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The Battalion
Page 3 • Tuesday, June 11, 2002
Hey, it could happen
Local bands broaden their horizons in search of a music outlet
By Elizabeth Webb
THE BATTALION
Any indie band can tell you that it is rough getting
discovered. This is especially true for punk bands in
College Station, a city where country and alternative
rock reign.
Autopsy Turvy is one of these indie bands, made
up of Chad Brinkley, vocals, keyboard and program
ming drums. Will Brantingham, bass, and John Paul
Wooten, guitar and vocals.
The band takes its musical influences from punk
bands such as Subhumans and Missions of Burma,
but does not describe its sound as completely punk.
Although there are some venues available for
fairly unknown bands such as Autopsy Turvy, the
band members say it is still frustrating when trying
to find a place to play.
“A lot of places won’t let you play,” Brinkley said.
“They won’t even talk to you once they hear the kind of
music you play. If you’re not playing singer-songwriter
or country, you’re most likely not going to get a gig and
therein lies the problem of getting well known.”
However, there are a few places around town like
the art gallery Soulworks, where a band like Autopsy
Turvy will get to spread its musical wings.
Soulworks’ owner, Mary Kelley, allows bands to
play on a stage that is set up behind the shop. Kelley
said any type of band is welcome and considers all
types of music an art fonn.
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“Soulworks is a place for artists to showcase their
work,” Kelley said. "It just gives bands another place
they can use to play. It’s free and it’s in a good area.”
McDonalds on Texas Avenue is another new
venue that has recently opened up for new bands to
play. McDonalds manager Anthony Vunita said that
it is available for all different kinds of music for the
band’s benefit as well as McDonalds.
“From my point of view, we do it to help bands get
known and it helps us get business too,” Vunita said.
Whether or not this helps McDonalds, this is a
wonderful opportunity for bands struggling to get
their name into the public. Patrons as well as passer-
bys can stop and hear the bands playing for free.
Ali Sophani, a recent graduate of A&M
Consolidated High School is one person who knows
how hard it is to get your music heard. He manages
a website, csmusic.8m.com, that provides informa
tion on all different kinds of bands that play around
College Station. The website is open to any band in
an attempt to raise awareness to the public and cre
ate unity between bands.
“The scene is more based on country and heavy
metal bands,” Sophani said. “I want the music scene
to be one big community. It's really discouraging
when a big band comes to College Station and every
one goes to see them, but when a local band that blows
Nickelback out of the water plays, no one cares.”
Brinkley also shares the opinion that indie bands
need to be given the credit that more well-known bands
or Music
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JOSHUA HOBSON • THE BATTALION
McDonalds displays a wanted ad in efforts to recruit up and coming bands in the Bryan-College Station area.
enjoy. He is not so much concerned with getting paid
to play as he is with exposing people to his music.
“It's not really about my band personally, it’s
about the whole scene, Brinkley said. “A lot of us
aren’t even playing for money. We just want to play
music, be heard and enjoy ourselves, and it’s really
hard to enjoy yourself in this town.”
Autopsy Turvy, along with several other indie
bands will have another chance to be heard on June
21, when they will be playing at Soulworks.
For bands that are just getting started, Sophani
has some useful advice.
“Just keep trying your best and go to all different
kinds of shows and meet all kinds of people,”
Sophani said. “Just get yourself known, hand out
demos, go to open mic nights. Indie bands are get
ting a shot at Deluxe Diner, and Texadelphia is also
pretty open to new bands.”
E E
XXX
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R I T I Q U E
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Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman,
Samuel L. Jackson & Hayden Christensen
Directed by George Lucas
Lucas Films
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The Star Wars universe continues to expand in
this second installment of the story that began a
long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. For this
episode. Master Yoda and the Jedi Council work
with the Senate to maintain order and unity in the
Republic that began to crumble in Episode I. Obi-
Wan Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker,
are charged with protecting the former Queen of
Naboo, Amidala, during politically delicate times in
the Senate. While investigating assassination
attempts against Amidala, the Jedi uncovers a plot
to overthrow peace in the Republic and the Attack
of the Clones begins.
The film lends itself to character development
and filling in the back story eluded to in other
episodes. Yes, most of this movie is details, lots and
lots of details. At times it seems to drag on, and
some of it seems redundant and needless. Take for
I instance, the romance between Anakin and
â– Amidala. Whoever did not know that pair was
H going to become a hot item should try staying
JUwake during Episode I, but their story is drilled in
ALP regardless.
I Director, screenwriter, and executive producer
George Lucas spent more time weaving the plot and
characters into the massive story that Star Wars is,
than he did in showing how fascinating his comput
ers and animations are, like he did in Episode I.
Much of the depth of this film comes from under
standing the ironies and symbolism projected
throughout the series. Not to worry though, there are
Istill mass quantities of digital drama.
There are many exciting action sequences also.
^Speeder chases, battle scenes, and lightsaber duels
make it satisfying to be a Star Wars fan again.
Overall, the movie has some great parts and
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Artwork Courtesy of Lucas Films
great twists in the story, but it still gets overtaken in
overplayed scenes and excess information.
—Thomas Phillips
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About a Boy
Starring Hugh Grant, Toni Colette
Directed by Chris and Paul Weitz
Universal Pictures
In the words of Jon Bon Jovi, “No man is an
island.” Will Freeman (Grant) has set his life to
prove this saying wrong. An underachiever from
London who lives off the royalties of a Christmas
jingle his father wrote. Will spends his days
watching television, playing pool, chasing
women and surfing the internet; in general, doing
“nothing.” At 38, with no relationship because he
fears commitment and with no accomplishments
to show for in his life. Will is quite content on
being his own island.
After being set up with a single mother. Will
discovers that these emotionally unstable and
commitment wary women are the ideal women
to date, and he poses as a single parent at a sin
gle parent’s support group with the intention of
scoring a date. However, through complications
arising from his charade. Will acquires more
than just a date. He is drawn into the lives of
geeky, 12 year-old Marcus, an oversensitive
outcast at school, played by Nicholas Hoult, and
his hippie mother, Fiona (Colette), who suffers
from depression and has no clue about her son’s
troubled life.
After his mother’s attempted suicide, Marcus
invites himself to Will’s place each day, and Will,
feeling sympathetic for him, reluctantly allows
him in. These afternoon visits soon become more
then just an hour of watching television. Thus, the
story transpires as a relationship forms between
Will and Marcus, showing how they change each
other.
Classified under romantic comedy, this movie
deserves more than its genre gives it credit for. It
is not the generic boy meets girl and falls in love
storyline with some slapstick comedy squeezed in.
Instead, the witty, sarcastic dialogue is interlaced
Photo Courtesy of Universal Pictures
with dramatic moments, which are accompa
nied with comedic relief, that incorporate a bit of
real life into the movie. As in most romantic come
dies, the ending is predictable; however, the turns
and twists within the storyline keep the movie
fresh and engaging for the audience.
Based on a best selling novel by Nick
Hornby, About a Boy is the story about growing
up at any age. Filled with the sentimental lessons
of genuine friendship and true love, the budding
friendship between Will and Marcus captivate
the audience as they teach each other that “no
man is an island.” Along the way, it promises
laughs, not the kind that directors Chris and Paul
Weitz injected in their hit American Pie, but
nonetheless, actors Hugh Grant and Nicholas
Hoult provide humor to this lighthearted comedy
through sporadic lines and events.
For those who feel that the force may not be
with them in Star Wars or any of the other summer
action packed blockbusters or suspense thrillers
for that matter, the warm, quirky story of the
British comedy About a Boy, offers a breath of
fresh air to such audience.
—Lyndsey Sage
r in Chief
Photo Ed®
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Assistant
Editor
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TEXAS A&M
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June 28-30, 2002)
Friday, June 28th, learn about
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