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Out&About
[ if your life had a theme song,
rdson work.
what would it be? ]
"Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta" by Geto Boys. I heard it one time and thought it summed up my life. I wake up come to school, I hustle, this is how I do it. It's my creed.
Chase Johnson, Chicago sophomore
"Free Bird" by Lynard Skynard, because I'm pretty much a free spirit and that's kind of what that song's about. Plus, I love Lynard Skynard. They rock.
"Crazy Bitch" by Buckcherry, because it's just a good song to me. It gets me going, gets me in the drinking mood, gets me in the zone.
Jacqui Belozer, Overland Park junior
Dillon Zickefoose, Shawnee senior
"Learning to Fly" by Tom Petty. I like the lyrics. You can kind of interpret them however you want and it's just about rising above things and getting through them.
Bridget Lamb, Exton, Pennsylvania, freshman
"Scarlet Begonias" by Sublime, because it's just about being a free spirit and doing whatever you want and that's kind of what I do. Ashleigh Meyer, Shawnee freshman
"Let's Go" by Trick Daddy featuring Lil Jon, because I'm usually pretty on top of things and just have to go for it and try to do my best at everything.
"Over" by Katharine McPhee, because the song talks about starting over and leaving the past behind and looking for a brighter future. Taylor Hovorkn, Kansas City sophomore
Bo Gapske, Lenexa freshman
"California" by Phantom Planet because it's about going somewhere new and trying new things and that's what I like to do.
Mike Mahon, New Braunfels, Texas, sophomore
"Everything Hits at Once" by Spoon, because it always seems like when something happens in my life it's followed by a whole bunch of other bad stuff or a whole bunch of good stuff all at once.
Taylor Hrabe, Olathe junior
[stagepresence]
Cheri Lu Woods
For as long as she can remember, Cheri Lu Woods has been writing poetry. It is only recently, however, that Woods has begun transforming her writing into lyrical performances on stage.
Woods credits the birth of this new style to the days when she used to work as a courier in Kansas City.
"It was inevitable that my gesturing, harsh words to other drivers and the talking to myself that I did while driving around town actually turned into some pieces that I felt were fit for recitation," Woods says.
One such poem-turned-song relates to observations on various bumper stickers that she encountered during hours of commuting, including such phrases as "Your Boss is a Jewish Carpenter;" "Mean People Suck" and "My Child is an Honor Student."
Woods has found sources of inspiration for her writing through authors such as Charles Bukowski and musicians such as Jim Croce and Bob Dylan.
"He's as much a poet as a songster"
Woods quickly asks, regarding Dylan.
More than anything, it's about transcribing the moment onto paper—whatever happens to be on her mind at the time, Woods says.
"...where I went and how I got there.
Contributed photo
Cheri Lu Woods, with her dog Sopurner Truth Woods,
has turned her poems into songs.
some attraction I have for someone, failed attempts at love, some oddball I saw on the street, some oddball that is me, my desire to define truth so that I might embrace it. My disdain for the world and my disappointment in myself," Woods says.
Woods will be performing on stage tomorrow night at The Slap and Tickle Gallery between 6 p.m. and midnight at the Second Annual Erotica Art Show-featuring erotica art from over 30 artists from Kansas City and New York—located at 504 E. 18th St. in Kansas City, Missouri.
— Tanner Grubbs
Kristopher McDonald
February 5, 2009
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