The Battalion
LIFESTYLES
Thursday, September 20,1990
A&M readies
for
Twang
Twang’s
By JOHN RIGHTER
Some bands are inseminated in
the recording studio, born of gad-
getry, gimmicks and tedious produc
tion. Others find life within the end
less, often fruitless, cycle of club
shows.
Twang Twang Shock-A-Boorn,
Texas’ latest band craze, broke out a
slightly different way — on the cam
pus of the University of Texas at
Austin.
Bypassing the logical, methodical
route of lengthy practice sessions
and small club prostitution, one year
ago today Twang Twang simply
packed it up, went to the campus’
West Mall and started playing —
acoustical and anything, fusing jazz,
blues, reggae, funk and folk into its
set.
The attracted listeners, including
students and professors, immedi
ately bonded with guitarist David
Garza, stand-up bassist Jeff Haley
and percussionist Chris Searles’
brash, spontaneous playing style.
Haley says the campus perfor
mance was a logical beginning.
“We’re college age, so playing at
college only made sense,” Haley
says. “There’s a natural relation the
re.”
The free outside performances
also helped, Haley says.
“People who wouldn’t have gone
and paid to see us at first,” Haley
says, “got to hear us for free. They
saw we were safe and liked it. We
weren’t a gamble.”
Obviously not, since Twang
Twang Shock-A-Boom (the name,
penned by Searles, represents the
sound of the group’s three instru
ments) has replaced Poi Dog Pon
dering as Texas’ musical buzzword.
The most recent sign of the
group’s bullish success is a second
pressing of their tape, Me So
Twangy, a regional best seller with
over 4,500 units sold. Other signs in
clude performances with Red Hot
Chili Peppers, Michelle Shocked and
They Might Be Giants, as well as a
standing ovation at this spring’s
South By Southwest festival.
Twang Twang’s climb is currently
teetering on several intense
courtships with major labels. The
relatively painless rise to their pre
sent height has been without the
normal heartache and struggle en
dured by every other new band.
Almost the moment the group de
clared themselves Twang Twang
Shock-A-Boom these new kids (Ha
ley is 20, Searles and Garza are 19)
were a rage. In the competitive con
fines of band-stuffed Austin, their
unprecedented rise is both marvel
led and scorned.
“There’s a lot of resentment,” Ha
ley says in reference to what Garza
has labeled “Austin backbiting.” “I
haven’t figured out yet how to deal
with it. I guess if I was in these other
groups’ shoes I might react the same
way.
“It surprises David, cause he’s
from Dallas and the bands support
each other there. It really doesn’t
surprise me. ”
The group’s success is actually not
too difficult to understand. In an era
of over-engineering, sound walls
and onstage gimmicks, Twang
Twang represents the antithesis of
the musical fascimile. The average
music fan, whether young or old, or
thodox or revolutionary, can appre
ciate Twang Twang’s honesty and
originality.
Buoyed by Garza’s snappy songs
that stir between social conscious
and intelligent slapstick, Twang
Twang’s energetic format and warm
audience rapport are the real secret
behind its success.
Also, the band makes a genm
attempt to relate to its audiein
which in the case of A&M meam
trip to Kyle Field for Saturday'sfoi
ball game. For three ex-t-sips,ths
fan commitment.
Twang Twang Shock-A-
will perform Saturday night in Ri
tier Theatre 30 minutes after
football game. If you desire aTw;
Twang taste test, the band will
form a quick stint Saturday in
MSG Flag Room between 2 and
P-m.
4 ickets lor tlit’ Nf St. 1 own Hi Q^priS I S3W
show are $5 and are available atil
MSG B ox ()ffice and at the door.
Members of
comes a stror
It’s the
sniffling,
sneezing /
coughing, A
aching, ^
stuffy head,
fever,
so you can’t
rest season
By ERIKA GONZALEZ-LIMA
Do you have the “allergic salu
te”? You do if you rub an itching
nose with the palm of your hand.
It causes a crease mark on your
nose and dark circles under your
eyes.
About 50 million Americans
suffer from at least one allergy,
an immunological hypersentivity
to a substance. Exposure to aller
gens may occur through con
sumption, inhalation, injection or
skin contact.
Allergies seem to run in fami
lies. A child with one allergic par
ent has a 30 percent risk of devel
oping an allergy (although not
necessarily toward the same aller
gen), while a child with two aller
gic parents runs a 60 to 70 per-
centrisk.
Allergens exist in many forms:
house dust, drugs, insect venoms,
foods, plants (such as poison ivy)
and a type of fungi known as
molds. Their symptoms depend
on which area of the body is af
fected.
In the skin, hives and eczema
(dermatitis) appear. In the diges
tive system, abdominal pain, con
stipation, diarrhea and nausea
appear. In the lungs, coughing
and shortness of breath (allergic
asthma) are common.
The most frequent type of al
lergy, affecting 25 million Ameri
cans, is hay fever. Hay fever, also
called allergic rhinitis (from
Greek meaning inflammation of
the nose) can be produced by air
borne irritants such as molds, pol
len and dust.
Symptoms include sneezing,
runny nose, swelling of the nasal
passages, watering and itching
eyes, itching nose and throat and
inflammation of the membranes
around the eyelids Causing red-
rimmed eyes.
Sometimes it’s hard to tell
whether a person has a cold or
hay fever. A cold or flu lasts
about one week, while hay fever
lasts as long as the allergen is pre
sent.
Testing for allergies involves
injecting a small amount of a sus
pected allergen into the skin. If a
rash or swelling occurs within
minutes, an allergic reaction is di
agnosed.
Another way of testing aller
gies is to have blood samples ana
lyzed. This method is more costly
and is recommended only for
people with very sensitive skin.
Unfortunately, there is no cure
for allergies. The best way to
avoid allergies is to stay away
from the offending allergen.
When an allergen is identified as
a food, drug or animal, this tactic
works well. However, for those al
lergens difficult to avoid, like
mild hay fever, over-the-counter
medications, especially antihista
mines and decongestants, may be
helpful.
Antihistamines (Benadryl,
Chlor-Trimeton, Allerest) block
histamine, a chemical that is re
leased during allergic reactions,
but they may cause drowsiness.
Decongestants (Afrin, Neo-
Synephrine 12 Hour) dry up se
cretions from sinuses and watery
eyes, but they may cause irritabil
ity, elevated heart rate and hyper
tension.
Allergy shots are another
weapon in the allergy war. Immu
notherapy requires commitment
from the patient to follow the
physician’s injection schedule and
long-term treatment. According
to the American Academy of Oto
laryngologic Allergy, over 80 per
cent of the patients who receive
regular allergy shots experience
significant improvement after
four to six months of treatment.
Immunotherapy may be used
under the following circum
stances:
• When over-the-counter
medicines do not adequately re
lieve symptoms;
• When the offending aller
gen is difficult to avoid;
• When allergic reactions oc
cur throughout the year or last
four to six weeks at a time;
• When allergies disrupt work
or activities;
• When the allergy may be
contributing to asthma or other
chronic diseases.
Nurses in the Treatment Room
of the A.P. Beutal Health Center
administer allergy injections for
students following specific in
structions from the students’ al
lergist. Injections are given Mon
day through Friday, from 8 a.m.
to 3:30 p.m.
Students are responsible for
twinging the antigen and if they
iring their own syringes, there is
lio charge. Allergy syringes *(27
gauge, half-inch Tuberculin) can
be purchased in local pharmacies
without a prescription, and stu
dents can store their antigen and
syringes in the Treatment Room.
There is a charge of $ 1 per injec
tion when the syringe is not pro
vided by the student.
For more information, contact
the Treatment Room at the A.P.
Beutel Health Center at 845-
1567.
Erika Gonzalez-Lima is the
Health Education Cordinator at
the Texas A&M A.P. Beutal
HealthCenter and a health col
umnist for Lifestyles.
imii
’ ' r
W i sBiS
“Narrow Ma
pense thrillers
year.
Written and
of many films
and “Running
dicative of the
pfier skills that
Even thougl
Orient Expres
suspense and t
tabu
IA-JR
ft*
â–  H |
ft
mm â– 
fUtr
fmm
7m
% *5
“Narrow N
(known for hi
fThe French <
ddventure” an
Caulfield, a Lo
Also starring
boles in “Fata
Face”), who pc
|fo a top-level m
The movie h
(late arranged 1
In the lounge, <
(ilm back up t
nake an impor
While he m;
up in the bathi
her date she he
(stops and listei
talk to him.
mmmmm
t tr-tm *>*"*-*«?-
mm mi
s§i u 1
Preston Reed
Battalion File Photl I
Guitar virtuoso Preston Reed
brings innovative style to B-CS|
By JOHN RIGHTER
For music fans who may not be ready for “Twang
Twang Shock-A-Boom,” guitar virtuoso Preston Reed
returns to Bryan-College Station Saturday night at the
Front Porch Cafe.
Reed, who performed last fall at the Texas Star Tav
ern (renamed the Front Porch this spring), is an ac
knowledged leader of the fledgling fingerstyle for
acoustic guitarists. Hailed by Guitar Player as a musi
cian of “exceptionally fine...com positional diversity
and...guitaristic brilliance...,” Reed is acclaimed for his
dexterous finger picks and innovative neck-slapping
style.
In the past few years, Reed has started receiving the
critical recognition he has long deserved. Unfortu
nately, in the vocal, group-oriented music industry,
Reed’s solo acoustic set has him at a major disadvan
tage.
Lack of notoriety, though, has not resulted in a lack
of appeal. Playing in a number of smaller cities, and
subsequently smaller venues, Reed has worked hard,
not only amazing audiences with his six- and 12-string
acoustical pieces, but also with his warm rapport that in-
?A
mi
eludes impromptu guitar lessons and standup com*
(He used to do music relief in comedy clubs, inc
for Robin Williams and Billy Rafferty.)
In a review of his 1986 release, The Road Lessty
eled (a road that Reed must know), music critic 0â„¢
M. Young named Reed “...my nomination forace-njj
ber-one-bull-goose-hero of the acoustic guitar...®
many people have heard of him because his style®
between the cracks: He ain’t New Age, he ain’t folkf|
ain’t jazz and he ain’t rock. Well, then what is he? W
very fast. More orchestral than Stanley Jordan. E*
Leo Kotke is probably the closest precedent, so lets!*
him neo-Leo and start a new genre just for Reed.’
Certainly no classification is required to recomn
this show.
Reed is a true guitar hero and an expert in the 10
genre of guitar experimentation. Any guitarist who®
been compared to Stanley Jordan, Pat Methenyl
John Fahey deserves a checkout on those credent]
alone.
Reed is scheduled to perform at the Front Porch:]
p.m. For more information, call 846-LIVE.
: G. ,
Members of 1