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Student acto By ELIZABETH CARPENTER 1 Staff Writer \ Eliot Dash is supremely confident, motivated < anrl inct a touch cra7v After all he'* an actor 5 which puts him among the ranks of those famous for being somewhat off the beam. J "Actors are mad," he said. "They're nuts. 1 There is no sanity involved." Dash should know. The 27-year-old MFA stu- ^ dent has devoted nearly the past decade to his ( craft. As a communications major at the Univer- ] sity of Maryland, he soaked up all the performing classes available, knowing already what j direction he was headed in. From there, Dash headed west for a four-year stint in Los Angeles, a city that seems to be the j proverbial pot of gold for fresh young actors < looking across the rainbow from the East. Actu- " ally, the city chews them up and spits them out { \t an alarming rate. That didn't faze Elliot Dash, , ?/ho ont an noent within two months of his move ""v e>~v ? ? and landed work on soaps such as "The Bold , and the Beautiful" and "Days of Our Lives." , Despite his success in California, Dash felt the t Sun-60: worn. College Press Service "Take Me I brought the James Brown may be the hard- close, est-working man in show business, What wot but Sun-60 singer, songwriter and nut that mu trumpeter Joan Jones is easily the ; hardest-working woman in rock. uIt's JUS Wrapping up a five-month stint of Jv It's i hard touring punctuated by a three- . . week work break to film a video for UlUSICiai the single "Never Knew God," Jones and the band were within days ???? of returning to Los Angeles when For Jones ; Qhf? nut nsirlp a hfnrt rnlrt anrt thp Davirt Rnc You don't have to venture onto campus to n<l catch a glimpse of the six-member band. Imp ot> has played at Rockafellas', Nikki D's and is mo featured regularly at Frank's Hot Dogs. Even Columbia might be too limiting for cht this aspiring group of musicians. Imp has played at Lander and Erskine colleges and in act Greenwood, all of which are north of Colum- pet hia. 1 " w what does Imp sound like? Judge for 'f- ?5^-. so ak it s - * ->h<;urd to categorize he; accompanying strained voice to answer. It's deliver a knockout performance at done, the Varsity Theater in Baton Rouge, "It's all n La. the set, seem Despite her condition, which tive relaxing caused her usually crystal-clear instead of pt vocals to sound like a cross between "It keeps yo the highs of Dale Bozzio and the one gooses < sultry come-hither of Brenda Vac- there tonigh caro, Jones stepped out from behind looked up al the microphone during the encore to awful, and h sing, a capella, the last verse of ing, and I > firm qrlrlc vqi uuvtu T til yoi By TIM KAUFFMAN ski Staff Writer the ~ alk There's a new band slowly emerging on the Columbia music scene, and chances are UCI you've probably seen the members roaming wh around campus. thp The band name is Imp, and each member is a USC student. ?r dedicates evel of acting there f - ? vasn't up to par and iecided he needed a itrong classical base. "To be like Mor>an Freeman, Denzel ft Washington or anyxxly prominent, you tave to study your f ^ Ine, but soon,' you'll -?- ~-v> nnt r?f u;r>rt " Dash's search for a school that could provide ;olid training ended with a scholarship offei rom USC, which has an arrangement with the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., thai dlows for MFA student internships. This conlection is a strong selling point for the program ind the main reason Dash chose USC. "Having the Shakespeare Theatre on youi esume is very impressive," Dash said. "There is 10 problem in recruitment here. Sometimes, 1 hink I need to watch my Ps and Qs because m> an, band wil lome" before the band laughing, too. It gets song to a screaming The other side of t rrpafivp snark thai < lid drive a performer to to write. Although J( ch into a performance? split songwriting an it rock-and-roll. We're pretty luc jretty natural, and we're all got is to do whatever we want." -J and fellow songwriter fairly evenly, on "Or so, there is no easy second CD, Jones jusi uic wdy uiinys die lucaimciilc imi i di going process, espec erves," Jones said after piece group with ting much more diminu- members. ; on a backstage couch "When you feel >unding the stageplanks. band, it'll always fei u fresh. I mean, every- to break up," Jones one another. I went out this band, there's te it, and the bassist just David and I fight s< t me and laughed. I felt keeps everything mo^ ere they were all laugh- Not surprisingly, J vas getting into it and songwriting on a gut iety to, expe jrself simply because that narrows your "0 11," said junior Erica Seabring, who plays we clarinet and sings. "It's like if you're not wr wing yourself to work outside of any parjlar genre. It's kind of silly because that's tw at we like to do is explore." bo Since Imp was formed in August 1992, re have been many lineup changes. Jen "0 >ore was added as violinist, and Michael nic mrick, former singer for Greenville's Piv- Re joined the band as second guitarist a wf ?nth ago. thr Seabring said the band is not afraid of So inge. 'I don't think any of our songs are ever go ually set," she said. "They're always per- in ual works in progress." mc Ben DuBard, bassist, agreed. Ne 'Sometimes, I'll actually play a song for long that I'll start making up parts in my sh< id," explained DuBard, a sophomore. Nc life to craft classmates are so talented." Dash's classmates have high praise for him. Fellow MFA student Lie Ferguson calls him "a very disciplined actor who takes his craft very seriously" and who has "an aura that would sweep someone of their feet onstage or off." Dash's confidence in himself and commitment to his field can be seen in his appreciation fipr those instructors such as New York City director I Mansoor Najeellah, who "shoot straight from the Lin " CKornpfflrio*ir?oll\; tab-inn tKinoc in etriHo nijj. v^iiaiaviu i^uvaii) iciis.ni x uuu^o 111 ouiuv, Dash said he appreciated Najeellah's comment that his recent performance in the "Cherry Orchard" was good but that "the reviewers were : much too kind." Besides the drive to perfect his acting, Dash : has the energy to take voice lessons, study dance t and tackle social issues. According to dance student Courtney Dudley, he's working on becomi ing a liason between the environmental group SAGE and the NAACP to combat environmental racism. Dash would even like to start a doo-wop > singing group. [ This renaissance man is honing his skills and t is about ready to take on the world. Watch out! 7? a mission you going." another band that derived most of he nerves is the creative energy from internal te Irives the band sions: the Rolling Stones, mes and Russo "It's just rock-and-roll," she sa d vocal duties We're pretty lucky actually. Ii pretty natural, and we're all go ky actual- enough musicians to do whatev [)d enough we want " Russo is indicative of the wea )i laieni witnin aun-ou. ne nanui [oan Jones ,is share ?f vocals, plays le ???? guitar and tickles the keyboards lly," the band's addition to his songwriting. He si intimated that that, unlike Jones, he finds more ways an easy- his inspiration to write in literati ially in a five- than in the stress of the band rel such creative tionship. "For me, I think I get most of r like starting a inspiration from books, from st el like it wants ries," Russo said. "It's not much said. "Even in first. I kind of half-conscious nsion. I mean, write, constructing the songs in r Dmetimes. That head. Plus, being on the road, t zing, tnougn. reaaing neips cnew up a tot ones likens her miles. It leads you back to a lot level to that of other thoughts." riments in mi >ne of the few things I really enjoy is when for the 're playing a song and I know it and begin Dec. 3 iting in my head." Iron pa Imp's other members include DuBard's yvitf in brother, Ken, on guitar and Seabring's Ken ?> yfriend, Cullen Nolan, on drums. The band's debut album, to be titled either 0 "elt . , .. j ^ i r ,tT~* _ tr? min< iverisn uie unia tannage worm or c,cu)us," will be out in two weeks on Barnyard "I d" cords, according to the band. The album, straigh lich features 11 songs, was recorded in because ee days and mixed in two at the Lexington to do tJ und Lab by Bob Moore. Avei With an album to promote, Imp plans to money on tour during the winter break, playing acconjj cities such as Atlanta, New Orleans, Rich>nd, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and mer -v w York City. ecluiPIT The band will stay busy until then with and m: 3ws scheduled for Oct. 25 in Greenwood, band c< >v. 5 in Atlanta, Nov. 6 at the Golden Spur BEA HERO Be A Teacher Teachers have the power to wake up young mindsto make a difference. Reach for that power. Be a teacher. Be a hero. To find out how to become a teacher, call 1-800-45-TEACH // I went from house to house, gettinganyfoodor clShesthey would give me. Then I handed it all ? out to any needy m peopleintiie 5 neighborhood.^^ -Jack Powell ? SgfafenMD of !re Jock Powell is one of the little answers to laflie big problems facing every community in ny America. And because there are more peoat pie than problems, filings will get done. All i . J d.:__ n J.:._ D you nave 10 ao is someininy. uu un/imy. ny M*. he Points of Light of * fOOHOATIOM Of Do iMMthlng good. Fool something rool. usic scene : Amnesty International Benefit and at Frank's Hot Dogs with the Virgin ints, another local band. 1 the addition of two more members, uBard said he thinks that the old days ing on stage and playing what comes i are becoming extinct, link you probably won't see as much t ahead improvisation as you used to e we just have too many instruments bat now," he said. raging between $25 and $50 per gig, is always a big problem for the band, ing to Nolan, a senior, who was for in Isabelle's Gift. Paying for new tent, rent on practice space and gas aintenance for the tour van keeps the instantly in debt, Nolan said. ^