Dogs Die in Hot Cars: an interview

CHRISTINE ERNEST A&E EDITOR

CHRISTINE ERNEST@GMAIL COM

Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, Dogs Die in Hot Cars delivered their quirky, Britpop to the Theater of the Living Arts on Fri, Apr 1. They currently have an album in the United States released on V2 Records entitled “Please Describe Yourself.”

Vocalist/ guitarist Craig Macintosh and bassist Lee Worrall found time before their show to sit down and share their thoughts on their current tour, why they shouldn’t be compared to XTC and their thoughts of Y-100 flipping formats.

A lot of your songs like “Celebrity Sanctum” or “Paul Newman’s Eyes” are about American celebrities as opposed to British celebrities or Scottish celebrities. Was that conscience orjust because?

CRAIG: “I think if Paul Newman happened to be Scottish, then it would still [be about] Paul Newman.”

LEE: “I mean Sean Connery’s eyes just doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

To me you are reminiscent of XTC.

CRAIG:“Don’t mention XTC.”

That’s my next question, are you tired of hearing that?

CRAIG: “XTC is a great band, but we’re not interested in fol- lowing them or doing what they did...We want to do what excites us. And what turns us on is people. We’re into now; we’re into being contemporary as possible. We want to be fresh and we want to be exciting. And I know there are similarities. The first time I heard about XTC was when someone said ‘You sound really like Andy Partridge’ [lead singer of XTC] and I was like ‘oh, I’m going to get some of his stuff and find out.’ And I was like ‘f—k, I totally do sound like Andy Partridge.’”

I was reading that you listed your influences as Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Can you explain that, because you guys sound nothing like them to me.

CRAIG: “I don’t think the sound of music is defined by what you listen to. I don’t believe that. I think it’s about your character. It’s about the type of people you maybe like to hang out with. The kinds of places you like to visit. The things you like to do in your spare time. You know, the comedy programs you like. The comedy programs you don’t like. The things that f—k you off. I mean a lot of the way we sound was created as a reaction against the music that we were hearing day in and day out, on the radio and at friend’s houses...We wanted to make something vibrant and exciting. And also lyrically, something interest- ing. It’s not just about the music in a positive inspirational way, but also as the opposite of that as the things that grate up against you.”

Afew weeks ago, the big alternative station in Philadelphia closed.

CRAIG: “Is this Y-100? We met with Jim McGuinn. [Former station manager of Y-100.] We were speaking to him today and he said they’re online now…I was reading in Rolling Stone and it was saying how the big radio stations are selling off to R&B and Hispanic stations, and because that’s where they’re making their money. So all these alternative stations are disappearing. But what’s happening is there’s this emergence of Internet stations. And I think it’s just a sign of the times just as much as any part of the music industry It’s moving into that media. I find it quite exciting. It’s just a bit messy just now, starting out, but I think in time it will be for the best.”

ERNEST/ A&E EDITOR Craig Macintosh,singer/guitarist,and

JILLIAN MILAM FEATURES EDITOR JGM726@CABRINI EDU

While Dr. Joseph Romano, professor of philosophy, holds the title of being the teacher at Cabrini the longest, Mr. Jeffrey Gingerich serves as the newest member of the faculty here.

“The BIG difference is that every year the freshmen are the same age and I am always one year older,” Dr. Joseph Romano, professor of philosophy, said with a chuckle. “They’re the constant and I’m the variable!”

Romano has been teaching at Cabrini College since fall of 1960. “I had the first graduating class, first group of seniors,” he said. “They were good students…I remember almost every student I had.”

However, he was not always a professor of philosophy here. Through the years, his titles have changed but the “most signif icant” change occurred in 1979.

He left the faculty department and ventured to administration. Vice president of academic affairs, to be exact. He maintained this position until 1988 and underwent many challenges, many of which were very different than those of teaching.

“I had to make lots of deci- sions…I helped create the core cur riculum, the very first masters degree in education here and the first computer science major,” Romano said. “And I hired John Dzik who revamped the entire athletic department.”

“I take pride in those nine years,” Romano said. “I had two main rules – never take credit for anything. Find the person that really deserves it. And always be ready to take the blame when the president or the board of trustees is sore with something.”

Romano has accomplished many things in his career.

However, one highlight includes being granted a leave for Cabrini when he received a visiting professorship that involved him teaching at one of the oldest Catholic Universities in Europe, Louvain in Belgium. “My family and I lived there for a while, it was cool,” he said.

In regards to all of the plans for expansion and construction on Cabrini’s campus, Romano expressed that it’s nothing too new here. “There’s always been growth here, we’re always expanding,” he said. “But buildings don’t make communities, people do. As long as we can maintain the personality of Cabrini, it doesn’t matter how many buildings we have. Facilities are necessary conditions for a college…the good people are the cause of a successful college.”

On the other side of the spectrum, Mr. Jeffery Gingerich, associate professor of sociology, began his journey here merely three months ago in January. “Coming here in the middle of the school year has its challenges, but it’s nice in some ways,” Gingerich said. “It’s nice to just jump into the swing of things…so far so good!”

After attending the University of Pennsylvania, he worked for five years at Bluffton University in Ohio before coming to Cabrini. “I’ve been interested in the direct work of helping people…and trying to answer the questions, ‘why are people in poverty or crime?’”

Gingerich has many things on his agenda for the future, such as getting to know the students, work with them and try “not to be the person who just hands them a paper every now and then.”

He is making endeavors of improving the sociology department and is in the midst of revisions for the curriculum. “The sociology department is wonderful to work with. At big universities, it’s hard because you can get lost in the department,” he said. “My role is to look at the criminal justice aspects, you know, we don’t want to just spit out people to catch bad guys…we want them to understand why [crime] happens and what the effects are. Then try to prevent it,” Gingerich said.

As he gets acquainted with Cabrini, the sociology department should see positive alterations as he tries to “make the program strong” and prompt the students to, “make applications to the real world.”