Archive for the ‘Arts & Music’ Category

Our first brave guinea pig in the Music of NoCo is Ann Fink, a talented decorative painter and all-around Renaissance woman who serves on Ferguson’s Volunteer Flower Department and lives in a charming 1860s home that she and her husband, Gary, lovingly restored.

These days, Ann is listening to an old classic that brings back fond memories: David Oistrakh’s hauntingly beautiful 1962 version of “Claire de Lune” by Debussy.

“I love this piece because, as a child we had an old Steinway Concert Grand large enough for 5 “stair-stepped” kids (and at least 2 pets) to lie under; swept away by my Mom’ s love for this music,” she says.

“In her girlhood, my Mom babysat for an alcoholic woman in her neighborhood to get access to a piano and lessons so she might teach herself to play Debussy, Beethoven and Shostakovich. They say you can’t go home again, but this music transcends time and must surely be part heaven and earth.”

So what are you listening to? Email me (shannon AT nocostl.com) to submit your favorite song.

North County native Steve Scorfina, a founding member of REO Speedwagon, is the subject of a documentary playing at The Savoy on March 6.

Bring up the subject of music in Ferguson and it’s only a matter of time before somebody mentions Michael McDonald. The famous singer/songwriter, who played in both Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, grew up in Ferguson, of course. But the local musicians who collaborated with him back then and who went on to achieve their own successes – that’s a story rarely told. Until now.

On March 6, the life and work of guitarist Steve Scorfina will be showcased in a documentary film called “Old Dog, New Trick,” and wow, is this an intriguing North County tale! Scorfina played with McDonald in a (McCluer) high school band called Mike and the Majestics in the 1960s, then eventually went on to become the founding guitarist of REO Speedwagon and later a member of the popular St. Louis “prog rock” band, Pavlov’s Dog.

During the 1970s, he was thrown full-speed into the crazy world of rock and roll, experiencing all the sex and drugs that went along with it. In the 80s, he penned songs that Alice Cooper and the Smashing Pumpkins would later cover and spent several years collaborating with Mike Somerville of Head East.

Today, at age 60, Scorfina is still rockin’ but he also works as a scrappy antiques dealer and flea market vendor, which makes for quite a compelling documentary. Filmmakers Thomas Crone and Mike Steinberg have created an entertaining, very personal flick that reveals someone who has seen and done an awful lot in his lifetime, but who, at the end of the day, is really just a guy who loves music.

When “Old Dog, New Trick” premiered at last fall’s St. Louis International Film Festival, it was one of the “top ten must-see” entries. For the March 6 showing, filmgoers will not only be able to watch this celebrated documentary (and spot some area locations), they’ll also be treated to a live concert by the guitarist himself!

Scorfina will perform songs from his CD “Dog Trax” and will be joined by special guest Ave Maria Clay and members of Good Feelin’, his 1970s St. Louis psychedelic band.

If you like great storytelling and good old-fashioned rock and roll, be sure not to miss this exciting event! Tickets are $12 in advance ($15 at the door) and can be purchased at the NAC Gallery, Thyme Table Cafe, CORK Wine Bar, Scotty’s Music, Euclid Records, Star Clipper, Glad Rags, and all CD & Music Reunion stores.

“Old Dog, New Trick” will play at 7pm on Saturday, March 6, at the historic Savoy, 119 S. Florissant Rd, 63135. Doors open at 6pm.

OLD DOG NEW TRICK trailer from Mike Steinberg on Vimeo.

"A Small and Slightly Curious Book" by Becky Adams is one of many unique artist journals on display through May 8 at UMSL's Gallery 210.

More than 500 years worth of diaries, journals, sketchbooks and letters are on display at UMSL’s Gallery 210 right now, showcasing the creativity and intimate thought processes of artists from all over the world. “The Art of the Book: Journals Then and Now” is an international traveling exhibit that just opened last week, and it is definitely a must-see!

Reproductions of very fragile documents from Michelangelo and Arapaho chief Little Shield are fascinating, but the real stars of this show are the original pieces from artists you’ve probably never heard of. UMSL’s Department of Art and Art History collaborated with six other institutions to gather the collection, including two British universities renowned for their book arts programs, and the result is a rich assortment of beautiful and intriguing eye candy. Highly recommended!

Gallery 210 is located on UMSL’s north campus, right next door to the Metrolink station. Hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm.”The Art of the Book” runs through May 8. Admission is free.

As I was looking at my website data recently, I was blown away to learn that NOCO is now getting nearly 350,000 hits every month. It’s an awesome number, for sure, and I’m so grateful to everyone who’s reading. But at the same time, I’m also thinking, “Who the hell are all these people?”

Of course, local tradition should spur me to ask you, dear NOCO fans, where you went to high school – as if that will provide some deep insight. But I’m not interested in knowing who you were. I want to know who you are. Today. That’s why I’m launching a new column…

The Music of NoCo is basically a showcase of North County, as told through the music that people here love. I don’t know about you, but every memory of my life is naturally interwoven with the music I was listening to then. And if somebody wants to know where I’m “at” for the moment, they need only scan my iTunes playlist.

Music moves us. It brings us together. It opens our mind to new possibilities. So I want to know, North County: What are you listening to right now? From a musical standpoint, who are the people of NoCo?

Send me the name of your current favorite song, a note on why you love it, and a photo of yourself, and I’ll feature someone new every week or so. Bonus points if you can provide a link to the song. And yes, original music is welcome too. You can email submissions to shannon@NOCOstl.com (yep, cut & paste), and please put “Music of NoCo” in the subject line.

(Blue, Martin, Tim Gorry at KCFV – if you don’t send me something, I’m going to ask you anyway!)

In the mean time, I’ll kick things off with a song that is currently sending me over the moon: Chinese Translation by M.Ward, which is available at St. Louis County Library. I love, love, love so many things about this song – the Johnny Cash-style drums, the simple beauty of the lyrics, the clip-clop woodblock, the gritty warmth of the vocals from a vintage microphone.

There’s also a vaguely tropical feel that reminds me of a wonderful Hawaiian guitar CD my husband got from FOX2 weatherman Dave Murray, strangely enough. The whole thing makes me long for an open road and a new adventure. It also makes me wish I hadn’t left the M.Ward stage at Austin City Limits to go sit in the baking sun and hear a band whose only good song is now in a car commercial. Oh well.

I think Chinese Translation is a lovely, hopeful song, perfect for winter. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you’ll submit your favorite music too! I’m open to any genre and any time period. By the way, February’s edition of another new column, The Gardens of NoCo, will be posted soon!

The cast of Hazelwood East's upcoming musical, Nunsense, practice their lines.

The shrill buzz of a chop saw cuts through an already raucous atmosphere at McCluer High School. It’s 3:45pm and school is out for the day, but the hallways still teem with busy students. In one classroom, dancers meticulously practice their steps. In another, actors run through their lines. And in the warren of workspaces surrounding the Little Theatre, crew members gleefully sing along to blaring show tunes while painting and building an impressive array of sets.

You wouldn’t know it by the negative publicity that often overshadows local high schools, but North County is actually home to some of the finest student theater in the St. Louis area. Over the past four years, graduates from McCluer alone have earned nearly $750,000 in college theater scholarships, with several former students now working professionally in feature films and on Broadway.

North County schools have also racked up numerous awards in the competitive “Cappies” student critic program, including Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Play, often beating out theater programs with much larger budgets.

At Hazelwood East, where more than 100 kids participate in drama club, the Spartan Players are furiously preparing for their spring musical, Nunsense, which premieres on February 5. It’s their third production of the school year, following the fall comedy You Can’t Take It With You, and bubbly junior Antoinette Blaine has been cast as Mother Superior (one of five leads), despite never performing before.

“This is my first year ever, in any play, but I told myself before I graduated I would audition,” she says proudly. “I’m so glad I did.”

Exzavion Powells, who’s playing Sister Robert Anne, is also thrilled to be involved. He even hopes to study theater in college. “I want to learn everything about theater – blocking, building sets, everything,” he says. “I love it.”

His teacher Ken Franke, a Hazelwood East alum who serves as technical director of the school’s drama department alongside director Holly Potthoff, estimates that five or six members of the current junior class will actually become theater majors in college. “We have a good group right now, so you never know,” he says. “Every year, we look at the student pool and try to expose the kids to works that they probably aren’t familiar with…to really address their needs and talents.”

Once the productions are selected, students can work on them both in class and after school, with many aiming to earn entry into the Thespian Troupe 1220 national honor society.

Student crews work together to build sets for Nunsense behind the scenes at Hazelwood East.

Over at McCluer, the approach is similarly “co-curricular,” meaning students can take classes in set design or acting and then use their learned skills to help produce school plays. McCluer also has its own honors troupe, #787, directed by teacher Doug Erwin.

Like Franke, Erwin collaborates with another pro to choose specific shows for his roughly 70 drama students. He and technical theater teacher Erica Pegues strive to select plays that will stretch the kids and expose them to diverse viewpoints, endowing them with “life skills they can take to any career they choose.”

“If we teach them anything, I hope it’s developing a critical eye, cultivating a love of theater and coming up with creative solutions to a problem,” he says. “It’s also very important that they understand an ensemble ethic and what it means to work on a team.”

Erwin, a North County native who has been involved in performing arts since he was 12, cemented his “ensemble ethic” while studying Japanese theater through the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program. “Everyone in a production is equally valuable – that’s what the Japanese recognize,” he says. “When one of our cast members is not in a scene, they’re automatically part of the crew. We don’t tolerate divas here.”

McCluer's drama program is based out of the school's aptly named Little Theatre.

Erwin also supports non-traditional casting, reflecting the diversity of his students. “We don’t care what race you are or what role you’re supposed to play,” he says. “In fact, for Bat Boy [McCluer’s April musical], we only have one rule: you can’t play your own race or gender.”

It’s this kind of progressive thinking that has really propelled the McCluer drama program, allowing it to be recognized on a national level. In 2009, the school was one of only six in the US to receive permission to perform the Laramie Project Epilogue, a compelling show about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man.

At the end of February, McCluer will also become the first high school in the country to perform August Wilson’s 20^th Century, a collection of ten short plays chronicling the African-American experience. And not only are students there staging and directing the production, they’re also required to study its history.

Students gain practical skills working in the McCluer theater workshop.

“I’ve learned so much in the drama program,” McCluer sophomore Nicole McDuffie says. “It’s been a great social experience and lots of fun, but I also think it’s prepared me in other ways. Sometimes it just makes you see the world a little differently.”

But can it make the world see North County high schools in a new light? Erwin thinks so. “I’ve had parents tell me they wish that everywhere ran the way our theater group does, because it’s so integrated and the kids are so accepting of one another,” he says.

Camilla Hodgson, Hazelwood East’s student director of Nunsense, also sees the positive impact. “A lot of people put our school down, saying it’s nothing but troublemakers,” she says. “But if they’d just come out and watch us, they’d see how talented we are and how hard we work. They may not believe it, but I know we can do anything we set our minds to.”

To see North County’s talented student thespians in action, why not attend one of these upcoming shows? For many performances, tickets are just $5.

Nunsense, Hazelwood East – February 5-6, 7pm

Urinetown, McCluer, February 18-20, 7pm

Once Upon a Mattress, Pattonville High School – February 19-20, 7pm

An Evening with August Wilson, McCluer – February 25, 7pm

The Wizard of Oz, Incarnate Word Academy – February 25-27, 7:30pm

Guys & Dolls, McCluer North – March 11-13, 7pm

Bat Boy: The Musical, McCluer, April 8-10, 7pm

Twelve Angry Jurors, Hazelwood East – April 15-17, 7pm

Little Shop of Horrors, Hazelwood West, April 21-24, 7pm

Fiddler on the Roof, Lutheran North – April 22-23, 7pm

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Hazelwood Central – April 22-24, 7pm

One-Act Plays, McCluer North – April 22-24, 7pm

It’s hard to feel useful in the face of the unspeakable tragedy in Haiti, but several North County residents have stepped forward to do what they can. On Saturday, January 30, the Savoy in Ferguson will be hosting NoCo for Haiti, a benefit concert featuring music from at least five popular local performers, including Javier Mendoza and The Skyline Band.

Co-sponsored by NOCO, this family-friendly event will also have delicious snacks, auction items, dancing and a cash bar. Admission is whatever goodwill offering you choose to give, so please be generous! Proceeds will benefit the Doctors Without Borders Haiti Fund.

January 30 from 4pm-? at The Savoy, 119 S. Florissant Rd, 63135. For more info, call Chuck Henson at (314) 565-4829.

If you can’t make the concert, perhaps you can help in another way. Ferguson resident Stefannie Wheat (a dear friend of mine) has organized a donation drive for items desperately needed by earthquake victims, with all donations going directly to a Haitian family. Stefannie’s husband works with a Haitian woman named Marie, whose family members survived the earthquake but are now in urgent need of various everyday items.

Requested donations include: adult and children’s clothing (good condition, any size), hygiene items (toothpaste, sanitary products, hand sanitizer, etc), medical items (aspirin, band-aids, bandages, etc) and canned food. Money, of course, is also needed.

Stefannie will be accepting donations at her home and delivering them personally to Marie, who will ship them to her family in Haiti. If you can contribute anything, please drop off items at 403 Harrison in Ferguson (on the front porch if no one is home). Donations will be accepted through Friday, January 29. For more info, call Stefannie at (314) 482-0619.

Thank you!!