Friday Night Rock is known for providing a venue for fans of alternative and experimental music. They have booked bands like the obscurely-named "Menomena," "Frog Eyes," "Holy Fuck" and "The Dirty Projectors." Friday Night Rock's upcoming show, however, features artists with relatively tamer titles and presumably tamer musical styles: Denison Witmer and Marla Hansen.
The two will be touring together before their Dartmouth appearance and share a similar background. Both are indie/folk darlings who write airy, dreamy songs that make you feel the way the warmth of the sun feels on your skin. They were also influenced by the acclaimed Sufjan Stevens.
According to Andrew Berry '08, Friday Night Rock's booking manager, Witmer has played extensively with Stevens. The former is a low-key, unassuming artist who music publications prefer to place in the 1970s singer-songwriter category rather than the flash-in-the-pan 'neo-folkie' category.
"I know there is a limited group of people who will get into my music, but as long as I'm doing something honest that resonates with them, I'm confident they'll pick up on that and keep coming to my shows," Witmer says on his website.
Witmer's niche of cultish followers, as well as similarity in genre and style, has caused a widespread acknowledgement of Witmer as "the next Elliot Smith." It's an easy comparison to make -- Witmer has the same lilting, soft and melancholy tone as the legendary indie rock artist. However, Witmer's work lacks the biting grit of reality that Smith so often evokes. Witmer prefers to make music with a heavy dose of optimism and plenty of warm and fuzzy feelings like hopes and dreams. The title of his latest album -- "Are you a dreamer?" -- implies as much.
With lyrics like "when your breathing slows/your mind run fast and free?" the album addresses the struggle for ideals in the face of failure.
In Witmer's words, it's about "becom[ing] something more important than what we feel we currently are." That theme has an oddly familiar ring: The typical Dartmouth student often conceals a stressful and overwhelming will to succeed under those carefree smiles.
Witmer encourages people to find peace in a place where we're out of control, and to retain a sense of imagination and interest in "life's mysteries."
Starting off another challenging year at Dartmouth with musical messages of inspiration and dreams is perhaps exactly what we need. For freshmen, it's a chance to begin their career in college academia with an optimistic attitude, and to find out more about the steadily-growing Friday Night Rock.
"This will be the most 'accessible' FNR show in recent years, so if you've never been to an FNR show before, this is the one to come to," Berry said.
While perhaps a less prominent name than Witmer, Marla Hansen nonetheless has a strong presence in the music industry.
A talented violist and vocalist, Hansen has collaborated with artists like My Brightest Diamond, Duncan Sheik and Sufjan Stevens -- she was part of his Magical Butterfly Brigade on his last tour. Hansen has even performed with hip-hop artists, despite having limited interest in the genre.
Hansen has appeared on Saturday Night Live with Kayne West and played in the orchestra backing Jay-Z during a live performance of his album Reasonable Doubt in June 2006. Now she is coming forward to center stage with her debut EP, Wedding Day, which came out a month ago today.
Hansen plays the violin, the viola, and recently took up the guitar -- although she prefers the "melancholy" nature of her viola the most, according to her website. She plucks, strums and slides her bow across her viola, creating sweet yet eerie sounds which match her unusual, shivery voice.
Hansen has a strong background in classical music: She has degrees from Stony Brook University and the University of Wisconsin and teaches part-time at Bloomingdale School of music in New York. Because she is primarily a session artist, it will be interesting to see how she will perform solo under the lights of the FNR stage.
