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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2000)
Monday. ApiTS AGGIELIFE ial awart k, the editor of the ism major, said the awardsij spec! they deserve nean we are the bestyeai said. “It gets the yearh at we have a top-notch poll le numerous traditions here J :lanil to stand apart I re so strong and so uniquehj it makes our yearbookimid said. “If you look in the'^l I sense of the history, A&M is of their tradition^ Southwestern journalism BEST NEWSPAPER (day, April 17,2000 THE BATTALION Page 3 ehind the music ocal bands face many obstacles on the way to becoming famous BY JUSTIN GARRETT The Battalion DRUMMER 1 sl The Battalion 1 I RTS COLUMN LEAt> t/OCAL small group of workers gather in a hazy, dimly lit room. They have been preparing for months and now the time has come to unveil the final prod- t ws story act. With all equipment in place the leader walks towards the Kimberly (icnlilt ' row d rh at has convened to judge them. “Aggies RrieHafttilA bead of sweat rolls from his brow as hot lights illumi- students die... yate him and his companions. The crowd directs their at- [ . n :)R option to the stage and grows quiet with anticipation. The icative STORY fedcr signals the group to begin. SallieTurner An four short beats the room is thickened with sound as Bonfire I raged) ■ mS; 5 ass anc j guitar converge into one force. The crowd moves to the music, and the Bd knows they have succeeded. I |Mj#S^|w||9HThe band devotes all of their energy into sharing what has taken months to create and per- st e ditorial They are admired for they produce and plform, but few take the to consider the hard work n ruenes and jp beato imB, and sacrifice it took to make it to that hot, crowded stage. :er their performance, the d members load their )nley Kubricks2001M1 heavy equipment, collect ( 'V and lecture by Dr. leu what little pay is owed to vood fo the Film Studies! them, if any, and return to are information pleaseco their homes. Soon , it jasonp@tamu.edu. they will be back to writing and prac- Monday tic|ng,all the while trying to land Zeta: There will be af another gig. ^ ig at 7 p.m. in Klebeigll I College Station is full of such bands. Tuesday Although it has not yet Lutherans Treehouse reached the level of other Texas cities in its ability to provide ible study,fun and fel -' 30 p.m. at Out Sam!.:; irch located near! a live music scene, it is still a rich breeding ground for talented musicians. John Wick, booking agent for Fitzwilly’s and a member of a local blues band said that although there is talent in Col lege Station, the city does not foster the live music scene. “There’s not a scene here at all. Northgate is cool, but there’s only like three clubs that have bands on a reg ular basis,” Wick said. Even get- ting an op portunity to play at one of these bars can be a daunting task. Club owners’ primary concern is money. If a band is to perform in their establish ment, it is impor tant they have the ability to attract a large crowd. “You have to have an ‘in’ somewhere. Until you make a name for yourself as being reputable and bringing in people to drink beer, which is really all they care about, it really is tough,” said Gregory Salata, of the local band Ocean X. Like all forms of entertainment, making it in the College Station music scene requires contacts and friends on the inside. “If you can hook up with somebody as an opening act then that’s how you eventually get into the headlining spot,” Salata said. “Somebody from another band sees you or hears about you, and they say ‘Why don’t you guys come open for RUBEN DELU 1 us?’ and it sort of snowballs from there.” “As far as getting a booking, basically what it takes is some type of demo and how they present themselves to me or the club,” Wick said. Salata emphasized the utility of having a CD recording. “If you don’t have a CD to hand a club owner then usually what you’re being represented by is either your reputation or a cassette you made while you were playing cover tunes in the garage, and the cassette never sounds as good as you do live,” Salata said, “and that’s all they have to go on to determine if you’re a competent band or not.” However, bands often make the mistake of recording before they have perfected their ability to perform together. “That’s something that you would like to do early on, but most bands when they’re starting .out aren’t tight enough. It’s sort of Phe Battalion a double-edged sword. You need a demo to get the shows, but until you’ve played together like we have for a year now, you’re really not all on the same page, and it’s not as tight as it could be,” Salata said. Once a band conquers the obsta cle of finding a place to play, they must face the drawback of a lack of financial compensation. For a one-night performance in Col lege Station, a band may get anywhere from $200 to $300 G <J/TAR, ST which must be divided among all members of the group and sometimes another band. “It’s tough, man. People don’t want to pay two dollars to watch you. Everywhere else we play they pay $5 to walk in the door no matter who’s playing,” Wick said. Only a small number of bars pay bands out of their pockets. Most simply offer the band whatever is made at the door. This puts the burden on the band to draw a large crowd. “Some places will charge three dollars at the door, and if you can get 100 people to come in that night then that’s $300,” Salata said Even if a band does have the ability to draw a crowd they might lose potential prof it, due to the building’s design. “There are places that will charge a couple bucks to get in, but people can hear it out side. We had 50 or 60 people in side and thirty outside on the street drinking beer and listening through the glass,” Salata said. Because of this pay situa tion, most musicians must maintain other jobs in order to supplement their incomes. This in itself is an obsta cle as all practices and other events must be scheduled around everyone’s jobs. But for the love of the music and the thrill of performing live, musicians will continue to face the obstacles that riddle their path like mines. For somewhere amidst the drunk en crowds awaits a small group of people who live for the music, and for them the band will play on. Toastmasters:!®# aking and resumed g in Rudder at p! blue screen forW 1 >re information pleasf tura at 695-2833. sity Undergraduate!! isium: There will beitf i of the fellows’complet in Rudder 5th floora!? led by a reception at! 1 floor Rudder. Inframurals Rec Fifness Aquafics Golf Course TAMU Outdoors Sport Clubs DABLE WAY TO BUI LITY PRE-0 • Appliances imes • CDs :art at s 89.95 tart at $ 49.95 T9.95 each each :h more 4-736 Mohiuddin, Editor in Vlireles, Managing Editor i I light, Community Editor utson. Campus Editor it acre, Aggielife Editor Serrano, Aggielife Editor Castillo, Opinion Editor kens, Opinion Editor pf, Night News Editor illing, Sports Editor nnyhofF, Radio Producer Payton, Web Master lynecek, Graphics Editor ►china, Graphics Editor ers, Photo Editor , Photo Editor iber, Science and Technology^ kec Fitness -Wed., May 3 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. on the FREE! Pre-Exam jam Basketball Courts. Personal Fitness Profile—Fitness assessment and body compo sition. $ 1 0 if purchased with Personal Training Session or $20 if purchased separately. Register at the Member Services Desk in the lobby of the Rec Center. Body Fat Assessment—$5, Tue. & Thurs. from 2:30-4:00 p.m. (issn #10554726) is published Contact DeAun Woosley at 862-3995 for more information, the fall amt springsemestes»«i r • Massage Therapy—$35 for Rec Members and $45 for non Rec Members. Appointments can be made at Member Services, m,™ 77840.posiMflsirn:sendnue jor more information stop by the Member Service Desk in the Rec. , 015 Reed McDonald Building, to 1 '' 1 ' n,1X 77843-1111. Ita/ion news department is managed ity in the Division of Student Media,'' f Journalism, News offices are in 013 to | vsroom phone: 845-3313; Fai 84$ hotmail.com; Web site: tittpy/battaW-to 'ublication of advertising does ik*#* 1 * ay The Battalion. For campus, local, and ill 845-2696. For classified artatsiigi*' 1 ; ices are in 015 Reed McDonald, and Monday through Friday. Fax: 84M6!8 ; A part of the Student Services Fee ee® ' :o pick up a single copy of Die BaltaW 1! ies 254. Mail subscriptions areSf*|W i£ ''' , . spring semester and $17.50 (oifeV; 1 iCard, Discover, or American Express i* 1 '' Aquatics [ifeguard Training \Jater Babies Basic Scuba , 4 TEXAS A &M jRec SPORTS Event Date Registration April 27-30 May 15-18 & 22-25 May 15-18 & 22-28 April 3-21 April 17- May 11 May 1-11 Job Opportunities Graphic Layout Assistant—Assist the Graphic Designer with the cre ation and design of all print media distributed on and off campus for the Department of Recreational Sports. This will include the design and compilation of the Rec Sports Battalion ads, calendars, flyers and brochures. Applications available in Room 202. For more information call Angela Stanton-Anderson at 845-1001 or visit our homepage. Rec Sports Aerobic Instructors—Auditions will be held Sunday, April 30 from 1:00 p.m. until finished in room 304. To apply fill out the yellow Aerobics and Fitness Employment Application at the 2nd floor Rec Center Reception Desk. Last day to apply is April 27. Certified Personal Trainer— Experience preferred. Will accept the following certifications: ACE, ACSM, NSCA, Sam Houston State University, and AFAA. Applications in room 202. Congratulations Congratulations to the team 'Division V for winning the Target 5-on- 5 Regional Basketball Tournament in Austin. Good Luck at the National Tournament in Los Angeles. Team Members: Kneeling (L-R)—Brian Agbulos, Tim Williams, Ricky Jackson, Alton Clivens, and Derek Evers Standing (L-R)—Calvin Davis, Wesley Butler, Bright OgBogu, Mike Thornton and Matt Ward For information call 845-7826 or visit our homepage recsports.tamu.edu Check out our flyers for more details on our pro grams. Golf Course GREEN CHARGES Student Green Charges Fa c u I ty/Staff/A I u m n i/Ret i ree Guests Weekdays $11 $14 $17 Weekends $14 $17 $20 TAMU Outdoors Kayak Open Practice Session Intro to Canoeing Kayak Roll Clinic Kayak Workshop Canoe Day Trip MAY BREAK TRIP Rocky Mountain Climbing AUGUST 2000 BREAK TRIP Sail/SCUBA the Bahamas Event Date Registration April April April April April 18 18 25 29-30 29 May 20-27 Aug. 19-25 April 3-17 April 3-17 April 10-24 April 10-25 April 10-25 NOW-April 25 NOW-June recsports.tamu.edu
