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stage presence // MAMMOTH LIFE
local musicians. feel free to swoon.
The seeds of Mammoth Life were sown in the modest soil of a Hashinger Hall dorm room. Since then, the group has blossomed into one of the best-dressed groups in Lawrence.
Nicholas Goss founded the band with his wife and songwriting partner, Elizabeth Mead, in 2005. Though they weren't married at the time, the pair discovered they had chemistry, and soon forged what would become the bulk of Mammoth Life's first album.
With the addition of three members in 2007, Mammoth Life's sound grew. Adding violin, synthesizer and vibraphone to the traditional rock instrumentation, the group topped it off with a blend of persistently buoyant harmonies.
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'Life' to the fullest. From left, Elizabeth Mead, Bobby Sauder, Nicholas Goss, Rachael Mulford, Melicent King and Neil Goss make up Mammoth Life.
A good feel for what Mammoth Life sounds like is right in the title of their debut album, Kaleidoscopic Art Pop. At the moment they are finishing their follow-up, which they describe as a "spaghetti-pop Western opus."
The group doesn't take its self-imposed art-pop genre lightly. Their approach to art is from all angles aural, lingual and visual. The band plays in lavish costumes that are designed by Goss' younger brother and updated every six months. Mammoth Life's live show is a flurry of lustrous yellow and blue fabrics, complete with high socks and flowing collars - visual representations, they say, of their sound. "It's all about a unified theme, like DEVO or The Beatles," Goss says.
The Mammoth Life concept goes beyond just music and costumes, though. "Mammoth Life is where passion meets ambition, it's the way you live every single day." Goss says.
You can see Mammoth Life live on December 26 at the Czar Bar, 1531 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo., or find more information at myspace.com/officialmammothlife.
// JAKE LERMAN
this weekend // NOISE FOR TOYS
because those CSI marathons are getting old.
Do you ever feel like you want to get your face melted off, but for the benefit of children? Well, if so, you're in luck. Local band Noise FM is collaborating with Douglas County Toys for Tots to put on the first annual Noise For Toys concert event Saturday at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St.
Toys for Tots is an organization that gives gifts to needy children and teens in the community. The event will present a host of musical acts and all of the proceeds will go directly toward toys for youths in need.
Brothers Alex and Austin Ward are the Lawrence-based duo who founded Noise FM. The last year has been exciting for Alex and Austin. The pair has been featured at the South by Southwest music festival and has had a couple of their songs appear in video games and iPhone apps. After such good fortune they say they felt compelled to try to give something back to the
community through the Noise for Toys event. Although this is the event's first year, the brothers say they hope to make it an annual tradition.
To help bring in a larger audience, other Kansas City acts, including From Quiet Arms, Antennas Up, Rhythm & Soul and Avant National Guard will all be joining Noise FM at the Bottleneck to help raise funds for the cause. Doors for this allages event open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5-$7.
// JAKE LERMAN
Noise for toys. Founding members of Noise FM, Alex and Austin Ward, are giving back through a holiday benefit concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St
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this weekend // STRAIGHT NO CHASER
because those CSI marathons are getting old.
Imagine taking the classic holiday melody "The 12 Days of Christmas," splicing it with snippets of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel," and finishing the mix off with Toro's "Africa." This rambunctious mash-up is precisely the sort of unlikely harmony you'll hear from Straight No Chaser, a 10-man a cappella group performing at the Lied Center this Saturday.
Founded in 1996 at Indiana University, Straight No Chaser toured nationally for 10 years, inducting new generations of members along the way and creating a tradition at Indiana. When the university hosted a reunion concert in 2006, Randy Stine, one of the
original members, posted a video of a 1998 performance of "The 12 Days of Christmas" on YouTube. Practically overnight, the video became an internet sensation, receiving more than 7 million hits in December alone.
Fortunately for Straight No Chaser, one of the viewers of the popular video was Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman, says Tyler Trepp, a current member of SNCE. Atlantic signed
the group in 2008, and they have since released three albums.
The group will entertain audiences with songs from its first album, Holiday Spirits, as well as other non-holiday selections on Saturday. Although the group takes its music seriously, don't expect a typical a capella performance. "We make fun of each other. We woke around." Trepp says. "We just have a lot of fun on stage."
To hear your holiday favorites like you never have before, check out Straight No Chaser at the Lied Center on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Student tickets are $12.
// SARAH BLUVAS
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Straight up holiday fun. A cappella group Straight No Chaser will bring their interpretations of traditional holiday songs to the Lied Center Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
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