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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2001)
Page 3A Way, Octobe osen to be cti to one of be U.S. milm a. ) and 200 med in the students area e Army, nna Hayes, officer with C said there lificant chant; students comni ' Sept. 11 attii i lot of studei [fissioned," 0 )ur numbers CormofCat ^ t ‘ me Ke ^ >ecca Torre I las was a ins involves “"ggirl. she knew she would end up in tu f ow business. t frmr ,«r ^ an > nterest in music since l ' sne tl isfour,” Torrellas said. “Td write songs P 6111 111 »Spanish at the time) and my cousins I would perform them in shows for annes cuna &M fhrougli Jj 0rre ll as was b orn j n Ponce, Puerto amman . . on a mission Rebecca Torrellas is in pursuit of a rock ’n roll dream By Kelly Preiser THE BATTALION Commisska (gram and co,and began performing as a dancer .. rachildren's program in Puerto Rico ' l, ' e " d,n | l : .it six. Pm the ™ Torrellas moved to Texas when she Program, y ears 0 | t p s(-, e attended Texas is take activej and graduated in 1998 w ith a jour- oring them le |i sm degree and currently works in e they compki )US t on as a marketing and public rela- ;come coim ms coordinator, but said her goal is to officer in ti ve a career in music. i of the militat “| C an't imagine myself doing anything i Wiseman, irest of my life with as much passion as assistant at iave doing music,” Torrellas said. )fficer Select Torrellas began her career in the music here has h aness in 1996 when a friend heard her ;t in the progi ig at an Alanis Morissette concert and I terroristattac kedherifshe was interested in starting >een an incret band. Soon, the band Spencer’s Rocket ot enroilmet is formed. It was a local, alternative . “Some bi ck cover band that featured songs by ;ome have a lists like Morissette, Stone Temple een contracti lots, No Doubt and The Cranberries, ite.” idsongs written by the band. Spencer’s id he belie' ocketbroke up in Oct. 1998. vers, in addits Aboutone month later, Torrellas decid- sonnel. will Itobecome a solo artist with the encour- I with increas pent of local band Linus’ front man, lationwide. tend and ex-boyfriend, Chris Pate. ; regular mi. "Chris started encouraging me to ave to deal»t tcordademo at a studio in Friendswood ;aid. “Fores fexas) with session musicians and be a ' truckscrossi ^artist."Torrellas said. “After a Iittle bit i into thelifi his part. 1 met with produc- We are/hvtTfW/iBomar and my co-writer on most I my tunes, Chris Howland, also drum- », producer, back-up singer, key- Mdist, guitarist, bassist, percussionist alogical watfsi who kept me mentally stable he goven® ome s.” d the during most of my long hours at the stu dio, at South Coast Recorders in Friendswood, Texas, and finally decided to go for it.” No Hard Feelings, Torrellas’ debut CD, was released in Aug. 2001 after two years of work. Torrellas said most of the music on the CD is inspired by her own feelings and by events in her life. “I'd say lyrically, the album is about self discovery and beating the odds,” she said. “1 think the listener can tell by the lyrics that I'm trying to get comfortable in my own skin as a flawed and vulnerable individual. Through heartbreaks and disap- pointments. I've learned a lot more about myself, and I hope people can relate to that. “Most of the songs on the CD are inspired by true events in my life,” Torrellas said. "No Hard Feelings is almost like a journal of my life from 1997 to 2000. It’s a way for me to release anger, uncertainty, stress, joy or any emotion I may be feeling.” For example, Torrellas said that the song, “What is it now” was written a few days after her graduation from A&M because she was busy applying for jobs and not hearing from any of the compa nies. “Only to you,” she said, was written after her heart was broken the first time she was involved in a serious relationship. “Brave in the Soul” was written after the 15-year-old daughter of a friend of her mother’s committed suicide. The song “Never got to say Goodbye” was written after the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse and also is dedicated a co-worker and friend of hers who passed away on his birthday. Torrellas said that musically, the album is more eclectic. She said some of the songs are fast-beat, edgy and crunchy sounding while others are tame during the verses and strong in the choruses, while others are more acoustic-based and some are considered ballads. She said her musical influ ences include Pat Benatar, Morissette, Joni Mitchell and Aerosmith. She com- pares herself to “either Pat Benatar or a less-angry Alanis Morissette from her Jagged Little Pill days.” Torrellas is scheduled to perfonn at the Third Floor Cantina at 10:30 p.m. She said she is looking forward to coming back to College Station and to the Third Floor, where she performed frequently with Spencer’s Rocket. “College Station is a great place for live music” she said. “I’m looking for ward to going back to the Third Floor after years of not being there. I’m defi nitely looking forward to it. I am nervous because it’s been so long since I’ve played in College Station, but I’m ready to come back.” Torellas said her performance at the show depends a lot on what the audi ence is like. “I don’t sit still very much,” she said. “It pretty much depends on the song. At times I could be dancing. Other times I’m jumping around or head banging. It has a lot to do with the song as well as the vibe from the audience.” Audiences can expect a high-energy, fun show with eclectic music and tunes ranging from rock and alternative rock to acoustic and punk, Torellas said. “We will be playing songs form No Hard Feelings but also add some new songs I've written as well as a few Spencer’s Rocket classics.” For more information about Torrellas, visit rebecca.hispeed.com. we are going ery serii "here areaniit| -ays we arev roing fo tafi lerabilities." to be concet and our w Threc-man band, BIG Area band 2welvelead leaves a big impression for a small band By Jane Holden THE BATTALION Anyone who has heard the high- energy rock-pop trio 2welveLead should be begging the question, “Who are these wonderboys, and where did they come from?” There is no doubt that singer-guitarist Todd Sapio, bassist Millard Hasbrook and drum mer Chris Lamb have the talent to be cruising American highways in a plush tour bus, delivering, innovative rock sets to throngs of receptive fans. But they aren’t. Not yet, anyway. Instead, 2welveLead is practic ing in a downtown Bryan loft during the wee hours of the morning, con tent with the tantalizing karma between their instruments and a cal endar filled with local gigs such as this Friday’s benefit concert at the Third Floor Cantina. “I think that what makes us suc cessful is that we literally play for the sake of playing and nothing else,” Lamb said. Indeed, this enthusiastic integrity has prevented the musicians from falling into the “one-gig-won der” pantheon of other college bands. However, a unique, intense and mature style is also responsible for their success. Known in local music circuits as one of the best hard rock bands in town, 2welveLead certainly knows how to crank up the amp and get a crowd roaring, but they can also win converts with heartfelt emotion capable of speaking volumes to its audience. Among the band’s impressive supply of melodic and frantic tunes is an overflowing handful of radio hooks, wrapped in intense personalism. “If there’s one word that comes to mind when describing our music, it’s ‘open-minded’ because it’s not limit ed to one style,” Lamb said. “People are often close- minded to new things and we want to open them up. Music is the most influential thing in the world. If we can set the emotion, we can have an effect.” The synergy of 2welvelead sound is influenced by Sapio’s interest in Dishwalla and Stevie Ray Vaughn, Hasbrook’s Deftones, The Cure and Stone Temple Pilots, and Lamb’s pas sion for jazz music and the band Fuel. While remaining true to their musi cal inspirations, the band has devel oped a strong and independent style, evident in their newest song, “Space.” “This song really focused on the development of the music, with a more effective blending of hard and soft sounds,” Sapio said. In 2welveLead’s new hit, the instruments shift styles and intensity levels effortlessly, setting the canvas for Sapio to sing his lament, “We both know I’m wrong, but that don’t mean I’m strqng. In some other instance I might have been okay. I walk away ...” A success for both its explosiveness and its sensitivity, “Space” is just one example of the incredible power behind this dynamic trio. “We have had to rely on our cre ativity,” Hasbrook said. “Not everyone could get three people together and sound like a five piece.” On stage, the members must extend themselves to fill up a sound that other bands need five members to accomplish, but size is only one chal lenge that these wonderboys have turned into progress. It would seem that their concoction for success has been a prodigious work ethic coupled with a hearty measure of luck. The stories of setbacks and random acts of fate, extending back to Sapio and Lamb’s high school days dream ing of rock ‘n’ roll stardom, will make an evocative and charming episode of VHl’s “Behind the Music” in the future. But for now, this College Station-based trio is here to stay. “We have been through three bassists and three band names. We kept playing when there were only two of us and we’ll keep playing regardless because we love it. I think we would physically get sick if we were away from it for too long,” Sapio said. Wearing their hearts and a healthy dose of artistic enthusiasm on their sleeves, Sapio, Hasbrook and Lamb will perform a benefit concert with local bands Linus and Thread at the Third Floor Cantina Friday night. The show starts at 9 p.m. and the $5 cover charge will go to the aid of Sept. 11 victims. cas A&M 'Day itor i Editor cch Editor i ; Editor er o Producer ditor Arts Director ts Director Thursday, October 11,2001 Join over 80 Graduate and Professional school representatives from medical, engineering, law, MBA, liberal arts and science programs across the nation! i Friday dur- the summer 1 University 3 nd addr^ Station, i* Texas Journalistf- -3313; i.com arsemenfi)' 5-2696' D f McDonald !78. I studenfid t. Mail sod' '.SOforu 18 r Americai 1 2001 GPSD 10am - 3pm MSC Flagroom Co-Sponsored by the TAMU Career Center and The Office of Professional School Advising TAMU Career Center http://careercenter.tamu.edu 845-5139 A place to meet your next employer Join these school representatives today for the 2001 GPSD in the MSC Flag Room from 10am - 3pm. Alliant University TAMU - Plant Pathology Baylor College of Dentistry TAMU - College of Vet Medicine Baylor College of Medicine Texas Tech Health Science Center Colorado School of Mines Texas Tech Cornell University Texas Wesleyan Law School Dallas Theological Seminary Texas Woman's University Des Moines University Trinity University Duke University Universidad Autonoma de George Washington University Guadalajara Hardin-Simmons University University of Houston - Clear Lake Harvard University University of Illinois - Urbana- Hawaii Pacific University Champaign Illinois School of Optometry Midwestern University Iowa State University University of Miami Johns Hopkins University University of Michigan Lamar University University of Pennsylvania National College of University of Tulsa Naturopathic Medicine University of North Texas Notre Dame UNT Health Science Center Pepperdine University University of Texas - Dallas The Princeton Review UT Houston - Dental Branch Savannah College of Art & UT Health Science Center Design UT Graduate School South Texas College of Law UT LBJ School of PA Southern Methodist University UT MD Anderson S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook UT Medical Branch Southwest Texas UT San Antonio Business School UT School of Law Texas Christian University MBA UT School of Nursing Texas A&M Bush School UT School of Public Health TAMU - Forest Science UT Southwestern TAMU - INFO UT Southwestern Medical Center TAMU - Dwight Look College of Engineering Washington University TAMU - Medicine