The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, July 22, 1999, Image 3
he Battalion Aggielife Page 3 • Thursday, July 22, 1999 mmmm prosecutors ai|| ur states met-:; s the caseagari oral Cass, Coltl content to all rsue a costly cj ct, Lexington,! tatements suj ry MaturinoRf| if what happen: not going to ., e tloor on anykl secutor RayLif, to his casej ng of 21-year-el mucky student, >ators from Mar,!, attended Wtti ) check intor idiz’s other if slaying alonga Marion Cotir| rino Resendizt:,. ala killing, but:! ust in case, i found deadfei n March 23, if h a teen namfj vaird saidreir.I Pop for the people Pritchett brings Beatles-fueledpop to Fitzwilly’s PHOTO COURTESY OF PHIL PRITCHETT Phil Pritchett will bring his rock sounds to Fitzwilly’s tonight. BY SCOTT HARRIS The Battalion I t is rare when a musician ex plodes onto the music scene and is an instant success, which is why most artists start out small and work their way up. On that same note, most popu lar musicians loath and despise their days playing small clubs for little money. Then there is Phil Pritchett, not yet an artist who has hit the big time, but one who enjoys playing the small gigs and staying true to his fans. The fact that he enjoys playing as an independent musician with out the support of a major label makes it hard to find large venues to play in, which is why Pritchett seems right at home at a venue like Fitzwilly’s. Pritchett said he is independent by choice and not default. “I’ve had some offers, some songwriting deals. We get paid to write songs in Nashville,” Pritch ett said. “A lot of bands wear in dependence like a badge and then sign the first deal that comes in front of them.” But any venue is better than no venue for a musician who started his career in the eighth grade. Pritchett said in a press release he sang a Beatles’ song for one of his eighth grade classes. “My friend Wes (Cunningham) and I were both obsessed with the Beatles,” Pritchett said. “We had to sing something to try out for this play, so we did ‘Love Me Do.’ We had two part harmony, har monica, tambourine, the works! The judges loved it and insisted we spend the rest of the school day touring the classrooms and doing our act. The kids loved it, too. It was better than listening to a teacher’s lecture I guess.” On top of being a full-time mu sician, Pritchett must also juggle a business career. He owns and manages his own record label company, Spitune Records. “It is hard, it is really hard,” Pritchett said. “But in October, I am hiring a manager. It will be a big step up. I will be able to con centrate on my music and not deal with the business side of things. We are doing exponentially better with each passing year. That is how I like to look at it — I just want to keep growing and, hope fully, it will lead to something big.” Pritchett has been playing for several years in College Station and he says this is his favorite place to perform. He said he has a really devoted fan base here which consists of several hundred peo ple. Phil Pritchett will perform tonight at 9 at Fitzwilly’s. IRY ed from Pa%el\ its and library i| nit a request tel to the library. 1 rary also offersi ooms that jm| md a televisic:! dents can broKi watch cable oil ign language i| five TVs. arf said the ins tapes are foments forothel labs on canpj g devices for: idependently page such asi ilian or Spank 1 irf said whatH n-tune .in and managsl staff who deil MSC’s Eyes Wide Shut Starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman Now Playing at Hollywood 16 It is no surprise that with such titles to lisname as A Clockwork Orange, The \hining and Lolita, director Stanley fubrick has once again bestowed audi- nces with a dark portrayal of human ex- tence. Eyes Wide Shat takes the viewer nto the minds of Dr. William Harford ruise) as he learns the truth behind his ife’s flirtatious behavior and conse- uently falls deep into the lure of tempta- lon, desire and fear. re placedinttiei Models, prostitutes and mass orgy all SC BrowsingL ; tempt the well-to-do Manhattan doctor, best rthy said. Jut in the scope of things, these tempta tions do nothing but evoke his own fear Jnd resistance. This is what makes the film, on the whole, a true drama of the |mind, but being three hours long, it real- pi means that nothing seems to really o relay anysif« a pp en {3 as i ca ]iy ) £y es wide Shut is hard i to parents, p wa t c i 1 _ t 0 f u ]|y experience what really ipresentatives jL a bnUmrit: portrayal of emotion would u College |, e t0 v j ew t ] ie fji m three or four times, ) co-sponsorst : an( j that would be about as agonizing as s put on byHfc Chinese water torture, vices. Courtnt Regardless, this film is a master work live chair lot if cinematography. If anything, the dra- ind a senior aa tic redundancy can be avoided by sim- or, said theirc ^ absorbing the film’s brilliant use of ler lesourceJ 0 [ or> motion and light. All play a large ndents with iart j n t h e infamous orgy scene, for in- stions and (l |tance, which is compelling in Kubrick’s i education, amazing use of nudity and sex fallen to ■te backdrop of darkness, desire and fear. M Cruise does a fabulous job but is not too well accompanied by Kidman, who PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM HENSON PICTURES unfortunately gives a poor and shallow performance. Eyes also has an outstand ing cast of supporting actors and actress es, all of whom mesh well into the script. Eyes Wide Shat is difficult to charac terize. It is long and redundant but at the same time deep, symbolic and truly char acteristic of Stanley Kubrick and his artis tic brilliance. (Grade: B +) —Brian Fleming Muppets from Space Starring Kermit the Frog and Gonzo the Great Now Playing at Hollywood 16 There is not a moviegoer alive who has not at sometime felt a twinge of sym pathy for Gonzo — one of the stock char acters in the Muppets troupe. Gonzo long has been saddled with a most lamentable identity crisis — his official classification in the animal kingdom is “whatever.” Alas, however, there is justice in Mup- petdom. In Gonzo the Great’s latest cine matic vehicle, Muppets from Space, he fi nally finds himself. After receiving cosmic messages chan neled through his cereal, a sandwich and two talking fish, Gonzo is contacted by his long-lost family. They are extraterres trials. The zany plot centers around Gonzo’s quest to make contact with his alien brothers. After learning that Gonzo is from out er space, the government’s cronies cap ture him, intending to extract his brain for research. But Kermit and company manage to release Gonzo just in time for him to meet up with his relatives’ space ship, where everyone parties down and Gonzo gets shot from a cannon — his signature trick. Along the way, there is much hilarity. There are the standard slapstick jokes for the kids, but there is plenty of sophisti cated, random humor for the Muppets’ older fans. The soundtrack is literally funkadelic, packed with old Jackson-Five-era tunes. The music is a definite complement to the Muppets’ modern style. In another life, Gonzo would have been a Com modore. The human appearances in the film are mediocre compared to cameos by the likes of Steve Martin in earlier films. Except for a funny cameo by Hulk Hogan, most of the actors turn in lacklus ter performances. But the actors are not who audiences came to see. And if viewers come to see the Muppets doing what they do best — making people laugh — they will be mightily rewarded. (Grade: A) — Caleb McDaniel Blair Witch Project Starring Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams Coming soon to Hollywood 16 “In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shoot ing a documentary. A year later their footage was found...” This brief statement found on the poster of The Blair Witch Project de scribes the creation of what is now one of the biggest urban legends of the 90s. The three students took a Hi8 cam corder to shoot the making of the docu mentary for themselves and a 16mm camera for the actual documentary. The footage from these cameras, found a year later, was pieced together from these two sources to find out what happened to the three students during the time they were lost in the woods. What The Blair Witch Project became was a documentary of terror. The film follows these three students as they get lost in the woods and are stalked each night by something unseen that leaves arcane symbols and ritual mounds throughout the forest. The haunting becomes more and more in tense each night. The fear turns to paranoia and dread and the documentary becomes terrifying. Each night the students hear sounds of screaming out in the woods and try to find proof with the cameras and sound recording equipment. Some of the scariest moments are a black screen with only the sound of the scared students in the tent and the noises outside. The Blair Witch Project is probably the most innovative horror film since Jaws. It doesn’t rely on serial killers or hideous monsters to scare up terror. The frighten ing elements are psychological, and they work. If planning to see this film, just cancel any camping plans for awhile. (Grade: A) — Kyle Whitacre DIVERSITY Photo E«i»*elch marries Palmer Radio ProtL in California Saturday BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Raquel 'elch has remarried, exchanging vows ith restaurant owner Richard Palmer. They were wed Saturday at her Bever ly Hills home. The couple had dated for jpbout two years and became engaged ast September. “It was a small, private ceremony with —.nly close family and friends,” Jackie 3echer, the actress’ publicist, said yes- :erday. There was no word on a honeymoon, don’t know that they’ve made plans,” Becher said, adding that Ms. Welch wil iisha Parekii in Vancouver, British Columbia, for sev- rano, City Ed i, Campus B liel, Opinion [, Sports s, Web PEOPLE IN THE NEWS eral weeks working on a movie called Bats. Palmer owns the Mulberry Street Ital ian restaurant in Beverly Hills and Richie’s Neighborhood Pizza stores. It is Ms. Welch’s fourth marriage and Palmer’s second. She has two children — Damon and Tahnee — from husban-d No. 1, James Westley Welch. Cyrus dropped by label, plans to pursue acting NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — With sales of his records down sharply from his de but eight years ago, Billy Ray Cyrus has been dropped by Mercury Records. His manager insists the split isn’t rea son fof Cyrus to sing a new refrain of “Achy Breaky Heart.” “There is interest in Los Angeles as far as film and TV, but that will never take over Billy’s career,” Al Schiltz said. “His first priority is music.” The 37-year-old country star earned sudden fame in 1992 with “Achy Breaky Heart,” a single that crossed over to the pop charts and helped sell 9 million copies of his first album,Some Gave All. His sales have slipped to about 136,000 with his latest effort, Shot Full of Love. The split was friendly, Mercury Nashville president Luke Lewis said Tues day. “It is with a great deal of respect for an artist who brought a lot of success to this label that I make this announcement, allowing Billy Ray to pursue other career options,” Lewis said. Anderson writes Mbeki to free elephants PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Former “Baywatch” star Pamela Anderson Lee wants President Thabo Mbeki to save ele phants that were beaten by an animal trad er, an animal rights organization said yes terday. Ms. Anderson, a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), wrote a letter to Mbeki calling animal traders “heartless, money-hungry men rav aging Africa for its animals.” A copy of her letter to Mbeki was dis tributed by PETA. The trader, Riccardo Ghiazza, captured 30 baby elephants in Botswana last year.. He brought them to South Africa for training by Indonesians whose training methods include the use of sharp prods and water and food depri vation. Last year, the National Association of Societies to Prevent Cruelty to Ani mals won custody of the elephants in a court battle. However, an appeals court ordered the organization to allow the elephants to re main in Ghiazza’s possession. Ion, Paul Breauh rnandez, Jasonfo gan Youree. of Student PeblnfoK 1 '' 845-3313; Fan»» ipus, local, andnaW 1 J, and office Iwsiitl*’ copy ofTlieBattat# id $17,50foittesK** . and Mondaytel THE BATTALION CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING •EASY •AFFORDABLE •EFFECTIVE CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION 845-0569 /YYWV CONTINENTAL CUISINE WITH A GOURMET TOUCH Share a fine dining experience with your special people ^ Graduation Special hours I p.m. - 9 p.m. Call 874-2407 for reservations 20 miles from B/CS on Hvvy. 30 Black Forest Inn We Specialize In The ‘Extraordinary 216 N. Bryan Downtown Bryan 779-8208 Religious Art Chess Sets • Museum Reproductions • Beautiful Sterling * French Unicom Tapestries Silver Jewelry Corn. Rates’*^ S 24 95 + Tax 2. Weekly Single Rate^ 5 19 5 3. Monthly Single Rate 15 00 Daily (No Tax) CALDWELL MOTEL Kitchenettes 567-4000 1819Hwy. 21 W. Caldwell, IX HBO & Cable TV . Coffee & Local Calls T V CONTIXENTAI. BREAKFAST Microwaves & Refrigerators WELCOME FOOTBALL FANS