church | ONE OF US WHITECHAPEL

BEHIND THE SCENES : MUSICIAN SHAYFER JAMES CREATOR OF ‘EULOGY’

SHAYFER JAMES is a MUSICIAN who as well as being one of the ‘New and Noteworthy’ on iTunes, frequently performs at the MANDERLAY BAR home of ONE OF US favorite SLEEP NO MORE. He weaves surprisingly genuine musical landscapes that evoke the gauzy, sweaty sexuality of gulf-coast barrooms but also the fantastical, narcotic mysticism of a Lewis Carroll-inspired three-ring circus.His influences when conceiving EULOGY include FELLINI and LYNCH- he likes the idea of the the well cut man in a suit who has dirty fingernails.A painting on his wall of a ghostly woman in a veil was the starting point for this musical performance piece. 7 sad Ophelia-like women mourning for the poet they all loved but never loved them back IN A CHURCH was very compelling.

The weird widows are made up of a group of EXPERIMENTAL THEATER performers who make it their mission to play with diverse spaces using their bodies to create something.

You can catch MR JAMES every Tuesday (for free) in his new role as resident musician at the ROCKAWAY.

Check out/download SEVEN WINDOWS, the stunning song from the show, below.

http://soundcloud.com/shayferjames/shayfer-james-seven-widows?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=mshare&utm_medium=email&utm_content=http://soundcloud.com/shayferjames/shayfer-james-seven-widows

PERFORMANCE ARTIST COLLIN FRAZIER CREATED ONEOFUS : THE CHAPEL’S ‘CLOISTER.‘ HERE ARE SOME OF HIS REFLECTIONS ON THE WORK.

‘Cloister’ is an exploration of the manner in which we come to terms with our own solitude and the unknown of the afterlife. HE was struck by the concept of the Church, not as an institution, but as a structure. Many old churches have changed hands of ownership and denomination numerous times during their lifespan, and the building becomes imbued with very specific and important ideas for each of the people connected to it at any given moment in history. The concept of the Church being a panacea for our own discomfort with the unknown then becomes universal, and this is what I found intriguing.

HE wanted to juxtapose this concept against the possibility of finding eternal comfort within oneself, and one’s connectedness to their reality: the physical space and life in which they dwell. ‘Cloister’ examines these two possible ways of relieving anxiety regarding the mystical and metaphysical aspects of our shared existence. The two possibilities are presented simultaneously but in different mediums, and by doing so, we can compare and contrast both paths. HE sees the piece as taking the audience down two possible roads that one person could walk, and ultimately end in the same place.

COLLIN FRAZIER is a PERFORMANCE ARTIST specializing in dance, acting, and choreography. Hailing from DETROIT and having trained at MICHIGAN STATE, his movement style is a mixture of both classical and modern techniques and incorporates an urban improvisational aesthetic. Before relocating to New York City, he danced with the DETROIT DANCE COLLECTIVE, where he cultivated an appreciation for collaborative arts by combining dance with new media, sculpture, and painting. He has collaborated on choreography for and performed in numerous projects, including the 60X60 choreography series, ‘BRUNCH: THE MUSICAL’, and the short film ‘DARK ALLIES’. He has worked as a rehearsal director and choreography consultant for ORLANDO’S latest dance/rock concert production, ‘DRIP’, performed in MOVEMENT WORKSHOP GROUP’S ‘RACINE D’Or’, as well as music videos for MARLO and ASHEN FIGURE.