The Battalion ^Thursday ‘July 3, 1997 iW ■_ ■■ m ■ ■ ■ ■ free wheelm in flggieland Bom to be wild: Aggie motorcyclists take adventure into the streets ofBryan-College Station By Keith McPhail The Battalion fngl ^ tudents find it is exciting, danger- kous, and their parents do not ap- 'prove. Some students do not care. Michelle Rea, a senior civil engi- n leering major, has been cruising ^ lollege Station on her 1982 Honda 50 for nearly a month. Her motor- | ver “ ! fde is one of 600 on campus. While njoying her new found freedom, she as been forced to keep her cycle ram her parents. “They couldn’t live with giving me (emission if I got hurt,” Rea said. They said if I did get one, they better lot find out about it. So they haven’t.” Whether they are experienced bik- isor riding for the first time, Aggies are L|j t aving fun on their hogs this summer. They are shutding back and forth to LTmpus dodging through traffic with face and ease. They are parking at the usf | loor.They are not waiting for cars to f | jet out of their way. They do not have Ijdlu owalk a mile to class. They are not londemned to the rolling prisons, the 1!iM shuttle buses. The Texas A&M Motorcycle Club members enjoy the freedom of the ipen road. The 30 active members fre- Ijngo (uently pack up and roll to Somerville tiidSam Houston National Forest. The club meets every Thursday at 9 p.m. at Sweet Eugene’s to plan weekend rides and good times. Students need not look far to find an excuse to buy a cycle, because of the seemingly endless searches for a parking space at the conveniently undersized campus parking lots. The avoidance of traffic and parking headaches is the excuse many new bikers use to rationalize becoming an easy rider. Safety concerns are increasing as the repeal of the helmet law will see more riders mounting up without a brain bucket. Jeff Brown, vice president of the Texas A&M Motorcycle Club and senior agricultural engineering major, said the law is a welcome change. “People should have the right to choose, but riding without a helmet and safety gear is a bad idea,” Brown said. Brown, who has never wrecked, claims motorcycles have been given a bad rap due to dramatic accidents. “If riders pay attention to cars in the environment they ride, they should be all right,” he said. Philip Fisher has been around motor cycles and A&M all his life. In addition to being the owner of Motorcycles Plus, he was raised in a family of Aggies, and his father owned a College Station bike shop when he was young. Fish er has been riding and racing motorcycles since he was a child without a serious wreck. “The little old lady who didn’t see the cy cle is a cop-out — a lot of people just don’t know what they are do ing,” Fisher said. Motorcycle aficiona dos can find out more about the Motorcycle Club by consulting their web page at www.tamu.edu/tamc. Racing enthusiasts will find plenty of ac tion this weekend as top bikers will be battling it out Saturday and Sunday at the Texas World Speedway. Tom Williams, director of Park ing, Transit and Transportation Services said cyclists have not caused problems on campus. “The motorcycle population is an honorable bunch,” Williams said. Bikers live for the engine as their mu sic, the sun on their backs, the freedom of owning the road — the thrill, the speed, the power. Live to ride, ride to live. .. m Wm « . V Photo Illustration: Stew Milne Kevin Ruckstuhl on his Honda CBR 600 F2, Jeff Brown saddled on a Suzuki Intruder 800, and Scott Martin follows on his Suzuki Bandit 400, all officers in the A&M Motorcycle Club, ride through campus. I 9,999 Maniacs shine without Merchant Thursday July 3 i Fireants, a classic rock/rhythm indblues band from Bryan-Col- fjjeStation, is playing at Fitzwilly’s *9:30 p.m. Rocky Richardson, a rock and tountry musician and comedian, is flaying at Chelsea Street Pub and Ml at 9 p.m. Blue Valentine, a classic ock/rhythm and blues band tom Bryan-College Station, is Raying at Fitzwilly’s at 9:30 p.m. Eugene Eugene, a jazz band torn Bryan-College Station, is Raying at Sweet Eugene’s House Rjava at 9:30 p.m. Rocky Richardson, a rock and Saturday July 5 country musician and comedian, is playing at Chelsea Street Pub and Grill at 9 p.m. Mike Cancellare, an acoustic rock musician from Lockhart, is playing at Sweet Eugene’s House of Java at 9:30 p.m. Rocky Richardson, a rock and country musician and comedian, is playing at Chelsea Street Pub and Grill at 9 p.m. Ty & the Semiautomatics, a rock band from Houston, is play ing at Fitzwilly’s at 9:30 p.m. i \ Love Among the Ruins Geffen Records ★★★★ (out of five) Ty & the Semiautomatics By Stephen Llano The Battalion I t has been a long time since 10,000 Maniacs has released a new album. Love Among the Ru ins, the first release from 10,000 Ma niacs since 1994, proves it has been way too long. It has been 3 years since the MTV Unplugged concert, when Natalie Merchant, lead vocalist, left the other 9,999 Maniacs to pursue a solo recording career. Without Merchant’s unique and powerful vocals stamping a brand of uniqueness on 10,000 Maniacs’ songs, it seemed no other vocalist could rise to the challenge of fill ing her shoes. New vocalist Mary Ramsey not only fills the gap left by Merchant, but does it with force. In song after song, Ramsey demonstrates that 10,000 Maniacs has not only risen to the challenge — they have im proved on it by finding a talented new singer. The combination of rich acoustic guitar and rhythm with her voice should keep this re lease in the CD player for quite some time. Ramsey’s former work includes recording with artists such as Ani DeFranco, Billy Bragg, and Goo Goo Dolls. She also plays violin and viola for the album, which adds brilliantly to the rich sound. Ramsey and John Lombardo, one of the earliest members of 10,000 Maniacs, forrhed a duo during the interim since Merchant’s depar ture called John and Mary. After a couple of releases, the pair and the band decided to play together and see what would come of it. This resulting album is just per fect — not too fast, not too slow; mellow, but very upbeat and full of solid, well-written music and lyrics that will endure'beyond most other recent releases getting major top 40 air play. The addition of Ramsey has so improved the sound of the group that Merchant is barely missed. On tracks like "Rainy Day” and “Girl on a Train,” her voice is so pervasive that it seems to bring a whole new dimension to 10,000 Maniacs. Keyboardist Dennis Drew said he feels the addition of Ramsey is perfect. “What Maiy brings to us is fan tastic,” Drew said in an interview available on their web site (www.maniacs.com). “Not only her singing, but also her status as anoth er real soloist. We have a whole new color and flavor.” Some of the powerful and darker elements on earlier al bums have been brushed aside in favor of this new sound, but it is not at all a disadvantage. In ex change, the band has risen to an entirely new level. Perhaps the days of Natalie Merchant are gone, but 10,000 Maniacs is here to stay. It may be a new incarna tion, but if Love Among the Ruins is any barometer of things to come, a new road of success for this band is already being paved. In fact, this album could be considered a debut CD. The band has so much freshness to it, many wouldn’t believe a band started in 1984 could conceive it. 10,000 Maniacs are back, and ready to write the next chapter in an already solid musical heritage. Love Among the Ruins is an in credible fresh start for any band, and a must-have for those who love fascinating twists on good mellow music. . ■ fiyi 4 10,000 Maniacs ~7e-x