The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 20, 2002, Image 6
: PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
From left, Caleb Scofield, John Conners, Adam McGrath and
Stephen Brodsky, the members of Cave In, spend most of
their time touring. The band will also play at Fall Out tonight.
Bands
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
cal and emotional energy in one
burst,” Brodsky said.
Sparta, which shies from
metalcore and favors a more
emo-rock sound, could only
' commiserate with Brodsky
about life on the road. Bassist
Matt Miller said his relation
ship with his girlfriend has
been strained because he spends
so much time on tour, and he
said his time at home has be
come awk
ward.
Sparta,
which features
Miller, gui
tarist Paul
Hinojos, vocal
ist and en1
tarist Jim Ward, and drummer
Tony Hajjar, came together in El
Paso, Texas, less than two years
ago.
Now, Sparta finds itself con
stantly on tour. For Miller, kick
ing off Weezer’s tour in Salt Lake
City in front of a crowd of 8,000
people has been one of the most
memorable experiences from the
road.
But since the release of
“Wiretap Scars” on Dreamworks
records, the band has also taken
to television.
Performing on Craig
Kilbom’s “Late Late Show” was
stressful for Miller. “The way it’s
laid out is not the way it’s taped,”
he said. “The show is cut into
pieces, and you have to perform
the song perfectly.”
The band is scheduled to per
form on “Late Night with Conan
O’Brien” this Tuesday and plans
to release another album after
spending a year and a half on
i-1-:
tour.
“We’re an honest band,”
Miller said. “We play every show
like it’s our last.”
For now, Cave In is focusing
on a new CD to be released in
February on RCA Records and
an EP titled “Tides of
Tomorrow” on Hydra Head
Records, which will come out
Oct. 15.
The band has broken modem
rock conventions with its pro
ductivity;'instead of taking
years between releases, the band
has made one album almost ev
ery year since
1997.
But then
again, conven
tion is the ene
my for Cave In,
which openly
mocks main
stream rock. “Most of those
bands are really terrible,”
Brodsky said, “and all four of us
feel no connection to 90 percent
of the bands because they
haven’t gone through the dirt.
They’ve been put together.”
Neither Sparta nor Cave In
has played in Columbia before,
but Cave In will hit the stage at
1:15 p.m., and Sparta will per
form at 5 p.m.
Also look for Sparta in the
crowd at FallOut, where Miller
said the band plans to spend time
after performing.
As for Cave In, the goal for to
day’s show is loud and clear: “I
want to deafen as many kids as
possible so that Cave In is the
last thing they remember hear
ing,” Brodsky said.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gameeockmixeditor@hotmail.com
-----,
“We’re an honest band.
We play every show like
it’s our last.”
MATT MILLER
SPARTA BASSIST
OmjcronueitaKappa
, SEPTEMBER 26
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Encaustic brings unique style to new CD'
BY WILLMISCHNER
THE GAMECOCK
Columbia’s own Encaustic will
hold a CD release party at New
Brookland Tavern tomorrow to
celebrate the release of its long
awaited sophomore album, “A
Shadow’s Pull.”
Encaustic is no stranger to the
local music scene. All five band
members are students at USC.
Guitarist and celloist Bryan
Gibson, a fourth-year music edu
cation student; bassist Allen
Graham, a fifth-year media arts
student; guitarist Matt Heath, a
fourth-year psychology student;
vocalist Carmen Keigans, a third
year English student; and drum
mer Baljinder Sekhon II, a fifth
year music composition/theory
student, form the lineup of
Encaustic.
It all started six years ago in
Orangeburg, where Gibson,
Graham, Keigans and Sekhon
were slowly forming a musical
ensemble. At the time, however,
tne Dana was praying jusi ior ran;
it was not seriously pursuing its
music.
USC was ultimately the stomp
ing ground that would bring the
pieces of Encaustic together. The
band’s dorm-room jam sessions
eventually yieiu
ed several full
songs.
In 2001,
Encaustic em
barked on a mu
sical journey. It
began exploring
entry-level op
portunities in
the Columbia
area, and played
local onen-mic
and acoustic-challenge competi
tions. Its efforts finally paid off in
2001, when Encaustic won con
tests at both the Village Idiot and
New Brookland Tavern, giving it
the exposure that would later land
the band even bigger gigs outside
the confines of the city, as far
l
away as Washington, D.C.
Encaustic, having received
both recognition and local atten
tion, became a regular on the lo
cal music scene. Its previous
acoustic-challenge wins earned
.Si t i i
uie ucmu a ueau
lining gig at the
Elbow Room.
Fans responded,
and soon the
band had a fol
lowing.
After strug
gling to balance
recording time
with conflicting
class schedules,
Encaustic was
able to finish its full-length album.
“A Shadow’s Pull” includes some
of the band’s favorite songs, in
cluding “Little Pill” and
“Midnight Matinee,” from its de
but self-titled EP, but the new al
bum mainly redefines the band’s
sound with seven previously un
released tracks.
Encaustic found its name in
true college-band fashion. Heath
said it was not an epiphany or a
godsend; “we found it in the back
of an art history textbook.”
“We just wanted something
that sounded cool,” Heath said.
“Encaustic” is a style of paint
ing that involves mixing colors
with beeswax on a canvas, mak
ing the art more lifelike. Though
this definition was not signifi
cant to the band’s members
when they chose it, they agree it
probably does have some rele
vance to their overall composi
tion.
Encaustic’s sound is unique.
Its lyrics are intelligent, and its
songs are stylistically diverse and
eclectic. The band switches vo
calists onstage, creating some
what of a Fleetwood Mac vibe,
Heath said.
Encaustic separates itself from
the field of local acts by its perva
sive use of the cello. “It’s like-an
other voice in our band,” Heath
said.
All of Encaustic’s voices will
be together onstage for the release
of its new CD at 10 p.m. Saturday
at New Brookland Tavern.
Djoliba Don, a West African
group, will join the band as the
opening act. ^
For Encaustic, it is sure to be a
night to remember. “It’ll be real
ly nice to finally have the CD fin
ished and to just party with ev
eryone.”
As for the future of the band,
Heath said, “We are just going to
continue writing and working on
our chemistry and just go from
there.” Wherever it might take
the band, the future for Encaustic
looks bright.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
If You Go
WHAT: Encaustic CD Release
Patty
WHERE: New Brookland
Tavern
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 21,
at 10 p.m.
_ mi* _
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Encaustic, a diverse local band made up of five USC students, will releasing its anticipated
sophomore album, “A Shadow’s Pull,” at New Brookland Tavern tomorrow night.
I
\ \ If you are readyfor a RFJJ. Tailgate Party, then come on by! f/
V, ~M tlie 3rd Great Gamecock 1
September 21 (USC v. TEMPLE) 4:00-6:30 pm Mil
featuring live music by: DJ Rusty Bigham (L\ 4
// Sea well's Parking Lot - 1125 Rosewood Drive / /
// across the street from "the ROCKET' at the State Fairgrounds, yfs
// The best part is that it is all FREE: Music, Lots of Great Food, Drinks i Door Prizes. ^ x. /
Souvenirs for the first 200 ISC students in attendance at each Tailgate Party. r^7//
// THESE TAILGATE PASTIES ARE AN ALCOHOL & OTHER DRUG-FREE ENVIRONMENT sponsored by the Russell House Alcohol & Drag Projparos. / / /
II MajMSji^prortdRtbrajr^rKavrtfmmlleUS.ItnwtmOTrfMaattn^ADregFiwSchoollPiiismii: IlKProwtiaiiifHijIvltWiD.inkiiisSVWmBrfavio.AiiiongOiqtStirimttl'rotKl VV / /
!/ Paid foe, in pan, with student activity fees. Yy I
!/ Actual dates or times may change due tofunding or programmatic decisions. For additional information, please call 777-7130. !^^X
// Department vl Sludeni Life Division of Student & Alumni Services /// \\
I
| Shade Sale j
| ^ Show Student I.D.
tor txtra Discount!
\
... ■ I
♦Large stock of Oakley available
Not discounted
I Sunglasses & Things, Inc. I
1 Five Points (Near Groucho's Deli) 11
I 256-3507 |
Congratulations
J \ to the |
Fall 2002 Pledges
Crystal Bullock Amber Magargle
Dana Christiansen Lindsay Martin
Rebecca Crawford Janice Michael
Jay Duncan P Jennifer Polston
Mike Garcia t|k Jessica Patel
Bill Hrisko Gwendolyn Taylor 4
Amrita Jayaram Brian Whismant
Jesse Johnson Breanna Wilson
Jeff Joyne^^ Lisa Yeakel
Kelly Lam y Annie Yelich