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STAGE PRESENCE // THE WILL NOTS
> Local musicians. Feel free to swoon.
Contributed photo
Contributed photo Home grown talent: Members of The Will Nots won Lawrence's local music competition, Farmer's Ball, and have their sights set on taking their sounds bicoastal.
On Oct. 22, members of The Will Nots achieved a life goal: They won Farmer's Ball — KJHK's annual music competition. "Competing in Farmer's Ball was on our list of things to do," Tyler Francis says. "Getting to cross it off as winners felt great."
The five-man band has only been together
for six short months, yet they have already accomplished a collective childhood dream. All five members — Tyler Francis, Adrian Rees, Braden Young, Hugh Naughtin and Vincent Williams — grew up in Lawrence. Francis says in middle school he remembers looking up to the artists who competed in Farmer's Ball.
Achieving this local goal has the band set on more national sights — Francis says he wants to take the band on the road.
He says no matter where they end up, the band wants to represent Kansas to the fullest because growing up here helped shape the band's core.
The Will Nots, who are not signed to a record label, are currently in the works of producing their first single, "Windows," which will be available on iTunes in late December.
They will also be playing a show this Saturday at the Jazzhaus, 926 $ \frac{1}{2} $ Massachusetts.
KATE LARRABEE
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STAGE PRESENCE // MY BROTHER, THE VULTURE
> Local musicians. Feel free to swoon
Loud. Fast. Hard. That's how the five members of My Brother, The Vulture like to play. The band, whose name was chosen from suggestions via Twitter, was born in September, but their hardcore/metal sound is already unmistakable.
Drummer Quinn Brabender says they're working on a new type of music revival, so it's hard to compare themselves to modern bands. However, the Lawrence junior guarantees they are not an indie band.
"We definitely aren't the cookie cutter Lawrence band," Brabender says. "The majority of people aren't looking for our music."
Contributed photo
Outside the lines; Quinn Brabender, dunner of My Brother. The Vulture, says the band steers clear of the indie music genre commonly associated with Lawrence bands.
He says their tunes are rooted in rock, inspired by progressive rock band As Cities Burn and metal, grunge band Every Time I Die. Guitarist Jon Marzette adds rapper Drake to their list of musical influences.
Drake is living the thug life. My Brother, The Vulture is living the gig-life, says guitarist Cameron Birdsall, the Kansas City, Kan. sophomore commonly known as "Boats." My Brother, The Vulture will perform at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., on Dec. 3, but are making music all the time.
"We actually wrote a song today," Birdsall says. "And it's going to make you want to get down."
Even if it doesn't, you'll still like watching the band perform. The boys play with passion. They scream. They sing. They jump up and down with their limbs flying everywhere.
"I've got some pretty long arms," says Brabender, the drummer. "That's a sight in itself."
ASHLEY BARFOROUSH
SCENE AND HEARD // LAWRENCE FAIR TRADE
> New places. New faces.
Life isn't always fair — but your holiday purchases can be. The Lawrence Fair Trade Coalition is hosting its 19th annual Fair Trade Holiday Market at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries building, 1204 Oread Ave., from Dec. 2 (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) through Dec. 5 (8 a.m. to 7 p.m.).
Climb the stairs just inside the front entrance and find rows of handmade products from all over the world: an apron from Uganda, ornaments from India, statues from Tanzania and organic baby toys from Egypt. Thirty-five different countries are represented this year and the majority of items range from $1 to $25. You can pay knowing your pennies are going straight to the source.
"You're cutting out the middle man so it's fair. The money will go the artisans," says Whittney Kinnamon, Lawrence senior. Kinnamon is a member of Lawrence Fair Trade, a community and student organization dedicated to raising awareness of global economic injustice. The Fair Trade movement guarantees the rights of the artisans with two main goals: safe working conditions and fair pay.
Alicia Erickson has been a member for four
Contributed Photo Multicultural crafts: The Lawrence Fair Trade Coalition brings you gifts from Africa and Asia, and ensures fair payment to the artisans.
years and explains how Fair Trade works within the current trade system, placing value not just on profit, but on people and the planet as well. She says every high-quality craft, textile and piece of clothing at the market has a story.
"Being able to give something with such a powerful story — like a bag from Calcutta that was handmade by a young woman, giving her a job and a life broken free from forced prostitution — is so different from what you find at the typical craft fair," Erickson says.
ASHLEY BARFOROUSH