THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Students By Chldl Ugwu FOR THE COLLEGIAN Two of the more active acts in the State College music scene, Mairys Joaquin and Table have come together to produce a new song called "The Truth." The song, which Joaquin (sen ior-journalism) and Table Ten recorded Tuesday night, is actual ly a reworking of one of Joaquin's older songs. Joaquin wrote the song when she was 17 and record ed it in her best friend's closet, but she thought the quality didn't do it justice. "I've always liked the song, so I figured that it deserved some bet ter treatment," she said. Since the reworking with Table Ten, the song has developed a new spin, guitarist and vocalist Josh Corcoran said. Joaquin said she originally wrote the song as a Local artists showcase work at sale By Brittnl Brown FOR THE COLLEGIAN With 10 different artists under one roof, a new local art studio will hold a holiday sale today where shoppers can find an assortment of original gifts. The Surface Artist Cooperative, 201 Elmwood St., is running a sale from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today featuring work by the six resident members of the coop erative and four invited guests. Each artist at the sale has his or her own specialties, which include everything from photog raphy, handcrafted jewelry glass art, pottery and paintings. "Because we're such a small shop, we're not open every day," said Heidi Lewis, a founder of the cooperative and owner of Heidi Lynne Photography. "It's helpful for us to have special events that can be promoted. One of the goals of the co-op is to have special events every so often." Lewis said she started the cooperative in July after she located the studio but found it was too big for just her. She asked other local artists if they would be interested in sharing the space. "I feel lucky that she wants to share this was us," said Staci Egan, who owns Contempo Jewelry Designs. "She didn't have to invite us to do this." ARTS & ti: NT E. RTAI team up for song breakup song, but it has since gone on to have a larger meaning. "I think it's the all-encompass ing, empowering song of anyone who has lost themselves in a rela tionship," she said. "It's about being in a relationship and not being able to see clearly and only realizing it after the whole thing is over" Corcoran (senior-communica tion arts and sciences) said although the song was just recorded, it's already had some positive effects. "The song leaves us thinking about what's next and where to go from here, for her album and ours," he said. Joaquin is hopeful that people will like it. "I put my heart and soul in it," she said. Collaboration between Joaquin and Table Ten is nothing new, said Corcoran, adding they have If you go What Surface Artist Cooperative holiday sale When: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today Where: Surface Artist Cooperative located on 201 Elmwood St. Details: Some items for sale includes handcrafted jewelry, glass art and pottery Although the cooperative just recently opened, the response has been positive so far. The coop erative has been going well since its grand opening in September and is in for a fabulous future, said Pernik Sporon Boving, who runs Boomerang Glass Art and is a member of the cooperative. "I believe Surface is taking off like a beautiful hot air balloon," Roving said. The Surface Artist Cooperative functions as both a studio and retail store. It's open from 10 am. to 5 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. People can also sched ule an appointment for all artists. Heidi Lynne Photography and Stefanie Kyle Design & Knowledge are open through appointments only. Although some of the artists sell retail products, the majority of worked together in the past and have established a great musical relationship. They also share con nections in the greek community: Joaquin is the outgoing president of the Panhellenic Council, while Corcoran is the former president of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity Percussionist Antonio Parisi (senior-geobiology) said working with Joaquin is always fun. "She has a lot of energy and always brings that to the table whenever we work together," he said. Joaquin said she and the group work really well musically when she first thought to rework the song, Table Ten was the only group she considered collaborat ing with. "When we get together, we don't even have to practice that much because we just work together so well," she said. their work is custom-made Lee Ann Jeffries, owner of Lovely Mud Pottery, said the Surface Artist Cooperative offers a different shopping experience because people can come in and talk one on one with the artists as they shop. "We all really believe in buying locally and shopping locally," Egan said. "It's becoming a lost art.- Although all the artists share the space, the cooperative func tions as six separate businesses, Egan said. That said, sharing a studio with five other artists can be difficult, she admitted. At times, the space can be chaotic with different appointments going on. "Sometimes it's exciting, some times it's really interesting," Egan said. "Sometimes it takes everything I have to sit down and work because there is so much going on." But sharing a studio is benefi cial in that it takes a balance of cooperation from all the artists, Lewis said. Being in a coopera tive has allowed all the artists to share clients, because they all depend on referrals to get new business. "You just can't do your own thing you have to be respectful of what other people have going on," Lewis said IMalil Country band Yarn will play at Café 210 West tonight. Two local artists, Philip Masorti and Junior Tutwiler, will open the show. Brooklyn-based band to play country music By Chidi Ugwu FOR THE COLLEGIAN Yarn's music just like the band's namesake aims to be simple, functional and fun. Blake Christiana, guitarist, vocalist and primary songwriter for the band, formerly fronted a jam band called Blake & The Family Dog, but decided he didn't like the musical direction the band was heading and formed Yarn, which began as a primarily acoustic outfit. Listening to Yarn's music complete with mandolins, fiddles and banjos it's almost difficult to believe the band is based in Brooklyn. "It seems strange," said Christiana, "but Brooklyn loves country" Blake and his band are hoping State College will love it too when they perform tonight at Café 210 West, 210 W. College Ave. While the band is based in Brooklyn, Christiana said New York's music scene isn't where the band's primary musical influ ence comes from his style was more defined by the music he lis tened to growing up. The band does take some lyri cal influence from the ups and downs of living in Brooklyn, even if it doesn't musically sound like it, Christiana said. "This place can drag you through the mud and lift you up, too," he said. "That kind of feeling comes through in our songs." The unpredictable nature of THURSDAY, DEC. 3, 2009 17 life is shown not only in the band's songs, but also in the way the songs are written. Christiana sits down and "hopes it comes," snatching inspiration' whenever it arrives. He also said the band's sound is steadily getting more "plugged in." While its last releases were primarily acoustic, the next will be a much better representation of what the band sounds like live, Christiana said. "We get better at playing together each album," Christiana said. "We're progressively getting tighter as a unit." While the band's sound is changing, it's still maintaining what made it likeable in the first place, event organizer Mark Ross said. "Blake has the kind of voice that's so easy to listen to," Ross said. Christiana said the band's songs are mostly about life and not just the happier parts of it. Song titles like "I Feel So Low," "Lies I've Told," and "You Don't Love Me Anymore," show the kind of sentiments common in the band's songs. "Even the up-tempo songs aren't the happiest," he said. "That's just hpw it comes out." Even so, Christiana said the band isn't trying to bring anyone down group members want to enjoy themselves and entertain their listeners. "The best shows are the ones where we're performing and the crowd is, in a way, performing themselves, and we're all feeding off of one another," he said.
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