I’ve been teaching this girl online and this is one of the pieces that she brought to me. It’s important to be familiar with the piece in order to teach it so I’ve played through it a couple times. It’s a simple piece full of youth. It reminds me of daydreaming in classroom, thinking about all the other places I could be. The melody is innocent and full of child like longing. When I was teaching this piece, the thing I emphasized the most was the singing line. It’s easy for the other notes to clutter the melody hindering it from singing it’s little heart in circles.
Art Biz with Liz: Fireflies
The past few weeks have been hectic, and my schoolwork shows no signs of slowing down. Nonetheless, today I decided to take a moment for self-care. With the weather warming up, I was inspired to paint something that reminded me of summer. I am definitely no Bob Ross, but here’s the finished product!
Looking Forward: MEMCO
Happy Friday, everyone!
This week I had the opportunity to chat with Akshay Chacko, Co-President of Michigan Electronic Music Collective (MEMCO). He gave me some insight into what MEMCO does on campus, how they’ve adjusted to COVID, and how students can get involved with the organization. Let’s dive right in!
The first thing to know about MEMCO is that they’re a multifaceted organization focusing on various pillars to get people involved in electronic music on campus. They have two main areas of their mission: 1) break down entry barriers and teach people how to DJ/produce music, and 2) Give students a platform to share their skills.
Electronic music can be a difficult space to break into due to the expensive equipment and limited availability of teachers when compared to learning to play the guitar or another instrument. MEMCO
addresses these areas by providing equipment for their members to learn and practice on – from their full-scale, state-of-the-art setup to more portable DJ controllers that are able to be individually borrowed during COVID (and which they were able to get thanks to an Arts at Michigan grant!). They also host a series of speaker panels and educational events which cover topics like the history of electronic music, insights from talent bookers or graphic designers, and understanding the intersectionality that techno music was built upon – including its connections to Detroit. Many of their educational programs have been able to be moved online fairly seamlessly, allowing their members to grow their passion and knowledge of music even in quarantine.
MEMCO’s performance programming has been a little more challenging to move into the virtual space. Akshay explained to me what the event process in previous years has looked like:
“Our biggest event [pre-COVID] would be, like, every month we would throw these events at Club Above on main street called Impulse Events, and these events were basically hosted, organized, executed, promoted, all by the club. We curate the lineup, 
which it’s usually just members of our club but sometimes we would book, like, bigger artists from Detroit and stuff. We handle the booking, we handle, like, the graphic design, the promotion, and we meet up and then go, you know, poster around campus and downtown and stuff, and then we handle the production of this event from start to finish.”
Obviously, those tasks are all incredible learning opportunities for someone looking to continue in the music industry, or, really, any industry. The process of putting on the event might be as beneficial as actually being able to perform at the event. So, while they can’t perform in clubs and bars as they would normally, they’ve found creative ways to make the best of this year.
“We’ve just had to switch to a live stream format for [Impulse Events]. And that is, I’m sure you’ve seen, like most electronic events or, like, DJ, or anything, that have switched to the live stream format and we have kind of just had to do the same. [It’s a] totally different experience and definitely way harder to, like, get new members or any members at all. You know, instead of beingat the club on a Friday night, you’re, like, sitting in front of a computer… We do like a simultaneous zoom call too but, you know, you have to be realistic that it’s not the same experience… We still promote the event from start to finish. [We] han
dle booking and all these things and, like, for an upcoming event we have booked some DJ and stuff… I’d say we have a professional setup that is, like, up to par with, you know, any big DJ and what they’re doing, so it’s as good as we could be. I’m honestly, like, really proud of the setup that we have to do our live streaming.”
As expected, some things translate better to the Zoom format than others. Speaker series work well, for instance,, while trying to teach someone to DJ for the first time might be a little more challenging. Setting up a DJ Livestream may be straightforward, but how do you get back some of the energy that you’d have in a club or bar setting? These are questions that MEMCO has grappled with this semester, and it seems like they are doing a wonderful job to make the best experience possible for their members.
If you’re interested in getting involved with MEMCO, you can email Akshay at achacko@umich.edu and he will get you set up with the Slack channel and make sure you’re in the loop for future events. One of the nice things about MEMCO is that being a member is super flexible – you can be as involved as much or as little as works best for you. If you’re only interested in one side of their programming, want to be on the backend of event production, only want to attend social events and performances, or want to do all the above, you are welcome no matter what. Also, be sure to follow their Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud pages.
If you want to get your feet wet, MEMCO is hosting a music production workshop series tomorrow (March 27) from 1-6 PM. More information can be found on the Facebook event or the event graphic below.
That’s all from me this week!
Stay safe & stay well,
Lucy
Artist Spotlight: Legendary Designer Tinker Hatfield
With a name like Tinker Hatfield, the famous shoe designer and architect seems destined for fame. Tinker Hatfield is an American designer and currently the Vice President for Design and Special Projects at Nike, best known for his work on the Air Jordan brand, including the Air Jordan III (credited for saving Jordan’s relationship with Nike), the Air Max 1, and other iconic shoe models. In 2019, he was even presented with his own sneaker, the Nike React Tinker Hatfield at SXSW.
After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture at the University of Oregon, where he was a pole vaulter, Hatfield joined Nike in 1981 and began working on sneaker design in 1985. He soon after designed the Air Max 1, the Air Trainer 1, the Nike Air MAG as shown in Back to the Future II, and the Air Max 90–all within his first five years at the company. These shoe designs remain ever-popular among sneaker-savvy fans, for their classic, timeless aesthetic.
In 2011, Hatfield designed the graphics for the Matthew Knight Arena at his alma mater, the University of Oregon, which features fir tree silhouettes that outline the basketball court.
“The Architect’s” trendsetting designs have earned him the title of one of the most influential designers of the sneaker and fashion world. To this day, he continues to elevate the Nike brand and footwear as we know it. When you wear a pair of sweet Nikes, it’s probably due to Tinker.
Untitled
Hello, my children,
The characteristic sign of any sort of civilization is a wizard’s tower. Power is held and distributed by those at the top, so what a wonderful metaphor for these imbalanced structures set into place as the structure of our civilization for millennia. Folks fear those who stand tall above them, they cower beneath such deified figures when instead, such magically inclined people are just as flawed and scarred as the rest of us lowly folk (in different, more complex manners).
Now I may merely be a lowly magician, for I possess no obtuse obelisk as brash as The Headmaster’s pointy stick at the center of town, but I digress. There is no shame in sequestering yourself to a humble cottage at the side of a river, or a cozy 9 person shared room in the slums of the west end of the city. Such is the life of a magician of lesser stature than myself. I assure you, my most devoted students, that you will find yourselves easily to the middle stratum of magical labor (to be honest, high society isn’t realistic for you all).
As you all understand, the title of Wizard is a highly coveted political status, and the way of asserting your mindless dominance over the rest of the community is to retreat to the highest point in the highest city where no other person can reach you. You cackle at the humble congregations and convents, you mock the puny scale of the university, you spit at the 15-foot walls which are meant to protect the law-abiding citizens of this settlement.
Who is there with you? No one; a wizard can never manage time for a partner. Who is there to comfort you when you small little universe that you’ve created crumbles at the realization that there exists another wizard more powerful than you, a wizard whose tower extends beyond even the clouds, and you must take it, you must breathe in the same air as a greatness and profound intelligence that you may never achieve. These wizards, they are higher than kings. They are higher than gods. What happens when your deific power is pitted against another force of unimaginable magnitude? Well, you must once again assert your position on the theoretical totem pole. Climbing the ladder, riding high, falling down, rinsing, repeating, cutting the throats of your colleagues, destroying the final enemy in your ultimate pursuit of academic dominance. What is it worth when your bones crumble the same as your pitiful tower, and your precious memory remains only on the tongues of street minstrels speaking of your deepest misfortunes decades later?
No, wizard towers are defined by their unapologetic expression of superiority and idiocy. Hubris, it is all hubris, and the lower one is to the earth, the easier it is to see the absurdity of removing oneself from the restful hands which birthed all life.
I apologize, again. I may have gotten sidetracked and expanded our time…
Until next time,
-The Magician
Weird and Wonderful: Wacky Sci-Fi Grab Bag
For this week’s installment I decided that rather than writing about only one film, I’d write about three films: Mac and Me, Earth Girls Are Easy, and Stay Tuned. These three weren’t well-received by critics, but they hold a special place in my heart as goofy cult classics. Although they aren’t necessarily “good”, each of these sci-fi comedies is far more entertaining than their ratings would have you believe. Grab some popcorn, candy, and your favorite beverage, and settle in for a silly triple feature.
Mac and Me (1988):
This is one of those rare films that is just so bad it’s good. The titular alien, MAC (Mysterious Alien Creature) just wants to return to his family, but instead he ends up at the home of young Eric Cruise (Jade Calegory). Eric must then convince his friends and family to help guide MAC home. Sound familiar? It should, because Mac and Me is essentially an E.T. rip-off funded by product placement. The film was pitched by producer R.J. Louis — who had connections to fast food giant McDonald’s through advertising work and Ronald McDonald House charities — as a promotion for McDonald’s. One of the highlights of this wholesome alien advertisement is a dance sequence at McDonald’s, featuring Ronald McDonald himself (and an uncredited young Jennifer Aniston in her very first role). The additions of life-saving Coca Cola, a trip to the mall, and a pink Cadillac in the final scene couldn’t be a more cheesy love letter to American consumers.
I love this film so much because the more I learn about it, the more I wonder how it ever got made. The sheer ridiculousness of Mac and Me is what kept me glued to the screen. Come on, a film funded by McDonald’s in which the main character’s name is MAC? How could you not giggle the whole way through?
Earth Girls Are Easy (1989):
Ever wanted to see Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey, and Damon Wayans transform from fuzzy aliens to 80’s California hunks? Here’s your chance. In Earth Girls Are Easy, L.A. manicurist Valerie (Geena Davis) kicks out her rude fiancé only to discover aliens have crash landed in her pool. After a classic makeover sequence, Valerie, her friend Candy, and the aliens hit the town and learn all about 80’s pop culture and what it means to be human. Along the way, the cast breaks out into multiple musical numbers and dance sequences. In 2001 Earth Girls Are Easy was set to be adapted into a stage musical, and if it hadn’t flopped I firmly believe it would have been an instant classic.
This film gave me such warm feelings because it exudes a carefree atmosphere. The premise was so strange and charming that the film didn’t feel its hour and forty minute run time at all. It has all the kitschiness of a more popular 80’s rom-com, but the extraterrestrial twist gives the film the bonus weird factor that it needs to be permanently burned into my brain.
Stay Tuned (1992):
Don’t sit too close to the television for this one, kids. Stay Tuned stars John Ritter as Roy, a television-obsessed couch potato who accepts a mysterious offer for a new state of the art satellite dish. He and his wife, Helen (Pam Dawber), are sucked into “Hellevision”, a gruesome game show in which the contestants must survive for 24 hours. If not, their souls are stuck in Hellevision forever, and it’s up to their kids Darryl (David Tom) and Diane (Heather McComb) to save them. This film parodies over twenty television shows and films in delightfully devilish ways — one of my personal favorites being “Duane’s Underworld”. As they journey through these parodies, the whole family learns what is truly important: each other.
Stay Tuned is one of the most amusing satires of media consumption I’ve ever seen. Even if younger audiences might not understand every reference, it’s still well worth the watch. The idea that even Hell itself has had to adapt to technological advancement is comedic gold, and the actors absolutely nail every gag. In the age of Netflix binging and rising screen time, Stay Tuned is just as relevant, and just as goofy.
No matter which one of these films you choose for a lighthearted movie night, you’re bound to have a good time. Who cares what the critics say? Sit back, relax, and revel in the cheesiness.
