In this edition of Emerald Recommends, arts and culture writer Nic Castillon joins senior arts and culture editor Sararosa Davies and podcast editor Alec Cowan to discuss songs for the upcoming eclipse on Aug. 21. From Bon Iver to The B-52’s, here’s the music to accompany those few minutes of darkness on Monday morning.
Songs you’ll hear in this episode:
“Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler
“Sifters” by Andrew Bird
“There’s a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)” by The B-52’s
On Monday, Aug. 14, the EMU amphitheater was abuzz with Eugene community members holding signs and chatting. Students, families and other community members gathered in response to recent conflicts between rallying white nationalists and those protesting against them in Charlottesville, Va. on Aug. 11.
“We want to make sure that folks from marginalized communities feel safe,” said march organizer Jaki Salgado. “Having the ability to call out to allies too — to make sure that we’re not just talking about things that are happening, but that we are actually showing up in tangible ways and connecting with other organizations, having conversations with our families.”
Marchers hold signs as they march towards the Lane County Courthouse on August 14. (Sararosa Davies/Emerald)
Organizers at the rally spoke about the recent events in Charlottesville and how they relate to Eugene. One speaker referenced the University of Oregon’s recent issues with Deady Hall and Dunn Hall. Dunn was recently renamed Unthank Hall after DeNorval Unthank Jr., who was the first African-American graduate of UO’s architecture school.
Around 300 to 400 people marched as part of “Hate is Not Welcome In Lane County” event organized by local political groups, including the local branch of Democratic Socialists of America. The march began at the EMU amphitheater with a short list of speakers and moved its way downtown through the Park Blocks to the Lane County Courthouse, where a rally was held after.
Marchers collect at EMU to protest recent conflicts in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Sararosa Davies/Emerald)
As the crowd gathered at the EMU, recent UO students Shaundra Cook and Sam Ruback stood holding signs that said “Make Nazis Afraid Again” and “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention,” a quote attributed to Heather Heyer, an activist who was killed in Charlottesville when a car ran into protestors.
As for why she came to the rally, Cook said it was the one closest to her. But she and Ruback also came in support of minorities. “I think if you don’t feel a personal connection to the oppressed, then you are choosing the side of the oppressor,” Ruback said.
As the march arrived at the courthouse, a man carrying a Trump-Pence sign from the election walked towards marchers. A rally participant tore the sign out of the man’s hands and proceeded to tear it into pieces.
Marchers arrived at the courthouse shouting “Black Lives Matter,” one of many chants.
At the beginning of the march, community organizer Phil Carrasco said to the crowd: “I belong to this community. Nobody is going to kick me out of it.”
Anna Lieberman contributed reporting.
This post was updated at 9:51 p.m. to reflect the correct spelling of a source’s name.
Correction: Eugene DSA was not involved in organizing this event, they were asked only to play a part in leading the march by its organizers. This correction was made at 11:01 p.m.
On July 11, Jewish-American reggae musician and beatboxing star Matisyahu returned to Eugene for the first time since 2009. The singer gained popularity over his 15-year career for his unique blend of reggae and hip-hop with underlying Jewish themes. His return to Oregon was a homecoming.
Matisyahu, born Matthew Paul Miller, has had a wide-ranging career. He left his hometown of White Plains, New York, for Oregon in the late ‘90s, and started MC-ing in Bend soon after. He became a one-of-a-kind Orthodox Jewish musician — beat boxing his way through songs about Judaism and God — all while wearing a black coat and hat or ritual Jewish head covering, kippah.
A few years ago, he left his strict religious practices to explore different types of Judaism. Still, Matisyahu’s music and live shows evoke a spiritual experience for the audience regardless of its religious denomination. WOW Hall was packed with a very Eugene crowd Tuesday night: middle-aged white people with kids in tie-dye joined students looking for a good time. Older women wearing patchouli perfume swayed their hips, while a few young men and women in kippot nodded their heads to the beat.
Matisyahu’s new album “Undercurrents” aims to recreate some of his live improvisational magic. The first set, five or six songs long, melded together into one long jam. Sometimes Miller’s spiritually articulate lyrics and beatboxing were lost beneath the band’s resounding sound, but his rapping rose high above the cacophony on “Step Out Into The Light.”
Each band member played a solo at some point, but they sprawled on for a touch longer than they needed to. Bending songs around new riffs made the experience just foreign enough for avid fans to wonder if the artist is stepping in a new direction. With each track melting into the next, it became hard to differentiate between them.
Songs from “Undercurrents” like “Step Out into the Light” and “Driftin’” took on a heavier, jam-bandy feeling. These tracks were closer to psychedelic rock than the reggae Matisyahu is known for. But the second set contrasted directly with the first. Songs such as “Warrior Sunshine” felt almost orchestral. They were musically lighter than the content from the album, but still complicated and sprawling.
In “Step Out Into The Light,” Matisyahu raps: “To the people on they grind / To the country out its mind / Half grins / Half spun like a dreidel.” He’s not singing as much about psalms or Jerusalem, but instead easing into a more general spirituality. He’s not quite the same artist he was when he began his career, but this direction still suits him.
Matisyahu’s show at WOW Hall cued into how the artist might be more of a musical chameleon than casual audiences realize. He’s constantly changing, but his merch still has the Star of David on it. He may not be the black hatter he once was. But he can still bring the groove to Eugene or anywhere else.
Check out Matisyahu’s “Step Out Into The Light” below:
June is coming to an end and the longest day of the year is in the past. 2016 was a devastating year for music with the loss of many greats, but 2017 has been a little easier on the ears (and hearts). In the last six months, Prince’s estate released his music to streaming services and artists from all corners of the music world have put out new music. Here are the Emerald’s favorite albums from the last six months.
“Semper Femina” by Laura Marling
Laura Marling’s latest album finds the folk artist, formerly a member of the British indie-folk band Noah and the Whale, exploring womanhood in a manner similar to Joni Mitchell or Patti Smith. Marling originally conceived the album from a man’s point of view, but as she wrote, the voice became increasingly her own. “Semper femina” means “always woman” in Latin and Marling’s album explores all facets of womanhood. Released in March, just three months after the Women’s March on Washington, “Semper Femina” feels as relevant as ever. Marling learns from the musical stylings of Mitchell and Smith’s sense of time to create an album as powerful as it is soothing. The future of folk is in good hands when Marling is involved.
2016 was a big year for the indie rockers in Pinegrove with the release of their debut album, “Cardinal,” which critics lauded as one of the best breakout albums of the year. But 2017 poses itself as an even more exciting year for the Montclair, New Jersey-based group with an upcoming US tour and an ever-expanding fan base.
In January, the band released a live album entitled “Elsewhere” to raise money for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Recorded in 5 different cities, “Elsewhere” gives a feel for the band’s warm and comforting live shows. Pinegrove combed through its EPs and “Cardinal” to create a live album that not only satiates the desire for new music from the group, but expands on the band’s previous sounds. Tracks range from a darker rendition of the short, twangy “Angelina” to a sprawling version of “Aphasia” where the audience members’ voices intertwine with Evan Stephens Hall’s vocals.
For those who missed Hall’s house show performance in Eugene February, “Elsewhere” just might be some consolation.
When New-Zealand phenom Lorde burst onto the pop landscape in 2013, she showcased a unique talent for capturing small, youthful moments in song. “Royals,” the single that won her two Grammys, captivated audiences with its sparse production. Her debut album —“Pure Heroine”— was critically acclaimed and sold well. But there was a sense that Lorde, born Ella Yelich-O’Connor, had much more in store.
Enter “Melodrama,” her second full-length release and a gorgeous evolution of talent. Produced by Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff, the album explores what it means to grow up and face heartbreak firsthand. Lorde’s songwriting and performance ability reach new depths, proving that she’s no one-hit teenage wonder.
“The Louvre,” a clear highlight, showcases her whispery voice with a quiet, echo-y love jam. “Green Light” hints at new horizons, making it a daring but appropriate lead single. And “Perfect Places” closes the album on an uncertain, yet hopeful note.
Lorde will never be a teenager again, but “Melodrama” shows she’s content with the future.
Kendrick Lamar fully embraces the title of “King” on his fourth record, “DAMN.” But he also sheds his rap-preacher persona in favor of a more radio-friendly sound—a decision that pays large dividends. “To Pimp a Butterfly” won critical acclaim for its eclectic mix of jazz, spoken word and hip-hop. Kendrick took aim at race in America using complex verbal assaults.
On the follow-up record, he turns inward, questioning his place in the world. “Ain’t nobody prayin’ for me” is a common refrain. “DNA.” is a breakneck boastful takedown, and features some of the rapper’s most head-spinning flows. “FEAR.” recalls the dread of growing up in Compton’s streets, and how Kendrick’s background continues to influence his adulthood. “Humble.” remains at the top of the charts months after the album’s release thanks to a riotous piano beat courtesy of Mike.WIll.Made.It.
But like all of Kendrick’s albums, the power of family remains a thematic anchor. The album’s closing suite, “DUCKWORTH.,” tells a story of two young Compton men who crossed paths years ago in a nearly deadly confrontation. One decided to spare the other, a decision that continues to have rippling effects. The two men were Anthony Tiffith, the CEO of Top Dawg Entertainment, and Kendrick’s father, Kenny Duckworth.
Without both, “the greatest rapper” would cease to exist.
Best Song: “HUMBLE.”
“Culture” by Migos
An album’s merit can be judged a variety of ways. Counting the number of songs from the album that appear in personal playlists is particularly useful. “Culture,” by Georgia-based hip-hop group Migos leads the pack in that classification, and for good reason. The album oozes confidence and youthful joy, traits that the group captures onstage. Migos’ jovial lyrics, combined with Zaytoven and Murda Beatz’s (among others) uber-catchy trap baselines, make for an album full of hits like “Brown Paper Bag,” “T-Shirt” and “Kelly Price.” Spring’s viral hit, “Bad and Boujee,” isn’t even the best song on the album.
University Theatre’s final production of the 2016-2017 season is ending the school year not with a fizzle but a bang. Playwright Anne Washburn’s 2012 creation, “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play,” is a bold and unabashedly weird piece of art that follows survivors of a nuclear apocalypse as they remember and retell the story of “The Simpsons” episode “Cape Feare.”
Director Tricia Rodley’s production is a wonderful and visceral staging of a complicated play. With the help of a strong cast and smart production design, Rodley tackles a play that received mixed reviews at many major theaters in the country.
Washburn’s writing, though its thesis about the cultural residue of storytelling is brilliant, struggles to balance the play’s many moving parts. The play asks important questions, as good theater does, but Washburn’s broad and shifting focus is sometimes too much for an audience to handle. This isn’t to say that the play isn’t worth the watch — it is; however, “Mr. Burns” is not for those expecting an easy or passive theater experience.
The show takes place in three separate time frames. It opens on a group of nuclear apocalypse survivors passing the time by simply recounting “Cape Feare,” and then switches to seven years later when theatre troupes tour the country reenacting television episodes complete with commercials and costuming. The third act, 75 years in the future, features a full-blown melodramatic and musical version of “Cape Feare” complete with gold body paint and Britney Spears’ song “Toxic.”
At its core, “Mr. Burns” is a nuanced exploration of how stories change over time. By swapping some characters for others and tweaking each presentation of “Cape Feare” in the show, Washburn shows how our culture now could be the basis for a new society.
While the first act spends ample time introducing the post-apocalyptic world, the ensemble carries this weight well. Some of the slower moments in the writing (parts of the dialogue are lifted from Washburn’s own experience retelling the episode) are made easier because of the acting.
The cast of UO Theatre’s ‘Mr. Burns’ poses before a dress rehearsal. (Adam Eberhardt/Emerald)
Matt (played by sophomore Ryan Sayegh) and Gibson (junior Riley Olson) stand out for their “Simpsons” impressions. The actors’ comedic timing makes the dark and often referential comedy accessible to those who might feel lost in the play’s long, odd monologues.
The second act builds on the foundation that the first act put in place, but two new characters appear without explanation or background. While the first act explores the immediate aftermath of the apocalypse, the second shows society’s growth while the survivors struggle to mount their production of “Cape Feare” in a competitive environment.
During this act, more world building happens. The survivors discuss the world as it is in the moment. Where did all the Diet Coke go? Some characters say it was all “trucked to Denver.” The characters also stage a musical number of the previous society’s greatest hits, some of which appear in the third and final act.
While Michael Malek Najjar’s“The Dead” and J.K Rodger’s “Emperor of the Moon” stand out from this season, “Mr. Burns” may be the one production people truly remember. Tricia Rodley’s production steals the spotlight. And for better or for worse, the bold show may define the future of UO Theatre.
University of Oregon’s last play of the 2016-17 season will be playwright Anne Washburn’s daring show “Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play.” “Mr. Burns” follows a group of survivors after global disaster as they recount “The Simpsons’” episode “Cape Feare.”
As the survivors try to rebuild society, the events of the TV episode become a part of the new cultural mythology. The play explores what our current cultural touchstones mean for future civilizations — will an episode of “The Simpsons” or another TV show be the story we tell hundreds of years from now? “Mr. Burns” strives to answer that question, or at least, to explore what happens as a story changes over time.
Check out our podcast with Nathan Shapiro, Jenna Gaitan and Ryan Sayegh below:
The Emerald spoke to a few of the show’s cast members about the rehearsal process, their characters and their favorite “Simpsons” episodes before one of the cast’s final dress rehearsals.
UO freshman Nathan Shapiro plays the titular Mr. Burns. A theater major who has been acting since high school, Shapiro said his character resembles a combination of some of the most well-known villains in pop culture. That list, to him, includes the Joker from “Batman” and Sideshow Bob from “The Simpsons.”
He has enjoyed channeling Burns’s vocal mannerisms and long dramatic speeches. “I enjoy his presence, stepping into that role, that side of personality that is twisted — it’s fun to experiment with being Mr. Burns,” Shapiro said of his character.
The actor noted the rehearsal process has been “loads of fun” and when he’s not at the theater, he looks forward to rehearsing with his fellow students. The cast members have a group chat where they talk about the show’s many layers, as well as have casual conversation.
Shapiro and many others in ”Mr. Burns” noted that the show is funny, but not in a typical gut-wrenching laughter way. Cast member Jenna Gaitan, a sophomore English major, plays a survivor in the first half of the show. Later on in the show she also plays a hybrid embodiment of “Itchy and Scratchy.”
Gaitan said that “Mr. Burns” carries an “Easter-egg sense of humor” that the audience might have to search for. The playwright ties in slight bits of humor throughout the show that often connect later on, according to Gaitan. Whether it’s a song or another pop culture reference, she noted that those who like “referential humor” will enjoy the show.
“Mr. Burns” not only has the potential for comedic moments, but also for melodrama. The final act of the show is a “full-blown musical” according to Shapiro. Though “Mr. Burns” isn’t a musical, the actors had to have some basic musical chops. Gaitan, whose last theater performance was in high school, said that she’s using her previous training in singing for the show, but that the singing has been a challenge so far.
Students had to sing a song a capella when auditioning, but director Tricia Rodley,a Theatre Arts instructor, stopped the typical audition process there. Ryan Sayegh, a sophomore biology major, had to recount an episode from a TV show as part of his audition. Sayegh told the story of a “Golden Girls” episode, “The Case of Libertine Bell.”
The cast and crew said that “Mr. Burns” is a complicated show and encouraged the audience to see it more than once to fully experience what the show has to offer. Despite having never seen an episode of “The Simpsons” in her life, Gaitan is excited for audiences to see the final product.
“It’s led to a couple moments in dress rehearsals where we are almost crying on stage,” Gaitan said. “It’s gotten so intense and real and wonderful.”
University Theatre’s “Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play” by Anne Washburn is directed by Tricia Rodley. The show runs June 1-3 and 8-10 at 8 p.m. at the Hope Theater in the Miller Theatre Complex (1231 University Street). A matinee performance will take place on June 11 at 2 p.m. On Saturday, June 10, the cast, crew and director will participate in a talkback after the show.
Tickets are free for students with a valid UO ID or $10 for the general public. For more information, visit: tickets.uoregon.edu/mr-burns.
Eularee Smith believes in the value of the everyday child. With a background in music education and special education, she noticed the shrinking of arts programs in public schools and decided to act on it. She has worked in both public and private education for 45 years and is now the executive director of the children’s performing arts program Upstart Crow Studios, an inclusive company which emphasizes that there’s a role for every kid in every show.
Smith, who used to work with the University of Oregon’s Talented and Gifted Program, and co-founder Sarah Beth Byrum sat down in a Denny’s years ago to hash out a plan for what would become Upstart Crow. The two women brought together their experiences in dance, theatre and music. After its founding in 2000, the program moved between buildings, but its first show, “The Beauty and the Beast,”took place in 2002 at Willard Elementary.
“We planned it all out on a napkin,” Smith said in an interview with the Emerald. “How we would do a program that’s inclusive of all children regardless of their challenges or talent … it was to just give them the experience of the performing arts.”
The theatre school, which officially moved into its building on 1st Avenue in Eugene in 2006, now produces a variety of shows a year. In the winter, Upstart Crow staged a version of “Beauty and the Beast” at the Hult Center. This year’s ‘summer stock’ show is “Grease.” The theater also runs classes in a variety of areas in the theatre arts.
Upstart Crow’s program model used to be unique, but according to Smith, more and more programs are adopting this type of method.
“A traditional theatre program uses the audition process to eliminate the ones that they can’t use within the casting of the program. We changed that to be an alternative where the audition process was used to place children in a role that was successful for them,” Smith said. That may mean the cast has 30 or 40 children auditioning for Cinderella, but she makes sure every kid gets a role.
This does provide a challenge when casting though. Sometimes there are 80 kids on stage when a show has a cast of 20, but Upstart Crow finds different ways to include everyone. It’s not about talent at this theatre school: it’s about passion and commitment.
“We have come up with innovative models and techniques to do that, which I don’t think other theatre companies do,” Smith said. “Inclusive and diverse have become these buzz words. We kind of laugh because we have been doing it for almost 20 years. All of the sudden it’s this happening thing.”
Upstart Crow’s next show is “Grease.” Tickets go on sale June 1 for a weekend of performances from July 28 to July 30.
As an American Jew, I will always stand by the idea that American comedy is Jewish comedy, especially when it comes to television. Shows such as “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” explore the neuroses of American life through Jewish habits, whether cultural or religious, but often the character’s Jewishness is surface level. Now, Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Transparent” and Comedy Central’s “Broad City” feature characters with complex and layered Jewish identities.
These shows are all focused toward a different audience than a sitcom like “Seinfeld,” which had to cater to a wider network audience. “Mrs. Maisel” and its contemporaries are changing the way Jewish culture and mannerisms are presented in TV shows. Streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix are specialized in a way that makes finding niche shows like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” easy.
“Gilmore Girls” showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband Dan Palladino wrote the story of Midge Maisel, a 1950s housewife in New York City who becomes a stand-up comic after her husband leaves her. Midge’s Judaism is apparent from the moment the show starts; her wedding toast ends with an alarming joke: “Yes, there is shrimp in the egg rolls!”
Jokes like these can be confusing for non-Jews, but the show doesn’t sacrifice its Jewishness for anyone. When Midge’s parents find out that her husband recently left her, her dad remarks, “This is why we shouldn’t have sent you to that goyishe college.” The use of an insider Yiddish word, goy (a term that means non-Jew), instead of well-known Yiddish words like schmutz or schlep signifies the deep sense of Jewishness the show carries. “Goyishe”is a word that carries a special Jewish context, unlike schmutz, which has been absorbed into the American lexicon. On “Seinfeld,” only deeply religious characters might use “goyishe,” but Midge’s family doesn’t come across as super religious.
Sherman-Palladino grew up surrounded by Jewish comedy, so it makes sense that her next project after the ill-fated “Gilmore Girls” revival is a tribute to female Jewish comedians like the late Joan Rivers. “Mrs. Maisel” is set to have two seasons come out in the next few years.
Other shows like “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” also star Jewish comedians, but have a different approach to representation. “Seinfeld” co-creator Larry David writes from the viewpoint of an upper-class Jewish man, but often his character’s Jewishness (in both “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) is readily scrubbed over or accentuated for the sake of non-Jews’ comedic enjoyment. Shows such as this often, but not always, cater toward generalizations for the jokes to come across, often putting a Jewish audience in an uncomfortable place in which it relates to the characters, but feels like the representation is shallow.
In “Mrs. Maisel,” Sherman-Palladino experiments with perceptions of American Jews: Midge, with her upper-class New York accent and knack for making great brisket, seems to have it all. In some ways, “Mrs. Maisel,” with its kosher butchers, Yom Kippur breakfasts and Manischewitz wine-fueled monologues, is one of the most authentically Jewish shows to grace the TV since the original seasons of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Even though the show builds on a Jewish comedic foundation, there is enough in it comedically for non-Jews to check it out, even though the jokes may fly over their heads on occasion. People who loved “Gilmore Girls” for its fast-talking, witty dialogue will also love Midge’s inflections.
But for those in the Jewish community, “Mrs. Maisel” is something special. It’s not often minorities see themselves represented on screen and think, “Man, that’s authentic.” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is as Jewish and proud as can be. The show is only in its early stages, but the potential for its exploration of Jewish comedy and identity are exciting.
It might be too early to say this, but the questions “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” raises about Judaism and how it interacts with American culture are important. The representation goes deeper than surface level jokes about Jewish culture, but instead turns the mirror on its Jewish audience. Mazel tov (congratulations) to Amy Sherman-Palladino for making a pilot our ancestors would be proud of.
Watch the TV spot for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” below:
Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith likens his latest album, “11 Obscenely Optimistic Songs For Ukulele,” to eating at Joe’s Crab Shack where patrons wear bibs: “The bib to me says, ‘It’s OK to just abandon dignity. Rules of eating do not apply here,’ ” Messersmith told the Emerald in a phone interview. “I feel the same way about labeling songs as obscenely optimistic and giving people permission to like it.”
Though Messersmith considers himself more of a glass-half-empty type of person and maybe even a pessimist, he feels that it’s important to indulge in campiness like Joe’s Crab Shack or ukulele songs about kittens every once in awhile. The normally morbid musician (his third album, “The Reluctant Graveyard,” was inspired by a cemetery) found himself amid a “barrage of negative news stuff” this past winter and ended up writing an album to counter some of those feelings.
The result: a 15-minute “micro-folk” album about kittens, stars and the boundless opportunities that this world sometimes holds.
“It seems like it’s way more remedial than political. I’m not talking about health care policies or wealth redistribution,” Messersmith said. “I felt like I had to take even a step back and try to just encode what the basic values of a modern society are; how I can express those in a way that’s so simple that everybody can like them and not really feel defensive about it.”
A native to Washington state, Messersmith moved to the Twin Cities, Minnesota, to attend bible college. He grew up in a religious family and was homeschooled until he was a teen. His 2009 sophomore album, “The Silver City,” is a concept album about Minneapolis, his home city.
“11 Obscenely Optimistic Songs For Ukulele” came as a surprise to Messersmith’s loyal fans. After his 2014 Glassnote Records release, “Heart Murmurs,” he began working on a new album. He hinted at releasing new music in 2017, but no one knew exactly when it was due.
“Obviously, I went to my happy place with the ukulele record, but I felt like I really did that too in the run up to the election with this other record,” he said. “I had to go to my musical happy place and that was ‘60s pop music.”
Messersmith first released “Obscenely Optimistic” as a songbook, similar to Beck’s “Song Reader,” encouraging fans to share their renditions of the songs. He recently returned from a tour of “micro shows” to support the release. Audience members brought their ukuleles and other instruments to sing along to the 15-minute album in whole.
These micro shows took place at various monuments, statues and other odd places around the country, including an abandoned observatory in Cleveland and the ruins of the First Methodist Church in Gary, Indiana. He also played a show outside of the White House.
This tour provided new challenges for Messersmith to address, including trying to engage passersby and figuring out how to amplify his sound without actual amps.“Sometimes when you are playing in clubs it can get a little boring or predictable. I like things to be fresh and new and a little bit unpredictable,” he said.
He is no newcomer to playing odd or offbeat venues, though. In recent years, Messersmith has thrown potluck party shows at fans’ homes around the country as part of his extended Supper Club Tour. In September 2016, he played on a riverboat on the Mississippi River, even pausing his show to watch deer swim across the river.
While “The Silver City” and most of his other albums start out light, Messersmith’s lyrical content often turns dark. “You’re really hurting in the last tracks if you’re listening to it,” he said about “The Silver City.” His musical influences range from ‘60s pop to more classical genres from different eras. In concert, he features Minneapolis’s Laurel String Quartet as part of his full band. The Laurel String Quartet is heavily featured on his 2010 album, “The Reluctant Graveyard,” which features rollicking guitars and his signature light vocal style.
Father John Misty’s “Pure Comedy” has been a staple of Messersmith’s listening habits recently. He said he and Misty share a background in shaking off religious upbringings. The former Fleet Foxes drummer and Messersmith also share a pessimistic worldview, but approach it differently. While Messersmith considers himself an artist who views the world moment by moment, he thinks Father John Misty has a sprawling approach: “It’s like he’s playing ‘Sim City’ and I’m playing ‘Sim Ants,’” he said.
Messersmith’s non-musical influences often include film. When he goes on writing retreats, he likes to bring one director’s full filmography. On a recent writing retreat, he brought the Coen Brothers’ movies and watched one of their movies per day. He’s also watched Hayao Miyazaki’s films while writing. “I find that to be a great way to explore ideas in a compact way,” he said. “I love films for that.”
“11 Obscenely Optimistic Songs for Ukulele” is as compact as Messersmith’s music gets. It explores something that has always been hidden in his discography. Underneath that pessimism (or realism, as he calls it), there’s a sense of sad hope. In the “Obscenely Optimistic” track “We All Do Better When We All Do Better,” he approaches being political in quoting late Minnesota politician Paul Wellstone: “We all do better when we all do better / That means everyone,” he sings.
While his guitar may have the word “resist” painted on it and his ukulele reads, “This machine also kills fascists,” Messersmith argues that “Obscenely Optimistic” isn’t political. Instead, it’s Messersmith distancing himself from his mentality of realism for a bit.
The ukulele album was released in April, but Messersmith considers it more of a palate cleanser between albums than a typical release. He will release another album in September, also on Glassnote Records. Messersmith compared the upcoming release’s sound to “The Reluctant Graveyard.”
While he said his upcoming album will sound similar to “The Reluctant Graveyard,” he wrote the lyrics in a happier headspace.
“I need to have a musical, mental happy place and it felt like writing those songs was a way for me to get there,” Messersmith said. “I think a lot of people needed that as well, just a ray of sunshine. It can’t be all doom and gloom all the time.”
Watch Jeremy Messersmith’s Tiny Desk concert below:
Author and performer Renee Watson writes for a young adult audience, especially children in marginalized groups because she wants to help them process trauma. Watson’s two YA books, “This Side of Home” and “Piecing Me Together,” explore racial tensions and concepts such as gentrification in a way that helps her readers explore what the concepts mean to them in a healthy and productive manner.
“Sometimes young people don’t want to go to counseling, but maybe need to — need to express what they are feeling and what they are thinking,” Watson said in an interview with the Emerald.
Her work aims to help those who might not have access to counseling because of socio-economic status or other resources.
Cover artwork of Renee Watson’s most recent novel, “Piecing Me Together.”
Watson attended Jefferson High School in North Portland. She has always been a writer and grew up performing in her church. A short story she wrote in middle school ended up inspiring her book “This Side of Home,” about two young African-American sisters in high school and their experiences with the gentrification of their neighborhood.
“Theatre and poetry and music have always been ingrained in me,” Watson said of her childhood. “I didn’t know then as a teenager, but I could use those things as a tool to fight against injustice.”
She wrote a one-act play in high school and The Firehouse Theater company in Portland selected it to be performed. “I remember sitting in the audience watching the actors say my words,” Watson said. “That blew my mind.” After seeing her work in performance, she knew that she wanted to become more involved in the arts.
Watson eventually left Portland to attend the Eugene Lang College at New School for the Arts in New York City. Now, she resides in New York City, having lived in both Brooklyn and Harlem. Watson is part of the i, too arts collective which refurbished Langston Hughes’s brownstone in Harlem to become an arts space. The collective holds readings, resident writers and arts programs for youth. It also seeks to expand on the legacy of Hughes’s work and preserve the building he lived in.
When Watson works on poetry with teenagers, she tells them that there are no rules. For instance, they can break the line of poetry when they want to.
“You are always told what you have to do, where you have to be. You don’t have a lot of control over your life,” Watson said of being a teenager. “Sometimes just the act of making without a lot of restrictions can give a young person a sense of power and control.”
Her advice for young artists and writers is to keep friends who have big dreams around them. Her presentation at the EMU is part of a lecture series called the BE series. Entitled BE Home, the talk will focus on how home isn’t just a place.
“You build home wherever you go,” Watson said. “I’ll be taking the audience on a journey from when I grew up as a young Black girl living in the Pacific Northwest. I’ll be reading poetry and excerpts from my short stories about my girlhood, about being black and finding my power in my voice.”
Watson will speak on May 23 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the EMU’s Redwood Auditorium. The lecture is free.
