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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1996)
he Battalion riday ebruary 1 6, 1 996 Aggielife Page 3 ’nRecord Convention offers rare albums and posters zuelan k yjohn LeBas n explain he Battalion lerica tta ie-hard music collectors and casual lis teners alike can peruse a slew of new and out-of-print musical gems this eekend in College Station. where $ The Infinite Record Convention is Saturday re forM tthe College Station Ramada Inn from 10 vomenatt jn. to 4 p.m. The free show is sponsored by itions.ti louston-based Infinite Records. “and lli us intoti to the "X It healty erstandiij ic achietf- ortant ::|iosters andothercol lectors’ items, rengthai uncturei r West ;ed wit t -a Hark\ pbilosofh ementst! nted, sh been ar othesizias item f» 1 multicu! or whois urse, saii t utilizinj ^ruly r nei e sciences en Women's Hardin! on a gl ssueSi w erwise bs “I bring 3,000 or 4,000 current CDs and housands of posters from around the world,” le said. He also brings thousands of new and ised records. Many music sellers from Texas and nearby totes participate in the convention, which has seen held in College Station for the last four ears. Ritz subleases space to these indepen- lent vendors, who offer rare and collectible ideos, photographs, T-shirts and autographs, is well as new music. According to a promotional flier, such items Dave Ritz, Infinite Records owner, said the onvention offers people a unique opportunity o choose from a large selection of inexpensive lew music, as well as hard-to-find records, attract serious music collectors to Infinite Record Conventions from around the world. Collectors are pleased to find an abundance of out-of-print records, the flier says. Ritz said recent rises in the popularity of record collecting have had a positive effect on the convention. “You just can’t really find old records any more,” he said. “These conventions are about the only place you can get vinyl.” Ritz said convention attendance has in creased over the years as music stores have stopped carrying records. Casual music buyers also come to the con ventions because of the large variety of music styles available, Ritz said. Although the shows are primarily rock-oriented, he said buyers should have no problem finding jazz, blues, soul and country selections. Infinite Records has produced similar shows throughout Texas and other southern states since 1978. And while the College Sta tion show may not quite rival the size and scope of shows in larger cities — the Houston conventions usually occupy 8,000 square feet — Ritz said attendance and vendor participa tion has been growing steadily. Ritz said Texas A&M football games and other events often hinder efforts at finding appropriate convention venues. “It’s sometimes hard to book shows (in College Station) because there are always so many things going on,” he said. But unlike conventions in other cities where prospective buyers pay for admis sion, the College Station show is free. “It costs a lot to put on a show, with advertising and other expens es,” Ritz said, “but I know that money is not always easy to come by when you’re in college.” Noting the significance of money for most students, Ritz also applies this under standing to his pricing. CDs will be available from $2 and up, and records will start at $1. Ritz said the plethora of in expensive music and memora bilia that will be available Satur day will attract plenty of people to the largest record show ever held in College Station. “People at the show will see stuff that they can’t see elsewhere, and for cheaper,” he said. “I’d say that’s a pretty good reason to come.” Marcia Ball brings Boogie-woogie piano music to B-CS on way to New Orleans By Libe Goad The Battalion W hile heading down to New Orleans this weekend to purge yourself of all debauchery before Lent, keep an eye out for Marcia Ball. After stopping at the 3rd Floor Cantina Friday night, the rhythm-and-blues pianist and her band will head straight to the jazz headquarters of the South. Among the mask-wearing, bead-barter ing masses, Marcia Ball and her Boogie- woogie sound will continue a tradition of the Mardi Gras of an older generation. “Mardi Gras is less of a music event than it used to be,” Ball said. “Now it’s Spring Break in New Orleans — all youth and no money.” Despite the college students that will be partying on Bourbon Street this weekend, Ball will stick around to enjoy her native state and perform on Fat Tuesday. ,,nor Cf. ft, tffin, A* Goad, n,ks:H* topher. M 1 aarkJ.'i flirls M lile '' Brownie niferl>' nne ter. A nlW ^inthel* iin .1 ^ 11. J fall al ’„ xtep'"" posiaf! e ts lu^ Marcia Ball is performing at 3rd Floor Cantina tonight. The heart of the New Orleans music scene is where it all began for Ball. Critics compare her music to the revolu tionary music of Jerry Lee Lewis, whose “Great Balls of Fire” gave piano music a new spark. Ball’s similar spark has earned her the honorary title, the “Queen of Boo gie-woogie.” Ball said the word carries an old-fash ioned connotation and assures that the mu sic is not boring. “My husband and I were watching a chase scene and they used a Boogie-woo gie song,” she said. “It’s the rock ’n’ roll of piano.” Ball’s Boogie-woogie title comes after many years on the piano. Thanks to her grandmother, who played Tin Pan Alley and ragtime piano, Ball began taking for mal, classical piano lessons at age five. Due to normal teenage concerns, she stopped playing piano nine years later. “I quit because I got distracted — by everything,” she said. “Cars, boys, sports and other things.” She said she pushed piano to the back of her priority list until she and her husband moved to Austin in 1971. “Me and my husband moved to Austin and went to a junk store to look for a wash er and a stove and brought back a piano,” she said. The piano sat at the back of the store covered in dust with a mannequin on top. She ran her fingers over the keys and dis covered everything was in working order. “People quit and wish they hadn’t,” Ball said. “I encourage people to start playing again.” Ball started playing again, and after a stint with Freda and the Firedogs, a pro gressive county band, and a solo debut al bum, she began banging out the music of her home state. She gathered a band and began touring throughout the Southwest and released Soulful Dress (1983), Hot Tamale Baby (1985) and Gatorhythms (1989). Her most recent release is Blue House, an album Piano and Keyboard magazine said was “hard to categorize, unless your record collection includes a section for cool, piano-based blues, rhythm and blues, and New Orleans boogie, with touches of coun try and zydeco to stir up the brew.” Exit 68 aims for mainstream by writing original songs By Kristina Buffin The Battalion O ne of the biggest mysteries of a band is usually the name. Names like Barenaked Ladies, Mirandasexgarden and Lunachicks of ten cause people to wonder, “Where the hell did they come up with that name?” Add Exit 68 to the list. The College Station band was originally named As If ... , but the four A&M students de cided they needed to find a more origi nal name. Bass guitarist Tommy Newman and drummer Hans Betten were driving back from Dallas, saw all the exit signs and thought why not name the band exit something. “We wanted to name it Exit 69,” Bet- ten, a senior agricultural development major, said. “But Case’s (Brown, the lead singer) mom would have kicked our ass.” Exit 68 formed in August after Bet- ten and lead guitarist Ryan Ash met last spring on the way to the Conroe County Cookoff. At the fair, the two started jamming and decided to try and form a band. Brown, Ash and Newman knew each other from being in Company F-2 in the Corps of Cadets, and Betten was in Company A-l. They all liked music, and Ash and Betten had been in bands before. “My whole family is into music,” Bet ten said. “My stepdad played drums in Dallas, and as a kid, I used to bang on everything I could. Alex Van Halen is a god and inspired me.” Exit 68 is a cover band like most oth er bands which are just starting out. Their first gig was on Sept. 2 last year. They only knew 10 songs at the time, but Ash said they were just thrilled to be part of the music scene. Now the band plays at least once a week. Most of the band’s gigs involve play ing for charitable causes and benefits. Exit 68 has played for Habitat for Hu manity, Bonfire and at the Roadhouse benefit last week. “We just want to help out,” Newman, (from top) Hans Betten, Tommy Newman a senior wildlife and fisheries science major, said. “We will play for any orga nization on campus, for a community service project or for any good cause. This year we will play at Muster and at Big Event.” The band members are working on a couple of original songs and are looking forward to writing more. “Up until now, we have been a cover band, that is what we started out to do,” Newman said. “In the future, we want to play more original songs and we plan to get involved in original songs in the next few months.” Until it starts playing original songs, Exit 68 plays a wide range of cover songs. The band’s variety ranges from anything like the Steve Miller Band to Silverchair. “We like to try a lot of different stuff,” Newman said. “We play any thing from classic rock to mainstream alternative. Our music reflects the di versity in our influences. It kind of gives us our own sound because we cov er a variety of songs.” The diversity of the band is also re flected in the members’ personalities. Newman describes himself as the per- Gwendolyn Struve, The Baitalion , Ryan Ash and Case Brown are Exit 68. fectionist and the anal one of the group. Brown wears Tommy Hilfiger shirts at every performance; Betten wears a dif ferent pair of boxers at each perfor mance, and he describes Ash as the personality of the group. “I’m kind of like the guy that never gets tired in terms of goofing off and all that stuff,” Ash, a sophomore mechani cal engineering major, said. “Hans and I like rock ‘ri roll, Tommy likes bands like the Cure, and Case has more of a country background. When we all get together, we throw in our own part. “It’s a problem when we find a song to play because we can’t agree. When we finally agree, it is something that we all put our hearts in.” College Station has not been known for its local band scene. However, in the last couple of years, the number of local of bands has proliferated. “I think that we have noticed that the College Station scene is getting big ger and more friendly,” Betten said. It is getting bigger because of local bands like Peeping Tom and Mr. Friendly.” Exit 68 is playing at Northgate to morrow at 8:30 p.m. The stunning artistry and precision of Guildhall Strings, featuring renowned tnutar soloist Manuel Barrueco, will delight hulsu: [am - of all ages. This group of I I string players and one harpsichordist delivers an appealing mix oj Imroque and modern works. ANt? TAVCE iT DEFENSIVE DRIVING ... COMEDY STYLE USA Training Company, Inc. Speeding Ticket? Have the Last Laugh! State-approved Defensive Driving course for ticket dismissal and insurance reduction Convenient Saturday classes taught at 4.0 & Go Tutoring in College Station Taught by professional comic Bobby Bernshausen To register, call 778-GRIN (778-4746) 1996 WOMEN’S WEEK AWARDS Opera C' PtffcirMfyj jlrts Society http://wwwmsc.tamu.edu/msc/opas/opas.html opas@tamu.edu Texas A&M University Rudder Auditorium February 22,1996 8:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the MSC Box Office-TAMU, or charge by phone at 845-1234. Now accepting Aggie Bucks™ Texas A&M University’s Women’s Week Awards, established in 1994 as part of Women’s Week, are designed to honor Texas A&M University students, staff, faculty and administrators who encourage and promote the sensitivity to and awareness of issues that relate to women. Categories (one award will be given in each category) Student Currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate/professional student Staff Employees other than faculty or administration Faculty Tenure track or non-tenure track faculty Administrator Department head level or above NOMINATIONS DUE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29 BY 5:00 P.M. Please contact the Vice President for Student Affairs Office at 845-4728 for further information. Nomination forms can be picked up on 10th Floor Rudder Tower. f Persons with disabilities please call 845-89 special needs. We request notification three the event to enable us to assist ist you to 03 to inform us of your (3) working days prior to the best of our ability. Awards will be presented at the Women’s Week Kickoff Luncheon Friday, March 22, 1996 - 12:00 p.m. at the Student Recreation Center
