Artist Interviews

Concert Calendar

Wed. Dec. 14, 7 p.m. Thur. Dec. 15, 7 p.m. Pennywise House of Blues Anaheim

Sat. Dec. 17, 7 p.m. Guttermouth El Rey Theatre Los Angeles

Fri. Dec. 23, 7 p.m. The Vandals House of Blues Hollywood

Fri. Dec. 30, 7:30 p.m. Death by Stereo Chain Reaction Anaheim

Fri. Jan. 6, 8 p.m. The Adolescents El Rey Theatre Los Angeles

Fri. Jan. 13, 8 p.m. D.I. Galaxy Theatre Santa Ana

Fri. Jan. 13, 7:30 p.m. Sat. Jan. 14, 7:30 p.m. Slightly Stoopid House of Blues Hollywood

Thur. Jan 19, 8 p.m. G. Love & Special Sauce House of Blues Hollywood

Sat. Jan 21 , 6:30 p.m. Anthrax Avalon Hollywood

Wed. Jan 25, 7:30 p.m. Mon. Jan 30, 7:30 p.m. Social Distortion House of Blues Anaheim

Fri. Jan 27, 8 p.m. T.S.O.L. Galaxy Theatre Santa Ana

Sat. Jan 28, 7 p.m. Dead Kennedys House of Blues Hollywood

Sat. Jan 28, 8 p.m. Matt Costa Troubadour West Hollywood

The 88 talks about touring SoCal

By JORDAN MASTAGNI

Daily Titan Staff

“Two sides to every story, a third man in the shadows, seven lords a leapin,’ a land of a thousand dances, fi fty ways to leave your lover. 88 keys on the piano; 88 constellations in the sky; the infi nity sign; the most auspicious number in China; 88 mph to get back to the future; 88 cities in Los Angeles; a great French Kicks song. Welcome to the world of The 88,” reads the synopsis on the 88’s Web site about how the band claimed its name.

The quintet includes Keith Slettedahl, vocals and guitar; Adam Merrin, piano; Brandon Jay, guitar; Carlos Torres, bass; Anthony Zimmitti, drums.

With the release of the band’s sophomore album, “Over and Over” – which fuses melodies similar to a Bowie record with Blur infl uence – the band has been touring all over the country.

Indie rock bands are now becoming a mainstream presence, and the 88 offers something new with a blend of harmonies and pianos.

No stranger to playing at colleges, the 88 will rock the Pub in the Titan Underground at Cal State Fullerton next semester.

Daily Titan Staff

Singer and songwriter Sarah Bettens soars solo with her new album Scream.

Best known for fronting K’s Choice, Bettens decided to set out on her own and create an al

WWW.THE88.NET The 88 will be playing at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa on Dec. 22

Sarah Bettens solo with ‘Scream’

By KELLI FADROSKI

“We are just trying to play as much as possible now that the album has come out, which still feels really new, and the goal of the band is to play out of Los Angeles as much as we can,” piano player Merrin said.

The 88 employed producer, Ethan Allen (no, not the furniture company), to help with the production of the new album, “Over and Over.”

Ethan “contributed a lot and got a lot of stuff out of us that we couldn’t do ourselves, and when he saw us perform live, he wanted to capture on tape the energy of the band, so we recorded some live songs,” Merrin said.

The new album was recorded at a few locations including the Village, in West Los Angeles, which has also hosted a lot of the 88’s favorite bands.

The 88 also use some selfpromotion tactics by networking through the Web site MySpace.

“We were featured on the front page of MySpace over the summer, and we were getting over 5,000 plays a day,” Merrin said. “It was hard to keep up with it. Ever since then it has snowballed because we are on so many people’s pages that we are getting tons of friend requests every day.”

bum that would take her career back to infancy.

Scream is born into the world with great purpose as Bettens strives to spark a connection with her newfound audience and attempts to evoke thought within her poetic lyrics.

Although she refuses to be pigeon holed into any particular music category, Bettens is aware her music is a little scattered and directly contributes that to the music that has inspired her.

“It’s always diffi cult for me to label myself and it’s diffi cult for labels too,” Bettens said. “I only say it’s pop, rock, alternative and it’s got some folk in it.”

With catchy pop tunes and somber folk songs, Bettens broadens the spectrum and explores her talent throughout the album.

“When I go in and start making a record, I go in and automatically make songs that sound a little more heavy and stuff that’s very intimate,” Bettens said.

Bettens’ band, K’s Choice, has produced many international hits, been awarded gold and platinum records in Europe, and has played gigantic overseas music festivals. Bettens stepped away from the group to fi nd herself in her music and create a piece of art she could take sole responsibility for.

“I think for me it was something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” Bettens said. “I’ve been looking for that excitement and adventure, and I was looking for something new.”

Bettens pays tribute to her musical inspirations as they shine throughout her record.

“I’ve been generally inspired by a lot of singer/songwriters,” Bettens said. “I’m a big Indigo Girls fan, Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin; those are just things I like.”

Scream stirs a melting pot of emotions as the songs fl ow on the album.

Bettens brings listeners to a moment of clarity as her softwhisper vocals dance through the eardrums – her voice alone could bring tears.

“I just want it to be a little bit of a positive emotional journey,” Bettens said. “You look at the record and it makes you feel good, and it makes you think, and it makes you a little sad sometimes, but it makes you feel things. Whether it’s good or bad, it evokes emotion, and just being abele to do that and have people listen to it and say ‘It touched me’ and ‘It’s something that spoke to me,’ that’s kind of what I hope. That’s what I have with records that I love and that I listen to. It’s good to have something special, and I hope people walk away with the feeling that this record really said something.”

Bettens’ music isn’t all mushy and tear jerking, she has ballads that can be empowering and defi - nitely worthy of singing along to at the top of one’s lungs.

Bettens is a serious artist, but seems to have a good sense of humor and a new lease on life since the release of Scream.

“Most people in my life have a huge sense of sarcasm,” Bettens said. “I think they would say that I love life a lot. I live it to the fullest, and I don’t do things halfway. I have a lot of love and friendship to give. I’m in a good place, and I’m very happy to share it.”