isday • November 6, 1997
Lifestyles
inqina in tfiz
television weatherman pulls double duty as Northgate musician
ain
ByMarium Mohiuddin
Staff writer
ffday at 5 p.m. this man enters the
;rooms of College Station and
iian residents. He gives advice and
predict the future. He smiles and
Imost of College Station laughs
lAnordinary local weatherman is
tseems to be.
rver, lurking underneath can be
aeheart of a singer and guitar and
layer. Not many cities can boast
enaissance man of the ’90s fore-
ilielocal weather.
french is the chief meteorologist at
KBTX Channel 5, but French said his true
passion is singing.
“Since preschool and elementary I have
been fascinated by both the weather and
singing,” French said. “I did not have for
mal training (in singing), I just enjoy it.”
French said his passion for music and
meteorology carried on when he came from
Beaumont, where he grew up, to A&M.
“I came to A&M and was getting a de
gree in meteorology, but music kept getting
in the way,” French said. “My senior year,
with nine hours left to graduate, I dropped
out to pursue my singing career. I was sup
pose be Class of’76.1 regret not graduating
from A&M and getting my degree. I did fin-
I ■
RYAN ROGERS/The Battalion
inch, the weatherman for KBTX and Class of ’76, shared a stage with Lyle Lovett.
ish my degree at Lamar University in Beau
mont, but my blood bleeds maroon.”
French said when he was attending
A&M, he played at many local clubs.
“Many of the clubs I used to play for are
no longer here,” French said. “I played at
Mr. Gatti’s at Northgate. People used to sing
there. I also sang at the Aggieland Inn
which is now the Ramada Inn, and a club
called The Peanut Gallery near south gate.”
French said during that time, he had the
opportunity of sharing the stage with Lyle
Lovett, Class of ’81.
“At the basement coffee house, I shared
the same stage with Lyle Lovett,” he said. “I
never sang with him, but he would sing be
fore me, or I before him.
“One of the reporters (at KBTX) had in
terviewed Lyle, and he [Lovett] had asked
how I was doing. It was great that he still re
membered me.”
French said after he dropped out of
A&M, he headed for Nashville to try and be
come a star.
“I had a good response over there, but I
met my wife,” French said. “I stopped
singing when I met her. Maybe this shows
lack of ambition, but I decided that I want
ed to be good at something.”
French said when he got married to his
wife Beth, he stopped singing, and he
turned meteorology.
“I finished my degree in 1980, and I set
tled down in Beaumont,” he said. “In 1990,
I came back to College Station and started
working for KBTX. I had one of my dreams
come true as a weatherman.”
French said he understands that he is
considered a local celebrity, and he enjoys
people stopping him and saying “hi.”
Please see French on Page 6.
A Life Less Ordinary adds
to director Boyle’s streak
A Life Less Ordinary
Starring Ewan McGregor
and Cameron Diaz
Directed by Danny Boyle
Rated PG-13
Playing at Post Oak Mall
★★★★
Ihe romantic come
dy. It has been a
uniquely American
invention, with stars such
as Clark Gable and Meg
Ryan making some of the
best films in the genre —
until now.
A Life Less Ordinary, the
new film from the makers
of Trainspotting and Shal
low Grave, places the roots
of this truly American ro
mantic comedy some
where between the Firth of
Forth and Loch Ness.
The film stars two of
the most hyped actors of
the year — Ewan McGre
gor, star of the soon to be
released Star Wars pre
quels, and Cameron Diaz,
one of Vanity Fair’s Ac
tresses of Tomorrow.
A Life Less Ordinary is
the most off the wall com
edy to come along in years.
The plot is a mixture of Oh
God! and Bonnie and
Cameron Diaz and Ewan McGregor star in A Life Less
Ordinary, a romantic comedy from the makers of Trainspotting.
Clyde. Divine intervention
meets outlaw lovers; let
the good times roll.
McGregor stars as
Robert, a recently fired
janitor who aspires to
write the Great American
trash novel about the love
child of Marilyn Monroe
and JFK.
In a postal worker rage,
he storms into his boss’ of
fice and accidentally —
yes, I said accidentally —
takes his boss' daughter,
Celine (Diaz), hostage.
Also thrown into the
story are two angels played
by Holly Hunter and one of
the most underrated actors
in film today, Delroy Lindo
{MalcolmX, Ransom).
The heavenly emis
saries have been given a
mission: Make the two fall
in love or else they will be
forced to live on Earth.
Director Danny Boyle
proves he is one of the
most dynamic directors in
the business. Boyle does
not allow himself to be
trapped by anything as
constraining as reality.
Like past Boyle films, A
Life Less Ordinary borrows
heavily from many other
famous genres: ’70s anti
technology films, Ameri
can musicals (the scene
with Diaz and McGregor
doing karaoke is one of the
best of the year) and even
classic silent movies with
the Keystone Cops. Even
cheesy ’80s shots from
“Miami Vice” are apparent.
If the audience doesn't like
one scene in this movie,
wait, a completely differ
ent one will come along
pretty quick.
Please see Ordinary
on Page 6.
V.
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