Darkslide Society

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Graffiti Artist Andrew Jacob

Andy is perpetual kid at heart.

He logs a lot of tube time.

A true graffiti artist posses the ability to hit those hard to reach areas.

Stay tuned for the full story of how Andy went from the streets to the gallery and beyond...

Dusk in Middletown, Rhode Island

Somewhere in the middle of a heated town council meeting, my eyes were strangely drawn toward the town hall window. With my recorder set and the article already framed up, I ducked out for a few minutes to capture this light. Who ever said small town politics were boring?

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Real Tennis Schochet Cup 2013

The story starts with 19-year World Champion Rob Fahey AUS (left) and #2 ranked Camden Riviere US (3rd from left). Also pictured Newport Senior Professional Sergio Lopez Ruiz (2nd from left), and Newport Head Professional Richard Smith (right).

Fahey with Philanthropist and Schochet Cup founder Jay Schochet.

Riviere has a nasty serve.

Fahey is a more than seasoned pro.

Riviere is in entering his prime for the sport.

Merging power with finesse.

And, near acrobatics.

The fans applaud.

Maybe not #2 for so long.

But, Fahey will not go quietly.

Fans wonder...

Is this,

what the Real Tennis Championships will look like in 2014 in Melbourne?!

Stay Tuned...

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Gov’t Mule Brings The Heat To The Nantucket Nectars Sunset Music Series

words and photos: Jonathan Clancy

NEWPORT – Last Saturday night, southern rock jammers Gov’t Mule kicked up the heat on what has been a relatively slow start to summer. Mule matched the warm breeze blowing through the Newport Yachting Center, opening up the first set with the soulful ballad “Patchwork Quilt” before saddling up and taking the crowd for a ride on the crunchy number “No Reward.” Hearing the call, the audience bopped and stomped along with the driving beat as singer and guitarist Warren Haynes tore the lid off the tune with one of his signature solos. Haynes has been long regarded as the hardest workingman in the music business, and having toured with the likes of The Allman Brothers, The Dead, and Gov’t Mule who could argue?

Grammy Nominated drummer Matt Abts showcased his skills during a Muled-up, yin-yang instrumental version of the Bob Marley tune “Lively Up Yourself.” Abts dotted island accents as Haynes teased the familiar muted riff. Suddenly the band went full tilt, killing it with a heavy southern rock style chorus - the frenzied crowd was aglow with reggae tones. Tightening up to island time, Abts pulled back on the skins as Haynes performed the Marley melody with his Gibson Les Paul, and keyboardist Danny Louis tickled the offbeat verse vibrations. Now in full stride, the boys kicked out a spicy jam.

Listening to bassist Jorgen Carlson play the blues, it’s hard to believe that he was born and raised in Sweden. After the death of long-time friend, founding member, and bassist Allen Woody in 2000, Gov’t Mule spent years playing with a rotating crew of bass-men who helped out when and where they could. Carlsson has been with Mule’s full-time since 2008, and though he’s no Woody, the Swede held down the house during “Slow Happy Boys” and a bass heavy version of Alice Cooper’s “Is It My Body.”

The crowd swayed to the shimmering tines of Louis’ Rhodes piano as Haynes sang the southern ballad “Little Toy Brain.” Next, Mule gave a nod to Jazz legend John Coltrane by taking their tune “Trane” for a long trippy ride down the tracks. This tune was layered with hints of the Allman Brother’s “Mountain Jam” and a bit of Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein” peppered in for effect.

Emotions ran high as Louis improvised his way into the Allman Brothers classic “Soulshine.” The acclaimed keyboardist looked to Haynes when he was through, smiling in magenta light as the legendary guitarist rang out his trademark licks. The audience sang along word for word during the heartwarming tune. Haynes and Louis traded crisp, touching solos back and forth before ending the first set.

After the break, the boys wasted no time. Haynes hastily riffed on his guitar, queuing Louis to draw a long distorted chord on his B3 organ. Once Abts and Carlsson jumped in, the band blew the tune “Mr. Man” to absolute bits. The pace remained upbeat through tunes like “Lola” and “Brand New Angel” which had Haynes pleading “Lead me to the light or just take me through the night” in between lightning fast fret work.

“Sometimes I don’t know what I’m talking about, and I may never know,” sang Haynes during “Far Away” an overdose of 90’s era angst filled grunge from the band’s 2000 release Life Before Insanity. While the lyrical content and structure of the song seemed undeveloped, the band carried the tune through with another acid jam, which compensated for the listless libretto. Louis spun spacey notes from multiple keyboards, turning the yachting center tent into an impromptu odyssey. Haynes wailed a slow tortured solo reminiscent of Eddie Hazel’s work on the 1971 Funkadelic tune “Maggot Brain” where Funkadleic front man George Clinton famously told Hazel to, “play like your momma had just died.”

Gov’t Mule got back to business with the reggae style number “Unring The Bell” one of the most politically forward Mule songs to date. Haynes sang, “Where are all those people on whose backs you climbed…take back what we had, it’s yours and mine.” The song sounded like a call for everyday people to become less complacent with the decisions being made around them.

An epic event, “Sun Dance” was performed for the first time since its release on the 2011 The Deep End Vol. 2. The instrumental mix between Grateful Dead, gospel, and blue grass, also had aspects borrowed from the lengthy solo in Iron Butterfly’s “In A Gadda Da Vida.” Appropriately, Abts played a thunderous drum solo for the rabid crowd as the hardest workingman stepped off stage for a quick break. Haynes returned to sing “Fallen Down” a mixed tempo tune about people in hard times.

Mule busted out a version of their old standard “Thorazine Shuffle” which included a salute to Carlos Santana’s “Oye Como Va” but the tune just didn’t quite deliver. An audience member remarked that Carlsson’s bass tone was too muddy. After the show, Louis even admitted that, “Thorazine was a bit limp,” but added “We beat the snot out of ‘Oye Como Va’ though!”

Mule closed out the evening with the triumphant tune “I Shall Return” before packing up and speeding off to Mountain Jam at Hunter Mountain, New York. And, with all the rain we had on Friday, I’m glad I got to see this incredibly talented group in dry weather from the comfort of the Newport Yachting Center.

For a complete listing of the Nantucket Nectars Sunset Concert Series log on to www.newportwaterfrontevents.com

Surfaversary

Every spring I travel to the cape to remind myself of how it all started and how I got this deep. In this life you can move fast and far. But, it's vital to take it slow as well and to remember your roots.

I always seem to run into my friend Dana. In the water, he's got recognizable style.

The waves were chest to head high, with some clean peaks and sandy tubes. When I arrived, a woman was taking some action shots. I refrained from doing the same, deciding instead to surf.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Yoga Poses A New Perspective

Feeling down and out? Just take a deep breath.

words and photos: Jonathan Clancy

While attending graduate school at Tufts University, Italian born Francesca Spidelieri met and married a United States Naval officer. After her graduation, the newlyweds moved to Newport in 2010. Far from her home and family, Spidelieri, 28, had trouble relating to people in the area, and couldn’t find a job in her field. After a few months in town, Spidelieri’s spirit was sinking.

“I was really dark at that point,” Spidelieri said. “Everything was crumbling around me. I didn’t know anybody, and I felt like my career was over.”

Luckily for Spidelieri, the wife of another Naval officer suggested that she try a yoga class to help her out of the funk.

Yoga is a mental, physical, and spiritual practice that dates back to ancient India. There are various styles of yoga. Hatha is a commonly used term that covers many physical styles of yoga. Vinyasa or flow yoga will take practitioners through a series of breathing-synchronized movements. Ashtanga yoga is a fast-paced style where a specific series of poses are performed, always in the same order. This highly physical form gave birth to Power yoga, which is less strict to the set, and more forgiving to newcomers. Bikram or heated yoga is practiced in a 95 to 100 degree room, which allows for a loosening of tight muscles and profuse sweating.

Finding the right yoga for you is a matter of personal preference, and many times comes right down to the instructor. Some yoga studios will combine different styles into their practice. Despite their differences, one thing all styles all have in common is that yoga offers a sanctuary to temporarily escape from stress and problems. Most practitioners claim a feeling of rejuvenation and clarity after a class.

“When you step off your yoga mat, you come back to your life and you see things differently,” said Newport Power Yoga owner and instructor Terence Munnelly. He remembers Spidelieri from her early days as a student, and said he was impressed but not surprised with her progress.

Munnelly, 46, began practicing yoga in 2002. He was living in New York City at that time, working in real estate and sales. The instructor sites the attacks on 9/11 amongst a list of other stresses in his life that led him to practice. In 2011, he opened his own studio in Newport at the intersection of Bellevue and Memorial, which ironically used to be a bar.

“Yoga means to yoke, to connect, to realize the interdependence of everyone,” Munnelly said and continued, “When you realize that, anxiety and fear dissipate because you are no longer isolated.”

Soon after starting her yoga practice, Spidelieri began to see the light. “Yoga quickly became my new favorite activity of the day,” she said. “It provided me with a great community of friends and mentors, it made me more mindful, forgiving, patient and appreciative of life. I felt better inside and out.”

The secret ingredient to yoga is a deep focused breath. Munnelly said, “In order to achieve this balanced breath, I have to pay attention to it, and when I’m paying attention to that, I can’t think about anything else.”

That “anything else” could be whatever problems one has going in their life. Whether it’s a relationship crisis, financial trouble, or an issue with the body, Munnelly believes that yoga can help one to reset the psyche and move on with daily life.

During an observed class, Munnelly guided students through a flow of poses. He cued breathing, in and out; along with specific movements like downward facing dog, plank, and other common poses know as sun salutations. As the class warmed up the poses became more advanced, yet still approachable for the varying demographic. At its peak the class sweated in unison, salty drops pulled by gravity - the human body’s ultimate stress - fell to the towels below. The latter half of the class involved some deep back bends and a few other positions that offer similar “upside down” views. The class finished with each student laying flat backed, breathing deep relaxed breaths on their own, before coming to their feet to greet the rest of the day.

Munnelly liked the practice of yoga to another daily practice. “When I brush my teeth in the morning, I try to touch every tooth. If I miss a tooth what happens? It’s gets sick, starts to get cavities, and it dies. Eventually if I don’t take care of [the cavity], it affects my whole body. So the yoga poses are like brushing each part of the body. And, I’m not scraping the enamel off, but I’m not avoiding [the task] either.”

A common misconception about yoga is that it’s all about flexibility and core strength. But, Munnelly said that, “There is no proof that putting your foot behind your head will make you a healthier person.”

Yoga is also not about staying young, or fit, or losing weight. “Yoga doesn’t want that,” said Munnelly who added, “That’s what I want! That’s my ego. Yoga doesn’t think there is anything wrong with me if I’m a little heavier, or have gray hair, or don’t have the perfect body. Yoga is more concerned with the quality of my thoughts.”

Munnelly explained that one of yoga’s main functions is using the body to quiet the mind. The human mind has a tendency to focus on past failures while worrying about future endevours. Yoga, however, wants one to be present in the moment, to see opportunities, and to witness the simple miracle of life.

A few months into her practice, Spidelieri’s attitude had changed. “I believed I could do better professionally, and otherwise, [to] find the life I wanted here in Rhode Island,” she said. Spidelieri set out to use her education and landed a job as a Cyber Security Fellow at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina University. Though she is busier these days, she still finds time to practice yoga. “If it weren’t for [yoga] I don’t know where I would be now.”

Two of the best qualities that yoga helps develop are being gentle, and humble. “That doesn’t mean wimpy,” Munnelly explained, “It just means listening to your body.” The instructor advised to back off, or stop completely, anything that hurts your body. “That’s humility, and that’s the hardest muscle to practice,” the instructor said.

For more information on Yoga log onto www.newportpoweryoga.com