8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 17, 1999
Scofield to bring mixed bag to Ark
By John Uhl
For the Daily
Tomorrow evening, the John
Scofield Quartet will be playing at
The Ark. Scofield, a perennial poll-
winning jazz guitarist, released his
most recent album, "A Go Go," this
past spring. His current band is the
second group of musicians he has
toured with since the release,
promising a new,
perhaps unex-
pected, outlook
on that material.
Quartet There are many
The Ark sound possibili-
Tomorrow at 7 and ties that a guitar,
10 p.m. keyboard, bass
and drum quar-
tet are capable of
generating, so a
problem arises
when trying to
classify the
music. Scofield
himself is unsure
what to name it. In a recent inter-
view, he struggled to call "A Go Go,"
jazz-rock, and was immediately
unsatisfied with the label. Critical
interpretations of the album, for
which Scofield teamed up with the
trio Medeski, Martin and Wood, have
called it New Orleans-inspired,
groovy, soulful, neo-funk jazz.
While these are suitable decrip-
tions, one is as reluctant as Scofield
to find a category for this music.
Scofield's task has been far more
daunting, and spoke of creating the
fresh style.
"If you're trying to sound com-
pletely different, then you just rule
out too many options," Scofield said.
'Dawson' reveals all
in sweeps parto
"
Yet maintaining some sense of
familiarity without stepping too fre-
quently upon trodden paths is a chal-
lenging balance to achieve. Scofield
justifies his current tendency to avoid
more traditional jazz styles by
explaining that the music has already,
"been played so well."
Consider the funky guitar-organ-
bass-drums tradition, Jimmy Smith
and Larry Young have covered the
world of jazz organ, from down-
home grooves through free jazz, and
funk has made a successful develop-
ment from Bobby Timmons and
James Brown through Parliament-
Funkadelic. Even today, the heritage
is present in the very different
approaches of Wayne Horvitz, James
Carter and Bela Fleck. With such a
rich history, it doesn't seem unfair to
ask if there is room for Scofield's
work to contribute anything new to
the field.
One has only to listen to "A Go
Go" to realize that Scofield has cre-
ated a sound that is unique, yet also
very relatable. The influence of the
pioneers is obvious. James Brown
kicks juxtaposed over Booker T &
the MGs-like grooves are bound to
get feet tapping. And these guys are
not interested in just setting a mood.
The record romps through intense
improvisations, pauses for some
unexpected funk harmonies, and
even cools for some attractive
melodies. Scofield never becomes
overly virtuosic. Rather, he builds
his solos with intelligent riffs, quips
and phrases that dazzle with the
sheer multitude of sounds his guitar
sings. Medeski, Martin and Wood
forge seamlessly in and out of
Courtesy of Verve
John Scofield will appear tomorrow night at the Ark with three friends,
Scofield's lines, both as a unit and
when soloing.
Although one is tempted to be dis-
appointed that the "A Go Go" accom-
panying trio will not be making the
trip to Ann Arbor, the current group
of Will Bolware (keyboards),
Matthew Garrison (bass) and Marlon
Browden (drums) promises to be just
as exciting. Between the three musi-
cians, recent credits include Maceo
Parker, John McLaughlin and Joe
Zawinul. This group has the benefit
of working together as a unit for
longer than the amount of time that is
required to make a recording.
In his attempt to find a classifica-
tion for his current sound, Scofield
found himself describing the sort of
musical pitfalls that he has tried to
avoid in its creation; instead of a def-
inite goal: "I sort of know what I
don't want to do, more than what I
want to do."
Tickets for the John Scofield
Quartet are $20 and can be pur-
chased at Ticketmaster or SKR
Blues and Jazz.
By Erin Podolsky
Daily Arts Writer
It's time for the second week of
"Dawson's Creek" sweeps fun, kids.
That means twice the angst, twice the
tension and without a doubt, twice
the vocabularic gymnastics by every-
one's favorite adolescent pop psy-
chologist creeps. So it was with great
anticipation and excitement that I sat
down to view the second episode of
the "Is Jack gay?" sweeps circus in
my effort to bring all of you the very
best in "Creek" freak reporting.
Faithful readers will recall that I
made several
predictions in
last week's
reView. Was I
DaWSOn'S correct? Was I
Creek out in left
*** field? Is
The WB Dawson blond?
Tonight at 9 p.m. Is Dawson
brunette? Like
James Van Der
Beek's dye job,
my prognosti-
cations were a
bit hit or miss,
and again like
his dye job, it's up to you to decide by
watching if it's the massive noggin or
the eyebrows that lie, so to speak.
The is-he-or-isn't-he Jack McPhee
situation quickly comes to a head
tonight when the school counselor,
who last week plied the young lad
with gay-is-okay pamphlets, calls in
the MIA McPhee patriarch. Mr.
McPhee shows up at Capeside High
and quickly establishes why we've
never seen him before: He is a
responsibility-shirking, hard man
who avoids his familial obligations
by claiming he needs to be away from
home to be a successful breadwinner.
No wonder his wife is half-way to the
looney bin.
Jack is extremely displeased (to
put it lightly) to see his father again.
But Andie immediately jumps into
lapdog mode where she turns into an
obsequious daddy's girl. Jack is dis-
gusted by her actions but is unable to
slap any sense into her - once Andie
gets going on a jag, she's like a high
speed freight train, unstoppable until
she plunges off the trestle.
And plunge she does, into a reck-
oning between the remaining
McPhee kids (their older brother was
killed several years ago, which set off
the family's disintegration) and their
father from which only one of the
actors will emerge unscathed but nei-
ther offspring will emotionally sur-
vive. This week's advice is to leave
the crying to Kerr Smith, because
Meredith Monroe is sorely lacking in
the effective tears department.
Back in (relative) normalsville,
Eddie the 13th apostle continues
dragging Jen all around town to
seedy bars where he plays bad back-
up piano to a crummy lounge singer.
This time out, Dawson and Joey are
forced to join them since Jack and
Andie are busy with problems of 4
their own. Could a rekindling of the
old Dawson/Joey flame be in the
offing? That question is probably
best left unanswered until May
sweeps.
Pacey is occupied mounting a
bylaw-fueled smear campaign against
the nasty English teacher who kicked
the whole McPhee melodrama into
high gear last week. It's nice to see the
"DC" writers giving Pacey something
constructive to do while his girlfriend
is busy having an emotional break-
down. Guys need that sort of morale-
booster from time to time.
This not-so-touching conclusion to
last week's "Dawson's Creek"
heinously boring offering is a marked
improvement after the hysterical,
melodramatic crap to which we sin-
ners were recently subjected. It's not
in the virtually empty "DC" pan-
theon, but it's close. And it's worth it
if only for the wonderful, wordless
final scene of the evening.
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You only have two more days to work on submissions
for the Literary Magazine. Call 763-0379 or e-mail
lit.mag.99@umich.edu for more information.
p
Lake View Hotel will be recruiting at the Michigan
Union Job Fair
Thursday, February 18th
Noon to 5:00pm.
If you cannot attend, please write for an application.
Lake View Hotel
Human Resources Department
P.O. Box 248
Mackinaw City, MI 49701
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HOW TO LAND YOUR DREAM INTERNSHIP
(Even the one yOU didn't know existed)
.1
01
If you're starting to think about your career, even just an inkling, it
may be time to focus on finding'a summer internship. Following are
some "insider" insights about how to land your dream internship in
some of today's fast-forward industries like media. entertainment.
fashion and high-tech, that likely don't recruit on campus.
WHAT TURNS YOU ON?
Not the typical first question you might think of when plotting your
first career experience, but you really should think about it. The best
places to work are often the places that make or do things that
already interest you. And who wrote the rule that work shouldn't
be fun? "It helps to start by thinking about which classroom topics
interest you the most and what hobbies get you excited," says
Samer Hamadeh, President of Vaultreports.com and the co-author
of "America's Top Internships" and "The Internship Bible," two of the
most useful books on the subject. Take his advice and ask yourself
some questions. Do you spend a lot of time listening
to music and going to concerts? Maybe you should
check out working for a local radio station, a record
label or a music publishing companyAre you a
devoted athlete? Try contacting a fun sporting goods h 4
companya fitness magazine, or a sports talent agency. brings
C1HECrK IT li T
CREATE YOUR OWN JOB
After you've asked yourself what you like, and thought of some of
your favorite products and activities, you may find that many of
your choices lead to smaller or less structured companies that likely
don't recruit on campus, or that don't have a formal internship
program. Don't get discouraged!! In fact, think of it as a huge
opportunity because you can potentially create your own job!
There's nothing wrong with calling or writing a company out of the
blue and letting them know who you are and what you're
interested in. Many of the smaller companies will be thrilled to have
been approached and more than likely can use the extra hands for
the summer. One of Hamadeh's favorite stories is about a college
student who was interested in sports law. The guy figured that
Michael Jordan's lawyer must be pretty good at it, so he read a
bunch of newspaper articles until he found the guy's name. then he
wrote him a letter explaining why he wanted to work for him. "The
SertSucs Se
s you information designed to help you achieve your personal andc
Watch for the rest of this series in future issues of your school new
lawyer had never received a letter like that from anyone before."
Hamadeh says. "So he brought him in for an interview and was so
impressed that he hired him for the summer.
SELL YOUR SELF, NOT YOUR NUMBERS
Just because you may not graduate cum laude doesn't mean you
won't qualify for some of the most selective internship programs.
"You have to make yourself sound interesting," says Price Hicks, who
hooks students up with summer jobs at places like Warner Brothers
as part of her work with the Academy of Television Arts and
Sciences. "The guy who wrote about growing up on a dairy farm is
the one we remember best."The people, who may have the best
grades, but drone on and on about why they want to be television
directors all tend to blend together, she says.
'V
%oFEbm\W% U VVI. U
Below are key resources for your internship hunt, including specific listings for openings by company, industry and location.
....."...R..".....".. . ""a .ia a aRaA.a..".~aa .. ..~a...aa~~"a..~.Raa..... ..-----------------------------------------------------:
:BOOKS: -"
-America's Top Internships - Mark Oldman and Samer Hamadeh
:The Internship Bible - Mark Oldman and Samer Hamadeh
SCIENTISTS CAN BE JOURNALISTS
Remember that the purpose of an internship is
to gain experience. The idea is to "test drive"
career options that you think might interest you
ri e s for your future. And what interests you for a
career may have nothing to do with what
career goals. interests you in school (How many psych majors
spaper. actually become psychologists? How many
history majors become historians? You get the
point.). You never really know what someone
might be looking for, so don't feel intimidated by internships that
aren't directly in your field of study. Case in point, a biology major
beat out a slew of journalism majors for one of three highly
coveted internships at the Center for Investigative Reporting. Out of
approximately 90 applicants, she was among those with the least
direct experience. "It just so happened we were working on a
project about chemicals in the environment, so her skills came in
handy and she ended up playing a big role in the reporting." said a
Maryann Sargent, who is the internship coordinator at the Center.
REMEMBER THAT SMALL CAN BE BIG
Sometimes, you really may be better off going to work for a
company where the duties of an intern aren't well defined. In small.
hut uner fast-orowing internet comnanies, for instance. there's
'I
WEB SITES:
www.internships.com - Comprehensive city and regional guides to internship opportunities nationwide.
www.emmys.org/eps/ndex.htm1- If you're interested in the television world, check out this site, which posts internships available
;through the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
www.aaf.org - For aspiring advertising and marketing execs, this is the site for The American Advertising Federation. It offers a
,comprehensive directory of internship opportunities in the advertising and media industries.
"