Brandon Whiteside

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Zoom Culture Ends Production

By Brandon Whiteside | January 23

The three-year run of Chapel Hill's Zoom Culture ended Tuesday when the media production company officially ceased operations. Zoom Culture's CEO Kip Frey said the company's shows were not profitable, leading to the company's end of operations Tuesday. "What we were putting out wasn't coming back in," said producer Allen Buck, adding that the company used up $16 million in 2 1/2 years.

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'True West' Explores America's Identity

By Brandon Whiteside | January 15

"True West" Carrboro ArtsCenter Saturday, Jan. 11 Three Stars The brainchild of American playwright and actor Sam Shepard, "True West," is considered one of the first plays to question truthfully the identity of contemporary America. The Open Door Theatre's rendition of the play will begin its final run Thursday and will end Sunday. All showings are at 8 p.m. at the Carrboro ArtsCenter.

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'Extreme' Consumed by Avalanche Of Shallow Dialogue, Empty Action

By Brandon Whiteside | December 7

One Star

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BOT Approves Revitalization Of Arts Corner

By Brandon Whiteside | November 22

The UNC Board of Trustees voted unanimously Wednesday for the creation of an Arts Common that would reshape dramatically the northwest corner of campus. As planned, the Arts Common will entail new and renovated buildings for the departments of arts, music and communication studies, as well as a landscaped outdoor area over an underground parking deck with a capacity of 300. It will encompass the area between South Columbia Street and McCorkle Place, and Franklin Street and Cameron Avenue.

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Co-Op Hosts Songwriters' Contest

By Brandon Whiteside | November 21

Strength comes in numbers. Since 1998, state musicians have utilized an advantageous component of the Triangle music scene -- the North Carolina Songwriters Co-op. The brainchild of Tom Johnson of the Triangle Folk Music Society, the nonprofit group propels artists by means of open mic nights, promotion and an overall cooperative environment. The organization also stages an annual songwriting contest. The fifth contest lured eight finalists to the Carrboro ArtsCenter on Saturday night.

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Black Brings Back Anger in Socially Charged Alma Mater Show

By Brandon Whiteside | November 7

Lewis Black George Watts Hill Alumni Center Saturday, Nov. 2

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Overused Style, Technical Difficulties Drown Out Performance

By Brandon Whiteside | October 31

Only Midnight Cat's Cradle Thurs., Oct. 24 2 Stars Musical talent bogged down by vocal mediocrity is like your mom telling you to let your dorky little brother play Transformers with you and your friends -- the potentially good time is in serious jeopardy. Somewhere within that analogy is the prime flaw of Chapel Hill's Only Midnight -- solid, fairly versatile rockers backing an overused college-band vocal style.

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Jazz Group Melodically Mixes Solo, Cohesion

By Brandon Whiteside | October 28

On Friday night in the Hill Hall auditorium, the evening began with a simple, "one, two ... one, two, three." What followed was a two-hour set performed by the N.C. Jazz Repertory Orchestra, a 10-year-old ensemble of 17 musicians from across the state. This show wasn't Kenny G. It wasn't elevator jazz. This was big-band music, with horns blaring, drums crashing and bass as huge as the rhythms it created. Simultaneously, the music was smooth and laid-back, falling just shy of a rambunctious speakeasy image.

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Dark Jewels Exhibited at Ackland Museum

By Brandon Whiteside | October 21

Beauty is in the subtleties. Such is the fundamental appeal of Dark Jewels, a Chinese ceramics exhibit that debuted Sunday afternoon at the Ackland Art Museum. The exhibit features 70 pieces of the period between 960 and 1368 A.D., all of which were donated by local collectors Herbert and Eunice Shatzman. The exhibit is surprisingly simple, characterized by pragmatic form and a motif of blacks and browns. Yet the key to appreciating such simplicity, exhibit organizers say, is a discerning eye coupled with an understanding of the art's context -- tea.

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Skylight Exchange Hosts Art Event

By Brandon Whiteside | October 1

Imagine the resultant force when prolific thinkers create art not in solitude but in combination.