The O-town Scene

February 17, 2011

The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY

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Bout Time Roller derby enthusiasts start practicing in Oneonta After the birthday parties were over, the soda cups cleared away, the glow sticks scooped into moms’ purses, and the Taylor Swift music cut off mid-song on a rainy Saturday after- noon at Interskate 88 in Oneonta, a lone figure rolled out onto the wooden rink. Unlike the kids, tweens and teens who had been giggling and bouncing along to pop hits only moments earlier, this young woman had a seriousness about her, a sense of pur- pose. She also had a crash helmet. And knee pads. Roller derby practice was about to begin. Led by the irrepressibly cheery Sylvia Ryan, Oneonta’s roller derby squad is still young — not an infant, but maybe a pre- teen, in terms of its development. The group formed in Octo- ber, but as Sylvia explained, many of the people who showed up and showed interest weren’t experienced on skates, so practice and training has been vital to get the crew up to speed. From the USA Roller Sports website: DERBY TERMS ROLLER DERBY: a contact sport played on quad roller skates on an oval track. Each team has five players on the track: a pivot, a jammer and three blockers. BOUT: a roller derby match consisting of two 30-minute periods. JAM: a 2-minute-long portion of the bout during which jammers try to pass players on the opposing team. JAMMER: a skater who tries to move from the back of the pack to the front to score points. BLOCKER: a skater who tries to block opposing teammates from passing the pack. PACK: a group of skaters in tight formation. PIVOT: a skater who sets the pace for the pack. 14 O-Town Scene Feb. 17, 2011 Roller derby in One- onta started because of Sylvia, who decided to cheat on her first love — speed skating — with derby. “A lot of our races looked like derby any- way,” Sylvia joked. Although she hails from closer to Bing- hamton than One- onta, Sylvia has been making the trek to Interskate for years to practice. She said rink manager Eric Nelson, whose parents own the business, encouraged her to start up roller derby at Interskate. Saturday’s prac- tice began loosely, as about 12 women and a handful of men strapped on safety gear, chatted and began skating laps around the rink. Sylvia soon corralled the group into a single line, with skaters following one another in tight formation, hunkered down in proper derby form. “Women understand when we say, it’s like going to a public bathroom where you don’t want to sit down,” Sylvia ex- plained, demonstrating the squat. Shouts of “Bend those knees!” and “Get low!” rang out from Sylvia and her co-coach, Chris Vroman, whose experience with roller derby in Maine has helped the Oneonta group learn the ins and outs of the sport. The warm-up was followed by a series of drills, instructing the derby guys and gals on hip and shoulder checks (which are totally acceptable ways to knock over, push or slow down an opponent) and wheel checks (which are technically not permitted, but, as Sylvia explained, “It’s going to happen, so you should know what to do when it happens”). In pairs, the group also practiced whipping — slingshotting a teammate forward with a whip of the arm — and pushing, which is just what it sounds like. While these drills have the serious aim of readying these derby newbies for competition, the practice session is punctu- ated with whoops, giggles, cheers and squeals. According to Sylvia, laughter and merriment are common at practice, but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t working hard. “We do hurt for days afterward — it’s a workout,” Sylvia said with a smile. “It’s maybe a more serious sport than people realize.” The drills, instruction and workouts — Sylvia is working toward two practice sessions each week — are all aimed at getting skaters ready for competition. Sylvia and her colleagues are submitting the necessary paperwork to have Oneonta’s roller derby teams sanctioned by USA Roller Sports, the official national governing body for competitive roller sports in the United States. Once sanctioned, the group can begin competing and hosting bouts. Watching the determination on the faces of the men and women shoving and skating their way around the rink at Interskate, it’s not hard to imagine them meeting Sylvia’s goal of hosting a scrimmage or bout as early as springtime. “If you put time and effort into it, you get better — that’s all there is to it,” Sylvia explained matter-of-factly. Ladies and gents who want to add their muscle to Oneonta’s growing derby empire can contact Sylvia through the group’s Facebook. Practices are Saturdays, with skaters encouraged to also attend open skate Thursdays. _ Story and photo by Emily Popek Girl Power Playlist Some fun, sad and dance-worthy covers and originals to bring out your feminine side. “Nous Ne Sommes Pas Des Anges,” by Heavenly The 1960s style of French pop music known as “ye-ye” can be simplistic and cloyingly sweet. It can also be a lot of fun, as this bouncy 1996 cover by Brit-pop band Heavenly demonstrates. “Valerie” by Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse “Pretty Green” by Mark Ronson feat. Santogold This is a twofer, because hearing “Valerie” (in Walgreens, of all places) is what led me to “Pretty Green” -- both super fun, toe-tapping songs that make you want to have a mini dance party in your living room. Mark Ronson may be a genius. “Get Down Tonight” by Stereo Total Arguably not the French/German electro-pop group’s best track, but I find the brash- ness and silliness of this ridiculous cover positively charming. “Black Coffee” by Tricky A jittery, slightly paranoid version of a song made famous by Sarah Vaughan and Peggy Lee, punctuated with stabbing piano strokes and carried by Martina Topley- Bird’s mournful croon. “You Can Have It All” by Yo La Tengo YLT does happy and sad at the same time better than anyone. They can rock harder and sing prettier than this, but the melancholy shyness drummer Georgia Hubley brings to this song just hits me in the gut. “I Only Have Eyes For You,” by Grenadine Jenny Toomey’s quavering vocals and Mark Robinson’s jangly, reverberating guitar have made this haunting version a must for countless mixes I’ve made, dating back to ... well, when they were “mix tapes.” On cassette. “Birds and Ships” by Billy Bragg and Wilco, feat. Natalie Merchant Yes, “Mermaid Avenue” got overplayed a little bit in the ’90s. But this song is worth another listen. Merchant’s voice never sounded better than on this tearful Woody Guthrie tune that calls to mind folk ballads from the British Isles. “Single Girl, Married Girl” by Petra Haden Can’t get this tune out of my head. Recorded by The Carter Family for the legendary Smithsonian Anthology of American Folk Music in 1927, this is a simple, sad little song that becomes plaintive and elegant in Haden’s 2006 rendition. “Bird on the Wire” by k.d. lang Not a big fan of k.d. normally, but her 2004 album, “Hymns of the 49th Parallel,” devoted to music written by fellow native Canadians, is a gem. Lang’s powerful voice ups the ante on this sparse song, but stays true to the spirit of Leonard Cohen’s original. “You Do Something to Me” by Sinead O’Connor Off the 1990 Cole Porter tribute album “Red Hot + Blue,” this track packs all of Sinead’s vocal range — fierce, sweet, sad, seductive — into a short, classic package. “U.K. Girls (Physical)” by Goldfrapp An almost sinister version of Olivia Newton-John’s laughable paean to aerobics and/ or sex. You get the feeling that Alison Goldfrapp’s idea of “getting physical” might leave marks. _ Emily Popek

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