The Daily Campus
WEDNESDAY n FEBRUARY 13, 2013 Music
coll aboration
“Super Water Symphony” returns to perform in Dallas
Courtesy of AP
The band “Super Water Symphony” is playing in Dallas on Feb. 16, 2013.
Christopher Saul Photo Editor csaul@smu.edu Almost three years ago, SMU senior Charlie Scott was sitting at the bar in Poor Richards Pub drinking a beer when a band called Super Water Sympathy, opened for an SMU band called “Lil Buddha and the Packrats.” While he sat there listening to the band, Scott said to himself “This band is going to be famous one day.” Three years later, it’s looking like Scott’s words were somewhat prophetic. The last year was a whirlwind for the five band members from Shreveport, La. The group released an album
called “Vesper Belle,” performed on the Vans Warped Tour and are rumored to be returning to the tour this coming year. When asked about the rumored return to the 2013 “Warped Tour,” the group’s bassist, Billy Hargrove, replied “no comment.” The band, now a national act, is coming to Dallas on Feb. 16 to play at the Prophet Bar in Deep Ellum, a venue for budding artists in the South. The group has played at the venue many times. As the band has grown, its distinctive sound, “Waterpop” has begun to hit the airwaves in their home state. “We’re going to do a push with the new album on April
THE DAILY CAMPUS / SMUDAILYCAMPUS.COM
THE DAILY CAMPUS / SMUDAILYCAMPUS.COM
NOW
HIRING. Do you have what it takes?
The Daily Campus is looking for a few driven SMU students to work as advertising sales representatives. Fun environment • Competitive Commission payouts Bonus opportunities • Flexible schedule Full training • Located on campus
Get real-world experience in advertising sales on campus. Find our application online at SMUDailyCampus.com or contact Diana Denton, Advertising Manager, to apply at ddenton@smu.edu.
23. [Our] new label will do college and a satellite station push as well as on National Public Radio. That’s where we start. [Top 40 radio stations] are so hard to get on because you [have] compete with Katy Perry,” Hargrove said. The band has created their own unique sound, as well as their own genre, which they have christened “Waterpop.” According to the band members, the new genre consists of “carefully thought out orchestrated verses that set up power chorus and an interesting look and original sound.” The genre was named “Waterpop” because of the groups affinity with the properties of water. “Reincarnation water is universal. It flows, [like the band] water doesn’t step on itself [to be heard]. Everyone is equal. We are trying to keep the theme of water together, it’s great for symbolism and metaphor and everything. Water never dies, and when it does it just comes back, you can’t get rid of it,” Hargrove said. For a band on the rise, the idea of reincarnation that can’t be stopped or defeated is one that vibes well with the meteoric rise of the group from opening for a local college band to becoming a national act.
Band Members Billy Hargrove —bass Clyde Hargrove —guitar Ryan Robinson — drums Jason Mills —keys Ansley Hughes —vocals
ARTS
5
SMU launches new National Center for Arts Research courtney spalten One common sentiment among A&E Editor the panel is that data will help art cspalten@smu.edu President Turner revealed on Tuesday evening that Meadows School of the Arts and Cox School of Business are leading a collaboration with the Cultural Data Project and other partners to create the National Center for Arts Research at SMU. News of the center was announced at a panel discussion at the Nasher Sculpture Center entitled “Ending Guesswork: Using Data to Foster Thriving Arts Organizations.” Two hundred members of the Dallas art community attended the event. The unprecedented collaboration efforts of the center will help to support the health of the arts sector. The mission of the center is “to be the leading provider of evidence-based insights that enable arts and cultural leaders to overcome challenges and increase impact.” Dr. Zannie Voss, the director of the center, prompted the panel with questions submitted by audience members related to the importance of data in the arts organizations. Panelists included Rick Lester, chief executive officer of TRG Arts; Glen Howard, board chair of the Cultural Data Project and managing director, legal affairs and general counsel of the Pew Charitable Trusts, Rebecca Thomas, vice president of Nonprofit Finance Fund; Kate Levin, commissioner of the New York Department of Cultural Affairs; Anita Contini, program lead of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Kevin Moore, managing director of Theatre Communications Group.
organizations end the guesswork and enable them to become a thriving and sustainable business. The importance of research is reflected in the data driven approach of the new center. Data collected by the center will enable researchers to analyze the largest database of arts research ever assembled, investigate important issues in arts management and patronage and make its findings available to arts leaders, funders, policymakers, researchers as well as the general public. Jose Bowen, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, said, “in today’s competitive environment, arts and cultural organizations, from museums to orchestras, need to do more than create great works of art. Arts organizations must have a more research-driven understanding of their markets and industry trends in order to more deeply engage existing audiences and reach new ones.” “As an arts school and research entity, SMU’s Meadows School is uniquely positioned to not only serve as a hub for this critical data, but to apply our expertise to develop new insights that can be shared with arts organizations around the country,” Bowen said.
The center will use the Cultural Data Project data as well as data from other sources such as the Theatre Communication Group, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Census Bureau and the National Center for Charitable Statistics to create the most complete picture of the shape of the arts sector in the U.S. Collaborative efforts will draw on the academic expertise of Meadows and Cox faculty in the fields of arts management, marketing and statistics. The center’s website will feature an interactive “dashboard” to be accessible to arts organizations nationwide. It will also serve as a forum for public discussion of the best practices and solutions, an online resource library with helpful tools and templates and offer a YouTube channel for video responses. Art leaders will be able to enter information about their organizations and compare them to similar organizations in areas such as community engagement, earned and contributed revenue and balance sheet health. The first annual report will run in the fall of 2013. For more information, visit the center’s website at smu.edu/artsresearch.