On October 23rd and 24th, 2006, a group made up of students and community members from North Haven, Maine, put on a performance of Deerhoof's 2004 album, Milk Man. It was part ballet, part surreal performance art, and part rock show.
The album was transcribed and arranged by Courtney Naliboff, the music and drama teacher at North Haven Community School. The school, which is the smallest K-12 public school in Maine, is located on an island 12 miles off the coast, in Penobscot Bay. Courtney also directed the orchestra, made up of herself, local band The Toughcats, NHCS students, and musicians from the community.
Ken Jones, the art and P.E. teacher at NHCS, and also an accomplished dancer, choreographed the performance.
The original concept for Milk Man came from drawings by the artist Ken Kagami. Deerhoof wrote songs inspired by the drawings and turned them into the album Milk Man. In turn, the album inspired Naliboff's idea of a Milk Man ballet.
The members of Deerhoof, John Dieterich, Satomi Matsuzaki and Greg Saunier, were able to take time from their busy touring schedule to come out to North Haven and watch the last few rehearsals (giving pointers and encouragement to all involved) and the sold-out performances. They loved it!
"It was like seeing our baby all grown up!", says Saunier. "It was so crazy, Courtney and the gang took our songs into their hearts and just ran with it, without any help from us. Through their vision and hard work Milk Man became something so much grander than we ever thought it could be."
With banjos, suitcases, synths, guitars, glockenspiel and even a horn section, the orchestra did a great job capturing the complexity and intrigue of Deerhoof's music. And the dancers, sharing the stage with balloons, yarn, and an ominous bowling ball, brought down the house.
Words - buyolympia.com - www.buyolympia.com