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THF MTY Page 4 _l_ —I— — M... U M -X_ » _l I 4 Friday, Feb. 3,2006 10CK Tim McManus / THE GAMECOCK Columbia Rock Academy owner Marty Fort helps students of all ages learn to jam. TimiMifinus STAFF WRITER About a month ago, Marty Fort opened Columbia’s first music school entirely dedicated to the teaching of rock ‘n’ roll. His school, the Columbia Rock Academy, strives to teach its students what they would need to get on stage and perform in a rock band. “We’re here to try to get people from the practice room to the stage,” Fort said. Fort described the academy’s method of teaching as first getting the students to be competent on their instruments, and once they’re ready, practicing with a full band. “We take beginners and we get them ready to play with people,” Fort said. Their practice regimen eventually leads to what Fort calls a “rock recital.” “It’s a lot like a show you’d go see,” said Fort. He said the recitals will feature the bands that have been harnessing their skill at the academy, and they will each perform eight cover songs. The recitals are scheduled twice a year. Fort also has plans of releasing a compilation album featuring the best Columbia Rock Academy bands every year, no matter what their age group. Fort says the academy has a wide range of student ages. “From 10 to 60,” he said. One of the older students is 5 5-year-old bassist Chip Brown, whocalls the academy “very enlightening.” “I picked up the bass almost 3 weeks ago,” Brown told The Gamecock in a telephone interview, “and last Sunday we put an impromptu band together with students, and I played bass on three songs.” Brown says Fort’s instruction is very effective. “He has a good method,” said Brown. “30 minutes of theory and a half-hour of playing the songs.” Brown said this keeps him from getting bored, and that “you actually have the time to play the songs.” “It amazed me at the first lesson,” Brown said. “I was able to do it and Marty is very gifted.” Fort said the Columbia Rock Academy started as an offshoot of the Columbia Guitar Academy, the three year-old guitar school also owned by Fort. He described the guitar academy as focusing more on solo styling rather than performing in a band. “Some people do classical guitar or jazz guitar or folk guitar,” he said. Fort said the Columbia Rock Academy teaches four instruments: guitar, drums, bass and keyboards. He also said the academy has a staff of five teachers, each teaching their specialty instrument. While some people can learn to be rock musicians on their own, Fort said, “This school is for people who need a little help.” And even for musicians who can do a lot on their own, he said, “There’s always more to learn.” “Everybody can get better,” he added. He mentioned several local artists, including one who’s left for New York, by name, but he asked that The Gamecock not use their names. Fort said the Columbia Rock Academy is sometimes compared to the movie “School of Rock” starring Jack Black. “The school in the movie I was anti-classical and | anti-jazz,” he said, unlike f the academy. “But the comparison is fine.” He also pointed out that | the students in the movie were all children, while the academy accepts students of all ages. In addition to his duties at the two academies, Fort teaches recordingatMidlands Tech and plays guitar in the local band Entreat. The Columbia Rock Academy gives lessons year-round and offers its services to students age 7 and up. They are located at 207 S. Prospect St., just off Rosewood Drive, and can be reached by phone at 803 787-0150 and via e-mail at info@columbiarockacademy. com. Their Web site can be visited at http://www. columbiarockacademy.com. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@givm.sc.edu Tonight At The Movies “Annapolis” ★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ Marjorie Riddle STAFF WRITER “Annapolis” is a run of-the-mill military film that offers nothing new or special with its storyline of a hardheaded rookie clashing with a seasoned veteran. James Franco is Jake Huard, a working-class kid from the shipyard across the harbor who gets into the Annapolis Naval Academy despite his inexperience and egotism. The movie takes the audience through the rigorous physical training and tough academic expectations the freshmen “plebes” endure. Huard clashes with Midshipman Lt. Cole from the very beginning, who holds the officers-in-training to almost unreasonable standards. The plot diverts to boxing and sets Huard against Cole in a mock match. Huard gets his butt kicked but is inspired to rematch Cole in the upcoming Navy Boxing Brigade Championships. Lt. Cmdr. Burton, the officer who helped Huard get into thp academy, and Cmdr. Ali, a female officer Huard is romantically interested in, help to train him for the boxing events. While training and finally asking for help, Huard’s character supposedly grows as he forges relationships with his classmates and relies on his superiors. Regardless of whether he wins or loses to Cole, Huard learns that the result doesn’t matter; it’s the journey that counts. The ending is corny and overly sentimental. The only thing missing was cheesy, inspirational background music. The film is not necessarily disappointing, but it isn’t very far from it. The trailers for “Annapolis” present a story of a boy who gets into Annapolis and has to prove to himself he can become an officer. While there are elements present that support this in the film, the trailer doesn’t even mention the boxing, which becomes the main theme of the entire second half. Cole is presented as a challenging leader who “sees something of himself in Huard,” but that line in the trailer is absent from the film. Cole appears to be an egotistical jerk who wants to tear down an equally egotistical student Special to THE GAMECOCK Naval academy cadets are closely watched by superiors during drills in “Annapolis.” The film follows a young student officer who struggles to prove his grit and potential. officer; he never seems to genuinely care about Huard except to downplay an offense that keeps Huard from being expelled. The audience never sees Huard from Cole’s point of view, and this makes Cole an unrightfully unsympathetic character. This omitted representation detracts from the film’s overall tone. All of the characters are two-dimensional. They explain changes they go through, but the audience never really sees those changes for themselves. Huard is supposed to grow and evolve, and while he learns to ask for help, he still seems overly cocky and independent. Cole doesn’t tell anyone what he really thinks of Huard or the other soldiers — he is tight-lipped and despised. While Huard and Cole share a moment in the conclusion, it feels unnatural and even forced; their relationship doesn’t properly evolve. The relationship between Cmdr. Ali and Huard feels fabricated from the time they first meet. They supposedly have an implied chemistry, but it’s not believable. It is entertaining that they meet in a bar the night before Huard’s training begins. He hits on her and then embarrasses himself when he meets her in training the next day, but viewers can get that chuckle from the trailer. Franco, Jordana Brewster, j Donnie VVahlberg and Tyrese Gibson’s performances are average at best. Franco’s stern/stubborn/pissed off expression rarely changes; j Brewster as Cmdr. Ali is cutesy but predictable; Wahlberg plays menial roles such as Lt. Cmdr. Burton often and is quite forgettable; and Gibson as Lt. Cole is menacing and downright cruel, but doesn’t stand out. The best story this \ movie has to tell is in the trailer, and it’s one that deviates from the actual film. Nothing is memorable about “Annapolis.” Perhaps audiences should see something more “see worthy.” This Week in Music “Feels" Animal Collective ★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ Aaron Dallin THE GAMECOCK Animal Collective is not your everyday music group. They have unusual vocals and organic-sounding electronics that make you feel like you’re in the forest of an alien planet. And with extremely busy and cluttered soundsca^es, overtones of i psychedelica and folk, and sheer experimental bravery, this Brooklyn- j born avant-garde art- j rock experiment creates songs that sound not j quite like anything ■ you’ve heard before. No song on their nine-track collection “Feels” is predictable and Animal Collective keeps it original 11 throughout. The vocals of Avey Tare (Dave Portner) and Deaken (Josh Dibb) are brilliantly exploratory, and the band daringly maps out uncharted territory j with their vocal sound and overlapping, j Some of the vocals are very subtle, and they integrate and become assimilated so well with the oceanic, consuming, atmospheric and mind shattering electronic 1 creations of Geologist (Brian Weitz) that if you don’t listen closely you’ll miss some of the most creative vocals on the album. The drum beats, brought to you by Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), are fairly simple and nothing particularly special. Lennox is a talented musician and singer/ songwriter in his own right, which is evident in his solo album “Young Prayer,” but it is brutally apparent that his drumming approach . in Animal Collective is minimalist. It may be difficult | to compare Animal J Collective to other | bands, and it is a challenge to pinpoint their influences. They seem to be something like Radiohead, Doves and Modest Mouse rolled into one, but more experimental. Add Mike Patton, Fantomas, Bill Laswell and the Secret Chiefs 3 (but less experimental), ^ andyou’ll be somewhere in the vicinity of the universe that is Animal Collective. The band’s album productions tend to lean toward pop. The roots of many of their loyal fans come from their attendance at live improv-jam shows that first began in New York City more reeis • 5 v i