Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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. . - THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, April 5, 2002 g TTT71 li /TTA7~ they said it CONTACT US I-1 H \/l I \ KIN HUBBABD: "Don't knock the ■ I i M J 11/ ^ weather; nme-tenths of the people Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I I I J I W I I / couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t E-mail us at gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com —®— —M 1—^ A T —I ■— A m change once in a while.” Richard Conant wil retire at the end of this year after directing Carolina Alive for 29 years. He started the group in 1973. Richard Conant poses with Carolina Alive during its 2001 trip to Havana, Cuba. In 1985, Carolina Alive traveled to Washington, D.C., to perform in Ronald Reagan’s inauguration ceremonies. Carolina Alive perfoms at the World’s Fair in Brisbane, Australia in 1988. PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Richard Conant conducts Carolina Alive during a performance at the Grand Theatre in Havana, Cuba. BY CARRIE PHILLIPS THE GAMECOCK “Bright lights, pounding music, and 40 young people smiling, dancing and singing are all it takes to ignite a vi brant spark on stage.” For years, those words have de scribed Carolina Alive, USC’s one and only show choir. The group has lit up stages around the world; performed for governors, presidents and countless university and community events; and has traveled to Egypt, Romania, Australia and Cuba to share its unique brand of entertainment with grateful audiences. The history of Carolina Alive Carolina Alive was started by Richard Conant in 1973; he came to USC that year to start a pop group af ter his success with a similar group at the University of Texas. The group be gan with almost 60 members on regu lar choral risers. After the first year, the group got a set of show choir ris ers and, with the help of a former Miss South Carolina, started choreograph ing the majority of its pieces. Since that initial success, Carolina Alive has undergone many changes to become the group of talented singers and dancers it is today. “It’s gotten bet ter and better,” Conant said. “Certainly, we’ve learned over the years, like when we’ve worked with professional choreographers... those kinds of experiences helped make us more professional.” Through the years, the group has been a stepping stone for many USC students on their way to fame. It has turned out a Hollywood stuntman, a Broadway performer, several Miss South Carolinas and a national record ing artist—Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish. Carolina Alive has gained a follow ing that rivals that of USC sports. The favored entertainment for many gov ernment and community events, the group performs all over South Carolina. “People love to show us off at national conventions here to show that South Carolina has something re ally special,” Conant said. “We’re unique in that we’re geared toward a non-concert-go mg audience.” Carolina Alive has also had the op portunity to perform overseas. In 1980, it performed at the invitation of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and in 1985, it performed at Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration. The group entertained crowds as featured performers at the 1988 World’s Fair in Brisbane, Australia, and last year, the group traveled to Havana, Cuba to par ticipate in the International Choral Festival de Cuba. Long-time leader retiring Carolina Alive is celebrating its 29th anniversary Saturday night, and after almost 30 years at USC, Conant has decided to hang up his baton and retire. As a bass/baritone, Conant has traveled the world. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1991, and, that summer, he performed as the baritone soloist of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Czechoslovakia, Austria and East Germany. Conant has sung profes sionally with Robert Shaw, the Roger Wagner Chorale and the U.S. Army Chorus. He has degrees from UCLA, the University of Maryland and the rtf Tqvoo In retirement, Conant plans to do more of the things he hasn’t had time to do as Carolina Alive director. He wants to do more volunteer police work, take time to travel, and continue judging national high school choral competitions. “I can’t complain,” Conant said. “I think I can handle it. I used to think that when I retired it would be like, ‘oh my gosh, your life is over.’ Well, that’s not the way it is.” ‘A really good man’ As director of Carolina Alive, Conant has touched hundreds of stu dents’ lives. He hopes that their expe riences in Carolina Alive have taught them valuable life lessons. “I think that it teaches a lot about life in gen eral, how to perform as a person,” Conant said. “It teaches you about how you have to deal with people, and how you have to be reliable.” Conant said Carolina Alive has been If you’re going... WHAT: Carolina Alive’s Spring Show WHERE: Koger Center for the Arts WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday TICKETS: $5 for USC students, faculty and staff; $10 for the general public “really the heart of my whole life. It’s been my baby, and it’s given me op portunities I wouldn’t have had oth erwise.” His students feel the same way. “Doc’s a really good man,” said ju nior Brett Butler, the group’s sound technician and a theater student in his third year with Carolina Alive. “He’s sort of like a father figure to the group. He really loyes everybody like we’re his own children, and that real ly gives us a sense of family, close bonding, so that we get a lot more done.” Tiran Thomas, vice president of the group, feels that Conant’s contribu tions to the group and to the university are “simply wonderful and amazing.” “Dr. Conant is very special to me because he gave me an opportunity to showcase my talent,” Thomas said. “Had it not been for Dr. Conant and Carolina Alive, I might not have been able to sing here at the University of South Carolina.” In her second year as Carolina Alive’s president, senior Kia Faison has a special relationship with Conant. “The fact that this man could think of this and then actually put it together and have it going on for 29 years — it’s amazing,” she said. “I think he’s going to miss Carolina Alive. I think the hardest thing is gonna be for him to not be a part of the group.” Carolina Alive’s annual Spring Show will be held at the Roger Center for the Arts tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for USC students, facul ty and staff and $10 for the general public. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com ; use to make waves at music festival BY AUBREY FOGLE TIIK GAMECOCK With the coming of the annual 3 Rivers Festival, USC is out to make its contributions to the fes tivities. A few students play in bands performing this year and university programs are putting on special shows for the event. Nathan Poole, a second-year student, is joining his father and bandmates on stage in the band The Ninth Hour. The band is a contemporary Christian act that’s had a rough journey on its way to , the festival. The band applied last year to be a part of 3 Rivers this year, but broke up soon afterwards. The band was given stage time and have decided to rejoin for this weekend, maybe for the last time. The Ninth Hour luses dmerent generations of rock. As Poole ex plained: “There are so many dif ferent age groups in the band. Our bass player is almost 50, my dad’s 40, I’m 19, and our singer is a little bit younger. So we all kind of come from different ages of rock.” Also making an appearance at the festival will be the band Encaustic featuring Matt Heath, a third-year psychology student, on guitar and backup vocals. Heath describes the band as “pro gressive alternative.”' The band members all like dif ferent kinds of music, which makes the sound of the band a sort of fusion. Heath explains that the most important thing to this 1-year-old band is trying to bring something new to the audience. They band will be playing on Friday at 8:30 p.m. m_rton r>„i_l „r _„ 1 UU W U V UVilUUl V/l KXUOIV IlJ also throwing in its contributions to this year’s festival. The USC West African Drumming and Dance Ensemble is putting on an educational show for the younger audience Saturday on the chil dren’s Pepsi/Publix stage. The show will feature presen tations on the different kinds of " instruments used in the produc tion, and it is recommended for children of all ages. The Palmetto Pans Steel Band, also run by the university, will be playing on Sunday. The band will feature music and dance influ enced by the New Guinea culture. This production is highly recom mended, and the band sold out the Roger Center for the Arts during its last performance. The University has come out in full force for the entertainment of all who attend 3 Rivers, and stu dents are encouraged to come out and root their schoolmates on during the festival. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Love Apple like ‘live show’on CD “LOVE APPLE” Love Apple ★ ★★★ out of BY JUSTIN BAJAN THE HAMECOCK Do you remember those times in music when it was popular to be different? When artistic creation was preferred over musical monotony? Bands who answer “yes” to this question have found success and exist as historical cornerstones. With the release of its first full-length album, USC’s own Love Apple might have the talent necessary to become a cornerstone in modern rock. Composed of Scott Cooke on drums; George Cooper Ion guitar, vocals and synthesizer; Jebb Graff on bass; and Jason Sposa on vocals, guitar and synthesizer, Love Apple has been around for almost two years now. The band has managed to discover a fine niche not common in mainstream music today: the ability to create a product that elevates them beyond the collection of drones heard every day on the radio. This niche has also established the band above the indie-rock/college radio scene that most upcoming artists find themselves pigeonholed in after taking the independent route. So with this interesting predicament, Love Apple finds themselves in an elite category, shared by a few groups, like Weezer, The Strokes or Gorillaz, which have an affinity in both camps. Love Apple doesn’t try to erode your tympanic membrane with unnecessary high-decibel level music, and they don’t fall asleep in their own sleepy, melodramatic, post-grunge-angst drivel. Instead, it locates the much-desired middle ground; sometimes it’s mellower music with a purpose or high octane music that has brain to complement the brawn. Sposa asserts that his band plays, “rock ‘n’ roll, however you classify rock ‘n’ roll, that’s how we are.” Love Apple’s self-titled debut includes 11 short but substantial songs, leaving the listener satisfied, not waiting for an overbearing, PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE Love Apple will hold its CD release party Saturday at New Brookland Tavern: morainateiy-proaucea aiDum to close. “Need You So,” starts off with a ’50s rock/R&B-inspired guitar lick, setting the mood for Sposa’s free-ranging delivery and lyrics. Sposa softly muses on his “girl and angel, queen of such great dishonesty,” ana, later auring tne cnorus, proviaes as much passion as the thrashing electric guitars. The band’s next song has become a staple for its concerts, and ♦LOVE.iPPLE, SEE PAGE 6