying,” Conti said, “because it shows the capability in what we have and how…years of work lead to this one moment where you can showcase this thing that we’re so proud of and really move the audience in a way that you’ve been working towards for years.”

With help from professors Robin Matathias and Devaseelan Manickam, both students chose musical pieces from a large repertoire of classical music that they could find an emotional relationship with and could tell a story as performers.

Luke Stirgou / senior photographer

“The way that I approached picking my music,” Conti said, “[is] I picked music that I really enjoy playing. I didn’t really know a lot of classical repertoire so my teacher helped me decide on them and then after that I was able to make my own emotional connections and stories to go along with them, as I interpreted the music and figured out what I liked about it and what it was about.”

Conti and St. Amand said what made the performance special for both of them was that they have been very close friends since they met. With the two already having chemistry before taking the stage, St. Amand said working with her best friend made the recital go that much more smoothly.

“It made it easier for us to find a connection because we know each other so well,” St. Amand said. “So that last piece that we played, I knew what he wanted, he knew what I wanted and we kind of just worked together without even having to speak.”

Mutual friend of both performers and fellow music major, Amy Buonpane said that very performance where the two shared the stage was particularly special.

“Seeing them perform together was really great, especially in the last piece,” Buonpane said. “Just seeing them do what they love together is really awesome.”

Nick Tocco can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com 

On Saturday Oct. 1, the city of Keene, N.H. held the Monadnock Fall Music Festival meant to celebrate all things Keene during the fall season.

The event, held on Main Street, featured multiple live bands and musicians performing inside local establishments and outside on the sidewalks for all to enjoy. With the streets packed with Keene residents, performers like Wendy Keith and her Alleged Band, played in front of Local Burger for people passing by.

Lead singer and a guitarist of the band, Wendy Keith has been a singer and songwriter for most of her life and has a special relationship with the city of Keene.

Keith said she used to be a social worker in Keene for the state of New Hampshire where she worked with the event’s organizer, Kevin Dremel, and was excited about being back in town to perform. The last time Keith performed, she had given a memorable performance, which she described as “very exciting.”

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff, Tim Smith / Photo Editor

“It’s really great to have an opportunity to play in Keene,” Keith said. “I haven’t played in Keene in a long time. I opened for “America”, about 14 years ago and I sang “Last night I had the strangest dream” and I got a standing ovation in the Colonial Theatre.”

From her time coming up in the music industry to now, Keith is still growing and broadening her horizons musically. Although she is normally a folk singer, Keith said she has been trying to perform a variety of music.

“I sang in choirs as a kid when my mother was the choir director of our church,” Keith said.

She then went on to play in coffee houses during her high school days and later on played in what she called the “wood stove circuit,” playing at all of her friends houses learning the traditionally acoustic style.

Keith added, “I actually started singing a bunch of Jazz the last few years.”

Adam Urquhart / Opinions Editor

When asked if it is difficult for her to transition between genres, Keith said, “I’m a singer. I sing everything. That’s what I do.

My background is more of a ‘folkie’ but over the last 10-15 years I’ve started incorporating a lot more blues, and specifically in the last three or four years I started singing some Jazz with some really talented Jazz musicians.”

Wendy Keith and her Alleged Band is also made up of guitarists and singers Doug Farrell and Jack Carlton, who also make up their own music group Decatur Creek.

“I really love playing with these guys,” Keith said. “They’re wonderful.”

Keith named some of her musical inspirations such as Bonnie Ray, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Paul Simon and said they are all great song writers.

The music festival did not only feature live music, it also featured multiple small businesses and organizations tabling and promoting their causes for fundraising and awareness about each group. Board Chair of the Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention (MCVP), Krista Clement, was tabling in front of the stage where Wendy Keith and her Alleged Band were playing and said she enjoyed them very much.

Adam Urquhart / Opinions Editor

“They’re great,” Clement said. “I love the country folk music and she does such a great job. I’m definitely a fan.”

MCVP is not only the crisis and prevention center for domestic abuse and sexual assault prevention for Keene State College, but for Keene as a whole. Clement described the massive crowd on Main Street as “warm and friendly,” and said she was receiving a lot of good feedback for the organization from those who stopped by.

Member of Monadnock Natural Health, Ashley Richardson shared the same positive vibes about the event while she was tabling in front of a restaurant next to where Wendy Keith and her Alleged Band was performing.

Richardson continued, “It’s just nice to be a part of the community and letting people know that we are here to help one’s natural health in different ways.”

Adam Urquhart / Opinions Editor

Although the event occurred on Main Street, it’s reach was not limited to street itself. Keene State College alumnus Zach Bentan, performed on-campus at the Thorne Art Gallery. sang, played the guitar and the harmonica while performing songs from his album and cover songs he chose for the event. Bentan said the event was a great opportunity for him as an artist to gain “exposure.”

“For me, that’s the main thing because otherwise, it would not be a great deal for the musicians,” Bentan said. “Everyone is volunteering their time as far as I know, so that makes it really cool because we’re all coming together to try to make something nice, which unless there’s a concentrated effort to do that, it doesn’t happen a lot. This is a nice event that’s like ‘Hey this is happening, it’s happening on Main Street,’ you can’t ignore it, which is really nice.”

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

Bentan mentioned his musical inspirations being The Beatles, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye to name a few.

With the event having troubling weather to start the day, some acts, like Bentan, were moved inside to avoid the rain, while others like Wendy Keith and the Alleged Band performed outside at a later time in the afternoon as the weather cleared up.

Bentan said he was “dreading” the prospect of playing out in the rain.

“I wasn’t dreading playing as much as dreading no one being there,” Bentan said.

Fortunately for Bentan, he was greeted by an audience of workers at the gallery and Keene residents as well.

Detective Joel Chidister of Keene Police Department said there were no problems with security or safety during his time on duty on Main Street. The event concluded without issue.

Nick Tocco can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com

*Corrections made 10/4/16 – Paragraph 1: Corrected “Sunday” to “Saturday.”*

On Tuesday, Sept. 20, the Thorne Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College held a gallery walk through, featuring ceramic pieces that are highly regarded in the field.

KSC sophomore and gallery desk attendant Peter Powers said about 20 to 30 people attended the event and were very excited for the showing.

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

“I think everybody was pretty excited for this walkthrough,” Powers said. He continued,

“There’s a lot of interesting pieces of art, some of them are a little more different than what is normally perceived as normal and mainstream. I’d say it was probably pretty well received.”

The gallery featured appearances by consultant for the Graduate School of Art and Design at Harvard University Kathy King and distinguished Harvard University ceramics instructor Mark Burns.

Burns and King viewed the artwork featured at the showing while leading conversational groups after the walkthrough where they provided professional feedback on how each piece was designed and the subject matter they led themselves to.

Director of the Thorne Sagendorph Art Gallery Brian Wallace said the gallery intends on having more established and knowledgeable artists like Burns and King at the gallery in hopes of attracting both students and faculty members.

“One of the things we’re doing here is we’re trying to have artists here more often,” Wallace said. “This is a trend at museums and galleries. It’s another kind of point of entry for people… Having Mark and Kathy here to give some perspective on this ceramic show seemed like a really good idea.”

In terms of turnout, Wallace said there were more faculty members present at the event than students, which he found disappointing.

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

The gallery itself is trying to attract more students and faculty members by offering not only more established artists, like Burns and King, but also food, drinks and even live music performances from bands and DJ’s. Wallace also mentioned that he wants to offer more out-of-the-box offerings to gallery attendants to avoid the cliche of wine and cheese at an art showing.

“Were also trying, working within the budget and other limitations we have, to try to do food and drink that aren’t the standard,” Wallace said. “I’d rather have something that’s interesting, a little bit different, something I wouldn’t have at home, something to talk about if your words run out in front of the art.”

With such dynamic art work on display, Wallace and others discussed some issues with the artwork that may come across as controversial to its audience before the show.

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

Wallace said, “We were a little concerned. There is some challenging content. There is some naked bodies and some other challenging subject matter in the show that Kathy and Mark were here to talk about. So far, no complaints about that, so we’ll have to see what happens. Shows have been open since the 27th of August and gone through October 20.”

When asked what the “challenging content” could have been, Wallace pointed to a piece by Tip Toland, entitled “Avadhut” from 2010 which was made with stoneware and gold leaf. The piece itself is a life sized clay figure of a naked man coated in gold. The figure is lying down with its arms and legs in the air with a facial expression that Wallace said looked like a “grimace, like something really terrible has happened and the figure is rearing or falling back.”

Wallace added, “I’d have to put myself in someone else’s shoes to understand how that could possibly be offensive, but I have to accept that there’s a possibility that the depiction of [a] nude figure could offend someone. Has that happened? No.”

The piece by Toland was one figure in addition to Arthur Gonzalez’s “What tool must I use to separate the earth from sky,” from the series “Cadence of stupidity” (2003), and Sergei Isupov’s “Fear Has Big Eyes” (2013). King said she found these pieces particularly intriguing as a solid learning point for the group of attendants to witness.

King said, “I was addressing an example of using one type of art-making regarding the figure, and I had brought the group over to the Tip Toland gold piece on the floor… Although all three of those artists are working with a figure, their use of the material is so incredibly different from the hyper realistic to the more gestural, and I had just noted that as how remarkable it is to use the same material essentially, but have three very different styles and aesthetics resulting from the same material.”

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

With the showing featuring singularly ceramics, King pointed out that in her experience it is rare to see not only the high quality work at a college art show, but a show that features one type of art.

“I think it was fantastic that the school gallery was going to host a show that was entirely based off of contemporary ceramics,” King said. “It’s not often that we have shows that are only one medium, so that was really nice to expose students to all the different ways of working with ceramics, and all of the different types of voices that can be spoken through it. That was very notable…many of the masters of our field were being shown there, so I think that they were showing the very best. It was a very high level of work there for the type of show it was – the best of the best as it were.”

Not only did the ceramic art work make an impression on King, she also said she enjoyed the work from the SeattleHavana-Tehran Poster Exhibition, which is displayed beside the ceramics pieces. The exhibition features over 60 recent contemporary arts and culture-related posters that will be displayed in the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery from now until December 4.

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

According to the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery website, the poster’s subject matter surveys contain contemporary popular culture and cutting-edge design from the U.S., Cuba and Iran and seek to unite three politically and geographically disparate cities through the arts, as well as spark a lively exchange of ideas and images.

King said that, “For a school or university…to go to a school gallery where they focus on one medium and the craft around it, I think of going to that fantastic poster show next door too was quite complimentary because we were still working with one medium, but then you were just overwhelmed with all of the different voices that were coming out of it so I thought that was a really nice compliment to the ceramics show.”

The Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery will be holding a tiling art work shop on October first.

Nick Tocco can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com

In the entertainment world, professional wrestling has been an outlet for fans of all ages to enjoy for decades. In the midst of World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE’s) peak, professional wrestling was even considered an entertainment medium of rival value to the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League, (NHL) and even the National Football League (NFL). Presently, with social media, podcasts and analysis, professional wrestling, to some, has dipped in popularity.

But recently it appears that business may be picking up for professional wrestling, and it shows in ratings. According to Sports TV Ratings.com, On Tuesday September 13, WWE Smackdown ranked fourth in ratings during prime time (8-10 pm) with 2,658 viewers. The program only trailed FOX News and the Oprah Winfrey Network in ratings. Smackdown trumped popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory who reeled in 2,191 viewers from 10-10:30 pm.

Here at Keene State College, professional wrestling fans do exist, and some are more outspoken about it than others, while dealing with certain stigmas about professional wrestling that may not be true. KSC first-year Noah Drouin has been a professional wrestling fan since he was five years old and understands the misconceptions that come with being a fan today at the age of 18.

“It’s hard to tell people now because I’m 18,” Noah said.  “I’ll put on wrestling in my dorm and people will be like, ‘you know that’s fake right?’ But the way I’ve always looked at it is, it’s one of the more athletic things someone can do. There’s a lot of work that goes into just training to become a wrestler, and I think that’s something that isn’t really known on face value when it comes to how much work that goes into training and things like that. It’s not something I would ever do, but just from being a fan I know that it takes a long time to get to that point of being on national TV, and you have to be a good actor and you have to be a well-rounded performer athletically and vocally.”

Drouin even met some of the superstars when he was just five years old, because his father was a manager of a Gold’s Gym in the New England area.

Samantha Moore / Art Director

“I actually got a chance to meet Triple H because my dad used to run a gym in Manchester. I met him when I was five years old,” Drouin said.

Meanwhile, KSC sophomore attack for the men’s lacrosse team, Bobby Carey does not share the same fond memories about professional wrestling. In fact he doesn’t share any wrestling related memories at all. He said he was “Not a big fan” and that he is far more interested in other legitimate sports such as football, basketball, hockey lacrosse and baseball.

“It’s kind of more like acting and it’s not like a UFC fight…real fighting,” Carey said. “It’s good entertainment if you’re into that stuff. I’m just not into the costumes and stuff like that.”

Carey added that he would be more interested if it were less focused about the pageantry and more about the actual wrestling.

Although Drouin is a dedicated fan, he doesn’t try to “preach” to anyone else or force any of his friends to watch.

KSC student and Vice President of the KSC Brazillian Ju Jitsu club, Sydney Kleiman also wieghed in on professional wrestling. Kleiman has been a part of the club for four years but has been practicing martial arts since she was three-years-old. Kleiman said she is not a fan of professional wrestling and would rather watch mixed martial arts.

“I thionk think that everything has it’s place and there’s a demographic for it (pro-wrestling),” Kleiman said. “So if people want to watch it, and that’s what they enjoy watching, I think there’s no comparing the two (MMA and WWE) becaue they’re completely different. Personally i would rather watch UFC.”

Kleiman added WWE wreslters who have attempted and failed in the MMA world only further differentiates the two art forms.

“It’s definitely not for everybody,” Drouin said. “Its definitely something you would’ve had to have grown up with or really gotten into later on. If you enjoy athleticism of people, how strong someone can be,- there’s a lot that goes into it. It’s sort of like watching a movie, which isn’t something that people really don’t understand, I guess.”

But Drouin, like many fans, will provide “selling points” to others who may not understand the entertainment value in professional wrestling. One of those selling points involves some of the things WWE has done with recently acquired superstar and new WWE champion AJ Styles. Styles was one of the most famous wrestlers in the world who was not a part of the WWE, making a name for himself with his acrobatic moves and aerial maneuvers. Styles had previously performed as a part of independent american promotions such as Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerilla. He also won the World heavyweight Championship wrestling for Japan’s New Japan Pro Wrestling.

“He’s [Styles] been wrestling for 20 years,” Drouin said.  “He’s now the champion, there’s this whole thing of how he’s been all over the place, but he’s never been there. You can really gravitate to some of the wrestlers and their backgrounds. I think that’s one of the better ways to get people to watch it like ‘this could be you’ sort of thing.”

Even though Drouin does not try to aggressively promote professional wrestling to others, it appears he has coincidentally recruited his girlfriend onto the WWE bandwagon.

KSC first-year Morgan Prittie said she was not a fan at first, but has become more of a fan since witnessing a WWE live event.

“Once we started dating he kind of showed me what he liked. We showed our interests and we started watching wrestling together, and I kind of did it to spend time with him and I kind of started getting into it to. He got us tickets to a wrestling event for WWE and I had a ton of fun there with a lot of my friends, so I’m slowly learning about wrestling more. It’s just very entertaining.”

Faced with the conflict of wrestling being considered “fake”, Prittie said she found a new respect for the realism of the art after the event.

“On TV , people always say that it’s not real.It seems more realistic when you see it in person because they’re actually hitting each other and throwing themselves, and you can hear the sounds that they make when they hit the floor or the wall better,” Prittie said.  “You can see more things that happen on the sideline too; sometimes wrestlers will come out to intimidate other wrestlers. Sometimes you just don’t capture the full feeling when you’re watching it, but when you’re there live, the audience really creates a mood. Everyone’s so excited to see them, and it makes you more excited to see it when it’s live right in front of you.”

Prittie has earned the right of watching professional wrestling with a unique eye for some of the techniques used in the ring, as Prittie is a third degree black belt in karate with ju jitsu experience as well. Before coming to KSC Prittie had trained in karate for nine years in Derry, New Hampshire and said the in ring movements of the wrestlers share some similarities.

“I can recognize some of the moves that they do and when I watch I’m like ‘I know that hurts,’ especially for the women,” Prittie said. “I can understand the grabs that they go into and it’s just very entertaining.”

Prittie added that she especially enjoys watching the women’s division and said that WWE superstars, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch are two of her favorites. One of the things Prittie was most impressed by when watching the wwe superstars was not only the injury risk and the hectic schedule the profession offers, but the performers ability to stay in charcter.. WWE superstars Kevin  Owens and Samni Zayn are best of friends in real life, but in the ring they have had one of the most heated rivalries in recent memory.

Although Prittie, like Drouin said she does not force wrestling onto anyone, she said anybody can be a wrestling fan.

Prittie said., “You just have to get passed the fact that some of it is planned. I think anyone can learn to like it or at least tolerate it.”

Nick Tocco can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com

Disclaimer: The “Hoots N’ Hollers” section of The Equinox is entirely satirical and not at all based in fact. Every story, photo and name used here is fictious solely for the purpose of comedy and does not represent The Equinox’s beliefs as a whole.

Sylvester “Sly” Scammington has a lot to answer for these days. The KSC student with a major in puppetry has been apprehended as the culprit responsible for the false FBI phone calls that have been driving the Keene community crazy.

The calls usually target students asking for money to be sent via Money Gram to pay off tuition bills.

When asked why Scammington did this he said, “Uh…to pay off tuition bills, Broseph.”

FBI officials said they were surprised by Scammington’s language because his “FBI voice” was pretty convincing, and none of them could figure what “broseph” means.

After his admission, it was learned that Scammington’s was planning on doing more than paying off tuition with the money.

“First things first, I was gonna buy a bunch of puppies and walk through campus all day Bro Montana,” Scammington said.

When asked why, Scammington said, “Because chicks love puppies, Brometheus.”

After hearing Scammington’s statements, his English professor was very disappointed with his language, but his Greek philosophy professor was impressed with his Prometheus reference.  Both asked the Equinox to keep their names unnamed.

After his apprehension, Scammington needed medical attention, but not the kind that most would think.

Dr. Bill Williams said physically, “Sly” was fine, but he is dealing with a mental or psychological issue.

“He just can’t stop saying Bro,” Dr. Williams said. “Since attempting to treat him, he has called me Tony Bromo, Pablo Picassbro and Brozo the Clown.”

Dr. Williams added that his disease was spreading rapidly as he would alter the bro-names to men and women he was talking to.

“He called one of the female nurses Angelina Brolie,” Williams said. “She actually took it as a compliment.”

After hearing about his “Broverdose,” FBI agent Anonymous Anonymous said he was shocked that Scammington was capable of keeping the hoax alive given his speech condition.

“We recorded a lot of those calls and not one sentence contained some form of bro,” Anonymous said. “It’s kind of insulting to us that so many people really thought FBI membros talk like that.

Anonymous corrected himself and said members.

When Scammington heard the legal ramifications of  his actions, Scammington said, “Bro, this is worse than the time I faked Sylvester Stallone’s death.”

Nick Tocco can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com

We’re going space traveling this week people, Matthew McConaughey style, exploring all that is interstellar with ‘No Man’s Sky.’

‘No Man’s Sky’ has been one of the most anticipated video games in recent memory. It may have had the most hype of any next generation console title ever. The concept of the game is simply insane and near impossible to fathom. The player starts as a space traveler with his or her ship crashed on one of 16 quintillion unexplored planets available to explore in the game.

With an “exo-suit” or space suit, along with a multi-tool (mining tool/laser gun) and a pack, the player must survive and scavenge for the materials needed to fix the ship while exploring a mysterious and dangerous world. An even more exciting caveat to the game is that each player is dropped on a different planet than everyone else, making each player’s beginning experience specific and personal to them.

After playing the game since its release date, August 9 of this year, I believe this game deserves more credit than its been given. With endless hype behind a launching title, it’s always difficult to meet expectations. Many critical fans have called the game boring, making numerous comparisons to an overblown “Minecraft” of some kind.

I believe angered fans are misguided in their frustration and are only upset because they thought the game would provide more combat. I too was slightly disappointed that there wasn’t more laser fights, but that’s the whole point of the game. The player  controls their own experience in a limitless world.

Andrea Cuzzupe / Equinox Staff

The bottom line is that the game is more about exploring and gathering as opposed to survival, which may or may not be your cup of tea. As much as I would like more combat, like in ‘Call Of Duty’, I just can’t stop playing this game. ‘No Man’s Sky’ is like ‘Minecraft’ in the most positive way possible. It has an innate addictive quality. All I want to do is meet every alien, upgrade my gear and my ship and explore every planet in the game, regardless of how impossible that is.

I mean it; it is absolutely impossible for a mind boggling reason. ‘No Man’s Sky’ contains an algorithm that constantly  generates planets and life forms, making reaching the center of the universe (the main goal of the game) impossible.

For those still unsold, or sold and disappointed with their purchase, I would prepare for a special acronym in the gaming world called Downloadable Content (DLC). Whenever a game like this receives enough complaints, the game’s creators will usually accommodate the disgruntled with new content to download and enhance their experience.

Personally, I would be interested in that concept, but as a fan of the game, I don’t think I will need it. I am still blown away by the vastness of the game. With the ability to name new planets and life forms, it has been said by the game’s creators that more species have been named in its first week than there are species on planet earth.

‘No Man’s Sky’ could offer more gameplay, but what it already offers is intergalactic greatness as long as you are a player who likes to take a more casual and patient approach. I give this game 7.5 out of ten stars, and if you’re a vast world Role Playing Game (RPG) exploring type of gamer, ‘No Man’s Sky’ is for you.

Nick Tocco can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com

August 1 of this year marked the 35th birthday of the juggernaut network students know as MTV. On November 16, 2008, MTV’s trademark show, “Total Request Live” (TRL) had its finale. Having been the biggest show that consistently gave music fans their music video fix, following TRL’s final episode came the death of the music video.

The music video itself is a piece of pop culture history that has been forgotten by many of today’s artists. Music videos are not as common during the era of iTunes, streaming and social media. The music industry has come a long way since ‘The Buggles’ debuted their hit single in 1981, “Video killed a Radio Star.” That music video was the first music video ever and served as MTV’s first piece of programming in their history.

“I think music videos were really important to me when I was younger when they sort of had more of a stake in the music business,” WKNH Music Director, Patrick O’Donnell said. “YouTube, for a second, brought them back but they’re still kind of not there.”

With whole albums being available instantly on iTunes at the consumer’s fingertips, it has been difficult for music fans to find the same thirst for music videos. But Beyonce herself, or “Queen B” as many know her, has recently quenched that thirst with her sixth studio album ‘Lemonade,’ which she dropped back on April 23 of this year. According to Billboard.com, Lemonade is Beyonce’s sixth straight studio album to surpass $1 million in sales and is the third best-selling album of 2016 closely behind Drake’s album, ‘VIEWS’ and Adele’s album, ‘25.’

But Lemonade was not a normal album; Lemonade was a visual album, providing a music film of sorts that adapts to each song by adding another dimension of entertainment.

O’Donnell said, “With visual albums like ‘Lemonade’, which was obviously the biggest thing in the world that everyone watched, and it’s so crazy that this sort of full length thing (videos) is coming back in a way.”

Keene State College junior Mackenzie Sisson said, “Lemonade was the album that had everyone asking, “Who is Becky with good hair?” Sisson continued, “When she dropped her album out of nowhere a few years ago, no one knew about it. But everybody knew Lemonade was coming out, but I don’t think anybody knew it was a visual album.”

Not only did Beyoncé attract attention for Lemonade’s artistic innovation, but the messages within the album left a controversy. Some of the album’s songs implied that her husband, Jay-Z, may have been cheating on her, while other songs had powerful and racial undertones.

KSC junior, Liana D’Attilio said her opinion was split on the album.

“I’ve only actually seen the video for one of the songs called ‘Hold Up,’” D’Attilio said. “That’s the one where she’s smashing the cars. I thought she demonstrated a lot of girl power, but then again it kind of makes girls look bad. It kind of makes us look like we’re crazy. It kind of says ‘Boys ticked us off, so we’re going to just smash in their car windows.’ I don’t think that’s the greatest representation of women, but I also did think it was pretty badass to stand up for herself.”

Another one of Beyonce’s songs on the album titled, “Formation” attracted attention because of the music videos controversial commentary on race relations in the United States today.

Sisson said, “Formation drew a lot of attention, especially with what’s going on in our culture. She stood up for what she thought was right and she incorporated a lot of important people and victim’s families, which I thought was awesome, especially to get them more support that they needed.”

KSC sophomore Jessica Hardy said the fact that the album was visual gave Beyonce a more intimate forum to get her message across.

Kelly Neaton / Equinox Staff

“I think on a technical and advertising level, the way she used the visual album was amazing,” Hardy said. “I don’t usually sit and watch music videos because I don’t really have time for that, but the fact that it was basically a movie with her album, it told a story, it got her point across in each song, and I just thought it was really good.”

With such a monstrous album with a historical style, who would try to follow that? It turned out that Grammy award winning R&B artist Frank Ocean decided to follow in Beyonce’s footsteps. On August 20 of this year, Ocean dropped his highly anticipated sophomore album ‘Blonde’ following his legendary premiere album, ‘Channel Orange.’

What differentiates ‘Blonde’ from ‘Channel Orange’ is that, like ‘Lemonade,’ ‘Blonde’ is a visual album.

“I love Frank Ocean; Frank Ocean is unbelievable,” WKNH Radio General Manager and KSC student, Brendan Callery said. On the topic of ‘Blonde,’ Callery said it causes a small problem between him and his friends.

“I got into an argument with my friends over a group message because they said ‘oh this Frank album is awful,’” Callery said. “I said okay, listen to it like three more times. They’ve changed their minds, so I think the more I listen to it the more I’ll really get into it.”

Callery added that as a music fan, he has listened to both ‘Lemonade’ and ‘Blonde’ over and over and was very pleased with both pieces. On August 28, Rolling Stone said ‘Blonde’ shot to number one on the charts and sold 276,000 copies in it’s first week.

WKNH event coordinator and KSC student Nick Busby provided his own views on ‘Blonde’ and ‘Lemonade,’ saying he preferred Ocean’s album over Beyonce’s.

“The way it went down with ‘Lemonade’ was, she just kind of dropped it, and I never gave it the time of day because I had a lot going on at the time,” Busby said. “But there were rumors about it for years that Frank Ocean was dropping a new album, so I said ‘alright, I’m going to get interested in this just to see what it’s like.’ So I listened to his previous album and thought it was pretty interesting. When he finally dropped it, I thought it was really interesting and I certainly liked Frank’s album more than I liked Beyoncé’s album.”

Could these two albums be the key to resurrecting music videos back into modern day pop culture? O’Donnell said there’s a chance.

“I think it’s specifically interesting because they both are sort of these cultural touchstones,” O’Donnell said. “If a more minor artist did it, it would’ve just been like ‘oh okay they did this weird art project’ but since it’s Beyoncé and Frank Ocean, who are such monuments in the music industry right now, I think it’s really interesting that they both did it and that they both had sort of this large cultural impact.”

O’Donnell added that, “Because the two biggest examples, which are ‘Lemonade’ and ‘Blonde,’ are so good, the quality is there. I think that it may become a trend because they were both so successful, but if it does become a trend, there’s no way it continues on that pace of it being very good. I think both of those were extremely good and it can only get watered down from there.”

If visual albums are to become a future trend in the music industry, Who is next to follow Beyonce’ and Ocean? Busby and Callery named some of their favorite artists that they would like to see branch into the realm of visual albums.

Busby said former lead singer of ‘The Fleet Foxes,’ indie rock artist Father John Misty would be an intriguing person to see put out a visual album because of his zany nature and gifted singing voice. Both Busy and Callery agreed that ‘The Wonder Years’ and other Indie Rock bands would be great producers of a visual album as they are considered “bands who tell stories.”

From the hip hop genre, Callery said he could see rap group “Odd Future” and “Tyler the Creator”, “Coming out with a weird visual album.”

When asked which artist would have the most successful visual album though, Busby and Callery both said rap artist Chance the Rapper would “crush.”

When asked why, Callery said, “Because it would be goofy. Chance would take it to a place where it would be very well done and made sense, but it would be very goofy and very uplifting which i would love.”

Let the Equinox know who you would like to see a visual album from via social media accounts or KSC e-mail.

Nick Tocco can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com

After an opening performance from Keene State College’s own improv group, “3 Ways Til Sunday”, the Night Owl Cafe (NOC) was treated with stand-up comedy on Saturday, September 10.

Nationally touring comedians Jay Reid and Gibran Saleem graced the stage in front of a relaxed crowd of about 30 students. First, Saleem told some jokes about his name that has caused some awkward encounters with other people. He also talked about Tinder and the art of “cat-fishing” people.

Saleem even did some crowd work, getting audience members involved in the show. After Saleem’s 30 minute performance, it was onto the headliner of the evening, Jay Reid. During Reid’s act he talked about a variety of topics that brought the crowd to the point of hysterics.

Reid made jokes about the TV show “Saved by the Bell” cruise ships, flip flops and relationships. With the crowd in stitches, Reid piled it on, talking about his family, social media and the horror movie “Halloween,” which came with a hilarious impression of Michael Myers. During his routine that went over 45 minutes, Reid did some crowd work as well, even more so than Saleem. Reid engaged nearly every person in the audience in comedic conversation, making jokes about ways people were sitting and what they were wearing.

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

“I liked how he engaged the crowd,” Sholtes said. “He was awesome, I loved his laugh, he was so silly.”

Reid said he learned his ability to energize audiences from the way he was brought up in the stand-up comedy business.

“I started doing stand-up comedy in little venues like this (The NOC),” Reid said. “I had rough crowds at bars with poker machines everywhere. As a comedian, when you have so many different distractions, you have to be quick on your feet. You have to do a lot of improv when you’re doing shows like that and just engage everybody and bring everybody into the whole comedy world. That’s what I try to do every time I go on stage. I try to bring everybody in and have as much fun as possible.”

Reid was booked by the Student Activities Council (SAC) after he performed at a showcase in Dallas, Texas, where he attracted the attention of a lot of other colleges.

“I enjoyed it,” WKNH Radio host and KSC student, Keith Medlock said. “I usually like coming to the comedy shows. I’m a big fan of stand-up. I like seeing stand-up and I like to laugh. I did enjoy them both. It’s hard for me to say who was funnier. I liked seeing Jay’s impression of flip flops; that was lots of fun. It was a good show.”

Although the NOC is considered a small venue, Reid is no stranger to the big stage. He was the winner of Bill Bellamy’s “Who’s got Jokes?” and is currently touring with him. Reid said he adjusts his routine to the size of the audience he is performing in front of.

“I make adjustments because the audiences are different,” Reid said. “I do colleges, cruise ships, comedy clubs and I also do theatres. It’s a different approach that you take for each room that you’re doing, but the material I use is all the same.

I just say it in different ways to make that audience understand what I’m talking about. Comedy’s all about word play and how you’re able to switch words when you need to in order for a group of people to understand how you’re explaining your jokes. I feel like every comedian needs to be considered a chameleon. You have to be able to adapt to any situation that you’re in. I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered that art yet, but I’m trying to master that and I think I did well tonight dealing with the audience, and I’m happy with the show tonight. I’m very happy.”

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Reid. He said coming up in the comedy game is a “grind,” and shared his story with the Equinox about the his worst performance  on stage. Reid went to a comedy showcase at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles hosted by Steve Harvey during his second year doing comedy.

“I was two years in the game at the time, so I really don’t know how to deal with the audience and hecklers and stuff like that.”

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

Reid wore a suit trying to be flashy in the same way Steve Harvey is known for his suits. After being crammed into a small office room with 30 performers and no air conditioning, Reid was finally called on stage. Before Reid could get into his routine, he was greeted with a shower of boos.

Reid said, “There was a guy in the front row with a shirt that said boo. Every time the guy stood up the whole crowd would boo. It sad boo on the front and back of the shirt.”

After being booed off stage, Harvey tried to help him by calming the crowd down and getting him to do one of his bits. After some prying from Harvey, Reid finally told the joke and was booed off stage again.

“I got booed twice in one night,” Reid said.

But Reid responded in a way that would change his career for the better.

“That’s the worst show that I’ve ever done. After that night it was a long drive back home. I promised myself I would do everything that it takes from here on to make sure I don’t ever get booed again and I haven’t been booed since that day, 11 years ago.”

Reid provided advice for any aspiring performers at KSC who wish to try stand-up comedy, and said young comedians have to want to do it for the “love of the craft.”

Reid added that famous comedian J. Anthony Brown once told him, “Do it for the love not for the money because if you do it for the love the money will come.”

Spectators from the comedy show left pleased, hoping for another one to pop up at the NOC soon again.

Sholtes said, “I always come out to support After Hours [Program] because I think it’s a great program. It’s something that I think people would really enjoy and I like supporting and getting people out here and stuff.”

Sholtes added that whoever didn’t make it to the show really missed out and that she will definitely be at the next one.

Nick Tocco can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com

“I touched the wall and looked up at the time and saw I made it,” Keene State College Senior swimmer Ryan Boraski said.

On the last day possible, Boraski accomplished the goal he set for himself since his first year at KSC: qualify for Olympic trials.

“I hopped out with a little more energy than usual,” Boraski added with a smile.

Since the qualifying times were released by the Olympic Committee, Boraski trained tirelessly up until the qualifying meet. Boraski said he and KSC swimming coach Chris Woolridge “trained every day,” and said coach Woolridge “helped me out a lot.”

In addition to Woolridge’s tutelage, he also received coaching from his club swim team coach out of Medfield, Massachusetts, Kyle Browning, and former KSC swim coach Jack Fabian, in addition to KSC assistant swim coach Diana Pimer and former KSC assistant Dan Morse.

With the odds stacked against him as a division three swimmer, a rare sight at Olympic trials, Boraski also raced in a rather difficult event, the 50-meter freestyle. Boraski described the event as a “just start and finish” type of race with little room for error, making attention to detail in his training very important.

“Any way you can get .1 or .2 seconds faster it’s worth it, so he [Woolridge] helped me out with the little stuff,” Boraski said.

Boraski also dealt with emotional and mental challenges in addition to the physical challenges of his training, having to bounce back from a difficult loss at an NCAA meet just three months prior to Olympic trials.

Teammate and fellow Senior, Nate Shepard said, “When you take a loss like that, you’re either going to take the loss and quit, or take the loss and build upon it. He really built upon it.”

Having been his roommate for sophomore and junior year, Shepard described Boraski as “intense” and said his style of training is “very regimented” in terms of his training and nutrition.

Photo by Tim Smith/ Photo Editor
Illustration by Shelby Iava/ Crae Messer

When he heard the news that Boraski had achieved his long sought after goal of qualifying for Olympic trials, Shepard said he was “really happy for him” because he knew how hard he worked.

“Chris and I were not surprised at all,” Assistant Coach Diana Pimer said. “We knew that was going to happen. He just worked so hard and when he sets his mind to something, he’s going to accomplish it 99 percent of the time.”

Being a former teammate of Boraski’s and now his coach, Pimer said they have a special relationship. Pimer was an accomplished KSC swimmer in her own right earning multiple accolades. After beingvvvnamed the Little East Conference Rookie of the Year her first  year, Pimer earned Little East Conference (LEC) swimmer of the year her sophomore year and was named KSC female athlete of the year her senior year. In addition to holding several records, Pimer led the Owls to four straight LEC Championships and three New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Championships in her collegiate career.

Pimer said her role in Boraski’s training was more mental than physical as she always encouraged him, taking it upon herself to build his confidence.

“I never stopped believing that he could do it,” Pimer said. “I knew that he was going to make that time, but it didn’t matter if I knew that. When he gets up to race, he needs to know that.”

Boraski described his trip to the Olympic qualifying meet in Omaha, Nebraska as a“whirlwind.” He said the experience was surreal to him because he got to swim alongside Olympic level swimmers he had seen on television and got to see them in a different light.

“Seeing Michael Phelps…walking by him during warm ups, swimming in the same lane as him during warm ups…that was cool,” Boraski said. “It makes you think of them as just another swimmer, not this mythical thing you see on T.V.”

As far as the future is concerned for Boraski he said he hopes his achievement helps build the swimming program, not only by attracting more recruits, but also by inspiring both current and incoming KSC swimmers to stride for the same success.

“Hopefully incoming potential recruits look at that and say ‘oh this isn’t just a D3 swim team, these guys are here to train’.”

Individually, Boraski hopes to be the first man to take first place in the NCAA’s as no other male Owl has been able to achieve that feat.

“That would be cool to win it, especially for all of the people who came in second all those times, or third all those times,” Boraski said. “Getting over the hump would be cool.”

In regard to his Olympic future, Boraski said he is not sure if he will try to make the 2020 Olympics, as he plans to attend law school after his time at KSC. Even though he is unsure if he will have the same motivation later on, Coach Pimer thinks otherwise.

wPimer said, “I’m really excited to see what he does next because he’s not done. He has more in him, and you have not seen the end of him or his success.”

Nick Tocco can be contacted at ntoccoo@kscequinox.com.

In every sport there are unwritten rules of sportsmanship that are meant to respect the game. Several members of Keene State College athletics said they understand these rules and always keep sportsmanship in mind.

As many KSC sports teams’ seasons are winding down, they have had plenty of in-game experience to see and display sportsmanship. There are many traditions in a sport as old as baseball, and members of the KSC baseball program elaborated on the unwritten rules of America’s past-time.

In terms of honoring the game and behaving appropriately during competition, KSC Head Baseball Coach Ken Howe said he always stresses sportsmanship to his team, especially during games.

“I want my guys to act respectably in the dugout and on the field to our opponents,” Howe said. “For the most part in baseball, I would say it’s pretty fair both ways.”

Occasionally trash talking does occur in the midst of competition, and Howe said in those instances he always reprimands his players.

“Something will come out of our dugout, and I’ll yell at a guy. Something will come out of their dugout, and a coach will get on them,” Howe said.

Outside of the occasional comment from the players, displays of poor sportsmanship are more likely to come from the fans, but usually don’t have much if any effect because of the field’s proximity to the fans. Howe said he has a great understanding of this not only from his experience as a baseball coach, but also from his experience as a site supervisor for officiating crews for other sports games such as basketball, lacrosse and soccer.

Howe said, “Baseball is the type of sport where there’s not a lot of fan interaction because they’re [fans are] so far away, and if the fans do get involved, the umpire will say something to me or whoever the site supervisor is that day, and we’ll get them to calm it down.”

Howe added that comments from fans are “all a part of home field advantage,” as long as they are kept appropriate and positive.

In baseball, one of the most controversial and unsportsmanlike acts that can take place is a batter to charge the mound in an attempt to fight the pitcher. This has taken place both in the Major Leagues and at the college level, but Howe said in his 30 years of experience he has never witnessed a batter charge the mound.

Senior pitcher Cody Dube said, “It’s a very personal one-on-one battle,” referring to the relationship between the pitcher and the batter.

“I hate every batter that steps in the box, and I want to get them out,” Dube said. “So I guess at times you get ticked off; you get frustrated, but you have to keep your head level.”

Dube and fellow senior pitcher Keith Simpson both gave their definition of sportsmanship and explained how they behave on the field to uphold that standard.

“Respecting the name of the game and not showing up your teammates or showing up other players,” Simpson said.

Dube said sportsmanship means “Playing hard, rooting for your team and not against the other team, which can be hard at times.”

According to Howe, Dube and Simpson, the baseball team has not had any issues with other teams at home or on the road in regard to maintaining proper sportsmanship and behavior.

Another controversial issue in baseball is pitchers hitting batters with pitches intentionally. This may be done to send a message or stick up for their teammates if there was a dispute earlier in the game. According to Dube and Simpson, instances that could warrant a batter being hit could be if a runner is tagged too hard at the base, or if a batter flips his bat after a home run to excessively celebrate.

“It’s kind of a ‘protecting your teammates’ kind of thing,” Dube said. He also added that he does not share the same disdain for hitters who bat-flip after big hits.

Dube said, “If you hit a ball that well, I think a bat-flip’s kind of cool.  It’s hard to hit a baseball that well and that stuff just makes me want to strike the next guy out more.”Simpson felt the opposite way saying, “I would be ticked,” and if someone were to do that to him he said “that’s when it’s personal.”

Women’s lacrosse Head Coach Katie Arsenault said, “I feel like sportsmanship shows a level of respect.” She added that if a team shows a lack of sportsmanship, “It just shows the cracks in a team.”

With an overall record of 9-6 and an undefeated (5-0) Little East Conference record, Arsenault described her team as a team that lets the scoreboard do the talking and never gloats or tries to embarrass teams for the sake of sportsmanship. However, Arsenault also said sportsmanship is not always easy to maintain, and that there have been “lessons learned.”

Arsenault referenced an instance six years ago when a player of hers made fun of an opposing player’s disease via twitter. She also discussed another scenario in a later season when the team posted an insulting Facebook post about an opposing team they had beaten.

Arsenault said an incident of that nature has not occurred since, and that the program has learned from its mistakes.

“I’ve trained them [the team] to not be a team like that because when it backfires it’s really bad,” Arsenault said.

Arsenault also discussed the differences between men’s and women’s lacrosse considering that the rules and equipment are different with the men’s game having more padding and allows checking and hitting. The aspect of checking not being a part of the women’s game could be a cause for more emotion in the women’s game, Arsenault said, as there aren’t as many ways for female players to “get their aggression out.” This also applies to trash talk on the field.

“I think men are less emotionally attached to things,” Arsenault said. “Females are going to hang on to what was said during that game. I always say that guys on the same team can get in a fist fight then go and play together and high five each other after they score. Girls can’t do that, and I think that’s why chemistry is so important.”

Although lacrosse is a game that is not as old as baseball it still has its own code. Repeatedly scoring after the game is well at hand or running up the score is considered disrespectful in lacrosse, as it is in many sports.

KSC head men’s lacrosse coach Mark Theriault said, “having the players respect the game is important.”

Theriault added that when the team has a large lead in a game, he and the coaching staff are always “making sure that we’re calling off the dogs,” and utilize the entire bench.

Theriault always stresses to his team to respect the game as all lacrosse players are a part of the same “fraternity” or “brotherhood.” He wants his players to understand that there is more to life than simply the game, and Theriault displayed that last season to both his team and Colby College.

Last year on November 19, Head men’s lacrosse coach at Colby College Jack Sandler tragically died of a heart attack at the young age of 35.

“He was a friend of mine,” Theriault said and had t-shirts made to commemorate Sandler.

Nick can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com