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UC Regents approve incentive pay for medical executives

Campus Editor
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At their meeting at UC San Francisco, Mission Bay, the UC Board of Regents approved $3.1 million in incentive pay for senior UC medical administrators.

The sums will be paid to 38 medical executives under the Clinical Enterprise Management Recognition Plan, which rewards additional income based on reaching or surpassing employment goals.

The payments will range from $30,120 to $218,728 and vary from 14.2 to 29.6 percent of the participant’s base pay. It will come from medical center profits rather than from state revenue.

Seven executives at UC Davis will receive payments under the plan, including Ann Madden Rice, CEO of UC Davis Medical Center. Rice will obtain $167,985 in addition to her $584,300 base salary.

Panelists who spoke to the regents at the meeting said the incentive model maintained quality by having and retaining employees who compete for some of their earnings.

“They will not turn an average performer into a high performer,” said Lee Domancio, CEO of the Marin Healthcare District. “What they will do is motivate high achievers and help retain high achievers who actually like having part of their compensation at risk.”

Over 22,000 union employees and professional or supervisory staff were also paid out, totaling $33.7 million UC medical center revenue for 2008-2009 totaled $5.6 billion.

The decision was approved by all the regents except for Regent Charlene Zettell, who abstained from voting.

“I don’t feel comfortable supporting this but won’t vote no,” Zettell said in the meeting.

At a time when the system faces a $1 billion shortfall, the decision drew fire from critics who said it was inappropriately timed and excessive.

“Their timing was terrible,” said Kevin Scott, a staff research associate for the University Professional and Technical Employees. “If they hire somebody for $400,000 a year, that person shouldn’t require another $100,000 in bonuses just to do their job.”

Scott opposes incentives for medical executives while, at the same time, workers are receiving furloughs.

“They’re asking people to share the pain, but they’re certainly not sharing the pain themselves,” Scott said. “If incentives are good, this is an exaggeration that is way out of bounds.”

He refers to the furlough the UC implemented on Sept. 1, which reduced employee income as a means to cope with declining state funding. Under the plan, those earning more than $240,000 received a reduction of 10 percent. Workers with an income less than $40,000 had their salaries cut by 4 percent.

However, university officials said the 38 medical administrators are also subject to pay cuts and furloughs. Medical employees rather than campus employees are exempt from these reductions.

“The UC Medical Centers’ rank and file employees were free of furloughs and pay cuts because they are under an alternate compensation structure that uses clinical revenues, and not state funds, to pay workers,” said Mitchel Benson, a spokesperson for UC Davis in an e-mail interview.

At the meeting the regents also approved two construction projects, including a $320 million upgrade to UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium and the building of a $198 million neuroscience center at UCSF. No state funds will be used for either project.

Instead, the university will use profits earned from ticket sales to fund the seismic retrofit to the stadium. UCSF will raise money to pay for the neuroscience center.

LESLIE TSAN can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Students compile an “Immigrants Tale” documentary

Campus Editor
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Seeking to celebrate UC Davis’ diverse student body, the Cross Cultural Center is developing a narrative documentary of students’ origins.

“UC Davis Immigrants Tale” spawned from the mind of Johnathen Duran, a Chicana/o studies intern at the CCC, as he talked to a friend about her family’s experience emigrating from Nicaragua to the United States, the deportation that followed and their subsequent immigration back to the U.S.

After hearing more stories like his friend’s, Duran realized that students needed to be aware of where their peers came from.

“People tend to feel isolated, displaced and marginalized because of their immigration struggles, even though it’s common,” he said. “But it’s important to recognize the solidarity we all have with one another as humans.”

Lidia Tilahun, a junior neurobiology, physiology and behavior major as well as project organizer, claimed the goal of the documentary is simple.

“[We must] promote awareness about Americans who immigrated to the U.S.,” she said. “People will be able to hear the feelings behind the experiences of leaving one’s [native land] and creating a new home in a foreign country.”

Tilahun, whose family emigrated from Ethiopia, felt that people should not only understand but also admire the rich cultures that immigrants bring to America’s individualistic society.

“Many Americans have not sat and listened to stories [from] a variety of immigrants,” she said. “Their opinions are limited to [what they hear] from the media and thus their political decisions are narrowed to that. [Making a] more personal connection with immigration aids in understanding the lives of people who they are impacting.”

The project’s title plays on the name of the popular animated movie “An American Tale,” whose story centers on a family of Russian mice who immigrate to the United States and subsequently attempt to assimilate into American culture.

Horace Liang, a sophomore wildlife, fish and conservation biology major, described his family’s immigration tale as they came to the U.S. from northern China.

“Like most families, my family came here because America is supposed to be the land of opportunity,” he said. “[But when] my mom got here, she couldn’t go to school and had to work in a sweatshop to support her siblings. And then my dad had to work a variety of jobs, once as an electrician, then as an assistant chef at a restaurant in Puerto Rico and now as a carpenter.”

Liang, a first-generation college student, also spoke of the role assimilation played in his experience.

“You come here and immerse yourself in American culture,” Liang said. “But you were still born in China, you are native to China, it’s part of what makes you who you are. If you neglect it, then you throw away your past. If people retain their culture and share it proudly with others, then maybe our world wouldn’t be such a complete mess.”

The project is scheduled to begin with recording participants’ interviews sometime within the next week. Interviewees will share their 10-minute story along with any meaningful pictures, posters or flags.

“The truth of this is unless you’re native to the land, then you’re from somewhere else,” Duran said. “So whether you’re first, second or 20th generation, we want to know how you got here. [It’s all part of] becoming reconnected and moving toward a global citizenry.”

Students interested in sharing their immigrant’s tale should send an email to ucdimmigrantstale@gmail.com.

KYLE SPORLEDER can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

UC applications rise amid fee increases

Campus Editor
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Student fees may be on the rise, but the hike in tuition has not deterred a record number of applicants from seeking admission to the University of California for fall 2010.

134,029 students applied to the nine undergraduate campuses, a 5.8 percent increase for the UC system from fall 2009. The increase at UC Davis was even higher at 6.3 percent, or 54,521 applications compared to last year’s 51,298. To cope with the demand, Davis will be among several UC campuses to utilize a waitlist for potential freshman applicants.

“The waitlist gives us the opportunity to tell students that we would love to have but because of requirements, cannot accept that they have a potential opportunity to attend our campus,” said Frank Wada, executive director of undergraduate admissions at UC Davis. “In [the] past students were either in or out, with no in between.”

Carol Curinga, a counselor at Davis Senior High, expressed concern regarding the change.

“When students are waitlisted, it holds them in limbo,” she said. “They are hard pressed to know whether to wait or accept at their second choice school.”

The specifics of the wait listing process at UCD will be decided after UC regents announce possible reductions in enrollment rates, Wada said. Last year, the systemwide freshman class was reduced by 6 percent – or roughly 2,300 students – to cope with decreased state funding.

Regents will likely vote to decrease once again, but probably not as drastically as in 2009, said Susan Wilbur, UC executive director of undergraduate admissions in an e-mail interview.

“UC is currently overenrolled by approximately 15,000 students -students for whom the university is not funded by the state,” Wilbur said. “We need to bring enrollments in line with funding in order to maintain a high quality program for currently enrolled students.”

The rise in applications may come as a surprise to some, after UC regents voted in November to increase student fees by 32 percent. Wada noted that the 25 percent increase in transfer applications to UC Davis makes it a more significant contributor to the increase than the 2.2 percent rise in freshman applications, though he explained that the desire for higher education also appears to be a factor in the rise.

“There is still a tremendous cost benefit to achieving a bachelor’s degree in a specific field,” Wada said. “The increase sends a strong message that students seek an opportunity to improve their livelihood.”

Wada also explained that state demographics play an important role in predicting application rates, and added that a slight reduction is expected between now and the end of the decade.

Curinga credited increased competition within the UC system for the increase, explaining that she witnessed an increase in applications to both out of state and private universities this year as well.

“Students are applying to more colleges because the bar has been raised higher. They know enrollment is dropping,” she said. “It’s very unclear what acceptances will look like. The funnel is getting narrower and narrower.”

MEGAN MURPHY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

UC Davis earthquake survivor organizes Haiti relief efforts

Campus Editor
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John Gunel knows how a 7.6 magnitude earthquake feels: like being on the end of a machine gun.

Gunel, a UC Davis post-baccalaureate and Davis local, was visiting in Turkey on Aug. 16, 1999 when a 37-second quake shook the northwest region of the country killing 17,000 people. Jolted from his sleep at 3:01 am, Gunel assumed his frequently promiscuous neighbors were the cause of the shaking, until he realized this time it was his bed that shook.

“When the victims were pulled from the rubble it was like they were newborn children – they were so vulnerable stretching out their hands for water and seeing light for the first time in days,” Gunel said.

Shortly after the quake, Gunel flew back to the U.S., only to return to Turkey four months later for a family visit. Gunel was shocked by the apparent lack of improvement, as thousands of victims still lived in the squalor of refugee camps.

“It was like a black hole, where people were stuck in time not moving from the camps,” Gunel said.

To boost morale at the camps, his family brought a carload of Nutella to distribute to the refugees.

Inspired to help the victims of the Turkey quake, he collected refugee children’s art and sold them as post cards when he returned to Davis.

Now, Gunel hopes to sell the same cards to raise money for victims of the Haiti earthquake. He raised $1,000 at Davis Senior High for Turkish victims. Since Jan. 12, Gunel has raised $200 for Haiti, half of which came from his own wallet.

“I needed a new watch and wanted one with fancy gadgets, but then the earthquake in Haiti happened, so I bought a Timex and contributed the rest,” Gunel said.

According to the UC Newsroom, UCLA and UCSF sent medical personnel to Haiti to help relief agencies and UCSD was the only university to raise money through a campus-wide relief effort.

By Jan. 15, three days after the Haiti quake struck, students at UCSD raised over $6,000 and 200,000 people attended a vigil held on the campus.

Although student groups have organized small events, UC Davis has not organized a campus-wide relief effort.

Three local television stations FOX 40, KOVR 1 and KCRA 3 caught wind of his postcard project and interviewed him for their broadcasts. The interviewers focused on the missing grad student in Haiti and the campus’ reaction to it more than on the postcards, Gunel said.

He hopes to give packets of his postcards to student groups on campus, sell them at the beginning of lectures and to get UCD students to break the stereotype of belonging to what he calls an apathetic generation.

Phi Beta Sigma, a community service fraternity, organized a clothing drive for Haiti held in the Memorial Union from Jan. 13-23. “Clothing drives are pretty rare,” said Damonde Hatfield, a fraternity member. “We wanted to do something different.” The fraternity collected a total of three storage boxes and hopes to sell “Hope for Haiti” t-shirts.

While those who sell his cards are welcome to donate the money to a charity of their choosing, he plans to donate his portion to Oxfam and Partners in Health.

Oxfam is an international organization, present in Haiti prior to the earthquake, which aims to reduce poverty. Partners in Health provides health care for the poor with a community based approach.

“The Red Cross does a great job of healing the wounded, but after they leave there will still be 1.5 million homeless victims,” Gunel said.

For more information visit aidconnection.com

GABRIELLE GROW can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Open Mic Nights in Davis celebrate talent and creative expression

Arts Editor
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Whether or not you’ve ever been to, heard of or performed at an Open Mic night in Davis, the scene certainly has a lot to offer in the way of creativity and eclectic performance. MUSE profiles SickSpits Open Mic and Poetry Night at Bistro 33.

SickSpits Open Mic

Mannie Rizvi, a UCD first-year and brand new member of Sickspits, recites her poem with passion and feeling at the group’s first ever Delta of Venus performance.

“I sweat the screams of brown girls covered in black cloth / Nearly undocumented by Discovery Channel cameras /Afraid of filming North Pakistan /Even though insects rest on young faces there too.”

SickSpits is a spoken word collective that takes place the first Tuesday of every month in Griffin Lounge, and more recently, every third Tuesday at Delta of Venus. Members of the group recite poems, songs and other creative works to a room that is usually packed with UCD students. For anyone not on the official SickSpits roster that wishes to perform, there is a sign-up sheet made available usually an hour before every show.

“We get a crazy variety of artists: musicians and rappers and beat boxers, assholes who want to shout at everybody, kazoo players. You know, the usual,” said Shannon Harney, host of SickSpits open mic nights and a UCD alumnus.

“We decided the open mic should be open to everyone so that we could get this incredible variety and showcase all talents; not just poetry,” said Azizah Ahmad, UCD alumnus and former member of SickSpits.

Originally called Ill Literacy, SickSpits was established when the founding members of the group decided they wanted to leave Davis and tour nationally. Then-student Simone Davis, who had been a member of Ill-Literacy, became the president of the new collective left in their place.

“Seeing that our open mics were so popular, we decided to hook up with Campus Union with the help of the poetry slam coach Lexer Chou who use to work for Campus Union and found a monthly home for the open mic series. And it’s been going strong since then,” Ahmad said.

SickSpits embodies in its name the art of “spitting,” or a raw method of delivering slam poetry.

“It pretty much means exactly what the name implies,” said Tamara Flaherty, member of SickSpits and a junior at UCD.

Due to budget cuts that caused many school branches to either shut down or align themselves with other branches, the SickSpits Open Mic night was canceled this month for the first time in their five years of running. The Center for Student Involvement (CSI) is now taking care of the SickSpit organizational file.

Many UCD students look forward to monthly open mic nights as a means of breaking from schoolwork and embracing creative expression.

“I found out about SickSpits last year because I was trying to explore things that would get me out of the dorms and more involved in the culture on campus,” said sophomore art history major Kyra Simon.

Upcoming performances will take place on Feb. 2 in Griffin Lounge and on Feb. 16 at Delta of Venus. Both shows will begin at 7 p.m.

Bistro 33

If SickSpits is a voice for the UCD student populace, Bistro 33 is a melting pot for the multifarious voices and perspectives of the Davis community. Dimmed lights, lit candles, red table-clothes, walls adorned with landscape paintings and middle-aged couples sipping wine contribute to an ambiance that is more refined and less casual than a SickSpits open mic setting.

Hosted by Andy Jones and Brad Henderson, Bistro 33 poetry nights take place every first and third Wednesday of the month on 226 F St. Featured readers usually include Davis residents and traveling poets.

“Surreal pairings of angry beat poetry monologues mashed up against John Mayer wannabes and Irish comics. Surrealist humorists and jazz scat singers. Scathing representations.” This is how Lloyd Waldo, a UC Davis alumnus, would describe the more eclectic aspects of Bistro 33 poetry nights.

Waldo took one of Jones’ courses in the summer of 2006. He said that Jones became a mentor to him, introducing Waldo to the English department poetry readings at the now defunct Café Roma on 3rd St.

“He was interested in continuing with a weekly poetry event that could include the community and some excellent area poets as well,” Waldo said in an e-mail interview. “The crowd when it started out was definitely eclectic – it included Andy and Brad’s upper middle class liberal feminist post-modern academic types to bartender wanna-be stand up comics from Sacramento.”

Waldo said that many of the poets Jones knows are academics and middle-aged, but he also features young and promising performers and encourages many of his students to submit work during the open mics.

One such young and promising performer is Chris Erickson, a UC Davis graduate who has been going to Bistro 33 Poetry Night since he moved to Davis with his wife in the fall of 2005. It wasn’t until he enrolled as a grad student in 2007 that Erickson started performing.

He recommends Bistro 33 to any students that enjoy performing and hearing poetry.

“Not only is it free, but it gives you a chance to practice in a nice place with a great sound system. My readings have certainly improved thanks to Dr. Andy Jones and Poetry Night at Bistro 33.”

Waldo agreed that people should be more proactive about taking up the opportunity Jones is providing with the Bistro 33 venue, calling it a blessing to the school and the community.

For more information on Bistro 33, you can join the Facebook group “Poetry in Davis.”

ELENI STEPHANIDES can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Sacramento Electronic Music Festival preview

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Though the Sacramento area is known for a substantial electronic music scene, the past few years have seen performers splitting or moving to different areas.

In the face of extinction, self-proclaimed music and Sacramento geek, Adam Saake is putting together a three-day electronic music festival, featuring acts that exemplify what the scene was and what it will soon evolve to become.

Today through Saturday, dozens of performers will gather at the Townhouse Lounge at 1517 21st St. in Sacramento for the Sacramento Electronica Music Festival. Tickets are $5 for a day pass and $10 for a three-day pass.

“The location is perfect for this event – it’s a two story venue,” Saake said. “There is a dance floor and bar upstairs, and when you go downstairs it’s the same thing. Two levels of equal strength, with live music and DJs in-between.”

In cooperation with Concerts4Charity, a non-profit organization catering to the arts, Saake has planned this festival so concertgoers will have the unique opportunity to hear an assorted array of artists. Performers vary from Command Collective, longtime residents of the Sacramento electronic scene, to the New Humans, who continue to revolutionize it.

With a big boost in the ’90s, the electronica scene has dwindled because many groups have broken up or are pursuing different projects.

“I would say that the artists that started here in Sacramento, like the Command Collective, have been influential in many ways,” Saake said. “Unfortunately, the scene has tapered if a little bit. Since the ’90s, the venues have changed and the scene has become fragmented. But now, the electronic music scene is evolving. They are bringing in new elements, like drums and keyboards.”

The SEMF will not only feature traditional electronic music, but many performers will also feature acoustic music as well as vivid visuals projected while during their sets.

“I hope that those who may not be as familiar with the genre and may be coming to see an individual artist will be exposed to different genre and medium,” said Clay Nutting, founding board member of Concerts4Charity. “Fifteen years ago if you wanted to put electronica music in your music you had to have a crazy rig, now it is more accessible.”

Ryan Lindow of CityState said he shares the same sentiments about discovering electronic music.

“I hope that people can hear different styles of music,” Lindow said. “A lot of times the weekly parties cater to people going out and dancing. [SEMF] will definitely be more about the music. It’ll be different in the fact that it won’t just be a soundtrack to a night out.”

CityState will not only do his usual routine of DJing but will also feature a live drummer. This, Lindow said, will turn out to be a lot more experimental because there will not be as many rules.

Paper Pistols, another featured electronic act, now incorporates a keyboard player, and the Command Collective will also have a drummer.

The event starts today with headliner MochiPet, a Bay Area native, who has had a steady stream of local and international buzz. Today will also feature Seventh Swami and DJ Whores, among others.

“I’m excited to see MochiPet. I don’t think he has ever played in Sacramento,” Lindow said, who also takes to the stage that same tonight.

Friday will remain Townhouse Lounge’s traditional “Fuck Friday,” with the New Humans, Melee Beats, Shaun Slaughter, John Droll and Roger Carpio spinning floor stomping rock and roll while upstairs will feature an array of house, electro and indie dance.

The festival will conclude on Saturday with Tycho, as well as Sacramento electronic forefathers Dusty Brown and Sister Crayon.

This is the first year that a festival will be dedicated to this music genre in the Sacramento area, but many hope that it will turn into an annual event.

“A lot of people like this kind of music,” Lindow said. “You don’t have to be like a party or club person to appreciate what this will be about.”

Lindow calls Sacramento a small, small town in which sustaining monthly shows is difficult.

“But we do have some good and recognizable artists,” he said. “So with an even like this, where you don’t have to deal with the typical club going out routine, I think it will be really great.”

To purchase tickets for SEMF, visit brownpapertickets.com.

ANASTASIA ZHURAVLEVA can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Hello, Elvis Costello!

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The Mondavi Center is releasing pre-sale tickets for the upcoming Apr. 7 Elvis Costello performance. Tickets went on sale yesterday, and are available until Sunday. Tickets will be available starting at a minimum $17.50 per ticket.

This advance sale for students, staff and faculty intends to allow the purchase of tickets before they are released to the public on Feb. 1.

“The concert will probably sell out extremely fast, within two weeks,” said Mondavi Center executive director Don Roth.

Roth has been trying to get an artist of Elvis Costello’s caliber to perform here since he began working for the Mondavi Center in 2006.

“[Costello is] an example of someone working in pop music that I did not feel we had yet,” Roth said. “This is Elvis Costello’s first performance here ever; this is a rare opportunity.”

The Mondavi Center at UC Davis is just the first stop in Costello’s solo tour, which includes other locations such as Napa Opera House, Cal Poly, UCSB and UCSD.

Because UC Davis is the tour’s first performance, it is not yet known which songs and pieces he has selected to perform.

“Depending on the content that Costello chooses, the event could run from about 90 minutes if there is no intermission to about two hours if there is,” Roth said.

However, this is not to say that those at the Mondavi Center do not expect a worthwhile performance.

Mondavi Center marketing director Rob Tocalino said “he doesn’t usually tour solo, normally he performs with other artists, so this is a real treat.”

Of course, Costello has been performing for almost 40 years, and has worked with some of the biggest names of the business, including Burt Bacharach.

And, who could forget, his cameo appearance in Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me, performing “What Do You Get When You Fall in Love”?

Sophomore pole-vaulter and human development major, Lauren Radke, is also greatly anticipating this concert.

“I can’t wait to finally see him in concert and experience his improv style,” she said. “This will be amazing.”

For more information, visit mondaviarts.org.

BRITTANY PEARLMAN can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Column: From here we go corporate

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On Monday, the Department of Justice officially approved the merger of Ticketmaster, the world’s largest ticketing company, and Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter.

Somebody just put a hotel on Boardwalk.

The merger itself wasn’t exactly news to any of us – plans for the union of these two industry conglomerates spread across the music business like wildfire roughly a year ago.

But the Department of Justice essentially ensured the death knell of the modern music industry by approving this merger Monday. And it’s not just in terms of concerts, either. With this approval, we’re seeing a dramatic consolidation of the music industry from the label to the recording studio to the ticket box. It’s the complete corporate ownership of artistic freedom, and it’s enough reason to be annoyed.

Live Nation Entertainment, the merger’s new title, is a vertical monopoly taller than any of its potential competition. Instead of two exorbitant “convenience charges” competing against one another, there will be one – and it will surely be high.

Sure, the Department of Justice placed several checks on the Live Nation Entertainment’s ability to control the market, such as a required divesture of Ticketmaster’s software-based subsidiary Paciolan. But who are they kidding? Other ticket competitors such as the Anschutz Entertainment Group, Comcast-Spectator or the Chicago-based promoter Jam Productions don’t stand a chance against Live Nation Entertainment, even with their government-granted protections. The new merger is basically an industry-wide Wal-Mart, with plenty of predatory potential and without the lower prices.

Ticketmaster’s success throughout the decade – despite the proliferation of their inflated “convenience charges” that everyone still seems to hate – is a bitter reality itself. People don’t have much of a choice when it comes to buying tickets for major shows, so you can’t blame their aversion to an additional charge on an already ridiculous and seemingly arbitrary ticket price. They’re huge, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

Besides, major corporate labels are nothing new to us. They stifle art, they dictate songwriting, they whine about MP3 sharing. Live Nation itself now “signs” artists – bringing yet another level of the music industry under wing of this new vertically integrated giant. Jay-Z, Madonna, U2 and Shakira have already followed suit, granting Live Nation all recording, touring and merchandise decisions.

While CEOs at Live Nation and Ticketmaster argue for the streamlining of the industry and efficiency that this merger will bring, it’s hard to believe their incentives are worth the control they’ll have. If they’re referring to free downloadable ringtones with every ticket purchase, I don’t care.

Discounted bundle packages of tickets and band merchandise won’t draw me in, either. No matter how much I like the band I’m seeing, I’m never going to buy a backstage meet-and-greet pass because I’m not a 12-year-old.

Granted, a merger will save the coffers of the two companies. It will probably make it a whole lot easier to see Miley Cyrus at Madison Square Garden. You’ll probably walk away with a free T-shirt, too.

Yet it all comes along with the collapse of music industry. This isn’t news, either, but the merger is only hastening the process.

If this is the six-foot-hole it’s falling into, it’s going to be an expensive burial. Shakira will be there to sing the eulogy.

JUSTIN T. HO realizes the main solution is to support the local scene. He also realizes he’s being really cliché and idealistic. Check out KDVS.org, Artsweek or just pay attention to local events. Or you could e-mail arts@theaggie.org.

CD Review: Beach House

Arts Editor
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Artist: Beach House

Album: Teen Dream

Record Label: Sub Pop

Rating: 4

Following up their 2008 release of Devotion, Baltimore dream-pop duo Beach House released their third album, Teen Dream, on Tuesday. Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally evolve from the spidery, sparse tones of their first two albums to procure brighter and more upbeat sounds while maintaining the delicately flowing musicalities of Beach House and Devotion.

Teen Dream is a gently painted portrait of youth and young love that embodies lovelorn lyrics and soundscapes. In “Norway,” a Teen Dream teaser track released last year, Legrand stretches words past their natural conclusion, allowing listeners to drift away into her warm melodrama and heartache. Of all the artists who sing of heartbreak, none coat it with a glimmering sheen like Beach House does.

Give these tracks a listen: “Walk in the Park” and “Lover of Mine”

For fans of: Grizzly Bear, Camera Obscura

– Simone Wahng

CD Review: Justin Bieber

Arts Editor
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Justin Bieber

My World

Island

Rating: 2

Fifteen-year-old Canadian Justin Bieber is arguably well on his way to being the biggest teen pop sensation since the Jonas Brothers, and the title isn’t totally undeserved. Every song in My World, a compilation of Bieber’s eight singles, is pleasant enough to listen to. Bieber has a good voice and the age-appropriate material he’s been given has a nice pop vibe.

The problem with Justin Bieber is that he offers nothing new. Other than his young age and success story (his YouTube videos prompted a bidding war between Usher and Justin Timberlake), he’s unremarkable in the sea of pop artists recording today. His songs, while not bad, are forgettable and silly. Justin Bieber desperately needs to establish a unique personality and style if he wants his preteen fans to remember him when he’s a grown man and not a cute kid anymore.

Give these tracks a listen: “One Time,” “Bigger”

For Fans Of: Jesse McCartney, Selena Gomez, The Jonas Brothers

-Robin Migdol

CD Review: Roy Montgomery

Arts Editor
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Roy Montgomery

Grouper

Root Strata

Rating: 4

The stark black and white cover art of Grouper’s split EP with Roy Montgomery perfectly embodies the track listings in its entirety; it is billowing and beautiful in every way. The EP is a hauntingly hypnotic pleasure to the ears if you are a fan of late-night ambience and avant-garde experimentalism. In Grouper’s “Vessel,” Liz Harris uses a gently distorted organ to combine with her own aerial vocals – forming an ethereal and static equation. Montgomery’s portion of the EP exists in the form of a live recording from their show in his hometown, Christchurch, New Zealand. The track is a revolving, raga-like cycle of folk guitars and lo-fi lovin’. This five5-track EP is a brilliant collaboration: Roy Montgomery offers the warm-sounding yin to Grouper’s icy-cold yang. Listen to it and pretend you’re floating on mountaintops – or just allow yourself to dissolve in the foggy drone.

Give these tracks a listen: “Fantasia on a Theme by Sandy Bull” and “Vessel”

For fans of: Flying Saucer Attack, Disco Inferno, and Cocteau Twins

– Vanna Le

CD Review: Surfer Blood

Arts Editor
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Artist: Surfer Blood

Album: Astro Coast

Record Label: Kanine

Rating: 4

West Palm Beach quintet, Surfer Blood, released their debut LP Astro Coast earlier this week. Their first single, “Swim (To Reach the End),” (somewhat of an intersection of Animal Collective and Weezer’s Blue Album) was released through Pitchfork Media late last year and has since experienced an eruption of viral buzz.

Astro Coast consists of glowing melodies, hazy guitar riffs, colorful harmonies, catchy choruses and (recently popularized) vocal reverb. The tracks are festooned with afro-pop, grunge, punk, power-pop and lo-fi elements along with some surf-rock twang. Surfer Blood reshapes and intertwines several musical influences and genres to create the gratifying postmodern compilation Astro Coast.

Give these tracks a listen: “Swim”, “Take it Easy”

For fans of: Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes, Deerhunter

– Simone Wahng

A 21st century performance of a 17th century masterpiece

Arts Editor
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The American Bach Soloists will perform Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 at the Mondavi Center on Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. Student tickets start at $18 and rush tickets for $5 beginning 30 minutes before the performance.

In case you haven’t been counting, the masterpiece itself is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year.

“The great thing about commemorative anniversaries of composers’ lives is that they bring heightened attention to [the composer], and here’s a case where it’s not a composer’s birthday but a publication of great music,” said Jeffrey Thomas, director of the American Bach Soloists and UC Davis choral ensembles. “It’s one of the top 10, I would say, of famous works from the Baroque period.”

The American Bach Soloists are an ensemble of musicians and singers dedicated to performing the works of Bach and other classical, Baroque and early romantic composers. Formed 21 years ago in San Francisco, the ensemble is made up of a full choir and orchestra.

Each musician is a specialist in the style of Bach and his contemporaries. The orchestra even includes instruments from Bach’s time, such as the cornetto and harpsichord.

The ensemble unites throughout the year to rehearse and perform, usually with only a few days to practice the challenging material.

“When you look at a printed work that’s 400 years old, there’s a lot that’s left out,” Thomas said. “Composers didn’t leave many instructions about the performance of their works. Because of that, there are a lot of puzzles that have to be figured out.”

Thomas and the musicians relish the opportunity to delve deep into this complex and rare work and introduce it to a contemporary audience. The piece, those who have performed it agree, is just as thrilling today as it was centuries ago.

“It’s sensational music,” Thomas said. “You’re listening to something that was played 400 years ago, and yet it sounds so alive. It’s a really exciting experience.”

Corey Jamason, a principle keyboardist of the Soloists, will give a lecture at 7 p.m. to offer thoughts on the piece and provide an inside look at the performance ahead.

“It’s one of the greatest works of Monteverdi, and he’s one of the greatest composers that ever lived,” Jamason said. “It’s a really special piece.”

In his lecture, Jamason will discuss the “colorful” life and works of Monteverdi. He aims to provide insight into the challenges of Vespers and how the ensemble interprets the work according to historical documents.

Although classical music is largely foreign to the average American today, musicians believe the works of Monteverdi and others still have a lot to teach us.

For modern-day musicians, listening to centuries-old music is “definitely beneficial,” said Nicole Tanner, first-year music and geology major.

“It teaches about theory, and how [music] is played by people in today’s world,” she said.

Thomas is confident that audiences will thoroughly enjoy the power of Monteverdi’s work, and said the piece is a favorite of many Soloist members and period specialists.

“It’s mind-blowing, it’s extravagant, it’s exciting,” he said. “We’re all really looking forward to getting our hands on it again.”

For more information about the performance and to purchase tickets, visit mondaviarts.org.

ROBIN MIGDOL can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Artsweek

Arts Editor
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1

LITERATURE / POETRY

Tim Kahl and Robert Grossklaus at Bistro 33

Feb. 3, 8 p.m.

Bistro 33

Come listen to Sac poet Tim Kahl and poet/musician Robert Grossklaus at Bistro 33 for a poetry night. Kahl is the author of Posessing Yourself and Grossklaus owns Polymer Grove while pursuing his musical career as dphunkt.

THEATER / MONDAVI

Miguel Zenón Septet

Today through Saturday 8 p.m., $17.50

Mondavi Center, Vanderhoef Studio Theatre

If you haven’t had a chance to watch his performance, Septet will continue to perform tonight until Saturday. Visit mondaviarts.org for more information about Septet or to purchase tickets. Be sure to buy them soon since tickets are limited in availability already!

THIRDeYE Theatre Festival

Today-Sunday, 8 p.m. and Sunday, 2 p.m., $14 general admission, $10 with a student ID

Wyatt Pavilion

The THIRDeYE Theatre Festival will be featuring three individual works by UC Davis students. Each play will address issues about life, death and relationships – themes that are familiar to most students. Support the UC Davis theatre department and your fellow students and come watch the festival!

Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE

Jan. 30, 8 p.m., $12.50

Mondavi Center, Jackson Hall

In their 25th Anniversary Tour “Come Ye, Grace and Upside Down” African culture will be explored through dance. After performing in Jackson Hall in 2003, Brown and EVIDENCE dance company will return to perform two of his renowned and acclaimed repertoires.

Alexander String Quartet

Jan 31, 2 p.m., $20

Mondavi Center, Vanderhoef Studio Theatre

In an all Beethoven Program, Zakarias Grafilo (violin 1), Frederick Lifsitz (violin 2), Paul Yarbrough (viola) and Sandy Wilson (cello) will be playing String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2 and String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3. Seating and tickets are already limited so be quick!

American Bach Soloists

Feb. 1, 8 p.m., $18

Mondavi Center, Jackson Hall

Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 will be performed by Sopranos Jennifer Ellis and Abigal Haynes-Lennox, Tenor Derek Chester, The American Bach Soloists Choir and Orchestra and will be directed by our very own UC Davis Music Director, Jeffrey Thomas. The performance will include hymns, concertos and sonatas pieced together by the voices of the American Bach Choir.

MUSIC

Death Remedy, Rio Linda Creepers, Wolfsblood, Magi-Kool Doods

Jan. 29, 9 p.m., $3, 21+

Lukes Lounge, 221 N St., Dixon

If you’re 21+ and looking for something to do on a Friday night, take a 10 minute drive to Dixon to listen to an awesome set of bands. Vein Glory will open for the collective but if you aren’t into intense metal, then I’d rethink going. Check out their Myspace’s to get a sneak preview.

Joe Finkel, Teddy Briggs, Jon Bafus

Jan. 31, 8 p.m., $donations

The Greenhouse, 928 J St., Davis

All ages are welcome to come hear Davis musical legends Joe Finkel, Teddy Briggs and Jon Bafus perform at The Greenhouse. For an acoustic night, enjoy the musical stylings of the three popular musicians. (rRefreshments included!) For more information, check out the KDVS Facebook events page.

“A Salute to the Duke”

Today, 12:05- 1 p.m., free

Mondavi Center, Rumsey Rancheria Grand Lobby

Take a break from studying for midterms and come over to the Mondavi Center to listen to a free Shinkoskey noon concert. “A Salute to the Duke” is composed by Duke Ellington and performed with Jordan Wardlaw, Steve Wbber, Mike Williams and Eric Ehrenpfort. The concert will include a range of instruments from a saxophone, bass, piano andto drums.

Composer Colloquium: John MacCallum

Jan. 29, 3:10-5 p.m.

Music Building, Room 115

Hailing from UC Berkeley, composer John MacCallum will speak about his compositions: El Árbol de la Noche Triste. Performed by the Empyrean Ensemble this past Sunday, the Meet the Composer program will allow students and faculty to be a part of a great discussion – an extension from the performance.

KAREN SONG can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Inside the game with…

Sports Editor
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0

“What do gymnasts do, just flip around?”

This is a common question people ask senior gymnast Kendall McCann.

And her answer?

“Yep. It’s pretty cool.”

McCann has been doing flips and handsprings since age four. When it comes to gymnastics, there isn’t much she hasn’t done.

Last year alone, McCann participated in the all-around a total of six times. She was the recipient of her team’s Most Contributions Award and received All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors on uneven parallel bars, beam and all-around.

After her team beat Sacramento State for the first time since 2003, McCann sat down with Aggie sports writer Grace Sprague to talk about everything from her very first meet to her favorite move.

How long have you been a gymnast?

I started when I was four with recreational classes. The coaches find out if you have talent at a young age based on body type and strength. If you’re meant to be a gymnast, they’ll run some tests and put you through the accelerated program that I did.

When were you at your best in terms of gymnastics?

I peaked when I was twelve. I was trying to go elite, which is how you compete internationally. I was training for elite international and I hurt my back. I almost quit because of my back injury. I had to slow down and take it down a notch.

Do you remember your first meet?

Yes [laughing]. I was eight years old and my parents brought me to the gym. I remember being really nervous. My dad braided my hair because he was better than my mom was at it. When you’re French braiding you have to hold all three strands of hair at once, and he’d have me hold them. So when I was holding them as tight as I could, he’d say, “give me the left one, give me the right one …”

What about gymnastics makes it a lifestyle?

When I was younger, gymnastics was my entire life. I hardly saw my friends. Gymnastics came before school and before everything else. I was home-schooled my freshman year of high school because I had eight hours of training per day and my coach wanted me to fully commit. I trained in the morning, home-schooled some classes, went to high school for two classes, then came back and worked out from 3 to 8 p.m. In gymnastics we have to be so precise, so it requires a lot of time. If you’re a gymnast, that’s all you know. It’s really hard to have a life outside of gymnastics.

With gymnastics taking so much of your time, did you play any other sports as a kid?

If I had one regret about gymnastics, it’d be that I didn’t get to play many other sports. I played soccer and liked it as much as I liked gymnastics, but when my training hours increased for gymnastics, I was forced to choose just one. Gymnastics is more fun. It’s not just an adrenaline rush from competition. I like competing, but my favorite part is learning new skills because it’s risky. It’s a really big rush.

What’s your favorite sport to play or watch?

Aerial skiing is amazing to me. When they go so high in the air – it’s humanly impossible to do that. That’s kind of a crazy sport. I can kind of relate to it, too. But my favorite sports are snowboarding and wakeboarding.

You seem to like sports with a lot of risk. Why is that?

[Laughing] I definitely like the rush. Most gymnasts have fear, and I never had that.

What is your coolest move?

A back handspring full twist on beam. A back handspring is when you jump backwards and put your hands on the beam. But this one is a back tuck and a full twist and then you land back on the beam. Most people just do a flip. But with the full twist it makes it so much easier to miss the beam on your landing. When I was younger, I would learn a new skill every day. My coaches joke now, “Kendall, what skill haven’t you done?”

Do you plan to pursue gymnastics after college?

The thing about gymnastics is that about 0.1 percent of gymnasts continue after college. When you get older, you are prone to injuries and your body doesn’t heal as fast. So after this season it’ll definitely be time to retire. I missed my time 10 years ago. At some point you have to realize that there’s more to life outside of gymnastics.

In that case, what do you want out of your senior season?

I want to end the season with no regrets. It’s my last year of gymnastics and I’ve never experienced life without it. I want to have a good season and I want to have fun with it. I also want to go to meets and show people that [UC] Davis is a good team and that they need to worry about us. We can do that easily as long as we keep dong what we’ve been doing. I want to go out there and do what I’ve been training for all year and all my life.

GRACE SPRAGUE can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

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