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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 1995)
The Battalion • Page 3 Thursday • June 29, 1993 ean foods do a body good o ° N atu ra I bods store offers alternative to health conscious dieters By Libe Goad The Battalion B eef is not necessarily what’s for din ner — especially for the growing number of people discovering the health craze. Health consciousness has a home in Bryan-College Station complete with a health food haven. Janis and Robert Atkins reopened Bra zos Natural Foods in June, expanding the store to give people an alternative to regu lar grocery stores. Janis Atkins said the community has responded favorably to the store and that it serves as a meeting place for the health-conscious. “People that come in the store get to be friends because they’re interested in what you’re interested in,” she said. She said A&M graduate students, facul ty and families, ranging in age from 20 - 50 are the store’s most loyal patrons. Undergraduate students aren’t frequent shoppers, she said. “Most of the younger customers come from somewhere else — like the West Coast,” she said. “They come here looking for the same foods they grew up around.” The store has a small reading section for customers to keep track of the latest breakthroughs in diet research, alternative medicines and disease prevention. “Customers educate us more than everyone else,” she said. “People come in here with various allergies, and we learn from them while meeting their needs.” Robert Atkins said diet education and body-consciousness have helped clear mis conceptions about health food stores and made people aware of the importance of eating healthy. “I think many realize that they will be living longer because parents are living longer and longer,” he said. Brazos Natural Foods promotes a diet with little or no meat, lower fat and less salt to keep the body in optimal health. The store carries items including vegetari an hot dogs, organically-grown dried fruits and tofu-based ice cream. “We’re not fanatical in the sense that we don’t carry coffee and chocolate,” Janice Atkins said. “We let people choose what they want to eat.” The store owners say a healthy diet should include mostly fruits, vegetables and whole grains and that people should cut back on protein and other harmful fat sources. A 1994 survey for Parade magazine said most Americans think they eat a healthy diet but don’t consume enough vegetables and grains. EAT II, a study conducted for the Na tional Livestock and Meat Board in Chica go, said most people don’t eat enough veg etables, fruit, bread and milk but consume too many fats, oils and sweets. Robert Atkins said dairy and beef council advertisements form misconceptions about how much protein should be consumed to maintain a healthy diet. “We’ve been fed the idea that we need a high protein diet,” he said. Rechelle Christie Blair, a senior English major, said that she has been conditioned to incorporate meat into her diet, but it’s healthier not to. “I think it’s healthier for us not to eat meat,” she said. “It’s like a heart attack on a plate.” Janis Atkins said people eat more meat than they think because it’s difficult to de termine a correct portion of meat. “The serving size is three ounces [of meat] but that’s not what’s served,” she said. “It’s very deceptive.” The Natural Way, a health magazine, includes studies showing that cutting meat from a diet can help prevent heart disease by lowering fat consumption and helping digestion. Janis Atkins encourages people to be come more aware of what’s going on inside their body. “We don’t pay attention to how we feel,” she said. What matters is what makes us feel better and what makes us happier.” Blair said that although she runs with a health-conscious crowd, she eats what makes her feel best about herself. “I drink water and juice just to feel bet ter about myself,” she said. “I don’t want to go to the extreme.” The health food industry can make peo ple become obsessed with their bodies and ignore the internal person. “People are into body worshiping, and they take eating healthy to extremes ,” she said. “People need to feed the mind, body and spirit.” ELASTIC FIRECRACKER is no dud Tripping Daisy follows up on Bill's success with explosive second album ;ie Smith was d with the Sis! '•aft. Tech has ns scted since .on Celtics Anderson : in the sixth IS URDU Stew Milne, The Battalion Tr pping Daisy performs at the Stafford Opera House. By Stew Milne The Battalion BANG! With the oversaturated alterna tive scene swallowing bands left and right, Dallas-based Tripping Daisy offers a refreshing ride of emotions on its first album with Island Records, i am an ELASTIC FIRE CRACKER. Tripping Daisy gathered a strong, loyal following while playing the north Texas area, and swept the Dallas Observer’s 1993 Music Awards. Its first album. Bill, was released on the independent Dragon Street label in 1992, but was remastered and rereleased after signing with Island Records. Tripping Daisy went back to the studio late last year to record i am an ELASTIC FIRECRACKER , its second full-length album. The album’s first single “I Got a Girl” is a playfully romantic song about Delaughter’s girlfriend. Possi bly a bit repetitive but nonetheless catchy, the song brings visions of a swaying, sweaty mosh pit on the verge of eruption. The album is full of character and rich with emotions. Tripping Daisy takes the listener on a trip to many places at the same time, much like it does in its shows. Although it is not as hard or dri ving as Bill, the album is musically and lyrically more mature. Lead singer Tim Delaughter’s eerie, distorted voice pierces through the music, giving the album that dis tinct Tripping Daisy sound. Delaughter has learned to play the guitar, adding to Wes Berggren’s al ready solid chords and rhythms, while Mark Pirro, bassist, and drum mer Bryan Wakeland keep the ener gy high. Album Review Tripping Daisy I am an ELASTIC FIRECRACKER Island Records ★★★★ (out of five) One problem that persists through out the album is that every song ap pears to come from the same mold — start with a mild guitar melody, add soft vocals, build momentum, then crash into a chorus, and finally re lease back to the beginning. Even though the songs may come from the same cookie cutter, each has its own distinct flavor. Particular bright spots on the al bum include “Piran ha,” a criticism of the media; “Trip Along,” an old brainstorm of Delaughter’s and a improvisation on “High.” Tripping Daisy sticks to the style that got it this far, but the band has improved > and developed since its first release. i am an ELASTIC FIRECRACKER is not as energetic, but the album is technically superior. The fuse has been lit. s schedule^ hanged rmits, siri be availably sug- urts, reas, innis V 12. | ided II be : the avail iooI. I 69, Little Sister comes out to play IGroup is heading back to studio igue »me, ides II be i arrive at J, pl ease dees LLVadflS' ■ By Libe Goad ■The Battalion ( Since Wayne Sutton was 13, he knew that if he could be in a band, ■he’d be happy for the rest of his life. The guitarist now tours through- lout the country with Austin-based ■band. Little Sister. The band began in April 1991 ■when Sutton and lead singer/gui- ■tarist Patrice Pike released an album I titled Freedom Child. Drummer and vocalist Sean ■ Phillips soon joined the duo, and with ■the addition of bass guitarist Darrell ■ Phillips in 1992, the foursome known las Little Sister was born. Now that the band has completed la tour through the Midwest, the di- I versified funky sounds of Little Sister J will return to Bryan for a show at the Dixie Theatre tomorrow night. The band recently disentangled it self from its SBK recording contract, on which it released a live album called Free Love & Nickel Beer. The album was an attempt to capture the jam-session intensity of the band’s performances. While playing at Club DaDa in Dallas in 1993, Little Sister caught the eye of SBK/ERG Records with its unique style, and the band signed onto the label in June that year. The tour drew large crowds, sell ing out in Chicago and Detroit. Now, Sutton says the band is anxious to get back into the recording studio. “At first they told us the recording would begin in six months, then eight months and then a year and a half,” he said. To complicate matters more, SBK and the EMI Records Group under went a massive turnover, delaying | recording and costing the band thou sands of dollars. Sutton said the band members felt I like they rushed into the contract and didn’t consider the effects it would have on its artistic freedoms. “They wanted us to play more like our older songs, and we were excited about our new songs,” he said. Little Sister plans to begin record ing their new album Monday for Is land Records. Sutton said the band plans to tune down its ’70s funk sound and in corporate the Led Zeppe- linesque style of soloist Jeff Buckley and the hip-hop band. Spear head. “Our music is getting darker as everyone gets more serious,” he said. Individual influences on the band’s music are starting to mix together as the band learns how to collectively write songs, he said. “Our music is coming into its own,” Sutton said. “Now it’s harder in some places and floatier in others.” Sutton said that once the new album comes out, the band members hope to gain popularity the way grass-roots band Blues Traveler did — through extensive tour ing and selling albums at its shows. Little Sister seems to be doing just that. After four years, the band has produced two albums and toured with the blues-rock H.O.R.D.E. festival that featured Top-40 names like Big Head Todd, the Almann Bros, and Sheryl Crow. MTV’s “Week in Rock” also cap tured the downtown grooves of Little Sister in a special on Austin nightlife. And fame can have its advantages. Little Sister has used its musical influence to get out of sticky situa tions with the police. On the Midwestern tour, Sutton said lead singer Patrice Pike sang an officer out of giving them a speeding ticket. “He told us if we sang him a song. Little Sister he would let us go,” Sutton said. Although he enjoys using music to get out of trouble, Sutton said he loves performances and touring the most, a feeling that defines his pre scription for happiness. “It’s hard to describe how it feels to : be on stage,” he said. “It’s like go ing on a trip without a road map.” Thursday Head West, a local alternative band, is playing at The Dixie Theatre. Brad Thompson is opening. Passing Strangers, a cover band, is playing at The Tap. Ty and the SemiAutomatics, a local alternative band, is playing at Northgate Cafe. Local blues musician Bobby Hall and Podunk, a rock band from Port Arthur, will also be playing. The Thursday Wind Down with KHRN radio is at 3rd Floor Cantina. Bo Andrews, a folk performer from Austin, is performing at Sweet Eugene's House of Java. The Bounty Hunters, a country band, is playing at The Texas Hall of Fame. Glorium, an alternative band from Austin, is promoting its new release. Breech. The band is playing at Northgate Cafe. Little Sister, an alternative band from Austin, is playing at The Dixie Theatre. See related story. Peeping Tom, a local cover band with a few original songs, is playing at The Tap. Tab Benoit, a rhythm and blues performer, is playing at 3rd Floor Cantina. Gravy, a local band, is opening. Saturday Big Otis, a motown soul performer, is playing at 3rd Floor Cantina. Ruthie Foster, a local blues artist, is playing at The Dixie Theatre. House of Dreams, a cover band, is playing at The Tap. The Jim Talbot Blues Band, a blues band from Austin, is performing at Sweet Eugene's House of Java. TERRYLYNN, a country artist from Belton, is performing and signing autographs at Super Walmart. TERRYLYNN is releasing her debut album in August under Texas-based Record label, Tradewind Records. Veil of Veronica, a local gothic rock band, is playing at Northgate Cafe.