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Features I Friday, November 6, 1987 THE GAMECOCK 3 |j? ?n i < f / r ! (; i i * *' ? i \ \ < . . : Let's Actix \ at local clu I By FERDOUS IIAMJI Assistant features editor | ^ Just two weeks after Mitch Easter formed the original Let's Active trio in 1981, the band opened for R.E.M. Six years and three records later, Easter's music is more rocking, his lyrics more personal and tangible, and all the progress is coming to Greenstrccts Monday. This past year's Big Plans For Everybody is proof of the progression. In contrast to earlier tracks such as "Crows On A Phone Line" and "Waters Part," both off the album Cypress, everything on Big Plans hits home, probably because of a new driving force ? the world according to an older and wiser Mitch Easter. "I did a lot of that record by myseu, taster saia. i nai reauy wasn't my design, but I mean that's just kind of the way it was." Easter wrote all the music, played most of the instruments and produced the album. He also coproduced R.E.M.'s first EP and first two albums. "Some of the songs 1 played drums on because I figured I could do thorn." Fasfpr snifl "I don't think we could have made that record with the original threepiece band." And who was that? Well, things kicked off in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Easter on guitar, his exgirlfriend Faye Hunter on bass and Sara Romweber on drums. R.E.M.'s manager Jefferson Holt chose the name, Let's Active, from a list of possibilities compiled by the band. ( The first record was a six-song EP, Afoot, followed by the intricate and amuiuuu!) y-ypress. Soon after Cypress, Romweber left the combo, and Hunter quit while Big Plans was in the making. "It was just because of the different way everybody plays," Easter explained. Consequently, the album became a Mitch Easter alter ego, and the new line-up includes Angie Carlson on guitar and keyboards and Eric Marcliol An rirnmc ciuai UII ui uiio? But there is a still more interesting aspect of this progressive group besides the name. It is one of the few "alternative" Southern bands that has stayed down South . . . successfully. Classifieds 0 w mm Tsi i Greate ? ETOflMfl -Aocfa M. I * GREATER COLUMN 16* FASTEST ff EMPLOYMENT CEf IKI TliC MATinM in inu IVM ivih. i S> ? tVKnNT V isL,am / j?a& -^- - Z^-ic^- -f^ ' Tfe~: - I !$sl 'e to play b Monday In 1979, Easter and Hunter moved to New York to make it big, but soon were back home in his self-made studio, activating. "1 got a lot more done when 1 came back. I don't really believe in, like, diving into a scene and getting influenced by it," Easter said. "I mean, 1 figure that that sort of comes out of your head. But some people feel like they need to be near what they think is 'happening.' "Some people are way more inspired by New York than their home town so they go there, and it makes sense for them." Still, Easter and friends have done their share of intense traveling, in LIUUIII5 u LUUI U1 l.ll^UUUI Willi LLI1U and The Bunnymen. They also opened for R.E.M. on that band's 1986 tour. "No matter where you're from you've got to like go out and play in other parts of the country before your group really means anything." As for the quest for national sueppcc Pncfpr hac n ori#?vanpp ahnnt thp American music scene. "The commercial radio scene is so horrible. That's the problem with America, everything's kind of radio and radio keeps everything kind of dead. "America's bad about, like, having the same four or five people be huge forever." Being a progressive musician, Easter says he is always looking down the road and has some big plans for 1988. "We're getting ready to make a record, and I hope it'll be out in February." Will it be another Mitch Easter compilation? He laughs. "I'm going to write the songs. "Up to now our records have been done really casually . . . there weren't like really formal sessions, but this new record's going to be done a little bit more the way other ~~ ~ i a,. :? i#?o ^ o UU II. 11 S g\JIU? IU Ut I1IVV, iX session with a beginning and an end to it." The band is hoping to mix the album in London at the legendary Abbey Road studios. Meanwhile, they'll be in Columbia Monday night. Campus Notices For Sale Help Wanted Housing Lost & Found Personals Services p Columbia 1 ctdn/r\rvn n>v/\nrvnc^D/z? rJhjap; abut' >IA IS THE OWING ^*5S5SH ^ Columbia has ym AmM mcst )m% ;uy in botk |fv ?89 < fcjM ).$ |H Bl 1, | - WrS ym Mm fylSL'l M sMifi 1 liill < w: v: : 9H js -m- Jsp ;flr* 7JM _ ?|*?k flBBBBBBK ^^SaaMTiW 311 HL *!' ::; wIe JflPl^w ' . TEafcj^y v-^^^Wigl^C^lil^BBRfc' ^MLHi TJ^Hr" '-" ' ! IMP XjwWHBEBQBKWIv^^^VWJUB^F ^ JFiL^ * m \ mmWbFJHKro - ^mVWMr* ktxJ^&tk ?BmH| Let's Active's Mitch Easter is actively progressive. L-L I i | ^ H|W" |' L \ j||^B 1 ; ^Hfll Ifff^^^^HT ' i; llB iliSggeL, fJttSB 1 ."- rTTT^^HHssnM ' ^B8*wP 8=^Hps| a .. " . Music in the rafters IJSC's chamher orchestra onened its second season Tuesdav evening at th Donald Porlnoy, director of orchestral activities. THERE- ARE ENOUGH m IN ROW / * OOUNIYRJWCUWW ID COVER IZ _ f; mmi helps. i "S*ass VT J Dancers to show at Dn 8y TAMARA WILLIS Features editor The USC Dance Company will be performing its fall dance concert FriJay through Sunday at Drayton Hall. The concert will feature two guest :ompanies and Wren Cooke, a guest :horeographer. It will also feature works by two student choreographers. The Benedict College Dance Company, under the direction of Harold Odom, will perform a jazz-African number. Odom, who will be featured in the piece, is a former member of USC's Dance Company and a Master ~c r:..~ ^ r u. i * ui riiic /\i is ^luuuaic ui uic uicctuc and speech department. The Columbia College Dance Company will perform a moderndance work entitled "It's Their World, We Just Live In It." A jazzmodern work, choreographed by Cooke to a Rolling Stones' tune, will olcn hp nprfnrmpH I ihhu Rmirnp Alewine, a graduate of USC's dancc company, also choreographed a classical ballet. Journalism sophomore Dago Gonzalez and MFA graduate Jamie Tucker will be performing in works they choreographed themselves. Gonzalez will perform a jazz work to Latin and Mexican music, and Tucker will dance to music by Manhattan Transfer. "Both students arc very talented. Gonzalez's piece ends the show. It is hot." said Susan Anderson, artistic director for the company. Susan Anderson, who teaches classical ballet and jazz, said she started the dance program 13 years ago. The group has about 40 members, and they must audition at the beginning of each semester. I : % e Kbenezer Lutheran Church under the I * *?"7 A I 4 il -*?..,.,4. \ p 5 mm mm family w6hkt in the cardun& fid atiam1a in the region. perform | ayton Hall I "We look at the beginning of every L semester and decide who we want to use. It (IpnriHk nn wriuht wain and SS whether or not the dancer is in shape. | F or example, a female dancer needs 1-?^ = to be 10 pounds under what is con- bftf: sidered to be her normal weight to be * ^ asthetically pleasing." [ Anderson said the dancers rehearse L - _r_\ about 20 hours a week and sometimes practice until 1 a.m. or 2 p"7!" a.m. before a big performance. She said most of the dancers had training ! p. when they were younger and love i "f what they do. ( ?t "We have some wonderful fe? students who have really worked v; hard. They arc very dedicated, and t ; ^ no one has complaincd about being tired or about the number of hours we have been rehearsing." [~ The dance company, a part of the theatre and speech department, is funded by Student Government, and f 4^ Anderson said they could not exist I 7 without it. L f "The theatre and speech depart- \ment has not supported the dance f company at all. Instead of opening t 1 doors, they have shut them. We are l; being cut off at every pass. Costumes RfS and everything else is left up to us," \ a ? -i ? 'j hsa AMlUCrSOIl saiu. | ''V Theatre and speech freshman Lori Jordan is dancing in two jazz pieces, kf her favorite form of dance. Jordan, te who has been dancing for two years, Pp said, "It's a lot of work but a lot of | ' Performance times are at 8 p.m. rV FriHau onrI QatnrHoii or*rt of 1 r* rr? I, I 1V?IAJ U1IU UUIUI WH J UIIU ai J jy.lll. | Sunday. Admission is $5 for the public, $4 for faculty, staff and senior citizens and $3 for students. jp: For information, call the box office p at 777-2551 from 12 to 5 p.m. p H I n 2 flRi| ^IIIB^H H I /-j 'am ttH 'MStmM' : r I ||M| : :: - lit -r j m> iBimiir ? <8 \ i Lgftjji v. nl Mfe . .' -v vc. B&Slii ! ?> J f /: u > % NATHAN WILLIAMS/Tht Gamecock direction of N1966,TWO rnmcam ur\ \ crwmr Ann A*ir rir lion xruo nw uihp tic CN1ARV OTt WERE. &TEP AM0N6 THE 88 MOST EFFECTIVE ^ v-"" ' ' v SCHOOISIN 'I 1 V TIJC NATION.