Exposure: A Local Music Series
Friday nights in Tuscaloosa aren’t known for being quiet. Normally, the excitement of an upcoming football game and the ubiquitous call of “Roll Tide!” are trademarks of a weekend at UA. Friday, September 23rd, however, was a little different. On this Friday night, the sound of experimental music filled the campus for two hours as the first installment of Exposure: A Local Music Series had its debut.
The Friday night show featured electronic musician Justin Peake with Neal Riley and student band Kadesh and the Perfect Strangers.
Kadesh and the Perfect Strangers took the stage first, exciting the crowd with their vibrant stage presence. The members, Ryan “Kadesh” Davis, Jake Smith, Adrian Marmalejo, and Michael Batitto, effectively combined their diverse musical backgrounds to produce truly original musical works. With the unique addition of a trombone by hip-hop vocalist Davis, the band presented a thrilling performance that blended elements of rock, jazz, and blues. Naomi Thompson, a freshman majoring in Psychology, found the band to be refreshing. “I loved the different elements in the performance,” Thompson said. “He was rapping to rock music, and I liked how they mixed that.”
The show’s momentum continued with the next performance by Peake and Riley. Peake, a former Tuscaloosa resident, had his unique electronic-based music accompanied by computer-generated-music-inspired visuals by Riley. The collaborative efforts of these two artists created an engrossing effect on many audience members and provided for a captivating audio-visual experience. The combination of music and images was taken on very favorably. Students at the spectrum were impressed with the mishmash of music and visual art. “The effects are really cool, very modern and abstract. I really like what I am interpreting as the message from the visuals, “said Vincent Ciampaglia, a freshman majoring in Astrophysics.
Ciampaglia hit on an important note indicating the very basis and premise for the design of Exposure. Exposure was initially a result from the evolution of the Fountain Music (then Lakeside Music Series) that was began as a Creative Campus project in 2007. Taking the program in a new direction, Beth Hataway is the Creative Campus Intern spearheading the music series. Hataway a New College senior majoring in ethnomusicology understands keeping music on the edge and on the forefront of students’ minds. “The series aims to expose students to musicians from Tuscaloosa and the surrounding area, specifically targeting residential life that cannot yet go out to bars or prefers to stay on campus,” Hataway said. “In order to have a centralized, all-ages venue, we host our series in the Ferguson Game Room so that all students can drop by, listen, and check out what’s going on in Tuscaloosa,” Hataway continued.
Exposure: A Local Music Series provides an all-ages venue for students to experience new, experimental music they might not have the chance to hear otherwise. Once a month, it allows students to take a break from their long weeks and hang out with friends in a comfortable environment—not to mention do something a little different when their weekend activities get redundant. Experimental music, friends, fun, and it’s free. What more could you want?
Lead Interns: Beth Hataway & Ryan Davis