Author: kk132097

I visited the Milt Hinton gallery near Baruch, and it seemed very interesting. I am a musician myself, so seeing old photographs of music developing over time was very appealing to me. Hinton played with other famous musicians during his time such as Aretha Franklin. He performed in many huge concerts including Chicago’s world fair. Many of the pictures were taken at recording studios. A recording studio is a musician’s favorite place to be, because it is the place where all your ideas, projects and hard work come together and gain credibility as well as legitimacy. It is an awesome place to be, and is basically the only place for musicians to prove themselves rather than shows. His pictures within the studios portrayed a number of different musicians, being both Caucasian and African-American. This was very interesting to witness in comparison with his other work, which showed evident segregation of races during his time. Civil rights was still a problem, but music crossed all boundaries and allowed for people of all different races to work together and make magic happen.

Hinton’s life was very long and full of history. One of his photographs showed him paying for a very famous artist, who hosted a huge show in the United States. In the blurb on the side, Hinton noted that he had played for a 100-year remembrance show for the same conductor he played with 60 years earlier. This shocked me greatly and made me wonder how old Hinton really was. I found out he died at the age of 90 in 2000. He was highly respected for his work and production of music over his long years. He was one of the many African-Americans to break the color boundary in the form of music, but one of the few to keep first-hand accounts and photographs of the entire journey. Some his photographs were taken to be humorous, often making fun of the segregation in America. Hinton and his friends would stand in front of doorways that read: “COLOR ENTRANCE”, point at it, and smile for the camera. This type of humor illuminated Hinton’s well-being, laid-back attitude and joyous perception on life.

A lot of Hinton’s pictures were also photographs of his influences. He took a lot of snapshots of people he worked with, no matter what color their skin was. He traveled around the world, performing for anybody that would listen. He first started in small nightclubs and cafes. People around eventually realized his true talent and he then began being hired for bigger shows, contributions to producing and mixing, songwriting for movies and studio sessions. Everyone in the music business is closely related because of its small size. He therefore had many opportunities to play and work with all different kinds of musicians and was introduced to many different types of genres, which aided his own musicianship. Hinton was an originator and extremely important shaper of American culture, both music and racial interaction. He has influenced many and will continue to do so as his legacy lives on in the hearts of all types of musicians.

-Kristopher Kesoglides

 

Hello my name is Kris, and I’m an alcoholic …just kidding. (kinda)

I wasn’t supposed to be attending Baruch College. I received a rejection letter in the mail around early March along with two others from different colleges, all saying the same thing,  “Thank you for applying, unfortunately we will not be able to enroll you in our college, Good luck in the future”. That was fine with me, because I didn’t really want to attend anyway. However, that Friday, it just so happened that my band was the finishing act in the Baruch talent show. When I arrived there that night I was amazed at how awesome the venue that held the show was. It was the biggest stage I’ve ever performed on, and at that point I was upset that I wouldn’t be able to continue to perform on it in the future. A couple of weeks after the show, I received a voicemail from the admissions office, saying to disregard my rejection and that Baruch would gladly offer me admission into their institute. I guess my band rocked harder than we thought.
Side note: Right before performing I attempted to have the crowd chant: “Baruch, Baruch, Baruch is on fire!!” It became awkwardly after I said that, and so we just started our set afterwards, but I really think it can become a Baruch chant, because it’s catchy, and pretty clever in my opinion.

I was walking with my friend recently, and we passed an African-American gentleman. We stopped near him, and he proceeded to call me a “White racist cracker”. I was startled and very offended because I had made no type of comment or eye contact in order to trigger his attack. I replied and let him know that I had a very diverse family that included races of African-American, Latino and Asian, and that I was far from racist. I also added that his statement was completely contradictory, considering his own ethnicity. He asked me their names and as a reply I asked him his name… He said “none of your business”, and so I told him likewise and to keep moving. This story is significant to how I identify myself, partly through my family, which is very diverse and accepting to any type of person. This is also highlight the strange type of people you sometimes come across living in the city.

As a songwriter, I keep myself very busy, and I’m not so sure what I would be doing with my free time if I didn’t play music, so I’m happy that I do. It’s hard for me to take school seriously because it doesn’t really contribute to what I want to do in the future, which is to be a well-known songwriter in the music industry. Maybe a rockstar. That’d be pretty awesome.

I went to a fairly small high school, with about 60 kids in my graduating class. It really helped in establishing close-knit relationships, and made those four years a lot more bearable. I wasn’t a fan of Baruch at first because I didn’t think this was possible in a commuter school, but recently I’ve found that it’s not true at all. I guess it helps that when I meet people for the first time, I like to initially assume that each one is awesome. If everybody thought similarly, the world would be a lot happier. I am very spontaneous, and tend to push people to be the same way, change their lives for the better. One of my biggest fears is being just another person in the world, going to work, living to make money. I am determined to do so much more. I want to travel the world, and influence people. I don’t want to get caught up in routine society.

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Well, I think I’m probably the only person who might have to write a five-page paper, considering this is a pretty late post. That doesn’t scare me though, because I came from a high school that was relatively hard and made me work my ass off, even if my effort was on a minimal level.

I’m the type of person that does not want to go through life not being able to look back and be proud of what I have done or what I have become. I refuse to get caught up in society’s cyclical patterns. There is so much more to life than just being successful and making money. I’m not sure what it is, and it’s definitely different for everybody. In my pursuit of finding “it”, I plan to travel the world, experiencing different things, places, cultures and people, while having the time of my life. I love meeting new people, and I when I meet somebody I initially assume they are awesome, because I like to see the good in everybody. I am also a musician, which is my way of freely expressing myself, while staying productive. Music=Life.

One of my main concerns is taking school seriously. I had trouble in high school doing so, because I wasn’t studying what I wanted. However, I got through because it’s dumb not to graduate high school. In college though, you should be allowed to study something of your interest, something that will help you in your future. Core curriculum is bullshit, I already know enough math, history and other irrelevant shit to consider myself intelligent within those fields. I don’t need anymore of it. I don’t want to feel like I’m wasting my time, but right now I can’t help it. I am also concerned that people around me are studying something they don’t really want to. I hate to see that. My last concern is whether or not four years of college will be worthwhile.

The main difference between my high school experience and my college experience will definitely the student body. There are so many more people, and sometimes I feel like just another student. It’s a lot more like the outside world actually, because among billions of people, I’m just another person. However, this is a good thing, because it will motivate me even more to change that, and I will meet so many more people, with every one of them having a different story.

I think my first year at college will not change me. I believe I have already constructed a genuine character that can no longer be affected by my surroundings. If anything, changes will be minor. I think it helps that I am very optimistic and continue to open up to new people and experiences.