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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1990)
Monday, September 24,1990 The Battalion Page 5 • MSC TOWN HALL • Austin band shocks crowd with twang Photo by Sondra N. Robbins David Garza and Chris Searles ham it up for the crowd. By JOHN RICHTER Texas A&M got its first and final taste of Twang Twang Shock-A- Boom Saturday night at Rudder Theatre. The Austin trio, benefac tors of a year-long musical love af fair, announced its breakup in the Onward section of Thursday’s Aus tin American-Statesman. While not discussing in length the terms or reasons of the band’s disso lution, all three members confirmed the breakup Saturday, effective next Saturday following their final per formance at Austin’s Liberty Lunch. The bandmembers were uncer tain of their future plans, though it appears guitarist and vocalist David Garza will pursue a solo career. The group experienced a smaller setback on its trip to Rice University Friday night. Car problems, includ ing a blown-odt tire and a defective radiator, prevented Twang Twang from performing in the MSC Flag Room Saturday afternoon, as planned, and delayed its interview with KANM. As for Saturday night’s MSC Town Hall performance, Twang Twang Shock-A-Boom proved its mettle as entertainers, providing a fun, up-tempo show. A Twang Twang show is geared toward fans more interested in having a good time than being musically wooed. Carza, stand-up bassist Jeff Haley and percussionist Chris Searles are competent musicians, with Searles impressive as the group’s “jack-of-all trades” on percussion. But, as Garza mentioned before the show, “if the people want to dance then we’ll play' dance music, if they want to sit down then we’ll play real music.” Attendees in search of craftmanship would have fared bet ter with Preston Reed. Twang Twang’s performance wasn’t bad, the group, especially Garza, are very natural in front of an audience and really try to involve its fans with the event (even inviting several people to play with them on stage). The fan involvement creates a commune- type atmosphere similar to Coffee house. Unfortunatley, the show was just too silly and rudimentary for me. It may be a reflection of my sense of humor, but “Fishsticks” isn’t cute or funny, and “Don’t Get AIDS,” while delivered with great intentions, is be littling in its simplicity. A better indicator of the reception is that most of the crowd joined in the frenzy upfront, while others de parted very early in the show. Not that it matters anymore, but Twang Twang was good at creating a friendly, crowd-involved atmo sphere geared toward a younger au dience (and heck, the guys are only 19 and 20). 1 have a feeling, though, that Garza has decided to graduate from the Twang Twang-scene and move forward with his departure Coffeehouse stirs up local talent By JOHN MABRY Black clouds in your coffee (thank you, Carly Simon) best describes the somber mood that dominated the majority of performances at MSC Town Hall’s Coffeehouse Friday night. The evening began with a brief performance by Dream Horse, a female duo consisting of guitarists/vocalists Christy Claxton, a graduate student in English, and junioi chemistry rnajoi Stacy Lieder. In the tradition of contemporary female folk bands, such as Indigo Girls Dream Horse’s original material mixes haunting heat i ache, ‘Don’t Sav You Love Me. with social/politi calcommentary, “Primitive Dreams.” In the safest performance of the night, Dream I Horse epitomized true “Coffeehouse” style — I acoustic guitars overlayed w'ith meaningful and I catchy lyrics with a conscience, “Hey little girl, I why do you not have shoes to wear- Where do I you sleep to get out of the cold night air?” I However predictable their material may be, ■ die girls do sing with an intensity and honesty ■ that's undeniable. Both are talented vocalists, I Lieder being the more outstanding member, I Claxton playing the supporting role. Their performance ended on an anti-climatic I note, as the band failed to get the audience to Ijoin them in the chorus of “Primitive Dreams,” I their final number. I The next performer was sophomore English I major David Lawrence, who read poetry that his I friend had written before he committed suicide. I The poems, many of which obviously anticipated I death, “At My Funeral,” received a prompt writ- E ten rebuttal from an audience member stressing I the seriousness of suicide. The evening took a refreshing turn with a de- I lightful musical performance by local resident iRongTan. Tan was one of the top pipa (a four- i stringed Chinese lute) players in China, and it I shows. Tan’s two traditional pieces, “The Yis Dancing” and “Liu-Yang River,” displayed her truly great musical skill and precision. Fan was one of the few performers at Coffee house who took great pride in her craft and con cern for her audience, and these were graciously returned with the biggest applause of the eve ning. This lack ol concern was evident in the next performer, theater arts major Sean Dunham, who performed a heartfelt monologue he had written. Dunham was obviously unprepared, and relied more on ad-libbing than he should have Dunham’s performance was followed by the guitar songs of Austin resident John Reysa, Class of ’87. Reysa’s passively pessimistic songs were vaguely reminiscent of music WWody Allen would have written had he been a folk singer. Take, for instance, his introduction of “Li cense Plate Faith A friend is like a convertible without a roll bar they re really fun to be with, but they can kill you if y ou crash Reysa s witty, ironic lyrics were supported by g great comic de livery that kept the laughs coming throughout his routine. A nightmarish performance by junior English major Jeff Newberry changed the evening’s mood from polite to insane. Newberry, who re ferred to himself as “poet/philosopher/bad-ass,” began with a strangely vague love song solo, to which he did a bump-and-grind routine with the mike stand. After the laughs wore off, Newberry delivered a brief but extremely funny and acute attack on female corps and sorority members. It’s apparent that Newberry’s alternative view point hit home with the Coffeehouse audience, but he could have been much more entertaining had he added more polish and coherence to his performance. The most honest perfomer of the night was economics graduate student Asif Siddiqui, who performed a series of both original and cover Photo by Huy Nguyen Jeff Newberry goes for laughs at Coffeehouse. songs on acoustic guitar. Siddiqui’s “Hippie Johnny,” a song about the advantages of staying off drugs, exemplified his observant writing style and sensitivity to issues facing college students. Because of this, Siddiqui was able to overcome his weak singing voice and out-of-tune guitar, and received an encore request from the audience, for which he sang Patti Smith’s “Gloria.” The song, which began with the lyrics “Jesus may have died for your sins, but he didn’t die for mine,” was answered by an impromptu religious piano solo by sophomore civil engineering major Cory Pierce. The uplifting song was a particularly appro priate epilogue to this Coffeehouse that, no mat ter how entertaining, might have left one with a not-so-positive outlook on the world. -JU a feSki 1(3 BRECKENRIDGE 1-800-232-2428 COLLEGE STATION DRIVING SCHOOL 693-0086 ADULT DRIVING LESSONS PICK-UP SERVICE NIGHT-TIME HEARTBURN STUDY Do you experience night-time heartburn? VIP Research is seeking individuals for a short-term research study of a currnetly availabe medication. A$100 incentive will be paid to those who enroll and complete this study. CALL Volunteers In Pharmaceutical Research® ^ 776-3603 I 1 TEAM REGISTRATION ENDS SEPTEMBER 27th * Join MSC College Bowl and play in our fall team trivia tournament. Games test knowl edge of everything from science to music. * Form your own team (4 peolple + alternate) or sign up as an individual. Cost is $5 per person or $20 per team. * Register with Gelinda in MSC 216T, or at... * Mandatory captains’ meeting to be held Thurs. Sept. 27 at 7pm in 407 Rudder. * Call 845-1515 for more information. SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE \ Contact Lenses ^ - < Only Quality Name Brands (Bausch & Lomb, Ciba, Barnes-Hinds-Hydrocurve) 1*138 > J J 1*138 00 TOTAL COST + FREE SPARE INCLUDES STD. DAILY WEAR, SOFT LENSES, EXAM AND FREE CARE KIT. 00 TOTAL COST INCLUDES 1 PR. STD. EXT. WEAR, OR STD. TINTED SOFT LENSES, EXAM AND FREE CARE KIT. < Extended to August 31,1990 y Sale ends July 27, 1990 l Call 696-3754 Z For Appointment % CHARLES C. SCHROEPPEL, O.D., P.C. S DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY < CO “l 707 South Texas Ave., Suite 101D College Station, Texas 77840 VISA' 1 block South of Texas & University Dr. intersection lUHIHUilil' College Station, Texas 77840 —— SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE Channel 15 broadcasts Civil War ! A&M students need to set VCRs for series By LISA ANN ROBERTSON If Texas A&M students had no as- I signments to read and no tests to 1 study for and no papers to write, I then maybe they would watch T he j Civil War, the 11-hour documentary I airing all week on KAMU. I As it is, most will not watch it, and 1 most will miss a dynamic series about I a time that author Shelby Foote says ■ shaped the very character of what | America is. | The documentary is full of fas- 1 dnating tidbits about the people and l events surrounding the war that set I Americans against each other. I For example, the general defend- | ing Fort Sumter had taught the gen- | “eral firing at the fort everything he knew at West Point before the war started. And that Florida was the ■ second state to seceede from the Union following South Carolina’s lead. The series is a compilation of still photographs taken during the war and of images of lithographs and pe riod paintings as well as the extraor dinary voices of actors such as Jason Robards, Julie Harris, Kurt Vonne- gutand Morgan Freeman. The actors read the diary entries of people instrumental in the war and of those who faced the war on I the battleground. The series’ seren ity is a tribute to producer Ken Burns’ ceaseless demand for histori cal authenticity. Burns and a staff of researchers gathered more than 16,000 photo graphs for the documentary and used more than 3,000 in the series. “It was our most important wish that we allow the evidence of the past to tell its own story, whethei through a photograph or an excerpt See War/Page 7 DANCE Adv. C&W Dance: $20/student Wed. Oct 3-Oct 31 7:30 8:45pm Ballroom Dancing: $ 18/student Tues. Sept 25-Oct 23 7:15-8:30pni FITNESS Tae kwon do: $22/student T/Th. Sept 25-Nov 1 7 8pm Sell Defense: $22/student T/Th. Sept 25 Nov i 6-7pm Yoga: $22/student M/W, Sept 24-Oct 31 8.30 9:30pm Intermediate Yoga: $22/student T/Th, Oct 9-Nov 8 8:30-9:30pm HEALTH & SELF HELP CPR: $ 18/student M/W. Oct 8 & 10 6-10pm M/W, Nov 5 & 7 6-10pm Basic First Aid: $22/student M/W, Sept 24-Oct 3 6-9pm Personality Discovery: $ 18/student Wed. Oct 10, 17, 24 6-9pm Assertiveness Training: $ 12/student Thurs. Sept 20-Oct 11 7:30-9pm Stress Management: $20/student Wed. Oct 17, 24, 31 6:30-8pm Public Speaking: $15/student Thurs. Sept27-Octl8 6:30-8:30pm Problemsolving: $12/student Thurs. Oct 11-Nov 1 7:30-9pm BUSINESS SPECIAL INTEREST Star Gazing: $30/student T/Th, Sept 25-Oct 18 6:30-9pm Potpourri: Tues. Nov 6 $12/student 6-9pm Wine Appreciation: $25/student Wed Sept 26 Oct 17 7-8:30pm Creative Writing: $28/student Tues. Oct 2-Nov 6 6:30-9pm Matting & Framing: $25/student Wed. Oct 10, 17.24 6-8pm Juggling: $ 14/student Wed. Oct 3, 10, 17 6-8:30pm Plan Your Wedding: $22/student Mon. Sept 24-Oct 15 6-8pm Wedding Cakes: $10/student Wed. Sept 26 7-9pm Flower Arranging: $ 18/student Tues. Oct 2. 9, 16 6-9pm Electronics: $26/student Thurs. Sept 27-Oct 25 6-9pm Auto Mechanics: $ 18/student Thurs. Oct 4, 11. 18,25 7-9pm Bike Maintenance: $20/student Tues. Oct 23, 30 Nov 6, 13 7-9pm Guitar: $28/student M/W, Oct 1-Oct 24 7:30-9pm Intermediate Guitar: $28/student Thurs. Sept 20-Nov 8 8:30-10pm PHOTOGRAPHY Beg. Photography: $28/student Tues. Oct 23-Nov 13 6-9pm B&W Darkroom: $25/student Wed. Sept 26-Oct 10 6-9pm Tues. Oct 16, 23, 30 6-9pm Visual Photography: $18/student Thrus. Sept 20-Oct 11 7-9pm Video Camera & VCR: $ 18/student Thurs Oct 11-Nov 1 7 9pm Studio Portraiture: $22/student T/Th, Oct 2, 4, 9. 11 6-9pm NONSTUDENT Workshop Fees are an additional $4 per class. COMPUTERS Intro to Macintosh: $ 15/student T/Th, Oct 2 & 4 8-9:30pm Pagemaker 3-O/Mac: $40/student M/W, Oct 22-Nov 19 5:30-7pm Microsoft Word/Mac: $20/student T/Th, Sept 25-Oct 4 6-7:30pm Intro to DOS/IBM PC: $ 15/student M/W, Oct 8 & 10 8-9:30pm WordPerdect 5.1: T/Th. Oct 9-Nov 1 $40/student 7:30-9pm Lotus 1-2-3 $40/student M/W, Oct 22-Nov 7 6-8pm MSC Craft Center 845-1631 LANGUAGES Conversational Chinese: 6:30-8pm M/W, Sept 24-Oct 31 $35/student Conversational French: 6:30-8pm M/W, Sept 24-Oct 31 $35/student Conv Japanese II : 6:30-8pm T/Th, Oct 30-Nov 29 $35/student Conversational Spanish: 6:30-8pm T/Th, Oct 2-Nov 8 $35/student Conversational Russian: 6:30-8pm T/Th, Sept 25-Nov 1 $35/student English as a 2nd Language 6:30-8pm T/Th, Sept 25-Nov 1 $40/student Accounting: Mon. Sept 24-Oct 15 $25/student 6-8:30pm Business Etiquette: Tues. Sept 25-Oct 16 $15/student 7-9pm Basics of Investing: Tues. Oct 2-Oct 30 $ 16/student 7:30-9pm Interviewing: T/Th, Oct 23-Nov 1 $12/student 6:30-8pm Resume Writing: M/W. Nov 5 & 7 $8/student 6:30-8:30pm ARTS & CRAFTS Calligraphy II: Thurs. Sept 27-Nov 1 $22/student 6-7:30pm Cross Stitch: Wed. Oct 3,10,17.24 $12/student 6-7:30pm Cornhusk Dolls: Tues. Oct 23 $10/student 6-9pm Drawing: Mon. Sept 24-Oct 29 $ 18/student 6-8:30pm Etched Glass: Tues. Oct 16 $12/student 6-9pm Pottery: Wed. Oct 3-Nov 7 Thurs. Sept 20-Oct 25 $28/student 7:30-9:30pni 7:30-9:30pm Stained Glass: Wed. Sept 26-Oct 24 $28/student 6-9pm Leaded Glass: Tues. Oct 16-Nov 13 $28/student 6-9pm Decoy Carving: Tues. Oct 16-Nov 13 $32/student 6:30-9:30pm REGISTRATION IS NOW IN PROGRESS MSC University PLUS Craft Center - MSC Basement 845-1631