Arts & Culture

KDVS offers many events throughout the year, but none as unique and social as Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom. Now completing its fourth year running, the day-long outdoor music festival collects and presents lesser known indie groups and interesting features that Davis and its surrounding areas proudly offer.

Pablo Picasso once said "bad artists copy, good artists steal." Sure. We all know that Led Zeppelin stole from early blues artists like Muddy Waters; that Wolfmother stole from Led Zeppelin and so on. As any musician should know, it's hard to find an artist that doesn't "steal," or better said, "borrow," from someone else.

For the next two months the Technocultural Studies Department will be parading a series of speakers and artists through campus, showcasing the many ways one can practically and uniquely experiment with digital media.

Put together by Craig Baldwin, an avant-garde filmmaker and the department's new guest faculty member, the series began on Oct. 1 and will continue until Nov. 19 on specified days of the week. All of the speakers can be seen in Wellman 1 from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m.

Vampires seem to have cornered the mythical horror creature market these days, but zombies are staging a takeover. Zombieland, the latest film featuring the undead, turns typical horror movie undertones into overtones, creating a hilarious, gory, active and intellectually sharp zombie movie in a completely new way.

Review of Ocean Eyes, released on Universal Republic Records. 

MUSIC

KDVS Volunteer Meeting

Today, 6 p.m., free

Wellman 2

Interested in volunteering at KDVS 90.3 FM? Here's a chance to find out about Davis' own independent, freeform radio station (and potentially witness their incredible office space in Lower Freeborn). Visit their website, kdvs.org, for more information about the station.

Stephen Yerkey

Today, 7 p.m., free

John Natsoulas Gallery

Indie artist Stephen Yerkey is this week's special feature at the John Natsoulas Gallery. A guitarist and vocalist based in San Francisco, Yerkey has a knack for bluesy riffs and soulful vocals.

Electro Boogie Down

Today, 9 p.m., free before 10 p.m., 21

Old Ironsides at 1901 10th St. in Sacramento

Head on over to Sacramento tonight if you're into '80s-styled electro funk and boogie. The performers for the night - The Flower Vato, Check McNugal and Dogtones - are each KDVS DJs. Visit the event's facebook page for more information.

Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps; Dewi Sant

Thursday, 10 p.m., $3-5

Sophia's Thai Kitchen

These bands never fail to amuse me - Caroline Smith, the apparent lead, is entirely separated from the rest of the band in the title. She is not a Goodnight Sleep, but they still agree to play together. Talk about long-lasting divisiveness. Join them and Dewi Sant at Sophia's for another impressive folk night.

Shayna & The Bulldog

Friday, 10 p.m., $3-5

Sophia's Thai Kitchen

Davis' own Shayna & The Bulldog is playing on Friday. Unlike Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps, their name doesn't imply more than two members, but don't be fooled - expect a full fledged, multitalented four-piece. Check them out on Myspace for a preview - "Kids in a Movie" and "Broadway & Demonbreun" are definitely worth a listen.

Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom VIII

Saturday, 2 p.m., $10 ($8 presale)

23944 County Road 98

What the fuck is O:RMF anyway? KDVS 90.3 FM's bi-annual music festival is happening on Saturday, and it's truly a tough decision with San Francisco's LovEvolution happening on the same day. Visit myspace.com/maximumfreedom for more information, including a complete list of the eleven bands scheduled to perform.

Cold Shot

Saturday, 10 p.m., free

Little Prague at 330 G St. (check format)

On Saturday, Little Prague is holding a 15th year anniversary party, and Prague regulars Cold Shot are scheduled to perform a loud and sing-along-able polka set. The band allegedly wrote a new song inspired by Little Prague, which they plan to perform on Saturday.

Knock Knock; Dreamdate

Saturday, 10 p.m., $3-5

Sophia's Thai Kitchen

Knock Knock is playing at Sophia's and Sacramento this weekend. Minimalist pop-punk group Dreamdate isn't. They are from Oakland though, which is pretty cool.

Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration

Sunday, 7 p.m., $6

Freeborn Hall

The Chinese Students and Scholarship Fellowship is putting on its annual event for the Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration. Performances will include traditional Chinese arts as well as modern dances and a violin and piano trio performance. This may or may not mean moon cakes, but either way, this is the event of Sunday night.

After 30 years with Kern D. Holoman, UC Davis passed the baton to conductor Christian Baldini, an internationally acclaimed composer and conductor. In a new era of musical direction, Baldini brings a new ear and fresh take to the symphony orchestra. MUSE sat down to interview him on Tuesday.

It's easy to say that electronic music is falling downhill with seemingly no return. Such a statement is neither unreasonable nor shortsighted, and backing it up wouldn't be hard, either - JUSTICE, autotune and Timbaland come to mind.

But it's also a bit of a paradox that at the same time, writing and composing music is easier today than ever; anyone can download a music program and piece together coherent tunes. Media outlets talk about it all the time: the ease of music creation today is astounding, technology continues to transform the music world, we're getting old, blah blah blah.

On average there are five student-run dance and theater productions held in Wright Hall each year, but the upcoming "Always/All Ways North" is one of the few to offer live nudity.

"The nudity differs slightly with each performance," said Jenna Templeton, recent UC Davis alum and stage manager for "Always/All Ways North."

"Always/All Ways North" is a piece of performance art that combines dance, theater, cinematography, live music and yes, nudity, to comment on themes such as location, identity and pilgrimage. All shows run at 8 p.m. on Oct. 2, 3 and 9 in Wright Hall Main Theater. Each show lasts for 40 minutes.

Friday, Sept. 25; with the clock nearing 8 p.m., an overwhelmed Mondavi staff scurried about in an attempt to seat a full house before the lights dim. It was opening night of the eighth season at the Mondavi Center and a diverse and excited crowd waited for jazz legend Wynton Marsalis to take the stage.

Following a brief introduction from Mondavi Center executive director Don Roth, the performers finally took the stage. In accordance with Marsalis' traditionalist aesthetic, even the orchestra's attire hearkened back to an older jazz age - 16 performers sporting matching black suits, lavender shirts and black ties. Marsalis, acting double duty as lead trumpet and music coordinator, took his place in the middle of the back row, overseeing the entire ensemble.

It's a story far too often told in the music industry: a band refuses to mature their sound and grow as artists, and because of it, they wind up scheduling their own downfall. Portugal. The Man on the other hand, a four-piece band hailing half from Portland, Oregon and half from rural Alaska, knows all about musical evolution and experimentation.

reCREATE & the Davis Art Center

Tomorrow afternoon the Davis Art Center and Roseville-based reCREATE will present a recycled art competition to celebrate California Arts Day. The Arts Day takes place annually, on every first Friday of October. This year's Arts Day theme is "The Art in Me."

Sometimes a story or an article can leave you wanting more, wondering where the ideas came from, what they mean and how to go about accomplishing something like it by yourself. The University Writing Program has opened up the opportunity to discover these answers with the Conversations with Writers Speakers Series. Faculty members work to bring speakers to the campus that have influenced them in some way or that they feel have beneficial and interesting knowledge to share.

MUSIC

Yolo Mambo

Today, 7 p.m., free

John Natsoulas Gallery

Yolo Mambo, who appeared in Davis for events such as the Whole Earth Festival, will be featured in this week's Thursday Night Summer Concert Series at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Check them out for a slice of Yolo County Latin/Caribbean fusion.

The California Honeydrops

Today, 10 p.m., $3-5

Sophia's Thai Kitchen

In these troubled times of furloughs and fee increases, upbeat soul and blues is more than fitting, and The California Honeydrops will provide. They do a pretty solid rendition of Ray Charles' "I Got A Woman." Check them out on Myspace for a preview.

Whether you've just made Davis your new home or you've been here for years, exploring the town's culture is a must. Davis isn't a metropolitan area but it has a surprisingly active art scene. Profiled here are several choices for the art-minded among us. Luckily, admission to these galleries is free.