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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 1994)
September 15, || Hrsday • September 15, 1994 Aggidife Page 3 • The Battalion ihisono [ispanics rom making persi te time, and wasli is truly u ’s spokesman Da; aid of the flap, b. 10, 1993 ra e ay Donna Reyno] .or of the Tr source division, >rees. who is fluent aid, “This is itituency in Tt lly she (Hutchii ibing her nosi ? she was supp; ding them a sen s wrong. In fai eplorabie.' 1 ‘Band SpotCiafit east' Jackopierce Alternative duo returns By Michele Brinkmann The Battalion The Dallas band JACKOPIERCE re turns to College Station tonight to perform one last concert before starting its Euro pean tour. Jack O’Neill and Cary Pierce are JACK OPIERCE, a duo who sing and play the guitar. JACKOPIERCE formed in 1988, when Pierce and O’Neill were students at Southern Methodist University. Since then, they’ve graduated from fraternity party performances and moved up to tour ing the world to promote their first major- label album. They will perform a free concert at Rud der Fountain today at 4 p.m. and will play at the Texas Hall of Fame at 9 p.m. The band Vertical Horizon will open the show. The duo usually plays at Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater but is playing at the Hall because it wanted a change of pace from the ususal venue. JACKOPIERCE usually draws more than 3,000 fans at its College Station shows, which is the most fans they have ever performed in front of. “College Station was one of the first places we played outside of Dallas,” O’Neill said in a previous interview with The Bat talion. “A&M has been more than support ive.” For those who have never heard JACK OPIERCE, Pierce describes the band as “like alternative but not alternative.” JACKOPIERCE delivers mostly story- songs with Simon and Garfunkel-like har mony with intelligent and emotional lyrics, which Pierce and O’Neill write themselves. Todd Traylor, manager of Marooned Records, said his store used to be the only one in town to sell JACKOPIERCE, but since the duo released its album “Bringing on the Weath er,” the first album released on major record label A&M Records, other stores in Bryan- College Station now sell their albums. Traylor said sales of the duo’s four albums have not in creased much since it signed with A&M. “Our store always sells more JACKOPIERCE than any other store anywhere,” Traylor said. “To an extent sales have increased but sales have al ways been consistent for all four albums. We sell the same number of all four albums.” Since Marooned opened in 1990, he said of the store’s top five best selling albums, JACKOPIERCE fills four of the spots. “In the last year, our two best-selling groups are Pearl Jam and JACKOPIERCE and we have sold twice as many JACK OPIERCE than Pearl Jam.” JACKOPIERCE performed on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” this summer, less than a year after joining A&M Records. Pierce said signing with A&M means a lot more work. “It’s not just town-to-town anymore,” Pierce said in a previous interview with Courtesy of Kiva-West Recording Studios The Battalion. “We have phone inter views, in-store concerts and radio inter views. But we are lucky because we al ready had the groundwork.” O’Neill said signing with A&M made business easier because it has the power to get the album to the public. But because JACKOPIERCE draws more fans with the major label, O’Neill said the duo is under closer scrutiny. “We have more pressure to deliver the goods,” he said. “All the work we have done so far is forgotten. This is our chance to be new again.” Calloway/THf Battauw drop Panic Choir defies music trends bonfire co-chaif |y Margaret ciaughton fire buddy pre-i E B ATTAL10 N first gift drop. Fice bicle. imittee ce, lising, ervice) bicle. ations IX ponding ation. FED! ■The Panic Choir, playing at 3rd ? lbor Cantina tonight, is a band bent m being out of the ordinary, i The band, which tours by R.V. and refers camping in national parks to ig in hotels, harbors the philoso- ihy of making each performance count d each song their own. Lyricist, guitarist and vocalist [Kevin Johnson said he hopes the band’s future success will stem from its unique style. : “This band is not part of a trend,” he said. “None of us would have it any other way.” The Panic Choir’s signature sound embodies the folk-like aspect of Peter, Paul and Mary, the nouveau-asthetic appeal of The Sundays and the 60s peace, love and rebellion characteris tics of Jefferson Airplane. The band’s manager Peter Raspler said part of the band’s appeal is its fu sion of different musical styles. !“The Panic Choir has excellent mu sicianship,” he said. “And the fact that it is a band that produces diverse mu sic of high quality and has a female Nmt-person appeals to many people. Ityey have a lot of variance and a real sriginal style.” l Johnson and his wife, lead singer 2arol Johnson, started The Panic 2hoir in Venice Beach, Calif, as a duo slaying small-stage coffeehouses. “We knew we had the potential to have a really great sound if we could form a full band,” he said. “But in L.A. we had a hard time finding the right people. No one there was any better than mediocre.” So, the Johnsons packed up and moved to Austin. There they fpund all the band members and all the raw tal ent they needed. Bass player Mike Hynes, originally from Detroit, brought in an rhythm and blues background. Gui tarist Charles Rieser had studied jazz in Maine and the drummer, Rob Hoop er, had developed his unique style while in Dallas. “There were some really great musi cians in Austin,” Johnson said. “We found some with in credible talent.” Johnson said the band’s process of song creation helps them to harness the talent its diverse members offer. “I’ll be working on the lyrics of a piece. and get a rough idea of the melody,” he said. “I’ll go to Carol and she gets it going more. Then we get together as a band and just go crazy with it.” Through his lyrics and the band’s melody, Johnson said the band wants each song to have a message. “We try to mqk<p evpry sppg .fi pjc- t The Panic Choir ture,” Johnson said. “Every song has its own emotional life.” Johnson’s lyrics, he said, are largely inspired by the early work of Natalie Merchant, formerly of 10,000 Maniacs. “I heard them perform ‘the Wishing Chair,’ their earliest album, in 1984 qpd it changed me completely,” he said. “I was amazed and captivated by her lyrics. I wondered how she, so young, could know and ex press all those things. It made me pay attention to the lyrics I write a lot more.” The Panic Choir re leased their debut album in November of 1993 titled “Soul and Luna.” Raspler said the al bum both sold well and was well re ceived by ra dio. They are currently working on a new album which Johnson said will have more of a concept and story line. “Our first album was basically an assortment of all the different things the band can do,” he said. “This next album is going to have songs with a common theme.” Though the band does not have a deal with a large recoid label, Johnson said he likes the label they currently play under, Crystal Clear Sound, out of Dallas. “They help us take the necessary steps to get a good recording out for the band,” he said. “They really help the bands they believe in.” Johnson said he isn’t worried that being on a smaller label will hinder their success. “JACKOPIERCE started on the same label,” he said. “A lot of independent la bels are doing really well recently.” The Panic Choir is the type of band that will fulfill the needs of many mu sic listeners who crave original, non trendy music, Johnson said. “Especially in smaller towns like Austin, Corpus Christi and other col lege towns, there are a bunch of people dying for something genuinely good and original,” he said. “We work to make each show a full experience with a beginning, middle and an end so that every person leaves with a positive ex perience.” Courtesy of Peter Raspler Management Petty tribute sounds like bad Karaoke band IN ■f inion editor Photo editor sorts editor ’//te editor |y Jeremy Keddie lhe Battalion Various artists “You Got Lucky”: A Tribute to Tom Petty Alternative Rock BackYard Compact Disc (out of five) e Nasr, Elizabeth F . „ . „ The new compilation album, Ange° Ne'avSsa" |°u Got Lucky: A Tribute to fom Petty” attempts to honor JenniferMontiel, ptty but falls short and iemonstrates how much better mi moor, Ina ptty’s original versions are. ssen and Jeremy The disc contains 10 tracks || Petty’s greatest music, per- , . Jin formed by various generally- i Hen erson, Erm 1 ^fe^eard of artists. Most of the lovers of Petty’s music are y ipoted on the west coast, as ■own by the distortion and feedback. ing the fall and sprinf, Everclear’s cover of“Ameri- t University holidays 1 "'Ian Girl,” the lead track, fol- gestation,tx 77840. | 0ws p e tty‘s version almost Building, Texas ^ enticall y- with the exception of guitar distortion. I Engine Kids attempt i University in the IBreakdown,” and it starts off \ phone number is d with a grunge rhythm and a steady beat on the high lat. But the chorus evolves ?ment by The BattaJiO 11 w ]- ia ^ soun( Js like a group re B^.mno's p.m. K hi & h sch ° o1 students singing on a bus after winning their football game, with the added element of marijuana - every thing is slowed down. The cov er is nearly twice the length of the original version, simply be cause of the chorus. It’s frus trating to listen to. “Here Comes My Girl,” per formed by Throneberry, pro vides the first palatable piece. Although the version is almost identical to the original, Throneberry personalizes it with light variations in the rhythm guitars. The fourth track, “Even the Losers,” as performed by Nec tarine, is simply boring on CD. ^>0 Got fciekp a T!«BWfc ro to* PfcTrr"'**' ^ Courtesy of BackYard Records It might make great moshing in concert, if you can get past the monotone of their lead singer. “Stop Draggin My Heart Around,” covered by Loud Lucy with Louise Post is welcomed after making it through the previous flops. The lead singer has a colorful voice with a harsh edge placed to it. The guitarists add their own devia tions from the original tune without being over-frivolous with the distortion. Punchdrunk’s version of “Nightwatchman” is the best song on the disc. The bass- dri ven band is tight and clean, un like most of the others. The percussionist’s use of various sounds, such as what sounds like the striking of a glass jar, adds to the driven voice of the lead singer. Fig Dish’s “Don’t Come Around Here No More” has a touch of swing to it, but with a full distorted guitar sound sim ilar to Smashing Pumpkins. This tune could have been pulled off as its own. Throughout the album, See Tribute, page 4 Diffie’s album rocks with country lyrics By Jay Robbins The Battalion Joe Diffie “Third Rock From the Sun” Country Epic Records ★* 1/2 (out of five) Take out the twangy accent and a few of the more corn-pone numbers - like “Good Brown Gravy” — and Joe Diffie’s “Third Rock From the Sun” is just rock. But by its own claim, if no one else’s, the album orbits earth’s country music racks. And though, musically, Diffie’s latest effort has little in common with the work of major country icons such as George Strait and Reba McEntire, the sentiments of each song lie square in the down-home gut. Ironically, the three, most memorable tracks on the disc rock their country roots the most. The outstanding title track spins words and electric guitar into a terrific fast-paced ballad that almost forces jitterbuggers out onto the dance floor. The convoluted way a police chiefs infidelity indirectly sparks a panic over a giant alien at the mall is inspired humor. Since Garth Brooks hit the charts with “Ain’t Goin’ Down Till the Sun Comes Up” in 1993, several artists have ex perimented with the tradition al country ballad. “Third Rock From the Sun” and its “cause and effect chain of events” causes listeners to forget any effect of those other releases. The best song on the album, “Junior’s in Love,” sings anoth er hilarious picture, this one of a blue-collar love triangle be tween Junior, Wanda and Shorty. Courtesy of Epic The heavy bass line and drum beat make the song per fect for listening in a car stereo while on the highway with the windows down. “Fd Like to Have a Problem Like That/’ by the same song writing team who crafted “Third Rock,” resonates with the sentiments of anyone who’s ever resented the lucky few who are “too rich, too thin, too young or too in.” Its upbeat mood appeals to the country- boy cynicism that automatical ly ridicules people who can’t appreciate their good fortunes. Unfortunately, the other numbers on the album play sour notes. “That Road Not Taken” and “From Here On Out” fall into the same dramat* ic-and-slow-with-lots of-string- section trap that has ruined dozens of potentially good per formances in recent years. A couple of others, namely “Good Brown Gravy” - which even had Billy Dean’s help as writer-background vocalist ~ and “I’m in Love With a Capital ‘U,™ are just plain dumb with a capital t, page 4