Jasper Magazine is on the look-out for college interns for the upcoming semester.
We need students majoring in print journalism, english, advertising, photography, and creative writing who are willing to work (hard and for no cash) in exchange for being a part of the Jasper Family.
Interested students should send their queries, along with references and samples of their work, to editor@JasperColumbia.com.
(photo courtesy of Shannon Staley)
By: Casey White, Jasper Intern
The Capital City Playboys have been around since 2009, but its members have been playing in bands around Columbia for a number of years previously. Marty Fort (guitar and vocals), Jay Matheson (bass and vocals), and Kevin Brewer (drums and vocals) are veterans of the Columbia music scene, and with CCP they hope not only to bring new music to the capital city, but also some of that classic rockabilly vibe . The group will be bringing their classic rock and roll party energy to the Art Bar this Saturday night, along with Buck Stanley, Dixie Dynamite, and Beach Day.
Although the band formed in Columbia, Brewer has since moved to Georgia, due to his obligations to the U.S. Army. Brewer joined in 2004, becoming an official Army musician in 2006. Although serving has forced him to relocate, he says that being an Army musician is the greatest day job he’s ever had.
“Keeping CCP going does take a lot of work and, for me, a bunch of driving,” Brewer says. Although it takes a great deal of effort, and is a 308-mile trip each way, Brewer knows that playing shows with Fort and Matheson is the thing he loves to do most.
Although he doesn’t mind driving to play shows with his band mates, Brewer says that the distance does making writing new material more difficult. The group sends ideas for songs to each other when they get them, fleshing them out when the band can get together, i.e. when they all have the time. It is often difficult to find that time, because they all stay busy with their respective careers - Brewer in the military, Fort working for the Columbia Arts Academy, and Matheson working at the Jam Room.
Despite the distance, the Capital City Playboys plan to host a show that the people of Columbia will remember. Brewer also sees the performance as a reunion with the friends and family he had to leave when he moved to Georgia.
“I'm really excited about the show Saturday,” said Brewer. “Not only will it be an epic line-up, but for my wife Gina and I, it will be a bit of a family reunion. Many of our closest friends will be under the same roof for the night. You can expect a stellar performance from every band.”
Buck Stanley is a band fronted by another veteran of the Columbia music scene, Stan Gardner, and features CCP bassist Jay Matheson as well. The group plays what they describe as stripped down Americana, with pedal steel and fiddle players laying down healthy doses of twang-filled licks. Female-fronted Beach Day (hailing from Hollywood, Florida) will be performing their own compelling mixture of surf and garage rock, while Columbia’s Dixie Dynamite will be starting the night off with some old school country sounds.
The four acts make for a great bill, and promise a fabulous night of great music. Come on out to the Art Bar this Saturday, July 28th, and experience it!
Sean McGuinness has taken his lifelong passion and obsession with Godzilla to the next level in his artwork. McGuinness uses his collection of Godzilla collectible figures, digital photography, and Photoshop in order to create his pieces. He has become known for his “Godzillafication” works in which he places the image of Godzilla into famous paintings and pieces of art. McGuinness will be showing these works along with some others at the Art Bar on July 19th at 8 p.m.
When collectors of kaiju -- the Japanese word for strange beasts -- began displaying their collections on the web, McGuinness wanted to take part in the action. However, he wanted people to continue visiting his site rather than just looking at his collection once. This led him to create comics using his Godzilla figures along with other famous kaiju. Over the last 12 years, McGuinness has produced about 1,800 comics with his collectible figures.
It wasn’t until his wife encouraged him to make “real art” that McGuinness began working on Godzillifying pieces of art. His first, and now signature, piece was “1954 in 1865” in which Godzilla can be seen stomping through Sherman’s burning of Columbia. The piece got McGuinness nominated for Artist of the Year at the Columbia Museum of Art Contemporaries. Although he didn’t win the award, he felt that the nomination was a sign that he should dig deeper into the idea of Godzillafication.
McGuinness hopes that through his artwork the legacy that is Godzilla will live on in a world that may be inclined to forget the monster. “Godzilla is an icon of over 50 years,” McGuinness said. “Not that he needs my help, but I want to keep his message and his atomic fire alive in this world of distractions like iPods, smart phones and etch-a-sketches.”
His show at the Art Bar will be the first of this type for McGuinness. In the past, he has done some convention circuits, including Nashi-Con and Cola-Con, but he has never put together a personal show of this scale. The show will include two exclusive prints that use the Art Bar as a medium, and these prints will never be used again. The Art Bar is scheduled to project video of some of Godzilla’s greatest fight scenes, and McGuinness will be selling prints of his artwork as well.
“I want them to take away some of those pieces so they have a little bit of me and Godzilla in their homes. Or at least tell their friends around the water cooler or bar, ‘Guys, I saw this really funny thing last night,’” McGuinness said.
Even if those who attend the show at the Art Bar don’t take away a piece of his artwork, McGuinness hopes that they will take away some sense of happiness or excitement about the art that he is creating.
The show is scheduled to take place on July 19th at the Art Bar at 8 PM, and the show will be on display for about a month. The Art Bar is located on 1211 Park Street.
-- Casey White, Jasper intern