The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 15, 2000, Image 3

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    I'hursday, June 15,M
Thursday, June 15,2000
yentioii
end his precious campaign fat
;e Kentucky and Ohio, wherell
ing the convention."
vernor also will be in Portlaw
m Thursday after spendic;
le Bush family vacationhons
bunkport.
5 absence at the state convenfe
mb of the state party orasigr;
mce to associate with the slat
fear of political disputesarismi
said.
las a strong and good relation
i the party chairman andthepar-
live committee as well as the
)ts networks around thestate,"
said.
Page 3
THE BATTALION
^PHctC tAe
L7 will reach out and touch
Houstonians Saturday
For anyone who has ever fantasized about a rock star, L7
is a dream come true.
On April 14,2000, L7 raffled off drummer Dee Plakas to
a lucky audience member. Since Plakas is regarded as the
"most shaggable" member of the group by British press, she
was the obvious choice. The Garage in London waited to
pass out the tickets until the night of the concert to avoid
forgeries. L7 chose its winner randomly with no regard to
attractiveness or gender. The girls' only request was for au
dience members to clean up before the show for Plakas' and
their own pleasure.
"I'll do anyone for L7," Plakas said. Though she is mar
ried, she and her husband have an opemrelationship which
allows her to cross all limits in support of L7. The extent of
the sexual relationship between Plakas and the winner was
the winner's choice. Despite the media's libidinous curios
ity, Plakas does not kiss and tell. "It's called The Code of the
Road, meaning, what happens on the road stays on the
road," she said.
Plakas spent the evening with a lucky gentleman whom
tabloids have tried to find. His name is still not publicly
known. Plakas said she left him speechless.
Though L7 said this lottery game will not be a regular
occurrence at concerts, two sold-out shows could provide
American fans with some reward. With L7, no one can pre
dict what will come.
L7 has breathed new life into rock n' roll. Beginning its
legacy in 1988, this all- girl band combines lust and raw pas
sion for rock music to produce invigorating albums. Slap-
Happy was released in late 1999, and the band considers it
one of the last great rock n' roll albums of the decade.
The founding members of L7 include Donita Sparks,
Suzi Gardner and Dee Plakas. Since its creation, the group
featured Gail Greenwood on bass but Janis Tanaka is the
current bass player. Greenwood's exit from the band was
welcomed by band members. Sparks said, "We really need
a West Coast bass player. Gail was a lot of fun, but logisti-
cally and geographically, it wasn't working out." Thus, the
current album, Slap-Happy, featured the group as a trio.
Tanaka has since joined the girls, making the band a four
some once again.
During the absence of a fourth member, leai
singer and guitarist Sparks played bass. Sparks' tal
ents do not end with instrumental expertise; she als<
writes most of the band's songs. The remainder of the
lyric-writing is credited to guitarist and vocalist Suzi Card
ner. The drum-
Suzi Gardner
Janis Tanaka
vox/guitar
bass
his year. L7 completed a successful
European tour in May. After two
>old-out shows, the girls exceeded
ill moral limits to show their appre-
riation with their "drummer raffle."
However, the band members say it is
ill part of making the fans feel they
ire important to the band.
This one-on-one relationship
/vill allow fans to experience the
^irls firsthand. "Most bands just
^ive you a T-shirt and a ticket stub
:o remember them by," Gardner
said. "We strive to break new
ground and venture deeper into the
one-on-one relationship that every
artist strives to develop with their
audience. We want to give fans
more bang for their buck."
Donita Sparks
vox/guitar
mer, Dee
Plakas, also con
tributes to L7's
songs and is
known for her
"punk-polka"
beats.
Slap-Happy is
the girls' first al
bum on their
own record la
bel, Wax Tad
pole Records, in
association with
Bong Load
Records. The
original title of the label comes
from L7's 1988 release, Bite the Wax Tadpole. "We fig
ured wax for the vinyl, and tadpole for emerging life form.
Sparks said. This kind of creativity sets the band apart from
all other groups in the rock industry.
"We've always been involved with every aspect of
our records, so this is a natural evolution," Gardner
said. The girls take part in every detail of the job
from artwork to marketing. Sparks said, "The suc
cess of L7 put us in a position to finance this record
and start our own label." This independence enables L7 to
be more innovative with each record they make.
"This record was a lot of fun to make, and the atmos
phere surrounding it was very relaxed," Sparks said.
L7 used the first or second take on some songs, opting
for feel instead of technical perfection. After many takes, the
song turns into a big production and doesn't produce the
natural vibe that L7 strives for in songs.
"We've become more eclectic with each record because
Dee Plakas
drums
we've never pigeon-holed ourselves into one genre," Sparks
said. The open regard to change has produced another first:
a three-part vocal harmony in the song "Crackpot Baby."
More mainstream songs include "Human," "Long Green"
and "War With You." L7 couples attitude with humor in
"Freezer Btirn." Sparks and Gardner use wit in many of the
band's lyrics. "The words make me laugh, but the music
makes me want to cry," Gardner said.
To promote its music, L7 has been touring for much of
L7 will be playing at Instant Karma in
Houston on Saturday, June 16. The show
starts at 9 p.m. and tickets are SI 2.
Story by Amy Rosellini
Photo Illustration by Stuart Villanueva
exas GOP is disappointed^;
oe in Houstoivbut party lea
ind. Black said,
iously we would love tost;
r Bush at our convention.te
d really like to see is George"
ng sworn in as president ft i
's time is limited," Blacksaid
crats say Bush's dedsiontp:
Mican meeting means he is fait
iciate himself from the"radifl
it controls the Texas GOP.
ne 19-20,2000
om 117 of the Kolcb
mental training on Junf
>usiness on Wednesday
il two-day training is of
lopment and our prepo
In case of emergency
M.
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2701 Morgan Ave, #400
Corpus Christi, TX 78405
361-887-0355
The Texas A&M University
College of Liberal Arts &
Department of Performance Studies
present the
TEXAS MUSIC FESTIVAL
2000 CONCEIT SEASON
Texas A&M University Campus
College Station
All Concerts: 7:30 p.m.
TICKETS (845-1234)
Student $5 ($25 Season) • Adults $10 ($50 Season)
Senior -65+ ($40 Season)
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS:
Arts Council of Brazos Valley
Texas Commission on the Arts • The Eagle
Brazos Business Arts Alliance
University Honors Program
Dr. & Mrs. Frank Albert Cotton
Gilbert and Thyra Plass Foundation
Saturday, June 17
Rudder Theatre
Texas Music Festival
Symphony Orchestra
Leon Spierer, conductor
With the
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition
Winners:
Matthew Dickson, Trombonist
Dan Zhu, Violinist
Performing Works by:
Johann Strauss, Sr.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Richard Strauss
Peter Tchaikovsky
Maurice Ravel
Presents
“An Evening in Vienna”