Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ICIic 0amtcock Shades from page 8 ter for Shades of Grey is that about 95 percent of the crowd was people who he says hadn’t seen the band before. It’s all part of a very exciting time for Shades of Grey. The band has written about 25 new songs since its third album, Never Learned to Dance, and has set de finitive goals for itself. They include play ing Five after Five at the fountain in Five Points (coming up Sept. 5), being one of the bands selected for the AWARE album (a national compilation of unsigned bands that has featured Better than Ezra, Ed win McCain, Train, Hootie and the Blow fish, Vertical Horizon and Shawn Mullins) and returning to the Carolina Cup. Shades of Grey will also be working on their new album this fall, and hopes to have it released sometime in October. To make sure it’s of the quality Floyd de mands from himself, he has enlisted the help of another former USC student who knows a thing or two about selling records, Darius Rucker from Hootie and the Blowfish will be coming to Shades of Grey’s aid and will help produce their new album. “He should know a thing or two about it, he has sold a few million records,” Floyd said. If Shades of Grey continues on the determined path it has set for itself, it might not be much longer before they get a record deal and sell a million records of their own. The Spotlight Desk cam be reached at gamecockspotlight@hotmaiI.com Spotlight still has postions available for reporters. Interested candidates can e-mail gamecockspotlight @hotmail.com Research in Tanzania. Dance in France. Apply for a Fulbright Grant. Fulbright Grants allow graduating seniors and graduate students to carry out a particular program of study for one year abroad. Fulbright Grant Workshop Wednesday, August 30 4 p.m. Gressette Room, Harper College For more information, call the Fellowships Office at 777-0958. AN HISTORIC RESIDENCE Efficiciency $445 One Bedroom $505 Two Bedroom $540 Rents include all utilities and cable TV. All rates quoted are month to month. (Leases available, prices subject to change) Located across from the University Of South Carolina Horseshoe and the State Capital, Cornell Arms offers the premier location for downtown living. (803) 799-1442 1230 PENDLETON STREET COLUMBIA, SC 29201 |_ * Dezeray’s Hammer plays Greene Street by Amanda Silva The Gamecock Dezeray’s Hammer, formerly known as Albert Hill, played Friday night on Greene Street before an enthusiastic crowd of both new listeners and devoted fans. The band, which is currently touring college towns fall time, originated in Spar tanburg and is a creative effort combin ing the vocal styling of Aaron Whisnant, the rhythms of drummer Kenny Hogan, and the bass lines of Chris Francisco. According to Hogan, the band’s sound is best described as “aggressive pop-rock music.” “We’re edgy live,” Hogan said. The band started six years ago under the name Albert Hill, but changed its name to Dezeray’s Hammer for both legal reasons and in hopes of a fresh start, Hogan said. After a 1995 record deal with Uni versal Records, the band found they had to change their name from Albert Hill to Dezeray’s Hammer in order to retain the rights to their songs, he said. Last September, Dezeray’s Hammer recorded their self-titled first album and is currently working on a new CD, which is expected to be ready for release be tween late October and early November. According to Hogan, the band is wait ing for attendance at local bars to increase, marked by the end of Greek recruitment, before releasing their CD. The band tours on a six-week rotation primarily between the Carolinas and Georgia, although they have spent time in Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. This past summer, the band spent 16 weeks on Billboard’s list of Top Ten un signed bands. The song “Praying,” which can be heard on the upcoming CD, stayed at No. 2 for the summer, according to Hogan. In addition to their two albums, Dezeray’s Rammer recorded a live acoustic album in Greenville that is only sold at concerts, Hogan said. “Our stronger fans like the acoustic stuff,” he said. Lyricist Aaron Whisnant gets his ideas for songs by pulling items from his per sonal life, wliile the musical end is a col laboration of the three talents, Hogan said. “Aaron’s a very melodic writer. He was raised on musicians like the Beatles arid Dylan, so he’s big into melodies,” Hogan said. Dezeray’s Hammer is scheduled to play September 8 at the Elbow Room. The band encourages those interest ed to check out their Web site which in cludes a complete history of the band, sound-clips of unreleased songs, complete biographies of the members and a diary of the band’s news, updated every Mon day by bass player Chris Francisco. The Web site can be found at www.dezer ayshammer.com or planetjam.com. The Spotlight desk can be reached at gamecockspotlight@hotmail. com Amanda Silva The Gamecock Dezeray’s Hammer played Friday night on Greene Street. The band has spent 16 weeks on Billboard’s Top Ten list of unsigned bands. hPick up your Decoder for ce to win ition or lions of §| otUer prizes' & . ' P ’ discounts! Look for the Guaranteed Buyback sticker: a textbook!' payback you caru depend