Local promoters speak out on what this scene is really about

Jason Hoyle - Clubs/Organization Beat

Across the country and around the world, electronic music is gaining popularity and entering mainstream music channels. By mixing a recording medium from our parent's time with the latest in quartz-timed record players, electronic music is making its own footprints in the sands of music history.

Even in Boone, electronic music and its scene are growing. On Thursday, Appalachian Popular Programming Society (APPS) held an electronic-music event featuring local disk jockeys (DJs) Breckenridge Cartwright, Andrew Luck, Wyatt Benton, Dave Jansen and Josh Wolf.

Cartwright opened with some dub-reggae and led into Luck's set featuring flowing house beats. Following Luck the trio of Benton, Jansen and Wolf were amazing the crowd with their scratching skills.

The trio of turntablists performed in various combinations, usually switching off who was on which of the two tables. All three demonstrated their skills with what you could call a scratch solo.

These guys are just a few of Boone's DJ talent. The electronic music scene has been growing steadily during its few years of existence. I spoke with a couple of promoters at Thursday's event to find out what this scene is really about.

"It's all about the music," said founder of Boone's Digital Dank label and Appalachian student Michael Aikens.

The music is created when the DJ plays records, usually two or more at once, to create a unique sound that is continuous from record to record and from DJ to DJ.

What makes a good DJ? According to local promoter and founder of the Organic label, Breckenridge Cartwright, a good DJ possesses good technical skills (matching beats from different records and scratching) and is a good music selector.

However, according to Cartwright, an exceptional DJ takes those skills and selects the finest piece of music to create a vibe that flows throughout the room. Being a DJ is a musical art, said Cartwright, "Beats can be matched, but if the keys are off it's wrong."

Johnson City promoter Christopher Ryan Ledford said he hosts electronic-music events "to bring people together solely for the unification in music." He describes the scene as a family-type atmosphere with lots of love.

For Ledford, attending electronic-music events has taught him that there is "no reason to judge anybody; no matter what you do or who you are, people are going to love you anyway."

The rave scene has changed Aikens' perspective on life since he got involved in 1996, he said, "É I have learned to be accepting of all lifestyles."

"You get to know exactly who you are, you learn a lot of self-confidence. Ravers are some of the most self-confident people I know," said Aikens.

That self-confidence is developed through self-expression, mostly dancing. "I think people have a lot of inhibitions," said Luck.

According to Ledford, expression through dancing reduces inhibitions. When people lose their inhibitions and connect to each other on a spiritual level the music has created a bridge between spirits that spans differences between people.

Ledford said ravers are "trying to achieve something." Ledford, who had been involved in yoga exercise, meditation, sacred geometry and Melchizedekian knowledge prior to his introduction to the electronic-music scene, found spiritual kinship among the people involved in the scene.

Away from the spiritual side of the scene, Boone has a lot to offer. "I like the scene in Boone, there are a lot of smiling faces and enthusiastic dancers," said Cartwright.

And above all, in the words of Luck, "Don't be afraid to dance."

DJ culture is here, in Boone, at Appalachian, and as Cartwright said, "The turntable outsold the guitar this Christmas. It's happening folks."

Kara Hodge - Entertainment Beat

Grammy Award nominees Nickel Creek (NC) perform tomorrow at Legends at 9 p.m. with special guests, Pond Farm Pickers, opening.

Mandolin player Chris Thile, guitarist Sean Watkins and Sean's sister, violinist Sara, have been performing together for over a decade.

The band formed in 1990 when Thile and Sean Watkins were studying with mandolinist/guitarist John Moore, and Sara was taking fiddle lessons from Moore's musical partner Dennis Caplinger.

So it was not a surprise that the trio met at the pizza place where Moore and Caplinger had regular Saturday night gigs.

When the local folk and bluegrass society offered the kids a showcase slot at a regional festival, the band officially formed.

"Sara and I are from San Diego and Chris lived about a mile away. We all listened to a lot of bluegrass growing up, studied it and played it for many years," said Sean Watkins.

"Chris and I had the same mandolin teacher who played in a band every Saturday night. Our parents brought us to hear them and we just ended up hanging out. Pretty soon, we ended up on stage, Sara started playing the violin and we decided to form a band."

Sara Watkins has played fiddle since she was 6 years-old, winning contests around the Southern California area. She became the Arizona State Fiddle Champion when she was only 15.

Sean Watkins placed in the finals of the National Flatpicking Guitar Championship in 1993 at the age of 16. Sean writes much of Nickel Creek's original material.

Thile, International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) nominee for Mandolin Performer of the Year four years running, has two solo albums released on the Sugar Hill label. Thile has performed with Dolly Parton, Hootie and the Blowfish, and the Modern Mandolin Quartet.

In its early years, NC won band contests all over Southern California. In 1999, they signed a recording contract with Sugar Hill Records and were nominated IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year.

In March 2000, its Sugar Hill album "Nickel Creek" was released. The single from the album, "Reasons Why" started climbing the American chart, finally reaching the number-one spot and staying there for six weeks.

Two videos from the album have been playing in strong rotation on CMT and in October 2000, the band was named the IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year.Ê

The music industry organization NARAS honored the group with two Grammy nominations in 2001. NC was nominated for Bluegrass Album of the Year for "Nickel Creek" and Country Instrumental Performance for "Ode to a Butterfly" a hit off its self-titled debut.

The album "Nickel Creek" is based on traditional bluegrass and modern folk, but encompasses everything from Toad the Wet Sprocket to Ella Fitzgerald.

The good stuff: Tracks "The Lighthouse's Tale," "When You Come Back Down," and "Sweet Afton" feature Thile's sweet and affecting voice.

"Out of the Woods," arranged by mandolin prodigy Alison Krauss, is a poetic ballad that NC said in a recent magazine interview that they "could relate to."

Sara's voice is angelic and melancholic at times, but crystal clear to the last note. Thile and Sean aren't so bad either. Their skill isn't just their instruments -- the male side of NC can sing just as beautifully as the other half.

Moody ballad "Reasons Why" is addictive to listen to and of course, "Ode to a Butterfly" is fantastic.

The not-so-good stuff: NC should have produced more albums by now -- the trio started in their teens. With the average age of the group being 20, it's time for NC to produce another great bluegrass CD.

Go see Nickel Creek at Legends tomorrow night. Doors open at 9 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students and $7 non-students/door. The event is BYOB with a 6-pack limit. Proper ID is required. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Information Desk of Plemmons Student Union.

For more information about Nickel Creek check out its Web site at www.nickelcreek.com.

Get ready for an evening of laughter and fun with One Acts III

Kara Hodge - Entertainment Beat

One Acts III performs in I.G. Greer Arena Theatre tomorrow through Saturday at 8 p.m. nightly.

The Appalachian State University Department of Theatre and Dance presents a night of one-act plays that explore the fine line between sanity and insanity.

One Acts III opens with "Being in Love with Alice," a comedy by Mike Carter. The hero of the play is lovesick and reacts to his sickness by acting like a paranoid schizophrenic.

Quite determined to get the girl, and after getting the help of a self-confessed Theatrical Device (think Pinocchio's Jiminy Cricket), the hero comes to realize life, love and reality are quite complicated.

"Being in Love with Alice" is directed by Bryan Crossan and stage managed by Brad Evans. The cast includes Jason Denton, Noah Jones, Sharon Pinney and David Stone. Costumes have been designed by Kevin Chesney.

The "Gender Agenda" by Geralyn Horton is a comedy about a man who wants to fit in with an all-female church group.

Look for the discussion that concentrates on the "feminine mystique" and the "oppression" some women claim to go through.

The play is about a confused man who really wants to be a woman and pretends that he is one with his church group.

The plot thickens because the women in the group know that Jan is a man, but they don't know if the others know. Jan hides his desires to be a part of the female church society by working all day as a man but playing a woman at home.

This dual identity causes all kinds of problems which contribute to the comedy of the play.

The play is directed by Christie Hancock with Kiel Schmidt as stage manager. The cast includes Caryn Crye as Sheila, Vanessa Welch as Ruth, Mandy Harris as Beth, and Brian Westbrook as Jan. Costumes have been designed by Liz Messick.

The one-act plays represent a collaboration between the students in two upper-division theatre classes this semester. The plays are directed by the students in the advanced directing class where they each select and prepare the plays for public performance. The costumes have been designed by students in a costume design class. There will be an additional two sets of two one-act plays, each scheduled later this spring, to complete the collaboration.

Tickets are on sale in the Valborg Theatre box office and at the door. Tickets are $3. For reservations or more information call 262-3063.