PLAY
STAGE PRESENCE // ABE VIGODA
> Rising stars. Feel free to swoon.
Hailing from Los Angeles, four-piece alternative outfit Abe Vigoda began in 2004 as a group of high school friends covering Smashing Pumpkins songs. Now on tour supporting their third full-length album Crush,the band has carved out their own dynamic sound, chock full of reverb and electronic evolution.
Self described as new wave post-punk, Abe Vigoda's latest release has a heavy synthesizer presence, making it dancer than the band's earlier stuff. "We try to take a new direction with every album, and with Crush we had the idea to venture into more electronic territory," guitarist Juan Velazquez says.
Citing Kate Bush and Arthur Russell as influences on their new sound, the addition of
Contributed photo
Contributed photo Catharsis in sound: Abe Vigoda, a four-piece band from LA, has evolved from tropical punk riffs to a more brooding electronic sound on their new album, Crush.
new drummer Dane Chadwick in 2009 also inspired the band to focus more on production and experiment with synthesizers. "We like being able to use such a variety of sounds to add depth and texture to our music," Velazquez says.
Crush retains punk elements with urgent vocals and fast playing, but with an added emotional catharsis.
Abe Vigoda will play Wednesday, Feb. 23, at the Jackpot Saloon as part of their nationwide tour in support of their new album.
"We're expecting a good crowd and good show," Sam Gunnerson, a Jackpot employee, says. "The last time they were in town they played at the 8th Street Taproom and it was pretty crazy."
// LINDSEY DEITER
SCENE & HEARD // THE MIRTH CAFÉ
> New places. New faces.
Most people don't walk into an office building and think, "Hey, this would make a great café,"but that's just what the owners of the Mirth Cafe did.
What started six years ago as an Internet café serving coffee and gelato has grown into a full-blown restaurant and favorite study spot for some students.
"Other places are a lot more crowded and loud, and there's not as much table space to work at," Claire Gravelin, a doctoral student from Albany, N.Y., says.
Luke Koftan, a Richmond, Va., junior and cook at the Mirth, says the café works with local farmers to develop a menu based on what's in season, and everything is then made from scratch. Koftan says the Mirth's local coffee provider journeys to South America to find that perfect, and fair trade, blend.
The café hosts open mic poetry nights every other Friday, including tomorrow night, Feb. 18, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Local artists also can showcase their work on the café's walls. The current art exhibit features the work of Chelsea Donoho.
The Mirth Café, located at 745 New Hampshire St., is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
// MICHAEL BEDNAR
Fair trade: The Mirth Cafe offers a quiet place to study or meet up with friends for a meal and some coffee. The café also hosts open mic poetry readings and showcases work by local artists.
Contributed photo
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DRINK SPECIALS
$2 double wells $2.50 domestics
$2 SoCo Lime shots 1/2 price martinis
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day
this story,
east today
ides
peer readers.
Kansan writers win Hearst
Former staff members of The Kansan receive honors for their work on feature articles.
INDEX
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Crossword...4A
Cryptoquips...4A
Opinion...5A
Sports...12A
Sudoku...4A
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HEALTH
Watkins prepared to treat flu symptoms
BY IAN CUMMINGS icummings@kansan.com
Patricia Denning, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center, has a message for students who are feeling sick with symptoms of the flu; she and her staff are there to help, but they aren't handing out doctor's notes for getting out of class. Denning said such notes were not necessary unless the student missed three days of class.
Student Health Services' policy is that students can request documentation when two conditions have been met. One is that the student was treated at Watkins or has documentation of treatment elsewhere. The second condition is that he or she has been absent from school for three or more consecutive days because of illness or injury.
"Sometimes we feel like we have appointments scheduled, not for medical reasons, but for documentation," Denning said.
Megan Hardy, a junior from Manhattan, made an appointment at Watkins to be examined for strep throat. Hardy said the staff provided her with a record of her appointment, which she delivered to her employer the next day.
"They just printed it out." Hardy said. "And everything was fine."
Marta Caminero-Santangelo, chair of the English department, said her department follows the guidelines of the Office of the Provost. She said faculty has been advised against requiring doctor's notes since last year's arrival of the H1N1 virus.
To ask questions, call:
Monday-Friday
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
785-864-9583
WATKINS MEMORIAL HEALTH CENTER
To make an appointment:
785-864-9507
Weekends 785-864-9500
Barbara Romzek, interim vice provost for academic affairs,
sent a memo to university staff advising them to accommodate students missing class because of illness. The memo also said that faculty were not obligated to excuse students from class.
9
Denning said the flu arrived on campus Feb. 1, far later and less severe than usual.
Denning said students reporting to Watkins with flu symptoms would not necessarily be tested for influenza or be prescribed medication. She said the health center had been distributing relatively little Tamiflu, the preferred prescription drug for influenza.
"What we've seen looks quite mild," Denning said.
Treatment is available for those requiring it, but the medical staff at Watkins is
SEE FLU ON PAGE 3A
TECHNOLOGY
Software developer creates new apps for regular phones
BY IAN CUMMINGS icummings@kansan.com
For those students who don't have a smartphone yet, don't worry — there's an app for that. Some software developers are in the business of making apps for regular cellular phones.
David Valdiviezo, a sophomore from Mission Hills, likes Apple products but still carries a simple cellular phone.
"It's a lot cheaper," he said. "The plans for iPhones are too expensive. They're cool, but it's not worth the money."
Valdiviezo isn't alone. In March 2010, the Nielsen Company showed that up to 79 percent of U.S. consumers weren't using smartphones
— phones that run third-party software such as apps and use the most advanced operating systems. Simpler models are known as feature phones. The Nielsen study projected that in 2011 the number of smartphones in use would equal and then surpass that of feature phones.
But that doesn't mean feature phone users don't have access to mobile Internet. App makers are designing their software to operate on all types of phones. Facebook, for example, just released an app free of data charges for feature phones, specifically for overseas markets.
Facebook worked with software developer Snaptu on its latest overseas app. Snaptu offers apps for Facebook, Twitter, Picasa and others that depend on Java software.
Paul Naphtali, a spokesperson for the company, said Snauptu apps
2011 PROJECTIONS OF CELLPHONE MARKET
SEE PHONES ON PAGE 3A