National Poetry Month Recommended Read: Verses From Above

 

For those that have no clue, April is National Poetry Month. A month dedicated back in 1996 to raise awareness and appreciation for the art of poetry in the United States. What better way to celebrate this art then by actually reading some poetry.  If you have no idea where to start, here is a book of poetry that you may want to pick up: Verses From Above by Salvin Chahal. Verses from Above is an amazing book of poetry, hitting many subjects that may leave readers wondered. With each poem, Chahal creates vivid scenes and worlds with much detail. He equips the literary device of metaphors well to his advantage. The comparisons made are ones that readers may have never thought of. Poem long metaphors such as treating his sister or women as museums or one liners like,

My mother’s love is rich like the soil in Egypt when the Nile would flood.

Another favorite is

Boil every moment you fell in love, in a pot molded by your hardened façade.

This book challenges any reader to really think and dive into every poem. Not just skim through. That’s what’s great about Chahal’s first book; every read through could be a different experience. Each poem contains many layers that scream out to be known, it is our job as the reader to find out the message. Chahal writes from his core, everything that he has experienced and seen. Even though the author is only 20, don’t be mistaken, he has done a lot of growing up. His thoughts may reflect our own or it may challenge, but that’s one of the main goals of the art of poetry. Chahal writes about the many aspects of cultures in his writing: his heritage, our generation, school, the system, etc. Harsh and honest, beautiful and fulfilling, this book must be checked out.

At the end of the book, Chahal has written “workshops” for readers to explore their own minds, mapping it out onto paper. The book immediately becomes an interactive experience. There are many blank pages to add personal content, and it doesn’t even have to be poetry. The workshops include experiences such as writing a letter to your 6th grade self, thinking of personal traits and weaknesses and writing about them, regrets, role models, and the list goes on. After reading a thought provoking book, this author urges you to look within. The workshops are definitely a challenge, but for any reader that is up to it, they may find themselves expressing thoughts that haven’t been thought about before. Which is poetry in itself. You may unknowingly find your words and sentences forming into beautiful poetry.

What started from a daily poetry series became a book. It was officially launched with a special event at creative art space Sol Collective in Sacramento back in February 13th of this year. The momentum hasn’t stopped for the young author / emcee yet. Salvin Chahal recently performed and was part of a SXSW official showcase, as hosted by Sol Collective. He’s not new to the festival or showcase scene either, he was a poet mentor and a 2012 SAYS Slam team champion. His work is far from finished, Chahal is currently working on a musical project right now, taking his poetic skills to the mic. For more information follow his social media accounts :

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SalSuave

Instagram: @_Salvin

tumblr: sal-c.tumblr.com

The author of this blog, Jerel Labson, is a current radio host at KSSU.com. His show, the 30/30, is every Wednesday from 4pm-5pm. 30 minutes of music, followed by 30 minutes of talk with special guests every week.

Album Review: “Lost Isles” by Oceans Ate Alaska

is a metal-core band the United Kingdom with a unique taste. Some flavors of Djent, Thrash, Death, Pop Punk, and even Electronica float around in this UK Combo. When I first listened to Oceans Ate Alaska, they were a scene/emo kid band performing the class “screamo” music with open note breakdowns. This album “Lost Isles” has been a metamorphosis for Oceans. They started out as puny, long-haired caterpillars and evolved into fire-breathing dragons. Here’s my take on “Lost Isles”.

The intro, “Four Thirty Two” is an instrumental with some radio and television broadcasts on natural disasters playing in the background. Great work done in this song, piece and also in the instrumental interlude. The pure talent and raw sound during these pieces show how the band has progressed in accordance to music theory. Tempo changes, experimental tuning, drum variety, all sorts of vocals (both clean and screamed), and of course some master guitar shredding amplify this bands talent ten-fold. You can tell how much work they put into this album just by these pieces alone.

But wait! It gets even better. Oceans Ate Alaska released three tracks before the actually full length release date, which was February 24th. These songs are “Blood Brothers” (Lyric video), “Floorboards” (Lyric Video), and “Vultures And Sharks” (Music Video). One thing you will notice is how thick the accent is coming out of the front-man. It works really well because with the knowledge of where these guys came from, you can match up the style with the accent. With technical drops, crazy good melodies, and use of techno in the background (but not overdone) made me so excited for the release of the full length. Maybe a little too excited because I listened to “Blood Brothers” about five times a day for a week.

Other songs worth mentioning are “High Horse”,”Linger”, “Entity”, and the debut hit “Lost Isles”. “High Horse” is heavy as frick and is similar to Attila’s lyric style. Basically, we are better than you and will hurt you if you try to take us down. With a little bit of Djent influences, this song made me sweaty and flexed out while just sitting in class, which probably made it uncomfortable for the shy girl next to me. “Linger” and “Entity” cannot be fully appreciated without deciphering the lyrics. I will not ruin the surprise, but your mind will be blown. Also, “Linger” as both clean and distorted guitar throughout, which is strange for metal, but it worked out fantastic! Last but certainly not least is “Lost Isles” which is pretty much everything I have just written, but precisely placed together in one masterpiece. I feel like this should have been on the last song on the album just to give listeners those last tears of joy and bliss before popping the album out their car radio.

To hear some new stuff from Oceans Ate Alaska and a variety of other bands, go listen to my show “Shred the Gnar” on http://www.kssu.com Tuesdays at 8 o’clock!

Thanks for reading, DJGingerbeard out.

Theatre Is Not Lame… Sometimes

As a mandatory requirement for my Theater 9 course, I had to attend an acting showcase last night in the University Theater. This showcase was put on by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (or KCACTF) where nominees from Sacramento State show off their talents with about six minutes of material and one song. The nominees put on two skits, a monologue, then later on sang a song. Also, they were able to choose anyone they wanted as an acting partner for the two skits. All I have to say is, this showcase re-ignited an old passion for theater inside of me. Here’s how my day went.

I work at a burrito joint in Vacaville where I roll burritos. Simple enough, except for that day we were slammed (and I mean SLAMMED) with orders. I get off around 2:30pm, roll myself a tasty burrito for the road, and go to pick up my girlfriend who volunteered as tribute to go with me to the showcase. After a minor argument as to why she needs to hurry and why I am a “Butt” we were on the road. The line was long, but it went by fast and we quickly got seats towards the back or in Actor’s Terms, Upstage House Left.

Honestly, I had no idea what the showcase was about until half-way through the performance. However, I did not need to know what it was about because I was already captivated by some of the performances. These actors knew their stuff and could range from comedy to tragedy in under six minutes. There were some memorable performances.

One of these worth mentioning was a skit called “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Abridged]” performed Cole Winslow and Steven Amaral. It was a Shakespeare satire that had me laughing the entire time along with the rest of the audience. One line, Steven said “Call me but love and…” he continued on with mushy gushy words about passion, where Cole replied “Fine, I shall call you ‘Butt Love’.”

Another performance that I found to be quite strong and at a moment shocking was “Ruined” performed by Taylor Vaughn and Tiffanie Mack. This piece was about an African woman telling a story to a friend about how soldiers beat her and molested her in front of her daughter Beatrice, who was then stomped to death by a soldier. The sadness and vividness on Taylor’s face hit me right in the heart.

The only critique I would have is that some of the acting partners were better than the nominees themselves. There was a duo who I thought the partner WAS the nominee, until the actual nominee came out later and sang for the audience.

When I was taking drama in high school, we did a lot of older plays and musicals which put a distaste in my mouth for Theater. After watching some Modern Day performances and material at the showcase last night, I am glad to say that Theater is not lame… sometimes.

Thank You for reading! Check out my show “Shred the Gnar” Tuesday mornings at 8 only on http://www.kssu.com!

DJGingerbeard

Album Review: “The Night God Slept” by Silent Planet

The very first song I heard from Silent Planet was “Tiny Hands (Au Revoir) off their EP titled “Lastsleep (1944-1946)” was love at first listen. I thought, “Gee, these guys already sound experienced and professional.” Turns out, they have only released a demo CD and one self-recorded EP. The album that just came out titled “The Night God Slept” is their first album- ever. Silent Planet is a Christian Metalcore band from Los Angeles. Although they are christian, they do not like to have labels on them and during an interview, their guitar player claimed that they do not want to play in churches, “but we want to play for the broken.” The link to the interview is at the bottom. With this new album, Silent Planet has been signed to Solid State Records and already have some recognition. Bands like For Today and August Burns Red are backing up the release of this new album and on eight of the eleven tracks there are featured christian artists. Silent Planet is coming into 2015 hot with no signs of braking.

Let’s break this album down real quick. First off, the lyrics are amazing. All the lyrics are direct quotes, paraphrases, or interpretations by the vocalist of other sources. These sources include philosophical books, historical events, the Bible, and many more other things. Not only that, but the lyrics all flow together around a central main idea while also remaining connected to all listeners. All instruments at one point do show their max amount of talent, but they remain humble when needed. The instruments are not focused on being the heaviest or most technical, but they are very talented and get crazy at times. The keep the song entertaining while also complementing the vocalist. Also, one of the guitar players sings to bring in that “clean” aspect to the Metalcore genre. By the way, it is good singing not like a girly man kind of singing either.

My favorite songs (in order of appearance) are XX (City Grave), Native Blood, Tiny Hands (Au Revoir), and Wasteland. “XX (City Grave) talks about the objectification of women as sexual beings instead of equals to men and how that is wrong. The song explains how we should treat all women as sisters and abolish pornography, regardless of profit being lost or desires that men have. “Native Blood” is about how Native Americans were kicked out their land by people who claimed to be Servants of God. Silent Planet retaliated against the idea of the settlers being servants by explaining what it really is to be a Servant. They then compare the idea of False Servant-hood to most preachers today. “Tiny Hands (Au Revoir)” is a Holocaust survival story about a Jewish woman who escaped a Synagogue being burned by Nazis by jumping out a giant window into a garden. There are also topics such as the Garden of Eden and the existence of both forces of Good and Evil. Finally, the song “Wasteland”. This song is about the rise of Joseph Stalin and his attempt to abolish God completely, making himself the new supreme figurehead that everyone are supposed to worship. The song also looks at the lives of the soldiers under Stalin who were dying unnecessary deaths after losing their faith on the battle field, hence the name “Wasteland”.

I can go on and on, but you should go check it out for yourself. I highly recommend that you check out the album playlist on youtube (which I have provided a link) and read the lyrics while the songs are playing. I promise you will not regret it and your mind will be blown.

Thanks for reading! If you want to hear more music like Silent Planet and other great artists, tune into my show “Shred the Gnar” Tuesdays at 8am on http://www.kssu.com

Much Love, DJGingerbeard

Links:

Playlist= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d9HHQqtguY&list=PLCslpjrb7cYjhht_4wASD6IGoivkLfD-z&index=10

interview= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi_VYGnuHl8

“Shred the Gnar” Version 2.0

For those of you who do not know me, my name is DJGingerbeard and I have a metal/random show Tuesday mornings at 8am called “Shred the Gnar” on KSSU. When I started at KSSU, I wanted to play music that people would not typically hear in the mainstream, or music that when it comes up in conversation would make them cringe. Examples are metal, death metal, post-hardcore, Djent, etc. Last semester I found myself sticking to one type of metal and even replaying songs from already popular artists. My original intent on becoming a DJ had vanished. Two events made me realize i must return to my Alpha Form.

I was checking out some bands on Instagram when I saw a band that I thought was already great and pretty well-known had released a new album. That album is titled “The Night God Slept” by a Southern Californian Metal band called “Silent Planet.” The lyrics are all direct quotes, paraphrases, or interpretations of the vocalist cited from historical events, intellectual books, and scriptures. I was blown away by the awesome creativity on this album so I looked up an interview with the band. I found out that this album was their first album ever and they just got signed to a record label (which happens to be Solid State Records). That’s when it hit me. One of the things I wished to do as a DJ was to find great bands in the heavy music industry that are not well known and give them exposure.

The other event that made me realize what I have become was a few days ago in my girlfriend’s car. We were having a nice day going out to eat, when two songs back to back played in her radio from a mix CD. One was from Underoath in their more recent years, so the music was not that heavy. The other was a pop-punk song by a band called “Knuckle Puck”. I loved both songs so i told my girlfriend “I would play this stuff, but it’s too light”. She replied, “You tell your listeners that you play a wide variety of metal and other stuff, but you seem to only stick to a select type of music.” She was right, so now I am changing my ways.

“Shred the Gnar” version 2.0 will not have just metal, but also thrash, djent, hardcore, punk, post-hardcore, electro-metal, pop-punk, and all other sub-genres. Not only that, I will try harder to find not-so-known bands like “Silent Planet” and play them on my show to give them the credit they deserve. I promise you fellow musicians and music lovers alike, Spring Semester for DJGingerbeard will be better than ever.

Listen in for some great stuff at http://www.kssu.com

Tuesday mornings at 8am

Much love, DJGingerbeard

Christmas, Cheese Balls, and the Crayon Incident

Every Christmas season is pretty much the same for me. One side of the family gets together at one location on Christmas Eve, and the other side gets together somewhere else on Christmas day. Both sides love each other, but come on, there are a lot of us and most of them are old. Here are a few iconic holiday things that cease to disappear every year.

The infamous Cheese Ball. I have no idea what Grandma Sonja puts in it, but as soon as she whips that bad boy out with some Ritz crackers, all Hell breaks loose. Most relatives attack it head on, trying to make small talk to distract their adversaries from the heavenly cheese sphere. Me, I wait, because after they have their fill, I can indulge calmly and take my time with the ball of cheese.

Wii Sports. Again, most of my relatives are older and they want to connect with us young folk. One thing they always do when they visit is challenge us to games in Wii Sports games. My Grandma (same one who plants the deadly cheese ball) claims she used to be a professional bowler. She wins most of the time on the Wii, but as soon as someone gets ahead of her, the old “this dang remote is acting up on me” excuse flies out her mouth. Grandma is great.

Christmas Eve Skate Session. Every year, my father and I head out to a skate park and rip it up on Christmas Eve. Sometimes we have a lot of people, sometimes it is just us. This year we will be chillin’ and killin’ out in Cordelia with about fifteen other skaters. What better way to celebrate the holiday you love by doing what you love?

The Crayon Incident. This only happened once, but it gets reminded every year. So here I was, sitting across the cards table from my Uncle Dan. The table is in the middle of the living room with chairs and couches around the bottom of it so people not playing cards can watch TV. Behind my Uncle is kitchen which is open to the living room. He and I were sitting watching TV because the other seats were taken up. I’m just relaxing, and I hear somebody rip one, like a long one. Every one instantly blames me because I was a teenage boy who leaked like a gas line, BUT it wasn’t me, it was my Uncle. He got red-faced and started busting up laughing and in an attempt to waft the fart away with a  box of crayons, the whole box opened up. We got methane in the air, crayons flying everywhere, people on their knees laughing, my cousin gasping for air as she laughs with cheese ball in her mouth, and I am in the middle of the chaos. The Crayon Incident.

Thanks for reading, check out my last show of the semester this Thursday at 9 am on kssu.com!

Happy Holidays, DJGingerbeard

Sacramento Celebrates National Poetry Month (Guerilla Style)

April is National Poetry Month, and Sacramento is a great place to celebrate.

 Local promotional group ZFG, also known as Zero Forbidden Goals, will be celebrating this month in a non-traditional sort of way, Guerilla style. You may be thinking of warfare when the term “guerilla style” is mentioned, but over the course of 2014, ZFG has taken it and applied it to the arts.

A Simple Poem

Driving to Grandma’s

A young boy sits on his father’s lap

and places his tiny hands on the steering wheel.

Go With The Fro

Hello, this is new member and DJ to the KSSU family. My name is Briana and I’ll be your the latest addition to your musical repertoire.

I know it’s late, but I wanted to formally introduce myself anyway.

A special poem from me to you about me;)

My teacher said,
Go home and write
a passage tonight.
From you, but model Hughes
Then, it will continue.
I wonder if it’s that’s true?

I am twenty-four, black, from San Francisco.
I was raised there, then Fairfield, then here
to several colleges in the capital Sacramento.
I am the only ambitious one in my generation.
The lessons I have learned helped train me to excel
While others don’t find them entertaining,
One drink, two shots, a hit here, now they think there hot,
Instead I read, do homework, and marvel at art
Now that makes me square because I’d rather not go there: