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Coffeehouse IV delivers diverse array of electric guitar, piano, and beer guts
Latest addition to series includes unorthodox cover of traditional Chirstmas song, color crayons for artisic expression

POSTED: Monday, 13-Dec-1999, 17:14:22 CST

Belly-slapping, electric guitar and piano performances highlighted a variety of entertainment at the fourth installment of the Coffee House Series at Brandy’s Friday, Dec. 3.

Coffee House IV kicked off Friday night with a festive belly-slapping Improvisation of "The Little Drummer Boy" by Neil Rhines, Derek Anderson, Carl DiLaura, Sam Crnobra and Matthew Clysmith. The familiar Christmas carol’s rhythm came from the group members slapping their stomachs.

They also improvised some lyrics:

"Come, they told me......

I drink scotch and gin.....

I don’t know what to sing.....

We thought this skit would win....."

As part of a new format, open mic performances and performances by Jason Horwitz, the night’s featured performer, were intermixed. This adds more variety from the previous format, where the featured performer played after all the open mic performances were finished.

Highlights included Tom Ryan’s electric guitar heavy metal performance. Ryan, who created approximately five tracks, listens to heavy metal and has been interested in this genre of music but hasn’t performed before.

"This is just a hobby," Ryan said.

Amber Miller, an elementary education sophomore, played "Christofori’s Dream" on the piano. Miller began taking piano lessons at age eight, but Coffee House IV was her first performance in front of anyone but her piano teacher.

"It’s the first time I’ve ever performed in front of anybody," said the first-time coffee house participant. "I’ll probably do it again."

Sandy Urban, a senior animal science major and "hard-core" coffee house attendee enjoyed an open-mic performance called the Madonna Medley, from the makers of the Little Drummer Boy skit.

What keeps the hardcores coming back?

"The artists," Urban said. "The artists are really good. Their music says everything I feel but can’t express. "There’s crap out on the radio and its really sad because these people should be on the radio."

Coffee House goers are now provided with crayons to draw on paper covering the entire table. These draw-on tablecloths have been a big hit at the Coffee House Series, said organizer Derek Anderson.

They made their debut at Coffee House III, when the featured performer was David Nachmanoff. Anderson was helping other organizers clean up afterward and found a table where a person had made a mural out of little pieces of Nachmanoff’s songs, covering the whole tablecloth. He showed it to Nachmanoff, who was excited and took the mural back to California with him.

The next night of the Coffee House Series, which is paid for by Area Council, will be February 14, Valentine’s Day. Nationally known blues/folk singer Peter Mulvey will be the night’s featured performer.


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