Archives: March 2011
The mind behind tape label Overland Shark — which hosts Parts of Speech and Casey Burge — speaks up
Overland Shark is a relatively new music label operating out of — you guessed it — Overland Park. The roster of releases — only on tape cassette and digital download — includes Minden frontman Casey Burge and local smooth groovers Parts of Speech. The Pitch recently caught up with founder Andrew Hueback by e-mail to discuss the joys of tape,…
Radiation physicist Wayne Knox sheds light on plutonium at Kansas City Plant
Don’t dismiss Wayne Knox as an “activist.” Though he is the president of an advocacy group called Cold War Soldiers, whose chief objective is to obtain fair medical treatment and compensation for nuclear workers and their families, he comes with some hefty scientific credentials. That’s why we called him to help make sense of reports obtained about the radioactive substances…
Moon Over Manifest
Wichita, Kansas resident Clare Vanderpool will read from Moon Over Manifest, this year’s Newbery Medal selection about a young girl named Abigail who drifts from place to place during the Depression. A book-signing will follow. Mon., April 4, 7 p.m.; Tue., April 5, 7 p.m., 2011 Tags: Clare Vanderpool, kansas, Newbery Medal, Night & Day, wichita
39th Street Sound Machine
How does Bill “Jazzbo” Hargrave prepare for his weekly gig at Jazz? He ties bells to his shoes, straps himself to his chair, licks his fingers and loads his popgun full of streamers. “He’s very charismatic. The kids love him,” says Monday-night bartender, Tonya Hague. Jazzbo, the one-man band (or “junk band” as he likes to call it), has been…
Toro Y Moi, Adventure, Saharan Gazelle Boy at the Riot Room
A teenage Chaz Bundick began tweaking samples on his laptop in 2001, fueled by the ’70s and ’80s sounds of his parents’ record collection. Over the next nine years, he released a handful of demos under various monikers, eventually settling on Toro Y Moi. Then the great chillwave of 2010 washed up Toro Y Moi’s Causers of This on the…
Funny Beards
The facts, as we understand them, are these: Stand-up comics Andy Sandford, Dave Stone, TJ Young and Joe Zimmerman comprise the Beards of Comedy. While all four men have beards, their comedy isn’t beardcentric, and facial hair isn’t a prerequisite for attending their performances. Neither should one infer that these Beards conceal their fellow performers’ true comedic orientation (though they…
A Stable Voice
Usually, horses inspire writers to work in one of two genres: crime fiction or stories about little girls who love horses. The most popular author of horse-related crime fiction would probably be Dick Francis, the jockey turned novelist of approximately 700 mysteries involving racehorses and the teeny little men who ride them. Author Jaimy Gordon wrote Lord of Misrule, a…
Make Like a Tree
Kansas City’s newest little theater company, Spinning Tree, pops up today like a crocus. In a second act of sorts to Egads Theatre Company’s production of William Finn’s In Trousers, Spinning Tree debuts with Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn, a revue of 20 of Finn’s best musical numbers. There are crowd favorites from his Tony-Award-winning Falsettos…
Don’t Wear Red
It’s possible to smell the bulls from the cheap seats, but for a truly exhilarating spectator experience, get as close to the ring as possible at this weekend’s Professional Bull Riders event at the Sprint Center. Dirt will fly, cowboys will get tossed and, at some point, a confused and angry bull will rush the fence. And for a split…
Thriller Like It’s 1999
Attention, beat lovers. Tuesday-night throw-downs are few and far between. If you’re ready to dance, sweat and watch your bar mates grab their junk, head to Michael Jackson vs. Prince at the Riot Room. Inspired by NYC’s DJ Spinna, local DJs Bill Pile and Mike Scott hope the battle celebration (perhaps we’ll call it a “battlebration”?) will answer the biggest…
Amped-Up Art
Owned by Matt Kesler and Darrin Welch, the Midwestern Musical Company this month celebrates three years in the guitar- and amp-selling game. Most know the corner Crossroads shop for its high-volume, swaggering First Friday celebrations (The Pitch’s 2009 pick for Best Free Music). “We planned on doing it sporadically, but we had so much fun with the first one, we…
First Friday Hit List
Everything looks better after a glass of wine, but you won’t need one to enjoy the photography of Michael “Wolfie” Wolfe, featured artist of the month at the recently renamed Crossroads watering hole. After checking out the big prints on the restaurant walls, fans of Wolfe should look for his frames in the “artist series” released by the awesome and…
First Friday Hit List
This gallery is actually the lobby of a dentist’s office, but don’t hold that against the event. The concept behind Synesthesia is pretty cool: Poets from all over the country submitted their work to artist Jennifer Rivera, who used her favorites as the basis for the 35 abstract paintings on display. The party runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and…
Fools Rush In
“Fools Rush In” is a group art exhibit, celebration of life and a tribute to individuals fighting cancer. All of the participating artists are donating their artwork to the show; 100 percent of auction proceeds go to Hope Lodge. Fri., April 1, 5:30-7:30 p.m., 2011 Tags: 2639, Night & Day
How Many Trombones?
River City, Iowa, the fictional setting of The Music Man, was modeled after Mason City, Iowa, the boyhood home of the musical’s author, Meredith Wilson. Anyone who has been there can tell you that the winters are cold, but the the people of the solidly Midwestern town are heartfelt. It’s the sort of place where one could believably set a…
Gut Bucket
The Missouri part of Kansas City has a couple of good soul-food buffets, but they’re harder to find on the Kansas side of the Kaw River. But for the last year, the little restaurant in the Hilton Garden Inn has offered — from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursdays only — an all-you-can-eat soul-food buffet. According to General Manager…
Genius Party
The Pitch may be 30, but it can still throw a hell of a party. Case in point, Artopia, the early spring soiree that honors our MasterMind winners, showcasing artists and featuring local bands and DJs while the party people sample food and drink. This sixth annual Artopia offers five areas of live art, fashion and music. This year’s talent…
Shoring Up
Instead of sleeping in today, haul your ass out of bed, put your work boots on, chug some 5-Hour ENERGY and get ready to take out the trash. Organized by the Friends of the Lakeside Nature Center, the 21st Annual Project Blue River Rescue is dedicated to the preservation and beautification of the Blue River, which winds through the south…
The Fabric of Our Lives
What do your PajamaJeans and Ed Hardy hoodie say about you? Do they convey your personal history? Are they visual representations of your cultural struggles and identity? Are you, like, plaid? Find out at Family Day at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art (4420 Warwick Boulevard, 816-753-5784) with Pattern ID, an exhibition that focuses on the concept of self-identification through…
Also Known as “Diplomacy”
We already know that those fat-cat D.C. politicians never do anything but lie. But, frankly, the constant stream of falsehoods emitted by regular, unelected people has exactly the same set of motivations: (1) to hide an adulterous affair, (2) to avoid offending another person to preserve an important relationship, (3) for the overwhelming love of country. Lying is the slippery…
Bear Cupboards
Thanks to Gov. Sam Brownback and his mighty pen, Executive Reorganization Order No. 39 is set to turn the Kansas Arts Commission into a private, nonprofit organization next year. Kansas may be short on dollars, but it’s never short on kid-flavored creativity. Today through April 15, the KAC, the Missouri Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts present…
Dorothy’s Songs
Perhaps now, with unemployment at around 9 percent and Wisconsin’s recent siege by union protesters, it’s time to break out that old Depression classic “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime.” Or maybe you’re feeling a surge of Kansas nostalgia, one that hearkens back to the early days of Technicolor and Judy Garland. Or possibly you’re still disappointed in yourself for…
Perfectly Marvelous
The show that Kansas City theater lovers have been waiting for all season is here: the KC Rep’s production of the legendary Cabaret, written by Fred Ebb and Kansas City native John Kander, and helmed by the Rep’s artistic director, Eric Rosen. Sam Mendes’ Tony Award-winning New York production was set in actual nightclubs (first in the old Club Expo…
Find The Pitch
