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0 ^ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, September 5, 2003 5 CONTACT US THEY SAID IT Story ideas? Questions? Comments? MADI, „T, „ . __ F-maii us atgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com schooling mterfere with my shouldering the burden Heavy backs have students looking for alternative packs BY TRINA RAHMAN THE (iAMECUCK Campus life can be a heavy burden to car ry. With textbooks and other class essentials constantly in tow, most students shoulder a lot of weight on their way to class each day. The back-to-school season always brings an influx of new and improved book bag | styles to area stores. Students must consider I— but no longer have to choose between — form and function when searching for that ideal carry-all pack. An assortment of variations on the tradi tional backpack are now available to the bag toting student — the messenger bag, the sin gle-strap backpack, the shoulder tote, the mo bile backpack on wheels. Most students want a bag that is big enough to hold what they need for the day’s classes, freeing them from sub sequent trips back to the dorm. Jerome Green, a third-year hospitality and retail management student, walks from the business administration building to the coli seum for class two days a week. He wanted a tough, dependable backpack that also had a place for his CDs. He eventually decided on carrying a traditional-style pack. “I used to carry a backpack on wheels, but it would catch in the cracks of the sidewalk, and it didn’t have pockets,” he said. No matter what style one chooses, a back pack is not cheap. At the Russell House book store, a classic Jansport featuring three zip pered compartments and a water bottle pock et sells for $49.98. m_i_i_x_i_i_„x__n :_i_ A l IV tjwnoioiv, UUJ UlOU OIU1 IV,U uugo made by Dickies. The company describes the bags as “extremely durable,” made of “600 de nier polyester with fused PVC rubberized wa ter backing.” Those who have owned a pair of pants by Dickies can attest to the durability of the materials used. Dickies also makes a messenger bag that is available in two sizes, the smaller of which seems less roomy than the average-sized mes senger. Both sizes cost $29.98. Levis’ has also started making bags — a cor duroy messenger is available for $24.98 in a variety of colors. The company’s denim mes senger bag sells for $34.98, yet, considering its small size, it seems better suited for show than for function. The South Carolina Bookstore offers a stur dy Jansport messenger bag for $50; the brand’s basic messenger style sells for $40. Other models ip the Jansport line include: the Darkstar, a heavy-duty pack for $44.99; the Velocity, a multi-colored bag for $39.99; and the Urban Transit, a combination shoul der bag and backpack, for $43.99. The store also carries the Airpacks line, which includes a> single-strap bag — a popu lar style this fall — in both suede ($49.95) and a “sporty” version ($69.95). Heather Martin, a first-year history student, prefers to carry a tote bag, which seems to be a popular style around campus these days. Her bag is made by Vera Bradley. “I hate it when (a) book bag’s strap hits the back of my legs and doesn’t allow the back to breathe,” she says. Her friend Michelle Quigly, a first-year nursing student, carries an L.L. Bean book bag on most days but switches to a messenger bag when she only has one class. She said she didn’t want to carry ^tradi tional book bag “unless I have to.” “The average weight a student should carry on their backs is between 10 to 15 pounds, but a college student will add 15 to 20 pounds,” said Michael Flemming, a buyer for The Backpacker store downtown. Many students buy bags from this store for use at school. “I think the messenger bag is more popu lar out West, while book bags are more pop ular in the South,” he said. The Backpacker carries several lines including the less-expensive but durable brand Kelty and the popular The North Face. North Face bags range in price from $40 to $90, and sell out quickly, according to Flemming. The North Face’s line includes 25 styles in all; eight of those have proved to be top sell ers at The Backpacker. Eddie Bauer, which has stores at both _ Columbiana Centre, Jg also makes book j0l bags. "Guide Series" bags are ir* available at the Columbia ^^^B Place loca both medium ($59) and ^B large fl ($69) -a ■; - These bagsfea- H ture pockets V for sun- ■ C':; glasses V ' and a V water. ^B bottle, a zippered panel ^^B for an organizer ^BB and cell phone, and fl a CD portal. They are con- B structed with both 840 and 1,680 denier nylon. The higher the nylon ' count, the higher the quality of the material; furthermore, the addition of polyester is what makes bags waterproof. The bags at Eddie Bauer are in fact made with Teflon — a durable coating used in the manufacture of cooking pans — which causes water to bead up and roll off the bag. In the end, a book bag can meet a student’s needs in both formand function. A backpack serves not only to carry essentials but to re flect one’s personal style. Finding that ideal, bag may take some shopping around, but it will ultimately prove to be a weight off the book-lugging student’s shoulders. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com First-year music student Katie Thigpen has a new book bag for the year. PHOTO BY TRISHA SHADWELL/THE GAMECOCK Local bands supply city with diverse sampling of musical styles BY MEGAN TREACY THE GAMECOCK Considering its relatively small size, the Capitol City has a grow ing community of talented musi cians. Although only a sampling ri the local music buffet, the fol ing three artists are currently whetting the appetites of area mu sic fans and satisfying listeners both on campus and beyond. Guitar Show MEMBERS: Daniel Machado, vocals and guitar; Sierra Machado, bass and vocals; and guest musicians GENRE: Pop rock ALBUMS: “Guitar Show Live” (2002), “Once Around the Sun” (2003), “The Beast” EP (Summer 2003) SHOW DATES: Sept. 20 — Fuze 2003 festival BIO: Guitar Show was formed in the summer of2001 and has already gone through its share of lineup changes. The band now mainly consists of brother and sister pan Daniel and Sierra Machado and a rotating mix of guest musicians that fill in at shows. Guitar Show has three releases to date, the most recent being the five-song “The Beast” EP released this summer—the band’s first stu dio-quality recording. Guitar Show has played at a number of local venues and just re cently made it to the finals of New Brookland Tavern’s Battle of the Bands this summer. The band is set to play at the up coming Fuze 2003 festival along side local bands Tigerhot Hesh, Cool Hand Luke, Courage Riley and others. Dade County Resistance MEMBERS: Garrett Grashuis, guitar and vocals; Mark Emerson, bass; Troy Thames, drums GENRE: Punk ALBUMS: “Twelve Step Program” (three-way split), “The Long Story Short” (six-song demo), “Every Last Chance” (full length, April 2003) SHOW DATES: Sept. 27 — Swayze’s in Atlanta; Oct. 4 — Music Farm in Charleston; Oct. 12 — New Brookland Tavern BIO: Dade County Resistance was formed in 2001 when a former band of Garrett Grashuis and Mark Emerson became defunct. They then enlisted Troy Thames of Guyana Punch Line to be their drummer and set to work. In their first year as a band, they released four songs on a three-way split with Burns Out Bright and Last to Know titled “Twelve Step Program” and the put out a six-song demo titled “The Long Story Short.” Dade County Resistance has played with notorious punk bands Stretch Armstrong, Hot Water Music, Midtown and Dillinger Four. In April 2003, they released “Every Last Chance”, their debut full length, on Illinois’s Trend is Dead! Records and South Carolina’s Three Day Hero Records. Josh Bowers , i MEMBERS: Josh Bowers, acous tic guitar and vocals GENRE: Acoustic singer-song writer ALBUMS: “A Title Similar or in Reference to.. .or Simply Side A” SHOW DATES: None at present BIO: Josh Bowers began play ing guitar at age 14 and quickly started writing his own songs out of frustration when he couldn’t fig ure out how to play any covers. Bowers, a fifth-year English stu dent, transferred from USC Lancaster last year and has been bringing his minimalist sound to Columbia venues on a regular ba sis since. He most recently played at Cockapalooza during Welcome Week. Bowers has performed solo for most of his career, but did have a two-year stint with a band from 1999 to 2001. Even though his first band didn’t work out, Bowers is always thinking about putting a band together to create a sound he calls “literary rock,” of which he considers Death Cab for Cutie to be an example. Bowers, who reads constantly, is just as inspired by his favorite author Douglas Coupland as he is by his favorite band Saves the Day. While Bowers admits to ul timately wanting to sign to a la bel, his main concern is to keep writing and continue being creative. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com CD REVIEW Neil Young keeps career alive with tales of(Greendale> < “GREENDALE” Neil Young and Crazy Horse ★ ★★OUtof-frA-ftirft BY CHARLES TOMLINSON THE (iAMEUOCK Neil Young hasn’t let up for al most 40 years. Although he made . history with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, he’s still investing his heart in his solo career. “Greendale,” his latest album with backing band Crazy Horse, un folds like a 10-song countrified soap opera. The naked simplicity of “Greendale,” set in the fictional town of the same name, empowers the album. The songs often serve as repetitive backdrops for Young to tell the story, but catchy cho ruses always emerge from Crazy Horse’s 10-minute extended im provisations. Guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro is absent, which gives “Greendale” an even more pared down sound. While it’s tempting to call “Greendale” a concept album, it’s amazing that it turned out as co herent as it did. “When I was writing this, I had no idea what I was doing, so I was just as surprised as you are,” Young writes in the liner notes, which contain his rambling ex planations of the songs. The first three songs introduce the Green family, including ornery old Grandpa, hippie child Sun Green and wayward Cousin Jed, who in “Leave the Driving” shoots Officer Carmichael during a traffic stop. The characters are new, but Young has preached about some of the album’s themes in the past. “Change comes slow in the country,” he sings, echoing the sentiments of his ’70s hits “Southern Man” and “Alabama.” Along with a chorus of female backup singers, he reminds us that “we’ve got to save Mother Earth” on the album’s closer “Be the Rain.” Young also tackles the media on “Grandpa’s Interview.” Early in the story, Sun Green is at home working on a report for school called “How to Use the Media,” foreshadowing Grandpa’s death by stroke or heart attack while defiantly con fronting reports on his front porch. Grandpa says during the open ing song, “Seems like that guy singing this song has been doing it for a long time/ Is there any thing you know that he ain’t said?” As the stream-of-consciousness inspired “Greendale” flows forth, it proves that, as an artist. Young has plenty left to say. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com