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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1998)
Page 3 • Thursday, October 8, 1998 iment tpandei t Stance 'lintotfsii anica Ls; chno music popularity grows in Bryan-College Station iformafe ; of perpe: said will have; ne. He dminisi about tfi rthgate,£ catalyst! jblem. BY KYLE WHITACRE The Battalion he enigmatic trance of undulating flights and music pulse from all around. The colored lights and shapes spin around the dance floor. The dim haze from the smoke ma- s and the florescent shapes from the lights and swirl across the room, at several College Station residents this is home every Friday night. The music they lis- o is called everything from techno, electron- nd dance to more defined terms such as hip drum ’n’ bass and house, utit is not just these few listening to it any- Every Friday, hundreds of College Station jws that cents pack into stripped-down houses and tments to dance until dawn and support the campus u no scene. the past few years electronic music has mfrom a small devoted following to a major of the College Station social scene. Two pro- tookthes icerns mi Liu saii time outi ) come. e occuffi , the fad 3 are beit is issue, focusit makesit ion companies. Eon Productions and Sonic uSyndicate are now based in College Station, little over three years ago Chris William, DJ essandpBsofThe Theatre’s weekly techno party. Club tied for C X, started a show on 103.9-FM (KHLR) that ran from 10 p.m. to midnight every Saturday. He said the show was entirely pre-recorded. “I used to do it every week out of my garage, recording with a VHS recorder for hi-fi,” he said. “Hundred-degree heat or below freezing, I was out there recording. ” After a year, William wanted to interact more with the public. He finally got his wish. The ra dio station was going to let him do the show live and in studio every Saturday night along with his friend and co-DJ Bryan Mitchell. “We really wanted to do the show live so we could interact with the public and inform other DJs and everyone else about new releases and events in College Station and surrounding cities. It turned out to be a major turning point. Once we went live, the response was overwhelming. That led to where we are now,” William said. From there, the scene exploded as more peo ple became interested in the music and the hob by of DJ-ing. Ronny White, a senior electrical engineering major, helped shape this new attitude toward electronic music. White, owner of Eon Productions, said it takes serious commitment to put on techno parties. “We rarely pay DJs,” White said. “They basi cally donate their time. ” During the week, over 15 people help White set up the apartment for the weekend, includ ing his roommate Brian Hardin, a junior jour nalism major. Hardin said living in an apartment that hosts techno parties can be a unique experience. “You have to put up with a lot to live up there. Your house is turned into a club every other week end. But I don’t look at it as a bad thing. I love it,” Hardin said. William, who also helps set up for the dance parties during the week, arrives after his 9-to-5 job and stays over until 10 or 11 p.m. every weeknight. “The reward is seeing everyone come out and have a good time,” William said. “There’s nothing like looking out over the audience and seeing 400 people waving their hands in the air to the music you’re spinning. It’s not as much a million dollar light or sound system, but more of a good vibe.” Sonic Boom Syndicate, another DJ corporation based in College Station, hosts another party across town. see Techno on Page 4. CD REVIEWS Step Inside This House Lyle Lovett CD Courtesy of MCA Records Lyle Lovett pays tribute to his musical roots in his latest out ing, Step Inside This House. The two-CD set features no original songs by Lovett, but is instead a showcase of works by Texas songwriters. Lovett pays homage to the difficult-to-classify genre (called everything from progressive country to redneck rock) that made him famous. The CD-set includes pieces from Michael Martin Murphy, an early Lovett inspiration, to local ly-known musicians such as Robert Earl Keen. Although the songs are not Lovett’s originals, the crooner brands them as his own with his signature bluesy-folk-country style. Fans of Lovett’s soulful bal lads will find what they are look ing for in Guy Clark’s 1971 tune from which the album takes its name. Townes Van Zandt’s “If I Needed You” serves as a perfect sounding board for Lovett’s mournful harmonies. Lovett’s treatment of the three-song “Texas Trilogy” could make even the most ardent city dweller long for the lazy sensu ality of a humid afternoon. Lovett’s heartfelt crooning in Step Inside This House has an air of intimacy seldom heard in to day’s music. Not only is this a House listeners will want to step inside, they’ll want to kick their boots off and stay a while. (Grade: A) — Mandy Cater Graeber The Cory Morrow Band The Cory Morrow Band CD Courtesy of Fred Remmert The Cory Morrow Band’s self- titled release is definitely not “new” country. With a guitar twang that recalls Randy Travis and a beat resembling a Kenny Rogers’ classic. The Cory Mor row Band sounds like a throw back to the days of pure country, a surprising sound that works for the group. However, the lyrics are trite and evoke images of saddle-sore cowboys drinking at the local waterin’ hole and chewing Copenhagen. The Cory Morrow Band pays tribute to old country music songwriting with lyrics such as, “I woke up two days ago/I’m still drinkin’ but why I don’t know/How did I get to this place/And what is that look on your face.” on the track “Noth ing I Wouldn’t Do.” This is not country for the faint of heart or lyrically-mind ed. (Grade: C +) — Manisha Parekh see CD Reviews on Page 6. ■s/h ;ditor Editor ditor jeer >r iveisity 1 ";,; esare'"“‘ 47; ^ ck up nive^i e S#, jld Probably not. So why pay higher auto insurance rates just because you ’re a student? If you ’re a responsible driver, InsureDirect can help. With InsureDirect you could save up to 25% or more. InsureD/recf is the better way to get your car insurance. 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