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r 1 Baby Snufkin fail to turn heads - by Charles Prashaw Gamecock Critic Looking for a self-described Latin disco punk pop banc to add to your CD collection? Well, who isn’t? Looking foi a combination of Lou Bega and No Doubt? Well then the band Baby Snufkin is for you, my friend. Their recent release on Heyday Records, Pokey in tht Bobo is just that, “bobo.” Never heard of Baby Snufkin? Wei don’t feel bad, I hadn’t, either. And I guarantee that you wil never hear these guys on the a imlArr larrll frn/l-inr AirAr arm time soon. Just who the heck are these guys? Well, the band is made up of Scrote on vocals and lead, Bret on bass and Rico Dali on drums, with various friends adding sal sa music to the background. And can anyone tell me if that is a drum machine in the back ground? I have no idea what this band is trying to do with their music or exactly who cares. It is kind of annoying when people in a band try to refer to themselves by catchy, cool one names like Scrote. And crap like that should be illegal. Hey, Scrote, you first have to be cool before you can run around calling your self by some weird rock-star name. As for Scrote’s real name, that is a mystery that I’m sure no one is going to look into soon. The three-man band Baby Snufkin, who hail from Cali fomia, have proclaimed to tour the world seven times. But what’s sadder than their music is that most of those gigs are in places like Jimbo’s Big Crab House and Bar (the bad part is that I’m not making that up — they play there Feb. 21 in Oak Hills, Calif.). Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t that bad. Yeah, they got a record deal, didn’t they? They might pass as decent by some standards; but the boys need to work on a couple of things. Earth to Baby Snufkin. Can you please, for the love of God and everything that is holy, make a song that doesn’t sound _ exactly like the one before it? NO ^1 _ ursc, warns 10 near me same mree chords over and over and over. It makes it really hard to get through the whole CD when you can’t really tell when one song ends and an other one begins. Also, the use of curse words in Track 11, “Sweet Thang,” makes no sense. No other songs on the CD have curse words in them, and then sud denly, the Great Scrote, who wrote all the songs for this CD, decides to throw around the “f” word like a nudie club owner. That is just a personal beef, Scrote. Well, in the crazy, mixed-up world of the music industry, these guys might make it big one day. Who knows, Ricky Martin is famous for some reason, isn’t he? if unn u/ant tr* am ahPaH anH •J V lay your money down to buy Pokey in the Bobo, then go ahead, you can’t say I didn’t warn you. And if you turnout liking these guys, maybe you can book them for a party; I’m sure they could use the work. Artsits: Baby Snufkin Album: Pokey In The Bobo Rating: out of Life of Agony provide musical relief by Jonathan Dunagin Gamecock Critic riven mougn mie oi agony produced three full-length albums, River Runs Red in 1993, Ugly in 1995 and Soul Searching Sun in 1997, it would be ignorant to be lieve that a band that was around for 10 years wouldn’t have more songs. So it’s nice to find out that they do. 1989-1999, Life of Agony’s posthumous release of rare demos and hard-to-find B-sides, should enthrall any fan of the band or of good music. Although many of the songs are slower than what hard core fans might be accustomed to, the power that is LOA. still pre vails. The note by the band in the CD’s liner, “now that Life of Agony has come to an end, we’ve decided to give a little something back,” is a serious under statement. Complete with the original lineup of Keith Ca ..... Duto on vocals (sorry Ugly Kid Joe [ans, there’s no Whitfield Crane here), Joey Z. on guitar, Alan Roberts on oass and an assortment of drummers, ill of the songs, regardless of heavi ness, demonstrate the band’s musi cal ability and contribute toward a yreat album. With eight songs recorded pri or to River Runs Red, three covers, two other B-sides and two live songs, LQA has arranged a wide assortment of music to best represent themselves. Although deemed a heavy metal act, this CD demonstrates the vast mu sical influences of the band and its ability to venture into other gen res. Many of the songs, at least those written by Roberts, carry the Agony seepages Artsits: Life of Agony Album: 1989-1999 Rating: out of Escape Plan's sound true, but unoriginal by Charles Prashaw Gamecock Critic Wow, what exactly are they screaming about? The Dillinger Escape Plan’s new CD, Calculating Infinity, is filled with raging screams and ultra-fast guitar playing. OK, admittedly this was a hard CD to review because I’m not really in to the death hardcore speed heavy metal (or what ever you want to call it), but overall, I surprisingly like it, somewhat. You can’t really trash any band that makes the journey to Columbia as these guys have in the past. Actually, the boys from The Dillinger Escape Plan are play ing New Brookland Tavern on Feb. 19 so that is pretty cool. But bring your ear plugs if you happen to go _ .1_Tt- •__• • —————w■■ ■■■' . i—w ■ i ■ man V.VJ Uig Cjll\J W. lUUOlb M really loud. Oddly, I would like to see the boys front The Dillinger Escape Plan play at a candidate’s primary vic tory party since the Plan are going to be in town the same day as the S.C. pri mary is being held. Now, that would be cool. As for the CD, well, there isn’t much to say. It is loud and fast,, and if you like that kind of music, well, this might be the band for you. The guitar riffs are pretty good and the drum ming is decent. Hey, at least they can play their instru ments. That’s more than you can say lor a lot or bands. My only problem, once again, is that each song is a just like the one before it. And the whole CD sounds like one long screaming 45-minute rant. There is nothing really that sets them apart from other bands in their genre. If you have heard one of these bands, you have heard them all. What does sepa rate The Dillinger Escape Plan from other bands that play really quickly and scream through the lyrics of every song? Nothing. Maybe this is what has held the whole genre back since it came out in the ‘80s. And probably the same reason that even though this is Dillinger’s fifth al bum, only a small group of people have heard of them. Overall, they remind me of a Gwar-esque kind of band without the contro versies, stupid themes and 30-foot stage monsters. They also kind of remind me of an early Metallica, perhaps during their whole “Kill ‘Em AH” period. Yep, if these guys were to sell out and start playing mainstream stuff, too, then they could sell millions of records, just like Metalli ca. Although this might not be your kind of music, you’ve got to respect the fact that The Dillinger Escape Plan haven’t sold out or lost their musical roots. And at least they give their few fans the music they want to hear. Actually, I’m not selling this free CD, like others I get to review. Next time the guys down the hall start playing Bob Seger really loud, Calculating Infinity is going in the CD player. Now Playing at RH Theater 'full Metal Jacket 8 p.m. through 'Thursday Artist: The Dilienger Escape Plan Album: Calculating Infinity Rating: out of