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THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
WWW.KANSAN.COM
FRIDAY, FEBUARY 20, 2009
ENTREPRE-TAINMENT
Twin sisters, Emily and Alex Akers, Prairie Village seniors, are opening up their own dueling piano bar in downtown Lawrence. They hope to provide a classy atmosphere that welcomes more than just college students.
Jerrv Wana/KANSAN
Duo's bar to have dueling pianos
BY MICHELLE SPREHE
msprehe@karan.com
msprehe@karsan.com
Ivory and beer will come together when The Barrel House, a new dueling piano bar, opens in Lawrence in March.
Twins Emily and Alex Akers, Prairie Village seniors, spoke with their business partner Danny Williams on New Year's Day about opening the bar. It will be located at the corner of Seventh and New Hampshire streets, where Last Call used to reside.
Now, construction and painting are under way, and the young entrepreneurs are looking for nine to 12 pianists to play at the bar.
"They obviously have to have a huge personality and can't be slay." Alex said. "And they have to know
what they're doing and how to get the audience involved
The dueling piano concept features two pianists sitting at pianos facing each other as they play song requests from the audience. Requests accompanied by tips go to the top of the list the bigger the tip, the faster the song will get played.
"For the majority of dueling piano bars, there's a list of about 300 songs the player has to know," Alex said. "And weld love for the players to know most of those."
Last year, Emily went to a dueling piano bar in San Antonio during the Final Four, an experience which helped inspire the sisters' business venture.
Faris from all four of the teams were there competing with tips to get their fight song played. Emily said.
"We think that every college town should have one, especially with Kansas and K-State and Mizouall being so close and playing here," Alex said. "The rivalry is just intense and to have basketball and football during that time and people in here, it'll be a blast."
Inside the bar there will be four V.I.P. balconies — two smaller and two larger — which will overlook the stage. Barrels will be placed all around the bar and the walls will be painted with red, black and some tan to give the bar an "old classy feel."
Alex said the name Barrel House, which was what the clubs were referred to about 70 years ago, came from a family friend.
"Back in the 1930s and 1940s, they were underground jazz clubs and eventually in the night they
would break out into improv piano music." Alex said.
The money to get the Barret House running came from three private investors and will be paid back, Alex said.
To ensure that Alex and Emily would have financial security, their dad made a rule that each of them has to find an additional job.
"I don't know if that's going to happen quite as early as bed like," Emily said. "My biggest worry I've had is finding a job after college — and it's here."
Wallace Meyer, director of entrepreneurship programs at the School of Business, said although starting a business is hard work, it can be rewarding for entrepreneurs to do what they love.
7th and New Hampshire streets
WHERE:
"You get to be your own boss,
realize your dream and achieve
OPEN:
Scheduled for March 26
HOURS:
Tuesday-Saturday 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN AUDITION TO BE A MUSICIAN:
Stop by the location
IF YOU ARE INTEREST-
financial independence." Meyer said. "Plus, while it's hard work, it's a lot of fun"
The Barrel House is scheduled to open March 26.
Edited by Justin Leverett
STUDENT SENATE
Students' fees won't increase next year
BY BRIANNE PFANNENSTIEL
bpfannenstiel@kansan.com
bpfannenstiel@kansan.com
Students paid $414.70 in required campus fees this year, and for the first time in nearly a decade, that number won't increase next year.
Student Body President Adam McGonigle announced Thursday that Student Senate would not be raising student fees by any percentage.
"We want to be sensitive to the pocketbooks of students who can't afford any increase and who are already struggling." McGonigle said.
The Kansas Board of Regents said in a December meeting that it only had plans to increase tuition by a minimal amount next year. Required campus fees are figured into any tuition increase approved by the Regents. By not requesting a fee increase, McGonigle said, all of the increases proposed by the Regents would go to tuition, which directly funds academics.
"In these economic times we have to prioritize academics over campus life aspects of the University right now." McGonigle said. "We've had a lot of fee increases that have done great things for the University but it's not responsible to do that right now. Not when teachers are losing their jobs."
ART
Some students say they are pleased the University has decided to do something about rising fee costs.
"I think that's a great compromise that the University has reached," Kayleigh Nichols, Independence senior, said.
Certain organizations on campus, however, will need an increased budget in order to maintain the level of services they currently provide to students. These organizations include the Amber Student Recreation Fitness Center and Watkins Memorial Health
SEE FEES ON PAGE 4A
Students' artwork on display
Red Door Art Gallery teaches behind-the-scenes work, gives experience
BY JENNIFER TORLINE jtorline@kansan.com
"It was so epic that I felt that I needed to draw it," Kelly, Tulsa, Okla., senior and printmaking major, said.
For Alicia kelly, it all started when she took a bite of durian, a type of Malaysian fruit.
For student artists with drawings in the "Salty Dogs" exhibition of The Red Door Art Gallery, inspiration came in forms ranging from politics to books to nature.
Kelly recreated the image of the durian in what would become one of her biggest and most progressive
The Red Door Art Gallery is a student-run gallery in Kansas City's Crossroads Arts District where students can learn the behind-the-scenes work of an art gallery, said Kristi Arnold, gallery director and artist lecturer. Arnold said it also gave the students the chance to venture out of the Lawrence area and gain experience with the art scene in Kansas City.
Her drawing has joined an exhibition of 40 other pieces of artwork by KU students at the Red Door Art Gallery located at 1735 Walnut Ave. in Kansas City, Mo.
The exhibition, "Salty Dogs,"
drawings.
features drawings and two-dimensional artwork by students who took associate art professor Michael Krueger's "Advanced Drawing" course last fall. The show opened on Feb. 6, during Kansas City's First Fridays event, and will be open through Feb. 28.
"The work displayed is really a mixture of approaches to contemporary drawing," Krueger said. "The students stayed true to themselves with the utmost integrity."
After featuring some of the student drawings in Lawrence galleries, Knueger said he requested to
SEERED DOOR ON PAGE 4A
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Alicia Kelly, Tulsa, OKla., senior, shows one of her four pieces of artwork she chose for "Salty Dogs." The exhibition stays open until the end of the month. Students, faculty and alumni can submit work to be put on display at the gallery.
index
Classifieds. 5A Opinion. 7A
Crossword. 6A Sports. 1B
Horoscopes. 6A Sudoku. 6A
All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2009 The University Daily Kansas
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