Unmata: Modern Bellydance
By Kathleen Mitchell-Askar If you thought belly dance was just about shaking it, you would be wrong. UNMATA, a tribal fusion belly dance troupe based in Sacramento, proves the style represents more than just entertainment: it is a lifestyle. Amy Sigil, director of UNMATA and owner of the group’s home base, Hot Pot Studio on K St. and 17th, said the dance has exposed her to more than just unique body movements. “I’ve benefited from an incredible exposure to music from other parts of my world, fabrics, rituals and customs. [Bellydance] is an exotic art steeped in culture. Quite intoxicating,” Sigil said. Bellydance’s roots are difficult to untangle. Some experts say the dance grew out of the fertility-based religions of ancient times, while others say it developed from the temple dances in India. Regardless, the dance is widely considered indigenous to the Middle East and is performed in Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and throughout the region. The genesis of UNMATA’s tribal style, however, is widely attributed to Jamila Salimpour, a California dancer who developed the form in the 1950s. Salimpour fused the dances from the Middle East and North Africa and used traditional folkloric dance elements and costumes inspired by traditional and ethnographic garb. Tribal style in its present form is a true “melting pot of dance with a strong driven core of abdominal interpretation,” Sigil said. Indeed, dancers often incorporate jazz, modern, hip hop, Bharthanatyam and Bhangra (styles from India), Flamenco, Polynesian, and West African flavor into the folkloric base. The music dancers use, too, varies with individual preference. “We like a lot of modern music. I owe a big thank you to Chemical Brothers, Trent Reznor, Crystal Method, and Stomp. We’re always looking for edgy, bass thumpin’ beats that make you want to get up,” Sigil said. As for costumes, UNMATA favors an urbandeconstructed look, unlike the sequins and taffeta of what many consider to be representative of belly dance. The group often recycles and re-works materials, as their influences have re-oriented from the Middle East to the streets of Sacramento. The main distinction between the American Bellydance seen in Middle Eastern restaurants and Tribal Style Bellydance is the emphasis on the group. While the former mainly focuses on solo dancers, tribal is an improvisational group endeavor, as was the formation of UNMATA in 2003. “I was inspired by my students to begin the troupe. Their dedication to dance and creativity was overwhelming, and their support in my vision only fueled the fire. We were friends and we loved dancing together-it just made sense,” Sigil said. Sigil herself has been belly dancing for 12 years. She was in search of alternative hobbies that would keep her busy, healthy, and clean from drugs. The Parks and Recreation catalog offered her a first taste of the hobby that would soon consume her life. “I needed something that spoke to my body and my heart. I knew nothing about belly dance, I just showed up to class. I don’t even know if I loved it at first, but I just kept showing up. It wasn’t until years later that I truly fell in love with the dance style,” she commented. In the process of learning the moves and becoming clean, Sigil also formed a new relationship with the “stem”, as she said, of her body: her hips, belly, and chest. For her, this identification is more about the inside, and less about the outside. Even though the main benefits of belly dance have been largely internal for Sigil, she and her troupe have made themselves known, loud and clear, to the external world of Sacramento. “We’re a loud, rowdy bunch. We like to remind Sacramento to have a good time. Our role is to keep the sidewalk fun on K and 17th,” she said. UNMATA, now with six members, Sigil, Shelly DeCant, Luna Taylor, Kari Vanderzwaag, April Rose Wilson, and Casey Staub, dances throughout the city, nation, and abroad. Locally, the group performs at Marrakech on Fulton Ave., and at private parties, festivals, and workshops in the area. For the past three years, the group has taken their passion and expertise to Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, New York, Canada, England, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and France. Success and popularity has made UNMATA’s name known widely, but for the group’s members, belly dance is about the process and friendship. It is about rolling with the belly rolls. As Sigil said: “UNMATA doesn’t have any goals. Short term goals for sure, there is a ton of crap we’re doing all the time, and that takes deadlines. But long term goals? It’s not for us. We’re keeping it open right now, we don’t know where it’s going … and that’s okay.”
The Jim Rowdy Show
Blissful Chaos
By Danny Bernardini Crammed into the back room of The Cabin in Vacaville, members of the Jim Rowdy Show sipped whisky and cokes and pounded beers while getting ready for their annual fright night “Scary Hairy Ball.” That night, the group’s front man, Jim Rowdy, sports perfectly manicured greaser hair, cosmetic contact lenses and a jet black sport coat with leopard skin trim. Cohorts Mike Skullz, drums and vocals, and the newest member of the band, guitarist Gearhart Tieseler dawn distinctly different gear. Like Rowdy, Skullz was peering through his eerie contacts letting his tattoos show with a sleeveless black T-shirt. Tieseler, however, looks straight out of a Weezer video with thick frames and shirt and tie. Bassist Nikki Fixx wasn’t able to join us for the interview. With a Johnny Cash like anticipation for the show, the men in black admittedly are showing signs of the title of their long-awaited album, “Stage Fright,” in two senses of the word. There are the jitters about releasing their first album and headlining a concert they started eight year ago. “It’s been a long time coming,” Skullz said while powering down a Marlboro. “It’s about damn time. Everyone’s been asking for it.” Rowdy, a man of few words out from behind the mic, said the nerves were getting to him, but once he hit the stage it would all disappear. “Stage fright, that’s how I feel every time I’m in this kitchen,” Rowdy said. “This is the night I’ve been waiting for my entire life. I’ve wanted to be a rock star since I was 12 years old.” The other side of stage fright is the show the band puts on. That night’s show would have an extra dose of fright, but masks, make-up and a couple of buckets of fake blood aren’t that unusual for the guys. “Some people love it,” Rowdy said. “Some people don’t know what to do.” Taking that theme further, the band’s new album features their freaky faces covered in make-up and contains artwork plucked straight from zombie and old school science fiction movies. The album is a culmination of more than 10 years of the Jim Rowdy Show. Those who have been around a while may remember Rowdy from his days of playing acoustic guitars on street corners in downtown Vacaville. One of the first “greasers” in Vacaville, more people may recognize Rowdy from his slick back hair, white T-shirt and hearse he drove around. That rockabilly attitude soon transcended into his music, which he said was more of a hobby than a lifestyle at first. “It was just a joke,” he said. “I used to write silly songs.” The union of Rowdy and Skulls was soon to come and for Skullz, it was love at first fright. “I said ‘I want to be in a band with this guy and it’s the only band I want to do,’” he said. There have been a few guys who have come on-board and departed from the Rowdy Show over the years. Like any band, there have been replacements needed in a pinch and locals have stepped in. Whether it be a band member headed to jail or most recently when Zach Maxon left the band, they guys regroup and keep playing. Maxon chose to spend more time with another band. “Our schedules conflicted,” Skullz said. “It was getting tense.” So the band started looking for someone to step in to promote the album, which Maxon played on, when they ran into an old friend in Tieseler. “I actually forgot he played the guitar,” Rowdy said. Tieseler said he ran into Rowdy and he started telling him about the upcoming show. At first, Tieseler said it was strange encounter. “He tracked me down at a grocery store,” he said. “All of a sudden this guy in a beanie is talking about scary hairy balls.” So with the band back to four members, they said it’s time to start getting exposure for their album. The psychobilly sound is yet to be heard widescale, but Skullz thinks that may change. “It’s going to be a breath of fresh air,” he said. “There’s nothing like it out there right now.” Rowdy agreed adding, “I look at this like a pioneer type band.” The gritty, tough sound coming from Rowdy’s microphone can be traced back to one night. Trying desperately to cope with the loss of a family member, Rowdy picked up the guitar and let loose. His wife Dee Dee Rowdy said those around him could do nothing but sit back and listen. “We sat with our mouths open,” she said. “It was bittersweet to see that sound come out of him.” Rowdy said the sounds he created that day came from the pain of a miserable situation, but ended up benefiting them overall. “It inspired the sound of the album,” he said. “I knew it would be a positive thing.” As for anything light-hearted in the future, Dee Dee said she isn’t holding her breath. “I’m still waiting for a love song,” she said. “He wrote me one and it was called ‘Anger and Pain.’ Check for songs and show dates at myspace.com/thejimrowdyshow
The Devil Has a MySpace Page
A little over a year ago while I was on maternity leave and my band was working on new songs, a nuclear bomb hit the band and myself. It was slow yet devastating, via dial up. After three years of networking, booking shows, and uploading songs to our myspace page, it was deleted.
At first I though someone hacked it. I emailed Myspace’s customer service twice and never received a response.
Fuming with frustration at losing over two thousand five hundred friends and all the contacts we had made over three years, I started another account. Twenty four hours later, it was deleted. I e-mailed customer service again and still didn’t get a response. We didn’t break any of their rules/standards so I requested a legitimate reason for our account to be deleted again.
With no response and no idea why we kept getting deleted. I tried again to start up a new account. Twenty four hours later, the same freaking thing. At that point I was beyond furious, and hormonal.
I did a search on Myspace to see if some of the other bands with Bipolar in their name were having the same problem. A month prior, there were three pages of bands with Bipolar in their names, We were, however, the first Bipolar that registered with Myspace and had the cool URL to prove it. Then, after all the drama there was one.
One band in New York with the name Bipolar popped up after my search. Only being on the site for less than a year, I knew they had some hand in our page being deleted. I had an insticnt it had something to do with them trying to claim rights to a name we had held since late 2002. I called them. Left an angry voice mail, letting them know who they were screwing with and what proof I had of us using and recording under the name for the past 5 years.
I then started a new account. That account is still going strong.
This whole ordeal made me realize how much of a phenomanom Myspace has been for bands. The site offers networking, exposure, a free web identity, promotion, and community to the bands of the world. Without a Myspace page, your band pretty much doesn’t exist.
However, a band can’t depend just on Myspace as their sole promotion tool. Crap happens that can ruin your sole promotion tool, hackers, crappy bands trying to lay claim to your name, servers crash, etc. If you’re all dependent on a website, and you have a show to promote what are you going to do if that fails??
Here I am bringing this scene a magazine to use as a marketing tool, for networking, exposure, and community. Yet we’re just a sliver of the giant forest at a band’s fingertips.
There are dozens of magazines, thousands of websites, locally driven radio stations, and show promoting outlets besides Myspace.
Get off your asses, make some flyers, attend other bands’ shows to promote your own, make demos to hand out, sticker the world, and support the scene outside of the internet.
One For The Birds
There are quite a few things that come to mind when you think of Thanksgiving. Things like getting together with family, good conversation, and of course food. What usually doesn’t come to mind during this joyous occasion is torture, suffering and excruciating pain.
Every year, over 45 million turkeys are slaughtered for Thanksgiving. These birds, along with all others in the poultry food category, are not protected by the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. They are treated extremely poor during their entire short lives. Forced to live in their own excrement, the birds breathe filthy air and don’t get to enjoy the sun. They are injected with hormones that cause them to grow six times faster than a normal turkey.
In addition to hormones, they are also genetically modified. Instead of the colorful and robust characteristics of wild turkeys, these factory farmed birds look like identical, white feathered clones. They are balding, bleeding, and broken under their massive weight. The lucky ones will die of stress, suffocation, heart failure, and heat exhaustion. The birds strong enough to endure these hardships are routinely abused and mutilated by factory workers. Snapping necks, tearing off of wings and legs, de-beaking, gouging of eyeballs, punching and stabbing, and being driven over by trucks are not uncommon in the day to day life of a Thanksgiving turkey.
When the turkeys have reached an acceptable size, they are piled onto a truck to be shipped to slaughter. In addition to being extremely stressed because of crowding, they are exposed to extreme weather conditions with insufficient food and water. En route, there are often highway accidents, leaving many of the birds dead or severely injured. Injured birds are merely tossed back into the truck to suffer in agony during the rest of their trip. Upon arriving at the slaughterhouse, the turkeys are hung upside down in shackles by their feet. Their throats are slit while still alive. If they don’t bleed to death, they end up being severely scalded in boiling water; a method used to remove their feathers. Any birds still alive at this point will usually succumb to heart failure. Finally the inedible parts are removed and the turkeys are packaged for your consumption.
Now that you’ve worked up an appetite, how about trying a more selfless, less apathetic alternative to torment and mutilation? Here’s one variation:
Cruelty-Free Thanksgiving Feast 1 Tofurkey Roast with or without stuffing or 1 Un-Turkey which actually has an edible “skin” on it 1 can of cranberry sauce
A few servings of your choice of veggies
Dinner rolls not containing eggs, whey or honey
Mashed potatoes made with non-hydrogenated soy margarine and/or soy milk
Vegetarian gravy mixed with soymilk and flour
Try vegan marshmallows on your yams and fruit salad
Stuffing made with celery, onions, bread crumbs and vegetable stock
A jug of apple cider
Pre-made vegan pumpkin pie
Most, if not all of these items can be found at Trader Joe’s, Raley’s, Whole Foods or your local Food Co-op. This may be a big change for you and your family or friends, but we promise you won’t suffer nearly as much as the turkey you spared would have.
Here are a few links with more info, video footage of turkey slaughter and recipe alternatives to some of your holiday favorites. Enjoy!
goveg.com/factoryfarming-turkeys.asp
goveg.com/feat/butterball/butterball.asp
vegan.com/issues/1998/nov98/thanks.htm
Have a Happy and cruelty-free holiday!
Until next time, take care, and VEG OUT! –The Vegans.
Please send all correspondence to HereComeTheVegans@yahoo.com.
5 Bands To Know… According To Fringe: November 2007
1. The Chop Tops - www.thechoptops.com
Since 1995 The Chop Tops have been playing what they have coined as ” Revved Up Rockabilly” out of Santa Cruz.With back to back tours they have shared the stage with the likes of Brian Setzer, Reverend Horton Heat, Dead Bolt and have played The Vans Warped Tour the past two years. This Revved Up Rockabilly three piece will be on tour with the Nekromantix November and December. Sadly they will not be making a pit stop here in Nor Cal. Make sure the next time you get a chance to see this band, GO!!! You might find them either playing the honky-tonks, all ages punk shows at your local VFW or opening up for some of the biggest names in the business. No doubt this band will get your toes tapping and your honey bunny’s knees a knockin. Don’t forget to pick up their latest CD either, titled Triple Dueces. Also available at their website. The Chop Tops are currently on Split 7 Records.
2. Shootin Lucy - www.shootinlucy.com
Oakland based Punk rock-n-rollers Shootin’ Lucy are by no means newcomers to the Punk Rock Scene. Shootin’ Lucy was originally formed around early ‘05 by Steve Littleton (vocals), Dave Holmes (guitar) and Casey Cook (drums-1st bass player). They have had to work very hard to build a complete in your face sound that seems like an iconic underground yet smart-ass group. Blood, sweat, bruises and a lot of PBR & Jameson filled nights have helped propel Shootin’ Lucy to be a force that won’t be ignored. Mid-stage collisions, insults, sing along pogo anthems and a sense of belonging for all who care, seem to be a nightly ritual for their live shows. They are looking to play as many all ages shows as possible and saturate the West Coast this next year. They do it for the fun, friends and good times with no dreams of Rock Stardom. They believe that Punk Rock-n-Roll is a way of life and trying too hard kills the mood, but ideally they are becoming very self-sufficient and will seek larger distribution channels very soon. They have a new website in the works.
3. White Barons - www.gearheadrecords.com
Fueled by booze, drugs and punk and rol,. The White Barons exploded onto the San Francisco music scene in ‘06. Not long after that they were signed to Gearhead Records of Woodland. The Baroness Eva Von Slut, apart from singing for the legendary punk bands The Insaints and Thee Merry Widows, also has a burgeoning career as a burlesque dancer, performing on stages all over the world. The White Barons have toured the United States once so far this year and have played at the Gearhead Records showcase at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas back in March. Be sure to pick up their new cd ” Up All Night With The White Barons” at Gearhead Records’ flagship store in Woodland.
4. Midnight Bombers - www.midnightbombers.com
Fast, Loud and Abrasive. The Midnight Bombers hail from the evil streets of San Francisco. A four piece hard hitting, in your face, old school hardcore punk rock band the Midnight Bombers are ready to tear down your local bar and make your ears bleed. Their new cd titled “Evil Streets” on Wondertaker Records is one of my all time favorite cd’s. I remember when they first gave me a demo. It didn’t seem to leave my cd player in my car for an entire month. If you’re a fan of The Dead Kennedy’s, Aggression, MDC or Black Flag, The Midnight Bombers are the hardcore band for you. Jerry Business ( lead singer) is originally from Boston, MA and was part of the 90’s hardcore punk scene. If you have not seen a Midnight Bombers show yet, you should be punched in the throat. This band is my all time favorite band hands down. Look for them to be around the Sacramento area early next year or you could always drive your lazy punk ass to San Fransisco and catch a show. The Midnight Bombers are coming to town.
5. The Grannies
Some people say the Grannies are the inevitable end result of a society that has abandoned its educational system and lost all contact with its morality and civic cohesiveness. The truth, of course, is much, much worse. The Grannies formed in 1999 and consist of 5 members. Nadine on lead Vox, Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy on lead guitar, Granimal on drums, Drool Cup on Rhythm Guitar and Soggy T Baggins on Bass Guitar and Vox. These old hags will kick your teeth in and steal them from you because they left their dentures in some dive bar in the arm pit of San Francisco. The have 5 cd’s that have been released on Wondertaker Records and Dead Teenager Records, one of them “Erected Lady Man” being produced by Jack Endino who produced Nirvana’s first album “Nevermind”.
