34 LIMELIGHT OCTOBER 2012 “Gimmie Indie Rock!” Westhill welcomes new band director Emily Beresford Express Editor This year, Mr. Wyatt has re- placed previous band director Mr. Miner, who retired last school year. The Westword sat down with him to talk about his plans for the band moving forward. The Westword: How do you like Westhill so far? Mr.Wyatt: I love it so far, I’ve found that I have extremely talented kids and they are very dedicated to what they do. [There is a] great staff, the administration is very sup- portive, and they’ve been very help- ful so far. I [also] have a great band parent group helping me. So far I love it, everything’s great. TW: The Westhill band has been very successful under Mr. Miner, how do you plan to continue that success? MW: I have every intention of try- ing to match and exceed what was happening before me. Just like I expect when I leave here, whenever that is, [I hope] that the person who [succeeds] me will try to do better than me. I feel like if we’re not con- sistently striving to do better than those before us, then we’re kind of just standing still. TW: What changes can we expect to see in the program? MW: I haven’t really made any major changes; I don’t expect you to see a lot of change immediately. I’m hoping to grow the band. I want to make [it] bigger, stronger, better. Hopefully in a couple years you’ll see a significantly larger band than you see now. That’s really the first step I plan on [taking] to change anything. They were very success- ful before I got here so I just want to continue to develop what they have and make them bigger and stronger. TW: What goals have you set for the band this year? MW: We’re going to Annapolis, Maryland for national champion- ships; that’s the first time, to my knowledge, that Westhill’s band is going there. We’re trying to go in and be as competitive as we can, and if we walk out of there with a medal or trophy that would be great. We’re going in to try and be as com- petitive as we can be. TW: Where did you work prior to Westhill? How did you like it? MW: [I previously worked in] Lakewood, New Jersey, [at] Lake- wood High School. I enjoyed my time there; it was a very different environment from the one we have here. Different is not bad. I enjoyed my time there, and I enjoy my time here. TW: What inspired you to work as a band director? MW: My experiences in the high school band that I [participated in]. I had a very good band director that was very inspiring and motivating to me, and I knew that I enjoyed working with kids [which made] me know that high school band is the right choice for me. TW: What music inspires you most? MW: All [music]. On my iPod I have everything from classical and opera and jazz to progressive rock to heavy metal, pop, classic rock, Latin, Afro-Cuban, West African. You name it, I have it on my iPod. I try to take a little bit of everything. One of my big things about musi- cians is that they all should be as diverse as they can, [For example], I listen to a diverse amount of mu- sic, play a diverse amount of music, and I try to teach diverse amount of music. TW: What instruments do you play? MW: My primary instruments are drums, percussion, but I know how to play basically all of them. The phrase “saviors of rock and roll” has been tossed around for quite some time now. Used to a nauseating extent, it remains a cliché term that denounces the massive keyboard rigs of Emer- son Lake and Palmer, a progres- sive English rock group from the 1970s that displayed a symphonic rock sound. Another sunglassed, skinny jeaned, Nirvana-shirt- wearing group of pretentious hoo- ligans come along that happen to play rock and roll, and the music press immediately hails them as Jesus. Believe it or not, the title of “rock and roll saviors” belongs to a bunch of weirdos from the lower east side, a forgotten outfit that en- compasses the very spirit of inde- pendent music... Pussy Galore formed in 1985 in the unlikely setting of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Jon Spencer, an ex-roadie for Crowbar Massage, and Julia Cafritz, of the band Free Kitten, set out to break down the barriers of rock, aiming to alienate and sur- prise, but most of all, offend. The band’s sound is as raucous as their outlook, a sprawling mess of nihilistic noise and strangled pop hooks. The instrumentation consists of a few dreadfully out-of- tune guitars, trash-can drumming and gargled, often obscene vocals. Shock plays a critical role in the band’s twisted formula. Pussy Galore is notorious for its repug- nant song titles, the least crude of which are the uplifting “Just Wan- na Die,” “White People,” and the family classic, “You Look Like a Jew.” Pussy Galore can easily be described as a relentless assault on one’s senses, an outlandish and apocalyptic version of punk rock. Hearing Pussy Galore for the first time is certainly not a for- gettable experience. Like most moderately sane people, I was in a state of shock. I angrily yanked the needle (yes, needle) off the re- cord before the end of track one. How anyone could make an album of such mammoth atrocity was a mystery to me. The Pussy Galore album sat around for a while while I reverted back to listening to Ramones and The Clash, scared to even touch the record, which sat in its rightful place under my bed. Eventually, I ran out of new music to listen to, and in a pathetic last resort, I took the record out and dusted it off. A swirling fury of white noise and indecipherable havoc once again engulfed the room, only this time, something different happened. Something clicked on a molecular level. It still sounded awful, but somehow glorious, even beautiful. For an an- gry skinny kid with no friends, this was a revelation. Pussy Galore must be evalu- ated beyond its haphazard musical abilities and production. First and foremost, Pussy Galore is a state- ment; a statement that defies what is commonplace in not only music, but society. Pussy Galore’s brilliance lies in its undeniable ability to provoke. If rock and roll is truly rebel music, the band perfectly defines what it is about. In a culture so obviously musically deprived, we need more artists that share the same rebel- lious spirit as Pussy Galore. Julia Cafritz’s introduction to their 1986 cover of “Exile On Main Street” basically sums it up, but I can’t say that either because it’s too offensive. Column by Sam Miller musicbloodline.info / Contributed Photo “RIGHT NOW” Pussy Galore, an indie rock band formed in 1985, offers listeners trash-can drumming, out-of-tune guitars, and a unique musical experience. PIANO MAN Mr. Wyatt, the new band director, teaches an array of classes, including concert band, jazz ensemble, and piano. Above, he instructs junior Alicia Chang during a piano class. Laura Rey / Photo Manager
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34 LimeLightOctOber 2012
“Gimmie Indie Rock!”
Westhill welcomes new band directorEmily Beresford
Express Editor
This year, Mr. Wyatt has re-placed previous band director Mr. Miner, who retired last school year. The Westword sat down with him to talk about his plans for the band moving forward.
The Westword: How do you like Westhill so far?Mr.Wyatt: I love it so far, I’ve found that I have extremely talented kids and they are very dedicated to what they do. [There is a] great staff, the administration is very sup-portive, and they’ve been very help-ful so far. I [also] have a great band parent group helping me. So far I love it, everything’s great. TW: The Westhill band has been very successful under Mr. Miner, how do you plan to continue that success?MW: I have every intention of try-ing to match and exceed what was happening before me. Just like I expect when I leave here, whenever that is, [I hope] that the person who [succeeds] me will try to do better
than me. I feel like if we’re not con-sistently striving to do better than those before us, then we’re kind of just standing still.TW: What changes can we expect to see in the program?MW: I haven’t really made any major changes; I don’t expect you to see a lot of change immediately. I’m hoping to grow the band. I want to make [it] bigger, stronger, better. Hopefully in a couple years you’ll see a significantly larger band than you see now. That’s really the first step I plan on [taking] to change anything. They were very success-ful before I got here so I just want to continue to develop what they have and make them bigger and stronger.TW: What goals have you set for the band this year?MW: We’re going to Annapolis, Maryland for national champion-ships; that’s the first time, to my knowledge, that Westhill’s band is going there. We’re trying to go in and be as competitive as we can, and if we walk out of there with a medal or trophy that would be great. We’re going in to try and be as com-petitive as we can be.
TW: Where did you work prior to Westhill? How did you like it?MW: [I previously worked in] Lakewood, New Jersey, [at] Lake-wood High School. I enjoyed my time there; it was a very different environment from the one we have here. Different is not bad. I enjoyed my time there, and I enjoy my time here.TW: What inspired you to work as a band director?MW: My experiences in the high school band that I [participated in]. I had a very good band director that was very inspiring and motivating to me, and I knew that I enjoyed working with kids [which made] me know that high school band is the right choice for me. TW: What music inspires you most?MW: All [music]. On my iPod I have everything from classical and opera and jazz to progressive rock to heavy metal, pop, classic rock, Latin, Afro-Cuban, West African. You name it, I have it on my iPod. I try to take a little bit of everything.One of my big things about musi-cians is that they all should be as
diverse as they can, [For example], I listen to a diverse amount of mu-sic, play a diverse amount of music, and I try to teach diverse amount of music.
TW: What instruments do you play?MW: My primary instruments are drums, percussion, but I know how to play basically all of them.
The phrase “saviors of rock and roll” has been tossed around for quite some time now. Used to a nauseating extent, it remains a cliché term that denounces the massive keyboard rigs of Emer-son Lake and Palmer, a progres-sive English rock group from the 1970s that displayed a symphonic rock sound. Another sunglassed, skinny jeaned, Nirvana-shirt-wearing group of pretentious hoo-ligans come along that happen to play rock and roll, and the music press immediately hails them as Jesus. Believe it or not, the title of “rock and roll saviors” belongs to a bunch of weirdos from the lower east side, a forgotten outfit that en-compasses the very spirit of inde-pendent music...
Pussy Galore formed in 1985 in the unlikely setting of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Jon Spencer, an ex-roadie for Crowbar Massage, and Julia Cafritz, of the band Free Kitten,
set out to break down the barriers of rock, aiming to alienate and sur-prise, but most of all, offend.
The band’s sound is as raucous as their outlook, a sprawling mess of nihilistic noise and strangled pop hooks. The instrumentation consists of a few dreadfully out-of- tune guitars, trash-can drumming and gargled, often obscene vocals.
Shock plays a critical role in the band’s twisted formula. Pussy Galore is notorious for its repug-nant song titles, the least crude of which are the uplifting “Just Wan-na Die,” “White People,” and the family classic, “You Look Like a Jew.” Pussy Galore can easily be described as a relentless assault on one’s senses, an outlandish and apocalyptic version of punk rock.
Hearing Pussy Galore for the first time is certainly not a for-gettable experience. Like most moderately sane people, I was in a state of shock. I angrily yanked the needle (yes, needle) off the re-
cord before the end of track one. How anyone could make an album of such mammoth atrocity was a mystery to me.
The Pussy Galore album sat around for a while while I reverted back to listening to Ramones and The Clash, scared to even touch the record, which sat in its rightful place under my bed.
Eventually, I ran out of new music to listen to, and in a pathetic last resort, I took the record out and dusted it off. A swirling fury of white noise and indecipherable havoc once again engulfed the room, only this time, something different happened. Something clicked on a molecular level. It still sounded awful, but somehow glorious, even beautiful. For an an-gry skinny kid with no friends, this was a revelation.
Pussy Galore must be evalu-ated beyond its haphazard musical abilities and production. First and foremost, Pussy Galore is a state-
ment; a statement that defies what is commonplace in not only music, but society.
Pussy Galore’s brilliance lies in its undeniable ability to provoke. If rock and roll is truly rebel music, the band perfectly defines what it is about. In a culture so obviously
musically deprived, we need more artists that share the same rebel-lious spirit as Pussy Galore.
Julia Cafritz’s introduction to their 1986 cover of “Exile On Main Street” basically sums it up, but I can’t say that either because it’s too offensive.
Column by Sam Miller
musicbloodline.info / Contributed Photo“RIGHT NOW” Pussy Galore, an indie rock band formed in 1985, offers listeners trash-can drumming, out-of-tune guitars, and a unique musical experience.
PIANO MAN Mr. Wyatt, the new band director, teaches an array of classes, including concert band, jazz ensemble, and piano. Above, he instructs junior Alicia Chang during a piano class.
Laura Rey / Photo Manager