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A New Generation
The Randolph area has produced more than its fair share of superstars in the arts. From the Blue Man Group's Isaac Eddy, 28, to avant-garde composer Nico Muhly, 26, who was featured in the New Yorker last week, to the Herald's own award-winning photo-journalist, 25-year-old Tim Calabro, the talent just keeps pouring out of this region. Now that Eddy et al have fledged the nest, we decided to track down the next generation of influential musicians and artists, the high school students who will rise to take their place in the pantheon of culturally important Randolph-area natives. A relatively new institution, the monthly "open-mic night" at the White River Craft Center is one good place to find up-and-coming talent. Since its inception three months ago, the Saturday night showcase has attracted crowds of 50-70 teens, milling and moshing to the sounds of their braver peers in the slightly dilapidated Victorian mansion. The craft center has a long history of providing art classes and a cool place to hang out to young people; the open-mic nights were started and are run by local parent Andrea Easton, who saw the need for more entertainment opportunities for teens. The alcohol-free concerts are open to those 21 and under and cost $3. Music is the main event, but the shows are beginning to branch out into other media—the February concert was preceded by a Guitar Hero video game tournament to benefit the high school, and this Saturday, a Vermont comedy star has agreed to teach a stand-up comedy workshop to the teens.
Local Punk Band One of the main attractions at the open-mic nights continues to be Concept Caustic, a punk band composed of Randolph Union High School students Travis Burns, Justin Aronson, Adrian Sympson, and Ben Perry. The boys write all their own music, generally in classic punk rock themes of "poverty, war, justice, and overthrowing the government." They are energetic and good natured—both on and off-stage—and the music finds the right balance between precision and looseness, consistently inciting the crowds of teens to dance. Aronson explained that punk is a good medium because "it's just real, straight up, and blunt. It sends out a message, and is aggressive and fun at the same time. I've never gone to a punk show where I've felt judged."
"I don't know if it's really angry, it's just that when nobody else is listening, you gotta shout to be heard. We're full of peace and love, but we're angry at war and killing," Burns added. "This is the only way I've found to express myself," he said. Having played together for a year, the boys are starting to get serious about the future of the band. They are planning a tour this summer, preparing to audition for the Vans Warped Tour, and making arrangements to perform in Boston with some like-minded bands. The boys are also in the process of putting out their first album, to be titled "Dissent." ‘Freestyle’ Poet Zack Allard, 16, of Braintree, is another mainstay of the WRCC open-mics. Allard shares Concept Caustic's anti-establishment sentiment, but his medium is hip-hop, both freestyle and highly polished rap poetry. He's been freestyling for three years, but Allard's heartbreaking, funny, and occasionally risqué poetry started in school, during the weekly free-writing sessions in his English class. His teacher encouraged him to enter a recent slam poetry competition in Montpelier where Allard took second place. He's also begun performing with the Chelsea-based SafeArt ensemble, a group that addresses teen issues. Allard said he's influenced by "underground" hip hop groups like Blackalicious, Dead Prez, and Atmosphere. "I'm strictly against the mainstream—I don't agree with the stuff that's played on the radio." Allard has about 12 finished poetry pieces, and says his next project might be learning to make beats and music to accompany his lyrics. His advice for other would-be rappers was to keep it real. "Anyone can freestyle if they have a brain. It doesn't have to rhyme or make sense, just say whatever comes to your mind. Practice. It doesn't matter if people like it, it's just doing what you're doing." RTCC Encouragement Another nexus of artistic talent in Randolph is the Randolph Technical Career Center, where students can sign up to spend a year or two in creative classes like woodworking, graphic design, and media production. Ollie Lesmeister, of South Royalton, is a senior in the media program, where her love of making movies has blossomed. "I've been into the arts since I was ten years old. I started drawing horses and never stopped," she said. Lesmeister's talent as an artist is confirmed by her peers at school, who asker her to draw in their notebooks and design them tattoos, and who are even willing to buy her art supplies in exchange for some artwork. In Bill Zucca's media class, Lesmeister says she's learned that movies take more planning than painting a canvas. So far she's made a few in different genres, and although she likes watching black and white gangster films, black and white, her own work is usually more humorous. With her friend and classmate Sam Graham, Lesmeister recently completed a documentary about the state of the arts among young people, featuring the band Concept Caustic. Lesmeister said she'd like her work to encourage young people to be more creative. "Some kids are insecure and shy, but if you learn to play guitar, or write, or even if you just take time to sit and think, it really helps you, and others," she said. Lesmeister said she'd like to work in Italy as an art restorer, clothing designer, graphic artist, or screen printer. "If I could do that, I'd die a happy woman," she said. Another up-and-coming filmmaker is Alex Easton, an 18-year-old who already has serious credentials in the entertainment industry. Easton spent last summer working as a crewmember for the movie version of "The Voices Project," a film about serious issues facing teens in Vermont. He also has his own filmmaking business, Black Knight Productions, which specializes in promotional videos for businesses and private events, and he's planning to film a documentary about Concept Caustic and their first out of state performance. Easton also assists his mom, Andrea, oraganizing the White River Craft Center open-mic nights. Alex is excited to continue on his path to working on films after he graduates this spring, and is planning to attend the New England Institute of Art in Brookline, Mass., for filmmaking. |
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