One thing I have always loved about the summer months are the amazing outdoor festivals, concerts and fairs that result from the warm weather. Depending on where you live, there are many different things to do and see. My hometown is famous for its summer carnivals. As soon as you see the Ferris wheel being set up in the local mall parking lot, you know that school is almost coming to a close, and warm nights at the beach are just around the corner.

With the warm weather ascending on Connecticut comes many festivals, the largest of which is Soupstock Music & Arts Festival in Shelton, Conn. The festival will take place on Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Pavilion in Veteran’s Park. The event will have free admission to the public and is a benefit for the Mary A. Schmecker Turtle Shell Fund—“Furthering Art, Craft and Music Education for Children and Young Adults.”

In anticipation to find out more about this event, I was able to interview Derek Signore, the Marketing Director for the Soupstock Festival and one of its founders.

“Soupstock actually came about from a conversation we had a few years ago at Liquid Lunch. One of our employees suggested we hold a soup cook-off and call it Soup-a-palooza or Soupstock,” said Signore. “That idea stuck with us and when Fred and I started the Turtle Shell fund, we knew that our largest annual fundraiser would be called Soupstock. We asked my brother Joe to help us organize the event and together we created the festival for the first year. From then on, with the added help of Nicole Heriot, the festival has grown into what it is today—a celebration of artistic expression in our community.”

“Shelton, CT is our hometown and we are extremely proud of our community. The Veteran’s memorial park is the perfect location because of its size and accessibility. It makes us so proud to be able to celebrate the beauty of our community right in the very heart of our community,” he further added.

This is the fourth annual celebration of the event, so it is easy to see how successful they have been in creating a memorable event. Not only does this even include arts and craft showcases, but it also features live music and a cook-off. Performers at this year’s festival also include Vermont Funk troupe The Main Squeeze, Will Evans & Jeff Howard of Barefoot Truth and McLovins fame, local favorites The Alpaca Gnomes, Hubinger Street, Old School, Bobby Paltauf Band, Wandering Roots, festival staple Newton Crosby, The Nameless Trio, Terri Lynn, Hannah Fair, Back From Earth and The String Fingers Band.

“Joe Manganello and Nicole Heriot are immersed in the local music scene and have a great knowledge of really good musical talent. Together, they formulate an awesome and diverse lineup between two stages. It rocks. Literally,” said Signore when inquired about how the musical lineup was constructed.

The cook-off will be another entertaining event of the day’s festivities where participants from all over Southern Connecticut will compete for the coveted Soupstock title. Each cook will make a large kettle of soup ready for all attendees to inspect and taste.

Members of the public can make a small donation to the Turtle Shell Fund and become a ‘Schmecker’ (that’s literally German for ‘taster’). Your donation gets you a pass to taste the soup all day long. Once you’ve tried them all, you can vote for your favorites and go back for seconds.

I asked Signore if they had a specific target audience. I explained that many festivals in the West and New Haven areas target college students because four major colleges and universities surround the area. Signore agreed with this target audience, but broadened it a bit. “We love families. We love music lovers. Our organization is all about fostering creative expression in young people, so we want to reach as many young people as possible,” he said.

It is clear that the festival’s main goal is to showcase local talent while creating a sense of community, which is something really crucial to building a lasting and memorable event.

Due to the strong sense of community this event evokes, there are many local businesses that have remained constant stakeholders in the event for the past four years,

“Each year has had its own personality, but there are a few sponsors who have believed in us from the beginning, including Recipe of Success, LLC and The Valley Community Foundation,” Signore explained. “However, that is only to name a few. There are many sponsors that help make this event possible each year.”

If you think that this event is something you would be interested in not only attending, but also volunteering for, then there are many ways to get involved, and you can contact the festival at www.soupstockfestival.org. This could be a great opportunity for music students to gain experience with live sound/performance experience, or even majors such as hospitality and business to be involved firsthand with the building a successful, large-scale local event.

“Every year, we keep growing and it takes more people to organize the event. We are finding that with each year that passes, more people want to volunteer. This makes us feel great and we are currently at the point to where we are organizing departments and assigning team leaders for each department,” Signore said. It is clear that this would be the type of event that could give any volunteer hands-on experience and a feeling of accomplishment.

Soupstock is all about community and fostering local talent to showcase the achievements of those who dedicate their life to arts and music. It is rare to find festivals such as this anymore, which are family friendly yet equally entertaining for an audience of any age. Being that this event will be held so close to school, it would also be an amazing opportunity to either volunteer or to attend and feel a sense of community where it matters most.

Established in 2010, the Soupstock Festival has grown organically into one of Connecticut’s leading independent arts and music events. The festival has earned its reputation by attracting premier talent across all mediums to provide a landscape meant to please all the senses (and comparatively, all ages).

This is an event where people of all ages can join together and enjoy great music, local art, amazing food and outdoor fun for a great cause. Soupstock Arts & Music Festival is only growing in size and popularity with each passing year, and by attending you would be able to say you aided in helping a good thing grow.

Music

By Cassidy Kee

Music is my soul

It is my heartbeat.

Music is there every waking hour

And before I go to sleep.

Music gives me strength

It gives me life.

Music soothes me

Through every strife.

Music lives inside

Among my treasured memories.

Music is forever

And is life’s greatest remedy.

I have worked at Hollister for a year and a half now, and I can honestly say I love my job. Most of the people are nicer than you may initially suspect.

I have made a bunch of great friends there, and even met my boyfriend there. You get used to the rules about your appearance—like no nail polish and minimal makeup. You even adapt to the strong scent and the dark surroundings. However, there is one thing that will always get a little bit on your nerves and stuck in your head: the music. Any music can get stuck in your head when you keep hearing it on repeat all day long, so I decided to investigate. If the music is played just once at a normal volume, is it just as catchy?

The first song on our playlist happens to be “Here With You.” While all of the employees have thought that it sounds like One Direction, it is actually sung by the little known Asher Monroe. While I found the accompanying music video to have an overdone party boy vibe, the actual song pumped me up more than I expected. I even found myself, dare I say it, dancing! Overall, I might listen to it while I get ready to go out.

The next is an electronic pop remix. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate remixes. That being said, I might be bias when I say I don’t like “Royal Oats (Radial Remix)” by Emil & Friends. However, the lyrics do not support the theme that Hollister is striving for in the first place. “We’re too young to give a damn” just doesn’t sound like what you expect to hear in a store that strives so hard for its wholesome image. While arguments may be made that it supports the laid-back beach vibe, I am far from a fan of this one.

The same may be said about “We Have Love” by Panama. This song is straight up annoying. It just repeats the title again and again. “Relapse” by Blue Satellite and Jhameel is almost the same way. It is repetitive, and the lyrics are strange. I laugh whenever it comes on at work though. Hearing “I hate that mess, I’m keeping it clean” while you fold shirts is kind of ironic.

“Whole Lotta You” by A Rocket To The Moon is my favorite on the playlist. While catchy like all of the other songs, it is much less repetitive than the others. It is a very fun and happy song. The speaking and sound effects in the background enhance the song. Even though it is a little slower than the rest of the songs on the playlist, it is just as high energy. This is perhaps the only song on the playlist that I would pay money to download. It is highly contagious and puts everyone at work in a good mood.

“Taking On Eternity” by Stephen Jerzak and Romance On A Rocketship is repetitive, yet undeniably catchy. It has high energy with a strong beat and romantic lyrics. This is what Hollister is looking for! “You and me, we can be like the movies.” How sweet! There are plenty of short instrumental solos that change up the vibe and allow the song to be less consistent. This is definitely a song to put you in a good mood.

There was only one word to describe my face when I looked up “Say Something” by Austin Mahone: shocked. This kid is really young! However, he also is very talented. The music video, in case you were wondering, is completely adorable. He is in a school passing notes to the girl he likes and dancing like all of One Direction put into one single body. Of course, in the end of the video, he gets the girl.

All of Hollister’s songs proved to be catchy and highly energetic. While some of them were downright annoying, others were actually better than I expected.

Fifty years after the Beatles released their first single, “Love Me Do,” their music is still a strong influence on pop culture.

A new honors course at UNH focuses on the music of the Beatles.

And it still interests college students.

Although most of the students in the honors class at UNH on the music and lyrics of the Beatles weren’t born until the early 1990s, all of them have a favorite Beatles song, said Guillermo Mager, associate professor and acting head of the music department. “When we asked the class about their favorite songs, many of them said, ‘my dad plays the Beatles all the time.’”

The course, “Twilight of the Gods: the Music and Lyrics of the Beatles,” is being team-taught by Mager and Wes Davis, a senior lecturer in English who teaches courses on song lyrics. It emphasizes the importance of the Beatles to music history.

The most written-about and analyzed band in history, said Davis, has had more scholarship devoted to it than any other musical act. So the challenge of choosing books as texts and recommended reading was limited only to figuring out which would be the most important.

“The Beatles are the most popular, influential and critically lauded musical act of the 20th century,” he said. “Their album, “Beatles One,” which has 21 of their number one singles, was the biggest-selling CD of the first decade of the 21st century.”

The Beatles are important not only for their music but also for their lyrics, he said. “We are emphasizing the music and the lyrics equally,” he said.

The music is fairly simple but not always predictable, Mager said, since the Beatles had no real musical training and didn’t really know “the rules.”

They also were among the first rock groups to use strings even before John Lennon became interested in Eastern music.

And the lyrics took a turn from merely focusing on love to more serious topics (such as death, loneliness and isolation, as in “Eleanor Rigby”) after Bob Dylan came on the scene. They also wrote extensively about the effect of the past on the present, for example in “Penny Lane” and “In My Life.”

“Dylan introduced them to serious topics,” said Davis. “He also showed them that lyrics could be more serious and introspective.”

The Jazz Entertainment productions presented artist Ed Stephenson and the Paco Band Thursday, Nov. 8, in Dodds Hall Lobby. Students and faculty alike came to Dodds Hall to enjoy the Spanish and Nevo Flamenco music and to gain a new cultural experience.

The University of New Haven Music Department, in collaboration with the Freshman Music LLC program, sponsored the event. “We’re trying to globalize and bring different kinds of music here to UNH,” Chris Reba, a faculty member in the Music Department, said. “Stephenson and the Paco Band performed last year and were hit, so we asked if they’d come again this year.”

“I really love how the UNH music program brings in different music groups from diverse backgrounds,” freshman Sammy Bowers said. “It exemplifies UNH’s commitment to experimental learning.”

Ed Stephenson is a Liscio recording artist and an internationally-acclaimed virtuoso guitarist. Stephenson was joined by the Paco Band, which included percussionist Cat Albanese, guitarist Craig Hilton and bassist Ryan Johnson.

The band played a mix of original virtuosic guitar compositions and covers of the music of Joaquin Rodrigo, Isaac Albeniz, Chick Corea, Paco de Lucia and even Led Zeppelin.

Students sat at small tables set up around the makeshift stage area and on the steps in the lobby, creating a casual, laid back environment; it was a night of relaxing and enjoying some good music.

“I love the live music situation,” said freshman Jeff Eckhardt. “The setting is very casual, and it’s great to be able to watch the band from so close up.”

“Events like these really brings the school together. It also brings cultural diversity and covers of Led Zeppelin songs!” Tom Stringer added.

The night gave a new perspective to many students, introducing them to a different type of music that they normally would not hear.

“I haven’t heard anything different in a while, so this is a nice change,” sophomore Clarris Jilan said. “It’s not mainstream, and it introduces kids to something new.”

“You never know what you really like until you try out everything,” she said.

The great part about going to a school with such a solid music industry program is being able to network with so many peers who are artists themselves. There are so many eclectic styles around our university’s campus, but one of my personal favorite performers has to be Cata Gonzalez.

Old Soul New Voice EP, by Cata Gonzalez

This past summer, Gonzalez released her self-written EP titled Old Soul New Voice, which features many of her original tracks and also a mash-up of some of the most popular songs of the year.

Gonzalez’s featured single off of the EP is titled “Proof,” and is probably my favorite track off of the album. There is a certain quality to her voice in this song that really highlights the type of artists she is portraying.

Beyond the fact that the song has a contagious chorus and a beautiful guitar backing, Gonzalez really shows off of her skills as a talented lyricist. The music video that she released on Aug. 14, 2012, for this song really gives you a deeper look at the girl behind the artist. Automatically, you can see that Gonzalez is a genuine girl who loves sharing her gift with the world. It is hard to write so many originals that are relatable to whom ever listens. She has clearly made the distinction between an amateur songwriter and an artist.

Another song that really exemplifies Gonzalez’s songwriting skills is “When I,” which is track number five on her EP. This song has an amazing story line to it, and perfectly harmonized backing vocals make it very enjoyable to listen to.

After listening to this EP, you find yourself having the songs stuck in your head, which is the telltale sign of a great songwriter. Whenever you speak to Gonzalez about her music, or any music in general, it is easy to see how passionate she is. You can clearly tell that music has always been a part of her life, and that she cannot see herself doing anything else.

Gonzalez moved to the United States on her own after high school to attend the University of New Haven because she knew that there would be no other way to get involved with the industry. That sort of life change all for the sake of her music shows courage, determination and, most importantly, character.

Everyone should do themselves a favor and download her EP, Old Soul New Voice, today; I can promise you will not regret it.

http://catalinagonzalez.bandcamp.com/

On Friday Aug. 31, 2012, Chargers marched to North campus for Fall Fest to celebrate with music, food, and games.

USGA President Patrick Kelland participated in the dunk tank. Students waited anxiously for someone to hit the bulls-eye and send him plummeting into the water below.

Music was provided by SCOPE, and the MC for the night was Ahjahta McDuffie, who introduced all the sports teams. Football, men’s and women’s cross country and track and field, soccer, basketball, baseball and softball, volleyball, tennis, and lacrosse were wished good luck in their upcoming seasons.

J.D. Chalifoux, a senior on the football team said, “It’s crazy time went by so fast, and I remember being a freshman when coach said you’ll blink and it will all be over, and that’s really true.”

This was Chalifoux’s last time being introduced to his peers at Fall Fest, and even though he cannot believe the past four years flew by, he could not be happier spending his last moments on the field with anyone other than the group of guys on the team that have really grown to feel like his own brothers.

Along with the athletic festivities, students could decorate their own foam fingers, megaphones, or tie-dye T-shirts sponsored by Chi Kappa Rho.

Big Blue Wrecking Crew hard hats were given away to freshmen and transfer students, and extra SOAR welcome week T-shirts were available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

There was also an inflatable bouncy bounce obstacle course that you could race an opponent through, or you could attempt to dunk various ORL leaders into a dunk tank. Another participant in the dunk tank was USGA President Patrick Kelland, and students waited anxiously for someone to hit the bulls-eye and send him plummeting into the water below.

Kelland volunteered to participate in the dunk tank, and said “I enjoyed being in the dunk tank, but the suspense was painful as I heard the ball hit but not actually trigger the release, and it was entertaining to see how many people wanted to dunk myself and the other orientation leaders.”

A BBQ-style dinner was served for the students and water bottles encouraging smart Charger choices to live above the influence were given out.

Charlie the Charger was boosting the school spirit as he walked around taking pictures with students, and tryouts for the next Charlie were being held.

The UNH Dance team preformed a routine and the UNH Cheerleaders introduced an original cheer to pump up the Charger’s blue and gold pride.

Artists are always finding new and different ways to approach art and cross over the boundaries separating different mediums, methods, and

One of his pieces, titled “Apresbonanza,” consists of a series of cassette and CD containers that open and close at various points, creating sounds that vary based on the timing.

styles of artwork. Whether creating artwork out of musical notations or common household items like box tops and pennies, artists continue to expand the world of art by not only thinking outside of the box, but making us question whether or not such a box even exists. For its current exhibit, the Seton Art Gallery in Dodds Hall decided to explore another art linking sound and motion.

The Exhibit, “Emergence Delirium,” opened on Thursday January 19, with a reception from 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. This exhibit, by composer and performer Bill Sack featuring Assistant Professor of Music and Sound Recording Chris Reba, includes devices and constructions that integrate motion and sound. Sack’s interests include mechanical models of music-making, automated composition, self-organizing systems, and non-idiomatic free improvisation. One of his pieces, titled “Apresbonanza,” consists of a series of cassette and CD containers that open and close at various points, creating sounds that vary based on the timing.

Another piece by Sack involved a guitar with several clips attached to the strings, and the clips themselves attached to little capacitors. Solar energy filled the capacitors which, after filling, push the clips across the guitar strings, resulting in notes being played. Reba’s contribution to the exhibit was a device linked to a computer and camera that took the image in front of it, converted it to binary code, and moved a set of dials accordingly, which created sounds in a variety of volumes.

An artist’s talk is scheduled for the conclusion of the exhibit on February 10. The Seton Art Gallery is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. as well as Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., until the 10th. If you ever wanted to see what you look like in binary code, make sure you do so before Emergence Delirium closes!

Maroon 5 released their much anticipated cd, Hands All Over, on September 21. This is Maroon 5’s third cd released since the band became established in 2001. Hands All Over was created in Switzerland after the band did their college tour in 2009. The cd has a very easy beat throughout the whole album that makes it easy to dance to, with a mixture of songs that remind people of anything from being in love to a break-up.

There were two cd’s that were released on the twenty-first: the regular cd and the deluxe version. The regular cd has 12 songs on it, while the deluxe version has an extra five tracks including, “Last Chance,” “No Curtin Call,” “Never Gonna Leave this Bed- Acoustic Version,” “Misery- Acoustic Version,” and “If I Ain’t Got You.” If the cd was pre-ordered, then that one came with an additional track: “The Air that I Breathe.”

“Misery” was the first released track on June 22, through a music video which gave the first glimpse of the Hands All Over cd. Then, “Give a Little More” released on September 8 through a music video also a few weeks before Hands All Over was released. “Stutter” is the third song on the album and is very upbeat and has great lyrics about being the only girl for a guy that he is crazy about. “Hands All Over” is the seventh track of the album and has a very sexual subject matter, with a very danceable beat to it. “No Curtin Call” is on the deluxe version of the cd. This song also has very catchy lyrics to it with an awesome beat as well.

Overall, the new Maroon 5 cd, Hands All Over is an example of Maroon 5’s style of music with different subject matters and style of songs. If you are interested in buying this cd you can get it on iTunes, at Target, and Wal-Mart. But I would suggest getting the deluxe edition for more of the awesome Maroon 5 songs.

This year I have the great fortune to live in the Main Street condos, and what could I possibly have to complain about? I have a full kitchen with brand new appliances and granite counter tops, a two-car garage and driveway, two and a half bathrooms, and a washer and dryer. Best deal ever!

Matt Di Giovanni, Editor-in-Chief

But of course, living in off-campus university housing has its big catch; you have to take the shuttle to and from campus. I understand that parking is a huge issue on campus since there isn’t more space to accommodate the greater numbers of Forest Hills, Savin Court, Regency, and Main Street, but come on, the shuttle is oh so inconvenient.

When I need to be on campus for class, I need to plan to be on a shuttle so that I get on campus with almost an hour to spare. Half the time this is because of somewhat poor scheduling.

First, the shuttle schedule doesn’t coordinate with class times, so when I have a 10:50 a.m. class, I can’t take the 10:30 a.m. shuttle because it doesn’t get to campus until 10:55 a.m. So, instead I need to take the 10:00 a.m. and waste a half hour. This isn’t that bad, but what if the shuttle is early, late, or doesn’t show up? I’m not allowed to park on campus, so should I just be a half hour late to class? Another issue arises when both shuttles go on break at the same time. Why bother to have two shuttles? A friend of mine is “stuck” on campus for an extra hour because, following his class, both shuttles go on break. It also seems stupid that a 5-8 minute drive manages to take 25-30 minutes by shuttle. I understand that the shuttle makes stops at all off-campus locations, but if I drive to the stops, I can make it much faster than that (legally of course).

Regardless of shuttle timing, the drivers are another story. So far I’ve had experiences ranging from a friendly, talkative driver at 7 a.m. to someone who can hardly drive and taps on the brakes every two seconds panicing while backing up to turn around. Additionally, some of the drivers disregard their routes and rules, heading to a stop ahead of schedule because someone asks them to, or dropping people off on the side of the road at a stop sign. I’m not going to try and convince any one that I wouldn’t appreciate the shuttle going out of its way for me, but to be safe and fair, the drivers shouldn’t follow every passenger’s request.

In the end, I still love my condo and wouldn’t trade it just so I could live on campus, but a fully reliable shuttle would be nice. I think the shuttle schedule should account for getting students on campus for classes and not five minutes after the class started. Sure, an extra half hour on campus never killed anybody, but for my late night Wednesday physics lab, I don’t want to wait for a shuttle or be bored on campus with too little time to do anything productive. Thank you UNH for the great housing opportunity, but can you make sure that the shuttles you’re paying for do what they’re supposed to in a smart and efficient way?

P.S. it’d be great if the drivers listened to music other than Hot 93.7; that station plays the same songs on a cycle over and over. I’ve heard Sean Kingston’s “Letting Go (Dutty Love)” more times than anyone should in a lifetime. Thanks, I appreciate it.