The Behrend Beacon I 8
Q&A with Morningwood's Chantal Claret
By Sean Iklihlo
music columnist
pt,ti dti
Since 2003, New York C'ite's
Morningwood has been perfecting their
brand of in-your -face. pissed-off. musical
ruckus and unleashing it on unsuspecting
audiences across the country. Shortly after
their conception at a record label showcase
in New York, the hand (front
woman Chantal Claret, guitarist
Richard Steel, bassist Pedro
Yanowitt and drummer Japa
Keenon) destroyed all competi
tion by delivering the most
brash, kinetic performance of
the night. Following the afore
mentioned gig, Morningwood
signed with Capitol Records,
which, in retrospect. surprised
Claret the most. "We're usually
the underdogs, - she said. "hut
we like to surprise people. - The
group's first album,
"Morningwood, - is set for
release in January of next year.
Until then, the quartet will con
tinue to tour across the country.
Recently, the group served as
an opening act for post-punk
pioneers Gang of Four's fall
U.S. tour. "They had me come
on stage for their encore at our
last show, and I got to sing 'I
Love a Man in a Uniform and Chantal Claret, Richard Steel, Pedro Yanowiti and Japa Keenon (leftto right): the hand Morningwood
'Damaged Goods,'" said Claret. "I can die
in peace now,
The Behrend Beacon: How did the
band come together? Did you have any
previous musical experience?
Chantal Claret: Pedro heard me singing
one night at the Dakota )apartment com
plex in New York City) for Sean Lennon's
birthday party. I had never been in a hand
before, and I had never performed in front
of a group of musical peers either. I had
written songs for fun since I was younger: I
was always a writer. Pedro then asked me
to come and sing some parts on some of
his songs. Then, he asked me to officially
start a hand with him, and our first tele-
phone conversation was coming up with
the name "Morningwood."
BR: From live reviews that have been
written recently, many critics are saying
that Morningwood are saving NYC's
music "scene" from its recent monotony.
Was that the band's initial intention, to
try and pump some energy back into a
lackluster music community?
CC: We never really paid attention to the
"scene" going on around us. I honestly
don't even remember there being one.
Perhaps there was/is, but we were never
Movie is "Doomed' to mediocrity
Finally, it has arrived. The kind of film I've been craving. A sci-
It horror action flick just jammed full of explosions, monsters and
gore. The storyline is as follows: Far ahead in the future, a group
of Marines is sent to investigate a disturbance at a laboratory on
Mars. One of the lead roles is played by The Rock, who has certain
ly influenced the success of such previous movies as The Scorpion
King and The Rundown; this film is not one of them. I'm going to
he honest; Doom is not going to win awards on anything other than
the MTV Movie Awards for some ridiculously specific category
such as "Best Film of 2005 Based on a Video Game." What do I
mean! Well, for instance, let's first talk about the "well acted"
drama scene(s). Much worse than I had hoped, but about par with
what I expected from such entry level cast members. The "first-per
son shooter" action sequence during the massacre of mutated mon
sters is well worth the cover charge. This is a great technique for a
movie based on a "first-person shooter" video game. You might
remember how games like Nintendo 64's Golden Eye 007 revolu
tionized the way video garners interact with its unique point-of-view
portraying what the game character would actually see. The direc
tors recreate this first-person view in an edge of your seat action
sequence, which is sure to please any action movie huff.
I was a bit disappointed with some of the "monster attack scenes."
I expected such a dark video game to he full of elaborate battle
scenes with lots of fake blood and gore. While directors attempt to
keep it a bit classier by not going overboard on the gore, their efforts
Money for College
The Army is currently offering sizable
bonuses of up to $20,000. In addition to
the cash bonuses, you may qualify for up
to $70,000 for college through the
Montgomery GI Bill and Army College
Fund. Or you could pay back up to
$66,000 of qualifying student loans
through the Army's Loan Repayment
Program. To find out more, call
(814) 868-9979.
By Dominic Petrazio
staff writer
(11111)502 I (a r,u.cd
(i(
[1 I"[V L J.BET
really a part of it. and I think that happens
to he hoth a blessing and a curse. We don't
want to he lumped in with a certain place
or time. On the other hand, we do miss out
on that "community" that people refer to.
We hil\e friends who are in other hands,
hut it was ticker a "we'll all get out of here
together" \ ihe. As for the energy, we are
being hones(: we are energetic people and
that is what we enjoy. Not to say we might
not mellow out or have the capacity to do
so. right now we arc just psyched to he
rocking. We aren't good at playing it cool
that shit is overrated anykvays.
BB: Your songs, particularly "Nti
Rock" and "jetsetter," are not only
clever and catchy, but dynamically stun
ning. What was the recording process
like?
CC: The recording process was intense,
natural and amazing. Going to London.
although silly in regards of a budget. was
the best thing ever, and I think it has a pro
found effect on the record. I can't imagine
having made it anywhere else. We were
there for three months. All of the material
was written hy the time we went in there.
we did two weeks of preproduction in our
rehearsal space on the Lower East Side.
Gil !Norton, producer of the hand's debut
"Morningwood - J made cv ervthing seem
just natural. He knows exactly how and
what to ask of his artists, which is an
incomparable talent. I kept waiting for the
pressure to start building and to get
stressed out about having to do my parts,
hut it never came. He made it a pure pleas
ure. When we were done, I wanted to just
record our second record right then because
Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, seen in his new movie
arc analogous to spitting in the wind. Don't forget, this is a movie
about monsters on Mars in the future sci-fi movies don't usually
capture audiences across America. But this movie sure is entertain-
At one point in the movie, The Rock stumbles upon an advanced
weapons room in a high tech laboratory and ends up taking a gigan
tic black gun that shoots some type of blue plasma balls. Buttons on
the walls activate 'Nano-Walls' in which characters walk through
and end up coming out of another Nano-Wall somewhere complete
ly different in the building. Another similar device is a teleporter
that is capable of instantly transporting anything to a planet or loca
tion millions of miles away. Thanks to the help of advanced com
puter graphics tools, the director succeeds in pulling off the use of
these make believe devices with convincing results.
To sum it all up, Doom offers plenty of explosions, a handful of
decently gory battle scenes, a few exciting action sequences, one
alien autopsy, a few severed heads and hands, face eating Doom
monsters, poor dialogue, poor acting (although it does offer a few
laughs), and one movie sure to cut down The Rock's reputation.
was enjoying myself so much.
BB: Since your album has yet to he
released, is it tough to play in front of a
crowd who might not he familiar with
the hand?
CC: It is 'cry difficult playing in front
people who do not have your music. I
equate it to showing up to school unpre
pared. People come to our shows and it is
the equivalent of going Top Quiz! Now
get out your pencils.' Then, the audience
goes 'Wait, no one told me there was going
to he a test.' We are forced to say "Tough,
let's do this. Maybe next time you'll do
your homework.' Unfortunately, it is not
their fault for being unprepared because the
textbook has yet to he released. On the
other hand, it is sort of refreshing because
the fans we make now are solely there
because of our live show which is really
genuine and means a lot.
BB: You've been a band for a few
years now, so has playing live gotten any
easier?
CC: It is never EASY playing live. It is
always hard work: we ALWAYS PLAY
FOR OUR SUPPER. That is my motto. I
get really disappointed with myself if I
have a had show. It is all about energy and
honesty (also Red Bull helps).
BB: What's up next for
Morningwood?
CC: We arc doing a few headlining dates
on the way hack [from the West Coast].
and then there will he a mini-tour on the
East Coast in a few places. [The band is]
arranging it now. Then. Je ne sais pas.
They tell me where to go and I go (unless I
don't want to).
DEEM
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Treats and computer tricks
It's close to Halloween, so I'll give you some computer tricks (the
nice sort). I'll start with Windows, follow with Mac, then give a hit
on Linux at the end.
The "Windows" key is useful for more than just opening the start
menu from the keyboard. If you hold down the Windows key like
you would hold Shift, then press "D" ("Windows-D" for short) your
computer will minimize all your programs, as though you pressed
the "show desktop" button.
"Windows-E" opens Explorer, just like clicking on "My
Computer." This is useful on the lab computers. You can type a URL
into this. "Windows-E" opens the program quickly, unlike clicking
on the Internet Explorer icon.
To start other programs quickly, "Windows-R" opens a little com
mand box. You can type in the name of a program to start, like
"Excel." That opens Excel without going through the script, like
when you open it from the start menu. This way it opens in one sec
ond instead of 15. If you want to do this with Word, you have to type
in Microsoft's name for Word: winword.
Mac OS X also has a couple of convenient features. In your
System Preferences, click on "Expose." Here you can set special
actions when you move your mouse to each of the corners of the
screen
For laptop users, in System Preferences, under "Keyboard &
Mouse," you can click on your trackpad. The option labeled "click
ing" allows you to just touch the trackpad to click, so you don't have
to use the big button.
Your username is in the upper right corner of the screen. If you
click on that, you can switch users while staying logged in, just like
Windows XP - only the Mac transition between users is far cooler.
The computer center staff may have told you that if you put your
Mac to sleep, the Virtual Private Network software is too poorly
made to allow you to reconnect without rebooting. They weren't
quite right. If you restart your network stack, you can reconnect
without rebooting. Under System Preferences, Network, Air Port,
click on the TCP/IP tab. Change your configuration from "DFICP"
to "Manual," hit - Apply", then change it hack, and hit "Apply"
again. You should he able to connect now. If you disconnect from
the VPN before putting your Mac to sleep, you don't have to go
through all that.
Because OS X is Unix, all the nifty tricks in the Linux section
apply to you too. In Linux and Unix, everything is text. That makes
it easy to program. On the console, the "useroThost >" prompt is just
the contents of the variable "PSI." You can change this to make
your prompt cooler and make it stand out from all the text that the
commands you have run generated. The "Bash-prompt-howto" at
tldp.org gives help and examples.
It is possible to run a server, like Apache, in the dorms. The fire
wall prevents only incoming connections, so you can set up what
amounts to "call forwarding." Article 16 of issue 52 at phrack.org
explains how.
This column is here to help readers. Would you like to hear more
tips for lab computers and the Penn State network? Would you like
to know how your computer works? Do you want to learn how to
get around the 30 day limit on trial software? Then ask! E-mail
ASCll@psu.edu with "Ask ASCII" in the subject line and I may
answer your question next week in Ask ASCII.
Regional options for students
Being an on-campus student who's unfamiliar with the Erie area
can be difficult, especially when it comes to eating somewhere other
than Bruno's or Dobbins. Finding a decent restaurant can be tricky,
and discovering one through trial-and-error isn't always the best
thing to do. Erie does offer a surprising amount and variety of great
places to eat, if you know where to go.
If you're looking for quantity and quality at a good price, try
China Garden on Peach Street. The Chinese restaurant is open
Tuesday through Sunday and offers a very inexpensive all-you-can
eat buffet until early afternoon. For evening meals, China Garden
has an extensive menu, including a vegetarian section. The restau
rant is located in front of the Tinseltown Theater and is a great stop
if you want a filling meal before your movie. The average price for
a dinner entrée is about $7 and includes fried or steamed rice and
free hot tea.
If you're more interested in Italian food, Barbatos is a great, local
ly owned restaurant to visit. The Barbatos menu includes pizza,
wings, submarine sandwiches, pasta dinners and many other Italian
foods. Barbatos has seven locations in Erie. The locations closest
to Behrend are on Buffalo Road (in Wesleyville), State Street (off
exit 27 on 1-90) and East 38th Street (next to the Red Fox Inn).
While only the Buffalo Road and State Street locations offer a din
ing-in option, all three have delivery and carry-out. Prices for din
ner vary, though they are reasonable.
For really good, authentic Mexican food, El Canelo is the best
place to go. Located on Peach Street (about a mile south of East
38th Street), West 12th Street (a few miles west of 1-79) and Buffalo
Road (in the Kmart plaza), El Canelo has an enormous menu,
including every Mexican dish you could ever want. The service at
El Canelo is excellent, and the atmosphere is just as good. While
waiting for your food, you can snack on the free bowl of warm tor
tilla chips and mild salsa. Though the mixed drinks at El Canelo
tend to be fairly expensive, you can buy a reasonably priced pitcher
of lemon or lime margarita to split with your friends. The average
dinner entrée costs about $7 and the lunch meals, which are propor
tionally smaller, are less expensive.
If you're just looking to have a good time, take a group of your
friends to Doc Holiday's Bar and Grill (located off exit 27 on I-90).
Wednesday and Thursday evenings, karaoke and 15-cent wings start
at 9 p.m. If you're not 21, however, you can't benefit from this deal.
Only legal drinkers are welcome in Doc Holiday's after 9 p.m. on
Wednesdays and Thursdays, and the 15-cent wing special isn't
applicable to carry -out orders.
Jimmy Z's, located on Buffalo Road (in Wesleyville), offers a
slightly more expensive deal. On Mondays, wings are 25-cents a
piece. If you don't really care how much the food is, but you want
cheap drinks, visit Jimmy Z's on Wednesdays for quarter-draft
night. If you bring a group of friends, you can buy a pitcher for two
dollars. However, don't expect many choices of high quality beers
for that price. Your only option is Keystone Light.
So next time you're not in the mood for Bruno's or Dobbins, visit
a local restaurant.
Friday, October 28. 2005
By Logan Stack
staff writer
By Allison Gray
copy editor
arng34B@ psu edi,