May 26. 2010
'ri'*' Portiani* (Obsvrorr
Page II
IMIIIAISMIM
Bold Attitudeand Mind Set
Acclaimed
singer gets
you dancing
(AP) - If you're going to a Janelle
Monae performance, be prepared to
get up and dance. Even if the music
doesn't move you — and it most
likely will — her agents will plot to
get you on your feet.
At a recent concert to preview
her first full-length album, the criti
c a l,y
a c c la im e d
"T he
ArchAndroid," her backup dancers
literally pulled people out o f their
seats, while other members o f the
Monae nation ordered people to
move.
"You don't come to a Janelle
Monae show to sit!" one woman
barked.
The experience is almost like par
ticipating in a spiritual conversion,
and in some ways, that's what
Monae is hoping to achieve with
her music — a revolution o f the
mind, one frenetic beat at a time.
"Sometimes you have to show
how to dance to a song — like, they
don't know until they see an ex
ample," the 24-year-old singer-
songwriter explains during a recent
interview.
She adds: "1 want them to allow
the music to transform them as much
as it's transformed m e ... (the music)
deals with self-realization, and I think
ifthey listen to it from the beginning
Jazz Night
at Clark
College
Janelle Monae gets people
dancing with her James Brown-
funk to Prince-like rock.
to the end, they will have an emotion
picture experience for the mind
and that's very transformative in
itself."
Monae hopes to have the same
impact on her followers that Lauryn
Hill had on her. Back then, when
Monae was growing up in Kansas
City, Kan., Hill's Grammy-winning
"The Miseducation o f Lauryn Hill"
was one o f the albums that expanded
her musical horizons.
"You just got a sense that $he
knew as an artist that she was a
leader, and she led me to a place that
no other artist had been able to do,
female artist," she says. "She was
an inspiration for me because she
showed me that I didn't have to take
the same safe, sexy route. I could
bring all o f me with me, when I'm
performing. I could be all o f me on
my album."
"The ArchAndroid" seems to
contain all o f Monae's artistic self.
It's a melange o f musical styles, from
James Brown-funk to Prince-like
rock to a tune that could blend in
with 1960s folk-pop.
Monae's artistry draws from a
large well. Her inspirations include
Fritz Lang's futuristic "Metropolis"
(she named her debut EP after the
film) and Walt Disney; her uniform
is usually that o f a tuxedo, complete
with button-down shirt and tie; and
her signature pompadour hairstyle
(she calls it the "Monae").
Her creative muse is a female
android who finds out she is the
chosen one and is trying to figure
out how to handle her newfound
mission. And Monae describes her
own talents as superpowers.
"My goal is to really help pre
serve art and focus on ideas that are
life-changing that will stay around
for years and years, that will help the
next generation that comes after me,"
she declares.
It's a bold attitude, but that
mindset is what helped Monae dur
ing her years toiling underground
before she started to chip at the
mainstream.
The Clark College Music Depart ing the Vocal Jazz Ensemble, under
ment wil 1 be presenting its 4th annual the direction o f Janet Reiter, and the
Clark Jazz Night, showcasing both of Jazz Ensemble, under the direction o f
the Vancouver campus's acclaimed Rich Inouye.
student jazz ensembles.
Admission is free and open to the
The concert in Gaiser Hall on Fri public and donations to the Clark
day, June 4, at 7:30 p.m. will feature Music Department will be graciously
both big band and vocal jazz featur- accepted at the door.
F a - A u .. •-
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Seven Reasons 7 * Transcendental Brass Band
FEATURING
Solar-powered stage I
Green and Organic
Beer garde«
Food a«d Beverage
ee Admission
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OFF THE GRID J J d . . f
ECOPALOOZA
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS CONCERT
A lte rn a tiv e E nergy S ource w ith
Z e ro E le c tric ity From The City
Visit eco nw. oro for more detads
‘
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Spr/tty A m a d Au/tdr-a/gcr
Friday, June 11 7-9 p.m.
-
Contact: Lionel Clegg at 5 03 -9 1 6 -6 2 8 2
3920 N. Kerby Ave.
Children (under 12) $5
Adults $ 10
Dixion ’s Rib Pit
between 19th & 20th on Alberta Street
503-753-0868
.Adz t, ,
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JL
I
H o u rs
12 p.m . to 10 p.m .
T ueday thru S aturday
S unday after 3 p.m .
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Congratulations!
D in n e rs $ 9 .5 0
S a n d w ic h e s $ 8 .5 0
Cheryl L. Johnson
Georgia State University Graduate
from Mom & Dad,
Family & Friends
Wishing you much success.
A nd Soul Food
us
o n ce y o u 11 c o m e back again
The sounds of the powerful African drums rumble in the distance. A chant
is called back and forth between the children. Drums and voices become a
river o f sound and the room is transformed into an African village. Drum
mers and dancers come into view. They begin Kukatonon ( “We Are One ”).
Kukatonon is prou d to be supported by: Regional Arts & Culture
Council, Self Enhancement, Inc, The Black United Fund o f Oregon,
T he H erb ert A. T em p leto n F o u n d a tio n , Papa M u rp h y 's
International, and The Matthew S. Essieh & Family Foundation.