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Arts
Thursday, March 26, 2015 — 5A
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ACROSS
1 Big name in
ATMs
4 Ten to twenty?
8 On fire
14 Worldwide
workers’ agcy.
15 On __ with
16 Brooklyn Bridge
features
17 “The Matrix” hero
18 Utah lily
19 Delivers an old
standard,
perhaps
20 *Last president
who was a
Founding Father
23 Not from a Scot
24 Fifth-century
leader
succeeded by his
son Ellac
25 __ Aviv
26 Tent holder
27 Sportscaster
Andrews
28 New Deal org.
29 Hustles
31 Smith students
33 “If only __
listened!”
34 Memo words
35 Smartphone buy
36 *Limp cause
40 Hold ‘em tell,
maybe
41 Ingredient in Off!
43 Top-row poet on
the “Sgt. Pepper”
album cover
44 Remains at the
campsite
46 Misses the mark
47 Party person
48 Spillane’s “__
Jury”
49 Org. that
produces the
magazines
Highroads and
Journey
50 The past, in the
past
51 Risk being
caught off base
54 Grisham hero,
often: Abbr.
55 Fixer-upper,
perhaps, and a
hint to the
answers to
starred clues
57 Only reigning
pope to write an
autobiography
59 Tiny bit
60 Gun, as an
engine
61 Most irritated
62 Emptiness
63 T size
64 Baby’s outfit
65 Luncheon ender
66 Patriotic gp. since
1890
DOWN
1 Turtle in a 2014
film
2 Soccer shoe
feature
3 *In the low 70s,
usually
4 Bit of sibling
rivalry
5 Hypothetical
primate
6 Titicaca, por
ejemplo
7 *Feature of most
cars nowadays
8 Honor
9 Charge for a ride
10 Wall St. news
11 *On one’s own
12 Varied mixture
13 To be, to Ovid
21 Cork’s location
22 Opposite of
attract
26 Chi follows it
30 “Just a few __”
31 Dwyane of the
Miami Heat
32 Mathematical
process
37 Good thing to
have before a
meal
38 Dinero
39 Winning football
coach’s surprise
42 Airport screening
org.
45 Persian for “king”
48 “Of course!”
52 Greek finale
53 Piano keyboard
component
54 Lhasa __
55 Spanish ayes
56 Warning sound
58 His, to Henri
By Frank Virzi
©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
03/26/15
03/26/15
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RELEASE DATE– Thursday, March 26, 2015
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
xwordeditor@aol.com
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By BRIAN BURLAGE
Daily Arts Writer
The first thing you should
know about English lecturer and
renowned Ann Arbor musician
Randy Tessier is that he’s full
of life. He’s probably more
passionate than you. He’s also
got probably got a better sense of
humor than 90 percent of people
on campus — and he’s intelligent
to boot. But the second thing
you should know about Randy
Tessier
is
that
he’d
never
make you feel like you’re being
preached to. He cares about his
students too much for that — and
more pointedly — he cares about
their deeper understanding of
books, language, music, college,
the world. If there’s one thing
Randy Tessier seems to say
with his thoughts and actions,
it’s this: Don’t be afraid to
experience things.
Tessier is as much a part of
the Ann Arbor music scene as
he is a seasoned, well-respected
lecturer at the University. He
curates and facilitates the music
of several venues in the area, and
he fronts a handful of talented
bands, like the Joe Cocker Trib-
ute Band and FUBAR. A gifted
bassist and vocalist, Tessier
can play anything from R&B to
jazz, and he does so with twice
the flaming, hypnotic energy of
musicians that are half his age.
Michael Betzold, in review-
ing a FUBAR performance for
the Ann Arbor Observer, noted,
“Seeing FUBAR is like sitting in
on a jam session among discern-
ing pop-rock veterans. They play
with energy and skill that would
be the envy of far-better-known
bands.” Betzold later added,
“Tessier is a wild man – like a
caged animal shaking his cell
bars – and he’s put together a
band of musicians’ musicians.”
On
both
Tessier’s
group
and
solo
albums,
a
keen
eclecticism emerges, the kind
of resourcefulness and respect
for music history that’s fading
in the medium. The sound of
’60s heavyweights like Love,
the Yardbirds and the Kinks
can be heard in his carefully
arranged horn sections, rhythm
progressions and themes. Above
all, his group of musicians seems
to play with a preternatural
understanding of one another’s
tendencies and strengths and of
the music they cherish, exuding
chemistry and cohesion. Many
of the songs are upbeat and full
of sound, distinguished in their
romping grooves that make you
want to move a little (or a lot).
This sense of buoyant optimism
isn’t limited to Tessier’s music,
however: He’s built his life
around it.
After being expelled from
high school in 1968 for creating
and publishing an underground
news
publication,
Tessier
traveled around the country and
lived the counterculture. He
came to Ann Arbor to play music
and be active in politics. When
he had a son, he decided at the
age of 36 to get his GED. And so
he did. From there, he attended
Eastern Michigan University
in the hopes of going to nursing
school. But the science courses
disillusioned him, so he chose
English
instead.
With
the
grades and ambition to back
them, he applied to English
Ph.D programs all around the
country.
Michigan
accepted
him, and five years later, at the
age of 46, Tessier earned his
Ph.D and was given a position
in the English department. He’s
been here ever since.
The Michigan Daily: We’ll
begin with a general question.
Where did music start for you?
Randy Tessier: Well, you know,
the cool thing would be to say that
I listened to Bo Diddley and Chuck
Berry. But I found I could learn
about those guys by listening to
the Beatles in 1964. They changed
everything in our generation.
My love for music really started
with them, the Rolling Stones,
the Kinks, Animals, the British
Invasion.
Although
my
mom
had records like jazz and easy
listening, and there was always
music around the house.
TMD:
You
mentioned
the
British Invasion. I felt like when I
was listening to FUBAR especially,
I heard the huge influence of the
Rolling Stones. Do you see that at
all, or what do you see in FUBAR?
RT: I do, and FUBAR likes to
do obscure stuff, too. Danceable
songs. But not stock stuff. No
“Stairway to Heaven,” and if
we were to do Led Zeppelin, it
would be from Physical Graffiti.
But there are a couple songs we
do by Love, Arthur Lee’s group.
There’s a difference between being
derivative and being influenced,
you know, so we try to do a range
of things. I love the ‘60s sound, and
I love songs that are complicated.
TMD: Joe Cocker’s influence
has a place there, too, right?
RT: Well, I love Joe Cocker, but
someone came to me with the Joe
Cocker Tribute Band idea. And he
said my voice suited it well. I can
also sing Creedence Clearwater
Revival, Rod Stewart, there are
a few voices in my wheelhouse,
so to speak. But the Joe Cocker
idea fell into my lap, and it’s been
a gas. That’s something you can
practice in the car. Each time I
listen, I understand his nuances
a little more, and I’m getting it
down. We’re going to be playing
again soon, you’ll have to come
see us in town.
TMD: Absolutely. I actually
wanted to touch on your live
performances and the talent you
bring to a venue. Do you have a
strategy when you play?
RT: I actually don’t like to sing
a song the same way twice, in any
capacity or over any amount of
time. I like to improvise with my
voice. Improvisation just grooves.
When I think about it within the
rock genre, I think about the very
best – “Dark Star” by the Grateful
Dead, Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats, the
Allman Brothers. It’s grooving.
I love to mix it up between jam
songs and tight two-or-three-
minute songs.
TMD: How important is it to
engage with the audience?
RT: The audience feels like
part of the band, especially with
FUBAR. I don’t see the audience
and band as separate. I know a
lot of musicians that don’t make
that distinction. When I play, I’ll
go out into the audience, I’ll have
people come up to play, stuff like
that, you know. It’s a tribal, primal
stomp that everybody participates
in. I don’t want to sound like Jim
Morrison, but it’s got cadences and
all that jazz.
TMD: Do you think that alters
the music?
RT: Well, Ann Arbor’s always
been known for its counterculture,
so in some ways no. It’s always
attracted public intellectuals with
things to say and who love music.
It’s a very savvy audience, a very
savvy scene.
TMD: How do you balance
your love of music with your love
of academics?
RT: It’s the perfect fit, really,
it’s not too difficult. I teach
writing, and we read stuff about
music and social issues and
things like that. Music shouldn’t
be didactic in that sense. If I had
to travel and juggle music with
teaching, though, it might be a
bit of a struggle to balance the
two, but that’s the same with any
job. It’s been a good blend. I’ve
never really trumpeted my music
within the University and I never
felt like I had to. Music is the most
immediate universal language.
TMD: It’s really interesting
to hear an English professor
describe
music
as
more
immediate than language.
RT: It’s true. I mean, the best
language is musical.
TMD: Agreed. I’m hoping we
can change gears a bit here, if
that’s OK with you?
RT: Certainly.
TMD: The first time you and
I met, I remember you told me
that in the early 2000s you had a
serious bout with cancer.
RT:
Yeah,
2007.
Non-
Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Recovered
in full, it’s been gone for eight
years.
TMD: I wanted to ask about
the song “Chemotherapy” on
your solo CD, Hold Me Close.
What has that song meant to you?
RT: Well, I decided I wanted
to write a song about my
experience, and I wanted it to
have disturbing, real lyrics with
an up-tempo sound to reflect
the disconnect I felt. You have to
listen to the lyrics to understand
it. It’s about me sitting there in
the hospital bed observing the
people around me – a beautiful
woman, a diva, a guy without an
eyelid, someone who’d broken his
ribs by rolling over in bed.
I never play it live. And I
thought I’d write more songs
that came out of that experience,
but there’s a period in it where
you’re
not
doing
much
of
anything. Just dealing with it.
Cancer changed me in many
ways. I come from that old “Mad
Men” generation, insensitive,
Alpha Male, you know. Cancer
took it away, all that control, and
that was good. The important
thing is that I never thought I
was going to die. And now I’m in
the best health I’ve been in in a
long time.
TMD: How did it affect your
music?
RT: I play better now than I
did before I had it, how cool is
that? That’s one of the beautiful
things about music, something
I really love. With practice,
dedication, and time, you can be
better at 60 than you were at 30.
And that’s how I hope to stay.
ARTIST
PROFILE
IN
VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
Randy Tessier is a noted Ann Arbor musician.
A2’s musical legacy
By GREGORY HICKS
Daily Arts Writer
“Everybody’s in shorts? That
sounds like Ann Arbor.”
The city is hitting the 50-degree
mark, and Martin Kierszenbaum
knows just how University of
Michigan students react to the
slightest hint of the new season.
Kierszenbaum is the Grammy-
nominated producer and song-
writer known as “Cherry Cherry
Boom Boom,” the founder of Cher-
rytree Records, the senior A&R
executive of Interscope Records
and, most importantly, a fellow
Michigan Wolverine.
Well, perhaps not most impor-
tantly. That’s quite a list of achieve-
ments to compete with, after
all. The alum has done A&R for
Enrique Iglesias, Sting, Marilyn
Manson and produced nearly one
third of Lady Gaga’s first record,
The Fame, which was released on
his label, Cherrytree Records.
Cherrytree Records — home to
artists Ellie Goulding, LMFAO, La
Roux, Sting and more — celebrated
its 10th anniversary this past year,
and while the label has officially
been up and running for more
than a decade now, the concept
began many years prior, right here
in Ann Arbor. While at the Univer-
sity, Kierszenbaum earned a triple
major in music, communications
and Spanish literature.
Of those three degrees, music
sits at the forefront of the all-
star alum’s career. At the age
of eight, Kierszenbaum met the
musical instrument that would
lead him to his interest in the
industry: the piano.
“I was lucky that I grew up in
East Lansing and had a great piano
teacher in the neighborhood,”
Kierszenbaum
recalled.
“She
required us to take theory concur-
rently with our piano lessons, so I
had a theory class and playing class
every week ... I started to under-
stand the building blocks and how
it all related to each other. That got
me into writing music, and I was
really drawn to pop music.”
Kierszenbaum’s achievements
could easily be credited to his
parents for tolerating the hectic
household that became something
of a musical tornado alley for the
children of the family.
“I don’t know why, but my par-
ents let me set up my band and
the equipment in the living room,
and they didn’t care if it was there
for months. They were super cool
in that way. They were scientists
and worked at Michigan State, but
they were really tolerant. My sister
was usually with a quartet in the
basement, while I was there in the
living room with a drum kit — lit-
erally there for three months.”
Rather than set up his own
music conservatory, the Cher-
rytree Records founder began
developing an interest in the com-
mercial music business — even if
only to initially preserve his own
musical merits.
“I was a musician and a song-
writer, so I quickly started to
realize in high school when I
was organizing a band that it was
really easy to get ripped off by club
owners. I was like, ‘You know,
this feels bad. I’m writing a song,
I’m rehearsing and then the club
doesn’t pay us. I’ve gotta figure out
how this all works.’ ”
That was when Kierszenbaum
began digging for clues.
“So I wanted to find out more
about where the interaction of
music and business is because, if
not, I was going to be at the mercy
of whomever as a musician and a
writer,” Kierszenbaum continued,
“and then I thought, ‘Well, it
seems like the center of it all is the
record label,’ you know? They’re
the ones that take a chance on the
artist and invest in them … So I
thought, ‘I think I want to be in a
record label.’ ”
A wise thought, surely, but with
one major obstacle: There were
no record labels in Ann Arbor for
the then-college student Kierszen-
baum to join. Then, Kierszenbaum
decided to create his own record
label in the city — Arb Recordings.
“We started (Arb Recordings),
and were recognized with an
office in the Union, which meant
we could post banners on the Diag,
and we basically used all students
to run our label.” Kierszenbaum
said. “We had photographers from
East Quad, recording engineers
and we used the East Quad musi-
cal studio … We’d record stuff
there and in our dorm rooms.”
The label became home to
Kierszenbaum’s own rap group,
Maroon, as the label sprouted on
campus. After Maroon released
its first record on Arb Recordings,
door after door began opening for
Kierszenbaum, having acquired
this newfound knowledge of label
foundation and management —
knowledge that is still applied to
this day at Cherrytree Records,
according to Kierszenbaum.
And the label was covered
from head to toe with Ann Arbor
memorabilia.
“I remember naming it Arb
because it was kind of like an ode
to Prince’s Paisley Park (Records)
and I was a big Prince fan, so I was
like, ‘You’ve got Paisley Park, we
have the Arb, that’s our park.’ ”
The logo creation for Arb
Recordings was not a story to be
ignored either.
“Do they still give out tickets like
crazy in Ann Arbor?” Kierszen-
baum asked. “I used to get ticketed
all the time on my car senior year
… so I just took the tree from inside
the logo on the ticket, and I made
that the first label. And then we
started getting some attention and
I thought we might get in trouble
for that … so we changed it to look
like a very kind of generic, iconic
tree.”
There truly is an idea hiding
around every corner — or in this
case, slapped to every car wind-
shield. And despite being such a
small idea initially, the tree con-
cept grew into Kierszenbaum’s
future platforms.
“Really that’s kind of the gen-
esis of the Cherrytree (Records)
logo. When I started the Cherry-
tree label I thought it was kind of a
continuum of the stuff I learned at
Arb (Recordings), so I made it look
like that.”
Kierszenbaum started Cherry-
tree years after developing a solid
musical footing here in Ann Arbor.
He took many of the same courses
that University students take now
(be it History of Opera or Java-
nese Gamelan Performance). He
walked through the same Arb. He
posted fliers on the same Diag.
He probably lost a fortune in the
same parking fees.
In his current music and busi-
ness, you’ll find these bits and
pieces of Ann Arbor because
Kierszenbaum
planted
many
ideas here — some that he took
with him, and others that he left
behind. And in this past and pres-
ent, Martin Kierszenbaum has
quite a lot to be proud of, and
Michigan is proud to have been a
part of his venture to success.