Just wanted to remind you all about tonight’s Skook Reunion Concert and Fund raiser for LDS Humanitarian Services. Get on your dancing shoes and bring your kids.
Click her for Concert details.
And just to get you in the mood, here is a video mashup of Skook’s song “Popularity” with the incomparable Jerry Lewis dancing from a scene of the 1963 version of The Nutty Professor:
See you there!
As the 4th of July approaches each year in Utah Valley, it has come to be almost expected that a serious fire will break out somewhere on the nearby mountains.
Here is a brief video of the fire burning this evening above the foothills in northern Provo Utah, near the Edgemont neighborhood, as visible from a street near my home:
For some months now, brother Michael Otterson, who is the media relations director for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has been participating as a blogger on the Washington Post / Newsweek religious blog On Faith . Each week or so the blog hosts pose a question to the panelists, who represent various religious and spiritual groups, and each has the opportunity to post an answer from the point of view of their faith.
Sister Kathleen Flake, who is a professor of American religious history at Vanderbilt University, has now joined the blog as well as a second Latter-day Saint.
A while ago I wrote about my fascination with Vaudeville and the talent of that era.
This video of some fellows dancing the Charleston in the 1920s’ mashed up with the electronic dance music of Daft Punk is too cool not to share:
Those of you who have known me in person for any significant amount of time know that I love to dance, though it wasn’t always so. Dancing is an important part of our family culture. I’m not talking about competitive ballroom dance or anything intense like that, though many of us have taken ballroom dance classes casually, and some have even competed on a novice level. When I was growing up it wasn’t uncommon for my parents to put on some music and dance, just for the fun of it. Now that we are all grown, when we get together we often dance—and it is blast.
Now that I have my own children, I love to watch them dance. They are so expressive and full of life, and they are surprisingly responsive to the music; changing their motions to match the rhythm and tempo of the songs. I dread the day when they may become too inhibited and embarrassed by what others might think of their dancing.
Dance is a great blessing and I am so thankful for a family and a church that celebrate our bodies, created in the image of God, through wholesome dance and music. When some day I pass on and I reach the afterlife, I hope that as I am reunited with my deceased loved ones and ancestors dance will be a part of the celebration.
What: A Variety of Family-Friendly Live Music
When: Friday July 6th 5:30pm – 9:30pm
Where: Tahitian Noni Auditorium 333 River Park Dr, Provo, Utah, Utah 84604 (map)
If you live in Utah or will be visiting during the week of Independence Day, bring your family over to the Tahitian Noni Auditorium in north Provo, near Provo Canyon, on July 6th for an evening of family-friendly music and dancing with the former members of the local Ska Band Skook. The concert is free, but they will be accepting voluntary donations for LDS Humanitarian Services.
Brothers Ben and Joe Wilson formed Skook about 10 years ago in Cache Valley as a ska-influenced punk trio. Soon thereafter they moved to Utah Valley where they added some excellent horn players and their sound evolved into their own flavor of ska. From the beginning Skook was decidedly anti-popularity, and the theme is reflected in their lyrics. From the sarcasm of “I wanna be a suave mac-daddy man” to the still popular anthem “I shop at D. I.,” Skook was cool because they rejected what was “cool.”
Listen to a 5 minute sample mp3 of excerpts from nine Skook songs
