October 23,
The Battalion
Page B
Wednesday • October 23, 1 996
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exas rock ’n’ roll band defies labels
I Flaco does its own thing
By John LeBas
The Battalion
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at do Star Trek, ZZ Top
and Ronnie James Dio
have in common?
hey top El Flaco’s list of peo-
omeet and things to do.
he members of the three-
, . ,,,,,, Austin band want to
heated that thejJ eo
on Star Trek as Klingons.
laco aims to open for the
’-bearded fellows of ZZ Top
dine with Dio. Eventually,
or now, says bassist Rob
y, El Flaco will keep building
tall hplncF(i n base i n Texas until the
Jail IlCipbn t reC ord deal comes around.
CBS in rati band ’ P la y in 8 toni g ht at
1 tigo, tries to visit as many
ORK (AP)-Putn
its comeback sea
oled to fourth pli
» aS ,^^%eg e towns as possible be-
sethe fans there are so loyal,
jysaid.
That’s why we like the small
|ege towns,” he said. “If they
it, they’ll stick with you.”
tad what fans can expect to
El Flaco is playing at
Vertigo tonight
iseballtoits
irage.
vleader NBC tool
ielsen Media Rese
ratings for the m
) with a 10.5 rati
re. ■
„ ‘ is Texas rock ’n’ roll, he said.
n a race for seconc*! , . ,
and a 16 share,
5 rating and 16 ste
We definitely consider our-
es Texas rock,” Gray said. “We
rock’n’ roll with our own per-
ial style. Texas rock is different
here's less influence here from
ids, and more individuality.”
Highs & Lows 31 Flaco, like most Texas
ids, just does its own thing,
ysaid. It doesn’t fit into any
d of musical category.
Mot of Texas bands don’t fit
Today's ExpectedPi
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Tonight's Expecied
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Tomorrows
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77°F
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Expected low
51°F
'where,” he said. “I think it’s
iwhole influence of Texas
lAustin.”
Cray said Austin helped El
co get away from ripping off
sic from the bands that influ-
:eit.
When you’re starting, your in-
snees drive you and you try to
pythem,” he said. “Once we
lion courtesy WTAS
’4
ts!
er 24th
to Austin, we saw all these
id bands around us and it rang
41 in our heads: We like our in-
ences, but let’s take what
y’ve done and put our own
01
1 per chi
os Food Bail
stumes!
ity ^
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El Flaco
We try to expand
the parameters of
normal rock 'iV
roll by doing what
we feel like
doing.”
Rob Gray
EJ Flaco bassist
m
spin on it.” El Flaco’s classic rock
influences, and influences like ZZ
Top and Dio, all go into the mix.
Gray said fans seem to like El
Flaco’s brew. The shows are sim
ple — no theatrics, he said —
and fun.
“From what people tell me,
we all are having a good time,
and that lets them have a good
time,” he said.
Gray said El Flaco is “easily
accessible”: Young and old lis
teners alike get into the groove.
And the band is now going all
out to be even more accessible,
he said. El Flaco has toured on
the East Coast and throughout
Texas in support of its self-pro
duced album, Thub. But the
road to success can be long and
a little bumpy, he said.
Gray and El Flaco drummer
Brad Turner were in the Austin
band Bouffant Jellyfish until it
broke up in 1992. Still itching to
play, Gray and Turner recruited
guitarist Chris Hay and formed El
Flaco later that year.
But band members juggle
practice, touring and school.
Turner recently went to chef
school and Gray is currently
working on his Ph.D. in psychol
ogy at the University of Texas.
“It’s been hard, but time man
agement has been the key,” Gray
said. “It’s kind of interesting, be
cause people have this stereo
type of what musicians are sup
posed to be like. They think
people in rock ’n’ roll are all one
way. I put [school and music] to
gether, and it’s hard for some
people to understand.”
But it doesn’t really matter to El
Flaco what others think, Gray said.
“We try to expand the para
meters of normal rock ’n’ roll by
doing what we feel like doing,”
he said.
Hopefully, this will continue
to attract more of the record la
bel attention the band is already
getting, Gray said. It has about
15 new songs that are itching for
a new CD release, he said.
And then maybe meeting ZZ
Top will become a reality.
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Missile Command
► Former Gals Panic member in new band
Missile Command lifts off
By April Towery
The Battalion
M issile Command lead vocalist Jeremy Pollet
thought he needed helicopters to get out of
the situation he was in this summer.
Stranded onstage at a club in Austin, Pollet dis
covered the other band members of Gals Panic had
different plans for their future. After releasing the
debut album / Think We Need Helicopters, perform
ing in the movie The Underneath, and spending al
most four years of musical coherence with Austin
punk band Gals Panic, bassist Cardinal Connor and
vocalist Lance Sever parted with the band in July.
“When we got off our last tour in July, Lance was
offered an amazing job with an animation compa
ny,” Pollet said. “He’s a good cartoonist and has a de
gree in graphic design from the University of Texas,
Missle Command is playing
at Vertigo tonight
so he chose that career over a career in rock ’n’ roll.
The bass player had just gotten in a serious relation
ship with a girl, so he saw this as his opportunity to
get out.”
Sever and Connor are currently playing shows
around Austin with a band called The Playdoh Squad.
Pollet and Gals Panic drummer Dave Keel were
not expecting the sudden breakup, but Pollet said
that there are no hard feelings between the Gals
Panic band members. Now they see it as a “blessing
in disguise.”
“Dave and I thought we were doing well and were
excited about the music,” Pollet said. “We want to be
even better than Gals Panic. One thing that didn't
make the transition so bad was that I had been
managing the record label for Gals Panic, so I knew
how to do the managing work.”
Keel and Pollet auditioned bassist Craig Shindig,
began writing new music and became the “power
three-piece” Missile Command by late August. The
band has played four shows in Austin and San Mar
cos and recorded the album Try Japanese Fast Food
on Pollett’s label, Pope Yes Records.
Pollet said the al
bum will not surprise
Gals Panic fans.
“It’s still bouncy-
punk music,” he said.
“The vocals are a little
gruffer and more
melodic — people
used to say Lance was
half rapping.”
Matt Applegath, a
senior wildlife and
fisheries science ma
jor, said he is a fan of
the album I Think We
Need Helicopters.
“Fm still a
complete spaz...
If you're going
onstage, you've
got to give a
performance.”
Jeremy Pollet
Missle Command singer
T think they’re just crazy,” he said. “They , really
go nuts and are totally into the music. It’s really fun
music, and it does have some meaning.”
Pollet said it is necessary to put on a show for the
audience. He said that when people pay to see a
band, they are paying to be entertained as well.
“I’m still a complete spaz,” he said. “People
will come up to me after a show and say, T can’t
believe you’re so confident.’ I’m so nervous when
I’m up there, but when I get stage fright, Tm too
nervous to stand still so I run around like an id
iot. If you're going to get onstage, you’ve got to
give a performance.”
Now that Pollet has made the transition from gui
tarist to vocalist, he said he has observed a differ
ence in space constraints onstage.
“When I didn’t have to have a microphone in
See Command, Page 4
ELECT
ictf0
State Representative
Early voting is from
October 16th to November 1st!
Dan Kubiak
★ A Proven Record of Leadership for District 13 Jr
Member of the Texas Conservative Coalition
c
Representative Kubiak will continue working to ensure that
the voices of District 13 citizens are heard in Austin.
Some of the issues affecting our District that Dan wilt work
for in the next legislative session include:
Continue the fight for property tax reform, property rights, and
helping landowners.
Re-establish a competitive cattle market by eliminating the
practice of secret agreements on pricing.
Continue to fight for full support for Texas A&M University,
Blinn College and higher education in Central Texas.
Sponsoring legislation providing zero-tolerance for underage
drinking.
)
STATE REPRESENTATIVE KUBIAK
Endorsed by:
Texas Farm Bureau AGFUND
Combined Law Enforcement
Association of Texas
Texans for Lawsuit Reform
Texas State Teachers Association
Texas Association of School Administrators
Texas Hospital Association
Texas Association of Business &
Chambers of Commerce
Texas State Rifle Association
National Rifle Associaiton
National Federation of Independent Businesses
Pd for by the Dan Kubiak Campaign. P O Bon 272. Rockdale. TX 76567
"1 would
appreciate
your vote!"
DAN KUBIAK.
You know who he is.
You know where he stands.
PROFITABLE NUMBER! 845-0569 The Battalion Classified Advertising