The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 23, 2003, Page 7, Image 7
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, July 23,2003 - 7
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BY COREY GARRIOTT
. THE GAMECOCK
Columbia has no hills to stand
its name on like the bold, white
Hollywood letters that loom over
Los Angeles. But Hollywood is ex
actly what independent filmmak
ers want to avoid in their pursuit
of an artistic vision.
However, they don’t mind a lit
tle corporate backing. Kodak,
Sony, Avid Technologies and
Turner Entertainment will help
USC’s Media Arts program host
more than 250 of them this week.
The University Film and Video
Association, a professional or
ganization for up-and-coming film
makers, began its 57th annual con
ference Tuesday, and the public is
invited to all the proceedings.
A haven for student film, the
UFVA uses corporate sponsorship
to promote film and media educa
tion. It meets annually, publish
es a journal and funds NextFrame,
an international, student-run film
festival.
“Graduate students at Temple
University curate it,” said Karla
Berry, associate professor of me
dia arts. “We screen it and, while
attending the conference, mem
bers of the organization will j udge
the submissions.”
The Nickelodeon Theatre had
a special screening from the festi
val Monday night.
“The films that we screened
were the best of last year’s
NextFrame festival,” said Anne
Ranan, executive director of the
Columbia Film Society, which
founded and operates the
Nickelodeon. “They pick the best
student films from around the
world.”
Monday’s last movie,
Contrabass, was a finalist in last
year’s narrative category.
Contrabass was shot by Anna
Melikian, a student in the All
Russian State Institute for
Cinematography at Moscow. The
movie selects short scenes in the
tragicomic life of a musician who
plays, and hates, an obscure bass
instrument.
♦ FILM, SEE PAGE 9
PHOTO BY TRISHA SHADWELL/THE GAMECOCK
USC graduate Mathew Parker reads the Nickelodeon calendar.
CD REVIEW
Mars Volta blends
Latin, rock music
“DE-LOUSED IN THE
COMATORIUM”
Mars Volta
★★★★ out of
BY MICHAEL ARDAIOLO
THE GAMECOCK
Mars Volta’s “De-Loused in the
Comatorium” opens a window
into the psychedelic funhouse of
Cedric Bixler Zavala and Omar
Rodriguez-Lopez.
Bixler and Zavala, members of
ex-band At the Drive In, have as
similated Latin beats, streaming
guitar riffs and echoing vocals
into this Santana-esque painting
of rock ‘n roll glory. The music de
velops a 60-minute story that fol
lows the journey of childhood
friend Julio Venegas through the
dreams he experiences while com
atose, his awakening and his ulti
mate suicide.
Welcome to your 21st century
Led Zeppelin. This band pushes
electronic-beat breakdowns, tow
ering bongos and the elements of
whatever genre happens to flow
UUUUgU UO
Opening with the introspective
and mournful tones of “Inertiatic
ESP°” and “Roulette Dares,” the
music rolls into the (more up
beat?) “Drunkship of Lanterns,”
♦ MARS VOLTA, SEE PAGE 9
r • "** •*
Bands fight for studio time
BY MEGAN TREASY
THE GAMECOCK.
This July, New Brookland
Tavern and Black Candle
Management are hosting a
monthlong Battle of the Bands.
“This is the first time we’ve
ever done one with Black Candle
Management and in this format,”
booking agent Jonathan
Dunaginsaid. The venue will de
termine the winner through a
voting format.
Everyone who came to cheer
for a contestant Monday was
handed a ticket with the power
to praise or reject local bands
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time. They were asked to write
the name of the band they want
ed to vote for once all the bands
had performed. Each band had
30 minutes to perform four origi
nal songs.
“I expect everyone to do well.
In a battle, bands typically do bet
ter than usual,” Dunagin says.
Although Clayton Ravine was
the only of the four scheduled
bands to show up on July 14, the
audience still had to officially
vote for them in order for them
to win that night’s competition.
Out of 34 bands that applied,
16 were chosen. Four bands have
waged musical war every
Monday night for the past
month. The winner from each
week will go on to compete in the
final show on Aug. 8.
The winner of the competition
wins studio time for of six songs,
three at Sound Lab and three at
Sound Servant Studios. The win
ner will also receive a cash prize
that’s based on the attendance
over the four weeks. The winner
will also get to play a full set the
night of the final competition.
The December Tragedy, a five
member band from Florence
competing on July 28, is excited
about the exposure the competi
tion will give them.
If you go
WHAT: Battle of the Bands
WHERE: New Brookland
Tavern ^
WHEN: Monday, July 28 at
9 p.m.
BOX OFFICE: 791-4413
TICKETS: $5
“It will give us good publicity
and give us a chance to play for
a lot of people who may have nev
er heard of us,” singer Justin
Osbourne said. “We won’t be dis
couraged if we lose because it
will be a good experience re
gardless of the outcome.
However, we really could use
some free studio time.”
The local band Guitar Show
won Monday night's competition
and will play in the final along
with Clayton Ravine.
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