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A&E
Thursday September 19, 2013
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Bill Burr to bring improv to CAC By hunter homistek A&e writer
Globally recognized comedian Bill Burr brings his opinionated and multifaceted brand of stand-up comedy to the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center tonight at 7:30 p.m. With a notoriety on stage, television and film, Burr represents an elite class of adaptable comedians. Recently, Burr performed in the Paul Feig (of “Bridesmaids”) film “The Heat” and was featured on AMC’s record-shattering series “Breaking Bad.” In addition, Burr starred in three hour-long standup comedy specials and maintains the “Monday Morning Podcast,” one of the most downloaded and
shared comedy podcasts on iTunes. “I just like to stand back and wonder how I got here, and I feel lucky,” Burr said. “I don’t kid myself; there’s a lot of luck involved.” While Burr’s talents span many mediums, he said stand-up comedy provides something different: spontaneity. Contrary to many comics who write and rehearse jokes beforehand, Burr likes to simply recall funny events that happen to him during everyday activities and commentate in real time. “In stand-up, you have this ability to take the crowd down all these different paths, and you’re constantly trying to push yourself to see how far you can go,” Burr said. “I always
equate it to if something funny happens to you during the day and you want to tell your friends at the bar, you’re not going to write it down first.” This approach, which relies heavily upon Burr’s storytelling technique and his ability to think and deliver on the spot, helped him craft his style into something noteworthy in today’s comedic landscape, but it has also led to frustration and at times, failure. “You fall on your face all the time,” Burr said. “I have a joke right now that doesn’t have an end, and I just let it happen every show. I want the ending to occur organically on stage, but so far, it just hasn’t.” After his last performance in West Virginia nearly a decade ago, Burr
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said the state’s natural beauty has stuck with him through the years, and he intends to show his appreciation on stage tonight. “I realized that West Virginia is not some freakshow like I had heard,” Burr said. “All I saw were gorgeous lakes and trees. It
was beautiful.” With more than 20 years of experience and a multitude of accolades dotting his resume, Burr promises excellence as he traverses a gauntlet of topics and issues tonight at the CAC. “The longer you do comedy, the more you see all
the colors of it – the dark, the silly, the absurd,” Burr said. “There are so many, and I try to touch on those, because I don’t want to be just ‘that political guy.’ “I ma ke fun of everybody.” daa&e@mail.wvu.edu
Josh Turner talks upcoming WWVU FM receives three Morgantown performance national college nominations by nick Wesdock A&E WRITER
Country superstar Josh Turner is bringing his talent to the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center Friday and will be joined by up-and-coming artist Logan Brill. Songs like “All Over Me,” “Why Don’t We Just Dance,” “Your Man” and “Would You Go With Me” have catapulted Turner to his position as one of today’s most widely recognized country artists. Turner has sold more than five million albums to date and has been nominated for numerous CMA, ACM and Grammy awards. In 2010, he was one of just seven country artists to have two simultaneous number one hits. In 2003, Turner released his debut album “Long Black Train,” which landed him on the national country music map. Four years later, he became the second youngest member of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. “I played my Grand Ole Opry debut back in December of 2001 and was completely unknown,” Turner said. “I got two standing ovations and an encore, and ever since then, the Opry kept on inviting me back. It just proved to be so valuable for me early on in my career.” Growing up in Hanna, S.C., Turner didn’t have the opportunity to take music education classes at his high school, so he has made a point of helping young musicians pursue their own careers in the business. In 2005, he started the Josh Turner Scholarship Fund with his wife with money from his
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own pocket. The scholarship fund seeks to help high school seniors without a music education curriculum. “These seniors have to have a passion for music or art and want to go to school for it and pursue a career in it,” Turner said. “We want to help them out financially to chase those dreams and go after those goals.” Turner said his connection to the crowd is one of the best parts of his job and points out that every performance is different. “Some crowds we play for, I don’t talk much,” he said. “I just get out there and sing and allow people to dance and have a good time, but then there’s other times where it’s more calm and I can create some banter between me and the crowd, and it turns out to be a lot of fun for everybody involved.” Opening for Turner is 22-year-old Logan Brill, who is excited for her visit to Morgantown. “I’m a Josh Turner fan, for sure, so it’s going to be awesome to share a stage with him,” she said. “He’s got awesome fans, and I’ve actually never played in West Virginia before so I’m excited to see that state.”
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The young singer/songwriter is known for being well beyond her years and describes her music as hard to categorize under one genre. “I have so many different influences,” she said. “I’m more Americana than country, but it has country influence as well, and we also threw in a dash of rock into it, too.” Brill’s first album, titled “Walking Wires,” is set to release Oct. 15. “I think the song content is probably my favorite,” Brill said. “We spent a really long time hand picking songs that really spoke to me and really tried to make it a story album. The songs themselves are really my favorite part.” Brill said the next step for her is to promote the new album and to continue touring. She has a lot more concert dates planned for the fall around the country and hopes to make a splash in the music industry within a year. As for Turner, there is new music on the way as he wraps up his “Punching Bag” tour. “We’re probably going to be in the studio before the end of the tour if everything goes as planned,” Turner said. “We’re hoping to have some new music out there the first of the year and hopefully get a record out there next year, too.” The concert will be held at the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre at 8:30 p.m. Tickets range from $40.75 to $70.75 and can be purchased at the Mountainlair and Creative Arts Center box offices. WVU students receive a $10 discount with their Mountaineer Card. daa&e@mail.wvu.edu
BY LACEY PALMER A&E EDITOR
West Virginia University’s student-run radio station, WWVU, was nominated for three College Media Journal College Radio Awards Tuesday out of the thousands of schools that report to the company. The station, also known around campus as U92, was nominated for Best Community Resource, Music Director of the Year for Music Director Jimmy Fortuna and Biggest Improvement. Fortuna said each nomination varies in its reasoning. According to Fortuna, WWVU was nominated with schools from Minneapolis, Boston and Raleigh, N.C., for Best Community Resource, which says a lot about the relationship between the station and the community. “It means we take care of our local scene and have proven to be a big-time outlet for members of the oncampus community or local musicians who want to get involved,” he said. Biggest Improvement is also a special award for the station, as they’re constantly working to gain rec-
ognition and make their station even better. “What I’ve been hearing is that our website and new leadership just sort of launched us into international relevance very, very quickly,” Fortuna said. The nomination for Music Director of the Year is also incredibly flattering for Fortuna, but he’s proud of the entire station. “It’s sort of been a source of long-awaited validation,” he said. “We’ve all worked very hard to revamp our image and make ourselves more marketable across campus. It’s clearly worked.” He also said the station has hired more staff in the past two semesters than they have in the past two years, and they are continuing to make efforts to better themselves. Fortuna said he believes the nominations also shine a positive light on the school as a whole. “It’s just another example of the school’s holistic progress,” he said. “In the four years I’ve been here, the school has bettered its reputation and just grown, big time.” He also said he believes the national recognition will benefit recruitment
to the school, as the station encompasses a variety of majors. English, art, journalism and many other majors make up the diverse staff. “I just think the fact that we’re so big on collected individuality is obvious after one glance at our staff,” Fortuna said. Enrolled as a transfer student at the University of Miami during his junior year, Fortuna felt he had unfinished business and came back to work at WWVU for the duration of his college career. “I knew we could be something,” he said. “I’ve committed myself to changing the culture of that place since I was made music director. It all just means we’ve arrived.” The voting for these prestigious college radio awards will take place at the CMJ Music Marathon Oct. 15-19 in New York, and the winners will be announced at 4 p.m. on College Day, Oct. 17. Visit u92.wvu.edu to learn more about the station or to stream the station. Tune in at 97.1 FM in the greater Morgantown area. lacey.palmer@mail.wvu.edu
Renowned author Gary Fincke to present reading at Colson Hall BY Mitchell Glazier And Shawnee Moran Da staff
West Virginia University’s English Department is in for a real treat tonight – celebrated visiting author and professor Gary Fincke will be reading tonight at 7:30 in 130 Colson Hall. Gary Fincke currently serves as the Charles B. Degenstein Professor of English and Creative Writing at Susquehanna University. In addition to his teaching profession, Fincke is also the director of The Writers Institute at Susquehanna University. Fincke has published 25 books of poetry, short fiction and nonfiction and has won numerous of awards. His distinctions and awards are a testament to his ma ste r y o f w r i t i ng, which transcends genre restriction. For his 2003 collection “Sorry I Worried You,” Fincke was awarded the Flannery O’Conner Prize for Short Fiction. In 2011, Fincke’s collection of poetry, “The History of Per-
manence,” won the F. Austin Poerty Prize. His work has graced the pages of periodicals such as “Harper’s Magazine,” “The Kenyon Review” and “Newsday” more than once. Fincke’s distinctions are legendary. His boldness in crossing genres with masterful ease seals his name with other contemporary greats. The West Virginia University literati are abuzz with excitement for the upcoming reading. Meredith Ramella, a freshman English student, said she appreciates the opportunity the WVU English department gives to students by inviting prestigious authors to share their success stories. “It’s a great opportunity to hear authors read their own work,” Ramella said. “I look forward to experiencing the different styles of writing showcased by authors visiting the University.” At these Universitys p o n s o re d re a d i n g s, the barrier between au-
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The Proper Words For Sin Gary Fincke
The West Virginia Unversity Press published Fincke’s most recent work, ‘The Proper Words For Sin,’ in early 2013.
thor and reader is broken. The intimate background of Colson Hall gives students an enriching experience with a prolific contemporary author. Gary Fincke’s collections of short stories and poetry can be purchased online via Amazon.com and other major booksellers. daa&e@mail.wvu.edu