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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1994)
irsday • December| sday • December 1, 1994 The Battalion • Page 3 1TITCHING A NATION TOGETHER i .' f; 1: ■' ■ Mi They Might Be Giants Band to rocket into Rudder Monday razos valley families contributing 1 panels to national AIDS quilt Tim Moog/ I ter nanding OfficerofE-l Margaret Claughton u- Battalion I t hrough painstaking stitches and seams, ^ families and friends everywhere sew ■ I with a common purpose. They weave to- ^Rther their memories of loved ones lost — lost ^■one of the country's leading killers, the AIDS a^Mrus. ' I r l’hey make panels (5 feet by 3 feet, painfully ^■irroring t he measuretmmts of a grave. 'These |||mels eventually form an A1DS quilt that de- Bcts their pain, love, admiration and devasta- A quilt that threads together symbols of lany lives, all taken by a single disease. I Families all across the nation have created fie national AIDS quilt which is now comprised of 27,730 panels, according to the Houston Volunteer, GrantSjfAMES Project. Since AIDS affects every corner of the coun- even the Brazos Valley will soon be a gart of this national memorial. Tonight, 11 grazes Valley families will share with the corn- unity the panels they plan to contribute to the national quilt at 7 p.m in the MSC Forsythe gallery. Each panel is personally made by families rom the Brazos Valley area and represents a loved one lost to AIDS. “All the panels vary,” said Suzy Griswold, golunteer coordinator for AIDS Services of Bra- :os Valley. “Each one is special. These families put a lot of love into them.” The exhibit is part of World AIDS Day 1994 nd will follow a candlelight vigil dedicated to ihose who have died from AIDS. Brian Thurston, program director for AIDS ervices of Brazos Valley (ASBV), designed a panel in rpemory of a homeless man he worked gith at the center. I Thurston said he and the staff became partic- I llarly attached to the man, Robert Mullins, be cause of his incessant will to keep fighting. I “This particular individual was extraordi- lary,” Thurston said. “He had such a difficult |ife. He was homeless and brain damaged, but |e never gave up, he always fought.” Using Thurston’s design and the help of staff nembers at the ASBV, they sewed a panel in said. “It’s a great,g exas A&M but fori as well. In I997,tli le to enjoy the fruit; ccurred today.” irgaret Rudder, wifi A&M presidentGi er and longtime cor’ ; University, said fe! ane of the greatest las happened to AM he library will ad thing,” Rudder sail e the center of evei}' pate great things." Regent honor of Mullins after his death in 1993. “He was such an independent spirit,” Thurston said. “Most of the others we work with had families to make them one. He didn’t have anyone to make a quilt.” Although the panel is a loving tribute to the person lost, Thurston said making the quilt was therapeutic for the staff. “I have to admit, a lot of it was for us,” he said. “It is a healing process, a process of grief.” Thurston said seeing the quilt drives home the devastating effect AIDS has on American families. “If you understand what one panel meant to you and then see 20 or 100 others, it’s com pounded,” he said. “You see the loss of what is going on with this disease — how young people get cut down.” Sharon Drumheller, assistant health educa tion coordinator for Student Health Services, said the quilt has an intense way of getting through to people. “It alone is a really powerful message to send,” she said. “It brings it home with a more personal touch that perfectly normal American families are affected.” Drumheller said this kind of personal touch may be the only way to get through to people who still don’t believe AIDS is a problem. In addition, it may open the minds of those who condemn people with AIDS. “It’s a way to really foster understanding and empathy,” she said. “It’s not a disease that re quires us to banish. People with AIDS need care, not to be ostracized.” The AIDS quilt was started by a man named Cleve Jones in 1984. Jones had AIDS and led a group in San Francisco that initially pasted to gether papers with names of those who died from the disease. This reminded him of a quilt and in 1986 the group began sewing. The first quilt was displayed in 1987 and had only 1,920 panels. Today, the national quilt is too large to be displayed in one place. The sewn memorial has grown to be as big as 11 football fields and weighs more than 32 tons. And with Brazos Valley’s addition, the quilt will number 27,741 panels and growing. y possible criminalj a the area, ent T. Michael O’Ctl e would like thebj look into the poss;!] ilding a new • on West Campus, jggest we go ahead ase bid and then ie construction of a y parking facility r said. ton said he will pi; rt to Board at its eeting on the Uni' ture plans for pa oment where he w the possibility rage. By Rob Clark The Battalion T hey Might Be Giants, per forming Monday in Rudder Auditorium at 7 p.m., just might be the most interesting band to grace the Texas A&M campus in years. And guitarist John Flansburgh proved to live up to this title in a phone inter view. When Flansburgh first heard of the A&M gig, he said he was impressed with the University’s size. “Big, very big,” he said. “My uncle lives in that area and I’ve been told many times of how many people are there. A really big campus. F—kin’ huge.” But Flansburgh and longtime chum/lead singer John Linnell won’t be the only giants to take Rudder by storm Monday. For the band’s latest album “John Henry,” the duo decided to ex pand to a full band. “It was something that started as kind of an experiment,” Flans burgh said. “We’ve always played a bunch of different instruments in the show. And for a little while, I was actually playing the drums on a few songs in the show and it was strange because I’m a really bad drummer. But it was going over really well.” But after inviting guest drum mers and bass players on stage during select performances, the idea of expansion became a realis tic one. “It sort of made us realize peo ple dig the sound of the live drums and there’s just something very exciting about a live rhythm section,” he said. Flansburgh said the rhythm section has electrified the band. “The best explanation I can give is we’ve tied a giant booster rocket onto the They Might Be Gi ants space capsule. We haven’t changed our direction, but we’re seriously changing our velocity.” Direction has always been one of the most intriguing aspects of the band. The quirky rhyme schemes, creative topics and un usual instrumentation make the Giants like no other. But many times the band is ac cused of being too bizarre and weird. Flansburgh said this is an unfair label. “I never really thought our music to be so strange,” he said. “I think people make a big deal out of our songs being so strange, but I think it’s very easy to understand what a lot of our songs are about. Even ‘Par ticle Man’ — I don’t think it’s any weirder than a Dr. Seuss story. A lot of our songs are ludent finds strength in the sound of music [ Haley Stavinoha ; Battalion LION or in chief Texas A&M student is spread- g her message of love and ie with her own album that iwcases her gifted voice. ’oni Ruffino, a junior speech .unications major with a mi- »}• in music, has dreamed of ging ever since she was young. She said that she puts God, her oily and her close friends first — i her music second. “The people close to me are my ^porters and inspiration for UgJffij ging,” Ruffino said. What has started out as a am has now become a reality Ruffino. But it wasn’t always a smooth fed. Jin junior high, she began to MAGEE, Opinion ediw Nve problems with her throat T MILNE, Photo editor v |en she sang. Ruffino was told 'INDER, Sports editor ft she needed to have an opera- \RK, Aggielife editor f 0n on her vocal chords that could feep her from ever singing again. I “At this point, I left my life up ;mann, Stephanie Dube, An^to God,” Ruffino said. “I truly be- Srmth and Kan Whitley lieve God worked through the doc- Shafi Islam, Tiffany Moore-m- g ” [But the risk paid off, and with a tcessful operation, her voice was d as new. Ruffino said music is the heart- it of her life and she is thankful Jat everything turned out the |&y it did. Besides singing around town at lurches in Bryan-College Station, , Je has started singing in Heame, y through Friday during m ldwell Belton and Houston, ng the summer sessions^ ■ ’ . . . , , ilversity. Second class^ She als o enjoys singing at wed- gs, banquets and for groups ch as Fellowship of Christian hletes. “I like to sing at a different jdents at Texas A&M :hurch every Sunday,” Ruffino artment of Journalism. E [gja 'T@TAMVM1.TAMU.EDU T A . mno r, «- ■ At a convention m 1993, Rufti- • met Jeff Nelson, a Christian >onsorship or endorseir'e |11 « cor( l producer, and he asked her for him. ■ Stunned by her performance, ■elson told Ruffino a future each Texas A&M stude' 1, ■ $20 per semester, $40p e! B asterCard, Discover or A; * Stacey Cameron, BlakeGr# ason en and Haley Stavinoha ew Diener, Stewart Doreen Henderson, Erin Hill, jerem^ asr, Elizabeth Preston, Ge™ 1 * >uatro Oakley id Michelle Oleson !30 Reed McDonald! are in 015 Reed McDofl' Fax: 845-2678. singing career was a real pos sibility. Making an album was the first step. Entitled “Only For You,” the album was released Nov. 11, and is available at Bra zos Valley Christian Book Store and Scripture Haven. One Houston radio station, KSBJ, plays Ruffino’s music on the air. Nelson produced the album, and Ruffino wrote three of the songs and co-wrote two others. She hopes within two years she will make another album. “People tell me that they love the album,” Ruffino said. “I hope the next one will please people just as much.” Earlier this month, Ruffino won grand prize in the Nation al Association of Christian Artist and Song Writers Annu al Seminar. “I was shocked to find out that I made the semifinals, much less to win first place,” Ruffino said. Ruffino won free production at Rivendell Studios for record ing of the same song she sang in the competition. The award also included production of a music video. But despite such success, Ruffino said she avoids music hype, and concentrates on continuing to travel with her message. “If God opens the door worldwide, I walk through it,” she said. Pastor Lonnie Green from the Church of the Nazarene in Bryan, said they have have been blessed to have Ruffino sing for the church. “Toni’s music is very inspi rational and has an impact on everybody in the room,” Green said. Through her music, Ruffino said she hopes to reach as many people as possible. Father Mike Sis of Saint Mary Toni Ruffino sings in the All Faith’s Chapel. Catholic Church said he thinks Ruffino’s music inspires her fellow students because of her own strug gles in life. “She is a person of prayer, not a performer,” Sis said. “Her lyrics are powerful (and) touch the heart.” Ruffino said she tries to write from the heart about her experi ences so her songs will be easy to relate to. Clockwise from top: Tony Maimone, John Flansburgh, John Linnell and Brian Doherty of They Might Be Giants. about hating your job, feeling frustrated with the world. “I don’t know, what are Nine Inch Nails songs about? Why are we the weirdos?” One of the quirkiest of Giants songs occur at the end of their “Apollo 18” album — a series of 10-15 second songs with lyrics ranging from “I’m having a heart attack” to “What’s that blue thing doing here?” Flansburgh said while the mini-songs seem random, there was a clear idea behind them. “It was kind of inspired by the collection of songs that you see advertised on late-night TV,” he said. “A lot of time it will be like a collection of songs from the ’40s and ’50s, a set of songs you’ve never heard. So it’s like a stream of unrelated musical blasts.” The Giants began in the mid- ’80s as a local band in New York. Since getting their first record deal in 1986, things have moved pretty fast. “I have to say the biggest transition, the biggest challenge was going from being a local band that basically had to beg for a gig to being essentially a na tional touring act. And that kind of happened in pretty quick suc cession.” The success of their first hit single and video “Don’t Lets Start” greatly increased the band’s exposure. “We were on tour when the video started getting played and the size of our audience just dou bled in a week,” Flansburgh said. “It was pretty good because 10 people looks a lot better than five.” As Flansburgh reminisced about his (Jays in New York with Linnell, begging for gigs, he said he never expected to achieve such success. “Bands like us usually don’t get a big audience,” he said. “I feel very lucky and happy that we’ve been able to get the kind of exposure that we have.” The legions of fans that follow the band have a true dedication to the music, Flansburgh said. “I feel like when people have the opportunity to really check it out and hear a whole record of ours, they become initiated into something that if they like it, they’re going to like it for a while,” he said. As for Monday’s performance, Flansburgh said he wanted a house full of A&M students. “I want to see them all,” he said. “I want people stacked three-high in that auditorium. We’re going to tear the roof off the place. “Bring your earplugs and your crash helmets.” Blake Griggs / The Battalion Frank Black Frank Black set to open for TMBG By Rob Clark The Battalion H ot off the success of his second solo album “Teenager of the Year,” Frank Black will perform at Rudder Auditorium Mon day night as the opening act for They Might Be Giants. Black is perhaps best known for his role in The Pixies* a post modern alternative group that scored with albums like “Tromp Le Monde” and “Bossanova.” The sound of The Pixies has been de scribed as “sardonic nursery rhymes” and “a rock ‘n’ roll corollary of a David Lynch movie.” But Black isn’t the only success story spawned from The Pixies. Former Pixie Kim Deal left the group to start up The Breeders, who scored with “Cannonball” last year. Black’s solo songs include “Whatever Happened to Pong?,” “Speedy Marie” and “Headache.” In his self-penned biography press release, Black said “I de clare to all of you to look up and behold that pie in the sky. Hope you like the record.”