6December 2010Hi Times Issue 3 Vol. 102

By Courtney WestStaff Writer

By Anjelica OswaldCopy Editor

By Cole KelloggStaff Writer

At the Parachute concert on October 22, I had the pleasure to listen to Joe Brooks, as well. He was finishing up his Ameri-can tour and is now touring the UK. I have been a huge fan for a few years now, and it was an amazing experience listening to him live. He has achieved much success since I first heard him. Joe Brooks is a soulful musi-cian hailing from Southamp-ton, England. He began as an acoustic musician on MySpace and has recently released his debut album, “Constellation Me.” His style is a very jazzy/old-fashioned feel with a unique acoustic twist. He takes his style from artists such as Si-mon and Garfunkel and Frank Sinatra. He has had the chance to perform with artists such as Jason Reeves, Parachute, and he shared the stage with Le Roux. His first single, “Superman,” has since been heard on the radio. He is currently on tour in the UK and will be back for another U.S. tour in the coming year. •Joe Brooks- Singer, guitarist •Matt- Drummer I spoke with Joe via phone this summer and met him at the Parachute concert in October. Check out the rest of this inter-view at thisisjelli.tumblr.com for some more questions and answers from Joe and Matt. Q: How long have you been into writing and performing?

A: “I started playing and singing when I was 16. I ab-solutely love it. It’s a learning process for sure; but it has been about three years since I’ve been doing the whole music thing professionally.”

Q: What or who is your big-gest inspiration?

A: “I think the musicians that I look up to would be my big-gest inspiration. They drive me to write better stuff. Types of bands such as the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel got me into it in the first place. The Blues type of music, really. But I think in recent times, it’d be the people that have said no. They don’t want to invest in it [his music]. They aren’t interested in helping me. To be honest, it’s all about proving people wrong. So many [people] don’t believe. You need people on your side.”

Q: Do you play any other instruments besides the guitar and piano?

A: “I started on the piano when I was 11. I took a year of lessons. I don’t play very well now [chuckle]. Singing and guitar is really it. I am getting better on electric, though. I’ve been playing for a year. I strum too hard on the electric because I am so used to rocking out on the acoustic. I was rub-

bish for a few years. I couldn’t change chords. I’m a believer in learning at your own pace, so I taught myself. I can’t even use a pick.”

Q: After reading the lyrics to “Lead the Crowd” and “These Broken Hands of Mine” off your upcoming album, I felt inspired to do more. I love lyrics that make me feel something, which these do, so are you writing from personal experiences or things you just witness or feel?

A: “Everything comes from one of those three things. I have been in situations where these emotions get to me. I am less inclined to write about what I don’t know. You don’t get the same feeling. I could care less what people think of me. The more I don’t fit in, makes me happy. I’m finding that I went from being un-cool to being cool. Now I hear, ‘I want to wear a bow tie.’ I was wearing those bow ties already so it makes me feel good [laughs]. As long as you aren’t self-conscious, it doesn’t matter.

“Broken Hands” is close to me as well. I went to Africa and helped build houses with my fa-ther. That song came from that. I was trying to figure out what my place was in the world. I was trying to figure myself out, just like everybody else.”

Q: What do you enjoy most about being here in the U.S.?

A: “I can’t base everything from living in L.A., but I have never experienced a place such as Los Angeles. It’s weird. I have so much energy here. Mu-sicians are phenomenal for the most part. It is a community of creative minds. And the endless views and endless beaches are wonderful.”

I also got the chance to talk to Matt, Joe’s drummer.

Q: How did your audition for Joe come about?

A: “My agent gave all of my info to Joe's management, and they invited me to audition for a radio promo tour along with seven other drummers. I had

five hours to learn three songs before the audition.”

Q: When did you receive the good news?

A: “The next day, Joe called me for a second audition, and that night he asked me if I wanted the gig.”

Q: What were your first thoughts?

A: “Considering that this was my first big audition, it was very surreal, especially knowing that I was going to fly across the United States with Joe two days later.”

Q: What comes next?

A: “As far as I know, Joe is doing another full band U.S. tour in the early part of next year that he has asked me to be a part of in which I am very excited about.”

Q: What has been your favorite experience so far?

A: “I would say that my favorite experience has been every moment that I get to play with Joe and play his music. He is INSANELY talented, especially live, and I am very proud to be a part of his band.”

Q: What is the best and the worst thing about being on tour?

A: “The best part of tour is all the places that you get to see in a short amount of time. The worst part of tour is being on the road six to eight hours a day and having to play a show that night. It gets very exhausting.”

You’re going to go deaf. The new album is even better than anyone could’ve imagined. Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager is finally here. KiD CuDi has only im-proved since his last CD, which was the first in the Man on the Moon trilogy. On this new album, CuDi explores many genres and a few new styles of hip-hop. Scott Mescudi, aka KiD, has impressed me most with the rock tracks on the CD. “Erase Me,” and “REVOFEV,” are without a doubt the top two songs. “Erase Me,” is easily my favorite. It’s just so catchy and enlightening that I am still not

even close to being bored with it, even after 351 plays on my iTunes. At third place, I have the song which I can only label as alternative because of the unique style it ventures. This of course, is “The Mood.” “The Mood” opens up with a very strange voice, which I can only relate to the laughter of a creepy clown. But hey, it works. The beat took my mind on an adventure. The strange but mind-blowing lyrics that Mescudi is famous for soon take over the journey. My next favorite track places first with junior Connor Huber. “‘Wild’n Cuz I’m Young’ reels me in with a deep beat, and then like explodes with

great lyrics that make it my new favorite song,” said Huber. Whoever set up the duet for the fifth song is simply an alter-native music phenom. “Scott Mescudi Vs. The World,” is a track which features Cee Lo Green, who is famous for his hit “Forget You.” CuDi’s biographical lyrics in this song are well matched by Cee Lo’s falsetto voice in the chorus. While I enjoy all of the tracks on this new album, those five really stood out to me. My only real complaint about the album is the name. Honestly, I think this album was created with such a diverse collection of tracks that it blows Man on The Moon out of the water.

CuDi takes the pain away

Joe Brooks heads across the pond and reaches success

to find and destroy Volde-mort’s Horcruxes. “My favorite part of the movie was when Dobby saved everyone,” said senior Melody Ozdyck who went to see the movie with her friends. There weren’t many new faces to appear in this film, and a majority of the actors playing the characters were already veterans to the film series. This was evident, especial-ly with Emma Watson who plays Hermione, Daniel Rad-cliffe who plays Harry Potter and Rupert Grint who plays Ron Weasley. All three actors have been together since the first film and their chemistry shines tremendously. While in any films that have been spit into two parts, this Harry Potter film is almost too suspenseful even for book readers. “I am going to read the book over and over again and just get really excited for the second part. I’ve already seen the movie three times,” said junior Jake Burns. Part 2 comes out July 2011.

The Harry Potter Series has been one of the biggest phe-nomenons of the 21st century. What started out as a popu-lar book series, Harry Potter has produced six successful movies and has become one of the most successful movie franchises in history. On November 19, the sev-enth installment hit theatres. The final movie, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” has been divided into two sepa-rate parts. The second film is highly anticipated as well. In it’s opening weekend, the movie grossed in $125 million dollars in the domestic box of-fice. $24 million of which was raked in on its Thursday night premiere. With such popularity brings a wide spectrum of critics. This Potter film was not one to disappoint however. “It was good and it was surprisingly true to the book,” said senior Josh Hojnacki. The majority of the movie is focused around Hermione, Ron and Harry and their quest

Maverick Blanton and Melissa Parrett enjoy the new Harry Pot-ter movie in theaters.

Photo Provided

Harry Potter casts spell on domestic box office

Photo by Anjelica Oswald

Joe performs at the Subterranean in Chicago. (Left) Joe Brooks, Teressa Sirugo, Cayci Woday, Matt De La Garza, Anjelica Oswald and Lindsey Mazur take a group photo. (Right)