News

At one of Between the Waters' first shows, a friend of singer Patricia Wake said, "This is exactly the type of music I want to listen to all the time."

If you're into the ethereal, intense and brooding music that was in vogue in the mid-1980s, the local quintet delivers. Between the Waters releases its debut album, "Connection," at 8 p.m. today at the Garfield Art Works.

Between the Waters was formed two years ago and has slowly built a small but loyal following. Along with Wake, the band is guitarist Christine Sacramento, bassist Anthony LaCava, violinist Tanya Kavalkovich and drummer James Perry.

"We have a wide range of interests, but most of us are really into some of the darker bands from the '80s," Wake says. "The Cocteau Twins, that's one of our big favorites, as are shoe-gazer bands like Lush and Slowdive. We really are into the darker side of folk."

They're also into music that few, if any, musicians in the area are exploring.

"We're very different from most of the other bands in Pittsburgh," Wake says. "... But I think we do have an audience here. There are people who come out from our own social circles, and we probably get 50 to 100 people per show."

The new album is the result of a year's worth of work, and exhibits elements of classical and Celtic music along with the ambient, Cocteau Twins-flavored sound.

Tickets for the show, which also features Centrale Electrique and Faded Sympathy, are $5.

Details: (412) 361-2262.

-- Regis Behe

Aviary event to carry a Harry Potter theme

Kids dressing up as Harry Potter characters for Halloween can come to the National Aviary this weekend to learn more about a certain beguiling feathered companion.

Hootin' Owl-O-Ween, an event that comes free with general admission, features a Harry Potter-themed craft and owl booth, along with many Halloween activities and crafts. Hootin' Owl-O-Ween also includes the aviary's Owl Encounter and Birds of Prey shows, face painting, a photo booth for taking pictures with the aviary's birds, and more.

Hootin' Owl-O-Ween runs during normal aviary hours, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

On the same day at the aviary, Robert S. Mulvihill -- field ornithology projects coordinator at Powdermill Nature Reserve -- will give a lecture. "Monitoring Pennsylvanian Biodiversity" begins at 10:30 a.m., and also is free with admission.

Details: (412) 323-7235.

-- Kellie B. Gormly

Photography exhibit, auction will help charities

"Living Life on Life's Terms," a charity exhibit and auction of framed works by local and national photographers, is set for 6 to 8:30 p.m. today at Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Oakland. Admission is a $20 donation. Refreshments will be served.

Proceeds will benefit Bridge to Independence, an organization serving the homeless and needy and Allegheny County, and the Dana Bowman Limb Bank Foundation, which provides artificial limbs to the needy.

Pittsburgh Filmmakers is at 477 Melwood Ave., Oakland.

Details: (412) 243-4494.

-- Deborah Deasy

Stockholm festival to honor 'visionary' filmmaker

Filmmaker Todd Solondz, whose movies examine the quirky and often tempestuous relationships shared by families, will receive the Stockholm International Film Festival's first Visionary Award.

"Fear, anxiety and depression are the key words for this visionary with one foot in the Douglas Sirk melodrama, the other in the Ingmar Bergman drama and with a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles from Woody Allen's darkest corners," organizers said in a statement Thursday.

It's the first time that the festival has awarded the prize.

Solondz's films include 1995's "Welcome to the Dollhouse," 1998's "Happiness" and the 2001 film "Storytelling."

The New Jersey native's latest movie, "Palindromes," will have its northern European premiere at the 15th Stockholm International Film Festival, which takes place Nov. 18-28. The festival also runs screenings and minifestivals year-round.

-- The Associated Press

John Wayne Society plans to expand complex

During his film career, John Wayne played many Western and war hero characters who celebrated independence, courage and patriotism.

His screen credits include "Rio Bravo," "Red River," "Fort Apache" and "Sands of Iwo Jima." He was "The Quiet Man" and won an Oscar as Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit," but everyone knew him as the Duke.

Now, the John Wayne Birthplace Society in Des Moines, Iowa, is hoping to expand a complex that includes the tiny Victorian house in Winterset where he was born Marion Morrison on May 26, 1907. His family lived in the four-room house until he was 3. They then moved 12 miles north to Earlham for three years, then on to California, where the legend of John Wayne was born.

The man who owned the Winterset house died in 1980, and the Winterset Chamber of Commerce bought it for $22,500, said David Trask, chairman of the John Wayne Birthplace Society.

"It was a unique opportunity because the birthplace still existed and was virtually untouched," he said.

Trask said the Chamber used it as its own offices until people started stopping by wanting to see where Wayne was born. "We realized we needed to do something," he said.

A welcome center and gift shop were added, and the birthplace now draws about 40,000 visitors a year.

The John Wayne Society owned a piece of the lot next door, but recently obtained the entire parcel, and Trask said that prompted talk of a $2 million to $3 million expansion.

The organization is working on an application for a state grant to help with construction, which could start late next year.

-- The Associated Press

Bono's three wishes will be granted

U2 frontman and global activist Bono is one of three recipients of the inaugural TED Prize from the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference.

The other recipients are Canadian photo-artist Edward Burtynsky and medical technologies pioneer Robert Fischell. Each will receive $100,000 and the chance to have three wishes fulfilled by a group of world-class companies and many members of the TED Community, it was announced Tuesday.

The three wishes of each honoree will be revealed at the next TED conference, to be held Feb. 23 through 26 in Monterey, Calif.

"We are exhilarated to have such extraordinary individuals as our inaugural winners of the TED Prize," said Chris Anderson, TED curator and founder of the Sapling Foundation, in a statement. "We believe they will inspire the TED Community -- and perhaps many others -- to play a role in nudging our world toward a better future."

Each year, TED brings together "leading opinion formers" to share ideas.

Earlier this week, Bono, a native of Ireland, was honored with the international Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., for promoting greater Western involvement in improving medical care and reducing poverty in Africa.

-- The Associated Press

Bowling for Soup covers 'Gilligan' theme song

Grammy-nominated Bowling for Soup has recorded a remake of the "Gilligan's Island" theme song for TBS' new reality series, "The Real Gilligan's Island," set to premiere on Nov. 30.

The show is based on the '60s comedy that starred Bob Denver. Castaways include a real-life skipper, first mate, millionaire couple, movie star, professor and farm girl who will work together to try to get off the island.

Episodes are modeled after some of the situations that occurred in the original series, the Atlanta-based cable channel said Wednesday.

In 2003, Bowling for Soup was nominated for a Grammy Award for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal for "Girl All the Bad Guys Want."

This summer's "Outback Jack" comedy dating show was TBS' first reality venture. TBS also has "He's a Lady," where men compete to see who can best live as a woman.

-- The Associated Press

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News