By Sadie Shields

Lion Dancers swayed

while the taiko drums beat and people chattered as the Lunar New Year event kicked off in the Kate Buchanan Room (KBR), hosted by the Asian, Desi, Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern and North African Center (ADPI-MENA).

Students, faculty and community members gathered to celebrate Lunar New Year’s Year of the Horse on campus Friday, Feb. 27, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Student Staff Lead of ADPI-MENA, Shaun Masuda, discussed the event’s overall growth.

“Last year, we were averaging around 100 people for our bigger events,” Masuda said. “This year, we were just at about 200 people who signed in, including students and community members… which was a significant increase from our turnout last year.”

The growth was visible as every table and chair was filled to the brim with community members, staff and students. Masuda believes the increase in participants has something to do with the space this year, including the accessibility benefits of the KBR space.

“We like to host in the KBR not only in the addition of having a big space inside, but also because it’s easily accessible to students and the community, being in the student activity center,” Masuda said.

 The Lunar New Year is celebrated not only in China but also in nine other Asian countries and globally. There are twelve animal Zodiac signs in total in the Lunar New Year, with this year being the year of the Fire Horse. Those born in the Year of the Horse are said to be energetic, creative, confident, cheerful and responsible. You are considered to be born in the Year of the Horse if you were born in 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002 and 2014. Next year is the year of the Goat.

Gary Ronnie, the leader of Taiko drummers in Humboldt, explains how much the culture means to him and what it means to share it. According to the United States Census Bureau, only 3.2% of Humboldt County’s population accounts for Asian residents. 

“There is such a small percentage of Asians in this county that I love, that we are out there and we’re playing music to share the culture,” Ronnie said. “It’s really important. Involve other people. Connect with music.”

Emily Hsu smiled as she shared her own journey. 

“I’ve been doing Taiko since I was a kid, maybe in seventh grade,” Hsu said. “I played in Anaheim for a long time, and they went to a group in L.A. After that, I moved to Chicago and played in Chicago for a while, and now I’m here.”

For three hours in the KBR, culture was not just discussed — it was heard, tasted, worn and shared. As students trickled out into the cool Friday night, the sense of community lingered long after the taiko drums fell silent, music still playing as the ADPI-MENA Center began cleaning up.

Bio: Sadie is a junior communications major, journalism minor at Cal Poly Humboldt who has an interest in covering and taking photos for sports and wildlife journalism, and a slight interest in breaking news. She can be reached at sls331@humboldt.edu.

By: Will Bishop

Humboldt County is not often a place where stars land. Our biggest city, Eureka, feels as though, past a certain hour in the depths of night, you could imagine an apocalypse had occurred — wiping the scourge of humankind from the streets. Yet there is a certain pull, an uncategorizable allure that sometimes draws a very bright thing into our orbit. And so, it has happened once more. The inexplicable, almost baffling gravity of The Miniplex has pulled in yet another star. Like our own miniaturized pet black hole. Landing an intimate set with Animal Collective’s own Brian Weitz, currently on a tour under his moniker, Geologist.

Opener Complex Crown, the stagename of local electronic artist Max Brotman, established a heady atonal atmosphere. Primarily driven through rhythmic gymnastics rather than conventional melodic structures, it’s very much the sort of music you need to buy into entirely, or it will sound like nothing at all. As someone who buys into this sort of thing all the time, who owns stock in Richard Devine and loves killing the vibe with extremely confusing music that makes everyone go, “Why are you doing this?” — I thought it was very cool. A sort of full-body aural wash. Music to rewrite the polarity of your atoms. A projector displayed live video synth-driven visuals courtesy of Wil Bruce. Brotman also wielded a harmonium, establishing a precedent of artists throughout the evening using instruments I had never seen before in my entire life. 

Thus bringing us cleanly to the hurdy-gurdy man himself: Geologist. I wasn’t entirely sure what his live act would consist of. Weitz, known for using a headlamp onstage because of the sheer amount of knob fiddling necessary to fulfill his role within Animal Collective, has until this year been the solo projectless member of the group. That changed with this year’s release of his debut album, Can I Get a Pack of Camel Lights?, a psychedelic post-rock journey with the aforementioned hurdy-gurdy taking center stage.

The hurdy-gurdy is a very unusual instrument; something between a guitar, a piano and a gramophone. It conjures a sort of funereal aura, recalling that time you went to war for the independence of Scotland, when you and all of your friends were brutally slaughtered under the yoke of British expansionism. When hearing a hurdy-gurdy as played by Brian Weitz, it is more akin to experiencing a tranquil and voluntary heat death in the high deserts of the mind. Beholding cacti morph into shamanic entities of mysterious power and ambiguous intentions while you pound Arnold Palmers — periodically looking down at the visage embossed upon the can and watching him rapidly age 7,000 years over and over again while asking yourself, “Why 7,000 years?”

Standing in the tightly enclosed and low-capacity environment of The Miniplex, mere feet from the man while he conjured forth ancient beings from a great beyond, clicking pedals on and off — sans headlamp—  and absolutely hurding the flippin’ gurd. It was easy to feel as though he was playing this show specifically and entirely for you. With only one small, rhythmically confused individual standing in front of me, my eyes were as if magnetically locked to his fingers — clacking with tap dancer’s grace and the speed of genetically modified super gazelles. To witness such esoteric mastery, like the revival of some arcane Byzantine art, was an experience that can truly only be summarized with an enigmatic riddle: what spins round and round, walks five hundred steps and always ends up exactly where it started? The hurdy-gurdy, baby.

Bio: Will Bishop is a Cal Poly Humboldt journalism major. He is prone to writing essays about things that bother him and fictional works about things that also bother him, but in different ways. A highly bothered individual and a lover of cinema, music, large trees and rocks. He can often be found in the woods, dancing to bring down the sky.

By Sadie Shields 

Colorful skirts swept across the stage, live mariachi filled the auditorium and traditional dances from all across Latin America reflected both history, celebration and identity.

The festival began to the sound of the Hueso Coyoleras, also known as Aztec dancer foot rattles, filling the quiet room. The Aztec dancers walked from the entrance to the stage to begin the show, as the festivities of Fiesta Folklorica began.

From showing revolutionary imagery, to celebration, to love, the Fiesta Folklorica show was created to represent the culture behind Latin America and give the Latin community a voice at Cal Poly Humboldt, a Hispanic-serving institution.

Hosted at the Van Duzer Theater on campus, the event brought together student performers, musicians and community members for three nights that honored heritage through movement, music and storytelling. Dance groups representing different regions performed throughout the evening, each piece telling a story through costume, rhythm and expression. 

For many performers, the event represented months — and sometimes years — of preparation. Luna Salinas, a junior music education major, described their journey into Danza.

“I’ve been dancing for two years in Danza Azteca,” Salinas said. “I was doing it in the class first and then I got introduced to this whole production.”

Carlos Jaimes Gaytan, a senior in wildlife conservation and management has also been in Danza Azteca for a year.

“I was introduced to the club by Keneti Pinones and Naeem Alston to their Danza Azteca club with yolotl,” Gaytan said. “It’s been an amazing journey and I love every bit of it.”

Beyond performance, Cesar Nuñez, a senior music major and musician, emphasized the deeper meaning behind the event — especially in a small Northern California community.

“It’s important to hold this type of event in Arcata because it gives us Latinos a voice, and it shows a community,“Nuñez said. “Our culture and how we have fun, how we like to party,  it kind of shows the world that we’re not scared. We’re here, and we’re loud and proud about it all.” 

The evening included moments of celebration and cultural pride, with audience members cheering and performers sharing their passion for dance and its importance to their culture. 

“I think [Fiesta Folklorica is] important because they want us to feel shame, but I am not [ashamed] about my culture. Through this experience of dancing and singing our heritage, I have adopted so much pride in the process,” Salinas said. “We’re not going anywhere. And if you just leaned into it, you would find the life and love within it.” 

Sharing the same sentiment, senior biology major Gala Villavicencio has cultural and personal connections to Danza as well.

“Danza Azteca specifically has so many layers to it. It has deep roots that we’re blessed to spread,” Villavicencio said. “I just know that it connects back to my family, and even though I carry them with me, they haven’t had that opportunity to learn about Danza Azteca. And here I am out in Humboldt, learning, educating and doing my best to make them proud.”

Before leaving, Jaime Gatan shared how he wants to let his culture be more known.

“I want to show, I want to educate, I want my culture to be known, in that it shows other people that [you] too can do things like this wherever you go, however small or little, however big or small,.” Gatan said.“ You are a representative in the area. And we’re doing a really good job here representing our culture and trying our best to educate other people about it.”

Director Jacqueline Silva, professor and the director of Fiesta Folklorica, explained how the performances represent the stories of the Latin culture.

“Our dances tell stories which can represent historical events, courtship, animals native to the land and much more. La Revolución is an homage to Las Adelitas [female soldiers] of the Mexican Revolution,” Silva said. “They were such an integral part of war and unfortunately, were not giving the recognition they deserved. Now many groups honor their heroic actions on stage and we felt it was important to share this with our community.”

Through music, dance and community, Fiesta Folklorica served as both a celebration and a reminder that culture continues to live and grow. Wherever people choose to carry, they will not be silenced. 

Sadie is a junior communications major, journalism minor at Cal Poly Humboldt who has an interest in covering and taking photos for sports and wildlife journalism, and a slight interest in breaking news. She can be reached at sls331@humboldt.edu.

By Will Bishop

With the wind howling and the sun sinking, five challengers entered the Arcata Veterans Hall. While generally a place for people whose battles have already been fought, this night was an exception. It was time for a long awaited return; a resurrection of something once thought to be dead and buried — the reemergence of 105.1 KRFH Radio’s Battle of the Bands (BotB) on Saturday, Feb. 21.

“I’ve seen posters, like, vintage posters in the station of old BotBs, but I don’t think we’ve done one in a minute,” said KRFH Station Manager Miranda Ricks, a senior year journalism major. “This was kind of a little passion project of mine because I think it’s so — I don’t want to use the word cliche, but it’s such a movie trope to have a BotB, and I’m just really happy we were able to pull it off.” 

Attendees were encouraged to scan QR codes located around the premises to vote for their favorite act, while merch tables could be found all over offering both band specific loot, as well as good ol’ fashioned KRFH memorabilia. Around 6 p.m., the first band took the stage.

Datura Blues: Starting things off with a moody and atmospheric bang were KRFH BotB vets Datura Blues. Consisting of multiple Humboldt State University (HSU) alums including Oryan Peterson-Jones, who wrote his own ethnomusicology major called “Music as a cultural metaphor.” From 2000-2004, they played every KRFH BotB, and were valiantly defeated every time. 

“We’re not a winning band,” Peterson-Jones said. 

Given their sound, a purely instrumental cosmically minded psychedelic maelstrom, this is no surprise. Many of history’s greatest heroes are unsung in their time. 

Speaking of history, Peterson-Jones’ legacy with KRFH goes all the way back to 1994, with his high school band entering the fray as young upstart contenders. He would go on to become program director and music manager, and even become close friends with KRFH founder Gary Melton. A true KRFH hall of famer if ever there was one. 

Heaven’s Taint: A lineup choice clearly intended to give the audience whiplash. Regarding the contrast between the first two bands, frontwoman Sunny Breed, a Cal Poly Humboldt (CPH) alum with a psychology major, said, “We’re gonna break that trance, we’re gonna break it up.” Breed, in the purest sense of the word, is a rockstar. A performer equal parts electric and elastic, pogoing around the stage in a pair of white framed shades and spitting out every word.

Lady in Waiting: It was time for the youths to take the stage to make everybody sad and introspective. This was the band’s first ever live performance, but listening to them you would never be able to tell. Like a newborn baby that’s inexplicably and disturbingly an adult man with a job and a drinking problem, they have arrived fully developed and ready to talk about what ails the world with whoever will listen. 

The main songwriting duo at the heart of the group, Jack Sparks and Sophia Rudoni, are both art majors at CPH. Additionally, Rudoni is one of KRFH’s own, operating under the alias DJ Beeprincess. 

The band’s influences are diverse and eclectic, emphasizing 90s New York bands like trip hop innovators Bowery Electric, and Japanese shoegaze act Pasteboard. Their third song, Martial Law, had more modern, political influences. 

 “Next song is about the president of the United States, fuck that guy. Fuck [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” Sparks said.

Shortly followed by a student making a quick announcement onstage regarding last week’s Siemens Hall occupation and the upcoming open forum scheduled for Friday, Feb. 27 at 8 a.m.

Eradescents: By this point in the evening the audience had reached its peak size, and it was time for crowd-pleasing act Eradescents to take the stage. With only three members, they were the smallest band in competition, but they had heart to spare and powered through a rambunctious set rife with memorable moments. From a charged performance of Don’t Want to Know If You Are Lonely by Hüsker Dü to the band being honored with the first and only thrown novelty thong of the night — which swiftly wound up on the drummer’s head for the duration of their set. This was precisely the kind of performance you affiliate with a classic BotB experience.

Pennies for Pluto: Announcing themselves with an improvised ditty about the event, the band quickly launched into an absurdly impressive set demonstrating virtuosic chops from every member. Frontman and bleeding heart of the band Orion Jesse Paul delivered a soaring vocal performance and shredding licks in equal measure.

This marked the end of our lengthy and tumultuous journey. Each combatant had said their piece and now it was time for the audience to decide. Out of a grand tally of 112 votes in all, the winner of this most hallowed of tournaments was none other than Lady in Waiting. For their efforts each band member received a KRFH shirt, pin, patch and poster, as well as a slot in an upcoming Local LIXX session, a radio promo, and the opportunity to have their recorded music uploaded to KRFH’s automated system for that sweet sweet airtime.

Will Bishop is a Cal Poly Humboldt journalism major. He is prone to writing essays about things that bother him, and fictional works about things that also bother him but in different ways. A highly bothered individual, and a lover of cinema, music, and large trees/rocks. He can often be found in the woods, dancing to bring down the sky.

By Marielle Winuk

Taste buds sizzled on the tongues of sweating students as they scrambled to answer trivia questions and test their Black History Month knowledge at the Black Student Union ‘Hot Ones’ trivia event on Feb. 16. 

Jei Farner, a bio chemistry and cellular biology major, hosted the four teams, titled Black Pepper, Black Power, Heartburn and Jalepeople through three different rounds.

The round one categories consisted of Black history, film and tv, and music. The points earned in round one determined what level of hot sauce the teams received on their wings in round two. 

In round two, it was time to face the first round of hot sauce. Black Power and Heartburn each sent up two members to compete in the Black Math category. Before answering, the team had to eat the hot wing and then answer the question. The first hot sauce used was called Tropical Amariallo, which had a heat level rating of six out of 10. Team Heartburn answered the most questions correctly, advancing them to the final round. The second match up was between Jalepeople and Black Pepper, with Black Pepper moving on to the finals. 

In the final category, things started to get… hot. There were five wings on the table, and competitors raced to take at least two bites of the increasingly spicy wings while answering the trivia questions correctly. The wings got progressively spicier as they went down the line, and the final wing had The Last Dab Thermageddon hot sauce with a heat level of 11 out of 10. 

Two gallons of milk and the cold outdoor air became essential to combat the spicy wings. Black Pepper went through their five hot wings and questions, and emerged victorious with a winning time of 12:23. 

Marielle is a junior journalism major with an interest in politics and sports. She can be contacted at mmw146@humboldt.edu