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I ■_ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, October 6, 2003 5 » I gp pontapttn . ' THEY SAID IT U11 U < 1 L ° Wl LLIAM SHAKESPEARE: “There are more Story ideas? Questions? Comments? things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than E-mail us at gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com are dreamt of in your philosophy.” CD REVIEW Matthews offers no surprises on debut solo album w SOME DEVIL “SOME DEVIL” Dave Matthews ★★★ out of BY MEG MOORE THE (1AMHOICK It is one of the most monumen tal questions of this musical age — does Dave make the Dave Matthews Band, or is he simply the figurehead of a successful group? With his debut solo album “Some Devil” Matthews obviously hopes to establish himself as a singer/songwriter to be reckoned with and respected in his own right, apart from his diversely tal ented bandmates. Even though their name is not on the album, the spirit of the Dave Matthews Band — in its en tirety — clearly seethes through every chord. The listener can ei ther conclude that Matthews in deed forms the core of the group’s sound, or that his own songcraft has merely been developed and de fined by having talented friends. Either way, “Some Devil” contains no uncharacteristic surprises. The songs rely heavily on rhythm guitar, capturing the same stripped-down sound as Dave Matthews’ earlier work with Tim Reynolds. On his new record, Matthews digs graves, anguishes over lost loves and includes a slew of artsy pictures in the liner notes— but no lyrics. At least the listener can reckon with Dave’s shadowy, two-page spread of a stare while lis tening to the contemplative times. The album opens with “Dodo,” a song that languishes in its acous tic guitar based sound, floating Matthews’ easy falsetto vocals across a laid-back beat. It is typi cal DMB-style fare, minus the forceful horns and full-band chords. But the third track, “Gravedigger,” evidences a dark er side of Dave, one that proves haunting and somewhat morbid in its somber-yet-afflicted deliv ery.’’You should never have to bury your own baby,” Matthews sings, later including a chilling re frain from the nursery rhyme, “Ring around the Rosies.” Such dark moments afford “Some Devil” a sense of sans-the-band originali ty at times, but overall, Matthews’ solo songs would have sounded right at home on “Busted Stuff.” Matthews tends to get repetitive in the structure of his solo tunes as well—both “Grey Blue Eyes” and the title track employ distinctly spare instrumentation. The sparse combination of Matthews’ vocals and a woeful electric-guitar line proves emotionally effective, yet it exemplifies Matthews’s lack of lat itude without his usual assortment of musicians. The album’s generally uniform sound might lack variety, but it will undoubtedly have devoted Dave fans swooning. Many of the songs sound painfully fragile, aiming to elicit sympathy from even the most apathetic of listeners. The poetic lyrics speak of love and death with an artful sincerity that sets them above typical pop-rock fare in terms of complexity. Although many of the songs are somber, “Save Me” progresses ipto a gospel-tinged, will-save-your-soul type number, complete with a choir. Overall, Matthews delivers a solid, if ordinary solo debut with “Some Devil.” The tunes do not stray from the established Dave Matthews Band formula, but then again, few fans likely would have wanted to hear anything too dif ferent. Matthews often downplays his musical skills, yet “Some Devil” proves that he can certain ly write emotive songs. The album contains no potential radio hits, although it does contain many powerful musical passages. The al bum might not reach out to any new audiences, but those already committed to all aspects of Matthews fandom will undoubt edly embrace his worthy debut. Ultimately, “Some Devil” fur thers Matthews’s reputation as an apt — although not unpredictable — songwriter. But which came first, the talent or the band, re mains anybody’s guess. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@jwtmail.com Local band gets the chance to win fans nationwide with new CD BY TRINA RAHMAN THE GAMECOCK The guys of Silers Bald do not attempt to get your attention with loud guitar riffs or by screaming un • intelligible lyrics. No, they would rather simply jam and hang out — while making music that has a point. The band’s four members — Warren Bazemore on acoustic and electric guitars and vocals; Shane Williams on acoustic guitar, piano and vocals; Marcus Myers on bass, hammer dulcimer and vio Dlin; and Jason Jacobs on drums and percussion — are all from Irmo, all USC attendees, and all as friend ly as a person can get. The band was named after a clearing on the Appalachian Trail—a space “wedged someplace be tween the border of North Carolina and East Tennessee, a ridge of sorts, with the most tremen dous view of the valley below,” according to a news release. The location serves as a symbol for the type of music the group makes — pop-rock with an inspi rational bent — Bazemore said. “We all long for a time in our life when we have those moments of clarity, moments when we get a view of what life is about and what really matters,” he said. “Silers Bald provides the perfect setting for such moments. It is a place to rest, to fmd shelter and to refuel for the rest of the trip. We hope that our music offers the same comfort of home, the clar Dity of an unencumbered view,” he said on the band’s Web site, www.silersbald.com. In fact, these boys’ faith has carried them through various trials, including a trip on a seem ingly self-destructive RV three years ago. While driving the vehicle, Williams was sitting beneath a microwave. The unit became detached and fell, almost hitting him. He reflexively moved and avoid ed being hit. The RV’s generator later caught fire as the band was preparing board, and they have had their trials with icy roads as well. “But we’ve only missed one show in almost eight years,” said Williams. The group performs an average of 150 shows a year, traveling to at least 27 different states. Last Tuesday, Silers Bald held the CD release par ty for “Real Life,” the band’s first album with the label Essential Records. The record was produced by Josh Moore, a member of the South Carolina band Caedmon’s Call. The celebratory show took place in Columbia International University’s packed audito rium in front of a supportive audience. Before the show, Williams sat down to discuss the band’s past, present and future: Q: How did you feel being compared to the Goo Goo Dolls and Dave Matthews band by Seventeen magazine in the December 2002 article “Christian artists who will rock you, whether you’re Christian or not”? A: We are honored to be named with those bands and the most important thing to us is making music that is relevant. There’s really no difference between other bands. We are also fans of Toad the Wet Sprocket, P.O.D. and Switchfoot. Q: You have said that the band is “aiming to shat ter false realities and point people to the truth.” What do you mean by that? A: “Real life” is living a life that is in pursuit of not (material things) but in pursuit of the Creator. Q: How did early covers of Van Morrison and Counting Crows turn into making Christian music? A: We believed in their lyrics and thought they were thought-provoking on deep issues. Writing our Silers Bald's first national release, “Real Life,” was produced by Josh Moore of fellow S.C. band Caedmon’s Call. own lyrics allowed us to express what we felt. We still write about life and love too. Q: You all met at USC. What activities were you in and what did you do for fun? i A: Warren and I used to live in the l Towers and we were involved in Young Life and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. We used to go down to Rockefeller’s and watch Jacko Pierce. Q: It seems like you have established a fan base, a loyal following, without playing in clubs and bars like a typical college band. Are you happy with a word of mouth following or do you hope that with this new record deal you’ll follow in the footsteps of Nickel Creek and DC Talk? A: I hope the goal is just the sake of art and to affect people. Jars of Clay are our label-mates at Essential Records, so we’re pretty happy to be in the company we’re in. Marcus Myers plays bass, hammer dulcimer and violin for Silers Bald, a j band of former USC students originally from Irmo. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK SILERS BALD REAL LIFE Q: Did anyone ever tell you your sound was “too preachy” and to go mainstream? A: We believe in our music and believe in our mes sage, and we’ll be doing this as long as He guides us to doit. Q: Where can your new CD be found? A: Wal-Mart, Target, and Christian bookstores. Listen for Silers Bald’s first single, “Got Me Smilin’,” on Columbia’s B-106.7.WTCB-FM. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail. com Indian film draws celebrity objections by ramola talwar badam the ASSOCIATED PRESS BOMBAY, INDIA - The stars: a world-renowned sitar composer and his long-lost daughter, an American jazz singer. The finale: the daughter sweeps the Grammy awards and they reunite. Does this Bollywood plot sound familiar? Ravi Shankar and Norah Jones think so. And they don’t like it. The script for “Song of * Life” echoes the story of Shankar and Jones, which was revealed after the young singer took 3 over the 2003 Grammys with her debut CD, “Come Away With Me.” The filmmaker is Dev Anand, a veteran of Bombay-based “Bollywood,” which chums out 800 movies a year. He plans to play Shankar, and recently traveled to New York to cast American and Indian actors. The actors will speak English, not Hindi. The movie will feature four songs and no bump and grind dances typical of Bollywood. “This is a great international subject - a great Indian musician with a daughter who is American, totally American,” Anand, 79, told The Associated Press dur ing an interview in a room cluttered with CDs, books and papers at his spacious recording studio. But Shankar’s wife, Sukanya, said the whole family is opposed to the script. It focuses on Jones, her mother - who Anand says was “deserted” by the Indian musi cian - as well as on Shankar, his wife and other daughter, Anoushka, herself a sitarist. “Nobody knows the inside story about our family except for us, really,” an upset Sukanya Shankar said by telephone from London, where she was accompanying her husband and daughter on a European tour. Ravi Shankar, a three-time Grammy winner, has been well-known in the West for decades because of his influence on the Beatles. Anoushka also was nominat ed at this year’s Grammys for the best world music album, although she did not win. Jones’ Grammy triumph focused un wanted attention on Shankar’s estranged relationship with Norah’s mother, New York concert producer Sue Jones, whom he never married. Norah Jones was born in New York and raised in Texas. For 10 years, she had no contact with her father, but the two have since made peace. The Times of India recently published interviews with Jones, who called Anand’s movie “very exploitative,” and with Anoushka, who called Anand “a jerk.” “He does not have our permission tp produce this film,” Sukanya Shankar told The AP. “For now, we will just tell the press that this has nothing to do with our story.” Anand says he need not ask permis sion, since he would be “handicapped in scripting, in imagination.” “I’m only flattering them by doing the story,” he said. Anand has played suave romantic leads in 115 Hindi-language movies since his 1945 debut, and has directed 16 movies over the last three decades. He was mobbed by screaming female fans in the 1950s and ‘60s - just like the Beatles, who came to India, befriended Shankar and in troduced his sitar music to an interna tional audience. Anand recalls being in New York last February around Grammy time. “The next day it was in the news that this Norah Jones had won five Grammys and she happened to be the daughter of Ravi Shankar,” he said. “You don’t need anything else after this. The inspiration comes from there, the thought.” PHOTO COURTESY KRT CAMPUS ^Norah Jones clalm^the ,ndlan Aim “So-Jig of Life” gives an Inaccurate portrayal of her family life.