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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1999)
Aggielife Page 3 • Thursday, February 4, 1999 time,” the re- — ^ot want to d five days tay afterSo’clJ ^id thisisnoiJ erive aspect,;,] the generat! for efficient, j their lives, I —imily life. SheJ are imponarj "rast, this gene:! deterioration | ~ier in their c friends," hiti to haveawellil rofessionallv 1 «z)rt said univ. with thesper. I knowledge. <-is continued the spectmir lo the studer: i id Texas ht t ies in thestai: ' f inical skills t imes the pi: e<i on speciai: 1 used in a car- t udents need: ills that willi > a changing ■aid Vision2113 oviding fie: tary studiei nt to allows! rove throughi ■m create urnculum So which one is Ezra? By Amy Daugherty Photo Courtesy of Electra Records m lemonstrate* ■nt of student: gistered witlu ban two-third le disabilities, its understand: leone in class: with disabiliti he said. >s is to feel i nat started as a college band playing a gig in a Baton Rouge bar in 1988 has transcended into a third rele|pe for er Than Ezra, which stands as proof that Mew Orleans-based trio is not going to suc- b to the dreaded third album jinx. How s* Your Garden Grow? has placed the band the limelight once again after the lacklus- esponse to its second album. Friction, Baby. better Than Ezra has been playing togeth- rr 10 years and has been nothing short of istent, a quality that continually works for band. vfter their first self-made release Surprise te late ’80s, the band relocated to Los An geles, where they sent a tape to a local magazine. Af ter several positive reviews and interest from record companies. Deluxe was released on their own Swell label in 1993. “Good” became one of the biggest hits of the year after the hand signed on with Elektra Records in 1995, with Deluxe (which was re- released as the hand’s first major-label album) eventually achieving platinum status. Better Than Ezra became MTV’s definition of alter native rock, and its listeners eagerly awaited another record. Everything did not stay rosy in Ezra-land for long, however, and their critically acclaimed second major-label release. Friction, Baby, cre ated harsh reviews and did not sell as well as the group’s debut. Along with Better Than Ezra’s new release, Hqw Does Your Garden Grow?, comes a new sound and the begin ning of a tour that will showcase the hand’s more mature sounds. The strong melodies are still present, but it is obvious some major changes have occurred, including the addition of Malcolm Burn, the band’s new producer, who also hails from New Orleans. Burn previously worked with U2 and Iggy Pop and was recruited to help Better Than Ezra mix up their sound. Getting their own recording studio was also an influence on the band. Better Than see Ezra on Page 5. Wingin’ it down to Aggieland Walker to perform tonight BY SCOTT HARRIS The Battalion H ow did someone named Ronald Clyde Crosby from Oneonta, New York become a Texas country music legend? Sim ple — he moved to Texas, be friended Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings and changed his name to Jerry Jeff Walker. Walker, playing tonight at Shad ow Canyon, is touring behind his latest release Cowboy Boots & Bathin’ Suits, his 28th album. Recorded in the South American country of Belize, Walker said the album is “country music from an other country.” Cowboy Boots & Bathin’ Suits has a much more tropical feel to it than most of his other work. This mood is now a way of life for Walker, who has a home in Be lize, as well as Austin and New Or leans. In Country Weekly Maga zine, Walker said his latest album was recorded differently than most of his other work. “I’m not Paul Simon going to Africa. I’m just going to Belize,” he said. “I didn’t have time to work on it for a year and come up with some cosmic sound. We just took our band down there and played some songs that related to the wind, the sand, the rain, the beach, the wa ter. That was what gave us criteria for how the songs were chosen.” In his early 20s, Walker decided to leave New York in search of mu sical nirvana. Before landing on both feet in Texas, he put out two albums with his band Circus Maximus and be friended Jimmy Buffet in Florida. Walker’s life experiences show up in his songs, whether it is drink ing, love, loss, life on the road or tributes to people he has met along the way, he always has something to sing about. Walker, who seems to have as many crowd favorites as he does years of life, first earned fame with his song “Mr. Bojangles.” The song, which has been cov ered by Sammy Davis Jr. and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, is about a dancer he met in jail after being ar rested for public intoxication in New Orleans. New Orleans was also the last place that Walker played for an Ag gie crowd. “1 celebrated the new year at the New Orleans’ House of Blues with a bunch of Aggies,” Walker said. “They were celebrating the bowl game and the new year. I really rocked the house.” Walker says he enjoys playing for Aggies in College Station. “I always have a good time,” Walker said. “Maybe just a little too wild. I remember the old Star Ball room... I had a good time.” Walker said his live shows for college students are much different than his shows for older crowds. “College students want to be over the top. So it’s a different show for them , I leave out a lot of ballads and emotion,” Walker said. “I can’t sing about life experiences to peo ple who haven’t had them yet, it won’t be the same. But I do play what they want to hear, I keep it up beat and rock ’n’ roll. It’s a good high-energy show.” 1 REV1E| Id prep* :oursei Valentine’s Candlelight iff at the if" Kaffee Klatsch ^UNIVERSITY j, Photo Edito ekh, Opinion Edit :ity Editor e, Aggielife Editor n.Web Editor lanERadioPro^j - teCaiebMcD £l! tian Robbins, lul« Sag Lstf Turned Bci '] »« El,c N£W T%cPb‘ ,s nCjpBeato; Ma rl( I Van S t#il Treat your Sweetheart to Dinner and Romance in a quaint, European setting. A red rose will be delivered to your table between courses, along with a serenade by Adam Feriend, featured baritone opera singer from the Shepard School of Music in Houston. Two searings, February fourteenth, six o’clock and eight o’clock in the evening. Call now for menu choices and reservations. 846-4360 Kaffee Klatsch jffTi New Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10am-4pm ♦ Thurs.- Sat. 6pm- 9pm ♦ Sun. Brunch 10am-2pm We accommodate large groups or small. iel Roto® 8 ' Victor ibo Catos, Ro» da , Day Bobbl® ; ‘" iiaSinnier h aV ia faick,R°u* ra ; jeooriKymW^ '^1 fcionol Student; ^ oWt: 845-3313, » H lllSBforme^ j;; tKOM fcLlEPir. P■ rtTheGardenDistrktj|(. 108 North Avenue 846-4360 Bryan, Texas