The Blue Note trivia

The Blue Note: Trivia Edition

The building that now houses the Blue Note originally opened as The Varsity Theatre. The Varsity opened in ____.

• 1916• 1927• 1934• 1943

Photo: Columbia Business Times

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• Thomas C. Hall, a local theater owner, opened the Varsity in 1927. The first production was the film Camille.

In a 1927 Columbia Missourian article, the reporter asserts that the spirit of the new theater was best represented by ______.

• The “well-trained orchestra”

• The “eccentric theater operator”

• The “modestly inviting interior”

• The “luxurious powder rooms”

Photo: Columbia Business Times

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• The article discusses the theater’s “exotic color motifs” and “comfort and lavishness in decoration” before praising the orchestra as the ultimate expression of the theater. Although it was originally a movie theater, we see the importance of music in the Blue Note’s eventual location.

For a time, the Blue Note’s current home served as a venue for Vaudeville stage shows. Which photo best represents a Vaudeville act?

Photos: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kt2fNJnXwZ8/SCZKmR7UI-I/AAAAAAAAAFk/1rfFSsmg7sQ/s400/plate%2Bspinner.jpg; http://www.easybuenosairescity.com/fotos/tango2.jpg; http://www.main.nc.us/openstudio/tinamanley/images/sax.jpg; http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iinQS760ULs/TEivgQvl5pI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/BrGD6aTQsYU/s1600/trapeze.jpg

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• Vaudeville entertainment featured a variety of acts including plate spinning, ventriloquism, comedians, monkey trainers, elephant tamers, singers, and dancers, to name a few.

What modern-day rating would we give Vaudeville shows?

• G

• PG

• PG-13

• RPhoto: Columbia Business Times

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• Although the types of performances would’ve appealed to all ages, Vaudeville shows often featured obscene comedies, which would seem pretty mellow by today’s standards. Most shows targeted an older male audience, unlike the Blue Note today, which thrives on campus culture.

Vaudeville’s variety helped inspire what long-running, TV-14 series, according to PBS?

• The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson

• American Idol

• Saturday Night Live

• American Bandstand

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Yes!

• Saturday Night Live has been carrying on Vaudeville’s tradition of variety comedy for nearly 40 seasons.

Photo: MTV.com

In the 1995 film Tommy Boy, SNL stars Chris Farley and David Spade attempt to sing which song while riding in the car? (Hint: The band has played at the Blue Note.)

• “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” – R.E.M.

• “Under the Bridge” – Red Hot Chili Peppers• “Buddy Holly” - Weezer• “Ring of Fire” – Johnny Cash

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• Farley and Spade’s characters fumble with the lyrics to the R.E.M. hit. R.E.M., the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer, and Johnny Cash have all come to Columbia to play at the Blue Note.

http://onscreencars.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/tommy_boy_gtx_front.jpg

According to Vh1 Rock Docs, the 20th century brought on the rise of what in youth culture?

• Binge drinking

• Drug use

• Unprotected sex

• Going to rock concerts

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• The Vh1 documentary, Rock Docs: The Drug Years, explores the “rise of illicit drug use in America and its cultural impact” in the late 20th century. In Vh1 style, the film relies heavily on the testimony of famous musicians.

http://www.stadium-arcadium.com/main/images/bio_images/rhcp_bio_original.jpg

This Rock Doc featured what artist/band talking about heroin use? He/they performed at the Blue Note this year.

• Afroman

• Snoop Dogg

• Cold War Kids

• Bright Eyes

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• A segment titled “King Heroin” features commentary from Afroman, who performed at the Blue Note last January.

http://www.stadium-arcadium.com/main/images/bio_images/rhcp_bio_original.jpg

SNL’s Chris Farley died of a drug overdose in 1997. Which Red Hot Chili Pepper died of a heroin overdose in 1988, four years after the band first played in Columbia?

• Anthony Kiedis

• Hillel Slovak

• Flea

• Jack Irons

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• Slovak tried to keep his drug addiction a secret, according to SPIN magazine, but it killed him in 1988. Bandmate Anthony Kiedis also struggled with substance abuse and described his and Slovak’s addictions in SPIN’s August 1993 issue.

http://www.stadium-arcadium.com/main/images/bio_images/rhcp_bio_original.jpg

Kiedis’s drug use inspired him to write what song after Slovak’s death?

• “By the Way” – “Standing in line to see the show tonight…”

• “Scar Tissue” – “With the birds I’ll share this lonely view…”

• “Otherside” - “Pour my life into a paper cup…”

• “Under the Bridge” – “Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner…”

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• In an article titled “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Kiedis tells SPIN that the lyrics to “Under the Bridge” came to him after Slovak’s death. The Red Hot Chili Peppers performed the tune on Saturday Night Live in 1992.

University of Missouri alum Matt Taylor designed the album cover for which Red Hot Chili Peppers record?

• Stadium Arcadium

• Californication

• By the Way

• Blood Sugar Sex Magik

http://coas.missouri.edu/images/events/alumTaylorMatt.jpg

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• Matt Taylor (BFA ‘99) told MIZZOU Magazine that he designed the Stadium Arcadium album cover from crayon sketches done by the band. He won a Grammy for his design in 2007.

What idea best represents how plate spinning, SNL, and the Red

Hot Chili Peppers apply to the Blue Note?

• Drugs are a part of rock culture.• The Blue Note’s entertainment has always been

aimed at adults.• Big name bands play at the Blue Note before they

get big.• The Blue Note and the University of Missouri are

partners in crime.

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• The correct answer is: All of the above. Thanks for playing!

Sources

Moen, Nancy. “Sound design.” MIZZOU Magazine. Winter 2010. Online.

“The North District.” The District. 2010. 3 February 2011.

Rock Docs: The Drug Years. Vh1, 1996. Online

Thompson, Dave. *“Bridge over troubled water.” SPIN Magazine. August 1993: 44-49. Online.

*excerpt from: Thompson, Dave. The Red Hot Chili Peppers. St. Martin’s Press: New York, 1993.

“Varsity Theater opens with ‘Camille’ as first picture.” Columbia Missourian 4 October 1927. Print.

Photo credits on pages