The scene is a familiar one for anyone with rowdy friends who buy beer on a tight budget. Cans of Schlitz and Budweiser litter the living room, someone passes a bong and everyone looks glam. This is not an average Friday night party, though. The cans are mere centimeters tall and each partygoer is a plastic Barbie doll complete with eerie unwavering looks of dull ecstasy. This is the overall gist of the music video for “Picture Perfect” by the retro pop band Yacht Club, co-directed by band frontman Ben Cook and SFUAD film major Emmett Meade.

Since 2001, High Mayhem Emerging Arts has provided a space for what it describes on its website as “creative tinkerers who challenge our notions of aesthetics in music and art.” Though its mission will continue through one iteration or another, the group will be moving on from its long-standing space at 2811 Siler Lane. Steve Paxton, the chair of the contemporary music program, will perform during one of the space’s final concerts in its annual Fall Series. In an interview with Paxton, he shares insights into his upcoming performance as well as some of his thoughts on the tenets of High Mayhem’s philosophy as a community. Paxton’s piece samples music from artists ranging from Frank Sinatra toFrank Zappa in an interwoven sound collage. He intends the piece as a sort of “ofrenda,” a spiritual offering to the voices of musicians who have passed away. The mix of styles, which blend the worlds of pop and more classically-influenced music, is intended as a chance to “step outside of the history of music,” Paxton says. During the sound installation, Paxton will include a performance art element. He demonstrates how he will unravel and pass along a large roll of paper through the audience, writing the names of the memorialized artists and speaking them out loud. He says he intends for the audience to join in the naming of the dead, allowing his performance to become a part of the community mindset of the space. Regarding influence, Paxton cites John Cage saying he feels the intention of the piece is to “set up a process and observe the results… without manipulating the results.” While the philosophical and intellectual qualities of experimental music are important, Paxton says he also hopes the emotional content of his work resonates with...

The campus of St. John’s College may seem tucked away in isolation in one of the hillier parts of Santa Fe, but with the recent opening of a student-run coffee shop and concert venue, the distance between its student body and SFUAD’s may begin to feel a bit shorter. Dubbed “The Cave,” calling to mind Plato’s famous allegory, a space has been established by St. John’s students for their schoolmates to congregate and caffeinate. In addition, the coffee shop plays the role of both an art gallery and concert venue thanks to students’ visions. In a phone interview with Theo Krantz, a junior at the school and sole booking contact for musicians and other performers, he shared his thoughts on the possibilities The Cave holds for better integrating St. John’s and SFUAD students. Krantz himself has experienced this integration of artistic communities by playing a show in SFUAD’s O’Shaughnessy Performance Space with his band High Diver. He said, “I do love the Benildus Hall space,” later adding that the experience made him feel that getting St. John’s students to attend more SFUAD events, and vice versa, would be good for both student bodies. “I would love to have the two communities be much more entwined than they are,” Krantz said. The first event held at The Cave seemed to reflect that as several SFUAD students attended and played the concert (including the author of this article’s band Sex Headaches). The show lineup also included Thieves & Gypsies – whose lineup includes CMP alum Adam Cook – and CatNip Tea. Krantz said he was enthusiastic about the event and felt positive about the interactions between both groups of students, saying he felt the SFUAD attendees were “really respectful and nice.” When asked why he felt...

The incongruities in the music world are often what make it so fascinating to follow. The common complaint that “everything has been done before” rings increasingly less true as smaller boutique labels and bands capable of easy self-distribution harbor a broad field of forward-thinking bands and the strange outliers of countless mutated genres. This is why a thrash metal release can still excite and challenge in 2014. Oozing Wound’s new album Earth Suck is not simply a retread of sounds by a bunch of guys who never threw out their Master of Puppets tees. With the debut of its sophomore album it is clear that the band has reached a new level of confidence. While Oozing Wound’s debut album Retrash had a driving pulse and a furious center, there were just as many ideas that felt as disposable as the plastic cups its party vibe seemed to evoke. Even simply judging from the surreal, destructive and muscular album art of Earth Suck—sans any identifying text—the suggestion is that the band is taking a more powerful stance. The results are as crushing as the several-fisted force suggested on the cover. There is a leanness to the sound of these songs, heavily owing to the high treble frequencies throughout. While drummer Kyle Reynolds’ drums bring a palpable rumble throughout, bassist Kevin Cribbin’s playing remains in a similarly high register as Zack Weil’s buzzing guitar. This is not the often fatter heavy sound of most modern metal bands and the feeling of hearing a power-trio awash in the tinny echo of garage-like acoustics brings a weird charm to what could otherwise threaten to fall into the hammy sound of a more tribute-minded act. With tracks like “Genuine Creeper,” however, the formula of traditional thrash tropes is subverted...

It is 8:29 p.m. on a Saturday night and the shuttle driver waits diligently for any more students to arrive for their free trip downtown. Right on the dot of 8:30 p.m., it is clear that I will be the shuttle’s only passenger. The ride goes along smoothly down Cerrillos Road and after a few more turns through a more or less bustling downtown the shuttle arrives at the Downtown Transit Center. No one is waiting to take the shuttle back to campus. Since the beginning of the Santa Fe Shuttle Pilot Project on Sept 18, the service has run more or less continuously every Thursday through Saturday to pick students up every 30 minutes from 6:30-10:30 p.m. There is no fare; simply hop onboard and you can bridge the gap between campus and the heart of the city itself. The Santa Fe City Council plans to use this project, which is scheduled to continue through the end of the semester, to determine the viability of continuing or even expanding the service. Based on data sent by Ken Smithson, director of Operations and Maintenance with Santa Fe Trails, the ridership on any given night tends to vary greatly. While some Friday nights see numbers of student riders reaching a total of 145, there are several Thursday nights and even Saturdays during which the shuttle will report no passengers throughout the night. In an interview with SFUAD Assistant Director of Campus Life David DeVillier, he said the school believes the project is a “wonderful service for our students” and that “We [SFUAD Campus Life] think that ridership will increase as enrollment increases.” At the end of the semester, the city will collect data on total ridership as well as other information to determine whether or...

“This is a really great way to put off your homework for Monday,” said Greg Bortnichak as he poised his fingers across the fretboard of his cello. Bortnichak makes up one half of Teach Me Equals along with Erin Murphy, a duo from Florida that brought their blend of classical instrumentation and modern experimental rock flourishes to the O’Shaughnessy Performance Space last Sunday, Oct. 5. Bortnichak’s quip hit home for most of the gathered crowd of students as laughter brought in the next song of squelching electronic loops and the roar of the band’s hypnotic, distorted tones. Before his set, Bortnichak spoke enthusiastically about SFUAD’s music program facilities, claiming amazement at the students’ easy access to performance and practice spaces, as well as recording facilities. Testament to this point is the ability for students to put on shows on a Sunday night, and several students took advantage of that luxury. The space filled up quickly as openers Venus and the Lion took the stage, and it was quickly apparent that these students were there to move to the music, not simply stand as idle observers. After releasing its debut EP Absinthe last February, the SFUAD-student band Venus and the Lion have been working on new material. These songs expand on a foundation of groovy, classic rock-tinged sound established on its freshman effort. These elements have been expanded into longer, more complex arrangements that still manage not to stray from the band’s ability to tap into a crowd’s lust for dance-ready rhythms. The audience was along for the band’s ride, taking in newer material with vocal enthusiasm, although there was a noticeable spike in cheers as the band tore into its best-known single “T. Rex,” whose bluesy stomp threw the crowd into a sudden blissed-out...

There’s a fire going outside and people huddle together, laughing and otherwise going on excitedly about “have you heard this band? And this band?” There’s even a trampoline, one of those big ones. Inside, past the front door that never seems to be locked, a band sets up in a large warehouse space. The energy is buzzing, people are smiling and, best of all, there’s no cover at the door. This is all a very regular sight for Radical Abacus, a warehouse in one of Santa Fe’s more business-oriented areas that has become one of the city’s more prominent independent performance venues in the past few years. Contemporary Music Program major Angelo Harmsworth, who recently became one of Radical Abacus’ residents, has been increasing his involvement in booking shows for local musicians as well as touring acts from around the US. “Nicholas Chiarella [former SFUAD Studio Arts administrative assistant/contributing faculty] was responsible for the current incarnation of the space…,” Harmsworth said in an e-mail interview, “He made the space available to the local and larger DIY community for art shows, little happenings, and concerts.” Following that legacy, Harmsworth’s role is simply that of a host/curator; he and his housemates do not take money for hosting these shows. Donations are often requested to be given to touring bands, mostly for gas money, but other than that the focus is on music. This model differs greatly from that of a more traditional venue, such as a bar that features live music. This use of non-traditional performance spaces has become a more frequently seen phenomenon in Santa Fe as well as cities across the country as a larger DIY-based musical community grows. Why do some gravitate toward DIY over a bar or another more established business? Harmsworth...

SFUAD students will soon have access to free transportation downtown, following the Santa Fe City Council’s Sept. 10 approval of a pilot shuttle project. The program builds on the three-day Night Wave event held last summer. Night Wave was intended to provide a model for what project director Vince Kadlubek hopes will become a regular, city-funded infrastructure for a more vibrant night life in downtown Santa Fe. Even before this most recent decision to approve the shuttle project, Kadlubek said that the Night Wave Project had been receiving “really solid cooperation from the city,” which be believes signifies a shift to what he referred to as a “culture of yes.” The Night Wave weekend featured a wide array of concerts, late-night food trucks and shuttles. These events covered diverse genres and demographics, featuring everything from stand-up comedy to a heavy metal showcase at Evangelo’s. One of the weekend’s largest draws was a double-headline concert at the recently opened night club Skylight, which featured highly buzzed-about national acts: experimental EDM artist Pictureplane and the transgender hip hop MC Mykki Blanco. Throughout the three nights, food trucks were able to serve food and shuttles ran fare-free until 2 a.m.. Kadlubek said that downtown business reported on average a “200 percent increase” in business during the weekend. Kate Noble, acting director of the Housing and Community Development Department, said that the Council resolution for the pilot shuttle program is intended “to provide better integration of students of SFUAD into the Santa Fe community,” adding also that with wider available transportation options students can “potentially get to jobs and be consumers” in the downtown Santa Fe area. Kadlubek agrees that “The university is a key” to the success of the Night Wave project and the overall initiative to...