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t frmr ,«r ^ an > nterest in music since l
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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
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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-
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i.com
arsemenfi)'
5-2696' D f
McDonald
!78.
I studenfid
t. Mail sod'
'.SOforu 18
r Americai 1
2001 GPSD
10am - 3pm
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Co-Sponsored by the TAMU Career Center and The Office of
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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
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The Princeton Review
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Design
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UT LBJ School of PA
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Southwest Texas
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TAMU - Forest Science
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TAMU - INFO
UT Southwestern Medical Center
TAMU - Dwight Look College
of Engineering
Washington University
TAMU - Medicine