:ehrend MBA student makes his mark in music
by John Amorose
Fiuuwes Editor
A lot of people, especially
college students, have dreams
and aspirations for the future.
Some want high paying jobs,
while others want to be happily
married and raise a family. For
Scotty Knight, his dream is to
create music.
Scotty began his musical
training in 1978 here in Erie,
Pennsylvania. At age seven, he
was schooled in the art of the
classical piano. Soon after, he
recieved his first electric
keyboard and began to write
music, which he enjoyed very
much. It wasn't until the age of
seventeen, after accumulating
more instruments, that Scotty
realized a career in music was
ilot only possible, but attainable.
And in 1992, one of his songs was
featured on a compilation CD
released by music producer Adam
Rodell. Scotty moved to Orange
County, California, with hopes of
making it big. His stay was short
lived, though, because as Scotty
puts it, "everyone out there thinks
they are a star." So it was back
to Erie, where he finished his
degree in electrical engineering,
and began working at General
Electric as an electronics
reliability engineer.
In 1995, Scotty started
Knightsound Records, as well as
released his eight song debut
album titled Something in the
Mind; an album in which Scotty
produced, arranged, composed,
and performed every song. The
Playhou
by Nadine Cross
conesigue stair
Siam in the early 1860's was
ruled by a colorful yet obnoxious
king whose power ultimately fell
to the love of an English
schoolteacher. It began as royalty
at its finest and strongest and
ended up being dominated by the
West. The King and j tells the
story.
I recently experienced the Erie
Playhouse's production of this
famous play and was both
amazed and disappointed by it.
The play begins with the arrival
of Anna Leonowens and her
daughter Louisa at the palace of
the King of Siam. He has brought
Anna from England to teach
seventeen of his seventy-seven
children and his twelve wives of
the ways of the West. The King
is interested in adapting to
Western culture - especially the
sciences - because he wishes to
make Siam the richest and most
powerful country in the world.
The story is largely involved with
the relationship between the King
and Anna and their conflicts
concerning the position of women
in society. She not only teaches
him English words and customs so
that he won't be mistaken for a
barbarian to the visiting British.
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album, although considered a
rough demo by Scotty himself,
harkens back to an earlier, more
simplistic time in R&B music. It
doesn't have the complex,
jumping beats of Boyz II Men, cr
the overt sexual stylings of
Jodeci. What Something in the
Mind does have is tight lyrics,
beautiful piano, and a good
mixture of songs; an attribute that
•Scotty vows to include on all of
his albums. In soulful tracks such
as In the Twilight of a Beautiful
Night and Dream Another Dream,
Scotty's biggest influence, the
artist formerly known as Prince is
clearly evident in the smooth
lyrics and sensual rhythms. Funk
legends Sly and the Family Stone
and George Clinton and P-Funk,
also influences to Scotty's music,
can be seen in some of the faster,
more hard-core songs such as
(Here We Go)Get it Up and Are U
Wasting My Time. Something in
the Mind sold roughly 1100
copies, mainly by word of mouth,
and put Scotty Knight on the
musical map, so to speak.
In the Fall of 1996, Scotty
began his MBA degree here at
Penn State-Behrend. He feels
that with a business degree, all
the money earned through his
music endeavors can be invested
properly back into the record
company. So if Scotty loses his
money, it will be his fault, not the
fault of an outside investor. Late
1996 also brought about Scotty's
second album, as well as the
back up duo Sensitive Minds,
made up of Scotty's older brother
Barry, and Donnie Cooley. After
se honors The King and I
she teaches him love and
understanding in dealing with his
subjects and children. These
teachings lead to his demise
because he feels that he can no
longer be a strong king if he can
feel compassion for others.
The Playhouse did an adequate
production of this play. The King
(Jim Gandolfo) and Anna
(Tammy Gandolfo) were
wonderful actors and singers
alike. Being a musical, The King
and told a large part of its story
through song, and I cannot say
that any member of the cast did
not do well in this respect. I
especially liked the King.
Gandolfo was overbearing, loud,
and obnoxious to the hilt. I think
that being a husband and wife
acting team helped the chemistry
between the Gandolfos because
they acted completely natural and
at ease with each other in every
scene together. The children in
the production were also very
talented. It was amazing to hear
seventeen voices speaking in
unison when answering their
teacher. They provided much of
the humor in the play because
they were always getting in the
King's way. The best
performance, however, was given
by the Prince (Christian
Gandolfo). A boy of about
scrapping the first version of the
album, What's Meant 2 Be was
finally released in March of 1997.
Scotty felt that the backup vocals
of Sensitive Minds were necessary
to make the new album stronger,
both musically and vocally, than
Something in the Mind.
What's Meant 2 Be is definately
a more mature and complete
album. The songs have a wider
variety of beats and samples, yet
still express the "Scotty" sound.
The combination of the new
voices of the Sensitive Minds
along with Scotty's poetic lyrics
solidify Scotty as a bonified R&B
star.
Scotty is very stingy in the
music he selects to put on his
CD's. He has written over 200
songs, some saved on disc, and
most of which he keeps in his
head for future reference. Seven
out of ten of these songs, though,
will never "see the light of day,"
as Scotty puts it. The majority of
the songs are about Scotty's life
experiences.
Scouy sites his father, Romeo
Knight, as his greatest musical
influence. Romeo, being in the
jazz/rythm and blues band Eddie
C and the B's, wanted very much
for Scotty to follow in his
footsteps, and was not going to let
him quit his dream. In a fitting
tribute, Scotty dedicated his lust
album to both his mother and his
father, Romeo for their years of
inspiration.
For aspiring musicians, Scotty
offers this advice. Seek out a
well-known music agent or
lawyer. Search the intemet for
thirteen, this young actor has
incredible poise as well as ;
powerful singing =and speaking
voice.
One of the best parts of the
production was the costumes.
Rented from D.C. Theatrics, these
made the play. Sometimes local
theaters try to fend for themselves
in costuming, but in this case the
Playhouse seems to have gotten
the best that it could get. The
Siamese costumes were simple,
richly colored, and threaded with
gold, while Anna's English dress
was what the King called a
"swollen skirt" - full and worn
over a hoop. The King's clothing
was made of a velvet-like
material decorated with gold
pieces and ribbons. This color
scheme carried over into the
scenery. The interior of the castle
was predominantly red and gold.
The only problem that I had
with this production was the
space. The King and I was
originally a tremendous Broadway
production performed on a stage
and in a theater of considerable
size. The Erie Playhouse was a
bit small to furnish such an event.
The stage was overloaded with
scenery, drops, and cast members
much of the time. The actors and
set were placed well for the space
available, but the closeness
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Features
independent labels. Make a five
or six song demo on CD. If you
are sending the demo to a record
company, make it professional.
Don't misspell words on the cover
letter and address it to someone
who works at the company, not to
the company name itself. If you
are going to the record company,
dress up: nice shirt, tie, dress, etc.
And don't think you have to live
in New York or Los Angeles to
make it in the music industry.
There are plenty of stars, like
Hootie and the Blowfish, Rusted
Root, and Scotty Knight who are
from reasonably small markets
but still found their musical niche.
"The opportunity is there, you just
•have to grab it."
To purchase a copy of either
Something in the Mind or What's
Meant 2 Be, there are a few
options. First of which is by
asking Scotty personally. The
CD's are also sold at Media Play,
Dig Dios, Record Den, Disc Go
Round, and Mr. G's. Or send a
check or money order for $lO to
Knightsound Records, 4619
Duncan Rd., Erie PA, 16505.
Anyone interested in recording on
Scotty's 64 track studio can call
875-3014. For a three song
recording, there's a flat fee of
$lOO.
PENNSTATE
seemed to limit the production. I
could not vision the stage as
rtiems of a-castle mbar everyertek
' was jammed into one corner.
have been lucky enough to see
productions of many plays of this
caliber in New York and London.
and my feeling is that the
Playhouse should stick to
productions for which they have
the space. A small stage cannot
do justice to such a powerful
piece.
I would recommend this play for
three reasons. Fast, the
costumes. Second, because the
King wants to write a loner to
President Lincoln asking him if
he would like to receive some
elephants to help him win the
Civil War. And finally, the
unusual conception of Uncle
Tom's Clain done here as a
ballet for the King and a visiting
British diplomat. The ballet is
written and directed by one of the
King's princesses who has been
sent as a gift from the King of
Burma. She hates being held in
virtual enslavement because she
is in love with another man and is
making plans to flee the castle.
Needless to say, ha version of
the Stowe novel - titled here "The
Small House of Uncle Thomas" -
is an interesting comment on the
position of women in Siam.
The Erie Playhouse has done
well with its resources to develop
a decent production of Tho_jrju g
Emu. The physical aspects of the
play are dealt with wonderfully as
well as the themes of slavery and
Westernization. The ending
brings about many changes in the
kingdom as well as the world as
the West begins to spread its
influences to the waiting East.
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Thursday, October 16, 1997 The Behrend College Collegian - Page 9
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