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By Rhonda Reinhart
Staff writer
I t’s 8:30 Thursday morning, and David Kersh’s cellular phone
is breaking up. He’s somewhere in South Dakota, on his way
to a show. The interview is postponed until later in the after
noon when Kersh is settled in a hotel room in Sioux Falls. But in
a few short days, he’ll be in Texas, and after that, it’s on to Okla
homa. A tiring journey, yes, but the young country singer is used
to it. Last year, Kersh played 243 dates and traveled all over the
United States. He seems to handle the labor effortlessly, but he
admits that being on the road is tough.
“There’s a whole lot of work to it,” he said. “If I didn’t love my
job, there’s no way I would do this.”
“Goodnight Sweetheart,” the debut single that brought Kersh
national recognition, contains the same air of road weariness.
The opening lines, “Window seat/ 30,000 feet above the ground
... ” prepare listeners for a heartfelt tune that echoes the ex
hausting result of being a long way from home.
A native of Humble, Texas, Kersh talks about his home state
with excitement.
“It’s so nice to play in Texas,” he said. “No matter what direc
tion we’re coming from, when we cross that Texas border, it’s like
this huge sigh of relief takes place in the bus.”
But Kersh shows no signs of taking a break from the road any
time soon. In July, he joins the Brooks & Dunn/Reba McEntire
tour, a career move that Kersh calls the answer to his prayers.
“It feels so wonderful,” he said. “That’s an absolute dream tour.”
And although the travel can be tiresome, Kersh hopes his fu
ture will be filled with more big shows and records.
“I want to be around for a long time,” he said. “I just want to
continue putting out the best possible music I can. I’d like to have
a career like George Strait’s. He’s the man.”
Kersh’s new album, If I Never Stop Loving You, has already made
waves with its title track and “Wonderful Tonight,” Kersh’s cover
of the 1978 Eric Clapton hit.
Although Kersh doesn’t list Clapton as one of his influences,
he calls him a phenomenal musician.
“ ‘Wonderful Tonight’ is a great song,” he said. “That song is 20
years old, and some people haven’t been introduced to it. I want
ed to be the one to reintroduce it.”
Kersh said he is a music lover who was influenced by a lot of
different kinds of music, including country and rock ‘n’ roll.
On Monday, May 11, Kersh will join RCA recording artist Sara
Evans in Brenham for CMT Presents Wal-Mart Music Across
America ’98.
Evans is a country newcomer from Boonesboro, Missouri. She
has received radio and television airplay with her debut single,
“Three Chords And The Truth” and has opened for performers
such as Willie Nelson, Tim McGraw and Clay Walker.
The Wal-Mart concert series provides free country entertain
ment in parking lots at various Wal-Mart stores across the country.
The concert series started in 1995 and has entertained more
than 200,000 people over the past three years.
Please see Kersh on Page 4.
Left and riqfit ends o ftke
musical spectrum stretch
on new
Tori t\
mos a
ILu
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Michelle
Voss
staff writer
itoryville keeps on truckin’ in its Dog Years
By Rhonda Reinhart
Staff writer
ten Storyville jumped in the ring
with its 1996 album, A Piece Of
Your Soul, the group of talented
musicians came out swinging. Now, after a
two-year break between rounds, Storyville is
back with Dog Years, a new album that packs
the same punch as its predecessor.
With an equal mixture of up-tempo rock
tunes and tender ballads, Storyville has pro
duced a balanced album with knockout per
formances from each band member.
From the painful chords of “Who’s Left
Standing” to the radio friendly “Born With
out You,” Dog Years provides a sample for al
most every musical taste. But even though
Storyville’s loud rock ‘n’ roll tunes possess an
infectious energy, it is the raw emotion of
the group’s ballads that steal the show.
Lead vocalist Malford Milligan emits
soulful sounds reminiscent of Sam Cooke
and Otis Redding. When he sings, “I
walked right through disaster / And came
out full of laughter /1 am free/1 am free,”
on “There’s A Light,” listeners feel his pain
and his triumph. He puts a new spin on
the old ideas of lost love and shattered
dreams and provides inspiration all at the
same time. There’s a light shining on Mal
ford Milligan, and with his voice, he could
brighten any room.
But that’s not to say the rest of his band-
mates are left in the dark. This group is drip-
Storyville
Dog Years
Atlantic Records
W ith a smoldering sensuality only she
can get away with, Tori Amos’ new al
bum,/fom the choirgirl hotel, smacks
of sexuality, girls and God.
Packing up and moving into the realm of
Bjork and Garbage, choirgirl is a surprising
break from traditional Tori — traditional
meaning bluesy ballads from a girl and her
Bosendorf. While the album cannot be
squeezed into a definitive genre, choirgirl
is best described as a gothic-jazz-techno
session that Tori probably banged out over
a few weeks.
Choirgirl is, in its best moments, a sexually
active album that makes you want to climb the walls, or at least
crawl on your floor. As the beats, rhythms and intense emotions
create an exotic, sultry jazz, Tori’s original interpretation of her uni
verse can’t resist crowning her poet-prophetess of the 21 st century.
Once again, she lures us into her nether world of pain and ecsta
sy, pouring her soul into our laps. This is her darkest album so far.
“Spark,” the first single released in the U.S., gives choirgirl a solid
opening. The gutsy piano we’re used to hearing from Tori is salvaged
on this well-rounded piece.
Unfortunately, “Spark” is probably the only single from choirgirl
that will bash its way into the consciousness of mainstream pop.
Most likely, the remainder of choirgirl is only appealing to To-
riphiles, and might even turn away fans of her earlier work on Little
Earthquakes and Under the Pink.
While Boys for Pele was a highly experimental journey into femi
nine consciousness, choirgirl is even more esoteric, a series of
space-girl poems. We see less of Tori’s personal pain and memories,
and more of a deliberately pop-girl album.
Please see Tori on Page 4.
Critique: A
I
Tori Amos
from the choirgirl hotel
Atlantic Records
Critique: A-
ping with talent, and each member belongs
in the spotlight. Drummer Chris Layton and
bassist Tommy Shannon share resumes with
a long list of credentials, including a gig with
Stevie Ray Vaughan. And guitarists David
Holt and David Grissom have played with
the likes of Joe Ely, the Mavericks and John
Mellencamp. This is a group of musicians
not short on experience or talent.
Storyville’s musical know-how has gar
nered the band an action-packed summer.
Dog Years hits stores July 14. And the group
has been confirmed as one of the four acts
on this summer’s Blues Music Festival tour
with B.B. King, The Neville Brothers and Dr.
John. The 31-date tour starts August 7 in the
Northwest. Check it out.
Sneak
Peek
ii Comedian leaves jokes behind for new film
By James Francis
Aggielife editor
his time around Jim
Carrey is back with a
new bag of tricks; a little
something he likes to call “the
dramatic role.”
In The Truman Show, Car
rey portrays an ordinary Mr.
Rogers-type of fellow named
ruman. He has the perfect wife, the perfect
eighbors and the perfect job. But all of this
eems to be a bit too perfect for Truman.
What Truman does not know is that his en-
ire life has been a director’s film project,
fom his birth to his adolescence to his life
«th his wife.
The director, played by Ed Harris broadcasts
he show worldwide; it has the highest televi-
ion ratings ever.
When Truman’s desire to leave town takes
The Truman Show
Starring Jim Carrey and Ed
Critique: A
111
control, he begins to stumble on little things
that give away the director’s secret, such as a
stage light seemingly falling from the sky and
landing directly in front of Truman.
Carrey takes on this dramatic role, not new
from his appearance on the old Fox TV movie,
“Doing Time on Maple Drive,” head on.
The concept for the film is fresh and Carrey
carries out his part with an endearing attitude.
If you’re tired of the same old Jim Carrey slap
stick, The Truman Show will suite your taste.
The Truman Show opens June 5
Student pens book to help
athletes further their careers
By Marium Mohiuddin
Staff writer
F our years of high school followed by four
years of college. What comes next is on the
minds of graduating seniors? Some have con
templated graduate school, marriage, a job, but is
this what students had intended to do? When they
were little, most had aspirations to see their faces
on the big screen, fly to the moon or write a book
and have their names in print.
There are so many different roads upon which
students can travel. When looking back years
from today, they may be on a path they never
dreamed of traveling.
There are many students who can recall what
they had dreamed and what they have become.
These memories are probably becoming more
alarming as graduation creeps closer. One thing
to keep in mind is that graduates may not be
where they wanted to be, but success can be
found anywhere.
Jennifer Bohac is the assistant director of ath
letic career services and a former Aggie. Bohac
graduated as an agriculture major but through
the course of time, changing her career path has
lead her to sign a contract with Prentice Hall Pub
lishers to write a book. This is not an ordinary
book, but a textbook that will have thousands of
demanding readers.
The textbook Bohac is currently conceptualiz
ing ties in with her profession of helping student
athletes prepare for their future either in sports or
in the job market.
“The publishers wanted to write a textbook about
this subject,” she said. “They asked me because it is
my job to help student athletes, and I teach a class
covering this material. The class is out there for the
whole student body, but I took two sections of the
class and geared it for student athletes.”
“The book is only one of a few in this country,”
she said. “It is going to other universities for their
athletic departments, for workshops or for classes.
Some universities do not have a program to help
student athletes.”
Bohac said her current profession and the class
she teaches will help her collect useful information
for the textbook.
“The goal of the class is setting up a job search
plan,” she said. “We do networking, how to dress for
success, mock interviews and we go on field trips.
We also bring in all kinds of former athletes, from
football and baseball to swimming.
“We also talk about the idea of setting up a plan
B," Bohac said. “Some athletes don’t make it big.
We present the other side of this profession for
those who got injured or just did not get up to the
big leagues.”
Bohac said the class has been a success, helping
athletes to realize and visualize their futures.
Please see Bohac on Page 4.
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