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f a . ■ a^ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, August 15,2003 'Section B ttT7 IX/TTV theyssidit CONTACT US M P , \/l I A LEO TOLSTOY^"What a strange ijlu Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I I I A I V | ■ / % sion it is to suppose that beauty E-mailusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com — * ™ ™* * .™ m means goodness.” -- - ^AALonolAATo’ Twelve bands to l/OCKapalOOZa piayf0rstudents (FILE PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD /THE GAMECOCK erbot hesh basist Dawson Huss gets into the groove, and I be performing with the rest of the band on August 19. OR A COMPLETE LIST OF COCKAPALOOZA BANDS PLAYING ON ISDAY SEE-PAGE X. BY MEGAN TREACY THE GAMECOCK This year students will have something to do during the downtime between mov ing in and the first day of class. Carolina Productions is hosting its first ever “Cockapalooza” on Aug. 19, an all-day con cert featuring 12 local and regional bands. The event, which will take place on Davis Field next to Longstreet Theater, fea tures a diverse mix of the talent in the Columbia music scene, from singer-song writers to hip-hop, as well as bigger re gional acts Danielle Howie, Evoka and the Working Title. “Hopefully people who are coming out for Danielle Howie will come and see the lesser known bands as well and those bands can gain some new fans,” Concert Commissioner Nate Welker said. The local bands chosen were those that have already begun to make a name for themselves on the Columbia scene. “We wanted to nurture the already existent buzz on some of these artists and hopefully help to take it further,” Welker said. The event was thought of last spring by then Concert Commissioner Josh Terry af ter he noticed the success of the annual Music Crawl, sponsored by the Free Times and downtown bars. “There hadn’t been much success with other welcome events and we wanted to plan something people would want to at tend,” Welker said. “All the bands were re ally receptive to the idea and wanted to get involved.” “Carolina Productions usually does pret ty good promotion for whatever they host and draw a good crowd,” said Tigerbot Hesh lead singer and guitarist Nate Austin. The idea is that the event will not only draw those who have heard about it in ad vance, but also those who happen to be walking around campus that day. “It’s like a lottery; who knows who’s go ing to be there listening to you,” said Bolt guitarist Heyward Sims. But he doesn’t consider that to be a bad thing. “It’s always a good idea to play in front of people who haven’t heard you be fore,” Sims said. Other bands agree with Sims and are ex cited about the exposure that this event will give them. “We just want to play for as many peo ple as possible,” Dejavoodoo bassist Bobby Dread said. Dejavoodoo is the one hip-hop act on the bill and Dread describes them as “a local super group looking to take over the world.” The six-piece band includes trained mu sicians that play a little bit of everything. “We play funk, rock, jazz, reggae. We do ev erything but country, but we might throw that in to mess people up,” Dread said. Everyone involved is hoping this event will stimulate more interest in the Columbia music scene. “Especially with the incoming freshman, they’ll be able to realize there’s a lot of good music in Columbia that they can go out and listen to, ” Austin said. “It’s a good idea to support live music in any form or function,” Sims said. ♦ CONCERT, SEE PAGE 5 Where the hell can I park around here? Don’t get stuck with having Jo pay the meter BY BRIAN RAY THE GAMECOCK • While you were gone this summer, USC slated four parking lots for sac rifice — one behind Preston College, a faculty lot and two student lots on Pendleton Street. But, be fore you have a hissy fit, they’ve added two lots be hind the Carolina Center, about 500 spaces each, and one 300-space lot at 1600 * PHOTO BY BRIAN Hampton St., four city ray/the gamecock blocks up from the BA building. Calculating the give-and-take, everyone’s coming out slight ly ahead despite our recent losses. If you’re new here or you’ve never had to deal with morning parking, you might opt for the ex pensive but more convenient parking option—a garage space or a bag of nickels, dimes and quar ters. But even quarters might not be the way to go, since some streets are lined with two-hour s meters instead of those handy five-hour ones. This article outlines the basics of parking, helping to find a cheap place to stash your car while you’re cramming for exams or scrawl ing out notes on your professors’ monologues. ♦ PARKING, SEE PAGE 7 Record shops would make Nietzsche proud BY J.P. STEPHENS ■'IIEUAMECOUK Nietzsche said without music, life would be a mistake. Keeping in mind Nietzsche’s pronounce ment, clearly one of the most im portant tilings we can know in life is where to find a good record store. Fortunately for us, around the USC area there are a number of vendors who are ably prepared to provide the oh-so-necessary soundtrack to our lives. Each music store has its own strengths, and certain tastes are going to be better represented at one store than another. In assess ing the stores, I looked for seven I albums that I felt represented the I bulk of popular musical tastes. Representing classic rock is Led Zeppelin “IV”; Minor Threat’s “Complete Discography” for punk; John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” covering jazz; Nickel Creek's Grammy-award-winning “This Side” enveloping bluegrass and folk simultaneously; and “Vertigo” from Charleston’s Jump, Little Children to make sur e that local artists have a pres ence. Finally, to represent top-40: Christina Aguilera’s “Stripped,” and 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Try in.” The stores were evaluat ed based on distance from cam pus, selection, average price of the seven CDs I looked for, and em ployee knowledge. The first store I went to was Papa Jazz. Located on Greene Street, Papa Jazz is an easy walk from campus. Of the seven CDs I sought, I found all but “Stripped” and “Vertigo,” though they did have “Magazine” by JLC, and oth er local artists were represented as well. The five CDs I found av eraged out to $14.17 a piece, giv ing them the second lowest prices of the stores I visited. The store is small, limiting selection some what, but if you’re looking for old vinyl or, unsurprisingly, jazz, there is no other store for you. The employees at Papa Jazz have forgotten more about music than you’ll ever know, so just try not to be intimidated. Located on the Rosewood ex tension by Blockbuster, Sounds Familiar offers something akin to a mall record store that’s not in a mall. They had everything I was looking for in stock, but had the ♦ RECORDS, SEEPAGES Banjos galore at parlor it PHOTO BY TRISHA jSHADWELL/THE GAMECOCH Musicians of all ages^and levels of expeiience play weekly. BY GABRIELLE SINCLAIR AND JOSH WATSON THE CAMECOCK Friday nights at Bill’s Pick’ll Parlor, in West Columbia, ban jos are tuned and guitarists ea gerly flat-pick familiar blue grass riffs, waiting for the weekly jam session to begin. 7:30 p.m. signals the start of this performance, which includes musicians of all ages and expe rience. Walking from my car, I could already hear a high tenor voice mix with that of a lead guitar, a youthful mandolin and maddening banjo accom panying it in the opening chords of “Leftover Biscuits.” Perhaps this is how Bill ■ Monroe, the father of bluegrass music, intended the art form to endure and evolve nearly three quarters of a century ago through improvisation and tra dition. Bill Wells, the owner of Bill’s Music Shop and Pickin’ Parlor for the past fifteen or so years, works to keep the great art of bluegrass alive by this weekly practice. Distance is no deterrent for jammers and enthusiasts who drive weekly from as far away as North Carolina, Charleston, Florence and Rock Hill. Some have been coming almost reli giously since the beginning, all those 15 years ago. The dividers in the large open building create six sepa rate rooms, giving a sense of in timacy. At only $2 to get in, it’s a wonderful bargain for what you get to hear, which are es sentially musicians playing their instruments for the love of music in its purest form. The jam session officially starts at 7:30 p.m. and runs through midnight. The night averages about 175 people and it gets kicking around 8:30. It winds down around 11 or so, but if you drive by around 2 or 3 a.m., you’ll probably still hear some of the hardcore bluegrass lovers in the parking lot rock ing out. Bluegrass, or “country mu sic in overdrive,” as described by Wells, is entirely acoustic and consists of six instruments: the guitar, fiddle, banjo, dobro, bass and mandolin. Bill’s Music Shop specializes in sell ing and repairing all of these, ♦ BLUEGRASS, SEE PAGE 3 ' Dining Guide, Page 8