Program
Final
Program
(Mountain
Time
Zone)
FRIDAY,
OCTOBER
7
1:00-2:30
-
Session
1:
"I
Dream
of
an
Imaginary
Time"
:
Literary
Responses
to
Billy
Joel
Novelists
and
poets
write
back
to
Billy
Joel,
elaborating
the
wider
artistic
and
cultural
resonances
of
his
life
and
work
from
a
multiplicity
of
perspectives.
- 1:00 pm: "Bee Girl," Steven Hayward (Colorado College)
- 1:30 pm: "Space, Time, Storytelling, and Billy Joel's State of Mind," Michael Sawyer (Colorado College)
- 2:00 pm: "Billy Joel is Not My Lover," Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer (University of Toronto)
2:30-3:00
-
Coffee
Break
3:00-4:30
-
Concurrent
Sessions:
Session
2A:
"For
All
Our
Mutual
Experience":
Billy
Joel
and
Professional
Discourse
Billy
Joel's
music,
lyrics,
and
performances
have
shaped
not
only
his
own
professional
career,
but
also
other
professions
and
careers.
This
panel
explores
such
avenues
from
business,
medical,
legal,
and
musical
perspectives.
- 3:00 pm: "Twenty-First Century Patronage: Billy Joel's Madison Square Garden Franchise," Stan Soocher (University of Colorado, Denver)
- 3:30 pm: "If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You): Billy Joel Lyrics in Medical and Legal Scholarship," Seuli Bose Brill (Ohio State University Medical Center) & Christian H. Brill (Mallory Law Office, LLC)
- 4:00 pm: "My Lives: Greatest Hits and the Arranging of a Career," Ryan Raul Bañagale (Colorado College)
Session
2B:
"This
Is
My
Life":
Individual/Personal
Perspectives
Despite
its
mass
appeal,
Billy
Joel's
music
resonates
within
us
as
individuals.
In
this
session
three
individuals
consider
issues
of
class,
gender,
taste,
and
theology,
all
seeking
answers
to
questions
surrounding
how
we
personally
interpret
Joel's
works.
- 3:00 pm: "Working-Class Masculinity and Martyrdom in the Music of Billy Joel: An Autoethnographic Exploration," Bernard Armada (University of St. Thomas)
- 3:30 pm: "Disavowing Billy Joel: Taste Shaming and 'Schlock' Fandom," James Deaville (Carleton University)
- 4:00 pm: "Jesus and Billy Joel: A Musicotheology," Amanda Udis-Kessler (Colorado College)
4:30-5:30
-
Opening
Reception
5:30-7:00
-
Dinner
On
Your
Own
7:00-9:30
-
Session
3:
"Sleeping
with
the
Television
On":
Billy
Joel
and
Film
Two
significant
moments
in
Joel's
career
are
both
inextricably
linked
to
film:
The
Stranger
(1977),
influenced
by
film
noir,
established
Joel
as
a
household
name,
while
Joel's
history-making
concerts
in
the
Soviet
Union
a
decade
later
became
the
subject
of
a
1987
documentary.
- 7:00 pm: Pre-screening talk: "The Stranger: A Film in Black & White," Thomas MacFarlane (New York University)
- Film Screening: A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia, A Documentary
- Post-screening discussion, hosted by Thomas MacFarlane (New York University) and Dylan Nelson (Colorado College)
SATURDAY,
OCTOBER
8
9:30-10:30
-
Concurrent
Sessions:
Session
4A:
Workshop
&
Roundtable
Discussion:
"Song
and
Artifact"
Each
time
Billy
Joel
began
working
on
material
for
a
new
album
he
prepared
a
song
notebook.
Working
through
the
pages,
he
would
capture
a
number
of
lyrical
ideas,
eventually
polishing
them
into
songs,
until
the
final
lyrics
of
a
complete
album
would
fill
the
last
pages
of
a
standard
notebook.
Analyzing
and
interpreting
Joel's
52nd
Street
and
Storm
Front
notebooks
reveals
the
artistic
process
that
lead
to
the
final
commercial
recordings.
- Jason Hanley, Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Kathryn Metz, Manager of Education Outreach, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Session 4B: "Music Set Me on Fire": Billy Joel, Rock and Roll, and the Past
Just
like
anyone
else,
Billy
Joel's
past
has
had
a
profound
impact
on
his
life
and
career.
This
panel
explores
Joel's
youth
and
the
future
it
pointed
towards,
including
thoughts
on
his
formative
years,
shared
by
an
early
bandmate,
and
a
wider
look
at
the
way
his
piano-based
style
fit
into
larger
musical
and
aesthetic
shifts
in
the
journey
from
rock
'n'
roll
to
rock
music.
- 9:30 am: "Billy Joel as a Teenager," Jim Bosse (member of Billy Joel's high-school rock band)
- 10:00 am: "Billy Joel, Piano Culture, and Rock's Road Not Taken," Jonathan Bellman (University of Northern Colorado)
10:30-11:00
-
Coffee
Break
11:00-12:00
-
Concurrent
Sessions:
Session
5A:
"It
Was
Always
Within
You":
Interdisciplinary
Approaches
Billy
Joel's
music
can
be
approached
from
a
variety
of
perspectives.
Combining
sociology,
gender
studies,
and
embodiment
with
musical
and
lyrical
analysis
reveals
the
ways
Joel's
songs
work
for
us
and
challenge
us.
- 11:00 am: "Billy Joel and the Language of Pecuniary Aspiration," Thomas Kernan (Roosevelt University)
- 11:30 am: "'She's Got A Way': The Gendered and Physical Embodiment of Interpreting Billy Joel in American Sign Language," Elyse Marrero (Florida State University)
Session
5B:
"Some
Folks
Like
to
Get
Away":
Characters
and
the
City
Billy
Joel's
songs
overflow
with
characters
and
the
places
they
inhabit.
By
reconsidering
Joel's
catalog
in
this
way,
new
insights
are
revealed
about
his
compositional
process,
the
reception
of
his
work,
and
the
real-life
responses
of
the
people
who
live
in
those
places.
- 11:00 am: "The Faces of the Stranger: The Many Personas of Billy Joel," Andrew Aziz (San Diego State University) & Haley Dercher (Independent Scholar)
- 11:30 am: "'Nothing Rhymes with "Bethlehem"': City Branding Schemes and the Strategic Deployment of Billy Joel's 'Allentown,'" Sarah Messbauer (University of California, Davis)
12:00-1:00
-
Lunch
On
Your
Own
1:00-2:30
-
Concurrent
Sessions:
Session
6A:
"And
Your
Mementos
Will
Turn
to
Dust":
Time,
Nostalgia,
and
History
Many
of
Billy
Joel's
songs
deal
with
the
past
in
ways
that
enhance
both
our
understanding
of
and
our
emotional
connections
with
it.
This
panel
examines
Joel's
use
of
nostalgia
and
history
as
he
explores
particular
places
and
times.
- 1:00 pm: "Your Special Island: Locality, Nostalgia, and the Suburban Blues in Billy Joel's New York Songs," Heather Laurel (Rock and Roll Forever Foundation)
- 1:30 pm: "Time Traveling With the Prophet Billy Joel," Jessica Sternfeld (Chapman University)
- 2:00 pm: "From History in Song to Song About History," Joshua S. Duchan (Wayne State University)
Session
6B:
"All
It
Takes
is
Inspiration":
Billy
Joel,
in
Theory
Examining
Billy
Joel's
music
from
the
perspective
of
music
theory
highlights
the
songwriter's
compositional
proclivities
and
tendencies,
while
considering
his
music
from
the
tradition
of
art
and
cultural
criticism
illuminates
the
ways
the
songs
garner
mass
appeal.
- 1:00 pm: "Form, Lyrics, and the 'Short-Short-Long' Pattern in Billy Joel's Music," Don Traut (University of Arizona)
- 1:30 pm: "Deceptive Love: The Impact of Deceptive Motion in Billy Joel's 'She's Got A Way' and 'She's Always A Woman,'" Sean Atkinson (Texas Christian University)
- 2:00 pm: "How Art Imitates Life: Ricoeur, Narrative, and Billy Joel," Ryan Sargent (Metropolitan State University of Denver)
2:30-3:00
-
Coffee
Break
3:00-4:30
-
Concurrent
Sessions:
Session
7A:
"Big
Shot":
The
Art
of
Concert
Photography
Photographers
discuss
personal
approaches
to
concert
photography
through
the
specific
lens
of
Billy
Joel's
career.
They
share
personal
anecdotes
and
professional
insights
about
the
art
of
capturing
live
performance
on
film.
- Photographers Kevin Mocker, Bryan Oller, Larry Hulst, and Todd Caudle
Session
7B:
"Well,
We
All
Have
a
Face":
Comparisons
and
Contrasts
Billy
Joel
and
his
music
are
often
understood
and
interpreted
alongside
other
musicians
and
traditions.
These
presenters
offer
comparisons
and
contrasts
with
Bruce
Springsteen,
The
Beatles,
and
folk
music.
- 3:00 pm: "Movin' Out on Thunder Road: Images of Ambition, Escape, and Authenticity in Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen," Jack Sheinbaum (University of Denver)
- 3:30 pm: "Behind the Nylon Curtain: Revealing Billy Joel's Inner Beatle," Jeremie Michael (Florida State University)
- 4:00 pm: "'The Downeaster "Alexa"': Billy Joel's Folk Elegy for the Atlantic Marine Fisheries," A. Morgan Jones (Waterford Kamhlaba United World College)
4:45-5:45
-
Keynote
Event
-
"Take
the
Phone
off
the
Hook":
A
Conversation
with
Billy
Joel
Join
us
for
a
live
phone
interview
with
Billy
Joel!
Conference
co-chairs
Ryan
Bañagale
and
Joshua
S.
Duchan
will
ask
Mr.
Joel
questions
submitted
by
conference
presenters
and
get
his
take
on
the
inspiration,
composition,
and
lasting
impact
of
his
music.
5:45-7:30
-
Dinner
On
Your
Own
7:30-9:00
-
"Streetlife
Serenader":
A
Concert
of
Billy
Joel's
Music
"Streetlife Serenader" is a song about making music on one's own terms. This concert of works from across Billy Joel's career features arrangements for solo piano and guitar; vocal solo and chamber chorus; guitar quartet and bluegrass band. Faculty, students, and friends of the Colorado College music department offer a dynamic--and at times unexpected--musical conclusion to the conference.
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Last updated: 01/25/2021