Some Of The High Tech
Tools You , ll Work With
At Smith & Associates.
AGGIELIFE
Page 4
THE BATTALION
Thursday, February;
lursday, Febi
Blackbirds to release new C
BY EMILY HARRELL
The Battalion
At Smith & Associates while we take our business seriously
we also work hard at having fun. It's this great environment
where people can wear shorts, play Ping-Pong and
Basketball that we believe enables ideas to run freely. This
kind of thinking has enabled Smith & Associates to become
one of the #1 ranked non-franchised distributor of semicon
ductors, electric components and peripherals and we're
growing every day.
COMPONENT
SALES/PURCHASING
1
We currently have exceptional opportunities for Sales and
purchasing professionals who are aggressive, interested in
making money and love the challenge of the "deal".
Candidates must be self motivated go-getter with excellent
relationship building and negotiating skills, as well as pos
sess a true, natural sales ability which is what it takes to be
successful in this competitive industry. Proficiency in a sec
ond language is a plus.
On-campus interviews will be held Mon. Feb. 28 & lues., March 7
We offer great benefits including:
Paid time off
Free health club membership
Casual dress code everyday
Competitive salary and bonuses
Matching 401 (k) Program
Full medical, dental a nd
vision benefits
And more!
www.smithmart.com
An equal opportunity employer M/F/D/V
The Blackbirds will be singing in
the dead of night tonight — to celebrate
the release of their new CD, Highlands
Street.
The group of Texas A&M students
formed the band about a year ago and
cite Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and
The Black Crowes as the major influ
ences on the band.
The Blackbirds consist of
singer/songwriter/guitarist Travis Hop
per, drummer Tim Ross, pianist and or
ganist Chris O’Neill, lead guitarist
Ralph Ibarra and bassist Charlie Duke.
This concert and CD release party
are the culmination of a year’s worth
of appearances at Bryan-College Sta
tion venues.
Hopper said that Thursday’s concert
will include mostly original material,
filled out with a couple of cover songs.
O’Neill said that while the release
of Highlands Street is exciting, nothing
compares to the feeling of performing
on stage.
“[We are] definitely a performance
band. We definitely consider ourselves
a live band,” he said. “It’s almost like a
high looking out across a few hundred
people there to see what you have to do.”
Hopper said the band’s aim when
performing is to connect with the audi
ence on a personal level.
“[Our philosophy is that if you]
write great music (then] people will
come,” he said.
He said the Blackbirds also try to
emphasize meaningful lyrics.
“We want to be a band where lyrics
are the primary objective. We try to
connect with the crowd on a personal
level. If there are one or two people
out in the crowd who say, ‘yeah, that’s
how I feel,’ then we’ve done that,”
lopper said.
The Blackbirds’ CD includes five
original songs, all written by Hopper.
O’Neill describes the CD as a “south
ern, Bruce Springsteen sound.”
The 3rd Floor Cantina in downtown
Bryan is hosting the Blackbirds in con
cert and throwing their CD release par
ty at 9 p.m. at the 3rd Floor Cantina in
downtown Bryan. Tickets are $5.
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(L to R): Blackbird members include Travis Hopper, Ralph Ibarra,Cti
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The Blackbirds
The Blackbirds
Highlands Street
Boss Records
sound and are not halfbadasmi
cians, as demonstrated by the tract
on their album. Of course they’reiKt
more than half good, either. Theirm
sical rhythm, which also shows tate
is diminished by the fact that theal-
bum is very repetitious.
While the music isgood.thevo
cals are not. The five tracks on thisi
bum have a sound that is very simi
lar to the Black Crowes, but without
the talented vocal lead of that band
Out of all the bands that come
through College Station, there are bel
ter ones than The Blackbirds. Bui
then again there are a lot worse, too.
(Grade: C)
The Blackbirds are a pretty typical
band. They have a decent, folksy
■ Kyle Milam
A = instant classic
D = don't buy it
B = a cut above
F = burn in effigy
C =amage
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