Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1997)
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 1997 Clackamas1 own PowerSurge brings musical mirth to Carnegie Center with CD release JOEL P. SHEMPERT Feature Editor . Do you want to know what a power surge is? You’d best ask Janet Martin. Her song of the same name provides sev eral definitions, including one related to menopause. If you want to know what PowerSurge is, you simply had to be at Oregon City’s Carnegie Center at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23. Clackamas faculty members Janet Martin and Peggy Stevens Falkenstein’s eclectic band was there in full force for the release of their CD, Universal Feelings. The cozy, artistic atmosphere of the Carnegie Center was perfect for a friendly, intimate, and humorous show. Mar tin was on piano and Falkenstein played the keyboard, backed by bassist/guitarist Jason Heald and percussionist Rick Cole. Martin and Falkenstein traded vocals as they traded credit for writing each song. Their style actually spans a vast array of styles, from folk . JOEL P. SHEMPERT / Clackamas Print Music teacher Janet Martin's fingers glide across a grand piano at PowerSurge's concert. to blues to pop to island to rock. They are both talented and inspiring lyricists, and other band members—only four of seven were represented—are all capable and enjoyable mu sicians. Playing for an audience filled with many friends and fam ily members, Martin and Falkenstein’s songs covered per sonal topics in both lighthearted and serious veins. The band only performed two songs from the CD (one of Martin’s and one of Falkenstein’s), prompting Janet Martin to quip, “We want you to buy the CD, not hear all the songs here.” The quartet kept the audience laughing and crying through out the concert. Janet Martin’s “Grass on the Totem Poles,” a look at the bygone native peoples of North America, was compelling and introspective. Peggy Stevens Falkenstein’s “Coral of the Sea” stole the show emotionally, with a tender account of a young niece tragically gone before her time. Martin did some soul-searching with “Waitin',” which she intro duced with an ironic smile as “the latest installment in the story of Janet’s love life.” PowerSurge also performed the Eagles’ “Desperado” of which Janet commented, “I used to think this song was about all the men I was in love with. Now I think it’s about me.” The show was amusing as well as gripping, beginning with Falkenstein’s tune, “I Can’t Remember,” which the two women brought to life by acting the part, feigning collec tive amnesia. They also sang a piece by Peter and Lou Berryman called “A Chat With Your Mom,” which offered a humorous perspective on swearing. The finishing num ber, written by Jimmy Buffett with added lyrics by Martin, “Volcano” encouraged audience participation and was good for a lot of laughs. The entire ensemble performed extremely well. Falkenstein’s expressive hand motions and body language complemented her vocals beautifully. Martin’s fingers darted nimbly across the grand piano, and her lead vocals were excellent as well. Heald’s performance on stand-up bass, guitar, and background vocals was spirited and jovial, JOEL P. SHEMPERT ! Clackamas Print Peggy Falkenstein emotes for a receptive audience, singing lead vocals on an original song. and Cole provided a strong foundation and rich ambience on various percussive instruments. PowerSurge’s CD, available at the Clackamas bookstore or by calling 557-9127, is well worth the $ 15 for those who love good music. While the band plays a large selection of songs by other writers—“Updating the 60s for the 90s,” Martin jokes—all the tracks on the CD are original and worthwhile. Martin teaches piano at Clackamas, and PowerSurge was born when she had Falkenstein, who works in Clackamas' Customized Training and Development Services, as a stu dent. Between the two of them, they posess a wealth of experience in life and love. All are invited to share in their treasure. Drama department's 'A Flea In Her Ear'a delight for all JOSH LEE KWAI Staff Writer The Communications and Theater Arts Department opened performance of “A Flea in Her Ear,” a French farce, to delighted crowds last week. The Georges Geydeau play follows the escapades of a woman and her friend who collaborate to expose the woman’s husband’s affair, and the complications that oc cur. It is a show rooted in the essence of farcical comedy, mistaken identities, miscommunications and sexual innu- endoes. “It's funny in all the basic sort of ways,” said Mandy Pearce, one of the actors. “You don’t have to think a lot to understand the humor.” And indeed this is true—in fact, one of the most amusing characters cannot speak. Sigfried Seeliger players a secre tary with no roof to his mouth. Hence he can only pro nounce vowel sounds. John Renner plays two roles. One is a very charming, suave, sophisticated rich man and the other is a poor, un educated, ill-behaved drunkard. With the frequency that Renner changes characters one is left wondering how he possibly changes costumes in the given amount of time. Perhaps the funniest scene in the show takes place in Act 2, in the hotel Coq d’Or. Most of the characters are present and cases of mistaken identity are rampant. Another great scene involves a rotating bed. All in all, it’s a great show, with enough humor packed in to keep anyone entertained. • “You’ve got your violence, your sex, your money,” laughed Pearce. “I mean, we’ve got a rotating bed, what more do you want?” Website: greater accessibility to come Continued from Page 1 view of the campus would show where each building is located along with cor responding information about each building (i.e. what classes held there, e-mail or extension contact, activities, floor plan, etc.). A Roving Camera. By visiting this site students could see a live video feed showing a particular aspect of interest on campus, such as an instructional area, that is updated every 10 minutes and moved every week or so. This would not be a surveillance camera, just a way to show off elements of the campus in real time. More Student Involved Links. ASG, the Athletic Department, and pages for each participating club could be added to our home page. The Clackamas Print could publish online as well. Student Services. Along with the entire college catalog being on-line, there would also be a page with infor mation about financial aid and schol arships. A full events calendar would be added for every month. The report also stated that a site with these elements could cost as much as $40,000 for only moderate execution of the functionality proposed. Data bases and online registration, secure socket layer transactions for credit cards require expensive software and expertise. “This has to be accessible to all stu dents,” said Bush. The website must be accessible to blind students and to those who have slow computer equip ment. ASG’s Greg Matteucci has provided a lot of input from a student point of view and invites input and suggestions. Contact him at matteuccig@clackamas.cc.or.us. Wednesday, December 3, 1997
