Miss Saigon runs until Nov. 20. Buy tickets at http://www.cfrt.org

Story by James Johnson

Miss Saigon, the first musical of the Cape Fear Regional Theater’s highly anticipated 50th season had a lot to live up to. The CFRT has after all, built its reputation on its ability to bring big city quality musicals to our small town, and since 1962, it has done so with nary a misstep. Thankfully, though the story carries with it some inherent flaws, Miss Saigon is without a doubt another rousing success for the theater on the hill. The only question is whether Miss Saigon marks the start of something new, or a last attempt to cling to the familiar and comfortable. The thematic parallels haven’t gone unnoticed.

Currently the Cape Fear Regional Theater is going through a regime change, with its founder Bo Thorp having announced her retirement as artistic director, and newcomer Tom Quaintance being immediately announced as her replacement. Its still too soon to say whether this change is going to be a quick and painless one, but early signs are pointing to “no.” The evening I attended, Miss Thorp was still introducing the show, as always, and though her title has been changed from “artistic director” to “director/producer” in the program, she is still being billed above Quaintance.

Miss Saigon takes Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, and sets it during the Vietnam War. We’re intoduced to Kim (Shannon Tyo), a 17-year-old girl whose family had been killed in the war, and who now must take up work as a stripper to survive. On her first day of the job, she meets an American G.I. named Chris (Daniel S. Hines), who she quickly (and I mean QUICKLY) falls in love with. However when Saigon falls two weeks later and Chris is evacuated, Kim is left to spend the next three years mourning a relationship that never was and (spoiler alert), raising their out of wedlock child (played by arguably the cutest kid known to man). Deep stuff, right?

Guns don't kill people, puffs of stage smoke kill people.

Miss Saigon, even on a preview night, manages to succeed in every area the CFRT is known for succeeding in. The cast is entirely on point, with no real weak links to be spoken of. This is particularly noteworthy, as Miss Saigon can’t be an easy show to cast. There just aren’t that many Asian actors living in Fayetteville, North Carolina, meaning that going in the CFRT likely realized that they would have to cast professionals for their lead roles. Leads, Shannon Tyo and Daniel S. Hines give powerful and emotionally raw performances, that at times will make your skin crawl. Meanwhile actors Billy Bustamante (as the Engineer – a cooler name a pimp could never ask for) and Kendrix Singletary (as John, Chris’ army buddy) take turns stealing the show. Bustamante’s role is tailor-made for show stealing. He is comical, over the top, and not without his own level of depth. Singletary, meanwhile, plays the “best friend,” which basically means it was written with the intention of simply fading into the background, and yet through sheer stage presence, Singletary managed to be impossible to ignore. Note to whoever it is that is currently in charge of the CFRT: Let Singletary carry his own show next season.

Another area where the show succeeds is in staging. Yes, they didn’t actually have a helicopter fly onto stage as in the Broadway version – but these are the sacrifices local audiences have to make if they don’t want ticket prices to skyrocket. Nonetheless, the tech folks find a way to still blow our socks off without blowing their budget, and for that I am thankful.

The show’s most glaring problem is one that can be found in a lot of shows chosen by the CFRT (more evidence that little has changed). Miss Saigon has an inherently flawed story. Our two lovebirds fall in love while off stage (presumably “doing it”), and no matter how many Disney movies we may have been subjected to in our childhood, the idea that a couple can fall so love in two weeks of knowing each other that they would hold onto these strong feelings for three years makes Wicked seem like a gritty documentary. Tyo and Hines have to sell their parts twice as hard to evoke the emotional response needed by the end of the show, simply because the only believable relationship in the entire play is that between Kim and her son.

Another issue that plagued the show was the sound. Don’t get me wrong. The music in Miss Saigon is classic. The show’s orchestra is probably one of the best orchestras I have witnessed in a musical. Unfortunately, part of my witnessing them, involved them being on stage during the whole show, which is only a bad thing when the orchestra’s sound is overpowering that of the singers, which was often. I can’t however detract too many points for this, as sound problems are usually fixed within the first weekend of a show’s run, and I would be shocked to find that this is still an issue during the second and third weekend.

Miss Saigon is a safe bet for the CFRT. It is a safe bet in a long line of safe bets. With the announcement of a new artistic director, I had hoped to see the theater do what Miss Saigon’s Kim did when faced with putting her child’s future in the hands of someone else. Take risks, sacrifice everything and regret nothing. Let go, and hope for the best. Unfortunately for those of us who love to watch chaos in motion (or just want to see the CFRT return to making ballsy moves, as they did with The Full Monty), this new transition will involve a lot more hand-holding and calculated decision making than fearless leaps of faith. There will likely be more productions of The King and I, and White Christmas, than Spring Awakening or Urinetown, but at least we know that whatever direction the theater goes, the standard of quality set by Bo Thorp won’t be going anywhere.

4/5

Fayetteville singer/songwriter set to release first new material in 2 years
Story By Rachel “Riot” Schaaf Photos By Raul Rubiera Jr.

Ethan Hanson has never had a job. Instead, the Fayetteville native has done what few artists are able to, and cite ‘musician’ as his only occupation — ever.
Hanson, 22, was raised on music. His mother, Kerstin Hanson, is a folk singer and songwriter. Growing up, music was a way of life around the Hanson household, with Kerstin regularly having band mates and musicians over. Before he was even ten, Hanson already had a healthy interest in the blues, and his musical tastes have expanded as he has grown.
His current style, which he describes as “singer/songwriter pop” is heavily influenced by Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, John Mayer and Jason Mraz. Hanson has been performing in public since he was little, but his “break”, at least in Fayetteville, came when he was 17 and opened for Jojo in front of 7,000 people at the Dogwood Festival.
Hanson has been a staple in the Fayetteville music scene for years, playing regular shows at restaurants and bars all over town and making home recordings for his work. Listeners haven’t heard anything new in the past few years, but all of that will change on January 3, 2012 when he releases his self-titled, full-length album on his own label, Hanson and Webster Entertainment Group. So where has Hanson been the past few years?
“I spent a lot of time creatively figuring out what I wanted to do for a bigger release, trying to get that whole image right. I was still really involved and playing shows a lot and traveling a lot,” Hanson says. “The new album is really versatile. There’s going to be a lot of different styles. Each song is pretty much its own entity. There’s a song that’s very reggae and one that leans more towards bluegrass and country and straight up rock. There are some laid-back ballads; it’s all over the board.”
Ethan has spent four days a week for months at K House Recording, a studio in Raleigh owned by Mark McKee. All of the songs on the new album were co-written with McKee, and Hanson says when he first went to the studio last December, the main focus was on his song-writing.
“We spent probably our first 10 days just writing, we wrote about 20 songs, just trying to think of the next words, throwing things out there like paint on the wall, it’s like a push and pull,” he says. “Learning how to write really catchy hooks is something I’ve been working on while writing this album.”
A large portion of his new material are songs such as “Say What You Say” and “Play for Keeps,” which are written about his girlfriend, Kelly Floyd. Hanson met Floyd at a show he was playing several years ago in Lumberton. When Hanson talks about her, his face lights up. She is a front-row staple at all of his shows.
Floyd isn’t the only one cheering him on. Erik Smallwood, a friend of Hanson’s and fellow singer/songwriter from Fayetteville is looking forward to Hanson’s upcoming album release.
“Ethan is a solid musician with soulful vocals and stellar guitar work. His music keeps you feeling good and keeps you moving,” Smallwood says. “He’s just a great guy. I’m so excited about this album.”
Hanson, like his music, is easy-going, with a peaceful, slightly hippie-vibe. When not playing music, he collects crystals, hangs out with his close-knit group of friends, plays hackey-sack and reads books about past lives and consciousness. He says the things most important to him are his family and self-improvement.
“I work on not being too caught up in what other people think, which can be hard when you’re onstage. I’m just doing my thing and knowing that I’m doing the best I can,” Hanson says. “In America especially, we get so wrapped up in our to-do lists and all the relationships we have that we sometimes forget about our own well-being and the person we are without all that other stuff.”
After the album release in January, Hanson will embark on a 25-city East Coast tour, playing clubs and visiting radio stations for interviews and to hopefully get some play from DJ’s he meets.
“We want to build a grassroots type of following all along the east coast. Hopefully I’ll be doing some bigger shows,” he says.

We catch up with alternative hip hop trio Das Racist, who are on tour promoting their highly anticipated new L.P., Relax.

Story By James Johnson Photos By Tony Murnahan

Das Racist was supposed to be a joke, right? Even now, with the group not being able to muster a burp that doesn’t attract critical acclaim, it is still unclear as to whether the forked tongued Brooklyn, NY based rap trio have ever been taking their rise to fame seriously. The proof of the group’s commitment may be at hand with the release of their first commercial LP, titled Relax, as well as the start of their first national tour. Sh*t just got real.

How was it that the group that had first gained public notice by unleashing upon the Internets an ode to fast food consumerism entitled “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell” in 2008, would come to be named as one of Spin Magazine’s 50 Acts to Watch at SXSW, or by MTV’s Iggy as “one of the 25 best new bands in the world?” Or have their debut album peak at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers chart?
“(‘Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell) was successful in that it racked up 2 million Youtube views and it allowed us to do everything afterwards,” said group hype man Dap, aka Ashok Kondabolu. “It is nice coming from a position of low expectations. I hardly hear about that now-o-days. There was no real money made off the song.”
Dap, along with group MCs Heems (Himanshu Suri) and Kool A.D. (Victor Vazquez) have built their musical catalogue around their shared twisted sense of humor and love of obscure pop culture references. The group’s name was inspired by their combined love of racially insensitive humor.

“There was a lot of that growing up … Ultimately, I did grow up in a neighborhood where there was a lot of Indian kids. There were some white kids who would be calling you Gandhi. There was a Haitian kid, a Puerto Rican kid, but I just hung out with my two Indian cousins,” noted Heems, who like Dap is of Indian descent. “Racism became an issue when I started going to college and hanging out with mostly white kids for the first time. White wealth. Even growing up in New York I wasn’t that knowledgeable.”

Their ability to find inspiration in even the most uncomfortable situations may be one reason the group has proven to be so relentlessly prolific, having released both their 2010 mixtapes, Shut Up, Dude, as well as Sit Down, Man, mere months apart.“A lot of people we know make music. Our friends are like, engineers and we’ll hang out in the studio, so we’re like, lets just make music cause that is where we’re hanging out anyway,” explained Dap. “When we get in the studio, we want to create something and not just fool around. There is a process.”
Currently the group is, for the very first time, getting settled into the life of touring artists.

“I am anticipating being very tired of sitting in a van with a bunch of men,” joked Dap. “I am going to fight with other people who are in the band with me because someone lost some sun glasses that I got… But yeah, I am very much looking forward to it. I want to know what it is like to drive around. I want to know what kind of freak I am going to be at thee end of that.”

Everything there is to know about the Unknown.
Story By James Johnson Photos By Raul Rubiera Jr.

After a brief hiatus, country western troubadour and North Carolina music icon Unknown Hinson is back. The self-proclaimed King (who has also been known to answer to Stuart Daniel Baker) has built a cult following thanks to his unusual stage persona, dark humor and legendary guitar skills. Currently, “The Unknown One” is on tour after having just finished a soon-to-be-released new album (untitled as of press time), as well as a DVD of his old public access TV program, The Unknown Hinson Show. Hinson is also heavily promoting the sixth season of his Adult Swim animated series, Squidbillies, for which he stars as the voice of Early Cuyler. There is truly no rest for the undead.
Hinson has naturally had to deal with rumors of his association with the undead for years, due to what he claims is an unfortunate affliction of the teeth, and perhaps his preferred manner of dress (an ill fitting black rodeo tailor suit, with a matching ribbon tie, and of course, leather gloves). The rumors however don’t seem to bother the artist, who claims to have spent much of his young life in prison, and he seems to only encourage it by remaining largely mysterious and aloof when speaking about his past. This month we caught up with Hinson to try to examine just what it is that he’s been hiding, discuss his new projects and find out the truth behind that infamous Billy Bob Thornton interview.

FEED: How’s life been treating you since last we spoke?
Unknown Hinson: Hanging on, hanging on.

FEED: We understand that after all this time, you have finally started touring with a different band. Is there a reason for that?
Hinson: Well, there’s no real reason for it. Artists move around. Now and then you gotta switch up the line up. Met these boys a while back while working on my new CD/record/album. Going out with them … Can’t give you the name (of the L.P.) just yet. I got so much mess going on right now. I was out in Colorado a few days ago doing some video shoots. Hopefully that’ll be out soon … We just finished up a new season of Squidbillies. Working on a DVD.

FEED: A DVD? Of music videos?
Hinson: Nah. I used to have a TV show. Shot it in Charlotte North Carolina for two or three years. There is about 25 episodes. People kept asking about them, so we’re compiling them all on this DVD. A lot of people have VHS tapes of the show.
I did this back in the ‘90s, ‘93, ‘95. It was on in re-runs for two years. It was actually about three and a half years. Every episode is like a day in the life of Unknown Hinson, shot in black and white.

FEED: The new season of Squidbillies is up and running. What can we expect?
Hinson: Way, way, way over the top. It pushes the envelope real, real hard.
I can’t give out no plots. (The show has) been a big help to me. A lot of people who did not know about Unknown put two and two together after seeing the show. And people who don’t know about Squidbillies but know about Unknown Hinson started watching the show as well.
It came about in a funny way. They got a hold of my CDs. It was the E.P., Rock & Roll is Straight From Hell. I guess they listened to the little audio sound bites of me talking and decided to give me a call. I love cartoons, so I said sure.

FEED: You are known for putting on extremely long and powerful performances. Where do you get the energy?
Hinson: Um, I don’t know, James. Party liquor I guess. That’s one of my favorite things in the world. Drinking, chasing women, shooting my gun, the guitar and singing. I don’t sleep a whole lot. I look at each day and night as a blessing. We never know how long we’re going to be around.

FEED: Finally – we have to ask this. The last time we interviewed you, I’d neglected to ask you this and I’ve been kicking myself ever since. When you aren’t doing your work as Hinson, you will play guitar with actor Billy Bob Thornton’s group, The Boxmasters. Since 2009, there has been an interview that has kind of gone viral, wherein the band is interviewed by CBC Radio’s program Q, and Billy kinda loses his temper with the host for having mentioned Thornton’s work as an actor. What was the real story there? Was Billy faking it?
Hinson (laughing): You’ve seen the video, right? You’ve seen the video. If you’ve seen the video, notice that I didn’t say one word … It was all I could do not to laugh. I was just trying to keep a straight face. 
As far as Billy Bob goes … well … he is an award winning actor. 
Do you see the irony there? I probably got the biggest mouth in the whole room and I never opened it, just so as not to laugh. Billy is a good boy, he really is. Me and him have been friends since 2000. Buddies. I play on a few of his records. He is a great music lover.
If you watch that video again – watch me and you’ll see I am looking at the floor. I am about to burst out laughing.

FEED: So, did you guys go in with the plan to make the host squirm?
Hinson: Naw, naw. Hell naw. There wasn’t nothing planned about it. That was what was so damn funny …

1.Wilco – The Whole Love
Wilco’s inaugural release through their own dBpm Records, represents the Chicago stalwarts most adventurous, expansive work in over seven years.

2. Real Estate – Days
The breezy sophomore release from New Jersey’s Real Estate. Replete with lovely harmonies and melancholic strums, Days is perfect Autumn listening.

3. Feist – Metals
Feist follows her 2007 breakthrough with another batch of catchy, indie-pop tunes; the inevitable soundtrack for every commercial you’ll see over the next few months.

4. Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire
After a three-year hiatus, county troubadour Ryan Adams returns with an introspective new record that recalls the singer’s 2001 masterwork, Heartbreaker.

5. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
M83 inflate their signature synth-scapes to stadium sizes on their excellent new double album, which features some of the French group’s most crowd-pleasing compositions to date.

6. Lou Reed / Metallica – Lulu
An unlikely collaboration between the underground elder statesman and the heavy metal mainstays; Lulu isn’t what one would traditionally describe as “good music.” But, in the tradition of Reed’s 1975 album of guitar feedback Metal Machine Music, it’s a polarizing work that must be experienced at least once.

North Carolina artist Adam Walls explains the appeal of interactive art.
Story By James Johnson Photos By Adam Walls and Emily Kelley

Words like “burly,” “hulking” and “lumbering” come to mind when shaking hands with Adam Walls. The man is the furthest thing from the delicate, dainty and pale faced French fellow one might imagine when skimming over his impressive resume. One look at Walls’ portfolio of towering sculptures however will lay to rest any mental images one might be holding onto involving a fragile hipster. Walls is in the business of making toys for giants. Interactive sculptures that beg to be played with and analyzed. 
Since 2007, Walls has taught art at UNCP. He received his MFA in Sculpture from Winthrop University in 2005 and his BA in Art Education from Limestone College in 1996. His work has been exhibited nationally. At the moment Walls has six different works moving across four states for various shows, and is in the midst of trying to get a contemporary sculpture park built somewhere in the Carolinas.

FEED: How did you discover your interest in art?
ADAM WALLS: I have always been able to draw well, but when I took my first painting class in undergrad school, I realized that I was spending as much as eight hours at a time in the painting studio. That is when I discovered just how important artistic self expression is to me. 
I didn’t find my voice until years later when I was with friends at an art opening in Charlotte, NC. I had no interest at all in the work that was on display, so I went to kill some time in what seemed to be the artist’s break room. While I was there, I saw a G.I.JOE lunchbox that reminded me of how much I loved the incredible escapist fantasies of Saturday morning cartoons … Before that chance encounter with a 1980s lunchbox my work had been pretty formal with some personal matters popping up at times. Looking at those printed metal panels of a JOE with a jet pack, a JOE on what was surely a supersonic motorcycle, and groups of JOES hanging out with ninjas beside a happily waving tank commander, I realized that I had to find a way to share my love for this escapist fantasy.

FEED: You seem to be extremely gifted in all mediums of art, yet you mostly focus on working with sculptures. What is it about sculptures that satisfies you most as an artist?
WALLS: I’m still at a point in my life where I love physically engaging my work and the more physical the work, the greater I feel the connection to the work. Also, with some of the larger pieces, I have the opportunity to become part of the work in a real sense as I build areas in my sculpture that I can crawl into, or interact with in some other way.

FEED: Your work regularly has an interactive element to it. Does art that is designed simply to be looked at bore you?
WALLS: I get pretty bored with standard portrait stuff. If it doesn’t show some emotion, then I look for technical skill or strong formal elements in an art item. Most of the time if a piece is well crafted I can appreciate it, but I’ve seen a few things that bore me, or just flat out wreck my nerves. The worst thing I’ve been noticing recently has been a series of small scale bronze figurative pieces that are popping up at fire departments and occasionally police stations. These works are meant to honor real heroes, but when I see a four foot tall bronze statue of a fireman sitting on a tiny concrete pad, I get really upset. I understand that budget restraints don’t always allow the construction of gigantic larger than life dioramas of our national heroes, but the miniatures just don’t have the power that is needed … I wish that more institutions would consider contemporary sculpture as a solution for such problems. In most cases, you’ll find that a skilled modern sculptor can create a really powerful piece of contemporary art from nontraditional materials that conveys powerful emotions in such a way that we could show real honor to our heroes for a smaller price-tag than a 4’ bronze mini ever could.

FEED: You’ve served as a teacher for many years. Do you get the same satisfaction out of teaching as you do in creating?
WALLS: When I see my students succeed I feel more pride than I can describe to you. The first time one of my student’s sculptures show in the same exhibition as one of mine, I was certainly more proud of hers than I was of my own. I often feel like my students are my children and following my students careers is like watching my children grow up. Seeing their success is a true wonder.

FEED: How long does it generally take you to complete a sculpture?
WALLS: When I really have the time to tear into a project, I can knock out one a month, but sometimes it takes a lot longer if it’s a lot of fabrication. Plus, if it’s while I’m teaching then it stretches that time out quite a bit. Most people don’t consider that when they see one of my more heavily fabricated pieces that just popped up over night. What they are really seeing is several months of my life and all the sweat and struggle that went into it, since I do all of my own fabrication and I’m just one guy.

FEED: Do you have to be in a certain frame of mind to create? Do you require some kind of inspiration, or message to convey?
WALLS: I have a lifetime of inspiration to draw from, but what I do need is time to get my tolls set up and not have to worry about having to be somewhere in an hour. That’s what makes being a full time professor and a full time sculptor such a tough thing, but I couldn’t imagine giving up on either one.

FEED: Sculpting is not a cheap art. Are there ideas floating around in your head that can’t be done simply because of the expense of making them happen?
WALLS: That is so very true. I hate compromise, but looking at things realistically, I have to face compromise everyday. Money, space and time restraints are always a challenge.

FEED: If someone wants to see your work in person, where can they go?
WALLS: Locally I have work in the downtown plaza in Raleigh, NC, at the North Charleston River Front Park in Charleston, SC, at the Rocky Mount Art Center in Rocky Mount, NC, on campus at UNC-Pembroke in Pembroke, NC, and at the Craven Arts Center in New Bern, NC. They can see more that’s a little further out on my website, www.sculpturebyadamwalls.com

Story by Tasina Ducheneaux

You’re sitting there one day and all of a sudden people start disappearing all around you. Your children, your best friend, your waitress, some guy on the street – all just gone. The Rapture, just as described in the Bible, has appeared to have finally happened and you didn’t get to go. So now what? Tom Perrotta explores this scenario in his latest work.

“The Leftovers” follows characters from a somewhat average American city as they try to understand and deal with the bizarre event that has led to the disappearance of so many people. Many believe that the Rapture really did occur and it is time for everyone to start living better lives. An entire industry of cults springs up in the wake of the event – some of them legitimate, some of them fronts for charlatans and con men, some of them murderous and insane.

Interestingly, many Christians in the novel do not believe the event was The Rapture – because they didn’t get to go. One former preacher makes it his life’s work to expose the sins of those who did disappear to prove that they were not worthy to be called home to Jesus and thus the event was not really the Rapture.

But for most people the event is yet another thing to survive. Meals need to be cooked, government needs to run, children need to be nurtured and educated, the missing need to be mourned … life goes on. The vast majority are content to leave the philosophizing to others and just continue with their existence, trying to find happiness and fulfillment wherever they may.

What’s interesting about this work is that it is one that examines what happens AFTER a big climactic event. We all read books and see movies where the big earth shattering event occurs, the hero saves the day, the damsel in distress is rescued … but now what? Who cleans up afterward? What happens to all the people affected by the big event? Where do we go from here? Not many works bother to examine the consequences of a major happening.

Readers familiar with Perrotta’s other books and movie adaptations (Election and Little Children being the most noteworthy) will be happy to note that he is still one of contemporary literature’s keenest eyes and biting commentators on modern society. He is not afraid to examine not just the grand heroics and depths of depravity in his characters, but also the small victories and petty, self-serving acts in all of us, set against the backdrop of quintessential America. This is a quiet work of examination of both self and culture that encourages the reader to do their own inner examination. 
5/5.

One of North Carolina’s most promising bands returns from the brink, stronger than ever.
Story By James Johnson Photos By Raul Rubiera Jr.

There was a nervous tension in the air. It was a Saturday night and the 600-seat auditorium of Raleigh’s Fletcher Opera Hall was near full capacity. Though the four young men of Durham NC’s folk pop band Bombadil were no strangers to playing in front of large crowds, tonight was notably different, as it would mark the first time in two years that the foursome would be playing a proper show live. In late 2009, the band was blindsided by news that singer / bass player Daniel Michalak was no longer capable of playing music due to what appeared to be severe nerve damage to his hands. Tonight was more than just another packed house, it was a final step in a two year healing process. It was a step forward.

Bombadil began in early 2005, when Michalak and guitarist Bryan Rahija were both attending Duke University and studying abroad in Bolivia. Later, pianist and mutual friend Stuart Robinson would join the duo, along with Michalak’s brother John on drums. In 2007 John was replaced by James Phillips.
The band’s upbeat tempos, clever lyrics and worldly sound proved a potent mix, that quickly attracted the attention of Dolphus Ramseur, owner of Ramseur Records. Ramseur was reportedly blown away by group’s song writing abilities after witnessing them open for fellow Ramseur artists The Avett Brothers, in Chapel Hill.

The band debuted with 2008’s A Buzz, A Buzz, before releasing their critically acclaimed sophomore album, Tarpits and Canyonlands in 2009.
Tarpits saw the band challenging themselves like never before, with complex orchestral arrangements and themes that touched on marriage, birth and death.

“When I think about Tarpits and Canyonland, and this is just me talking… But, yeah. I felt like we were trying to do the impossible. Something that was big and grand. We just aimed for the impossible. That was like the whole philosophy at the time. We did these big monsters of songs, tackling big themes, you know?” said Rahija. “And I think you can only do that so long before you encounter some push back from the universe.”
That “push back” came in the midst of a non-stop national tour, when Michalak began noticing an unexplained pain in his forearms and hands. At first, the effects weren’t as noticeable. He had some trouble lifting amps after their shows, then difficulty pumping gas, then playing his instrument, until finally he was having trouble just singing without physical pain.
Finally, just before the release of Tarpits, while getting ready to perform a show in Orlando, FL, the inevitable truth came out.
“We were about to eat soup just before the show and (Daniel) is like, ‘I don’t think I can do this. I can’t even lift my spoon.’” explained Rahija. “At that point we knew: we needed to stop.”

Though Michalak has come a long way since then, he is still not entirely clear as to what had caused the damage, or whether or not he can expect it to flare up again. The decision to stop performing was one that was both frustrating to Michalak, as well as the entire band, who at the time were not certain how they would be able to promote their soon to be released album.
“I had to rethink what music meant to me and had to decide that my health was more important,” admitted Michalak. “I had to come to terms with that and be ‘okay’ with never playing music again. It is hard. Nerve healing is so slow … I look perfectly healthy. I look like a very normal person. I definitely had to imagine life being different, though I was so focused on the day-to-day that I don’t think I ever got hung up on that.”
Doctors, said Michalak, didn’t have many answers for him. He had even tried alternative healing, but the only thing that seemed to help was allowing himself time to heal.

“It was difficult to watch. We are more than just college friends … To see someone you care about like that … He can’t do what his one true dream is, and that sucks. That really sucks,” said Rahija. “It is hard to know what to do in that situation.”
With Michalak being such an irreplaceable part of the band, the group decided to forge ahead with the promotion of what might have been their final album, without playing a tour. Instead the band hosted “listening parties” for the album in which the art used on the album was put on display, and other area artists performed, covering songs from the LP.

“Touring is like the only way to get the word out these days. You have to do that. It was very tough on the band,” said Rahija. “We were all very proud of that record, and I think at the end of the day it was a pretty darn big handicap.”
Despite the misfortune, Tarpits went on to receive rave reviews from such noteworthy publications such as Paste Magazine, The Indy Weekly and the News & Observer.

Now, with Michalak finally healthy enough to pick up a bass again, the group is getting set to release their third album, titled All That the Rain Promises. The 11-track LP is far more intimate than previous efforts, featuring less of the broad orchestral sound that Bombadil had become known for. The album is a purposeful exercise in restraint.
“Throughout this whole process we thought, what is the approach to this project that is practical and doable? Upholding the concept of simplicity,” said Rahija. “Complexity is less organized and accessible.”
All That the Rain Promises will be released Nov. 8, with a special release show at the Cats Cradle in Carrboro Nov. 12. For more information go to www.bombadilmusic.com.

By James Johnson

Monster Mash
Just when we thought the weather up North couldn’t get any worse, we hear that it is apparently raining zombies in Toronto, Canada. More specifically, on the set of the upcoming film, Resident Evil: Retribution. The franchise, which was originally based on the game franchise of the same name stars model / actress Milla Jovovich as a uh… lady who kills zombies. 16 of those said zombies were almost done in by the ultimate monster killer, gravity, when the undead horde of extras reportedly fell 20 feet.
Fortunately none of the injuries were life-threatening, though everyone involved was rushed to the hospital just in case.
Oddly enough, the hospital was said to have a lot of difficulty determining just how injured the victims were due to the costumes that they were still wearing. 16 zombies being examined at a hospital seems like a really wasted opportunity for an elaborate zombie invasion hoax.

Read ‘Em ‘n’ Weep
Singer Amy Winehouse died at age 27 in a manner that was both tragic, but, not terribly surprising. The artist, who climbed to fame with her song “Rehab,” in which she sung about her disinterest in seeking help for her many problems, followed the script laid out for her life almost exactly.
Now, it has been announced that Winehouse’s father Mitch, has reached a deal with HarperCollins to publish a memoir titled Amy, My Daughter. The book, which is set to be released in 2012, will detail the singer’s life from her father’s perspective. This is, of course, another predictable move, but even we cynics must appreciate that the proceeds from the book will be going to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which was set up “to support charitable activities in both the U.K. and abroad that provide help, support or care for young people, especially those who are in need by reason of ill health, disability, financial disadvantage or addiction.”
Who saw that coming?

iTurtleneck
The loss of Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs on Oct. 5, due to pancreatic cancer have left many loyal Apple users asking questions. What does this mean for the future of their beloved giant evil corporation? Who will bring the world innovative ideas? What was the source of Steve’s powers? Was it, perhaps, his turtleneck?
Probably not – but in the newly released authorized Steve Jobs autobiography, simply titled Steve Jobs, author Walter Iaacson attempts to shed some light on the way Jobs thought, even revealing the truth behind the CEO’s signature look in the below excerpt first published on Gawker.com.
On a trip to Japan in the early 1980s, Jobs asked Sony’s chairman Akio Morita why everyone in the company’s factories wore uniforms. He told Jobs that after the war, no one had any clothes, and companies like Sony had to give their workers something to wear each day. Over the years, the uniforms developed their own signatures styles, especially at companies such as Sony, and it became a way of bonding workers to the company. “I decided that I wanted that type of bonding for Apple,” Jobs recalled.
Sony, with its appreciation for style, had gotten the famous designer Issey Miyake to create its uniform. It was a jacket made of rip-stop nylon with sleeves that could unzip to make it a vest. So Jobs called Issey Miyake and asked him to design a vest for Apple, Jobs recalled, “I came back with some samples and told everyone it would great if we would all wear these vests. Oh man, did I get booed off the stage. Everybody hated the idea.”
In the process, however, he became friends with Miyake and would visit him regularly. He also came to like the idea of having a uniform for himself, both because of its daily convenience (the rationale he claimed) and its ability to convey a signature style. “So I asked Issey to make me some of his black turtlenecks that I liked, and he made me like a hundred of them.” Jobs noticed my surprise when he told this story, so he showed them stacked up in the closet. “That’s what I wear,” he said. “I have enough to last for the rest of my life.”