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The Battalion
Friday
March 8, 1996
Aggielife
Page 3
The Woodies' unique sound draws variety of fans
The Woodies
By John LeBas
The Battalion
W hen guitarists Ron Piwko and
Tony Chester were working to
gether last year at a lumber
yard and trying to think of a name for
the band they were forming, only one
choice seemed logical.
Options such as “The Lumber Boys”
proved undesirable. “The Woodies”
was borne of a simultaneous and mu
tual burst of inventiveness, and de
spite the sexual connotations, the
name was appropriate and catchy; and
it stuck.
Now, The Woodies are riding a
wave of fan support, capitalizing on a
unique sound characterized by com
plex guitar harmonies and feel.
The band is performing tonight at
the Dixie Theatre.
Piwko and Chester perform without
a drummer or bassist.
“It’s two guitars, two vocals, and we
make a lot of noise,” Piwko said.
Musical influences are so diverse
that The Woodies’ sound is hard to de
fine, Piwko said.
Elements of blues and country,
among other genres, have helped
shape the band’s unique musical face.
The Woodies have heard fans dub
them as “James Taylor on speed” and
“America on acid.”
The closest similar-sounding band
Chester can think to name is the
(new) Eagles.
“We’re like the Eagles in that we do
so many different types of songs with
in the same style,” Chester said. “But
you wouldn’t necessarily compare us
to the Eagles.”
Piwko said the duo is still young,
which makes it hard to characterize
its music.
“We’re still in the birth phase,” Pi
wko said. “If people like lots of intri
cate guitar work and good harmonies,
that’s what we’re about.”
The mostly acoustic songs are writ
ten through a collaborative process
based on mutual respect, Piwko and
Chester said.
“Ron is a classical songwriter,”
Chester said. “He writes his lyrics first
and then writes music and melody
lines second. I do just the opposite.
Our styles are so different, it comes
out in a neat mix.
“We do collaborate and write songs
together, but a lot of times. I’ll write a
song or he’ll write a song and the oth
er one will put what he wants to it.
“We work with it until we get a fin
ished product, and it’s a collaboration at
that point. Ron’s the most talented
songwriter I’ve ever played with, and he
seems to feel the same way, as well.”
A crucial part of The Woodies’ style
is feel, Piwko said. The songs are too
complex for him and Chester to play
sloppily, he said.
“I think that’s what makes The
Woodies, the feel,” Piwko said.
The two also use different lyrical
approaches.
Piwko will write a song based on
an idea, whereas Chester writes on
inspiration.
The lyrics, while sometimes serious,
are not characteristically specific —
Chester said lyrics should be open to in
terpretation and personal application.
Piwko and Chester met each other
through working with local musicians
last year.
Since November, The Woodies have
performed at Fitzwilly’s and several
private parties with other local musi
cians such as Ruthie Foster.
“If there’s anything that has bonded
me and Tony in what we’re doing, it’s
that other people we respect in the busi
ness like what we’re doing,” Fhwko said.
The duo self-produced its first tape last
year, which has been selling quite well.
“We basically made a “poor boy’s”
tape — we did everything ourselves,”
Piwko said.
“We never really planned on mar
keting it, but people seemed to like it.
We were just going to use it to show
club owners what we could do,”
Chester said.
This summer, the pair will go to
Nashville to record its first album.
There, they will record with profes
sional producers and a hired band.
“We will probably form our own la
bel, but we’re hoping to get picked up
(by a major record label),” Chester said.
Regardless of whether they will
have to promote this second release
themselves, The Woodies hope to tour
extensively and expand their fan base.
Piwko and Chester have found this
fan base to be unexpectedly diverse.
“The cross-section of people who like
us is amazing,” Piwko said. “There’s a
9-year-old boy who goes to sleep listen
ing to our tape every night.”
The Woodies can boast fans in “the
biker crowd,” and even a 50-year-old
woman listens to the band.
Along with appreciation for these
fans comes The Woodies' respect for
their listeners.
“We’ll never insult anyone’s intelli
gence,” Piwko said. “There’s not any
commercialism in us — the most com
mercial stuff we do is not commercial.”
To take advantage of their forth
coming opportunities, Piwko and
Chester have put school on hold, bul
remain fiercely proud of their Aggie
heritage.
“We’re looking forward to the daj
when we can come back and say, ‘We
are from here, and we’re happy to be
home,”’ Piwko said.
Unusual hobbies find niche at A&M
MSC NOVA participants gain leadership skills through fun and games
By James Francis
The Battalion
L ife is not always filled with fun and games,
but there is one organization that tries to
do just that.
MSC NOVA, whose membership is only $1, is
open to anyone and provides individuals with
countless gaming experiences.
Clay Hanna, chair of NOVA and a sophomore
business major, said bringing different types of ac
tivities for students to enjoy is the aim of NOVA.
“We provide recreational activities that enhances
the student development process,” he said.
Although NOVA is a gaming organization, in
dividuals attain leadership and management
skills and learn how to identify with students on
different levels.
“NOVA has given me confidence and the abil
ity to manage people and time better, and I get
things done more efficiently,” Hanna said.
Alison Tashima, head of public relations and
a sophomore English and journalism major, said
NOVA brings together similar tastes.
“It’s been an opportunity to meet some inter
esting people and play new things that have di
versified my interests,” she said.
What sparks diversified interests are the var
ious games NOVA offers to members and other
Texas A&M students.
From chess to ACUI games, which includes
everything from bridge, bowling, table tennis to
role-playing, NOVA offers just about everything
in the gaming industry.
“If it’s game-related, we do it,” Hanna said.
He also said NOVA is expanding into murder
mystery gaming, which started last fall with the
“kidnapping” of Toby Boenig.
Individuals get the chance to interrogate wit
nesses and investigate crime scenes reminiscent
to the board game Clue.
The top three winners, of individual or two-per
son teams, receive prizes donated by the Bryan-Col-
lege Station community.
Another physical activity NOVA provides is
historical board gaming, where events such as
the Civil War are re-enacted.
Hanna said it is easy to see NOVA is not the
everyday, run-of-the-mill organization.
“We’re more different from other organiza
tions because of the type of atmosphere,” Hanna
said. “We’re all laid back and enjoy putting on
all the events that we do.”
One of the events the members are involved in is
NovaCon conventions, where guests are invited.
The founder of Dungeons and Dragons,
Gary Gygax, is just one of the many people
who has appeared at the conventions.
Also, last week, NOVA participated in Inter
national Gaming Day, where games of various
cultures were introduced to participates.
Currently, NOVA is planning for NovaCon.
It is also working on teaching sessions and
the possibility of holding a few tournaments;
and every weekend, there is open gaming in
the MSC tunnel rooms.
The group is also planning its spring
murder mystery, which will take place
in April.
Hanna wants students who are inter
ested in an overall gaming experience to
take a look at NOVA.
“We are a great tool for getting in
volved in the MSC,” he said.
Academie Vampirica members focus on
Gothic horror, live
By John LeBas
The Battalion
V ampires and werewolves. Mortality.
What may give some people the creeps is
vastly interesting to a group of Gothic hor
ror lovers at Texas A&M.
Academie Vampirica, a service and social club
at Texas A&M, is a local branch of the Camerilla.
Steve Balfour, a psychology graduate student,
said the Camerilla is a national non-profit
company that promotes charity, social
organization and interactive the
ater. Balfour, now club presi
dent and regional coordinator jJ |
for the Camerilla, helped found Jill
Academie Vampirica last
March to take advantage of
what a formal club could offer
its members and community.
“Our primary emphasis for
getting on campus was to be able to participate
in the Camerilla and college life, all together,”
Balfour said.
Balfour, like most Academie Vampirica mem
bers, became involved with the club through fasci
nation with Gothic horror.
“The primary focus (of Gothic horror) is on how
vampires and werewolves interact with humans,”
< « <
he said.
Mortality is also a focus of gothic horror, he said.
Many members are authors, and they delve
into these concepts in their writing, he said.
“You can go to whatever level you want with
it,” he said. “Some of the writing is very deep, and
there are other things that go straight down to
Steven King and focus on the
*%%>^ thriller aspect.”
Balfour also said many
members experiment with
art and create beautiful
■ igp Gothic-inspired pieces.
Jr The interactive theater
activities of the Academie
Vampirica interest many peo-
P* 9 ’" pie, Balfour said. Live action role-
playing, or LARP, occurs about every
three weeks at the Zachry Building.
Melanie Adams, a chemistry graduate
student and a chapter coordinator for Acad
emie Vampirica, said LARPs allow people to
explore and develop their skills and im
promptu role-playing.
“LARPs are a nice test of your creativity
and improvisational ability,” she said.
Participants, usually numbering up to 50
for most games, can develop one or more char
acters, she said.
Storytellers are also involved to make sure
players follow predetermined rules and to occa
sionally throw a “monkey wrench” into the story.
Adams said the stories are unwritten and al
most completely improvisational.
“It largely depends on what the players want
their characters to do,” she said.
Balfour said most of the conflicts and actions in
a given story are directed at the antagonists.
“There is a lot of high theater,” Balfour said. “A
lot of people really work on doing the emotions
and getting the makeup out and costuming.”
Balfour said that in one LARP, the characters
had to deal with the problem of feeding on a soci
ety infected with an AIDS-like illness.
Balfour, who typically plays a vampire, said
“the vampires usually have things that revolve
around a lot of political intrigue ad interaction.”
He said werewolves are more nature-orient
ed creatures.
“Werewolves typically operate in a pack struc
ture,” Balfour said.
Often, people choose traditional characters of
Gothic horror, such as werewolves and vampires,
Adams said, but playing an ordinary person can
be just as challenging and fun.
“Imagine playing an ordinary person and hav
ing all of this stuff going on,” she said.
Besides club gaming, the Academie Vampirica is
action role playing
also extensively involved in various gaming conven
tions, like WarCon, NovaCon and AggieCon.
Adams said people may have preconceived no
tions about LARP participants.
“We don’t do anything with weapons,” she said,
“and no one thinks they’re a vampire or a werewolf.
“Unfortunately, people have a tendency to
jump to conclusions,” Adams said.
The club is also involved in community service.
One service activity in the works is a teddy
bear collection for the police department. The ted
dy bears will be given to children for comfort
when a situation involving police action arises.
The club has also been involved with the Big
Event, the Brazos County Food Pantry and lit
ter cleanup.
“We have a cleanup site between here and Dallas
with the Adopt-a-Highway Program,” Balfour said.
Dan Schmitt, a Class of ’89 staff member and an
Academie Vampirica member, said he enjoys the so
cial activities of the club. Members will attend vam
pire and other movies together, for example.
“It’s refreshing to have found a group of stu
dents with Gothic interests,” he said. “Getting to
go to movies, getting to hang out with people who
want to do things like that, it’s interesting to do
this in a group instead of with two or three
friends you could find who might like to see a
strange movie,” he said.