I'm sweating, and not necessarily because this venue doesn’t have air conditioning, although that’s certainly not helping. It’s 10:15pm on July 7, 2017, and Omaha Under the Radar’s headlining show, a new staging of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King is slated to start at 11:00pm. The event is being held at an abandoned car wash near downtown Omaha, and we’ve spent the past two weeks working with the venue managers trying to make the space as comfortable as possible, but there are limits to what we can do with our budget, which is effectively zero dollars.

From Issue 91 — Of The Earth Extracting stone from the earth to build with it is a tale as old as time.  In the past, we...

From Issue 91 — Of The Earth If you fly solo, the bottle of red wine at dinner is all yours. So is the dessert, the hotel...

From Issue 91 — Of The Earth

April is Earth Month and—to me—it’s a month in which we look at how we give back to what our planet provides.  I actually never knew it was a whole month dedicated toward environmental awareness and giving love back to the Earth.  I only thought it was one day.  Who knew…

The spring season is all about new beginnings. It’s a re-awakening, a fresh start, a rebirth. As nature comes out of hibernation and flowers begin to bloom, so do we. How about approaching the change in season the same way you approach your personal style? Use your style as the catalyst for change so you can start to call in a new you. Here are three ways you can reinvent yourself and call in your next level with style.

“You’re listening to WMCX, 88.9 fm, Monmouth University’s home for modern rock, with an edge!” That was a tag I’ve had memorized for over a decade, ever since my humble beginnings as a college radio DJ at my private university at the Jersey Shore. Back in those days, I was known as Queen Bee Nikki V. by my peers, professors, and loyal listeners. Being on air at The X was not only my favorite extracurricular activity, but also a requirement of my Radio/TV concentrated major in Communication. The gift of gab was not the only reason I loved being on the radio (though as we all know, I love to talk at length about music, among other subjects); I loved the power I had to expose our fan base to emerging local talent. We put on 12 and 24 Hour Music Fests, dedicating an hour each to a new local band. Among some of the biggest acts that graced our airwaves are All Time Low, Pat DiNizio from The Smithereens, and even Michale Graves of Misfits. If ever there was a poster child for the Asbury live music scene between 2008 and 2012, it was certainly me. The beer soaked floors of The Saint, The Stone Pony and Wonderbar welcomed my Vans-clad feet, and the hum of the buzzing amps gave me warm fuzzies. Attending and promoting shows featuring fresh New Jersey talent was something I believed wholeheartedly in.

A Musical score requires immense focus and understading. Practicing and bringing the notational language to life changes daily as you uncover new ways of weaving together lines, gestures, and structures. In the Recollection series, I interpret the black acrylic notation using charcoal, metal powders, and acrylic. Each day new possibilities arise, and the charcoal and powders remain malleable; the medium allows alterations in gesture and layers, or even be removed. This process highlights the beauty inside this raw and imperfect process.