THE SUPPLEMENT the One Eyed Cats
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FALL BOOGIE CHILLEN 2006 THE SUPPLEMENT THE ONE EYED CATS DAN LATzMAN he One Eyed Cats are slowly gaining provides backup vocals for Byrne. His musical Trecognition in the rock world with their new influence is from his idol, Burt Bacharach. hit “Let Her Cry”, a cover version of Hootie and Despite no previous band experience, Ben- the Blowfish’s classic. This diverse foursome Eliyahu’s musical experience began at a young of talent have collaborated their ranging abil- age. He said, “When I was 10 my older brother ities to create an instant hit single. Living to- and sister were taking lessons and I heard what gether in Hewitt Halls, they are able to con- they would play and I would go to the piano and stantly practice and hang out together. try hard to play something. The more I tried, the worse it sounded. My mom asked if I would like Tyler Byrne, hailing from a northern New to take lessons and I agreed. I stuck with it up Jersey just outside of New York City, is the 19 until 9th grade and still mess around from time year old lead vocalist and guitarist front man to time at home.” who has catapulted this young group into stardom. Drawing inspiration from musical The final member of the band is tambourine gods such as singer songwriters Bob Dylan extraordinaire Russell Follansbee. and Bruce Springsteen, Byrne is the freshest “Russell Follansbee shakes a pretty mean tam- face in contemporary rock and roll. bourine,” Malangone said when asked about “We decided to do our own version of the song his band mate and friend. ‘let her cry’, to create a commentary on the dating scene/sexual frustration that is often These college lacrosse superstars have taken found at Wesleyan”, Byrne commented. their talents for the arts, and have created an instant classic with ‘Let Her Cry’. Byrne wrote the lyrics for the song, and also arranged and produced it. Without his band Their song is a narrative that tells the story of a members, though, their success would just not boy who seeks out love, in the form of a fresh- be possible. Spike Malangone is the backup man girl, but always comes up short in his guitarist and the heart throb of the group. efforts. His Elvis Pressley-like looks have the girls screaming from Middletown down to Long To describe his hit song, Byrne said that it Island, his place of birth. “touches the hearts of both guys at Wesleyan who feel dejected, and girls who feel like they When asked about his musical experience, are being pursued from every possible angle”. Malangone said, “After picking up guitar at Critics have attacked the One Eyed age 15, I realized that I was a prodigy. I mean, Cats for sexually offensive language towards sure, I’m not playing lead guitar here, but women. The band rejected to comment on the sometimes you have to let others have the issue, and, instead, boasted about their climb- spotlight. I’m not selfish.” Malangone added ing record sales. that, “There’s no I in band”. With only one song recorded, the One Eyed Cats still have a lot of music to produce. That is correct, Spike, there is no I in band. The Wesleyan community and thousands of fans around the country are anxiously waiting Jason Ben-Eliyahu is on the keyboard and for the next work of magic by the young four- some. The Beasts of Burden: PREPARINg YOu FOR THE uNPREDICTABLE JAKE LEHRHOFF “Our name is Johann Sebastian Rach [rok]? When did that happen?” The Beasts of Burden may not agree on much, ner laughed, “That’s the key to our enigma.” yet somehow they manage to not disagree Sitting in on their brainstorming session, the on much either. The bandmates are all com- current form, style and vision of the band was pletely on the same page. That page might coalescing in front of my eyes. Their latest idea be a blank leaf in a notepad, but that’s exactly is as unexpected as the Spanish Inquisition: what they want to be, because who knows, kazoos. “That’ll be our edge,” said Swenson as it might have been written on in invisible ink she pointed at me and smiled approvingly. or lemon juice. They might just be marketing gurus—everyone loves a mystery. That breakthrough came right after consider- ing song topics including, in no particular order, The Beasts of Burden are as fresh as the food Tonka Trucks, Honkey Tonk ze’s, and Donkey at Vegan Café, as hot as Atomic Fireballs, as Kong. Their next move is anybody’s guess, but edgy as a Michael Moore film (but not as pre- if our expectations have taught us anything, we tentious). Their name is new. Their lyrics are can all be sure that it will be the next big thing. hot off the press. Their style is being rede- fined at this very moment. There could not be There are some facts that we do know about The more speculation or anticipation surround- Beasts of Burden. They are comprised of five ing this newly formed group, and, if all goes friends: drummer Dustin Brockner ’09, guitarist as planned, more hysterically screaming Schuyler Swenson ’09, guitarist Ben Castanon and crying fans will appear simply because ’09, guitarist/bassist Jeff Wong ’08, and tam- of the band’s refusal to be defined, pigeon- bourinist/kazoo extraordinaire Becca Dorey- holed or labeled. As drummer Dustin Brock- Stein ’08. Also, the topic of their song, a cover of The Rolling Stone’s “Honkey Tonk Woman” bandmates related their individualism to the that will hit the shelves in late October, is members of the Beatles. Castanon is Paul Mc- chalking on campus. Cartney “because he is the cute one,” explained Swenson. Wong is John Lennon for his sideburns, Originally imagining themselves as a blues/ sarcasm and political activism. Swenson is rock band, their first single follows in the tra- george Harrison because she’s the unsung hero. dition of early folk music: political activism. Dorey-Stein is Ringo Starr for her goofiness and, The band praises free speech on campus with as she explains, “because I found myself in the the zeal of Dylan promoting social aware- right situation at the right time, and because I was ness, “I came to Wes when chalk was still re- on Shining Time Station.” That leaves Brockner stricted/But someone thought that chalking as Pete Best. He declined to explain the connec- was our right...So now the campus has gone tion. They may not make much sense, but Wes- chalk-full crazy.” The hottest topic on campus leyan university, I am pleased to introduce to now has a unified voice to rally behind—The you: The Beasts of Burden. Beasts of Burden. In an attempt to explain themselves, the CHALK ON! JEREMY MARKS Without a word to the audience, Yo La Tengo After months in the studio, it was clear began to play at Toad’s Place, kicking off their that they were ready to shake off the dust North American tour in support of their new and have some fun. Rather than warming album, “I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat up with one of their more pop-orient- Your Ass.” Listening to Yo La Tengo is always ed tunes, Yo La Tengo opened with the an educational experience, and the concert sweeping 12-minute finale of their new proved to be no less so. The trio of vocalist/ album. Titled “The Story of Yo La Tengo,” guitarist Ira Kaplan, bassist James McNew and the track was a great introduction to the drummer/vocalist georgia Hubley traversed rest of the evening and to Yo La Tengo’s their large body of work, incorporating pop, diverse body of work. Kaplan attacked jazz, extended guitar solos and solid rock into the song’s opening guitar section, toying their set. With all three members contributing with his guitar and producing his distinc- vocals and demonstrating their proficiency tive haze of feedback. The track slowly with every instrument onstage, the constant built into a driving song anchored by Hub- exchange of roles was amusing and produced ley’s drumbeat and McNew’s baseline. some great and musically varied results. The band continued to play songs off of the new album, slowly moving from the more ex- The band then appeased their fans and played perimental tracks to the shorter, poppy songs. “Autumn Sweater,” their best-known track. They powered through “Pass The Hatchet, I However, the starkness and sensitivity of the Think I’m goodkind,” which again has Hubley album version was replaced by a louder, less and McNew supplying the backbone for Ka- unified sound. The interplay of Hubley and Ka- plan’s wandering guitar. 25 minutes into the plan’s vocals did not produce the stream-of- set, yet only on their fourth song, it looked as consciousness effect as in the album version, though Kaplan might not make it through the but, instead, seemed contradictory. As with concert. Luckily the band then switched gears much of Yo La Tengo’s material, they were at to the fast-paced and significantly shorter “Mr. the mercy of the sound engineer, and in the Tough.” Sung by McNew, who I swear taught awkwardly configured concert hall at Toad’s, me science in middle school. The highlight was the delicate song didn’t come together. watching the dorky and endearing McNew But the band made up for any shortcomings by strut his stuff while talking about bullies.