Port O’ Brien, a project that lasted three albums and various EPs, reached its fatal end in spring of 2010. But there is sweetness to this bitter news. Founding member and front man Pierszalowski took retreat in Oslo, Norway where he let the change in seasons and environment inspire new music. And from that, Waters was born. The album, Out in the Light, reflects Pierszalowski’s journey of musical renewal and rebirth as Waters.

Tonight at 8 p.m., Waters will perform in Davis for the first time at Sophia’s Thai Kitchen. MUSE had a chance to speak with Pierszalowski and here is what he had to say:

MUSE: You have quite a story as to the creation of Waters; can you let us in on how it was like to create music in a Norway? Were there specific landscapes or images in particular that inspired you?

Pierszalowski: Norway provided the perfect sort of escape to refocus and re-energize after it became apparent to me that Port O’Brien was over. I spent the majority of my time in Oslo, which even though it’s the largest city in Norway, is quite small and quiet.  It allowed me to focus on the music and the songs more than I’ve ever been able to.

How would you describe Waters sound, as compared to Port O’Brien?

Waters has a much more electric guitar-based sound. It’s much louder and noisier at times than Port O’Brien. It still certainly has its quiet, more acoustic moments, but in general, it’s a much more rocking experience.

Would you say that you have reinvented yourself?

I’m not sure if I’d say I’ve reinvented myself, but I certainly feel like I’ve gained a new, fresh perspective on everything. I feel much better than I ever have about being on the road and playing music.  

What sources of musical inspirations do you go for now?

In terms of production for this record, I was very inspired by Nirvana’s “In Utero.” I’ve always been attracted to its sense of urgency and intimacy, all against these huge rock drums. Guitar-wise, I think Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Husker Du, Pixies, those sorts of bands were very inspirational. In terms of the songs themselves, I think they’re rooted more in a pop-style of songwriting, as opposed to a more long-verses folk-style songwriting. But, Neil Young will always be an influence as well.

If you had only five words to paint a picture for your listeners of how you want your music to be perceived, what would those words be?

Freedom kroner coho sun love, maybe?

What’s your favorite time of day and season of the year to write music?

I either tend to write early in the morning or late at night. I always try to write during the middle of the day, but I usually can’t seem to get anything out of it. I either need to come off a night of sleeping and dreaming, or a day of walking around and talking to people. In terms of the season, I don’t have much of a preference, although I think the summer might be the best time. The California coast, of course, doesn’t have the seasons in the way Oslo does, but I still think those longer summer days are better for the creative process.

How does it feel to return back to the stage and performing your songs directly to fans?

It really does feel so great. And my favorite kind of shows are the small, intimate ones like at Sophia’s [Thai Kitchen] in Davis. It presents a really great way to become interactive with the crowd and the sense of community is great. I’m really proud and excited about this new record, and I can’t wait to keep playing all these songs for people.

UYEN CAO can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Ten pairs of long, thin, cone shaped inflated structures silently flap in the mostly darkened room. The only major light source in the room comes from the small, circular lights on the bottom of each of the pairs of inflated cones. The white fabric that makes up the cones shines slightly as they slowly bend and unbend in unison, like a flock of geese making their yearly winter trip south. Located within the Nelson Gallery, which is located next to the Wyatt Theatre, Birds: A Kinetic Installation is an inimitable art piece, captivating its viewers instantaneously.

Chico MacMurtrie is the New York based artist and self-taught engineer behind Birds. MacMurtie has been creating robotic art performances and installations for nearly two decades. In addition, he has won copious awards for his innovative use of using machinery, which he specially designs to spotlight the natural world.

“I’ve been building sculptures like these for about 25 years,” MacMurtrie said in a phone interview.

It was around 2007-08 when MacMurtrie was in Adelaide, Australia that the idea for the Birds installation sprung from the image of Murray River that he was flying over at the moment. Sitting in the airplane, MacMurtrie felt like a bird flying over the river and felt an enormous connection. He immediately set to work and in the span of 10 days with the help of 10 workers, he had created the first version of the Birds piece. The first version of Birds toured the world; to places like China, Australia, Spain and so many different places that MacMurtrie has lost track of them all. However, the exhibit was recently showcased at UC Irvine.

It was for the Vida festival in Madrid, Spain in 2009 that the second version of Birds was commissioned. And it is this version that is currently being displayed in the Nelson. There isn’t too much difference with the two. They are still made of the same materials but the one currently on display has heat sensors.

“The fabric for the wings is a high tensile fabric, which is developed for wind sailing and can handle large forces of air. It looks like paper but isn’t – it can crumple for a long time and not break off, which is a lot better than paper,” MacMurtrie said. “It has special hard glue and a rolling press was used to harden the glue. I developed all of the techniques to assemble it in the Amorphic Robot workshop in Brooklyn. Many tools had to be custom made to create it.”

MacMurtrie added the heat sensors to the second version so that the viewers could see how their presence affected the “birds” rate of bending and unbending. He sees the new addition as a metaphor for how humans often invade natural life, often unconsciously and creating havoc. With Birds, one can not only see but also feel how their mere attendance can influence the mechanical creatures.

“I want viewers to feel as if something was unfolding. I wanted them to feel like they were experiencing the coming to life as well as the loss of life,” MacMurtrie said. “It’s meant to be mysterious.”

He advised future viewers to give the performance 15 minutes to truly experience what Birds is meant to convey. It’s similar to bird watching; get too close and the birds begin to get nervous and flutter away. But, stay hidden away within the bushes and the birds in their natural environment as well as state will always be far more entertaining than an action film any day of the week.

The exhibit will be ending on Dec. 11, 2011 so drop by for some bird watching while you still can. For more information on MacMurtrie’s work and how many mileage points the Birds have accumulated throughout the years, visit amorphicrobotworks.org.

MICHELLE RUAN can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

With three weeks of this quarter already gone, students are heading into the busy weeks packed with midterms and essays. There’s hardly time to catch a break. Luckily, the Entertainment Council has found the perfect solution to help students relax, have fun and forget about studying for a while. Through the month of October, various bands will be playing in the Quad every week. Some are local Davis bands, but others are from out of town, and there are plenty of different genres and styles of music represented.

Writer

Today

The band Writer is from San Diego. It consists of two brothers, James and Andy Ralph. They started playing music together as kids and have continued it since then.

“Our style of music is like a garage rock style with a kind of heavy distorted style; we’re kind of limited with our instrumentation so we have to be creative in how we use them and make our sound louder, etc,” Andy said.

They are getting ready to relocate to the East Coast so their concert at Davis is part of their tour up and down the coast of California. They are also playing at many other colleges this month. They have played in Davis before at Sophia’s Thai Kitchen and will be performing there again the same day as their concert on campus.

“We’re playing with a pretty cool band named Waters. It should be a fun day. We’re excited to perform and see how it’s going to go down and how the crowd will be. Colleges are different than playing at a venue because it’s usually outdoors and we’re playing as people are going to class and walking by; it’s more laid back,” said Ralph.

Sleepy Feet

Monday

Sleepy Feet is a band composed of college students from Pitzer College in L.A. They are mainly a folk, bluegrass, funk town band and have been together since the spring of 2009. They have about five members now. They started playing in the L.A. area last winter and this summer we played all over New York. Davis is the furthest north in California they have played so far.

“We played a lot on campus,” said Nick Morris, the guitarist for the band. “But when we play at other places we see all sorts of people and there’s plenty of older folk jamming along to the music.”

Their sound draws from the country and rock tradition. “People have called us the retarded child of My Morning Jacket, I took that as a compliment because I like that band,” Morris said.

The Souterrain

Oct. 20

The Souterrain is a local Davis folk rock trio. They did an international tour recently and are now back in Davis and performing locally again. At their show they’ll perform some new songs they’ve been working on since they finished touring and a preview of their album recorded in Sacramento this summer. They’ll even play a cover of their favorite summer radio pop song – Souterrain style.

“Hopefully we’ll get some Davis sunshine and it’s early enough in the quarter that students will feel good about hanging out with us for an hour,” said lead singer, Lauren Norton.

They have a very unique sound inspired by each other and many contemporary artists such as Lisa Hannigan and Mick Flannery.

“There’s a lot of listening involved when we practice, maybe that’s where the ‘soul’ of the music is found, in the relationship between us as performers and the level of patience it involves to wait for the appropriate moment to hit a symbol or strum a chord,” said Norton.

Finish Ticket

Oct. 27

Finish Ticket is an alternative, indie, pop band from Alameda, California. They are made up of five musicians and in September 2009 they released their EP, entitled “Life Underwater.”

They’ve played with many popular bands before such as My Chemical Romance and Phoenix.

“We don’t want to say we sound like any other band, but we are heavily influenced by bands like The Killers, The Strokes, Manchester Orchestra and Coldplay. You will definitely hear some of those influences in our music but we have worked hard to make our own sound,” Finish Ticket said.

Students can expect a lot of energy at their show and a lot of great music. So, don’t just pass by. Stop and listen.

PAAYAL ZAVERI can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

“I basically spent the entire summer waiting for production to begin,” says recent University of California, Davis alumnus Michael Lutheran of the upcoming play The Zona Rosa Project.

Michael plays the lead character in the play he describes as, “a little bit like Memento.”

The Zona Rosa Project is based on the powerful and true story of UC Davis professor of the department of theatre and dance’s MFA design program, John Iacovelli.

The production was in fact the brainchild of Iacovelli.

“I brought the idea of this production to our department … It is largely based on my letters and memories of when I lived in Mexico City in the late 1980s,” said Iacovelli, describing the production as an “emotional and cathartic” experience.

Iacovelli’s story is set in Mexico City circa 1987-88. Iacovelli was then working on a Disney film in the foreign country. At the time, he was in a relationship with a man named Francisco Estrada Valle.

Valle, who was a medical doctor and a renowned AIDS activist was murdered in an unsolved “homophobic hate crime” in the year 1992.

Iacovelli, who had eventually returned to the United States sans Valle, discovered the tragedy that had transpired years later in 2008.

Maggie Morgan, the costume designer for the play and part of UC Davis department of theatre and dance faculty said, “Despite the fact that it is far removed in time, John discovered the tragedy much later and it’s a many layered thing about a huge international issue.”

The production brings attention to the stigma associated with AIDS and what Lutheran calls “the sense of innocent love.” Morgan agrees, “This is such a big story in so many ways and then it’s also just a very, very personal tragedy. It’s a little window into Francisco’s life through John.”

The story unfolds in the form of flashbacks as we see Lutheran play both Johnny – the Iacovelli of the ’80s and John – the 2008 Iacovelli who discovers the painful truth of Valle’s death.

According to Morgan the play ignores some conventions utilized in a full production.

Instead the production, directed by UC Davis’ artist in residence Michael Barakiva, a professional director from New York, required the actors to dig deeper within themselves as they collectively researched and wrote the script.

“Working on this show was a lot of fun. There was always rewriting and editing, and we’ll keep changing things even when the show is running,” said actor Christopher Boyle, who plays an older version of John, describing the dynamic structure of the production.

Barakiva, who is of Armenian/Israeli descent, is also gay and captured the themes of love, loss and homosexuality with a brilliant sensitivity and intuition.

When asked what they wanted the audience to take away from the production, the entire cast agreed that AIDS awareness was the preeminent issue. In modern society, AIDS is often oversimplified with comparisons to diseases such as diabetes that are in fact treatable.

“I started working in theater in early 1980s. So many friends died from AIDS in that time period – it’s like reliving that past,” Morgan said.

“HIV and AIDS were directly thrown at the gay community as if it were their disease,” said Felix Cuma who plays a bartender in the play.

The production is a soulful experience that promises to bring viewers a rather unexplored aspect of a contemporary social issue.

The production opens at Wyatt Pavilion Theatre on tonight at 8 p.m. and plays through Sunday at 2 p.m.

SASHA SHARMA can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

In 1971, French artist Ben Vautier popularized the saying “L’art est inutile, rentrez chez vous,” which translated means, art is useless, go home. Today, prejudices against certain forms of art have been treated with just that kind of mentality.

I’m talking about a specific form of art – one that is raw and exposes the human soul to find beauty in the most unrecognizable places. Materials like cardboard, scraps of wood, cans of paint, bare walls and found objects serve important functions in building the artwork itself.

If you haven’t guessed it yet, I am referring to graffiti and street art.

Street art has been defined in our society as a form of vandalism, or perhaps in a much harsher note, defacement.

But despite all regulations to keep them hidden from our eyes, these “public” works continue to emerge in various locations in streets corners, overpasses and neighborhoods all around us. Why is that?

Well, you might say that some people out there don’t have anything better to do. For me, however, I like to think of it being art that was painted specifically for me – the passerby, the common citizen. It’s art that is unglorified and stripped of the four-walls of a gallery setting. And for this, I appreciate it.

In 2006, Dutch street artists Jeroen Haas and Dre Hahn teamed up in Rio De Janiero’s (Brazil) most infamous slum called Villa Cruzeiro to create the Favela Painting. The project turned 34 houses (7,000 square meters of property) into a vibrant spectrum of color. From a distance, it looks as though the housing blocks are melding together like a mixture of colorful clay.

If only we could do this to every town in the world.

But of course, it’s impossible to talk about street art and not talk about England-based graffiti artist Banksy. Ironically, in a lot of ways, Banksy has “popularized” urban art around the world.

Banksy has been known to stir up a lot of controversy over his pieces. On a concrete wall in Deptford, London, Banksy spray-painted the words “Eat The Rich” and in small letters below it, he stenciled:”*with our new 2 for 1 offer including a choice of wine”. The piece is very minimal. There’s nothing but those words on the walls. Yet, it speaks so clearly to its viewers in a comical but very serious kind of way. It makes a statement and serves a purpose.

Banksy’s piece was painted over and is no longer there today.

Davis is a place that I’ve fallen in love with. If I was a romantic or Baroque painter, I would have no trouble seeking out a scenic landscape to paint. But once in a while, I wonder, why aren’t there more public art? When I see a blank wall, I think that it’s a missed opportunity for great art.

Maybe, one day, street art won’t be an act of secrecy created in the hidden time of day. Perhaps, eventually cities around the world will provide more conducive spaces for artists to express themselves.

These are some street artists that have captured my eyes for quite some time: Roa, Vhils, Esif, Phlegm, Blu and JR. They will they will blow your mind away.

UYEN CAO would like to know if you’ve seen any hidden art around campus that you like best. Let her know by e-mailing arts@theaggie.org.