Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 1997)
PROFITABLE NUMBER! 845-0569 The Battalion Classified Advertising FAX us your Classified Ad 845-2678 Include Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express Number and Expiration Date for FAX orders The Battalion 015 Reed McDonald Bldg. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday Call 845-0569 for more info The Battalion Classified Advertising • Easy* Affordable • Effective For information, call 845-0509 Do You Have Panic Attacks? Freedom Research, Inc. is seeking volunteers for a 12-week research study of an investigational medication for panic disorder. You must be 18-65 years old in good health. You may be paid up to $200 for your particpation in the study. For more information call: 229-0049 You are invited to join us Thursday night from 6:00 Till 10:00 only all evening gowns, cocktail dresses and evening separates will be 30% off.. incredible the selection ... the timing.... and have a glass of champagne while you save!! 707 Texas 696-9626 SPEND SPRING 1998 AT SANTA CHIARA! ATTEND INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS OFFERED BYTHE STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM OFFIGE ROOM 358, BIZZELL HALL WEST THURSDAY, JANUARY 30 3:15-4:00 PM TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4 3:30- 4:15 PM A G GIE LIF E Rags Thursday • January 30, The Connells hope for a hit North Carolina band aims for success with roots-rock soun By Michael Schaub The Batt alion T he members of the Connells have been to gether 12 years, released six albums and seen a recent single become an internation al smash hit. So it comes as no surprise that drummer Peele Wimberley is a little tired of being com pared to a certain band from Athens, Ga. “Certainly we get tired of it,” he said, “but we all understand. People have to have some per ception of the sound.” Comparisons to R.E.M., as well as to Min nesota rockers The Replacements, have followed the band since it originated in 1984. “I hate to describe our sound,” Wimberley said, “but I would say it’s like R.E.M. with a little more British flavor and maybe a little more of the rootsy stuff.” The band, based in Raleigh, N.C., plays at the Dixie Theatre in downtown Bryan at 10 p.m. Thursday. Rock band Tonic will open. “It’s a pretty strong package,” Wimberley said. “Tonic is a strong band.” The Connells’ tour follows the release of the band’s latest album, Weird Food & Devastation, a raw, slightly acerbic collection of guitar-driven pop tunes. “I think the album’s darker, more solemn,” Wimberley said. “We didn’t do a lot of overdubs or processing, and that made it sound a little more raw.” The title of the album refers to the band’s impressions of touring Europe, where it has encountered immense popularity following a 1993 single. The song “’74-’75,” from their 1993 album Ringwas a top-20 hit in 13 countries. Americans may have missed the buzz surrounding the song, although it was featured in the recent movie Heavy. Wimberley said the members of the band say they still hope for increased popularity in the United States. “We want to reach as many people as possi ble,” he said. "Aside from the European success, we’re all just scraping by.” The Connells’ relative obscurity in their na tive country is not because of lack of experience. The band formed at the University of North Car olina after brothers Mike and David Connell hired vocalist Doug MacMillan and drummer John Schultz to play at local venues. Schultz was replaced by Wimberley shortly thereafter, and the band hired George Huntley be- The Connells, a rock band from North Carolina, is playing tonight at the Dixie Theater in fore recording their debut album, Darker Days. The Connells released three more albums before the breakthrough album Ring, the best selling independent rock album of 1993. Wim berley said the band members are planning a future release. “When we get to work on the next record, we’re going to concentrate on making a solid pop record like Fun & Games or One Simple Word,” he said. The loose sound of Weird Food & Devastation is a departure from the more polished pop tunes of the band’s previous albums. "Most fans say that when they spend time with it, they like it a lot,” Wimberley said. The album includes hints of alternative coun try in such songs as “Smoke” and “Back to Blue,” but the influence of rockers like Neil Young is still evident in “Friendly Time,” he said. Wimberley said the band is progressing both lyrically and musically. “The lyrics are a little more direct, more pointed,” he said. The band’s familiar sense of irony is some what less cloaked on Weird Food & Devastation. In “Back to Blue,” MacMillan sings, “Ain’t it fun- Slin Experii ny / How it really ain’t funny at Each of the band members contributeds to the album. Wimberley wrote "Any," at song with a slight blues influence. “I always go back to old Stevie Wonder,! Wind & Fire, be-bop stuff," Wimberleys If the album fails to bring the bandthep ularity it has enjoyed overseas, the bandwillsi tie for radio airplay. “On radio, you’ve got to get to thechomsini seconds,” Wimberley said. "It’s kind ofirritafc This could be the year the band’s w come true. One single, “Fifth Fret," hasbeeiufi leased, and the band’s “Bitter Pill” is featured [- the horror movie Scream. 11* Nio ( 'onnclls' lour has also beengoinp«r'!\^% Wimberley said. The show in Bryan will be lf| Connells’ first in the area, coming on thekL . , f <>t a stint at Austin’s I iluTtN I unch. ■Ontinued ITOI "I’m excited about coming down to,’" Wimberley said. The band members still wish for a saffi tour, but the band also has other desires® as well. “Most of our songs have really good to Wimberley said. “We’d like to have a hit." CounseLine alsr i-can find help for a (help them. This s< Bryan-College Stat Birch said SCS the students wh< Thursday January 30 Steve O’Neill, a rock singer from Albuquerque, N.M., is playing at Chelsea Street Pub and Grill at 9 p.m. Saturday February I Dean's legacy lives on at StageCentef Steve O’Neill, a rock singer from Albuquerque, N.M., is playing at Chelsea Street Pub and Grill at 9 p.m. Sneaky Pete, a sing-a-long artist from Bryan-College Station, is per forming at the Cow Hop at 9 p.m. Thread, an alternative rock band from Bryan-College Station, is playing with Half-Life, an alternative rock band from Bryan-College Station, at the Cow Hop at 9:30 p.m. W.C. Clark, a blues musician from Austin, is playing at 3rd Floor Cantina at 8 p.m. By Meianie Benson The Battalion Ty & the Semiautomatics, a rock band from Houston, is playing at Fitzwilly’s at 9:30 p.m. Vertical Horizon, a folk band from Washington, D.C., is releasing its lat est album at Marooned Records at 4 p.m. Freudian Slip, an improvisational comedy act, js performing at the Dix ie Theatre at 10 p.m. Infinite Record Convention will be held at the College Station Ramada from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday January 31 MSC Town Hall is sponsoring a lunch box concert, “Hot Bands, Hot Chocolate,” featuring Fysher, a rock band from Bryan-College Station, at Rudder Fountain at 12 p.m. Steve O’Neill, a rock singer from Albuquerque, N.M., is playing at Chelsea Street Pub and Grill at 9 p.m. StageCenter live theater,loci ed at 701 N. Main in Bryan, is hoi ing the revised TV production Come Back To The Five and Dim Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, by Ed Grazsyk. The setting for the production McCarthy, a small West Texas where time has stood still. The stoiy concerns a reunion women, once known asTheDi* 1 Comptrolic nlc»c; nf TnrnfAc whnnrnmisPv ACI Manage Aerotek, Int Allstate Inst Anderson C Aramark Ut Army & Air Servi Arthur And< Ashland Ch Becker CPA Browning-F Career Cen CarMax, a ( Central Inte CIGNA Inst Cintras - Th jCircuit City (City of Hou Worl Reckless Kelly, a rock band from Austin, is playing with David’s Gate, a rock band from Bryan-College Station, and Inspector 12, a rock band from Bryan-College Station, at the Cow Hop at 9:30 p.m. Vertical Horizon Freudian Slip, an improvisational comedy act, is performing at the Dix ie Theatre at 10 p.m. Sneaky Pete, a sing-a-long artist from Bryan-College Station, is per forming at Burton Creek at 8 p.m. The Voodudes, a rock band from Bryan-College Station, is playing at Fitzwilly’s at 9:30 p.m. Texas Twisters, a rock band from Bryan-College Station, is playing at Fitzwilly’s at 9:30 p.m. Fysher, a rock band from Bryan-Col lege Station, is playing with Vertical Horizon, a folk band from Washington, D.C., at 3rd Floor Cantina at 8 p.m. pies of James Dean, who promise come back to honor his death. While celebrating the 20t niversary of the death ofthei in a five and dime store, theaitl gins to get a little too thick as* truth is revealed Before long, the beer is iced# tongues run loose and the ladies! all hang out, says the play'sdi# Cathy McWhorter. “In 20 years, lives changed changes and histoiy changes the friends they made stay the^ — or do they?” McWhorters# Brian Whitaker, a classic rock mu sician, is performing at Sweet Eu gene’s House of Java at 9:30 p.m. Ty & the Semiautomatics, a rock band from Houston, is playing at Sweet Eugene’s House of Java at 9:30 p.m. 31 The show will be running J# 1 F n m>mrico k and Feb. 6-8.Ticketsare$7H ^ nter P nse h Ernst & You Cons dents and senior citizens, adults and $4 for children. Conoco Container S Conviser D Coopers & Cornerstont Daisytek Danka Offi< Deloitte &" Donovan ai EDS ^TTTTTTIIllllim Saturday, February I, 1997 3:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m. Rudder Auditorium ForTickets Call 845-1234 Rated |3 >8903 to inform ix of yovr speml needs We request nouftcaoon three {3} working, days prior tfc* |a^nt THe PsycHOLogY cLuB preSENts A MOCK GRE Saturday, February 1 st 10:00 am - 1:30 pm Blocker 102 Advance ticket sales available Jan. 29-31 in the MSC hallways $5 members, $7 non-members, $10 at the door :Z Serve Re Com erguson Er idelity lnv< ootAction jrant Thon j real-West darte-Hank Hastings Be H.E.B. Grot Hewitt Assc Home Depi Houston O Full Diagnostic services provided by The Princeton Review S*