Outside Lands Festival

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

August 22, 23 and 24

The inaugural year of Outside Lands packs some big performers but with a hefty price tag: $225.50 for the three-day romp.

Lineup: Radiohead, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Jack Johnson, Beck, Wilco, Manu Chao, Ben, Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Widespread Panic, Primus, Steve Winwood, Café Tacvba, Broken Social Scene, Regina Spektor, Devendra Banhart, Cold War Kids, Galactic’s Crescent City Soul Krewe and many more. Check out www.sfoutsidelands.com for more information.

Sasquatch!

The Gorge, George, WA

May 24, 25 and 26

Sasquatch! Three-day passes are sold out, and each day of the fest. is now running at a wild $66.50 per day until May 19, when ticket prices will jump an additional $10. Be sure to take into account camping arrangements as well!

Lineup: R.E.M., The Cure, The Flaming Lips, U.F.O. Show, Death Cab For Cutie, Modest Mouse, M.I.A., Flight Of The Conchords, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The, Breeders, Built To Spill, The Hives, Tegan & Sara, The Presidents, Ghostland Observatory, Ozomatli, The New Pornographers, Blue Scholars, The National, The Kooks, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Cold War Kids, Beirut, Rogue Wave, Okkervil River, Fleet Foxes and much much more. http://sasquatchfestival.com/2008/ has all the rest.

Pitchfork

Union Park, Chicago, IL

July 17, 18 and 19

Pitchfork, the decider of all that is hip in music, offers up the must avant-garde fest of the year. Also, it’s one of the cheapest: $65 for the three day pass.

Lineup: Animal Collective, Spiritualized, Public Enemy performing “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” Mission of Burma performing “Vs.,” Dinosaur Jr., !!!, M. Ward, Boris, Vampire Weekend, Dizzee Rascal, No Age, Atlas Sound, Fleet Foxes, Extra Golden, El Guincho, Ghostface and Raekwon, Dirty Projectors, and many others. The specifics reside at http://www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com/.

All Points West

Liberty State Park, Jersey City, NJ

August 8, 9 and 10

Already referred to as “the Coachella of the East” by a number of blogs, All Points West’s first year is vying for a spot as 2008 festival prizefighter. The ticket price, too, is a heavyweight contender: $258.00 for the three-day romp.

Lineup: Radiohead, Jack Johnson, Underworld, Kings of Leon, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Cat Power, The Roots, The New Pornographers, Youssou N’Dour, Animal Collective, Andrew Bird, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Metric, CSS, Girl Talk, Chromeo, The Go! Team, Amadou & Mariam, The Black Angels, Sia, The Felice Brothers, K’Naan, Jason Isbell and more. See who else is to grace the eastern seaboard at http://www.apwfestival.com/.

Bonnaroo

Manchester, TN

June 12, 13, 14 and 15

The behemoth of the south, Bonnaroo rocks four solid days of music, camping, art and comedy. Ticket prices range anywhere from $209.50 to $244.50, changing without notice and “service charges” of an additional $22.95 per ticket.

Lineup: Pearl Jam, Metallica, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Chris Rock, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss featuring T Bone Burnett Phil Lesh & Friends My Morning Jacket, The Allman Brothers Band, The Raconteurs, Willie Nelson, Death Cab for Cutie, Ti

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It has been said that one can travel the world without leaving the five-star level of comfort and see nothing except more luxury (and possibly a historical curiosity or two in a glass case), that one could walk alongside a building of great significance, a beggar, a fruit vendor and never really see any of it – not truly.

The Felice Brothers, coming to The Big Easy Feb. 19, defiantly bring a rough-collared honesty to their songs. The heartfelt panache in the way the band delivers vocal melodies doesn’t feel like The Felice Brothers are trying to sell anything, leading to a genuine feeling that’s missing from so much of today’s music. Storytelling lyrics, eloquent and rough enough to stand on their own as poems, are laid through an ethereal and smoky voice, often compared to Bob Dylan’s yowl.

Their music infuses elements of classic country and rock, but influenced by the grime of New York City. This contradiction in noise, from swaying, drunk melodies (the chorus in “Love Me Tender”) to the moments of reflective beauty in “Her Eyes Dart Round,” replicates the contrasting landscapes of the band’s home state – New York.

This makes a lot of sense considering these four brothers grew up together in the upstate backwoods of New York. James, Simone and Ian Felice are biological brothers. The bassist, Christmas, is a best friend adopted into the musical brotherhood. James appears most often in the band’s music videos with his accordion. His melodies add an interesting layer to their sound, giving it a Gypsy feel at times.

Currently, The Felice Brothers are traversing the country, traveling and living together in an ‘87 special van the band calls the “short bus.” Here’s what James Felice had to say about recording their latest album, playing music in the streets, “making it” and on what it means to be a blood brother.

Rose Dement:

Being that three of you are brothers and taking into consideration what you’ve been through as a band – from meeting Christmas, to the streets, to the van you’re crossing the country in now – do you feel that these things are cause and effect and random acts of life; or, do you believe everything fell into place this way for a reason, more like fate?

James Felice:

I don’t know if it’s fate. I would say that it’s more . cause and effect are part of it . I think that we just worked really hard at it, never let an opportunity go and devoted our lives to this project. I wouldn’t say it’s fate. I think it was more perseverance.

RD: During the recording of the song “Hey Hey Revolver,” I hear lightning literally struck your recording studio?

JF: We recorded that album in like this abandoned camp in this old building – this old theatre – and it had this leaky roof and for some reason it rained every single day we were there and that roof was always leaking. One night we were cutting “Hey Hey Revolver,” and it was the first take, and right when it starts all the power went out for a second and came back on. And we heard this thunder rolling and it was the longest single roll of thunder I have heard in my entire life, and no one missed a beat and we caught it and it turns out it was a great take. If we had a better take we would have used it, but that was the best one and it just happened to have lightning and thunder on it.

RD: How did Christmas come into the picture?

JF: He was my friend growing up for many years and then when we started the band, Chris wasn’t really part of it, but then we sort of realized he was basically the coolest guy we knew. So we told him to learn how to play the bass and he did. So that’s how it works.

RD: I’ve read you guys are pretty avid readers? What are you reading now?

JF: I actually just cracked open “War and Peace” by Tolstoy. Ian and Christmas are on this Camus kick. Ian and Chris read, like, every book, every essay he’s ever written. We do read a lot, actually.

RD: I think part of the reason you get comparisons to so many greats of past generations is that there is an authenticity to your sound missing in a lot of modern music. How do you think the time you spent on the streets added to that, and do you think you could write the way you do without that particular set of experiences?

JF: Well, we’ve always written songs even before we were a band and playing together, but I think playing on the streets was one of the more amazing things. It’s just seeing people, you know, because depending where you’re playing there’s all these different kinds of people, all these beautiful, different people, and I think it’s helped influence us a lot in a lot of different ways – definitely in songwriting, but also a lot in performing. It’s a big part of who we are and what we’ve done, street performing.

RD: I would think it would contribute a lot to your attitude and your stage presence being in certain situations people are looking at you like –

JF: – Like what the hell are you doing?

RD: Exactly. And learning to keep your chin up and rock through that, still knowing who you are.

JF: That’s what it’s all about. I mean, playing in New York City, no one gives a shit about you unless you’re good, and that was our intention – to become good enough so that people would give a shit about us and put a dollar in our box. And, you know, know who we were just so we could make enough money to eat and play the next day. I remember we spent all our money on our first short bus, and what did we do? We drove into this graveyard in the Catskills and we just hung out and cooked dinner. Ian was living in a tent for a while and I used to go up there and hang out with him. It’s always a good time with or without money. It doesn’t matter.

RD: Living on the road has got to have its moments, though. It can’t all be easy.

JF: Last time we were on tour in Phoenix and it was like 108 degrees and our air conditioner broke and we blew a tire and we were stuck. That was pretty bad . but we all just got drunk and passed out because it was the only thing to do. But we’ve never had like anything really bad happen to us. We have a job that is really so awesome we can’t complain about anything.

RD: Going for broke, the way you guys did, do you think you’ve earned your reputation as dice-throwin’ gamblin’ men?

JF: I guess so . We don’t really gamble so much anymore, but I suppose that we are that archetype or whatever. I don’t really see myself as this mystical drifter. I’m just a regular guy. And I know my brothers are all regular guys, too, but we did go for broke . We just gave up everything we had and went for it. And we had saloon adventures on the way and played music, but we’re just regular men – there’s nothing extraordinary about us. I don’t know if we’ve even made it yet. We still have a hell of a lot more to go, but right now we’re getting to play music and we don’t have to have real jobs, so in that way we have made it.

RD: What advice would you have for someone at a similar crossroads, toying with the idea of quitting their nine-to-five to chase their dream fully?

JF: Well the first thing you’ve gotta determine: how hard are you willing to work? How much [are] you willing to give up? I think, I remember, when we came to the point I was sleeping in my car, but I had a job; I was working at this place called Taco Shack and so I didn’t really have so much that I was giving up.

So it wasn’t really a hard decision for me, but it’s definitely a kind of crazy lifestyle, but it’s fun. But, if you’re good at what you do and you love to do it, then you should . because you only have a very limited amount of time to live on this planet and there’s no point in doing something you don’t wanna do.

Felice spoke to Dement by phone from Los Angeles.

ROSEMARIE DEMENT
Culture Writer

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At the beginning of last semester, Boise State student Andrew Mitzel lived in the University Suites located at University and Chrisway Drive. He shared this four-bedroom residence with two of his fraternity brothers and another non-Greek student. This student had been assigned to the fraternity suite when a fourth brother could not be found to occupy the remaining room.

One Thursday night, the new roommate returned to the apartment intoxicated.

According to Mitzel, when he told his roommate to go to bed, the roommate became angry and threw a coffee table at him. Mitzel went to get security although he was not seriously injured.

“He had completely trashed our room while we went to go get security,” Mitzel said. “He threw eggs all over the place and threw our TV across the room.”

Mitzel reported that the resident director, two resident advisors and a security officer were called to the scene. When the instigator returned to the suite, he was issued a ticket for battery, and was allowed to remain in the suite. Mitzel and the other residents were asked to find somewhere else to stay temporarily.

The roommate was placed on temporary probation that Thursday night and, according to Mitzel, housing told him he couldn’t return to the dorms until Monday. Mitzel’s fraternity brothers informed him later that Friday their roommate had broken into the suite twice.

“I never got a call. No one ever told me he broke in twice,” Mitzel said. “On [the following] Thursday night, they finally got him out of there, and no one calls me to tell me he’s out and I can come back.”

A judiciary hearing took place one week later. Mitzel said he doesn’t know what happened to the student. He was instructed to tell somebody if his former roommate contacted him.

Mitzel is currently working with Associated Students of Boise State University Senate Pro Tempore Terry Hurless on a safety initiative that would help create a safer environment for Boise State students. The initiative involves collecting information concerning student safety – through anonymous e-mails – and developing a plan to integrate new ideas into existing campus safety policies. Hurless hopes to have this initiative underway in the next few weeks.

Another alcohol-fueled incident occurred last semester, when sophomore Joanna Doherty came back to her dorm in Chaffee Hall to find an angry and intoxicated student in the hallway. This student lived on Doherty’s floor.

According to Doherty, she and her roommate tried to calm him down, but he refused and began trying to pick fights with people. The police were called to the scene, and Doherty said he listened when the cops told him to go in his room. The student returned shortly after.

“I was just trying to get him to calm down,” Doherty said. “I was trying to hold him back, and he took my arm and twisted it behind my back trying to get to the cops.”

The police talked to the student, and the RD from Chaffee helped calm him down.

“I told the RD, ‘I do not want him going back to his room, because this is not right with him being really aggressive, yelling and launching at officers,’” Doherty said. “I said, ‘If he is going to be going back to his room I want to be notified.’”

Doherty returned to her room and when to bed. She found out the next morning that the student had been allowed back into his room.

“Nobody told me,” Doherty said. “I wouldn’t have minded if they had woken me up to tell me.”

Doherty has future plans to become a resident assistant.

“The main thing is limit their use [of] alcohol,” Director of University Security Bob Seibolt said, when asked what Boise State’s students could do to stay safe. “Most people have difficulty because they have been drinking.”

Alcohol is strictly prohibited in the campus residence halls.

Seibolt also encouraged students to be aware of their surroundings and to travel in groups.

“For the most part, within the resident hall community, it is a very safe environment,” Seibolt said.

Student Tory Nelson also lives in Chaffee, and has had a very positive experience in the Boise State resident community.

“I trust lots of people in the residence halls. No one’s going to go into someone’s room and steal their stuff,” Nelson said. “I think we’re all a little more mature these days and don’t need to worry about things like that . I feel pretty safe there.”

Nelson also said he had never heard of anyone being attacked in the dorms.

Ajay Rasmussen, a former resident of the Towers residence hall, left for Christmas break and returned to find that all his belongings had vanished. Rasmussen estimated that $6,000 of property had been taken. Everything had been removed including his blankets, toothbrush and shampoo.

“There wasn’t a single thing of his left in the room,” Ajay’s sister Rachel Rasmussen said. Only the two of the missing belongs were located, according to Rachel. Two of Ajay’s textbooks were located in a Chaffee closet.

“We have tried to contact nearly everyone, because nobody was really doing anything for him,” Rachel said.

The family said they contacted Ajay’s resident director, his resident advisor, Associate Director of University Housing Felice Otero, Executive Housing Director Jeff Hale and Boise State President Bob Kustra.

“‘Just wait, just bear with us.’ That’s all they’ve really told me so far,” Ajay said.

Hale explained that most complaints concerning dorm safety regarded people being allowed into the dorms. Most were not cases of violence between the residents. If a violent situation is reported, housing personnel will respond with police, or act as mediators of the argument.

“If it can’t be resolved, then we would reassign somebody, at least one person if not both, and set some expectations. Can they talk to one another? Can they be around each other? Those types of things,” Hale said.

If a student felt unsafe in returning to their room Hale said there are empty beds available, such as the show suite in the University Suites. The suite is the only residence on its floor, and Hale said it is always available if a student needs to be relocated.

“We’re pretty diligent about following up with both parties [involved in an incident],” Hale said. “Most obvious is the student that initiated the altercation. [They] will be followed up through the conduct process, but also, trying to make sure the recipient of violence is okay. We certainly would make sure they’re okay and feeling safe.”

Hale advised students to know their neighbors, and always make sure to lock their doors.

“Report things that appear to be suspicious; view the staff, campus security and police as helpful extensions of campus life. That is our primary role,” Hale said.

Hale could not comment on any student’s specific situation.

Housing currently has three security guards, who are paid to patrol the housing community. Resident directors are also on-call 24/7, and resident assistants are on call from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

KATIE HORNER
News Writer

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