Entertainment
Friday • September 26,199'
Frid
Symphony kicks offOPAS season
By Rhonda Reinhart
Staff writer
area very well.”
Thurman Schweitzer, OPAS member and
O ne might think a university without a
fine arts program would be lacking in
the areas of music, dance and drama,
but not if the MSC Opera and Performing Arts
Society has anything to do with it.
MSC OPAS is an organization dedicated to
presenting performing arts to Texas A&M and
the Brazos Valley. The 1997-98 season, “Invita
tion to the Future,” marks the group’s 25th an
niversary and 25 years of bringing top-quality
artists to Bryan-College Station.
Anji Moore, chair of the OPAS student com
mittee and senior zoology major, said the Bra
zos Valley needs an organization like OPAS.
“Since A&M has no fine arts program, we
try to take up the slack in that ar ea,” she said.
“OPAS fills a need for performing arts in this
/ / We like to think of ourselves
^ ^ as the fine arts college of
Texas A&M.”
Thurman Schweitzer
OPAS member and senior geography major
senior geography major, agrees that Texas
A&M has a craving for the fine arts.
“We like to think of ourselves as the fine arts
college of Texas A&M,” he said.
Schweitzer said OPAS is the only group in
Bryan-College Station that brings national
tours to the community.
OPAS opens this year’s season on Saturday,
Sept. 27 in Rudder Auditorium with a perfor
mance by Marvin Hamlisch and the Austin
Symphony Pops.
Hamlisch is a pianist, conductor and com
poser who has written more than 30 motion
picture soundtracks and the themes for the
“CBS Morning Program” and “Good Morning
America.” He is also the recipient of three Os
car awards, four Grammys, two Golden
Globes, the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony award.
Other upcoming events include a perfor
mance by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
and the Southwest premiere of “Blue Suede
Shoes,” a ballet set to the music of Elvis Pres
ley. Royal Plfilharmonic Orchestra will be per
forming the world premiere of A&M resident
composer Peter Lieuwen’s “Living Waters.”
Moore said Bryan-College Station au
diences are pretty open to new types of
entertainment.
“Performers are always very well-received
here,” she said. “We have a reputation for cre
ating an atmosphere that is conducive to their
work. They can concentrate on what they do
best - their ai t. They don’t have to wony about
external pressures.”
One reason performers at OPAS events are
able to work in a pleasant environment is the
effort of the student committee.
The committee is made up of 150 mem
bers, and its tasks include overseeing opera
tions on performance nights, raising money
and suggesting what artists to bring next sea
son, among other things.
“There is nothing like OPAS at any other
university,” Moore said. “They don’t have the
student involvement that we do.”
Anne Black, executive director for OPAS,
said one of the organization’s goals is to pro
vide leadership opportunities to student;,
volved in the program.
“I think the success of OPAS primaii
due to the relationship between theuiiaj
ty and the Biyan-College Station comm*
she said.
OPAS offers material suitable for thee®
community, including children. OPASJti
sector of OPAS that presents entertaining^
grams for children.
OPAS J r. begins its season on October^
an updated version of“ Little Red Riding Hoo:
Black said OPAS Jr. is a way to train fit
audiences.
“It’s a way to get parents to bringil*
children into the concert halls so they;:
comfortable with the arts,” she said,‘I
children will experience and understa;
live performance, and hopefully,
make them future audiences.”
Robison, Ingram set to Dallas band Pimpadelic
nlav nre-Yell Prartire nartv releases impressive debul
ik-JACA. y AA JL X V/AX A A CXX/ AAX/X/ AjrCXA y has enjoyed much success since Barely Legal is a ten-songromp
•/A AT •/ . w then. Thev reeularlv pack clubs through the streets of Dallas-Foit I
By April Towery
Entertainment editor
T onight’s Midnight Yell Prac
tice will be a little different
than usual. For one thing, it
is set to be held on Rodeo Plaza in
Fort Worth.
Before Yell Practice, Charlie Ro
bison and Jack Ingram are set to
perform at Billy Bob’s Texas at 10
p.m.
Robison, an Austin native, said
tonight’s show will get Aggies in the
mood to yell.
“It’s pretty up-tempo,” Robison
said. “A show to drink beer at.”
Robison’s music is country, but
it is Texas country, which he defines
as something different from “the
norm.”
“I think people are sick of the
Nashville formula acts,” he said.
“It’s a little bit more real than that.
It’s not like the country you hear on
the radio.”
Robison’s music is not sad,
“tear-in-my-beer” country music.
“It’s about everyday life, not just
breaking up,” he said. “It crosses a
whole lot of different styles. It does
n’t stick to any formula or format.”
Robison’s musical influences
range from Buck Owens to Black
Sabbath, and his country/rock de
but album, Bandera, reflects his di
versity as a musician.
His music has been compared
to fellow Texas musicians and
friends Robert Earl Keen and In
gram. Robison said one thing these
Texas musicians do have in com
mon is their love for what they do.
“Chances are we’ll never break
into the real mainstream,” he said.
“Some get commercial attention
but are not critically valid. I’d rather
have critics enjoy my music, well,
I’d rather have both, but if I had to
choose one...”
Aggie “critics” will be able to see
for themselves whether or not they
Pimpadelic
Barely Legal
DRR Records
★ ★★★ (out of five)
By Len Callaway
StaffWriter
Charlie Robison
enjoy Robison’s music, but in the
meantime, Robison is happy just
playing.
“I have always had a really huge
love for music,” he said. “It’s all I
could think about.”
D allas band Pimpadelic
takes loud, irreverent and
perverse rock ’n’ roll to a
completely new level.
Pimpadelic is a band that
must be seen and heard for one
to get the total experience.
These guys are a six-man vir
tuoso of foulness.
The band released its first al
bum, Barely Legal last year and
has enjoyed much success since
then. They regularly pack clubs
like Trees and Club Clearview in
Dallas and recently played to a
standing room only crowd at Los
Angeles’ infamous Opium Den.
They also have an upcoming
show at the notorious L.A. club
The Viper Room with Keanu
Reeves’ band Dog Star.
Pimpadelic blends ’70s-
sounding funk with all out rock
and serious beats to form a
unique background sound for
the insane lyrical attack of front
men King E Capone, Dirty K and
Easy Jesus. When these qualities
are combined with the flexibility
displayed by turntable guru DJ
MIA, it’s quite obvious where
Pimpadelic is headed.
Even more powerful than the
music itself is Pimpadelic’s abili
ty to involve the crowd. A silent
and still crowd is something that
Pimpadelic simply will not toler
ate. The shows are something to
see and are definitely unlike
anything regularly seen in the
Brazos Valley.
Barely Legal is a ten-songroirc
through the streets of Dallas-Foit
Worth raisin’ hell and drinking
beer with as much irreverenceas
possible. Pimpadelic skipsmosis
the already overdone gangstarap
These tunes are only seriousata
one tiling — the party.
Pimpadelic carries on inatp
ical rap fashion — its lyricsboa;
that the band membersaredefiJ
Lc
nitely the coolest and baddest
guys around, but theyexhibiu
certain playfulness that de
mands a smile from fans, m
tough guy scowl.
ts.The
ar sign
But :
a dreams
hadov\
In a recent interview Pirn- misic s
padelic said that people from
all different walks of life likes Station
music, and the band membe::
get a lot of positive feedback
particularly from people win
prejudged the band to be
something different thanwli:
they actually are. Make no ms pretty to
take — this is definitely rap,
but it is more aligned withfe
Beastie Boys or Rage Against different
the Machine than Dr. Dreoi
Snoop Droopy Drawers.
Mike
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On sale now at the
MSC Rudder Box Office
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## # # 1
845-1234 or on the net!
http://boxoffice.tamu.edu
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=$= MSC Film Society presents Breakfast at Tiffany’S Fri, Sept 26,
9:30 p.m. in Rudder.
# msc opas presents Marvin Hamlisch with the Austin
Symphony Pops Sat, Sept 27, 8 p.m. in Rudder Auditorium.
=$= MSC Town Hall presents Clay Walker Thu, Oct 2, 7 p.m. in
G. Rollie White Coliseum.
# msc opas Jr. presents Little Red Riding Hood Sat, Oct 4,
3 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Rudder Theater. •
# Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra presents All Time Favorites
Sun, Oct 5, 4 p.m. in Rudder Theater.
4-F Order Graduation Announcements at http://graduation.tamu.edu/
and pay before deadline of Fri, Oct 3.
Season Tickets available for MSC OPAS and MSC Film Society.
The Box Office also accepts AggieBucks. (K Call to arrange for special needs.
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