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Jeff Kerssen-Griep’s four- piece band Wild Hair recently re- leased its new album “Buzz Cuts” featuring folk and contra dance music. Kerssen-Griep has been in multiple bands throughout his life and frequently performs. It is a sunny Sunday after- noon and Jeff Kerssen-Griep is on stage strumming away on his acoustic guitar, fingers running wildly over the strings, foot mov- ing vigorously with the beat of the music. “I thought I was going to break multiple strings on that last one,” said Kerssen-Griep after his performance. “And I was stomp- ing my foot … hard.” Communication Studies pro- fessor and department chair by day, musician by night, Kerssen- Griep has participated in count- less bands from the time he was a teenager. “I couldn’t not play in a band,” he said. Kerssen-Griep came from a background in rock, but is now playing folk and contra dance music. “Mostly, we just play regional dances,” he said. “There are danc- es from Seattle to Corvallis.” According to Kerssen-Griep, contra dancing closely resembles square dancing, but participants dance every other number with a different partner. Dances are sim- ple to learn, and people of all ages come out to try them. “It’s not technical, like learn- ing the tango,” Kerssen-Griep said. One recent afternoon, spec- tators witnessed his upbeat per- formances at the Cascade Prom- enade event with one of his two bands, Joy Ride. Sophomore Eri- ca Havey looked on as dozens of couples danced intricate numbers around the Portland Road House to the tunes of Joy Ride. “The whole thing just looks like so much fun!” she said. “I was asked to dance a few times, and the music was so cheerful. It was an awesome environment, though I was kind of scared to dance because everybody seemed to know what they were doing.” Kerssen-Griep’s other band, Wild Hair, played later that eve- ning and has recently released an album titled “Buzz Cuts.” The group was created in 2006 to per- form at the Northwest Folklife Festival and stuck together from then on. “We couldn’t play with the same band two years in a row,” Kerssen-Griep said. “So we did what every other band does, which is make a new one.” Hopping through the loop- holes gave way to a three-piece band, comprised of dynamic fiddler Betsy Branch, percus- sive guitarist Kerssen-Griep and creative pianist Mark Douglas. Todd Silverstein, who plays the bouzouki, whistle and sax, later joined the ensemble. “The band is very mel- ody driven on the top, Bet- sy and me, and rhythm driven on the bottom, Jeff and Mark,” Silverstein said. “It makes for a good combination that the dancers thrive on.” Wild Hair’s new album con- tains everything from fast-paced folk music to touching waltzes. Kerssen-Griep noted that his band’s music is the kind that “makes your butt move side- ways” and the Wild Hair web- site proclaims that this band has been “wig- gling fannies on the dance floor since 2006!” This is just the kind of quirky impul- siveness that the group thrives on: “Buzz Cuts” was re- corded without rehearsal and most live per- formances are spontaneous. “It’s a re- ally fun band,” Kerssen-Griep said. “And it’s very spontane- ous. We haven’t practiced for this show.” According to Silverstein, Wild Hair went into the studio only expecting to get an EP’s worth of music in that after- noon but found that those re- cordings, cou- pled with a few live cuts, were enough to make an entire CD. “I was sur- prised by the quality of the final recording, Jeff and Betsy did a great job editing, and I’m proud of it,” he said. “It captures some great mo- ments of excitement, high energy and also sweetness.” Wild Hair will continue to perform its uplifting music and Kerssen-Griep will resume his position as the passionate musi- cian, playing the guitar and per- cussion as if his life depended on it every chance he gets. “Everybody should find some- thing they can’t not do and keep doing it,” Kerssen-Griep said. And he is doing just that. To check out “Buzz Cuts” visit http://cdbaby.com/cd/WildHair. The Beacon — www.upbeacon.net 9 April 8, 2010 LIVING E T N E R T A I N E The Beacon’s one-stop guide to music, film, dining and culture. APPROACH SAPPHIRE’S “PUSH” TENTATIVELY ... “Push,” a book that the movie “Precious” is based on, is not for the faint of heart. Don’t be fooled by its length – 139 pages – author Sapphire packs intensity into every sen- tence. One page longer and the reader might experience an emo- tional overload. The many disturbing aspects of Precious’ life might seem al- most over the top when listed (illiteracy, poverty, AIDS, abu- sive parents, incest), but the truth is that she embodies the silent suffering of many Americans, exposing the evils of multiple flawed institutions that often go overlooked by the population. The book is written in Pre- cious’ language, which evolves throughout the story. In the be- ginning of the novel, almost ev- ery word is spelled wrong, punc- tuation is lacking and vocabulary is limited. By the end, not only has her language improved but her voice has also become more prominent – something that ben- efits her beyond pen and paper. Sapphire sprinkles the novel with poems written by Precious and students in her GED class. Included at the end of the book is a compilation of their journal entries, which starkly documents stories of murder, drug addiction, incest and violent hate crimes. “Push” is sometimes over- whelming, often uncomfortable and always engrossing. Pick it up to read the story of a true twenty first century heroine. – Corey Fawcett DOWNLOAD ... POGO’S “WEAVE AND WISH” Lovers of all music genres will be enchanted by Australian music artist Pogo’s electronic compositions. Pogo – whose music has been described as electronica, ambient and trip-hop – takes tiny sound bytes from popular children’s movies and strings them together to create mystical melodies. In 2009, he garnered small- scale fame on Youtube with “Al- ice,” a track composed solely of sounds from the original “Alice in Wonderland” movie. Earlier this year, Pixar commissioned him to create a song using sounds from “Up,” which Pogo dubbed “Upular.” Some other Pogo gems in- clude “Scrumdiddlyumptious” created with sound bytes from the original “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” movie, “Ex- pialidocious” (“Mary Poppins”), “Bangarang” (“Hook”) and “Alohomora” (take a guess). All are recently released EPs. Pogo says that his songs in- tentionally lack coherent lyrics so the listeners can make them up for themselves. It’s fun to compare interpretations among friends. Check out his singles and newest album “Weave and Wish.” No matter what kind of music you like, Pogo’s artistic vi- sion will baffle you. – Corey Fawcett WAIT UNTIL THE VIDEO OF ... “CLASH OF THE TI- TANS” “Clash of the Titans” was an enthralling movie… for the first minute and a half. This was the only part of the movie that was semi-original with somewhat cool- looking graphics. “Clash of the Titans” was a clash of horrible effects and atrocious plot. From the odd glow- y orb of light that surrounds Zeus to the utter mockery the movie makes of Greek mythology, I spent the next hour and 49 minutes and 30 seconds cringing and waiting for the ending credits to roll. First, the movie was clearly a composition of graphic effects from other movies, but recreated really poorly. The most strik- ing rip-off in the movie was the king that looked like a throwback to the orcs from “Lord of the Rings.” Second, the plot was just sad, and it created a huge barrier be- tween the movie and me. I know you are supposed to suspend your disbelief when you go to watch these types of movies, but I can’t throw my disbelief and common sense out the window. The most grating part of the plot is how easy everything comes to the main character, Perseus. “I need a sword.” Drop sword from sky. “I do not know how to fight.” Three minutes later he is a skilled swordsman. “I’m sad because my girlfriend is dead.” Insert resurrection scene here. Lather, rinse, repeat. So, skip “Clash of the Titans.” Or at least wait until you can rent it from a Red Box. – Rosemary Peters www.createdintheattic.files.wordpress.com ilictronix.com M http://moviesmedia.ign.com Olga Mosiychuk Special to e Beacon Communication studies professor moonlights as folk musician Professor Kerssen- Griep’s four-piece band ‘Wild Hair’ popular in contra dance circuit “The band is very melody- driven on the top ... It makes for a good combination that the dancers thrive on.” Todd Silverstein Wild Hair band member Courtesy of Jeff Kerssen-Griep Fiddle player Betsy Branch (leſt) and guitarist Jeff Kerssen-Griep perform for a recent Wild Hair gig. Kerssen-Griep is the chair of the Communication Studies Department at the University.
