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SITE OF THE DAY j Pain & Suffering I Jump f DANA TISHGARTEN Staff Writer p Jan. 25 marked Jump, Little s Children's CD release of Buzz, the o anticipated album that made its t debut at The Music Farm in c Charleston. The songs featured on the CD t were all recorded live at past concerts b from Georgia Theater (Athens, Ga.), a Zigg^s (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and c The Music Farm (Charleston, S.C.). b The six songs that make up the EP s are "I Can Feel You," "Easter Parade," an _ J n ? J . 99 U T x TT * 99 ? oaa oiae, innocent iyiss, v "Underground Elite" and "Opium f (Super Sexy Mix)." During a recent interview, band drummer Evan Bivins said the title of Buzz came about during a conversation at Denny's with Jay Clifford, Jump, Little Children's songwriter and lead vocalist. "We were trying to give out the whole idea of a live show," Bivins said. "Like on the back of the CD with the picture of wires and stuff. ' Ifs the whole electrical idea." That was just the beginning. The CD itself has lightning bolts with a bright yellow background to appear like something out of a comic book. The songs on the EP were hand Former US The gay voia JESSICA NASH Asst. Features Editor ? CWleee often seems a safe distance i from the working world. But every now and then, a flash of panicked realization leaves us painfully aware that nothing separates these four or five halcyon years from the next 40. Tige Watts is one USC graduate who has successfully made the realworld transition. He majored in journalism at USC and also did a stint as managing editor of The Gamecock. He and his partner Nigel Mahaffey are co-founders of In Unison, a gay and lesbian magazine. Their journal, produced right here in Columbia, circulates throughout the Southeast to a readership of at least 39,000. Watts has been in the journalism field now for 10 years, and working on In Unison for four. "If I didn't work with The Gamecock, I couldn't do this," Watts said. Watts and Mahaffey began planning their project in Sept. 1993. Their first issue hit the stands in Jan. 1994. "At that time, there were two publications like this in North Pow\1mo Vnif nnnn rr> QraifV? Pamlinfl W VXUU1UJO) MUb IXUiXVy XXX kA/ixwx Watts said "Also, a lot of publications were just for gay men. We gear ours towards men and women. That's one reason for the name." ] Watts adds that In Unison tries i to pay more attention to female issues. 1 After all, they aim for an expansive readership. 1 IK 0 WStr * Pictured are some of the winners and Maestro's of Tommorrow win Andrew Rye, Stephan Bednarzylt, (1 Yang, and Charles Ancheta. All * USC Symphony Orchestra concert 7?30 p.m. Call (803) 231-2222. ETC. 0 br joy: licked, Jonathan Gray explained. a "We just kinda recorded the three i hows," Gray said. "We had a vague a utline of what we wanted on there, ( tut it also depended on just what i ame out best, recording wise." 1 The sound quality on the EP can est be compared to an excellent t lootleg. The best ispect is the onversations letween the ongs. "Opium," yhich was eatured on Jump .ifflo CThilAwi'a irst CD, Licorice nea Demos, also bund a place on When isked why, the irst response ame hum Bivins. "It was so phat * H\]l vith the Gran Torino horns on t!" Bivins said. "We could not resist" 1 "It rocked so much harder and i >etter," Gray said. "Opium was the 1 >ne track on Lemon Tea Demos that ] ve recorded in a different studio, i Actually, it wasn't the one track, it C students e in the Souti The magazine's early days were j shaky, but Watts and Mahaffey are ] lot ones to give up. They began with i magazine format but switched to < i tabloid form in Jan. 1995. "During the first year, we lost ] !>30,000," Mahaffey said. "So in j January of 1995 we had to decide vhether or not to stop publishing. Ne decided to switch to the tabloid brmat, and In Unison was actually letter received. From '95 to '96, we j vent from publishing 2,000 copies i o 39,000 or more." "For ns it was more imnortant 1 hat this was out there," Watts said, referring to their decision to change brmats. In Unison is not only "out there." i [t is also expanding. After its first fear of publication, In Unison was he leading gay and lesbian magazine n South Carolina. By its third year, t was also the foremost publication )f its kind in North Carolina. Watts rnd Mahaffey foresee further growth. Right now, In Unison circulates primarily in North and South Carolina, eastern Georgia, and southern Virginia. "We need this kind of publication in the Southeast," Watts said. "If we expand at all, it will be westward ? to more homophobic areas like Mississippi and Tennessee." Mahaffey adds that they have readers wanting even more copies printed. But he and Watts have to 3ay no to the demands for now, until they get more advertisement^. Both Watts and Mahaffey believe that the tabloid's wider range of I SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK from this year's Young Artist's ners: (top) Oleg Proskurnya, bottom) Rebecca Stone, Jen-Jyi tinners will be featured in the on Thursday, February 20, at N WEDNESDAY Check Out Sc 171 : Buzz i vas one of two tracks that were d recorded differently from the rest..we y weren't excited about the album E Licorice Tea Demos)...we thought d t ("Opium") deserved a little bit d setter rendition." The other songs on Buzz shows fc he musical attitude of Jump, Little Children. A n _defining aspect n of the band b comes from their lj ability to tell a story through n their lyrics. This tl characteristic of 0 the band is best v shown in the s o n g o "Underground a Elite." h "Underground v Elite" is a tale 5 about graffiti on tl the bathroom cl walls of the Circle K?s and 711's of the Southeast. The t< song has a low rhythmic beat. Ward p Williams, usually on cello, makes C tiis guitar debut in this compelling v 3ong. In "Easter Parade," Clifford take active least i issues is the biggest factor in its ] popularity. "So many issues face us all in different ways," Watts says. "We i want to look at those as much as d possible. We want our readers to be aware of everything." I If In Unison has a focus, it is a v focus on diversity ? of readers and t issues. t "If s important that people know 1 gays and lesbians are out there, and ( that these issues do exist out there," t Mahaffey said. "We face issues like r those of the straight world." s Watts says that In Unison refutes the claims of conservative lawmakers, r who say gays and lesbians focus only ? on sex. Their alternative publication c is less extreme than some might like e to admit. I "We present a forum gays and a lesbians can be proud of," Watts says, t "In Unison is not just about sex. This legitimizes the community. We 'I present our articles just like any ^ other newspaper would. That's the r point." "The S.C. gay and lesbian e cnmmunitv is Droud of our magazine." x Mahaffey said. They never miss a c chance to say they appreciate us r starting it. That's enough support e right there so that well keep it up. c We're contributing something positive to the community." t In Unison is published monthly, g with wide distribution in the c Columbia area. Close to USC, the i magazine is available at Intermezzo, \ Metropolis, the Immaculate Consumption, and Capitol i Newsstand. i Leadersh by Shana Whitener The national Greek system has long been seen as a training ground for the nation's future leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, Elizabeth Dole and George Bush. Every president except one since 1900 has been a member of a fraternity, and 76 percent of US Senators are fraternity members. Developing leadership skills has always been one of the primary 4m )me Recent Music Releases CI is out elivers his nostalgic parable of a oung girl's revelation to stop the laster Parade. The chorus has a efinite sing-a-long quality with its ooby dooby do wah charm. Bivins doubles as a lyrical gangsta >r "Bad Side" and "Innocent Kiss." "Bad Side" is a song about a young lan's plea with the stars and the loon to be happy. The tune playfully ounces around the songs darker rrics. This type of contradiction is found ot only in their lyrics, but also in le band's voice, as Matthew Bivins larmonica and melodica) offers lead ocals in "Innocent Kiss." Often considered the sex symbol f the band. M. Bivins' charisma eeps into the lyrics as he spills out is reptilian rap. "I Can Feel You" onens the album rith a love lost ballad in a unique /4 time. Its driving beat displays he group's ability to intertwine Lassical music with a pop element. Overall, Buzz is enjoyable to listen [). It's something to pop in the CD layer between Jump, Little Children's next visit to Columbia nth a live sound. ; role in Cc Let's talk abo DAWN HUNSICKER Staff Writer o t The music scene in Columbia has v tnproved dramatically over the past Lecade. 1 If you take a walk through Five s 'oints on just about any night of the s veek, you'll hear the sounds of live c lands pouring from the doors of the 1 lars and clubs that line the streets, e ^he entire USC and Greater Columbia area, from college students s o professional people, have become I core supportive of the local music I cene in the last few years. f Two of Columbia's most prominent c nusic supporters are Carl and Amy i Singmaster. Carl Singmaster is the ? fwner and founder of Manifest Discs md Tapes. Amy Singmaster has t :ept Columbia residents updated 1 ibout music and events for years in \ he Free Times, a local weekly paper. 1 The Singmasters met in the early 80s when they both worked at 1 VUSC-FM 90.5, and they have been I narried for three years. I Carl was working as an electrical ingineer, programming computers c vhen he heard of WUSC. The 1 ipportunity to go on the air and learn I adio skills intrigued him, so he t moiled at USC to obtain a master's c >f Computer Science. I He quickly became involved with I he station and would often go and 1 lign on whenever someone would go >ff the air. He spent his every waking ninute (literally) on the air, including veekends. During this period, WUSC was ecognized as one of the trendsetting adio stations by the trade journals iip prevail objectives of Greek life, and it is no different here at USC. Jennifer Hobbs is a sophomore and currently serves as the Kappa Delta sorority president. She said that "one must always be able to be prepared for something. I just wanted to give back to Kappa Delta." Serving as president usually involves total dedication to the organization. "The first three weeks [after Christmas break] revolved around Kappa Delta," Hobbs said. Every organization depends on its leaders for setting goals, governing over the chapter and motivating the members. Clay Cavanaugh, president of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, knew how much work and dedication 1 1 j * ||l . ' Js r IF ^ HHHT IBlip ilumbia co >ut entertainr f that day. Carl was there during he transition from 10 watts to 300 yatts. The station possessed a good istenership, support for its radio hows and an educated and dedicated taff. The station was on the air 365 lays out of the year and almost 24 lours a day. They never missed an intire day. Carl hosted a variety of radio hows at WUSC, including Pocket Nill of Blues, Massive Metal, and laucous Waves (punk music). Carl eels that playing music not played in commercial radio is one of the nost important aspects of college ind non-commercial radio stations. When Carl left USC he wanted o stay in the music business. When le opened Manifest 12 years ago, it vas a small store in Columbia that le had to get off the ground. Now, Manifest Discs and Tapes las expanded to Clemsan, Charleston, Florence, Greenville, and Wiflmingtm, *C. Carl wanted a record store that iffered all types of music. Sharing lis passion for diverse musical styles, danifest's employees often attempt o turn people on to new sounds. Of nurse, the store carries music that leople already know and love as welL n addition, Manifest helps promote ocal bands, such as Craven Melon. Amy Singmaster also has had a jassion for the music industry for nany years. While attending USC n the late '70s early '80s, she was nvolved in many groups that helped jromote music on campus like Contemporary Sounds and others. Is among serving as a chapter leader involves. "As president, you must take a stand, even against friends," Cavanaugh said. He explained that serving as president involves putting a great deal of work into the fraternity, but the work is worth it because things "come out better." While he has served as president the chapter has been more involved on campus, held more fundraisers and encouraged members to pay their dues on time. Last weekend, the local Kappa Sigma chapter hosted their district conclave. Cavanaugh said the national officers who attended said, "it was the best conclave they've been to." Officer training and goal setting 44 We present a forum gays and lesbians can be prond of... This legitimizes the community. We present our articles list like any other newspaper would. That's the point. Tige Watts co-founder, editor of In Unison W SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK mmunity nent... She was the Russell House theater monocnor onrl q rarlin aVinw mrorv XllfH IU1U AJfcUA U I.UUXU U&U/fT VT\?J Monday night from midnight until 3 a.m. Amy began Free Times in August 1987. This year will be the publication's 10th anniversary. She initially wanted to promote and support live music in the community. In the beginning, Amy Singmaster was Free Times. Waiting tables at night and selling ads during the day, it was a major chore during the first five years just to get the Free Times out once every two weeks. Amy would stay up for three days straight when she was getting the paper printed and delivered. She educated herself on how to get a paper out, and she had to learn most of the stuff along the way. Free Times is now a weekly distribution that brings Columbia information about many local establishments and upcoming events. Although Times now has a staffs Amy still does a little of everything, including delivery when needed. Most of her job is doing the bookkeeping, but she still gets out of the office to collect ads. Carl and Amy Singmaster will both admit running your own business is hard work, but it can be done. Carl and Amy are very supportive of each other and their pursuits. They are also great assets to the community and work hard to bring broaden the cultural scope of Columbia. I Greeks sessions help individuals learn shared responsibility, self-government and financial self-sufficiency. Everyone in the chapter is a leader whether they serve as officer, committee chairman or committee member. This can shine through in winning intramurals, fundraisers, planning social events and balancing a budget These skills enhanced by the Greek community follow the individual throughout life. Leeza Gibbons, a famous oelebrity who was involved in the Greek community as a USC student, said, "Not a day goes by when I don't call upon these skills I learned as a leader and a listener, and a compassion that was nurtured in me as a friend, and as a citizen."