It wasn’t just smoke from cigarettes and joints being emitted from The Smell in Los Angeles, but also the sound of shoegaze-like guitar riffs, head pounding drum breakdowns, and a vocalist reminiscent of early 2000s pop punk. On Sunday, Feb 19, this venue hosted three local bands opening with The Crymes, Grave Secrets, and then closing the show with the band Bed. The Smell has been part of Downtown Los Angeles since 1998. It’s not only a venue where musicians can practice and have concerts …
PCC’s Latin Jazz Ensemble serenades Lancers in live concert
PCC’s Latin Jazz Ensemble serenaded Lancer’s Pass last week, collecting passing students who were entranced by the genre’s infectious rhythms. The ensemble, led by Dave Tull, played classics from the Latin jazz repertoire, such as Mama Guela, Como Fué, Llegó La Banda and Mambo Diablo, and swing songs redone in the Latin style. Cantaloupe Island is a jazz standard that the ensemble played as a samba and There Will Never Be Another You was played as a mambo. The ensemble played the jazz standard Mr. …
A swinging centennial: Jackie Robinson at 100
A lot can happen in one hundred years. Culture can shift and the beliefs and lifestyles of a society can change drastically. A major catalyst for a new wave of societal beliefs in our world was Jackie Robinson, who was honored at PCC’s Westerbeck Recital Hall this past Sunday, Sept. 29. Robinson was born in 1919, and the musical recital that took place on campus is aptly entitled “A Swinging Centennial: Jackie Robinson at 100.”
The vaginas convene at Westerbeck theatre
Last week, Pasadena City College students performed Eve Ensler’s feminist play “The Vagina Monologues” for the second year in a row at the Westerbeck theater. The play was produced by PCC psychology professors Jennifer Fiebig and Jennifer Noble and performed by a cast of 38 empowering female students. The production included monologues in the spanish language and even included monologues of two students who told their stories of domestic violence. PCC’s Cross Cultural Center, Psychology Club, Feminist Club and Shepherd’s Door, a non-profit organization …
Concert percussion brings the rhythm
Patrons stepping into the Westerbeck Recital Hall on the night of November 14 were greeted by a wide variety of instruments completely covering the stage. Tad Carpenter and the Concert Percussion Ensemble would soon come out on the stage and use every one of those instruments to create a wide variety of sounds that filled the hall with rhythmic beauty A quick glance at the various drums around the room is all one really needs to understand the purpose of each different instrument. The small …