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Acoustic Night Out
Singer-songwriter to perform honest, original songs at Fowler Museum
By CHRISTINE GRACE RENDON
October 20, 2010
Fourth-year ethnomusicology student Cameron Hovsepian will perform his
original acoustic music at Fowler Museum tonight. Hovsepian will be
performing along with ethnomusicology alumnus Jake Jamieson, who will be
playing percussion. Hovsepian has recently performed in Spring Sing in
Pauley Pavillion, a larger, less intimate venue than that of tonight's
perfomance.
Nestled in the courtyard of Fowler Museum, fourth-year ethnomusicology
student Cameron Hovsepian strummed the strings of his guitar in an impromptu
and unplugged music session. This scene was in preparation for a photoshoot
for the upcoming Fowler Out Loud season.
While Hovsepian remains no stranger to UCLA's music scene, the brief musical
interlude was enough to give his small audience a taste of what he is
planning to play in his upcoming performance at the Fowler Museum.
UCLA ethnomusicology alumnus Jake Jamieson will accompany Hovsepian on
percussion and drums for the performance.
"The music is kind of a mix, a little (bit) of soul, a little bit of blues,
a little bit of funk," Jamieson said.
Hovsepian's musical inclination began when he was a young boy, writing songs
with no vocalist to perform with him. When no singer emerged to vocalize his
melodies, he picked up the mic himself. Since then, Hovsepian has released
his EP "Tonight at Noon," sung for students at Kerckhoff Coffee House and,
this past school year, performed in front of thousands of Bruins at one of
UCLA's largest musical productions, Spring Sing.
"When you do Spring Sing, everyone is watching everything you do . whereas
Kerckhoff . you can just get away with so much, you can go longer on these
chords, you can make up verses if you want. It lets you try stuff out. .
Fowler is somewhere in between, where you make a cleaner, more organized
show," Hovsepian said.
According to Jamieson, the words to Hovsepian's musical mash-up of genres
are drawn from his own personal experiences.
"He's got a great voice with a lot of character and he's got lyrics to
match, which is speaking from personal experience about a lot of interesting
things. His lyrics are definitely poetic and the music is fun and upbeat,"
Jamieson said.
The personal atmosphere of Fowler is also attractive to Hovsepian, who said
performing at the museum space will be a chance to personalize his upcoming
set.
"It's really intimate, so I'll be glad that I'll be able to take my time. I
like talking about songs that I write and how songs come about, and if you're
playing at a coffee shop with all this noise, no one really cares, but they're
forced to listen to me," Hovsepian said.
Hovsepian said he looks forward to performing in a more personal
environment.
"You can still fit 100 and something people, and it'll still feel intimate,"
Hovsepian said.
Hovsepian's ability to capture an audience based on his simple and natural
approach is what sets him apart from his counterparts, said Sara Stranovsky,
coordinator of Fowler Out Loud, recalling the earlier photo shoot with
Hovsepian.
"He's got the kind of hook ability, kind of the acoustic rock stuff. I say
'hook' like in terms of catchy and upbeat . but he's also got his own
heartfelt lyrics, his own style as well. He's got an ability to be playful,"
Stranovsky said.
According to Stranovsky, Hovsepian's vocal talents focus more on the
simplicity in his rhythm rather than an extravagant style.
"There's something more about sharing than flashy performing. . I think he
has a natural calm to his performing," Stranovsky said.
Jamieson, who has both performed and recorded with Hovsepian in the past,
said their friendship is an additional element of their musical set that
makes performing easier.
"He's great to play with musically because he's such a funny guy. . He's got
a great sense of humor. . We're friends first and foremost. . It's just
natural to play music because we get along," Jamieson said.
Stranovsky said Hovsepian's audience will experience an intimate feeling
because of Hovsepian's organic and sincere performance style.
"I think there's something personal about the way that he performs, I kind
of feel that it's the vibe as if you're . sitting around a camp fire . just
sharing something kind of naturally beautiful, so I think that's what the
audience can expect, although unfortunately there is no campfire,"
Stranovsky said.
Published October 19, 2010 in A&E, Music
From: A. Papazian
Singer-songwriter to perform honest, original songs at Fowler Museum
By CHRISTINE GRACE RENDON
October 20, 2010
Fourth-year ethnomusicology student Cameron Hovsepian will perform his
original acoustic music at Fowler Museum tonight. Hovsepian will be
performing along with ethnomusicology alumnus Jake Jamieson, who will be
playing percussion. Hovsepian has recently performed in Spring Sing in
Pauley Pavillion, a larger, less intimate venue than that of tonight's
perfomance.
Nestled in the courtyard of Fowler Museum, fourth-year ethnomusicology
student Cameron Hovsepian strummed the strings of his guitar in an impromptu
and unplugged music session. This scene was in preparation for a photoshoot
for the upcoming Fowler Out Loud season.
While Hovsepian remains no stranger to UCLA's music scene, the brief musical
interlude was enough to give his small audience a taste of what he is
planning to play in his upcoming performance at the Fowler Museum.
UCLA ethnomusicology alumnus Jake Jamieson will accompany Hovsepian on
percussion and drums for the performance.
"The music is kind of a mix, a little (bit) of soul, a little bit of blues,
a little bit of funk," Jamieson said.
Hovsepian's musical inclination began when he was a young boy, writing songs
with no vocalist to perform with him. When no singer emerged to vocalize his
melodies, he picked up the mic himself. Since then, Hovsepian has released
his EP "Tonight at Noon," sung for students at Kerckhoff Coffee House and,
this past school year, performed in front of thousands of Bruins at one of
UCLA's largest musical productions, Spring Sing.
"When you do Spring Sing, everyone is watching everything you do . whereas
Kerckhoff . you can just get away with so much, you can go longer on these
chords, you can make up verses if you want. It lets you try stuff out. .
Fowler is somewhere in between, where you make a cleaner, more organized
show," Hovsepian said.
According to Jamieson, the words to Hovsepian's musical mash-up of genres
are drawn from his own personal experiences.
"He's got a great voice with a lot of character and he's got lyrics to
match, which is speaking from personal experience about a lot of interesting
things. His lyrics are definitely poetic and the music is fun and upbeat,"
Jamieson said.
The personal atmosphere of Fowler is also attractive to Hovsepian, who said
performing at the museum space will be a chance to personalize his upcoming
set.
"It's really intimate, so I'll be glad that I'll be able to take my time. I
like talking about songs that I write and how songs come about, and if you're
playing at a coffee shop with all this noise, no one really cares, but they're
forced to listen to me," Hovsepian said.
Hovsepian said he looks forward to performing in a more personal
environment.
"You can still fit 100 and something people, and it'll still feel intimate,"
Hovsepian said.
Hovsepian's ability to capture an audience based on his simple and natural
approach is what sets him apart from his counterparts, said Sara Stranovsky,
coordinator of Fowler Out Loud, recalling the earlier photo shoot with
Hovsepian.
"He's got the kind of hook ability, kind of the acoustic rock stuff. I say
'hook' like in terms of catchy and upbeat . but he's also got his own
heartfelt lyrics, his own style as well. He's got an ability to be playful,"
Stranovsky said.
According to Stranovsky, Hovsepian's vocal talents focus more on the
simplicity in his rhythm rather than an extravagant style.
"There's something more about sharing than flashy performing. . I think he
has a natural calm to his performing," Stranovsky said.
Jamieson, who has both performed and recorded with Hovsepian in the past,
said their friendship is an additional element of their musical set that
makes performing easier.
"He's great to play with musically because he's such a funny guy. . He's got
a great sense of humor. . We're friends first and foremost. . It's just
natural to play music because we get along," Jamieson said.
Stranovsky said Hovsepian's audience will experience an intimate feeling
because of Hovsepian's organic and sincere performance style.
"I think there's something personal about the way that he performs, I kind
of feel that it's the vibe as if you're . sitting around a camp fire . just
sharing something kind of naturally beautiful, so I think that's what the
audience can expect, although unfortunately there is no campfire,"
Stranovsky said.
Published October 19, 2010 in A&E, Music
From: A. Papazian