PAGE 5
THE UNIVERSITY BAHY KANSAN
MONDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2017
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Today is an 8
HOROSCOPES
arts & features
Today is an 8
Allow yourself more quiet time.
Discipline is required. Don't gossip
or get stopped by past failures.
Imagine the right circumstances.
Maintain balance amid upheaval.
Postpone expansion over the next
few weeks with Venus in Pisces.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Today is an 8
imagine a delicious future. Don't inaugurate a new trick or fall for a tall tale. Complete a project that's been slow. You're especially powerful this next month with Venus in Pisces. Group and public activities boost your career.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Today is a 7
Follow an expert's plans. Increase your area of influence this week.
Take on more responsibility over the next month with Venus in Pisces. Watch for career opportunities. Assume authority.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Today is an 8
Stand up for what you love.
Financially it could get tense. No need to overdo. Create a detailed budget, Travel, explore and study this next month with Venus in Pisces. Set goals, and plan your next adventure.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Today is an 8
Review shared finances this month with Venus in Pisces, and discover ways to save. Increase your assets. Reaffirm a commitment. There may be a conflict anyway. Take calm authority, and persuade co-workers.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Today is an 8
Today is an 8
Partnerships flow with greater ease this next month with Venus in Pisces. Collaborate on creative projects. Nobody understands your work better than you. Fix something before it breaks. Persuade loved ones to defer gratification, too.
Lipra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Today is a 7
Everything seems possible. There's more work coming in over the next month with Venus in Pisces, and it's the kind you like. Keep costs down anyway. What you learn benefits many. Get into a fun work phase. Provide exceptional results.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Today is an 8
Do something nice for your partner (or someone you'd like to know better). You're luckier in love this month with Venus in Pisces. Explore new ways to create beauty. Play and practice hobbies, passions and talents. Share love.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Today is an 8
+
Be patient ad evaluate the situation. Your place can become a love nest. You're more domestic over the next month with Venus in Pisces. Focus on home and family. Increase the comfort level. Learn from a child.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Today is an 8
Trust your own heart to lead you. You love learning this month with Venus in Pisces. Study gets fun. You're even smarter than usual.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Today is an 8
Gather new income. The next month with Venus in Pisces can get quite profitable. Discover your peak professional performance zone. Prove your latest hypothesis.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Today is an 8
You feel especially beloved for the next month with Venus in your sign. Add some glamour to your personal presentation with a new style or look. You're irresistible. Pretend you are who you want to be.
Asgeir to open for Hozier at Liberty Hall
LYNDSEY HAVENS
@lvndsevAlana
Icelandic singer-songwriter Asgeir will open the show for Hozier tonight at Liberty Hall. Next, he will tour Australia with alt-J.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Emerging musicians Hozier and Asgeir will perform at Liberty Hall tonight, Feb. 23. Asgeir has been the opening act for several dates on Hozier's current tour, and in May, he will move on to open the Australian leg of alt-It's upcoming tour.
Hozier and Asgeir are a fitting duo to tour together. The two share several commonalities aside from their musical style - they are both international artists, Hozier from Ireland and Asgeir from Iceland, and they also relate to each other in the sense that the pronunciation of their names is often butchered.
Andrew Hozier-Byrne. 24, is an Irish singer-songwriter whose hit "Take Me To Church" earned him a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year. Åsgeir Trausti, 22, is an Icelandic singer-songwriter whose debut album, "Dyrð i dauðaþogn," won Album of the Year in 2012 at the Icelandic Music Awards. In 2013, Åsgeir re-released, "In the Silence," as an English translation of his debut album. Åsgeir said the biggest challenge in translating the album was finding the right words for some of the lyrics, since he wanted the translation to be direct.
Several of the lyrics are lines of poetry Asgeir strung together that were written by his father. Asgeir said his father was always supportive of his creativity and that he always came with him to concerts when he was younger. Asgeir said he first expressed an interest in music at 6 years old when he had his first guitar.
"I went to school with maybe eight guys or something and there were two teachers in the school — my mom and my dad," he said. "Once a week, there was a music teacher, a guy that was only 21 years old at that time, but he came over and taught classes. So every guy
in school was playing guitar, electric guitar or classical guitar."
Asgeir cites Nirvana as an early influence and inspiration to his music as well. A chilling and stripped down cover of the group's track "Heart Shaped Box" is included in "In the Silence."
Nirvana was actually of the bands that got into music when I was, surprisingly even in north Iceland. But as a band that I got with when I was 7," he said. "This just one of my faes of theirs. ... So not the time when home for a few was just a fun idea around with something that was so, doing things totally new out and, you know, the melly, is just, it's a powerful ing. It was fun to do something else with it, something different."
Having time at home to record is one thing Asgeir said he misses while on tour.
"I think I just miss the comforts of home, the secure environment," he said. "There's always some stress and something that follows you being in a different city every day and adjusting, but now I've gotten used to that."
He said he definitely misses family and friends as well
es family and friends as well. When asked what the most memorable part of the tour has been so far, though it only started weeks ago, he said Minneapolis was memorable because of how cold it was. He said he also always looks forward to being in Seattle and enjoys Los Angeles, as well.
Though, regardless of location, he said, "We always play some legendary historical venues, so that's great."
The rigorous schedule of traveling and touring is tiresome for any artist, though especially taxing for an international artist who is even further from home.
He said he is excited for his upcoming tour with alt-J in Australia, and he looks forward to the new experience and playing some of the country's large venues.
Asgeir said, though it probably sounds like a cliche, the best piece of advice he has received is to be yourself. He said this is especially important to remember while on the road when he is meeting new people everyday and being on stage.
"Everyone goes through that," he said. "Consciously or unconsciously, that they are trying to be something they are not. It just takes a lot of energy out of you and you'll never come across. I would definitely have to say that's one of the best [pieces of] advice I have had, that would be the one."
In terms of looking ahead, Asgeir said he is excited for his time off following this tour.
"I'm most excited about finishing this tour we have ahead of us and going back home for some proper time off to record the next album, or write the next album," he said. "I kind of set up my own studio at home before I went on this tour, so when I get back, I'm just going to go there and stay there for a long time."
Edited by Kayla Schartz
LIBERTY HALL., 644
MASSACHUSETTS
STREET
MONDAY,
FEBRUARY 23
DOORS AT 7 P.M.
SHOW AT 8 P.M.
Sharp Sisters steal show, win KU's Got Talent
RYAN MILLER
@Ryanmiller_UDK
Taylor Swift may soon be facing some fresh-faced competition. At this year's KU's Got Talent, The Sharp Sisters, freshman twins Kelley and Amanda Sharp from Olathe, won the show singing and playing guitar to their original song "Burn the Haystack."
KU's Got Talent was the first performance that the two used both electric and acoustic guitars together in public.
“[Amanda's] guitar solo was pretty awesome and was a pretty cool moment,” Kelley said.
Amanda said though the $400 prize money was a strong motivator for entering KU's Got Talent, the two also were eager to showcase their music and see how they compared with other college-level talent.
This wasn't the twins' first experience with a talent competition, though. They have previously competed in Olathe's Got Talent, and earlier this year, the twins tried out for America's Got Talent. The two are waiting to hear if they will advance in the competition. Kelley said they should know in March or April if they are selected to be on the televised version of the show.
"It was a good validator," Kelley said. "It's always nice when someone tells you you're doing a good job."
After the event, Kelley said she was surprised at how KU's Got Talent turned out and that they were both happy with the comments the judges gave them.
On the other hand, she said constructive criticism is crucial.
"Whether it's good or bad, or something you don't want to hear, it'll improve you if you listen to it," she said.
The two said their biggest inspiration is Taylor Swift, whom they had the chance to meet on her tour bus.
“It's so cliché.” Amanda said, “but we saw that she was a real person who is following her dreams and creating cool music, and we've always been inspired by that.”
Kelley said they would like to create a fanbase like Swift did.
"She's such a smart lyricist," Kelley said. "And the way she writes and connects to audiences, she's very genuine with how she acts with her fans, and I think that's really important."
Although they've been singing their whole lives, the twins became interested in guitar in fourth grade after reading an article about Aly and AJ, a musical duo they were following.
"We got guitars in fourth grade and decided we would be a band," Amanda said. "Back then it was a wild dream, but now it's becoming a reality."
Amanda recalled one such instance at their America's Got Talent audition.
"We got into the audition,
The twins said playing and singing together was a no-brainer.
"We're so much stronger together than we ever are apart," Kelley said. "She gets me. Whenever we're on stage and I miss a note or a lyric, we follow other really well."
A few weeks ago, the twins attended the Grammys and said it was an eye-opening experience on what it would take to make it in the music industry.
The two also have a backup plan in case their music doesn't work out. Both Sharp sisters are going into medicine, and chose the University because of its program here.
Kelley said the biggest challenge the two are currently facing is trying to find a way to get their music out there.
"We grew up Jayhawks. Both of our parents went to KU." Amanda said.
and I did [a part of the song] wrong, but Kelley knew me so well that she sung it wrong too," Amanda said.
Kelley agreed and said it's a good place for them to be.
As of now, Kelley said, the two are looking for more local places to play music and to get more involved at events. Amanda said they hope to make it on America's Got Talent and to continue seeking out other opportunities.
"You never know where [music] is going to take you," Kelley said. "I never thought we would be competing in KU's Got Talent or anything like that. You just never know what's going to happen, that's the exciting part about music."
Amanda said the goal is to not get discouraged.
"There's so many opportunities," she said. "Even [when] some of them don't work out, there are so many more to pursue. You just have to tune in and find them."
Edited by Yu Kyung Lee
the first and foremost thing. I definitely want to dance the rest of my life, that's number one. It's hard to get away from it because it's a fun thing to do."
The Kansan also sat down with the runners-up in the competition. Bryton Stoll, a sophomore from Marysville, placed second with his two original songs "A Long Ways from Nowhere" and "Finger on the Trigger." Vann Hassell, a freshman from Tyler, Texas, placed third and received the honor of fan favorite for his freestyle jump roping.
Q/A WITH STROLL AND HASSEL
KANSAN: Why did you enter KU's got talent, and how did you feel when you placed?
STOLL: "I got an email because I'd done some open mic nights, and it sounded like a fun thing to do to get my name out there and maybe win some cash. It was great. I was pretty worried because everybody was really good and being recognized in the top was awesome."
STOLL: "I say it's because what I love to do, that's kind of
KANSAN: What's been your biggest inspiration behind your work so far?
HASSELL: "I saw the advertisement for it and had jump roped in other talent shows and enjoy performing and introducing people to jump roping and decided to try out. I wasn't expecting to win and did it for fun and to see how people get inspired by it. It was exciting to get third place out of all these really talented people; it was a huge honor."
HASSELL: "My biggest inspiration is probably my PE coach Judy Stanley that I had back in second grade school, then another coach, Tracy Berg, from fifth grade on. My first coach was more of a club coach and encouraged me to try new tricks. When I started competing, my coach for competition pushed me to go faster, try harder and try new combs."
KANSAN: Where do you see this talent taking you in the future?
STOLL: "Hopefully, to a career in music. I'm studying mechanical engineering; supposedly, that's my back up plan. I would really enjoy if I could make it as a performer singing and playing guitar. Anywhere in music would be fantastic; I've thought about the recording business or something too."
HASSELL: "Personally, I don't have a ton of plans for it. I love teaching younger people to jump rope — I enjoy seeing that. For me, jump roping is an outlet to stay fit and teach kids. If any pros ever get into Olympics, I would definitely watch, but would not compete."
+