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THE MIX Wednesday, March 1, 2006 —I— —■ 1 m dk T _M I—m Page 7 ' CONCERT WTh A . HEART Benefit event to raise funds for surgery Jenin Dillard THE GAMECOCK A concert benefit for Salty’s skate and surf shop owner Paul Goff, who needs a $94,000 heart surgery, will be held 0 at Headliners tomorrow night and will feature local bands The Movement, The Letter Red, Miken’Pike and Sunbrewed Soul. Courtney Smith, 20, of Irmo, organized the fundraiser, called “Bands Give A Heart,” after hearing about Goff from her mother. “My mom bought us Rainbows [flip flops] from Salty’s for Christmas and she told me about him,” she said. _ Paul Goff, 31, has the W congenital heart defect tetralogy of Fallot, which caused his heart to become enlarged and overwork itself. He had two surgeries as a child and now needs a pulmonary valve replacement, which would help his heart work properly and not get any larger. Goff, whose wife is expecting the couple’s first child in July, has been unable to get health insurance during the last eight years because he has a pre-existing condition. He has had to rely on the generosity of others to help raise money for his heart surgery. A week after Christmas, Smith went to meet Goff at Salty’s. Even though she has only known Goff for a short time, she describes his positive attitude toward life and infectious personality. “He’s one of the most enthusiastic people I know,” she said. “He’s got a good heart. He lives in the moment.” Goff was surprised at Smith’s willingness to help. “She came and offered to help and I was so overwhelmed,” he said. “It’s pretty awesome.” Smith has never organized a fundraiser before, but she went about the task with persistence. Headliners donated the venue and Smith found bands who wanted to help. The posters and postcards were also donated to help Smith and Goff get word out about the concert. The concert will feature an array of music genres from Columbia bands. There will also be an auction where raffle tickets will be sold for $2 each. Surf and skateboard companies donated the auction items. T-shirts, specially designed for the event by one of Goffs friends, will be sold as well. Donation buckets will be set out during the concert. Tickets will cost $10 and all proceeds will go towards Goffs heart surgery fund. Doors open at 7 p.m. Donations can also be made at Salty’s in Five Points or at Wachovia in Five Points where a special account has been set up in Goff’s name. T-shirts saying “Paul Goff, Breaking Hearts Since 1974” are also available in the shop, with all profits from the sales going toward Goff’s surgery fund. Contact Wachovia at (803) 253-6734 or Salty’s at (803) 748-9946 to help. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm. sc. edu Jenni Dillard I THE GAMECOCK Paul Goff, owner of Salty’s, is in need of pulmonary valve replacement surgery. A benefit concert will be held tomorrow night at Headliner’s to help pay for the $94,000 surgery. Hello, my name is Lauren Bright Second-year pre-veterinary student WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING m MOMENT? ^' In high school I fell down a bunch of stairs and fell into a bunch of mud. Lots of people were around. DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES? I love reading and I like to play “The Sims 2.” I also like trying on clothes in dressing rooms that I would never buy. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ^BOOK? Right now it is the vampire series by Anne Rice because that is what I am currently reading. IF YOU HAD A MILLION DOLLARS, WHAT WOULD YOU BUY? I would buy a house and pay for vet school. After that, I would probably give it away. HELLO • 8 Murder mystery game offers fun, acting practice Students take on 1920s personas to figure out whodunit Jess Dauis STAFF WRITER At the Four Deuces nightclub, someone’s just been killed. Mobsters, a congressman and a few cheap hussies are all suspected of shooting Don “Big Jim” Ravioli, a notorious mafia boss. At the end of an evening of investigation, extortion and the revelation of many secrets, an inspector revealed that Big Jim’s daughter committed the crime. The nightclub in question hid behind a door of the Russell House as a group of Horseshoe residents gathered Saturday night for an evening of murder and mystery, sponsored by the Horseshoe Community Council. There, 11 students acted out an elaborate scene set in the 1920s. The students, many of whom did not know each other, played the roles of mafia dons, inspectors and wealthy but immoral citizens, all intricately linked through marriage, affairs and business. “It’s always fun being someone you’re not,” said third-year computer science student Daniel Reeves. Reeves, who played A1 Capone, had never seen or been to a murder mystery event, but has acted in community theater and other plays on and off since the fifth grade. “Thinking on the spot is hard because I’m not an improv guy, but it’s fun when something unexpected happens,” he said. Reeves spent several days preparing, researching ‘20s-era clothes and reading over the detailed character sheets sent out to each player. He said he was nervous about playing a real mobster instead of a fictional character, but “the scary part is pulling it off and staying in character.” Third-year accounting and finance student Katie Hageman organized the event. Hageman, a member of the HCC Events Committee, said that she and another member of the committee researched murder mysteries and bought this game from a Web site. The package included invitations, character sheets, evidence for the characters to pore over and a loose plot. “This game is very unstructured,” Hageman said. “It can go different every time.” Though certain events such as the shooting of Big Jim, the revelation of new evidence and some arguments were planned, it was up to the students to bribe and cajole each other to find out secrets that would lead to discovering the murderer. They were given $500 each in play money that could be used for bribing or blackmailing others once secrets came out. Most of the players had little or no acting experience, and some felt uncomfortable playing a character with no script. “I’m just so confused. This is my first time doing anything like this,” said Rita Czako, a third-year biology student. Czako heard about the event through an e-mail and thought it sounded like fun, but didn’t know what to expect, she said. Czako played Neville “The IT1URDCR • 9 Jess Davis / THE GAMECOCK Neena Agrawal played the secret lover of Big Jim Ravi oli, Donna Wannabe, in the Murder Mystery. Renee Sandlak left, played the murderer, Big Jim’s daughter, Rebecca. The two characters had several altercations. Parrotheads hope for driver's ‘paradise with new license plates Jimmy Buffett fans descend on Statehouse to lend support to bill Tim IDcinanus STAFF WRITER At the Statehouse Tuesday, there was no separation between chill and state as the Motor Vehicles subcommittee passed a bill creating a specialized “parrothead” license plate in South Carolina. Currently, Virginia is the only state with parrothead license plates. Parrotheads are fans of Jimmy Buffett’s laid-back brand of beach music that is often associated with the “beach bum” lifestyle and consumption of alcohol, especially margaritas. His catalogue includes such hits as “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” Rep. Robert “Skipper” Perry, Jr., R-Aiken, said the bill had two purposes: to let parrotheads “display their colors,” and to “help Alzheimer’s research.” All proceeds from the parrothead license plates will go to the South Carolina Parrbt Head Club Council, winch will distribute the money to the Palmetto Chapter and the Upstate South Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Perry said most of us have been affected by Alzheimer’s disease, which is why he would “appreciate any favorable consideration.” Buffett’s father died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. Stan Bowen, who was elected vice president of Margaritaville (Buffet is president), was one of many parrotheads who came to the subcommittee in support of the bill. He said he hopes that the donations to Alzheimer’s research will show that parrotheads “do more than just drink and listen to music.” In 2003, Bowen played PARROT • 8