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» THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, February 3, 2003 5 - ■ -w CONTACT US HFi MTY Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I I I i I W I I / % be young once. But you can E-mailusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com —■ ■ ■—^ " —* ® " always be immature.” >av PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK Second-place finisher Tigerbot Hesh performs its 15-minute set during the Bring Your Own Band competition. Roni Zagoria beats out the competition for gig at 3 Rivers BY ASHLEY VAUGHAN THE GAMECOCK Seven acts and 15 minutes each to play for seven judges. Carolina Productions’ Bring Your Own Band brought these sev en local acts to the Russell House Ballroom on Thursday night, and the judges evaluated the perform .Ve 'rs’ originality and stage presence, as well as the crowd’s reaction. “We had about 40 bands submit music back in November, and my staff selected these seven in a meet ing. We judged them on originality and overall sound,” said Josh Terry, chairman of Carolina Production’s Concert Commission. The tolumbia-based Conner Brothers kicked off the event with some good-old Southern-style rock. Next, backed by a keyboardist and a bongo player, the rhythmic hip-hop duo IX Two provided a change of pace with their power ful, message-packed music. Brett Treacy, a first-year USC student, played next. He had the , - audience’s support, but Treacy’s iiddie Vedder-esque sound seemed out of place. Columbia rock trio Tigerbot Hesh was the next act to take the stage. Despite a few minor difficul ties, the band delivered a solid per formance and took second place. The crowd really took to the band’s songs about girls and breakups. In fact, they received an ovation. Hip-hop artist Dan Johns fol lowed, backed by DJ J Ruff. His flowing rhymes, commanding stage presence, and slick freestyle ability earned him third place. Greenville’s the Lackies gave a solid performance. The band’s have time to do all this,” she said. With her confessional lyrics, bluesy voice and distinctive sound, Zagoria is a rising star. Zagoria, an anthropology student, was not even going to enter the contest until her friend Megan Treacy, a WUSC DJ, offered to submit her CD for her. Zagoria didn’t start performing until this past summer, and she says she suffers from stage fright. During Thursday’s performance, however, she didn’t seem nervous ♦ B.Y.O.B., SEE PAGE 5 OUUUiCill roots 2SS. Who Wbn What especially FIRST PLACE - A gig at 3 Rivers Music in “Straw- Festival, 10 hours of free studio time at berry Pie,” Modem Music Studios, a $100 gift which con- certificate to Pecknel Music and a tained a $400 box of equipment went to Roni tinge of Zagoria. country SECOND PLACE - 10 hours of free twang. studio time at Gothic Recording and a The last $400 box of equipment went to to per- Tigerbot Hesh. For more information on form, pi- the band, visitwww.tigerbothesh.com. anistRoni THIRD PLACE - 10 hours of free Zagoria, studio time at GAM Recording Studio distin- and Production Co. went to Dan Johns, guished His CD, “The Book of Daniel,” is herself available in stores statewide, from the competi tion as the first place winner. She will have the opportunity to reach a bigger audience at the 3 Rivers Music Festival this spring. “I can’t even believe that that’s part of the prize,” Zagoria said. “I can’t even fathom that.” Zagoria also won 10 hours of stu dio time at Modem Music Studios. “I’m going to be getting in the studio and pumping out an album soon. That’s why I’m taking a whole semester off — so that I’ll Ronl Zagorla won the Bring Your Own Band contest, held In the Russell House Ballroom on Thursday night. Forty bands submitted their music, and Carolina Productions chose seven to compete. PHOTO BY MORGAN FORO/THE GAMECOCK SHOW REVIEW Love Apple’s live show as good as album LOVE APPLE Lettuce Lounge *★★★ out of iifririrh 4o)Y ELEANOR SIBAL THE (JAMECOCK Love Apple’s performance Saturday night at the Lettuce Lounge was a fast-paced, high-en ergy display of emotion, talent, and focus that concertgoers shouldn’t have missed. So it would be a good idea not to miss them in April, when they play their last show in Columbia this semester. Around 10:30, Love Apple opened their show to an ample audience that grew gradually throughout the night. The fervor and enthusiasm for the band’s music was infectious and im pressive to experience. Love Apple truly loves to perform. In the intimate, cozy sur roundings of the Lettuce Lounge, f *e band played as if thousands ♦/ere watching. From the sweet songs to the upbeat tunes, the group displayed an exciting com mand of its music. Jason Sposa, lead singer and guitarist, unleashed his unwa vering voice with real delight — especially during wails. It was especially fine to see his fre quently closed eyes during the sweeter songs. It never detract ed from audience connection, but instead was more effective for its emotional element Guitarist George Cooper and for mer Beatholes member Garrett Suggs — now drumming for Love Apple — also provided good back ground vocals. Love Apple has a reputation for playing well live. The evi dence was cer tainly clear dur ing Saturday’s performance. The music and execution of the lyrics were faithful to the songs on the band’s latest al bum. And the npw drnmmpr PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Love Apple — from left, Jebb Graff, George Cooper, Jason Sposa and Garrett Suggs — played a high-energy show at the Lettuce Lounge on Saturday night. Suggs, meshed completely within the group. Guitars, bass and drums all had polished sounds with no noticeable alteration from the band’s recorded work. In fact, it would be safe to say Love Apple’s songs are as good live as they are on the band’s albums. The individual personalities of the band were entertaining, too. Sposa is an energetic and en joyable performer; Cooper and Suggs were readily immersed in their instruments; and Jebb Graff, bassist, was laid-back. The opening acts were the Starchildren and Feable Weiner. The Starchildren is incidentally a one-man band of Love Apple drummer Suggs. With a constant drumbeat in the background, he sang simple lyrics and played keyboards and a guitar. The solo effort was engaging and indica tive of his talent. Feable Weiner, from Mufreesboro, Tenn., was just as enjoyable as The Starchildren, but had a very different sound. Feable Weiner complemented Love Apple well with a punk, geek-rock sound. Clad in match ing button-up shirts, complete with “FW’’ on the side, the band rocked the little Lettuce Lounge with its upbeat and deafening songs. Feable Weiner is current ly on its Chux ’n’ Tux Tour 2003 — named in recognition of the band’s preferred outfit. Chuck Taylors and tuxedo shirts. Love Apple will not be playing in Columbia anytime soon, but on Feb. 24, Sposa will be doing acoustic work with his side pro ject, the Buddy System, at the New Brookland Tavern. He will be performing old and new songs, some altered, and covers. The show is part of the Carolina Homegrown Series, which on that night will also fea ture Hot Lava Monster and Dan Johns. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com REVIEWS Lackies offerfresh take on geek rock “ITCH" The Lackies ★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY MEG MOORE THE GAMECOCK * “Itch,” the latest release from Greenville’s the Lackies, merges musical tradition with innovation, offering a sound scape of punchy bass and au ral experimentation. The album’s first few tracks are decidedly garage rock, but “Itch” uses an assortment of influences: rhythm and blues, jazz, and classic rock. Although the Lackies delve into all these genres, they cap ture the various styles with a uniformly sunny vibe that would perfectly underscore a July day at the beach. Throughout the album, the vocals remain sonically de tached and evoke a dreamy, un emotional quality that causes the music to remain refresh ingly noninvasive. Although the songs express themes of heartbreak and change, the al bum remains generally bright sounding; it is easy on the ears as well as the soul. The songs on “Itch” not only reference several different styles — from the summery pop of “Strawberry Pie” to the barroom jazz of “You’re Not Alone” — but they rattle with gritty effects and snippets of spoken word. Such experi mentation affords The Lackies a fresh sound; the songs exude a subdued sort of cool that aug ments the rock solidarity of the music. Certain tracks on “Itch” would seem stylistically out of place if not for the easy ambi ence threaded through the en tire CD. “Spit it Out,” for in stance, is decidedly darker than muqb of the album, yet it maintains the same garage rock cploring that shades the rest of the songs. Overall, The Lackies’ latest album is certainly worth a lis ten. “Itch” infuses the classic sounds of eras past with a healthy dose of innovative ef fects, and the album offers a fresh take on geek-rock malaise. While it does not venture into completely uncharted mu sical territory, “Itch” main tains an inventive enough edge to sound simultaneously hip and traditionally grounded. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockmixeditor@ hotmail.com Updike drowns readers in detail “SEEK MY FACE" John Updike ★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY BRIAN RAY THE GAMECOCK John Updike has pored through two giant volumes of modern art and produced a novel, thick and rich. Updike studied art history at Oxford, so it’s no surprise he would dedicate his 20th novel to Jackson Pollock’s splattered canvases, Jasper Johns’ stacked flags, and Andy Warhol’s celebrity portraits. The story concerns a jour nalist’s tape-recorded inter view with the aging Hope Chafetz, artist and wife of renowned artists Zack McCoy and, in later years, Guy Holloway. Their daylong conversation barely touches on Hope’s art work, but probes her relation ships with artist after famous artist — particularly her two temperamental, genius late husbands. McCoy’s character is modeled after the American artist Jackson Pollock, while Holloway’s character seems a composite of Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns. Hope’s trials and tribulations closely resemble those of Pollock’s wife Lee Krasner — also a well-known abstract painter. Kathryn’s conversation with Hope begins with a short discussion of the surrealist painters. After portraying Dali as nothing more than a circus act, Hope’s chunks of dialogue plunge into the depths of her first marriage with McCoy. Hope explains her early girl hood crush on McCoy and its transformation into a mar riage infested with alcoholism and abuse. After denigrating McCoy’s artwork and then telling Kathryn about his pseudo-sui cidal car crash, Hope narrates the tale of her provocative mar riage to Holloway — who is partially based on Warhol, known for his art, pornography and wild drug-and-sex parties. The two women talk a lot about life, art, and how a wom an subjugates herself to one fa mous painter and then another, sweeping her own artistic aspi rations under the rug. Despite the lack of a plot, Updike man ages to cover a wealth of themes, including, but not lim ited to, self-discovery, memory and artistic integrity. Ultimately, Chafetz refutes the artist’s pursuit of immor tality in favor of enjoying the simple pleasures. Her third husband is an art collector who enjoys living. Updike’s reputation as America’s most distinguished writer hasn’t faltered since “Rabbit, Run” opened the na tion’s eyes in 1960. Since that literary rocket launch, Updike has dazzled critics and readers alike with more than 50 books. His ripe style alienates the commoners, however. Updike’s writing is rewarding if you have the patience to wade through two-page sen tences, but it’s not something to read in a crowded coffee house. Updike s prose is vaguely reminiscent of Pollock’s paint splattering—messy but full of texture. The weakness in this is that readers get so caught up in deciphering they might miss what’s going on. The intense language runs the risk of smothering the characters, and it drowns the reader in an endless parade of details. There’s no plot and thus no twists. The novel takes place in a single day, yet it bends space and time as to en compass half a century. To pfit it another way: If you want simple entertainment, but not enlightenment, look up Jackson Pollock on the inter net and save $20 and 20 hours. The depth of knowledge pre sented in this novel will capti vate and satisfy those who en joy high fiction or art. Sentences are waiting on every page to take your breath away. Updike has accomplished a great feat in exploring art through literature. He weds these two forms of expression in a way that entertains and in forms the reader. But you’ll need a clean, empty, well-lit reading place if you don’t want to get lost and frustrated. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockmixeditor@ hotmail.com