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Adam Eisler, a 5th-semester history major, performs original folk-inspire songs and a cover at the liberal arts festival Wednesday night.

Festival encourages artistic expression

By: Alyssa Carroll

Posted: 11/20/08

Taking a stand against the seemingly corporate atmosphere of the UConn campus, the UConn Liberal Arts Community (ULAC) held a Liberal Arts festival in the North Reading Room of Wilbur Cross last night.

Though the event, which began at 6 p.m., started off slowly with a crowd of only about 25, the performances of numerous campus musicians drew in an eventual audience of about 50.

Only in its second official semester, ULAC encouraged all students, not just those in the Liberal Arts, to get involved in creative outlets and cultural events they may not otherwise have time for.

"We formed this club because there was no space for artistic, creative and intellectual discourse," said D. Michael Jones, a Ph.D. candidate in English and faculty advisor to ULAC. "We want to turn that around. This kind of stuff should be going on on campus all the time."

Featuring four bands and a booth by tuneRooms.com, the event held a steady crowd and pleasant atmosphere.

The event opened with a performance by Ali Telmesani, a 5th-semester English major, who played acoustic guitar and harmonica while singing his original songs to an enthusiastic, small crowd seated around him on the floor.

"This is the coolest setting ever," said Telmesani. "I never want to play on a stage again - I just want to sit in a circle and play music."

Chad Denton, a 5th-semester English major and ULAC member, read numerous poems throughout the evening.

"Mike Jones was my English professor, and he got a bunch of us to come check the club out," said Denton. "I go to the trips, meetings and we have parties every once and a while, and we have a hell of a film series."

Adam Eisler, a 5th-semester History major, was the second act of the night, playing original songs folk inspired songs and a John Frusciante cover. Eisler, who was recently contacted by publishing and recording company Hot Air Press, encouraged students to check out his music at Myspace.com/abrahamking.

"I'm very much inspired by folk - four chords and a story," said Eisler. "This was an awesome event. They need to do this more in the future."

Sleep Well, a five-piece band with a more alternative sound than the previous acts, played original songs that kept the crowd interested. Sleep Well, made up of Adam Gooch, an 8th-semester management information systems major and vocalist, Jake Cohen, a 5th-semester sports management major and guitarist, Erik Wright, a 5th-semester communication major and keyboardist, Sam Cohen, a 1st-semester philosophy major and bassist and Edward Kozyra, a 5th-smester finance major and drummer had a sound similar to that of Brand New.

"It was really nice to see that everyone was actually listening," said Gooch. "Everyone here was really supportive."

"It's called liberal arts, not conservative arts," said Cohen.

Numerous crowd members made impromptu readings of self-written poetry like "Lolita" by Elizabeth Larkin, a 3rd-semester exploratory major.

"This event was really fun," said Lauren Kodiak, a 5th-smester human development and family studies major. "It was such an interesting combination of music. It was a good time."

Perhaps the most unique band of the night, Bruise Boob finished out the festival with an acoustic punk set singing "Shut Up Chud," "Twizzlers," and "Ecoli shower," a song that spoke out against the treatment of the Willington Oaks residents after the discovery of their tainted water. The band, comprised of Christopher Marciniak, a 5th-semester English major, guitarist and vocalist, Nick Rogers a 7th-semester English major, guitarist and vocalist, and Brendan Galvin, a 7th-semester English major and stand-in percussionist.

ULAC president Jackie Cahill, a 5th-semester international relations and Italian major, was pleased with the event overall, and plans on having another of these events in the future, hopefully also showcasing student artwork.