: ,IK,llX ’ 11 Monday • Apri
K
Blaha
Continued from Page 3
Blaha said hearing his voice on KORA
was an experience he will never forget.
“You know that movie That Thing
A You Do?’’ he said. “You’re literally
! ; jumping parking meters. That was so
4 cool. I was on the phone with Lane in
A Austin, and he listened to it over the
< | phone with me.”
| • The album, also titled Learning
' from the Past, was recorded in
. Nashville in January with top-notch
[f studio musicians who have worked
i ‘ with the likes of Diamond Rio and
* Steve Warriner.
{ Although Blaha has been exposed
* to the work of established, top-40 mu-
: sicians, he said his biggest influence is
,4 his father.
“He was kind of in my shoes, a local fa
vorite,” he said. “I grew up singing Hank
Williams, Ernest Tubb and Willie Nelson.
I love old country, but we fit more of a
mainstream than outlaw style.”
“Learning from the Past” is an up
beat, boot-scooting tune that also in-
C eludes a powerful message about
turning one’s life around. Another of
> Blaha’s soul-searching songs is “Lori’s
f Laying Low,” which is about domestic
violence, a girl who is trapped in an
y abusive relationship. Blaha said the
A song is along the lines of Garth Brooks’
A “The Thunder Rolls.”
Z* “Everything’s been said in country
music,” he said. “It’s just a matter of
being able to say it differently. That’s
the creative and challenging part.”
( Writing songs has been a hobby of
Species II
Lane Lostak (left), a University of Texas chemical engineering major, works with
Brent Blaha (right) in songwriting.
Blaha’s since just after high school. He
said some songs take 20 minutes to
write, others take half a year or longer.
“The last song I wrote, I was sitting
around late at night,” he said. “I’m
thinking, ‘yeah, I’ll remember that in
the morning.’ Four hours later, I’m
done with the song.
“Everyone has something that dri
ves them. For me, it’s creating music.
I’m painting a picture with words and
hopefully coming out with something
that makes sense.”
Blaha understands the risk in
volved in becoming a professional
musician, but said he is willing to take
the chance.
“Yeah, people may not like it,” he
said. “That would be sad, but that’s not
going to keep me from doing what I
love to do. This is a lesson for me to not
give up on something I believe in.”
Often, college students with any de
gree of talent are told, “It’s not the
grades you make; it’s the hands you
shake,” and although Blaha believes
that, he spends more time studying
engineering than studying music.
“There’s a lot of talent that never
gets recognized,” he said. “I hope I
have a little bit. Unfortunately, in
the entertainment business, it’s who
you know. We’re learning from the
past as we go.”
Continued from Page 3
Eve is joined by Dr.
Laura Baker (Marg Hel-
genberger) and govern
ment assassin Press
Lennox (Michael Madsen)
from the original Species.
Mykelti Williamson plays
Gamble, an astronaut
who served with Ross.
He joins the fearless
alien hunters, more as
comic relief than any
thing else. Gamble’s
main concern through
out the entire film is his
lack of “action” for the
past year.
The rest of the film fol
lows with gory deaths of
young women as Ross
continues his own fertility
experiments, while the
pursuers track him.
The film’s greatest sin is
the horribly incompre
hensible plot. The first
film at least tried to give
audiences a somewhat
plausible premise.
The second film has
no such intentions,
which is fine as long as it
doesn’t take itself seri
ously. Unfortunately,
Species II does. Watching
straight-faced actors de
liver lines that sound like
they were lifted from the
latest issue of Fantastic
Four is painful.
If one must go see this
movie, do not go with any
one with a background in
science. It will only in
crease the misery.
The plot also covers its
numerous potholes with
gratuitous nudity. Every
time the moviegoer be
comes confused with the
film, a pair of all-too-per-
fect breasts will appear on
the screen. This plan may
work on the males in the
audience, but it won’t fly
with the ladies.
The acting on the
screen consists mainly of
throw-away lines like
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FOR AN
Whoop
Continued from Page 3
The performing groups range from students to professional
dance troupes. Participating groups include the African Drum and
Dance group of Houston, the Aggie Wranglers, a performance by
local band Evil Skaneevil, a demonstration from the Tae Kwon Do
club, dance groups from the Indian Students Association and the
Native American Students Association and an exhibition by the
Jump Rope Club.
With the diverse sources of entertainment available, every stu
dent should find something they enjoy at the festival.
“Three hundred to 500 people come every time,” Wright said.
“Some people hear about it through their friends and come, some
people just walk by and come in to see what’s happening, and oth
ers hear about it and are interested enough to come and stay.
“We want everybody to come. We would like to get people out
here and expose them to what other cultures have to offer. We love
to see people come who normally wouldn’t come; it’s a really re
laxed atmosphere. You can watch the show while you lay out on the
grass or play with your pets.”
Whoopstock attracts all kinds of people. Dima Mousselli,
Whoopstock committee chair, said everyone gets involved.
“We always have a real diverse crowd,” Mousselli said. “There are
old people, young people, students, even small children. We’re try
ing to get the whole community involved.”
For those students who prefer to be more active participants,
Whoopstock includes a number of activities to get involved with.
Part of the festivities include a trivia show, a dunking booth, side
walk art, water gun wars, volleyball, a hula-hoop contest and even
a jalapeno eating contest.
Mousselli said people can come and be active or just come and
watch the show.
“There’s going to be a lot of interaction, a lot of stuff that people
can get involved with. If we don’t have something you want to do,
then bring a pet or a kite to fly.”
This year’s festival comes with an added bonus. Since Earth Day
is being celebrated on the same day, the two committees joined
the events. While Whoopstock is taking place, the field where
Puryear and Law used to stand will have Earth Day booths and ex
hibits for the weary Whoopstocker who wants a change of pace.
Despite the success of past Whoopstocks, there always can be a
snag in the plan when the time comes to put everything together.
“There’s an ultimate frisbee tournament scheduled for the same
day, and because they are an athletic event or for whatever reason,
Eve (Natasha Henstridge) break
with her alien mate in Species II.
they have the side of the drill field with the electricity, ”Wi
“So, we had to haggle with them a little bit. Things havegi
ty smoothly though.”
Part of learning about other cultures is sampling theii
that end, Whoopstock provides a number of concessions!
Hiring cuisine from many different cultures. Any tasteca
isfied, from (non-alcoholic) margaritas to cooked insects
of the Entomology Club.
“Bring money for food,” Mousselli said. “It’s worth it.We
going to have a whole lot of concessions, face paintingan;
other types of things students may want to do. Ofcouree
also selling Whoopstock T-shirts, but to get in it is notgt
cost you anything and a whole lot of the activities costr,:
to participate in.”
Students should walk away from the festival withanapt
tion for other cultures and a sense of satisfaction comingk
day of fun.
“We just want people to have a better understandingofM
of the world in general,” Wright said. “They can do thingstli
wouldn’t normally do and have a lot of fun doing them.”
Whoopstock is being held on April 25 at the O.R. Simpst
field from noon to 6 p.m.
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