University of South Carolina Libraries
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, April 2, 2004 5 > / ✓ ‘ : “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistentope.” Contact. Us albert EINSTEIN Story ideas? Questions? Comments? physicist ^ E-mail us at gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu i*1 PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK Nathaniel Gregg Jr., a correctional officer, auditions for “Big Brother" Tuesday afternoon at Carolina Wings & Rib House in The Vista. About 100 people auditioned for the reality show. Area residents vie for reality check during “Big Brother” auditions BY CAITLIN COKER the gamecock Third-year math stu dent Zack Nichols has many dreams and a few plans. One of those dreams is to be on a reality televi sion program. “Well, life just isn’t extreme enough anymore,” Nichols said. want my own cheap shot at Mme, fortune and being invited onto late-night talk shows.” For Columbia residents, this far-off dream could become a re ality — open auditions to be a contestant on the hit reality TV show “Big Brother” were held Tuesday at Carolina Wings & Rib House in The Vista. Local CBS af filiate WLTX-TV held the casting call from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and about 100 people came for their chance. Ever since pioneering shows such as “Survivor” and “The Real World” began airing, reali ty TV has become increasingly popular. Many strangers like to watch other strangers in com promising positions, regardless of whether contestants are sur viving daring feats or surviving smelly housemates. Some people also like to see strangers get mar ried, be it to fathers, real mil lionaires, fake millionaires or other strangers. “Reality television has changed the face of TV,” said WLTX president Rich O’Dell. “It has boosted ratings for CBS, es pecially in the youth demograph ic. People are curious and even a little voyeuristic, so it makes for good TV.” The premise of “Big Brother” is 12 strangers have to live to gether for 100 days without being voted out of the house. The last person left walks away' with $500,000. Every movement the contes tants make is captured by cameras planted all over the house. Television viewers can partake in the melodrama that occurs when different people have to share the same space. The show was so popular the first season that CBS made anoth er one. And another one. Now, it is preparing for its fifth season of the show. CBS affiliates all over the coun try are searching for everyday people to be in the next season of “Big Brother.” WLTX-TV enthu siastically accepted the offer to help in this quest. “It’s fun to do this for Columbia,” O’Dell said. “A steady stream of people have come out to day, and we would love to have someone from South Carolina on these shows.” Indeed, South Carolina resi dents traveled from all over the state for the chance to be on “Big Brother.” Reality-star wannabes of all different ages turned out for the call, from 21-year-olds to a 52 year-old. Todd “Topaz” Montgomery, a 33-year-old retired bartender, was one of the first to audition. He seems like a natural pick for a re ality TV show contestant — friendly and charming, in mod ern dress and a cowboy hat. His natural charisma and his hidden yet-accessible conniving nature are what he claims will be his main asset on the show. “My experiences with working in retail have given me great peo ple skills — in getting along and getting what I want,” Montgomery said. O’Dell also thinks personality is a prerequisite for “Big Brother” contestants. “They should have a really good personality,” O’Dell said. "Able to have fun, and maybe even a little conniving.” Montana Grieco, 24, has never had a roommate in her life, nor has she actually watched an episode of “Big Brother,” but she dreams of flying to Los Angeles and returning with half a million dollars. Plus, she said, she “wants to date a TV producer.” “I think it would be a great ex perience to live with 11 other peo ple from different parts of the country with different back grounds and viewpoints,” Grieco said. Another perk of the show for Grieco would be being under surveillance at all times. “I like cameras, and I like talk ing,” she said. Grieco believes being on a TV show like “Big Brother” requires “a unique personality, so that peo ple will want to watch them. A cer tain spark.” Tuesday’s “Big Brother” audi tions also required prospective contestants to present two pic tures of themselves and two pho tocopied forms of ID — four things that Zack Nichols did not have with him. Saddened that he had lost so early in the game, Nichols waved good-bye to his high-hat dreams, but still believes he would have been well-quali fied. “All I have ever seen on reality TV shows is two people in a hot tub, and I want to be one or both of these people,” Nichols said. “I mean, I have a lifetime experience of living in houses and doing stuff.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu Medley of musicians •to play for Music Crawl BY MEG MOORE THE GAMECOCK ' Consider it a publicity stunt of sorts — or more appropriately, a “fan-raiser” for the local music scene. The fifth annual Free Times Music Crawl takes place this weekend, gathering 35 area bands for one rocking evening of guitars and bar-crawling. The fun starts at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at one of the Midlands’ most-frequented live music venues, New Brookland Tavern. Five other area clubs will be cranking out the tunes later in the evening for a multi-stage, multi-style, citywide shindig. £/ rom the hip-hop rhythms of rJej a Voodoo to the rock hard sounds of Throttlerod, an assort ment of groups with regional ties will be giving music fans a rea son to rock out. Several genres will be spot lighted on different stages. Art Bar will be playing host to the art punk, heavy metal crowd while New Brookland and Jillian’s will take on the tamer alt-rock and pop-punk contingent. Indie-rock ers Bolt and the Weezer-influ enced Mean Wiener wilhbe split ting the bill with local hip-hop and R&B acts at Headliners. Flying Saucer will tfeep fans in touch with their roots by pre senting a country-tinged lineup. Wristbands give attendees en trance to all venues for a mere $5. New Brookland and Sundance will admit all ages during the event. The rest of the clubs will be 18 and up. Come out and join the party. 2004 Free Times Music Crawl NEW BR00KLAND TAVERN Chasing August 4:30-5 p.m. The Scrabbles 5:15 p.m. Pop 39 6 p.m. F-13 6:45 p.m. Bums Out Bright 7:30 p.m. Vinyl are My Pants 8:15 p.m. Curse Go Back 9:15 p.m. Gods of Mars 10:15 p.m. Donbravado 11:15 p.m. Danielle Howie 12:15 a.m. ART BAR Mandible 7:45 p.m. Something About Vampires & Sluts 8:40 p.m. From Safety to Where 9:35 p.m. Rockefeller Horsecollar 10:30 p.m. Throttlerod 11:25 p.m. FLYING SAUCER Park at Senate Street Rat Out Strangers 8 p.m. Phil Yates 9 p.m. Petrillo Relents 10 p.m. Black Bottom Biscuits 11 p.m. Willie Heath Neal Midnight ♦ MUSIC CRAWL, SEE PAGE 6 CD. Review ‘Bobo ’ works as one-time treat BY STEVEN VAN HAREN THE GAMECOCK The men of Aerosmith are al ready cemented into the American rock ’n’ roll pantheon, and they can do anything they want with their 30-year invest ment paying the bills. “Honkin’ on Bobo,” an album of old blues stan dards, is their post-middle-age ex periment in thoughtless fun. While these chiseled dinosaurs still smolder with talent and pas sion, the experiment lumbers at times like a Frankenstein built solely for their amusement. “Road Runner,” the stunning ly refreshing liftoff track, finds ev ery member of the group inter jecting quick solos like hothead ed teenagers in their first band. It’s obvious the boys are having fun past 50, especially when right hand man and Riffmaster General Joe Perry sings lead vocals on the otherwise boring “Stop Messin’ Around” and the hurdy-gurdy tinged “Back Back Train.” Perry’s smooth vocals provide temporary relief from those of lead wailer Steven Tyler, who’s gained a wise-beyond-his-years control over his acrobatic singing. Tyler’s harmonica, rarely heard on an Aerosmith album, covers the 12 tracks like a clean, blue flame. Perry and guitarist Brad Whitford spew slide licks and so los on even ground, with nary a mention of who’s playing lead and who’s playing rhythm. Both men stand at attention on the moody “I’m Re^dy,” and while Perry’s licks are easily recognizable, a feeling of two guitars-work ing-as-one dom inates the al bum. When the ‘Smiths break out of the 12-bar blues frame, the results are pleasantly unique. This al bum’s survival relies almost completely on bells and whis tles, like the stuttering bass line in “Baby, Please Don’t Go” and the one-time-onlv descending riff in the middle of “You Gotta Move.” These blues gems pop with su per-sharp production courtesy of Jack Douglas, the wizard behind such classic Aerosmith albums as “Toys in the Attic” and “Rocks.” Blend this old-school ethic with the 21st-century scratch from their 2001 album “Just Push Play,” and you’ll get a good idea of the sound on “Bobo.” Unfortunately, the polished modernity of the tracks squeezes almost every drop of soul out of the recordings. Need proof that modern blues can still work? Listen to “Texas Flood.” Need proof that an album of covers by a well-estab lished band can at least reach broader than one genre? Listen to Metallica’s “Garage, Inc.” These are just two examples of artists that did their own ver sions of“Bobo” much better. Aerosmith certainly lends itself to the mem ory of being a teenage blues band; in fact, “Never Loved A Girl” shows exactly where the soulful anguish of 1993’s “Crazy” and “Cryin”’ came from. It’s almost impossible not to feel your blood ♦ AEROSMITH, SEE PAGE 6 “HONKIN’ ON BOBO" Aerosmith ★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆