The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 23, 2015, Image 4

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    LIFE & ARTS
The Battalion I 4.23.15
4
Grand Stafford Theater packs five bands
into one weekend of music
Thursday: Three bands will play at the Grand Stafford Theater starting at 8 p.m. Doors open
at 7 p.m. and tickets are $5.
m
m' j
Daniel Gonzales: "We
have a singer-songwriter
background, but with
the full band we also get
to pull from everyone
else's background, which
includes Jazz, Blues, Rock
and Gospel. A little bit of
everything gives us a really
diverse and original sound.
And what inspires me to
make music is definitely
family and close friends.
Their support has meant the
world to me."
Canvas People (Wes Maxwell, lead guitarist): "As
for what kind of emotions we want to evoke in
people when they listen to our music or watch
us play, we want to emulate an honest genuine
sense of excitement and elation."
Reminiscent of classic
Rock n' Roll, Carson
Brock and The Effect
takes their guitar-based
sound to a whole new
level with a jazz and
funk-influenced twist.
Loyal to the vinyl days,
Brock, lead guitar and
vocals, grew up listening
to Led Zeppelin and
Jimi Hendrix, a source
of inspiration clearly
reflected in the band's
music.
Sunday: Two bands will play at the Grand Stafford Theater starting at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m.
and tickets are $12.
Andrew Ripp started off as a songwriter for
artists such as Ryan Cabrera. Ripp has recently
moved into his own career as a songwriter,
musician and artist. His music focuses on the
catchiness of the pop genre while mixing in
elements of soul culture.
Votary (Jack Thweatt): "We first formed as a
singer-songwriter/pop band at Texas A&M. Votary
strives to write songs that are relatable and
catchy. We hope the first time someone hears
one of our songs that they can immediately identify a
time in their life that they have felt the same way."
Information compiled by Katie Canales. Photos provided.
ORGANIZATIONS
Israeli support
finds home at
Texas A&M
New pro-Israel group
holds first fair
By Kylee Reid
Aggie Students Sup
porting Israel, ASSI,
will host its “Israel Fair”
on Thursday in an efFort
to teach the Texas A&M
community about the cul
ture and politics of Israel.
Jonathan Rahmani, se
nior kinesiology major and
ASSI chief of staff, said
the event’s main goal is to
break the stereotypes and
common misconceptions
people have about Israel,
and to better open people’s
eyes to what Israel has to
offer.
“The majority of stu
dents on campus are pretty
apathetic about things when
it comes to the Middle East,
specifically with regards
to Israel,” Rahmani said.
“Our goal is to let people
know the cool things about
Israel, such as how mod
ern it is with regards to
anything from LGBT and
equality to its innovative
and technological ideas.”
Rahmani said there will
be 10 tables stocked with
different snacks, activities
and information on varying
topics.
“Topics will be any
where from talking about
Israeli innovation and sus
tainability in Agriculture to
Israeli politics and how it
relates to U.S. politics, and
how to get involved with
the political agenda in re
gards to Israeli-American
affairs,” Rahmani said.
Rahmani, who visited
Israel during winter break
with a group of 10 A&M
students, said his experienc
es on the trip as well as his
personal family ties make
him passionate about teach
ing others about Israel.
“It’s a very, very cool
place.” Rahmani said.
“They took a desert and
turned it into a metropolis
and a thriving country, and
the fact that they were able
to do that in less than 60
years is just incredible. ”
Founded this past fall,
ASSI has worked closely
with Hillel over the past
couple semesters.
Emily Schneider, senior
agriculture communica
tion and journalism major
and Hillel VP of Israel pro
gramming, said the event
will partly serve as ASSI’s
“coming out” event as its
own separate organization.
“Aggies Students Sup
porting Israel are really us
ing this event to get their
name out to students on
campus,” Schneider said.
“They are really transition
ing from almost being a
sub .organization of Hillel
to now being an entirely
separate organization alto
gether.”
Schneider, who also
went to Israel over winter
break, said her experiences
had a strong impact on how
she looked at her own life
in the United States.
“We are in such a
bubble,” Schneider said.
“There are bombings left
and right — we would not
be able to fathom if that
was our life. If there were a
bomb threat here or a Code
Maroon, we would all freak
out. That’s their everyday
life.”
The event will be from
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday
in Rudder Plaza.
SMITH CONTINUED
to raise awareness and morale and
patriotism. And we also raise money for
an organization called Boot Campaign,
which gives back to soldiers returning
home and reentering civilian lifestyle.
THE BATTALION: From the perspec
tive of someone in the country music
world, are you met with any kind of
animosity from people who don't
understand the Aggie family and its
culture?
SMITH: That's kind of interesting
because we tour so much, and for
instance, today we're in Indiana and we
played there last night and we'll usually
get to take a tour of their facility and
campus. So yesterday we took a tour
of Notre Dame and went through all
the football facilities. I always will bring
up — because I always have my ring on
— I always bring up that I went to Texas
A&M. I don't know if it's shocking, but
it's mildly surprising that everyone holds
A&M to a pretty high regard. In the uni
versity levels, if you're in the faculty or
in the athletics facility at all, if you're an
equipment manager or an athlete or one
of the coaches, everyone holds A&M
very high. Like yesterday, when I told
the guy at Notre Dame I went to A&M,
he was like, "Oh, my gosh, we took
a tour there," — and this is the equip
ment manager saying this, — "We took
a tour there last summer to take some
notes on how we can be better at Notre
Dame." And he said that those facilities
were amazing at A&M and everyone
was so nice and, "Tell so-and-so I said
hey if you ever talk to him." And so
that's a lot of what I get. And I always
try to show respect to other schools that
we go to. And so they'll give me hats
and so a lot of times I'll put one of their
caps on and we'll take pictures, but I'll
always have my ring on.
THE BATTALION: How has being an
Aggie impacted you as a musician
and as a person in general?
SMITH: As much as I don't like College
Station, that's not what it's really about
to me, it's about the fans that I have.
Because when I go there, I could pack a
house. That's not what it really is. It's a
lifestyle. And, you know, my dad went
there. When I wear my ring, I look at my
hand and that's my dad's hand and he's
not with us anymore. That's something
that's huge to me. And my brother goes
there, he's in the Corps there, just like I
was. He was the mascot corporal a cou
ple years ago and had Reveille, so that's
a big part of our family. And so we're
close to her. And then my mom grew
up in College Station, my grandmother
still lives there, I have two uncles that
live here and so not only is A&M home,
but College Station is, in a lot of ways,
considered a home to me.
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