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CONTACT US I—I N \/l I V ' THEY SAID IT Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I III I V I I / PLUTARCH: “The mind is not a vessel E-mailusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com —■ B— B A A ▼ —I I— A _m_ to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, consisting of nine members, has been together for 26 years, and the band has traveled all over the world. Louisiana band brings Columbia mix of genres, dose of Dixieland THE DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND New Brookland Tavern ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY ROB SEAL THE HAMECOCK The Dirty Dozen Brass Band brought a dose of Dixieland to the New Brookland Tavern on Monday night. The show was the band’s fourth stop on a tour that includes more than 50 perfor mances from North Carolina to California. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band first started playing together at the Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club in New Orleans in 1977. Since then, it has toured in more than 30 countries on five con tinents and played with the likes of Miles Davis, A1 Green, Wynton Marsalis, The Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, Herbie Hancock, and 2 Live Crew. The band, which has only nine members despite its name, plays a mixture of traditional Dixieland jazz, rock and R&B. The show at New Brookland showcased the band’s tight, horn based grooves and considerable improvisational ability. Though only seven of the nine band mem bers were there, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s full sound didn’t lack for blistering solos. The latest studio album, “Medicated Magic,” demonstrates the band’s ability to adapt and move in new directions. The al bum includes special guest ap pearances by Dr. John, DJ Logic, Norah Jones and Robert Randolph. In addition to this wide array of talented guests, the band also included some favorite covers of songs written by other New Orleans artists on the album. Its rendition of Orleans Jazz across the country. “Medicated Magic” was made in tribute to their home city. “Medicated Magic” is the 10th album the group has released. Despite its impres The Meters’ nu. n»». DH« sivediscography, the • cissy The Dirty Dozen Brass band s strong point Strut” is a Band’s latest studio has always been its high point |b “Medicated ^-energy live on a solid al- shows. bum. Magic,” demonstrates Though baritone other the band’s ability to a,nd s°pran° sax covers in- . player Roger Lewis, dude adapt and move in one of the four re “Africa,” pgW directions. maining original also by the members of the Meters; Dr. John’s “Walk on Gilded Splinters”; and Allen Toussaint’s “Everything I Do Gon’ Be Funky.” Since first playing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1979, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band has enhanced and per petuated its own style of New band, was displeased with the amount of cigarette smoke rolling onstage at the New Brookland Tavern, the inconve nience was rectified after he asked the crowd to stop smoking so much. If the smoke, or lack thereof, had any impact on the band’s abil ity to play, no one in the audience could tell. The performance was as robust as ever, featuring the same com bination of traditional New Orleans jazz and modern impro visation that have made the band such a lasting force in the music world. Despite traditionalist detrac tors who disparage the band’s practice of melding New Orleans standards with a modem musical approach, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band has made enough of an im pact on its home city that there is now a Dirty Dozen Brass Band Day in New Orleans. Fans can only hope these guys can keep churning out their in credible live performances and engaging albums for years to come. i Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@kotmail.com TOP 10 These were the most requested songs on USC’s student radio station from Feb.9-16 1. “BRIGHT YELLOW BRIGHT ORANGE” _ Go-Betweens 2. “TALLAHASSEE" Mountain Goats 3. “DEAR HOT CHICK” _ Feable Weiner 4. “GIVE UP” Postal Sprv/irfli 5. “HEARTS OF OAK" Ted Leo and the Pharmacists 6. “PEACHES: THE VERY BEST OF THE STRANGLERS” The Stranglers 7. “MUSIC IS BIG BUSINESS” __All Mighty Senators 8. “NOCTURAMA” Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 9. “THIS IS THE GLAMOUROUS” _New Wet Kojak 10. “SCOTTISH FICTION (EP)” Idlewild « i Southern Circuit film series to showcase indie filmmaker Nickelodeon plays host to lesser-known screenwriters BY MEG MOORE THE (iAMKCOCK The Southern Circuit film se ries, currently in its 27th season, will screen its February selection at the Nickelodeon Theatre on Thursday night. The tour show cases the work of lesser-known filmmakers, and it stops at six lo cations within the Carolinas, Virginia and Mississippi. Sponsored in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission, the program aims to expose audi ences not only to critically ac claimed films, but to the screen writers who envision and create them. The season began in September 2002, opening the year with Montieth McCuUem’s film “Hybrid.” Thursday will mark the circuit’s fifth screening in Columbia. This month’s presen ter, Britta Sjogren, will be show ing and discussing two of her works: the short film “A Small Domain” and her first feature project, “Jo-Jo at the Gate of Lions.” Having received two advanced degrees in film from the University of California at Los Angeles, Sjogren first aspired to write about films, yet has since realized a talent for concocting her own screenplays instead. The movies being screened on Thursday are not new. “A Small Domain” was award ed the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, while “Jo-Jo at the Lion’s Gate” made its debut in 1992. Yet they represent the work of an independent screenwrit er/director who is not afraid to experiment with her medium. “Jo-Jo at the Gate of Lions” exemplifies an ironically inno vative style of filming; it was shot in black and white. The de cision to film sans color stemmed from both financial constraints and Sjogren’s inten tion to let the message of the screenplay, not the mechanics, dominate. The screenplay was inspired by Sjogren’s visit to the site of Joan of Arc’s imprisonment in France; it explores the issues of martyrdom and self-sacrifice, and specifi cally ad dresses the woman’s in volvement with such themes. Like Joan of Arc, the film’s main character hears voices within, and struggles to find her place amid the de mands of love, life and her ap parent high er calling. I_I PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Showcased filmmaker Brltta Sjogren will be discussing her work at the Nlckolodeon. seclusion that such conflicting forces can create within a person. While the sounds and nuances of ev eryday life contin ue in the back ground, the film remains focused on the lonely Beatrice isolated yet immersed in the everyday. In addition to showing her films at various locales this week, Sjorgen will lead a screen writing workshop at USC-Beaufort on Saturday. mi_ __ UJUgl Oil o award-winning short film “A Small Domain” also examines life from a female perspective. Based on the memories of the film’s star, Beatrice Hayes, the film reflects upon the death of the 95-year-old Beatrice’s hus band, who died on their wedding anniversary 35 years, ago. The 18-minute film tries to juxtapose the timelessness of memory with the vivacious pre sent, exploring the em,otional x lie pi v&i mu will focus on the subject, charac ter and structure of a film, and will also allow attendees the op portunity to receive critiques of their work. The workshop will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the USC Beaufort Performing Arts Center. The cost is $60 for students and $75 for the general public. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmaiUx)m CD REVIEW Kings keep it in the family “HOLY ROLLER NOVOCAINE” Kings of Leon irkirk out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY CHARLES TOMLINSON THE GAMECOCK A band coming out of ■ Tennessee playing Southern rock — that’s not so hard to be lieve. But Kings of Leon — brothers Nathan, Caleb and Jared Followill, as well as cousin Matthew Followill — combine their countrified style with blues and garage rock a la The Who. me foliowm orotners learned the rudiments of their raucous sound in, of all places, church. Their father, Leon, evange lized around the South as a Pentecostal minister. He also exposed the boys to rock ’n’ roll. The brothers learned to play their instruments by bashing away during the row dy worship services. But be fore Kings of Leon, the Followill brothers automati cally assumed they’d go to Bible college and become preachers like their father. But they pursued rock mu sic. On their debut EP, “Holy Roller Novocaine,” Caleb’s Southern drawl is strong whether he growls on a sub dued verse or wails over a dis torted chorus. His vocals are a little bit Adam Duritz on “Molly’s Chambers” and more like Tom Petty on “Wasted Time.” Jared’s rubber-band bass tone complements Caleb and Matthew’s wild, Southern fried guitar chords. Nathan’s colorful, straightforward drumming propels the songs out of the bluesy depths of Tennessee. A 1+V»r»n crV» thn honH achieves a bawdy, sloppy sound on its debut EP, the Followills display a soulful mastery of their instruments. If their music ever sounds slovenly, it’s because they wanted it to. “California Waiting” is easily the album’s catchiest track. It opens with a bluesy solo by Matthew and coasts into a lofty chorus with the brothers harmonizing on the hook. “Wicker Chair” shuf fles along sadly like a mod ernized version of a song a bluesman might sing on his front porch. The sly “Holy Roller Novocaine” is sung from the viewpoint of a quack evange list who seems to be taking ad vantage of a woman. Caleb’s vocals are scathingly honest; his voice even cracks during the first verse. And the cho rus — “God’s gonna get us back, God’s gonna get us back” — suggests that God will take His wayward chil dren back. Or, more likely, that they will face His wrath somedav. Kings of Leon might have decided to forgo Bible college, but the members still thank God and family foremost in their EP. And they should — God gave the Followills the power to rock, and daddy Leon gave his sons the sounds of Neil Young and the Rolling Stones when their mother wasn’t in the car. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockmixeditor @hotmail.com