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Solo pianist will perform at Covey Art Center

Originally published in the UVU Review on Sept. 15, 2008.

This Friday, solo pianist George Winston will perform at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo. Winston, whose career began in 1972 with his first album, Ballads and Blues, has since released seven multi-platinum, platinum and gold albums.

Chances are the majority of UVU students have never heard of Winston. But their parents most likely have. His career peaked in the ’70s and ’80s, but that doesn’t mean he’s no longer an important contributor to the music world. Since 1980 he has released nine solo piano albums, the most recent of which was a tribute to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina titled Gulf Coast Blues and Impressions. This album was released on Sept. 5.

According to a press release from the Covey Center, Winston plays over one hundred solo piano concerts a year. His songs range from New Orleans R&B piano to Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts pieces.

“I play three styles: New Orleans R&B piano, and the majority of the songs I play are in this style; stride piano, which was the main way of playing that I worked on after hearing Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson; and third, folk piano, the style that I came up with in 1971 which is influenced and inspired by instrumental R&B and rock, North American folk music, and even more by the sounds of the piano itself,” Winston said.

The Covey Center is evolving into a more impressive and respectable venue in Utah Valley. They have started to draw in more than just local artists like the Thrillionaires and Kirby Heybourne. For example, the annual dance concert Thriller by Odyssey Dance Theater has never performed in Utah Valley, but this October they will show for two nights at the Center.

The venue has become a place for multiple types of entertainment. Theater, comedy, dance, symphonies, art, and community parties have all been hosted at the center.

More Information

The Covey Center is located at 425 West Center Street in Provo. Tickets to the event are $20-$25 and can be purchased at the Ticket Office, by calling 801-852-7007, or by visiting www.CoveyCenter.org. The concert will take place on Friday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

San Franciscan foursome brings their new album to Salt Lake

Originally published in the UVU Review on Sept. 8, 2008.

LoveLikeFire is a big hit with musicians and the media but hasn’t yet hit the mainstream. Their compulsive, upbeat songs would have become instant hits if the band began their career in Britain, but they remain underground in the U.S.

The band will be playing songs from their new album at Kilby Court next Monday, Sept. 15.

LoveLikeFire recently signed onto British label Heist or Hit Records, and have been spending the summer recording a full-length debut album. Instead of touring in the UK, they have been making their way across the states. The tour stretches from coast to coast, but with only one appearance in Utah.

The album doesn’t have an official U.S. title yet, but in the U.K. it will be called Tear Ourselves Away. It was recorded at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco with musician John Vanderslice and is produced by Bill Racine. Racine has worked with producer David Fridmann with bands like The Flaming Lips and Sparklehorse, and has individually produced albums by Rogue Wave and Mates of State.

Most of the performances on LoveLikeFire’s tour will include more than one act. They’ve shared the stage with bands like The Teenagers, The Virgins, and Black Kids. However, they’re the sole act at Kilby Court on Monday.

Kilby Court shows several bands per week, and tickets for performances generally range from $7-$25, depending on the venue and the popularity of the band, and are available at the door.

For more information To learn more about LoveLikeFire, go to www.LoveLikeFire.com To see a calendar of performances at Kilby Court, go to www.KilbyCourt.com

Thanksgiving Point continues outdoor concerts through September

Originally published in the UVU Review on Sept. 8, 2008.

Outdoor summer concerts are a big hit in Utah. The warm, dry climate and mountainous backdrop create the perfect atmosphere for open-air entertainment. This makes for a lot of competition and diversity among venues.

Thanksgiving Point has much opposition to contend with in this area, but their left hook is a doozy. The amphitheater houses the largest manmade waterfall in the Western Hemisphere.

The Point is drawing out the outdoor concert season to the end of September, with three concerts by locally loved musicians. It’s too late to catch New Age classical pianist Jon Schmidt, who played there on Sept. 6, but this Saturday Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband will perform. According to a press release, these local favorites “have created a style of their own with bluegrass, country, and pop-rock flavors.” The band’s most recent album, LAST MAN STANDING, will be available for purchase. Tickets are $12 if purchased beforehand and $15 at the door. On Sept. 20, Peter Brienholt will come back to the Point for the first time in three years. Brienholt has been performing in Utah for more than ten years, and according to www.PeterBrienholt.com, “He has sold out every major concert hall in his home state of Utah many times over.” A favorite among college students before our time, Brienholt is sure to give an outstanding performance. Tickets for this, the last show of Thanksgiving Point’s Hot Autumn Nights series, are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

The venue allows blankets and chairs that are no more than six inches off the ground. No outside food or drinks, folding chairs, or flash photography is tolerated. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m.

For more information Tickets are available at www.ThanksgivingPoint.com, the box office at 3003 N. Thanksgiving Way in Lehi, or by calling (801) 768-4900.

From the other side of graduation

Originally published in the UVU Review on Aug. 24, 2008.

UVU alum Jeanne Madsen just got back from her graduation trip in Europe. She did what most college students would do on a graduation trip; sight-seeing, art-mongering, starving, and philosophizing. But she also sang in five Italian cities and recorded with the London Philharmonic.

After graduating with an Associates degree in General Academics from UVU, Madsen began to pursue her dream of recording an album. Her style is best described (in her own words) as “avant-garde,” this particular album is a mix of opera, contemporary, and jazz pieces.

Madsen is still recording her album Pagliaccio, (which is Italian for “clown”), which will drop sometime next year. She plans on recording the classical tracks with the Berlin Philharmonic, and the jazz songs with legendary trumpet player Jack Sheldon at Capitol Records Studios in Hollywood. According to Madsen, “[Sheldon] is an absolute legend in the jazz world, so I’m just like, over the moon.”

The album has not been picked up by a record label yet, but Madsen is hoping for one of the “big ten”- the largest labels in the UK and America. “I personally want it to be the Capital group, the BMG music group because then I can … live in London. … Signing with Capital and the BMG group will allow that.”

Madsen intends to use her degree at UVU to help get her into Oxford, to earn a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations. If anyone mentions UVU around Madsen, she basically gushes with praise. “I love UVU with all my heart. Be proud to go there because it’s an amazing … place.” In our first interview, she disclosed that upon coming home and seeing the new sign saying “Utah Valley University” on the West side of the McKay, she was moved to tears.

Madsen credits much of her success to our university. “I had the hardest professors on the planet that stretched me and made me grow and made me work so hard. To the point where I didnt’ know if I was going to make it…. And so, because of being pushed to my limits like that, it made me know that I can accomplish very hard things.”

This lesson was essential to her career in the music business, which is infamous for its constant rejection of newcomers. “So, that was the biggest thing because a singing career is just really hard. And you have to put up with so much and you have to keep getting back up when you get knocked down…. And it taught me that, that I can get back up.”

In 2002, before coming to UVU, Madsen was a member of the opera company at the Venetian Hotel. With practices and performances adding up to seven hours of singing every day, after about a year she noticed that all was not well with her throat. She found that she had a tear in her right vocal chord.

Doctors told her to go on voice rest for a few months. “Now, voice rest means that not only can you not talk, but you can’t sigh, you can’t make any type of tonation or any type of sound from your vocal chords because it re-opens the wound. But, I didn’t get better. And I went to many … doctors, and no one could ever figure out what was wrong.” Finally a specialist told her that she had a viral infection that entered her body through the tear, and that was why she wasn’t healing. After three years of recuperating and on-and-off vocal rest, she was finally able to start singing again.

“So, I am a living testament that even when the doctors say you’re never going to talk again, you can overcome it.”

After her album is picked up by a label, Jeanne intends to do a tour with a stop at her alma mater. “When [One Republic] were there, I was just … like, ‘This is going to be me. In like a year and a half or maybe two years.’ So absolutely, I want to come to the McKay.”

As a final few words of counsel for students pursuing a career in the arts, Madsen said, “My advice is keep going no matter what…. If you know that it is your gift and it is what you’re supposed to do, you just have to keep going no matter what happens. Like, if there is a … brick wall in front of you, you have to go through it. And if there is no way, you make a way.”

For more information and links to her myspace page and blog, visit www.JeanneMadsen.com

But it won’t empty your gas tank

Originally published in the UVU Review on August 11, 2008.

Media Credit: Courtesy of the SCERA Shell

The Utah Symphony has performed several times outdoors this summer. So far, all of the the performances have been at Deer Valley Resort in Park City — a good 45 minutes away from campus.

On Aug. 18, the symphony will descend into Utah Valley and perform at the SCERA Shell.

“Utah is privileged to have such an acclaimed symphony, and in the summer there’s nothing quite like the Utah Symphony’s instrumental genius under the backdrop of the Wasatch Mountains,” said SCERA President and CEO Adam J. Robertson.

Tickets for students are $8, compared to the $12 required to see the same performance at Deer Valley. As usual at the Shell, audience members are encouraged to bring blankets or can rent chairs for $1 apiece.

According to the symphony’s press release, the performance will include Americana fanfares, marches, and big band music. Composers range from Aaron Copeland to George Gershwin.

The decorated conductor David In-Jae Cho will conduct. Cho is in his second year as assistant conductor with the symphony. Before relocating to Utah, he worked for the San Antonio symphony for three years.

The symphony was started in 1940, and since has become an important American orchestra. They have performed internationally and have an extensive recording history. According to the symphony’s press release, “For more than three decades, from 1947 to 1979, maestro Maurice Abravanel guided the symphony to its international reputation and is the artist after whom the Utah Symphony’s performance hall is named.” For more information on this and other performances, go to www.utahsymphony.org

Dance With Me holds musical talent show for immigrant rights

Originally published in the UVU Review on 7/28/2008.

Peter Jose Smith, who has recently announced his bid for Utah’s 3rd district in Congress, organized a musical talent contest on Friday, July 25.

According to his Web site, prizes range from $10-$100. Tickets for the contest and following dance were $4. The most interesting part of the event is where the money came from, and where the profit will go.

Sponsors listed on his Web site included mostly ethnic restaurants and markets, ranging from El Azteca Mexican Taco Shop to Hollywood Suits.

Also according to the Web site, “all proceeds will go towards defending our poor, hardworking immigrants.”

Due to press deadlines, we were unable to find who won the contest. For more information, go to www.UtahCultures.com

See RuRu this Friday at Velour

Published in The College Times on June 2, 2008.

Joshua James is arguably the most popular modern musician that calls Utah home. The label behind that success is North Platte Records, which is co-owned by UVU alum and adjunct professor McKay Stevens.

The label’s most recent endeavor was an album with RuRu, also known as Isaac Russell. RuRu was only fifteen when they recorded it, but the label swears by his innovative, mature sound.

If seeing a new artist isn’t enough motivation to make it to the release party, you should know that local greats Colby Stead, Marcus Bentley, and Joshua James will also be playing — Stead and Bentley will open RuRu’s act, and James is included in his band.

“Elizabeth,” RuRu’s first album, will be released on June 6 at Velour, which is located at 135 N. University Ave in Provo, at 8 p.m. Cover is $5, and if you fancy the album, you can grab it for $10.