The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 06, 2003, Page 5, Image 5
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■_ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, October 6, 2003 5
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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.
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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.
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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.