THURSDAY, FEB. 21, 2002
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3B
JAYPLAY
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KJHKshowforyoungercrowd
AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
KJHK's programming now includes a Saturday morning kid's show, Funtime Story Hour. Roscoe, left, and Captain Matty read classic children's literature and play funny music from 8-9 a.m. on Saturday.
Two theater majors produce radio show featuring music. poetry for children
By Brad Weiner Jayplay writer
If you think that there is no high-quality children's programming on television,you are absolutely correct. Fortunately,the radio has an answer.
Every Saturday morning at 8 on KJHK, FM 90.1, Captain Matty and Roscoe's Funtime Story Hour provides an escape from the routine and a chance to blast back to a time when crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches fueled the imagination.
Captain Matty, also known as Matt Hislope, Clio, Mo., senior, and Roscoe, Ryan Colwell, Leawood, senior — both theater majors — came up with idea to "present classical children's literature along with things we wished people had exposed us to when we were younger."
It's a noble idea that took two semesters of development before landing on the airwaves.
Fifteen minutes before show time last Saturday, Captain Matty and Roscoe went over their loose outline and talked about how they would reincorporate Roscoe back into the show after a week-long hiatus. Roscoe disappeared the week before for reasons Captain Matty couldn't figure out. Roscoe was actually out of town and couldn't participate on the show.
While the previous DJ finished his set with a selection from Green Day's Dookie, Captain Matty, dressed in a one piece science suit a-la-Doc from Back to the Future, entered the studio and surrounded himself with a large plastic apple, a bullhorn, a bottle of strawberry pop and several books.
It was obvious the show was presented for kids at heart, by kids at heart. Captain Matty and Roscoe prepared their first segment, popped on some headphones and the Funtime Story Hour began.
Captain Matty welcomed the children back with glee, but confessed how sad he had been since Roscoe's disappearance the week before. He then turned on a song that talked about loneliness. At its conclusion, Captain Matty pretended to field a phony phone call from a mysterious source who knew Roscoe was on his way back to the "magical radio tower." Next, they switched on a campy version of "Zippity Doo-Dah" as an emotional soundtrack.
During the song, they prepared for the next segment and quickly went over their outline with no real rehearsal. The spontaneity of
the show was obvious to someone watching them perform, but the on-air sounded like they had been practicing for weeks. Roscoe said their perfect chemistry was based on an appreciation for each another's talent and "a lot of trust."
Captain Matty and Roscoe's reunion was both hilarious and heartfelt. Despite the obvious celebration, Roscoe confessed to "waking up on the wrong side of the bed," using it as a segue into Shel Silverstein's "I'm in a Rotten Mood."
Other literary selections included My Funny Dream and chapter four from the C.S. Lewis masterpiece The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, a book they read weekly. The music for the show came from a variety of sources including Sesame Street, Phillip Glass, The Wizard of Oz in Concert, Spike Jones A Toolbox Christmas and a bizarre compilation of Lithuanian children's rap.
When they switched off the microphones, Captain Matty and Roscoe became regular college students.
On two occasions Roscoe admitted, "I need coffee" — a reasonable request for 8 a.m. Another time he looked at Matty with a big grin and said, "This is too much fun." Captain Matty agreed.
Behind the hi jinx of Captain Matty and Roscoe's Funtime StoryHour is an idea that Roscoe seemed intent on spreading.
"The world needs more people communicating on a simpler level," Roscoe said with a little regret. "We take ourselves way too seriously."
Contact Weiner at bweiner@kansan.com. This story was edited by Kyle Ramsey.
Artist keeps tradition with guitar
Jayplay writer
By Kyle Christensen
Two years ago, young Robert Randolph sat before his church in New Jersey performing on a pedal steel guitar. Today, Randolph tours the nation with his instrument and energizes souls along the way.
Randolph, 24, grew up in a spiritual north Jersey family and attended the House of God church, an African-American Pentecostal denomination, where his father was a deacon and minister. At the House of God, the pedal steel guitar has been a traditional instrument since the 1930s, and Randolph is preserving that tradition.
Five years later, he began to perform in the New York area
with his band, Robert Randolph and the Family Band. The band now has a devout following across the U.S., consisting of mostly college students and members of the music industry eager to get their hands on the new talent. Randolph is showing people the pedal steel is a dynamic instrument.
The pedal steel is a 13-string innovation on the resonant steel guitar. It rests on four legs like a keyboard and contains pedals and knee levers used for changing pitch. Although often heard in country music, it also can be found in churches where it is commonly called the "sacred steel."
In Randolph's hands, the sacred steel comes alive as it whispers, laughes, moans and screams. His fingers fly across the steel and cram his surroundings with energy. He is the younger prototype of the sacred steel who brings versatility to the instrument.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band includes Randolph's cousins Danyell Morgan on bass and Marcus Randolph on drums; Randolph's friend John Ginty completes the band on the Hammond B-3 organ.
The quartet is new to the "jam band" scene, but is rapidly making a name for itself with its unique blend of gospel, funk, soul, R&B, blues and hip hop. The band has performed with the likes of Victor Wooten, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe and the Derek Trucks Band.
A Randolph show rages with soul. Smiles fill the audience as fans stomp their feet, shake their booties, clap their hands and scream in delight. The experience is a spiritual one. Randolph brings the soul from the church
and releases it into the night of a crowded, smoky room.
Last year Randolph teamed with keyboardist John Medeski and the blues band North Mississippi All-stars to produce The Word. This instrumental gospel album is an emotional roller coaster and ranges from the slow, souful Call Him By His Name, to the funky jam Waiting On My Wings. At the Cross dominates the album with its uplifting spirit. Randolph can also be heard on a gospel compilation entitled Sacred Steel Live.
Robert Randolph will perform at 10 p.m. at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire. Shannon McNally will open. Tickets are $10.
Contact Christensen at kchristensen@kansan.com. This story was edited by Jeremy Clarkson.
Local filmmakers achieve success
By Peter Black Movie reviewer
Trying to break into the film industry from Kansas isn't a task that is easy to accomplish.
Patrick Rea, Schuyler, Neb., senior, and Ryan Jones, Coffeyville senior, are two filmmakers who are trying to make that leap. Making their transition from college students to the film industry a little easier is the recent success of their short film, A Light in the Darkness.
According to Rea and Jones, these awards were much appreciated after spending nearly a yearand-a-half working on the project. Production began in October 2000 and finished in January 2001.
"It is really hard to stay focused on one project for such a long period of time." Rea said.
The two filmmakers are now benefiting from the success of A Light. It recently showed in the finals of the Great Plains Film Festival in Lincoln, Neb., in the short film category. Also, it took first place in the college division at the KAN Film Festival in Kansas City.
A Light is a sci-fi film about an unaging priest who is unable to remember his past. As an archeological dig unearths an ancient city, pieces of the priest's past begin to fall into place. He soon discovers that he is the fabled archangel that is mankind's only chance for survival.
The two hope that the project will gain their recognition and lead the way toward funding for future projects, as well as job offers.
A Light in the Darkness and other student films can be seen at the KU Film Festival at the Kansas Union during the last week of March.
Jones said he liked the idea of the two friends continuing to work together.
"Patrick has a A-B-C understanding of film making and I have a C-D-E understanding, so if you put the two together I think we make a real good team."
The film is definitely something that is going to catch a few people's eyes. Because of the nature of the piece, it lent itself well to combining live action with digitally rendered objects.
Rea concerned himself mostly with planning the project along with directing and shooting the live action footage, while Jones did all of the computer generated action.
Rea and Jones' accomplishment is very deserving of the awards it is receiving. Shot on the streets of Lawrence and Kansas City — with a budget of almost nothing — A Light is an incredible example of what film students at KU are capable of.
Beautifully composed shots and amazing computer generated action showcase the abilities of the two filmmakers. The fact that the film is shot entirely on DV also is an incredible example of how aspiring filmmakers in Kansas can produce a product that can compete with projects with much larger budgets.
Call for contest entries: Wildest party school
By Lauren Beatty
Kansan staff writer
The search is on for America's biggest party school.
Playboy magazine is sponsoring a contest to find the loudest, wildest, most outrageous university in the nation. The magazine's Web site, www.playboy.com, is calling for entries, asking students to dig up the dirt on their schools. The results will be published in the October 2002 issue.
Playboy last ranked party schools in 1987 with California State University at Chico taking first place honors. Since then, there have been other reports out there, scoping the country for the biggest and best party schools.
the winner from lastyear's poll at partyschool.com was James Madison University in Virginia. An article from The Princeton Review cites the University of Tennessee at Knoxville as the number one party school.
Scott Bideau, Chanute graduate student, runs partyku.com, a Web site devoted to the art of partying at the University of Kansas. The Web site, which Bideau said he started for fun, has been online for four years.
Bideau said KU might have had a chance to be named the best party school five years ago, but now there was no chance because fewer people were having parties.
"I came here five years ago when places were serving everyone with a valid college ID," Bideau said. "Now people are afraid to have parties."
Bideau said some groups were targeted by the cops.
"People are afraid to post a party on my site, but it's better than throwing fliers around," he said.
Anyone wanting to boost KU to party school status can submit an entry at playboy.com. Entries must include name, age, year in school, major, phone number and e-mail address and describe what makes KU the place to party.
Contact Beauty at lbeatty@kansan.com. This story was edited by Sarah Smarsh.
How It Feels to Make A Major Discovery
KU should know. Its faculty, graduates and students have been making major discoveries for more than a century. Discoveries such as "units of inheritance," which came to be known as genes; the natural element helium; the planet Pluto; and even Vitamins A and D. Kid stuff like that.
KU's scientific legacy, combined with private giving, has attracted a superb faculty. And now it is time to provide facilities and equipment worthy of their capacities.
INVEST IN EXCELLENCE
KU Endowment, through KU First, seeks to raise $500 million by 2004,$94 million of which will be directed to research.To further explore the humanities, education and social welfare. To study cancer and brain disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.To develop drugs and theranies.To become a leading center for biomedical research.
therapies. To become a leading center for biomedical research And a lot of other hard stuff.
Building these new facilities and centers also will help KU
compete for research dollars.
And continue that string of major discoveries.
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