Battalion
Aggielife
Page 3 • Tuesday, September 21,1999
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Last Free Exit
A Day Waiting
CD courtesy of
Soundarts Recordings
The most active band in Col-
ege Station just did all true mu-
c lovers a favor with the cre
ation of their first hi-fi recorded
3D, A Day Waiting.
After months of local antici
pation, Last Free Exit has ac-
:omplished a remarkable-feat,
taking favorite songs and record-
ng them as they have never
aeen heard before.
Listeners can expect to hear
he unexpected, including addi-
™^_ional guitars, a cello and the vo-
cals of all four members.
The result of Last Free Exit’s
decticsweat-and-blood effort is
a full-length CD with eight orig
inal tracks any Dave Matthews
or Phish fan can heartily enjoy.
For the critical ear, tracks like
“The Ballad of Grady Niblo” and
“Tie-Dyed" really showcase the
band's lyrical stars and leave lis
teners doubtless: this is a band
that is going places.
Music lovers should pick up
A Day Waiting from a local ven
dor and hear what Last Free Exit
has proven — the wait is truly
worth the while. (Grade A-).
— Heather Brandy
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□
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Local band premiers album y
headlines for Willie Nelson
□
HEATHER BRONDY
The Battalion
T he local music scene has proven to be
smoking this fall, and Last Free Exit is
burning brightly as the one of the fore
running fireballs.
With a newly released CD, a much-coveted
opening act slot for Willie Nelson and a steady
stream of shows booked in a plethora of local
bars, it seems the two-year-old band is busy
making itself well-seen and heard in every nook
and cranny around town.
This Thursday, Last Free Exit will celebrate
its busy schedule with a CD release party for its
newest album, A Day Waiting.
Starting out as the acoustic duo of Parker
Bradley and J.T. Stewart, Last Free Exit did not
fully evolve until the fall of 1997.
The band currently is manned by J.T. Stew
art on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Parker
Bradley on electric guitar and vocals, Kyle Clay
ton on bass and Brian Beadle on drums.
Shortly after the band’s expansion, Bradley
said, the name Last Free Exit came to the mem
bers while driving outside of Dallas.
• ‘‘We needed to have a band name by the
next day,” Bradley said. “We happened to see
it on a sign on the side of the road in Dallas at
the 635 tollway [sic]. There were no other signs
around but that one, big and green, and I was
like, ‘That works.’”
All four members currently are attending
Texas A&M. Stewart and Bradley are senior bio
medical science majors, Beadle is a senior land
scaping major and Clayton is an aerospace en
gineering graduate student.
Stewart said he has a hard time comparing
Last Free Exit’s music to the music of other pop
ular bands, although he definitely has a whole
slew of favorite artists.
“When you compare yourself to another
band — well, I wouldn’t want to flatter my
self by comparing us to bands I like, you
know,” Stewart said. “I guess as far as influ
ences go, when 1 go home I listen to Ben
Harper a lot and Jeff Bucley a lot. I’m quite ex
cited about the new Chris Cornell album, and
I like Sonny Day Real Estate, Ani di Franco,
Marvin Gaye [and] Willie Nelson.”
During shows, Stewart said he feels playing
the music is only part of the experience — the
rest is up to the listeners.
“You know how they say a good poem’s only
half written? Well, that’s
how I feel about music and
song,” Stewart said. “I feel
like we offer a sketch, and
it’s up to our listeners to fill
in the color.
“It’s up to the listeners to
get what they want to get
out of the music.”
Joey Newgart, a junior
political science and history
major, said the band had a
profound effect on him
when he first heard them
play at the Cow Hop in 1997.
“I found Last Free Exit
playing on Northgate on a
Thursday night my fresh
man year,” Newgart said.
“The music was so conta
gious that me and my
friend moved the tables and
started dancing.
“J.T. said, ‘Everyone’s
equal at the Cowhop,’ and
he was right. We were all
there to let go, dance and
really hear the music. I met
some beautiful people that
night who changed my out
look at A&M, and I’ve been
a fan ever since.”
Jenna Snow, a senior
industrial distribution ma
jor, said she never knows
what to expect at a Last
Free Exit show.
“I remember at one
show, this guy jumped on
stage and dropped his pants, underwear and all,
and grabbed a microphone and started singing,”
Snow said. “And J.T. and them just laughed and
kept playing. Nude loins or no nude loins, they
play on.”
Curious music lovers can check out a Last
Free Exit show this Thursday night at Shadow
Canyon during its CD release party. Willie Nel
son fans also have a chance to whet their mu
sical appetites with an opening act by the Col
lege Station band.
Stewart said it is hard to believe Last Free Exit
has been given such an opportunity.
“I’ve learned to be very pessimistic about what
people tell you in music,” he said. “You never
Photos courtesy of EAST FREE EXIT
The members of local band Last Free Exit will host a CD release party
for their newest effort, A Day Waiting, Thursday at Shadow Canyon.
know what to believe and what to get excited
about, but when we got asked for this, I freaked
out because Willie Nelson is my Elvis. I didn’t tell
the other band members at first because of the
way we had been treated in the past with these
big shows. Opening bands are pretty expendable,
and we were pending for 2-3 weeks. ”
Stewart said the band is excited about open
ing for Nelson because his music attracts a wide
range of listeners.
“It’s good to be put with an artist like Willie
Nelson,” Stewart said, “because he’s the merge
of all crowds, from hippies to cowboys.”
see Exit on Page 4.
^ “Spectacular
-Los Angeles Times
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