The Battalion
Lifestyles
Thursday, July 30, 1992
Page 3
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A&M grad Karen Chavis poised for success
By Tricia Martinez
The Battalion
A sultry voice singing jazz arid
blues backed by a touch of Latin
rock will set the mood Friday
night at the Stafford Opera House.
Karen Chavis and The Brew
will groove tomorrow with every
thing from James Brown and Ani
ta Baker covers to George Benson
and Vanessa Williams.
Chavis, a 1988 graduate of
Texas A&M, said she and The
Brew pride themselves on being a
band that everyone can'enjoy.
"We are the kind of band that
if you want to go somewhere and
hear good music, The Brew is that
band," Chavis said. "If you want
to go somewhere and dance. The
Brew is also that band."
Though Chavis resides in Col
lege Station, The Brew, originally
from Brownsville, live in Austin
which is where the band has most
of its gigs.
"We don't get booked exclu
sively by jazz clubs, because we
are not exclusively a jazz band,"
Chavis said. "We play on Sixth
Street and everywhere else."
The Brew consists of five mem
bers — Michael Rodriguez, guitar,
Joe Rodriguez, congas and auxil
iary drums, Mark Rodriguez,
bass, Dexter Walker, Drums, and
Russell Remington, sax and key
board.
"Michael takes care of all the
business ends of the band," said
Chavis. "He's really great. All the
guys are."
One of the more interesting
feature of The Brew is Mark Ro
driguez on bass.
"He is left handed and he
plays with a right handed bass
turned upside down," he's very
talented," Chavez said. "When
The Brew began money was tight
and left-handed bass guitars were
more expensive than right-handed
ones, so he made adjustments."
The Brew is sometimes known
for its sudden argumentative out
breaks on stage and Chavis said
since she came on board the band
has mellowed out.
Karen Chavis and The Brew.
"This past year we called 'the
taming of The Brew,'" Chavis
said.
"It's neat because three of the
guys are brothers and they grew
up fighting and yelling with one
another and so it's natural," she
said. "I get yelled at too, but if
anyone even looks at me wrong,
it's like I have five big brothers."
Chavis began singing in Texas
when she was a student at Texas
A&M.
"My first singing appearance
was in the follies," Chavis said.
"As time went on I would set
goals for myself and try to accom
plish them. One of my goals was
to play in the Gallery Bar at the
Hilton."
Chavis accomplished that goal
and soon became a local favorite.
Randy Elmore, assistant manager
at Stafford Opera House, said the
first time he heard Chavis was at
the Gallery Bar.
"She was really great and I en
joyed listening to her," Elmore
said. "I'm really glad she and The
Brew will be playing at Stafford
because separately they are both
great and when you put them
both together it's even better."
Chavis, originally from North
Carolina, began singing when she
was five-years-old.
"I couldn't carry a tune at all,"
Chavis said. "I would sing into a
toilet paper roll in my living room
to an Ella Fitzgerald record," she
said.
In addition to singing, Chavis
has been in beauty pageants and
even took second in the Miss
North Carolina Pageant.
"My mother really wanted me
to do pageants," Chavis said. "I
did it because it gave me the
chance to sing. My mother always
encouraged me and over the years
I improved."
Chavis has been flying to
Nashville to work with songwrit
ers and publishers and New York
to meet with her attorney who
makes sure all dealings are legiti
mate.
Chavis has been rising to suc
cess at what may look like a fast
pace, but Chavis doesn't hesitate
to make it known that she has
"paid her dues."
"I live in College Station and I
drive back and forth to Austin
when I sing with The Brew,"
Chavis said. "I have a full-time
job and I would work eight to five
here and then drive to Austin,
sing and then drive home and
start all over again."
Chavis, employed by Texas
A&M, said this year alone she has
put 60,000 miles on her car.
"In the beginning, I was work
ing 22 hour days six days a week
and it got to exhausting," Chavis
said. "It was what I had to do be
cause I wasn't known in Austin."
Chavis has made her mark on
the Austin music scene. The 1992
Austin Music Awards ranked
Chavis as one of the top ten fe
male vocalists in Austin.
"I was astounded I made the
top ten," Chavis said. "The Brew
has always been ranked number
one or two for jazz bands, but I re
ally didn't think anyone knew
who I was."
Musicians and club owners in
Austin definitely know who
Chavis is. She and The Brew were
invited to play at places such as
Symphony Square and South by
Southwest Showcase.
Chavis attributes much of her
success to her friends and family.
"They have been so supportive
through it all," Chavis said. "My
boyfriend has driven me many
times to Austin and back, he's re
ally encouraging and he always
tells me to go for it.
"I couldn't do it without him."
When Chavis isn't working on
campus, playing gigs in Austin or
jetting back and forth to Nashville
and New York, she sleeps.
"I don't get a lot of sleep, so
when I have a spare minute that's
what I do," Chavis said. "I have
to make many sacrifices with my
social life, but it's worth it because
everything is going so smoothly
right now and seem to be falling
into place."
Elmore said they are expecting
a good crowd for tomorrow
night's show.
"We should really pull in a
strong jazz crowd," he said.
"Stafford is trying to be diverse in
the bands that we have play."
"Karen Chavis and The Brew
are great and even if they weren't
playing together they each would
appeal to the crowd, so together it
should be a great show."
Stafford will open its doors at
8 p.m. Friday night and Karen
Chavis and The Brew will perform
at 9 p.m. Advanced tickets are on
sale at Marooned Records in
Northgate for $5. Tickets will also
be available at the door.
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Aggie
Orders
Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center
Deadline: July SO, 1992
Undergraduate Requirements
1. 30 credit hours must be completed at A&M, if you were a
transfer student.
2. 95 total credit hours completed.
3. 2.00 cumulative GPA at A&M.
4. No blocks (delinquent parking tickets, past due fees, etc.)
.Graduate Student Kg.qitjrg.xn.gnts
1. You must have completed all degree requirements for August
'92 by the above deadline. You will need to present a letter
of com pi et ion. which you must obtain from the Office of
Graduate Studies, when placing your order.
2. No blocks (delinquent parking tickets, past due fees, etc. )
Procedure to Order a Ring
1. Go to the ring office no later than July 30 and complete the
form for eligibility verification. (Requires overnight to
process.)
2. Order and pay for ring in full (cash/check only) by July 31.
Men’s 10K - 8278.00 14K - 8378.00
Women's 10K ■ gl61.00 14K - 8186.00
The approximate date of the ring delivery is
October 5, 1992.