8-10"
15"
7"
22 February 2012   Vol: 2
Internal Links
HOME
About Us
Travel Guide
Archives
Contact Us
Contributors
Bookmark Us!
e-Newsletter
External Links
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Billings Gazette
New York Times
Wall Sreet Journal
NPR
Montana PBS
NOAA's Weather Service
ESPN
Yellowstone Nat'l Park
Big Sky Resort
Bridger Bowl Ski Area
Moonlight Basin Resort
GNF Avalanche Center
Montana River Flows Info
 
Restaurant Reviews

John Bozeman's Bistro
Bozeman, MT

Thai Isan
Livingston, MT

Pigsty BBQ
Bozeman, MT

La Palmas
West Yellowstone, MT

Fresco Cafe
Bozeman, MT

Cafe Francais des Arts
Bozeman, MT

Frank's Deli
Bozeman, MT

Willow Creek Cafe & Saloon
Willow Creek, MT

The Fondue Stube
Big Sky, MT

Over the Tapas
Bozeman, MT

Damasco's Pizzeria & Spaghetteria
Belgrade, MT

The Bay Bar & Grille
Bozeman, MT

Pompey's Grill and the Sacajawea Hotel
Three Forks, MT

2nd Street Bistro
Livingston, MT

Ferraro's Fine Italian Restaurant
Bozeman, MT

The Garage
Bozeman, MT

Sweet Chili Asian Bistro
Bozeman, MT
 

 
Spotlight
Chicks with Sticks

Photo Courtesy of Chicks with Sticks

Boom boom boom, tick-a-tick, boom boom, boom boom, tick-a-tick! Like the sensation that makes your heart accelerate at a concert, the pulse of nearby percussion resonates through your body, bringing an unexpected rush to the soul. You find yourself tapping your toes and wiping your feet on the proverbial rhythm rug.

But wait, this is no concert hall—you’re in downtown Bozeman, outside in a Montana winter. What is that thunderous sound? It must be a local band, right? But then, the Main Street strollers part, and everyone moves to a side; marching down the street are…

BUCKET DRUMMERS? Yes, bucket drummers. The intriguing noise you heard is an amazing ruckus caused by a pack of three-dollar plastic buckets, some Pro-Mark sticks, and a group of vivacious women! Their fearless leader yells out, “Chicks With Sticks – Ready!” followed by an abrupt whistle, a call, and they’re off.

Chicks With Sticks (CWS), a local women’s marching drum corps, was founded by Stormi Oshun and Shaun Phoenix in March 2011. Inspired by the “Big-Ass Drum Core,” a women’s bucket drumming group in Spokane, Washington, a local chapter was launched right here in the beautiful Gallatin Valley. The group consists of about 25 women from all walks of life: professionals, stay-at-home moms, liberals, conservatives, gay, straight, shy, and loud-and-proud women alike. Stormi met her partner in crime, Shaun, at the Music Empowerment Camp in Helena, where Stormi taught drumming each summer. This fortunate pairing of musicians ended up inspiring what would become Bozeman’s Chicks With Sticks.

The instruments used by CWS are simple: five-gallon plastic buckets, the kind that are available at hardware stores, popular with painters and cherry-pickers everywhere. Stormi grew up in Wenatchee, Washington, of cherry orchard fame, and each summer she used these and other buckets while working in the trees. Starting with a kidney-shaped bucket and a harness for easy carrying, Stormi modified it to work with a five-gallon plastic bucket. Adding eye-bolts later, she was up-and-running with a bucket drum fit for marching. Stormi then fiddled with several different implements to refine the sound, from altering the bucket to modifying the sticks. She found that wrapping rubber bands around the tips of the drumstick produced her most desired effect, “It made the sound much more resonating,” she explains. Sometimes tennis balls are used too, for hitting their handmade bass drum and gong.

CWS performances are powerful. While the goal is to energize and engage the crowd, startling them is often just as worthy an objective. A CWS gig recently began by launching into a performance in the middle of a crowded venue, when CWS rocked a ‘flash mob‘ at the Gallatin Valley Mall this past November. “We like to surprise the audience with the fact that a group of untrained female musicians with accessible objects is absolutely brilliant!” says Stormi. Her favorite thing to quip while in action is, “FB, wymmies!” (meaning “effing brilliant,” not “Facebook”).

Once the stun has waned, the CWS show really starts to roll; these women having a blast always engages the audience. The smiles, excitement, dancing, hooting and hollering are the Real McCoy; Stormi and Shaun love to come up with pieces that impel the audience to get up and drum with the group, clap along, dance, yell, and generally let themselves go. Participation, not just spectating, is the highest goal. CWS aims to really get in there, so close the audience can reach out and bang a drum.

So, have you asked yourself yet, “Why Chicks With Sticks?” Drumming appears to be a male-dominated instrument, but that perception is not wholly true. Let’s not overlook Cindy Blackman, the woman often rocking the drum kit behind Lenny Kravitz, and Karen Carpenter started on her snare well before she took the microphone.

Contrary to some impressions, CWS isn’t a feminist band; it does not discriminate men. The “chicks” part just kind of happened. While preparing for the Gay Pride Parade in Spokane, a male acquaintance answered a call to join the group. When Stormi ran it by her crew, the majority said, “Ya know, we really enjoy it being just us chicks!” The rest of ‘Chicks Only’ is history.

Chicks With Sticks is all about celebrating women being playful, full of heart, and irreverent. This “yummy combination,” as Stormi calls it, creates a place for musicians to shine and foster community, all while blowing the socks off the audience. Amidst the many stressors, losses, and hard times of, there is a “yes” offered by this collective, as in “yes, life is good.” Thank you, Chicks With Sticks, for reminding us of that! -TBM

Tara Heinrich is a Montana native who moved to Bozeman in 2006. She is a dance instructor at Tanya’s Dance Co. in Belgrade.

 
Bookmark and Share
 
  Spotlight
Tumbledown House - Tom Waits in a Cocktail Dress
Tumbledown House - Tom Waits in a Cocktail Dress

T-Bone Cologne? All right, that could mean many things, especially in Bozeman. The aroma one inherits at a steakhouse, an item for sale at a gourmet dog boutique, or a cheeky way to suggest a friend needs a shower. But rather than a gift for your pooch from Dee-O-Gee or Barkenhowell’s, this is the name of a song by the musical duo, Tumbledown House. That’s how they roll—intriguing ditties with still-more-intriguing titles.

The musical pairing of Gillian Howe and Tyler Ryan Miller has been spicing up the music scene since 2008. Originally from Phoenix, Tyler met his match in 2006 in Portland, Oregon, while working in a brewery. Gillian is a Montana native raised on the farm widely known as the Springhill Pavilion who matriculated from Springhill’s one-room schoolhouse, a dozen miles north of Bozeman. She had what she calls “a complete ranch-kid childhood,” which in part presents TDH’s motive for a return to the Gallatin Valley.

 
Read  Bookmark and Share
 
  Spotlight
Confluence of Creation—Building Blocks, PechaKucha & the Bozeman Library
Confluence of Creation—Building Blocks, PechaKucha & the Bozeman Library

Do you remember playing with wooden blocks as a kid?

Blocks have been a big part of children’s play since the early 19th century. Unfortunately, there’s been a steady decline in this kind of creative play for the last couple decades with the focus on academics and technology. But we are now seeing a return to the old-fashioned magic of playing with blocks.

When you think of what you played when you were a child, do you think of improvised play—games in the backyard, houses under a table with a sheet, made-up games with your own rules? Time spent playing make-believe helps kids develop important cognitive skills such as the ability to focus, control emotions, and solve problems.

This fall we opened up a play-space at the Bozeman Public Library with a large assortment of wooden blocks and other play materials. We know how important it is for children to have the time and materials to play. So we decided to make the library a place for kids and adults to have fun playing together with blocks.

 
Read  Bookmark and Share
 
Link to Spotlight Archives
 
Who We're listening to

7 Walkers
 

First Aid Kit
 
 
7-Day planner
Official National Margarita Day
February 22, 2012
(For all the non-practicing Catholics out there.)

Bray Days Ceramics Exhibition
February 22, 2012
5pm
Exit Gallery

Music at The Ellen—Claire Lynch Band
February 23, 2012
7:30pm
The Ellen Theatre
Tix: $23
Renowned vocalist and musician

Baby Cafe
February 23, 2012
11am
Bozeman Public Library

Free Friday Nights at CMB
February 24, 2012
5-8pm
Children's Museum of the Bozeman

Theatre—Hedwig and the Angry Inch
February 24, 2012
8pm
Equinox Theatre

Lecture—NASA's Future Space Telescopes
February 24, 2012
7pm
Museum of the Rockies
part of the Astronomy Winter Lecture Series

Closing Night! Hedwig and the Angry Inch
February 25, 2012
8pm
Equinox Theatre
Tix: $12/$10 Students

The Cody Dieruf Foundation Live & Silent Auction
February 25, 2012
5pm
Hilton Garden Inn
for Cystic Fibrosis awareness

Official Open That Bottle Night
February 25, 2012
(Yes, THAT one.)

Skin-to-Win Randonee Rally
February 25, 2012
8:30am
Bridger Bowl Ski Area

Rocky Mountain Spring Home & Garden Show
February 25, 2012
2/25 @ 10am
2/26 @ 11am
Gallatin County Fairgrounds Events Park

Academy Awards Night
February 26, 2012
(For all those who are still plugged into "the brain drain.")

Gypsy Writers Group
February 27, 2012
7pm
Bozeman Public Library

Advertiser Advertiser Advertiser Advertiser
The Bozeman Magpie
Perspective
Spotlight
The Big M-T
Bozeman's Best
Forum
M.O.A.G.
STORE
Travel Guide
RSS Feed
Search
Site Map
About
ADVERTISE
Contributors
About Us
Contact Us

Legal
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy