Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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This Day in History Oct 2, 1981-The student senate cracked down on stu dent ticket policies with new ticket validation policies and a proposal for block seating arrangements. RAM-Z reinvents R&B genre by Phil Watson The Gamecock Sitting in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel on Bush River Road, the mem bers of RAM-Z joke around with each other like brothers. The Cincinnati R&B trio made a stop in Columbia this weekend to perform at Whispers. “RAM-Z is eight years in the making,” said band member Robert Lee. “We started back in 1993. At first it was me and Zach, we’ve been singing to gether since 1985. Then Mike came along.” The trio has recently gained a lot of fame due to their hit single, “Let Me Be the One.” This song has been played on radio stations throughout the coun try. The name RAM-Z is made up of initials. The R is for Robert Lee. The A is for Almighty God, who has been an influence on the lives of the band. The M * stands for Michael Smith, and the Z is for Zach Adams. Together, they form RAM-Z, one of the biggest up-and-coming R&B acts Lee and Adams had been singing together for years when they met Smith. “Mike was singing ‘End of the Road’ for this production company,” Lee ex plained. “Me and Zacli heard it and just had to meet this guy, so we set up a meeting and we sung over some tracks. It was like magic. After some talking we knew it'was right, and we’ve been together since.” Once together, RAM-Z said they became like brothers. They want to change the current R&B scene. “We are getting back to authentic R&B,” Adams said. “We’re basically three cats giving you all we’ve got.” Unlike most of today’s R&B performers, RAM-Z writes tuid plays their own music. They play guitar, bass, keyboard and drums in their act. “R&B has to be reinvented,” Lee said. “It’s got to the point where it’s a lot about the bling-bling and not about the actual situations we go through in life.” “People don’t want singers to tell them how much money they have. Our album is about love, life and relationships. It’s genuine,” Lee said. “We’re not about money or fame. I think RAM-Z is really getting down to the nitty gritty.” The new RAM-Z album will be released January 1st, 2001. “Our new album has a lot of variety. We do hip-hop, crossover ballads, street ballads and songs that make you want to get one-on-one with your lover and get buck-wild,” Smith said. “We’ve got all varieties on our new al bum.” RAM-Z recently shot their first video for their single “Let Me Be the One” in Los Angeles. RAM-Z SEE PAGE 6 Special to The Gamecock Ram-Z is touring the Southeast in support of their R & B album. Photos by Ann Marie Miani The Gamecock Fling played the Elbow Room last Thursday night It was the bands first time playing the Elbow Room. Ring will release their new EP, The View From the Valley, mid-October. Fling plays the Elbow Room by Ann Marie Miani The Gamecock Fling made their first appearance at the Elbow Room Thursday night, in promotion of their upcoming CD, which will be released mid-October. Fling, formerly known as The Speakeasies, include lead singer and guitarist Kenley Young, lead guitarist Justus Jag ger, bassist James Touzel and drummer Ronnie Cleland. Fling began the show with “Carrier” before playing “Corpus Christi,”'which most of the crowd sang along to. They also previewed their new EP, The View From the Valley, with “No More than Enough,” “Damsel in Her Dress” mid “The Venom in My System.” During “We Haven’t Got a Prayer,” Young encouraged the crowd to sing along. “When you have a huger venue, you have to keep the crowd enthralled,” Young said. John Duham, a friend of Touzel, joined Fling mid played the trombone during the performance of “Everything’s Fine.” Young said Fling wmits to use the new EP to get their foot in the music industry’s door. “We want to maintain our fan base here in Columbia, but we want to use the EP to develop a following else where,” Young said. Young thinks the EP is good enough to develop a fol lowing outside of Columbia. “[We can] put together a better press pack and play huger clubs,” he said. Young was pleased with the turnout at the Elbow Room, because it was the first time Fling has played there. “I was pleased with the attendance. We had a good turnout, especially for a Thursday night. The crowd was very receptive.” History of Fling Fling has been playing at USC for years, but the group formed long before entering Carolina. Young and Touzel laid the foundations for the band wiiile still in high school in Georgetown, S.C., in 1994. Later that year, they picked up dagger as lead guitarist and Clektnd as drum mer. The band was then known its Junction 51. They recorded a full-length album. Bull in a China Shop, while playing in the Myrtle Beach area during the mid-’90s. The 13-track CD contains original material writ ten by Young and Jagger. The band moved to Columbia in 1997 to attend the University of South Carolina, but didn’t perform until the end of 1997. In 1998, Junction 51 changed their name to The Speakeasies and began to play extensively in the Colum bia area. Young made jokes at the concert saying that they have gone tlirough hundreds of names before finally set tling on Fling. Young said the band has evolved a lot since they began in 1994. “I have [progressed] as a songwriter. I’ve tried to tack le the same themes in a different way,” Young said. “I think more than anything, the music has matured, but so have we as musicians and as a band,” Young said. After returning from a stint in New Jersey, The Speakeasies changed their name to Fling. Fling’s CD release party is tentatively set for Oct. 17, but might be changed to Oct. 14. The spotlight desk cun be reached at gamecockspotlight@hotmail.com. ‘Remember the Titans’ more than just football by Meredith Davis The Gamecock OUT OF tV A A Heart, depth and fine acting encompass Den zel Washington’s latest film, “Remember the Ti tans.” Usually, non-animated Disney movies hire, well with families and older folks, but this movie aims for an even broader scale, one that will make college students want to see it many times, one that doesn’t need curse words and violence to make football real. Ah, the magic of Disney. Only this corpora tion could pull off a movie with such impeccable taste whose core story deals with racial tension. Based on a true story, “Remember the Titans” fol lows a 1971 high school football team in Viiginia composed of two former high schools, one strict ly white and the other strictly black. When the two schools merge, both football teams vie for their starters to go to the top in the new program. Once in training camp with new head coach Herman Boone (Washington), all hopes for glo ry fade away with the understanding that they will a.' J instead work their way to peaceful integration, hard work and discipline. Boone replaces Coach Bill Yoast, played by Will Patton, when the schools meige, and no football-loving, God-fearing South erners support this decision, especially Yoast’s nine-year-old daughter Sheryl, played by Hayden Panettiere. SIreryl calls her dad “coach,” knows more about football than the average nine-year-old boy, and stands by the newly-formed Titans, even if the adjustment to desegregation takes a while. Sh eryl is both a positive and a negative to the film; Her energy and support is precious, but her whiny voice and overwhelming presence is often a bit much. “Remember the Titans” strikes a chord with its audience not only because of the emotion of the developing brotherhood between blacks and whites in the community, but because of the ac tors who portray these characters. This movie, while on the s;une line as “The Mighty Ducks,” is far superior in its lead actors, both Washing TlTANS see page 6 1 Special to The Gamecock In Disney’s “Remember the Titans,” Denzel Washington stars as high school football coach Heman Boone who, in 1971, faces prejudice and intolerance in a small Virginia town when he is selected to coach a racially integrated high school football team. S.C.State Fail events for Oct 8tti Midway Opens at - Noon FREE SHOWS 12:30am-1:00pm -’’Performances B; S.C. Students” - WIS Spirit of Carolin; Stage 12:30pm -’’Chainsaw Artists” - Thi Robinson Family - Front of Moore Bldg “Columbia Marionette Theatre” - Fron of Rosewood's 1:30pm - Special performance b; “Bounce & Ooo La La w/Daniel’’ Grandstand 2:00pm -’’Greatest Grandparent Con test”- Grandstand 2:30pm - “Richard's Racing Pigs” - Fron of Cattle Arena “Chainsaw Artists” - The Robinson Fam ily - Front of Moore Bldg. “Columbia Marionette Theatre” - Fron of Rosewood's 3:00pm-“Bounce & Ooo La L w/Daniel” - WNOK Stage “Columbia Community Concert Band - WIS Spirit of Carolina Stage 4:00pm -’’Bounce & Ooo La L w/Daniel” - WNOK Stage 4:30pm -’Richard's Racing Pigs” - Fron of Cattle Arena “Chainsaw Artist” - The Robinso; Family - Front of Moore Bldg. “Columbia Marionette Theatre” - Fron of Rosewood's 5:00pm -”Cea Cea & The Sandman (Hypnotist) - WNOK Stage “Handbells” - Living Springs Lutherai Church - WIS Spirit of Carolina Stagi 6:00pm -“Columbia Marionette The atre” - Front of Rosewood's “New Life Singers” - Ebenezer Luther an Church - WIS Spirit of Carolina Stagi 6:30pm -“Richard's Racing Pigs” - Fron of Cattle Arena “ Chainsaw Artist” - The Robinson Fam ily - Front of Moore Bldg. 7:00pm - “Phil Urban” - WIS Spirit o Carolina Stage “Bounce & Ooo La La w/Daniel” ■ . WNOK Stage “Columbia Marionette Theatre” - From of Rosewood’s 8:00pm -“Columbia Marionette The atre” - Front of Rosewood's 8:30pm -“Cea Cea & The Sandman” (Hypnotist) - WNOK Stage “Richard's Racing Pigs” - Front of Cattle Arena 9:00pm - “Pliil Urban” - WIS Spirit of Carolina Stage WRHA Movies Monday and Wednesday 2 p.m: Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adven ture 5 p.m.: The Green Mile 11p.m.: Mystery Men 2 a.m.: Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adven ture Tuesday and Thursday 2 p.m.: Breakfast at Tiffany’s 5 p.m.: American Beauty 8 p.m.: Tommy Boy 11p.m.: Romeo Must Die 2 a.m.: Breakfast at Tiffany’s Friday - Sunday 9 a.m.: La Bamba 12 p.m.: Play It To The Bone 3 p.m.: Fools Rush In 6 p.m.: Wayne’s World 9 p.m.: 28 Days 12 a.m.: The Wood 3 a.m*Fools Rush In Campus Notes Send Campus Notes to game cockspotlight@hotmail.com. Please include contact name and phone number, and a brief de scription of your event. We can’t promise to print everything, but we can promise to try.