03.27.13 Issue 246
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attn: High School Seniors
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contents
03.28-04.03
meet the team PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Chris Shepperd MANAGING EDITOR Chris Zebo CREATIVE DIRECTOR Brittany Hicks BUSINESS MANAGER Leisha Shepperd ACCOUNT MANAGERS Greg Keith Cody Trimble WRITERS
Luke Murray Brandon Nowalk Amanda L. Reynolds PHOTOGRAPHERS Alana Gonzalez Brittany Hicks Amantha Hons Chelsea Powers CONTRIBUTORS KISS 103.1 KORA 98.3
Essentials:
Listen Play Think Best Bets Look
6 12 14 16 26
INTERNS Amy Bauerschlag Derek Favini Alana Gonzalez Amantha Hons Roberto Molar Chelsea Powers Rebekah Skinner
Cover story:
14
From Dogg Pound to Lion Den: Snoop’s Reincarnated Ain’t Nuthin’ but a Jah Thang
Maroon Weekly is an independent, student-operated publication and is not affiliated with Texas A&M University. Maroon Weekly receives no student fees or university funding.
On the Cover:
Listen 11 - Spring Breakers
The hip hop icon talks reggae reincarnation.
DISTRIBUTION Chris Frank Caleb Holt
isn’t just making a splash in theaters. The new blockbuster soundtrack features today’s top artists.
Think 20 - Indie comedians
launch JASH, a new YouTube channel that guarantees laughs and creative autonomy.
Look 26 - Brandon offers
his musings this week on Admission.
Opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the editor, publisher or the newspaper staff. Maroon Weekly is not liable for omissions, misprints to typographical errors. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express consent of the publisher. Maroon Weekly 216 W. 26th Street ste 29 Bryan, Texas 77803 ph: 979.574.3200 | @maroonweekly © Copyright 2013 Campus Press LP 1st copy is FREE, additional copies are $0.50 each
Calendar
THURSDAY, MARCH 28 MSC Town Hall’s Coffeehouse Series Presents Dinner and a Suit @ MSC Basement Come out to see Nashville’s pop-rock trio, Dinner and a Suit, perform for free in the MSC basement. Since emerging in 2009, Dinner And A Suit quickly captured attention with a captivating blend of ethereal rock and distinguished pop – leading them to critical acclaim and a dedicated global fanbase. The show will be opened with an open mic by student performers. March 28, 2013 7:00 PM FREE Shinyribs w/ Ben Morris and the Great American Boxcar Chorus @ Grand Stafford Theater After 18 years of performing as part of the Austin-based band the Gourds, Russel took the reins of his musical future and fronted Shinyribs. After much critical acclaim, Shinyribs has found its footing in Russel’s new arrangement. Ben Morris & the Great American Boxcar Chorus, country, alt-rockers from College Station, may be local but they are anything but ordinary. 106 S Main St, Bryan March 28, 2013 8:00 PM $5 Spazmatics @ Lakeside Icehouse
Austin-based 80s style and, Spazmatics, will transport you back in time at Lake Bryan. The performance will be the perfect accompaniment to a cool spring evening as the sun sets. 8200 Sandy Point Rd., Bryan March 28, 2013 8:00 PM $10 FRIDAY, MARCH 29 Lincoln Recreation Center Annual Easter Egg Hunt @ Lincoln Recreation Center The Lincoln Recreation Center (1000 Eleanor St.), in collaboration with Zeta Phi Beta Sorority of Texas A&M University, will host its Annual Easter Egg Hunt on Friday, March 29 from 1-3pm. This free event will include face painting, food, games, music and more. The egg hunt is open to all children ages 10 and under. 1000 Eleanor St, College Station March 29, 2013 1:00 PM FREE Homebrew Live feat. Hindsight w/ Hounds of Jezebel, Brothers N Arms & Critical Misfire @ Grand Stafford Theater Hindsight took shape at the turn of the millennium as a heavy-hitting hard rock group. They’ll headline the Stafford’s Homebrew Live evening and be joined by Hounds of Jezebel, a group of seasoned shredders with undeniable
chemistry and energizing stage presence. Getting the crowd warmed up, two bands from the Brazos, Brothers N Arms and Critical Misfire. 106 S Main St, Bryan March 29, 2013 8:00 PM $5 SATURDAY, MARCH 30 Salsa Saturdays @ Village Cafe Voted Best Night of Dancing (2011 & 2012), Salsa Saturdays starts with a fun, “30-Minute Crash Course Salsa Lesson” at 10pm followed by a hot night of dancing. Come prepared to sweat and to meet new people at this Aggie hot spot! Visit www.mambosentertainment. com/salsasaturdays.html for more details. 210 W 26th st, Bryan March 30, 2013 10:00 PM Cost: $5 Johnny Falstaff @ The Beer Joint Johnny Falstaff, the ”Honky Tonkin’ Daddy”, was born in the south Texas town of Alice, currently living just south of Houston. He’s been shoutin’ the honky tonk gospel, no bar to far, no hall to small! 12550 State Hwy 30, College Station March 30, 2013 9:00 PM $7 St. Cloud CD Release Show w/ Elijah Ford and the Bloom & Kristy Krueger @ Grand Stafford Theater St. Cloud can take genres like indie or alt country and merge them in ways that appeal both to hillbillies and hipsters. With roots buried deep in rock ‘n’ roll terra firma, Elijah has two record releases under his belt. Opening the show is Kristy Krueger, a local favorite once performer laureate at Revolution Cafe and Bar. 106 S Main St, Bryan March 30, 2013 8:00 PM $5 MONDAY, APRIL 1 Trivia Night @ Revolution Cafe and Bar Monday nights are pretty boring; it’s too early in the week to party and too early in the week to study. What if you could spend a Monday night with a drink in your hand and “study” at the same time without feeling like you’re partying or doing your homework? Every Monday night, Revolution Cafe hosts Trivia Night from 9pm till just before midnight. 211B S Main St, Bryan. April 1, 2013 9:00 PM
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TUESDAY, APRIL 2 Breakaway @ Reed Arena Non-denominational Breakaway Ministries’ events have already set a record for attendance, and Tuesday’s assembly of worship, inspiration and entertainment will surely set yet another one. For more details check Breakaway Ministries Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/breakawayministries April 2, 2013 9:00 PM FREE Texas Country Tuesday @ Ozona Drink and menu specials and live entertainment provided by 98.3 KORA. Who knows–you might even dance! 520 Harvey Road , College Station April 2, 2013 7:00 PM
03.27.13 | maroonweekly.com | pg 5
Exclusive Interview: Crain Coffey by Amy Bauerschlag
photos by Brittany Hicks
Crain Coffey has broken out of a small town and embraced a somewhat larger one—Bryan/College Station—a region where his acoustic country music has had more room to be breath and be appreciated. Maroon Weekly got to chat with Coffey about his songwriting technique, what it’s like to perform in BCS, and what inspires him to keep writing and performing. MW: What was it like growing up in Fort Davis, TX? What’s the country music scene like there? Coffey: Ft. Davis was a great place to grow up, but like anybody from a small town could tell you, you pretty much had to create your own fun. It’s a pretty touristy town, so when we weren’t busy stirring up trouble, there was always good people keeping us kids entertained. Being pretty secluded that far out in west Texas keeps you kind of out of the loop on the new and upcoming musicians of the world. There wasn’t much of a country music scene. The only time I ever got to perform was for 4th of July and Labor Day street dances. I played in surrounding areas and also performed at the Gallery Night in Alpine, TX. MW: What’s your favorite part of playing in College Station?
LISTEN
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Coffey: The atmosphere and the audience. I have a pretty supportive group of friends that come to shows, so I always have a good time. It’s always fun to see what kind of new fans I get. MW: How did you learn to play guitar? And how long did it take you to become proficient? Coffey: Before my brother went to college, he tried really hard to get me to play the guitar, but I was never patient
enough to sit still and learn. I was about eight or nine at that time. I was ten when he went to college and, for whatever reason, I decided to pick up my Dad’s old guitar and teach myself. My Dad also had an old guitar chord book that had a bunch of pictures of chords in it, and I learned three chords the first day and have never stopped working to pick up new things. I think “proficient” is a weird term for musicians because we’re always striving to be better and to learn new things that will make playing more fun. I’d say it took me about two years to feel comfortable playing in front of people. As I said before, I learned three chords the first day I picked up a guitar but spent a lot of time learning to transition and move my fingers before I was able to learn any more. MW: How often do you and your brother, Ross, play together? Coffey: Every chance we can. We’re constantly bouncing ideas, melodies, tunes, and songs off of each other. We’re nine years apart, so we don’t see each other that often. But I’d say we perform together at least once a year, in the summer usually. He actually came up to one of my shows at Schotzis a couple of weeks ago and he did a kind of an opening for me before we played some songs together; and I then, later, performed solo. MW: What is it that makes seeing live music so special? What do you hope the audience takes away from one of your performances? Coffey: I think the biggest part of live music is seeing the connection the artist makes with the audience. I’m big on songwriting, so if I can take one person out of the audience and have them leave feeling a sense of connection with at least one song that was played, my job is done. I write a lot of serious, metaphorical songs, but more recently I’ve been working on songs that are fun to perform for a crowd. I think one of the most fulfilling emotions I’ve ever had was not that long ago, when I could hear them singing my own song back to me.
MW: What made you decide to start performing live? Coffey: I actually had never performed in front of anyone besides my family until I came to visit my brother and sister at A&M; Ross made me play with him at Schotzis, when I was 14. Thanks to word of mouth, I got fairly well known around far west Texas for my playing and singing, and as a result of being the local kid, I got asked to open for bands at the street dances. And I just had so much fun with it that I decided to stick with it. When I came to College Station, school kinda took over and I put music on the back burner for a while. In the last few months, I’ve had such a great time performing again that it’s really reminded me how much I love doing it. Music and performing is a great way to relieve stress after a long week at A&M—classes beating the hell out you. And now I’m constantly looking for local opportunities to play whenever I can. MW: Where do you see yourself and your music in the next five years? Coffey: Oh geez, I hate this question. I honestly can’t tell you the answer. Music is a tough business to get into, and it’s a lot about being in the right place at the right time. I’m on that five-year plan at A&M, so I’ll be around for at least another year or so – Lord willing, I graduate. I’m an “aspiring musician” in college because I’m a realist. My goal after graduation is to find work around San Antonio or Austin, playing when and wherever I can. It’d be great to stumble upon some huge record deal, but we’ll see where this life takes me. MW: Any advice for people who are trying to make their way into the local music scene? Coffey: I would say just get out there and play all you can. Don’t be afraid to go play somewhere for free, because those are often the gigs that are the most memorable.
That’s what he said I think the biggest part of live music is seeing the connection the artist makes with the audience. I’m big on songwriting, so if I can take one person out of the audience and have them leave feeling a sense of connection with at least one song that was played, my job is done.
03.27.13 | maroonweekly.com | pg 7
Walden Chamber Players @ Rudder Theatre by Roberto Molar
where: Rudder Theatre when: Wed. April 3 7:30 p.m. tickets: $10/$5 students
LISTEN
pg 8 | maroonweekly.com | 03.27.13
Once in a while, the homespun Texas country music universe of BCS is punctuated by music which extends our ears beyond the Lone Star sound. The Walden Chamber Players, founded in Boston in 1997, will delight audiences with some of the most exciting and versatile sounds of today’s chamber music. Their dynamic and cheerful performances aim to engage timid audiences with classical music, and they’ve inspired adulation in the public and from critics. Walden is one of the most sought-after chamber ensembles in America: their performances not only delight but also transmit the importance of music as integral to a richly engaged civic life. This commitment to music is why members of the Players also serve as lecturers in some of the country’s premier music teaching institutions, such as the New England Conservatory of Music, the University of Michigan, Boston University, the Longy School of Music, and the Boston Conservatory. Walden is comprised of twelve festival-leading soloists that together produce vibrant melodies with strings, piano, and woodwinds. Eclectic programming is their hallmark. Their music, a new concept on classical, draws from rich sources, blending classical and contemporary pieces together into one seamless production. What’s more, their concerts often feature dialogues with the audience to foster connections between their music and society at large, emphasizing a philosophy that insists music is the human experience translated into sound. Walden Chamber Players will perform next week on April 3 at 7:30pm in Texas A&M’s Rudder Theatre. Tickets for the concert are available online at the MSC Box Office website at boxoffice.tamu.edu/events.html.
MARCH 28
Grand Stafford Theater’s Weekend Lineup Ready to Rock Once Again by Luke
MARCH 29
Murray
The Stafford is known around country, indie rock, and folk into an authentic soundscape that the Brazos for showcasing talent takes audiences on aural detours into uncharted territories. drenched in local flavor; but this MARCH 29 - HOMEBREW LIVE FEATURING weekend, they’re casting their HINDSIGHT W/ HOUNDS OF JEZEBEL, BROTHERS nets outside of the Valley. Last N ARMS & CRITICAL MISFIRE week’s sold-out Ben Rector concert set a Hindsight took shape at the turn of the millennium as forward momentum for the new venue, and a heavy-hitting hard rock group. They’ll headline the Stafford’s Homebrew Live evening and be joined by Hounds this week’s roster is just as exciting and of Jezebel, a group of seasoned shredders with undeniable enticing. chemistry and energizing stage presence.
MARCH 28 - SHINYRIBS (KEVIN RUSSELL FROM THE GOURDS) W/ BEN MORRIS AND THE GREAT Getting the crowd warmed up, two bands from the Brazos— Brothers N Arms and Critical Misfire—have emerged from small AMERICAN BOXCAR CHORUS Kevin Russel, the prolific singer and songwriter from The Gourds, will perform as a self-produced project that he’s named…wait for it…Shinyribs. After 18 years of performing as part of the Austin-based band the Gourds, Russel took the reins of his musical future and fronted Shinyribs. After much critical acclaim, Shinyribs has found its footing in Russel’s new arrangement. Ben Morris & the Great American Boxcar Chorus may be local but they are anything but ordinary. They’ve zig-zagged across the state as much as they’ve crossed over genres, mixing
town roots and take whimsical forays into heavy rock and grunge. Local has never sounded so far way and yet so close to home.
MARCH 30 - ST. CLOUD CD RELEASE SHOW W/ ELIJAH FORD AND THE BLOOM & KRISTY KRUEGER St. Cloud can take genres like indie or alt country and merge them in ways that appeal both to hillbillies and hipsters. Formed out of the musical partnership of Brian Beken and Shane Walker, the two have chosen the Stafford as a stop on their latest CD release tour.
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MARCH 30
Elijah Ford, the son of former Black Crowes guitarist, Marc Ford, made his way from California to Austin. On the journey from the golden coast, Ford found inspiration from his old man and yet clinched a sound all his own. With roots buried deep in rock ‘n’ roll terra firma, Elijah has two record releases under his belt. Opening the show is Kristy Krueger, a local favorite once performer laureate at Revolution Cafe and Bar. Her folk music has Texas roots that blend classical and jazz, but Krueger has her own word for her genre: “Ameritronica.” How’s that for a portmanteau? visit grandstaffordtheater.com for showtimes and ticketing
Album Reviews By Amy Bauerschlag
Various Artists
“Spring Breakers OST ” Released March 22, 2013
Arguably the most shocking “spring break” movie ever to play in theaters, and probably a guaranteed blockbuster (due to famous faces such as Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, James Franco, and Vanessa Hudgens) Spring Breakers was released to theaters nationwide this past Friday. Written and directed by cult film director Harmony Korine, the film’s neon-lit scenes and drug-induced imagery are backed by dubstep hit-maker Skrillex (who shares the film score credit with Cliff Martinez, who scored Drive). Skrillex’ “Scary Monsters
and Nice Sprites” graces the film’s opening credits and sets the tone, but other songs—ones that don’t pair so neatly with dubstep—also make the cut, such as Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” and “Everytime”, which accompanies a shotgun-ballet sequence. Spring Breakers’ soundtrack perfectly stitches together electronic music, pop ballads, and dirty hip-hop (from Waka Flocka Flame and the antagonist of the film, Gucci Mane) in a fashion that’s equivalent to seeing Korine’s disjunctive, pop masterpiece with you ears.
Devendra Banhart “Mala” Released March 12, 2013
Phosphorescent “Muchacho” Released March 18, 2013
Chelsea Light Moving “Chelsea Light Moving” Released March 5, 2013
Hey Marseilles “Lines We Trace” Released March. 5, 2013
One of freak-folk’s poster children, Houston-born Devendra Banhart has released his eighth studio album, Mala, with elements of unconventional tendencies combined with a murky-yet-soothing production.
Athens, Georgia based indie-folk-rock artist Matthew Houck, who performs under the moniker Phosphorescent, has produced a meticulously-layered, warm, beautiful record in Muchacho. Like his other productions, Houck’s voice feels like an ancient drunken old man mustering poetry, every word softly exiting his mouth yet provocatively entering your ears. Layers of electric guitars, strings, slow drums and steady bass are present on the album’s key track, “Song For Zula,” but really the entire album delivers multiple facets of Houck’s personality and ability to evade himself just when you get to know him.
Front man of Sonic Youth and one of America’s most legendary noise rockers, Thurston Moore is now at the helm of a new project: Chelsea Light Moving. The four-piece’s debut is full of loud dissonance with throwbacks to 80s’ hardcore and punk while maintaining a fresh take on the old. The new project in Moore’s career pushes itself away from the Sonic Youth trapping we might expect. It gives listeners a fun, louder, almost metal, insight to what Moore and company are capable of outside the grunge era that birthed them.
Seattle-based chamber folk-pop group, Hey Marseilles, released their sophomore album early this month, a record complete with cello, piano, guitar, accordion, trumpet, viola, percussion and lead singer Matt Bishop (who bears an uncanny vocal resemblance to Ben Gibbard). Hey Marseilles has created a musical atmosphere in this record that’s of a caliber of The Decemberists, The Lumineers, or Death Cab—bands that entered the mainstream without sacrificing their experimentalism. Lines We Trace is an easy album to like and shows that Hey Marseilles could be one band with the potential to get big overnight—maybe even with this release.
Banhart has perfected his songwriting in the latest release, with high-culture metaphors and intelligent themes. The album is multifaceted, to say the least—just as Banhart has proven to be throughout his career. This quieter album is another preason for fans to fall for him once again.
03.27.13 | maroonweekly.com | pg 11
Egg the City @ Veterans Park by Derek Favini
Everyone has their favorite holiday ritual. Maybe it’s lighting the Christmas tree, kissing someone when the ball drops, or falling asleep after Thanksgiving dinner. With Easter right around the corner, people are already looking forward to Sunday morning church service, showing off their new spring clothes, or spending time with family and friends for a mid-day brunch. However, for children, Easter means something else to look forward to: Easter egg hunts! Few things bring as much delight to a child as gazing into a field dotted with neon colored eggs all ripe for the picking. And who can blame them?
where: Veterans Park when: Saturday, March 30 10 a.m.
PLAY
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Conversely, parents might not share the same feelings as their children when it comes to Easter egg hunts. There’s so much planning and preparation entailed. Fortunately, the Connecting Point Church and their Easter event, Egg the City, is taking care of all the work this year. Though Egg the City is not the only Easter egg hunt going on this week in College Station, it’s shaping up to be one of the largest egg hunts this year. With over 50,000 Easter eggs scattered across Veterans Park, located off Harvey Rd, the event is large enough to leave every child’s Easter basket overflowing. But the fun doesn’t stop there; in addition to the hunt, Connecting Point Church is also providing inflatable jumpy jumps as well as pony rides for kids! The fun begins March 30 from 10am until 12pm, and—best of all—the fun day in the park is entirely free, thanks to the generosity of Connecting Point Church.
From Dogg Pound to Lion Den: Snoop’s Reincarnated Ain’t Nuthin’ but a Jah Thang by Chris Zebo
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. is Snoop Dogg. Well...he used to be—until his re-christening last summer. Now he’s Snoop Lion. If you still haven’t gotten used to the new moniker, you’re not alone. Critics remain baffled, fans puzzled and divided. Twenty years after the hip-hop Doggfather released Doggystyle, a record that clinched #1 on the Billboard 200 and sold nearly one million copies in seven days, Snoop Dogg is a whole new animal. It was on Doggystyle that Snoop asked the seminal question, “What’s my name?” It’s in Reincarnated, a documentary that chronicles Snoop’s transmogrification from canine to feline, that we get a much different answer. The film, which had its US premier at SXSW last week, followed the 41-yearold artist for close to a month as he recorded the soon-to-be-released reggae album of the same name. Andy Capper, world editor of VICE Magazine, directed the documentary, an opportunity, he says, that fell into his lap. “Snoop was a fan of our movies, like Vice Guide to Liberia and Heavy Metal in Baghdad,” Capper told us at the premier. “His team came to us and said, ‘Yo, do you wanna come and film the making of this new album?’ And I took that as an opportunity—because I had him trapped for three weeks, he couldn’t get away—to get his life story as well, to make that an integral part of the movie.”
“
Capper captures Snoop in rare form, in intimate recording sessions at a posh oceanfront studio in Jamaica (where the album was produced by Diplo) to a mosquito-ridden locale deep in Jamaica’s interior, where Snoop meets reggae legend Bunny Wailer and undergoes his reincarnation. It’s in the latter segment where we learn, in Rastafarian culture, a dog is the lowest rung on the Rasta ladder. A lion, on the contrary, is of the highest caste; and Wailer believes Dogg is worthy of lionization. It’s Wailer, regarded as an unofficial high priest of Rastafarianism, who baptizes the Dogg a Lion during a religious ceremony bathed in ganja smoke. Asked if he was spiritual before Reincarnated, Lion responded he was. However, he stipulated that his current flirtations with Rastafarianism aren’t to genuflect before Jah. “To me, I embrace the livity of it, you know what I’m sayin’? Not the religion of it; the livity, the way of life.” The term “livity”is a Rastafarian term that denotes a form of Jamaican transcendentalism, an energy or life-force that flows through all living things. “My focus on life is to do what’s right. I don’t follow no man or no rules; I follow what’s right in my heart.” In the documentary, Snoop makes a pilgrimage to Tuff Gong studios, the reggae recording mecca where Bob Marley waxed early versions
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of “No Woman, No Cry” and “Stir It Up.” Snoop had always been a fan of reggae royalty, such as Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, and Wailer. But as much as the studio visit sets a cornerstone of his spiritual foundation, it’s a visit to Tivoli Gardens in West Kingston where we witness the real seeds of his transformation get roots. It’s in Tivoli Gardens, a squalid, dilapidated tenement town, where Lion meets the Jamaican equivalents of his youth in the hood. He connects with aspiring musicians who resemble himself over 20 years ago, who are trying to spur their careers but are beleaguered by poverty and crime. It’s in the Jamaican ghetto where he, coincidentally, discovers his holy land. Reincarnated may be smoked in hagiography, but there are tender moments in the film’s 96 minutes where we see a softer side of Snoop previously undocumented. For Capper, getting the Dogg to sit, stand, and roll over wasn’t easy. At first, he reflected, it was difficult “getting him to trust me, getting him to open up emotionally, getting him to stand on a rooftop in a gnarly part of Jamaica, go down a mountain, go in the water in a raft. We took him out of his comfort zone. I don’t think he appreciated that at first; I know he didn’t. But as we got to know each other, he did, I think.” Reincarnated, the film, was released in select markets March 21, while the companion album will be released April 23. The reggae fusion debut is represented by a collective of labels; Berhane Sound System, Mad Decent, Vice, and RCA. It also hosts a kaleidoscope of today’s
top performers, many of whom are outside the reggae realm. Guest performers include Miley Cyrus, Busta Rhymes, Chris Brown, Drake, Akon, Popcaan, and Rita Ora, among others. Asked whether his conversion to reggae was permanent, Snoop told us hip hop was only on the sidelines as he explored his re-awakening. “I didn’t leave it for good. I’m on a journey right now. You can ‘t be in two places at one time. I’m in reggaeland right now; I love that. At the same time, my heart is always connected to hip hop.” Snoop said new hip hop is currently in the works and always will be. “We’re working on a new Dogg Pound album right now. I’m always gonna do hip hop. I’m just sayin’, in the meantime, in-between time, I’m on this real kick right now. And this kick is, you know, reggae and peace and love and projecting the right energy for the music that I make.” Whether fans embrace Snoop as a lion is yet to be seen, but the artist is no stranger to trying on new hats (DJ Snoopadelic, porn producer, emcee for WrestleMania). He’s a capricious, shape-shifting animal. But to set the record straight, a DNA test revealed a few years ago that Snoop was neither Dogg nor Lion: he is, in fact, 71% of African descent, 6% European, and 23% Native American. Don’t be surprised if he takes the mic at your next pow wow.
“You can’t be in two places at one time. I’m in reggaeland right now; I love that. At the same time, my heart is always connected to hip hop” -Snoop Lion
03.27.13 | maroonweekly.com | pg 15
MW’s Best Bets | THE MUST-SEE, MUST-DO EVENTS OF THE WEEK
Shinyribs
@ Grand Stafford Theater where: when: tickets:
Grand Stafford Theater Thursday, March 28 grandstaffordtheater.com
Kevin Russel, the prolific singer and songwriter from The Gourds, will perform as a self-produced project that he’s named…wait for it…Shinyribs. After 18 years of performing as part of the Austin-based band the Gourds, Russel took the reins of his musical future and fronted Shinyribs. After much critical acclaim, Shinyribs has found its footing in Russel’s new arrangement. Ben Morris & the Great American Boxcar Chorus may be local but they are anything but ordinary. They’ve zig-zagged across the state as much as they’ve crossed over genres, mixing country, indie rock, and folk into an authentic soundscape that takes audiences on aural detours into uncharted territories.
pg 16 | maroonweekly.com | 02.27.13
Egg The City
@ Veterans Park where: Veterans Park when: Saturday March 30 10 a.m.
Though Egg the City is not the only Easter egg hunt going on this week in College Station, it’s shaping up to be one of the largest egg hunts this year. With over 50,000 Easter eggs scattered across Veterans Park, located off Harvey Rd, the event is large enough to leave every child’s Easter basket overflowing. But the fun doesn’t stop there; in addition to the hunt, Connecting Point Church is also providing inflatable jumpy jumps as well as pony rides for kids! The fun begins March 30 from 10am until 12pm, and—best of all—the fun day in the park is entirely free, thanks to the generosity of Connecting Point Church.
Walden Chamber Players
@ Rudder Theatre
where: Downtown Bryan when: Friday, March 1
Walden is comprised of twelve festival-leading soloists that together produce vibrant melodies with strings, piano, and woodwinds. Eclectic programming is their hallmark. Their music, a new concept on classical, draws from rich sources, blending classical and contemporary pieces together into one seamless production. Their concerts often feature dialogues with the audience to foster connections between their music and society at large, emphasizing a philosophy that insists music is the human experience translated into sound. Members of the Players also serve as lecturers in some of the country’s premier music teaching institutions, such as the New England Conservatory of Music, the University of Michigan, Boston University, the Longy School of Music, and the Boston Conservatory.
GO TO MAROONWEEKLY.COM/EVENTS FOR MORE
Liz Hill w/ BVAL @ Arts Center
where: when: info:
2275 Dartmouth Street April 1 - 3 bvartleague.org
For over 35 years The Brazos Valley Art League (BVAL) has served as a haven for visual artists to share their work together. The BVAL sparks inspiration in the local arts community, promotes local artists, hosts numerous events, and passes the paint brush on to new generations of aspiring artists. Early next month, on April 1, the BVAL will be hosting award-winning artist Liz Hill as she showcases her water color and collage skills in a demonstration open to the public from 12pm till 1pm. For those whose creativity is ignited during the demonstration, a 2-day workshop held on April 2 and 3 will be led by Hill which focuses on water colors and collages.
Salsa Dancing
MSC ArtFest
@ Village Café
@ MSC Reynolds Gallery where: when: cost:
MSC Reynolds Gallery Month of March FREE
The only student art exhibit displayed in the Reynolds Gallery all year, MSC ArtFest celebrates all artists who competed in the Visual Art Committee’s annual juried exhibition. Entries for this year’s exhibition were accepted up until March 4, and just as students were packing their suntan lotions, bikinis, and beach towels for spring break, word spread of this year’s winners. The winners of this years exhibition are Best of Show: Sarah Stimson for Night Self Portrait II; First Place: Jesse Lane for Desert Blaze;and Second Place: Eric Zheng for A Sketch. Their work, and the work of other Aggie artists who participated this year, will be on display in the gallery for a limited time.
where: when: tickets:
Village Café Weds 8 p.m. Sats 10 p.m. mambosentertainment.com
Voted Best Night of Dancing two years in a row, the Village Cafe’s popular salsa nights are like taking a trip to Latin America in your own backyard. On Wednesday and Saturday nights, the Village dance floor takes a pounding from hundreds of Aggies and locals each week. If you’ve never danced salsa, not to worry: one of the most popular things about salsa at the Village is the lessons offered before each night of dancing. Wednesday nights offer an hour and a half lesson for those who want to learn how to dance. Saturday night begins with a fun (and often hilarious) 30-minute “Crash Course Salsa Lesson” at 10pm. After the lessons on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the dance floor opens up to social dancing.
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pg 18 | maroonweekly.com | 03.27.13
MW New Reads by
Roberto Molar
Until I Say Good-Bye by Susan Spencer-Wendel
There are some questions each of us must have wondered about at some point in our lives. They’re classics: What would you do if you had three wishes? What would you do if you won the lottery? Where would you go if you could travel in time? And so on. But the master of these questions, the question of questions, is what would you do if you knew you were living your last days on the planet? There are also classic answers: travel the world, skydive, learn another language, write a book, spend time with family and friends, etc. But really, when the time comes for you to learn that you are, indeed, dying, do you really think you will have the time, strength, and courage to actually think about your end-of-life plans? Until I Say Good-Bye is the story of forty-four-year-old Susan Spence-Wendel. In June 2011, she learned she had Lou Gehrig’s disease—an incurable disease that destroys the nerves that control muscles. When she learned she only had one year left, Susan quit her job as a journalist to spend time with her devoted husband and three loving children. At home, she built an outdoor meeting space for visitors. She took her sons to swim with dolphins, took her teenage daughter to a bridal shop in New York City to see her in a wedding dress, something she knew she may not live long enough to witness. When her disease became more severe and she couldn’t move anymore, she tapped her memories letter by letter into her iPhone using only her thumb, the last working muscle in her body. What she accomplished is a deeply moving journal that’s heartbreaking in nature but also filled with exemplary optimism, humor, and wisdom.
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
I Want to Show You More by Jamie Quatro
Storm Kings by Lee Sandlin
The Andalucian Friend by Alexander Söderberg
Half-Korean sophomore, Park, is the typical high school misfit: He listens to alternative music, talks to nobody, and goes through school without ever raising his hand. What’s more, he avoids even the least amount of contact with kids around him—at all costs. That’s until Eleanor, the new girl (and another misfit), is trapped into sitting right next to him on the bus. She’s secretly reading his comic books over his shoulder. When Park finds out, friendship is sparked and romance ensues. Alternating between two voices, the love story is told from two points of view. Eleanor speaks as the girl who is forced to run away from a broken family tormented by a stepfather’s mental and physical abuses. Park speaks as the lyrical boy who thinks holding Eleanor’s hand is like holding a butterfly. The teenagers’ love is tested as Park helps Eleanor escape a life of misery, even if that means not seeing her ever again.
If you’re looking for a casual sit-back-and-relax read, then I Want to Show You More is certainly not for you. Instead, this is an intricate set of stories that will evoke more than a few “whoas” and “wows”, as the stories treat spirituality and sexuality in the new American south. Exploring God, forbidden passions, and raising childrenA wife finds the corpse of her husband’s lover in their bed; at a Bible camp, a teenager seduces a younger cancer survivor promising to cure the illness; marathon runners must carry phallic statues or otherwise be punished; a girl is filled with embarrassment as she attends a pool party with her quadriplegic mother; and a husband asks his wife to show him how she would make love to another man! In this debut of short stories, Quatro delivers brilliantly profound narratives that will make the reading experience as enthralling as the nature of its stories.
A riveting narrative about some of the fiercest tornadoes in American history, Storm Kings is also a tale about some of the quirkiest tornado chasers and how their discoveries served as the foundations for what is now known as the science of modern meteorology. Storm Kings surveys America’s awe for some of the most devastating tornadoes, such as the tri-state Tornado of 1925 and the Peshtigo “fire tornado.” Drawing from memoirs, letters, testimonies, and archives, Sandlin revives the fascinating work of pioneer tornado chasers, including James Espy and Colonel John Park Finley. The book also revisits the little-known history of the National Weather Service. Storm Kings paints a vivid picture of how generations came to understand the menacing natural phenomenon of tornadoes while charting the evolution of modern meteorology.
A nurse, widow, and single mother, Sophie Brinkmann meets charming and easygoing Hector Guzman. She’s falls for his warmth and how he congenially introduces her to his family. Yet, she soon discovers an evil truth behind Guzman’s seemingly harmless façade. Behind the sweet and charismatic personality that captivated Sophie hides the head of a powerful international crime network trafficking drugs and weapons from Europe to South America. Trouble meets the Guzman’s business when a ruthless German syndicate has a conflict of interest and the clash of two rival organizations escalates to a deadly war involving an itinerant arms dealer, a deeply disturbed detective, a vicious hit man, and a clever police chief. Sophie is caught in the middle, and she has to deal with a turbid sea of moral ambiguity, deadly obsessions, and endless trickery.
03.27.13 | maroonweekly.com | pg 19
Ramin Bahrani’s At Any Price is Rooted in the Farmer’s Plight by Chris Zebo
Starring Zac Efron, Dennis Quaid, Heather Graham, and Clancy Brown, At Any Price is a drama within a drama that pits a father against a son and a family against the changing landscape of modern farming. Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) is a progressive farmer and wishes to expand beyond the family-farm paradigm he inherited from his father. In a rush to transform the farm into a big business, Henry breaks some golden rules and commits one transgression after another. With dirt on his hands and facing legal repercussions, Henry tries to convince his son, Dean (Zac Efron), to inherit the family business. But Dean has been revving his engine someplace else, on a racetrack where he’s convinced he’ll become the next NASCAR star. The tension between father and son is palpable throughout the entire movie, as Henry is forced to confront his compromised morality and as Dean braces to accept an inevitable future. At the film’s SXSW premier, director Ramin Bahrani told us the story was inspired by a journey he made to farm country. He wanted to learn how his food made it to the table and instead came away with a film about 21st century farm culture. “Initially, I was just curious about where my food came from. So I went to corn country, and when I got there, all of the farmers kept saying, ‘Expand or die, get big or get out.’ And it sounded like the motto of the world. It could be any business. It could be any family. It could be anywhere. And so that was enough to propel me forward to find the story.”
pg 20 | maroonweekly.com | 03.27.13
For Quaid, the film resonated with him personally, with kids who are now pursuing acting careers. When asked whether he was facing similar conflicts as the ones portrayed in the film, he said, “I just want my kids to go where their heart leads them. And that’s what the character I play in At Any Price struggles with. And I think they come to a meeting of the soul, as father and son, at the end of this film.” Filming took place during the summer, and without expecting it, the cast discovered that America’s heartland can reach record-setting temperatures. Efron told us the cast and crew were fainting from heat exhaustion while filming. “We had to be down in corn fields for a lot of the scenes, and it would be about 110. I remember one scene we were filming out in the graveyard during a funeral scene and there was a thermometer in the ground and it went up to 120—and it was past the 120 mark by about 15 degrees. And we stood out there and people started passing out.” The film marks a significant detour from Bahrani’s oeuvre, which has dealt almost exclusively with the effects of assimilation upon immigrants in America. However, the themes addressed in At Any Price were issues he’d contemplated for some time. When asked if the movie was relevant to the plights facing many of west Texas’ ranchers, Bahrani said, “I assume they must be dealing with the same thing as farming because it’s the same in every business—which is this motto, ‘Expand or die.’ For example, the idea of a family farm now is really a family business—it’s a multi-million dollar business—and a small farm in Iowa, for example, could be three, four, five thousand acres. And that’s very different than the way things were even twenty years ago. And there’s an immense pressure that the farmers I know feel about succeeding and not getting wiped out.” Bahrani said the issue of big businesses wiping out the little guy wasn’t limited to just just farming. “I think it’s no different in any business. I can relate the same thing to the film industry. We can relate it to the mom and pop stores that are trying to survive on Main Street against larger companies that have connections to larger companies and the government. So I think they should be feeling the same pressures. And that affects the family, and that’s what I have, a family story and how those pressures are gonna impact a father and son.” At Any Price was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival and later screened at the Telluride Film Festival and the 2012 Toronto Film Festival. It is scheduled for release in US markets on April 26.
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03.27.13 | maroonweekly.com | pg 21
SARAH SILVERMAN
The Jokes on Them: JASH Gives Indie Comedians Keys to Autonomy by Chris Zebo
Started in 2008, SXSW Comedy is a relatively new component of SXSW which runs in tandem with the festival's film segment. So far, the reception of the new addition has been positive, with collaborations forged between Upright Citizens Brigade, Comedy Central, and Funny or Die in the past five years.
MICHAEL CERA
This year, SXSW Comedy was the launching pad for a new independent comedy channel on YouTube called JASH. The new platform—spearheaded by comedians Michael Cera, Sarah Silverman, Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, and Reggie Watts and producers Daniel Kellison, Doug DeLuca and Mickey Meyer—gives comedians and artists an opportunity to create and control their own content and to share in the revenues earned from sponsors. The independent platform gives comedians a fresh and uninhibited digital slate to exhibit short films, sketches, series, one-offs, talk-shows, animation and music videos. The five pioneering comedians formed the collective around a mutual sentiment: they believe the best work of an artist is generated in a context of free association, with no interference or pressure from producers and networks. “Comedy dies in the second-guessing of it,” said Silverman during a panel joined by her colleagues at SXSW. “That's what almost entirely makes up the network process.”
TIM HEIDECKER
The production process, Silverman asserted, whitewashes the individual colors of artists in order to fulfill a network's narrow desire to appeal to larger audiences. In addition to conforming to mass appeal, comedians are also cajoled by execs to produce content conducive to advertisers who wish to market their wares. But that's a no-no, Silverman said. “Things are better quality when it's a single vision,” she intoned, when “there aren't all these hoops and egos to placate and soap to sell.” Though there are still producers at the helm of JASH, their role in the production of punchlines is close to nothing; they're simply facilitators of the channel, helping to manage, promote, and oversee day-to-day operations as the comedians tend to their craft.
ERIC WAREHEIM
“The big difference” with JASH, Heidecker said, is “from a business perspective, there's actual ownership in what we're doing here.” Heidecker, one half of the comedy team Tim and Eric, which created the cult sketch comedy show Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! for Cartoon Network, is convinced the new channel will also enhance YouTube's brand. “There's so much out there, there's so much videos—which is great, but you can get kind of lost in it sometimes.” The digital artists colony will also serve an an incubator for new material that might segue into new series down the road, some of which could ultimately be picked up by the very networks the collective is eschewing. However, the freedom to experiment and to breach new creative avenues will remain unmitigated online. Silverman said “the freedom to make garbage—not purposely, but to take risks, to follow whims, and to fail—is something we wanna have the freedom to do.” Half jokingly, Cera quipped, “It's nice...to commit yourself to something before you really think it through.” Although the collective hasn't produced much content for the channel other than a few initial videos screened at SXSW, JASH promises to be truly innovative and to push the envelope.
REGGIE WATT
“Sure, it will be fartsy,” Silverman said, “but we're not afraid to be artsy.”
pg 22 | maroonweekly.com | 03.27.13
Yesterday’s Bar & Grill Great food, full service bar and pool since 1979
Ptarmigan Club Home of the Flaming Dr. Pepper and the Aggie Martini
We’re known for our delicious 1/2 lb. homemade burgers and daily drink specials. Enjoy playing pool, darts, Golden Tee Golf, Buck Hunter & shuffleboard, or relax while watching the flatscreen TV’s. For food, fun & spirits, check out the best bar food in town, open 365 days a year.
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03.27.13 | maroonweekly.com | pg 23
Korine's Spring Breakers Achieves Depth Below Its Surfaces by Chris Zebo
Spring Breakers, which opened widely last Friday and grossed an estimated $5 million over the weekend, is already one of the most loved and hated movies of 2013. The film follows four college friends—Faith (Selena Gomez), Brit (Ashley Benson), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), and Cotty (Rachel Korine)—on a whirlwind vacation which departs from a state of innocence and arrives in the state of Florida, where the girls join thousands of other college students indulging in copious amounts of drugs, alcohol, and unbridled hedonism. They arrive late to the party, though: Before they can leave their abandoned college campus, the cash-strapped girls have to raise enough green to float a bus trip to St. Pete. Pressed for time (spring break's only a week-long, after all), Brit, Candy, and Cotty hold up a local diner with a squirt gun and a hammer. With enough funds from the heist, the girls grab Faith, hop a bus, and hit the beach and beer bongs. Unfortunately, the girls commit a party foul early in the revelry and land in the slammer, only to be bailed out by Alien (James Franco), a local gangsta who ushers the girls into his gritty drug-dealing underworld. The film reaches its climax when a turf war erupts between Alien and his rival, Big Arch (Gucci Mane), ending in a hailstorm of bullets and bikini-clad bloodshed.
pg 24 | maroonweekly.com | 03.27.13
Writer/director Harmony Korine has always been a provocateur. From the first film he wrote (at 19 years old), Kids, to his last premier three years ago, Trash Humpers, critics and loyal fans are inured by Korine's contumacy. However, Spring Breakers is the director's first widely-released mainstream feature, and a general audience (read: not critics or the art house league) will fall into one of three categories once the credits roll: those who love it, those who hate it, or those who just don't get it. The film achieved widespread interest long before its release, owed largely to a hype machine manufactured internally by its A-list actors. Fans of chaste Disney princesses Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens had heard rumors of the two trading in their tiaras for crooked baseball caps. High School Musical's Hudgens certainly goes the furthest in the film, while Gomez—despite a few bong rips and some sultry guy grinding—retains her decency. Her character, who Korine names Faith (an utterly transparent narrative device), is cast as a God-fearing churchgoer and serves as the film's moral center from which everything deviates. When Faith hops a bus and departs the film near its halfway mark, she escapes the moral depravity escalating around her, leaving the rest of the movie without a moral compass. Asked at the film's US premier at SXSW if she felt uncomfortable accepting her role in a film characterized as “Disney Girls Gone Wild,” Gomez conceded she was a little nervous at first. However,
she says Korine coddled her reservations and was conscious of her inhibitions. “We all trusted him,” she said assuredly. “We read the script, so we knew what we were getting into.” Ashley Benson also felt working with Korine was a positive experience and says she was captivated by the story. “I read the script and my agent told me he was an amazing guy to work with,” the Pretty Little Liars star told us. She read the script numerous times and mentally prepared for her character; “I literally didn't come out of my house for a couple days.” The film was her first experience in an independent film, an experience she hopes to revisit in the future.
should be friends in the first place. In order to accept the film's ostensible flaws, you have to willingly suspend disbelief and reduce everything to their surfaces. And that's exactly what Korine intended. “It's meant to be about surfaces,” Korine said at a Venice Film Festival panel last September. “The culture is about surfaces.” Asked at the South By premier if, in the end, the film had a message, Korine said, “I didn't want to have the movie teach something. That's not something I do in my movies.”
James Franco is no stranger to independent films, but he said, “with Harmony, there were no boundaries. He let me take the character as far as I wanted to. I had so much freedom to become the character on my own.” Franco's Alien is one of the most overthe-top portrayals in the actor's career.
But despite what appears to be, on the surface, nothing but surfaces, the movie's assault to our senses and sensibilities is hardly a shallow spectacle. “It's about kids that are raised on video games, and raised on YouTube clips, and raised television babies,” the director said in a uncanny disclosure at the Venice festival.
However, everything about Spring Breakers is gratuitous and excessive to a point of disbelief. There are more exposed breasts in the first half of the film than in a year's subscription of Playboy. It's also hard to believe that, in less than a week, the film's lead girls embrace a life of crime so unconditionally. The friendships between the female characters aren't grounded by any developmental cues, so we have no reason to believe they
In a culture where human interaction is becoming less face-toface and more FaceTime, where social awkwardness and anomie are the fastest growing symptoms of our plugged-in, tuned-out milieu, Spring Breakers machine-guns holes through our numb veneers. The film deftly coalesces—in form and content, through satire and prophecy—into one wash of feeling that leaves us wondering, deep below the surface, if we may all need a break.
Word of the week @nibsradio
Word of the Week: Wildpoeper wildpoeper (noun) /VILD poo pur/ - a Dutch word for a person who poops outdoors. Example: The Dutch have a term for people who poop outdoors. It’s wildpoeper. Nice to know it happens enough in the Netherlands that they needed to create a specific term for it.
www.kissfm1031.com
03.27.13 | maroonweekly.com | pg 25
Movie Review: Admission by Brandon Nowalk
At first, Admission seems like your typical lightweight dramedy. Tina Fey plays Portia, a high-powered Princeton admissions officer competing with a rival to take over for their boss next year. Paul Rudd plays John, a hippy-dippy teacher at a new developmental school whose first graduating class has produced a student, Jeremiah, that John thinks would be a good fit at Princeton. He also happens to think that Jeremiah is Portia’s biological son. It’s weird, but it’s exactly the kind of thing that would happen in a golden-age comedy. Add a cheating lover, a budding romance, and more parenting issues than Judd Apatow could dream of, and Admission is the This Is 40 of spring. I regret to inform you that Admission is conventional. It flirts with ideas of nomadic do-gooders and feminist singleparenting, but in every case it ultimately sides with conservative ideals, like a nuclear family with community roots. After all, comfort is part of the point. What sets Admission apart is how
thoroughly it subverts expectations. Sure, it ends up pretty much how you think it will. Along the way, though, the movie digs up some mud-dark behavior in its idealistic protagonists. The final scene is especially bittersweet, and the look on Fey’s face is one of the most moving sights of the year so far. And there’s a running gag that pokes fun at the ostensibly happy life of Portia’s ex, played by Michael Sheen in a delightful 30 Rock reunion. Best of all, Admission truly interrogates college admissions. A room of free-thinking high schoolers calls Princeton a corporation less interested in education than in making money. Portia shoots back that changing the world usually requires some higher education, like a law degree. Jeremiah’s interested in education for its own sake, but there’s no box for that on a college application. They’re all right. And the older characters subtly explode standard ideas of success all over the place. Even Jeremiah’s future, which I won’t spoil, is uncertain.
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Within the confines of a romantic comedy structure, Admission gracefully shies away from easy answers. Admission also marks Tina Fey’s official ascent to auteur status, by which I mean her movies are as unified as a good director’s. Her characters are all of a type, which you could chalk up to limited talent; but last I checked, George Clooney is winning Oscars. Portia’s feminist roots are so deep her mother is played by Lily Tomlin. Like many Fey characters, Portia isn’t naturally good with kids, and she’s a workaholic who discovers that her job isn’t everything. It may seem like all the other applicants, but Admission actually has some distinguishing characteristics once you look closer.
Drama |PG-13|
P TO
getting. To everyone else: You’ve got to look up the twist. It’s hilarious. PG-13 (115 min.)
0 2
13. 21 and Over
The homoeroticism of a movie about guys getting drunk together and losing their clothes might be lost on the target audience, but that’s the only interesting thing about this reheated Hangover 2. R (93 min.)
14. Life of Pi
n
Nowalk
Ratings:
Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions: G - General Audiences. All ages admitted. PG - Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. PG-13 - Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children. R - Restricted. Under 18 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. NC-17 - No one under 17 admitted.
Star Ratings: stay home if you’re desperate
15. Quartet
1. The Croods
worth price of admission good stuff don’t miss it
1/2
When they have to adapt or die out like the rest of their neighbors, a cartoon family of cavemen journey to greener pastures in this Dreamworks comedy with voices from Nicolas Cage and Emma Stone. PG (98 min.)
2. Olympus Has Fallen
When the president (Aaron Eckhart) is kidnapped by terrorists, ex-secret service stud Gerard Butler helps security rescue him in this star-studded (Dylan McDermott, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, etc.) action flick. R (120 min.)
3.Oz the Great and Powerful 1/2
Casting sleepy James Franco as a charismatic con man is the worst idea since explaining the Wicked Witch, but the real wizard in this movie about movies is splashy genre director Sam Raimi. PG (130 min.)
4. The Call
Promising start when an abductee teams up with a 911-dispatcher. But then the high-concept thriller becomes just another horror flick, the game of wits becomes a game of weapons, and the nail-biter becomes a face-palm. R (94 min.)
5. Admission
has moments
1/2
A pan-religious boy crosses the Pacific on a lifeboat with a tiger in this New Age light-show that spans the distance from moving triumph to involving survival guide to thoughtless headache. Is pretty enough? PG (127 min.)
films ndo by Bra
1/2
7. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
Casting Steve Carell as an arrogant magician could have been a neat trick if it worked. But Carell’s too affable, so the black comedy transforms into a cathartic redemption tale instead. That’s not our card. PG-13 (100 min.)
8. Jack the Giant Slayer
1/2
Next to the gritty Hansel and Gretel and Peter Jackson’s obese kid’s book, Bryan Singer’s fairy tale is a slacker’s paradise. How refreshing! Worth it for Stanley Tucci’s cocker spaniel wig alone. PG-13 (114 min.)
9. Identity Thief
1/2
A fat chick steals a wry guy’s identity in this lazy, old, clunky stereotype vehicle. But it is inspiring to see that even a movie starring Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman can be unfunny. R (112 min.)
10. Snitch
1/2
The Rock goes undercover for the DEA in order to prove his son was framed. Heavy on dumb action and heavier on angst, Snitch’ll do. But when are we getting Fast 6? PG-13 (112 min.)
11. Silver Linings Playbook
1/2
Tina Fey plays a Princeton admissions officer whose life starts to fall apart when a boy who might be her biological son (but doesn’t know it) applies for admission. Paul Rudd and Lily Tomlin co-star. PG-13 (117 min.)
6. Spring Breakers
the American dream shot in vivid neon. R (94 min.)
1/2
Disney-channel starlets rob a diner so they can afford to go on spring break in Florida, but their MTV saga quickly turns into an artsy re-consideration of
1/2
Bradley Cooper tries to control his bipolar disorder by preparing for a dance competition with a new friend, the depressed Jennifer Lawrence. Come for the feel-good funny, stay for the electric performances. R (122 min.)
12. Safe Haven
1/2
Nicholas Sparks strikes again! Pretty white people get over their sympathetic tragedies and learn to love again. Fans know what they’re
Old British actors everyone loves, such as like Helen Mirren and Michael Gambon, crack wise and learn to love life again this year. I guess we have 2013’s Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. PG-13 (98 min.)
16. Escape from Planet Earth An astronaut responds to a distress signal and finds out—say it with me, Admiral Ackbar—it’s a trap! It’s a kids-only affair, a disappointment after the great animation of 2012, but it’s tolerable. PG (90 min.)
17. Stoker
When her father dies, Mia Wasikowska’s suspicious uncle comes to live with her and her mother, played by Nicole Kidman. This Southern Gothic is the first English movie by stylish Korean director Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy). R (99 min.)
18. The Last Exorcism Part II The Last Exorcism was such an unsettling creeper that it turned out not be the last one after all, unfortunately. I can’t wait for Part III: The Very Last Exorcism Until The Next One. PG-13 (88 min.)
19. A Good Day to Die Hard
It took five entries but at last the sturdy Die Hard franchise is just another action series, all clunky explosions and old-man limping. John McClane deserves better. One-liners are supposed to be funny, right? R (97 min.)
20. Dead Man Down
A gangster’s right-hand man gets seduced by one of his boss’ victims in a movie that’s exactly as dead as it sounds. Maybe someday they’ll learn that heavy brooding doesn’t exactly get your blood pumping. R (110 min.)
03.27.13 | maroonweekly.com | pg 27
Liz Hill w/ The Brazos Valley Arts League @ Arts Center
FORSYTH GALLERIES
Runyon Cameo Examples and Paperweights Permanent Exhibit Tuesday - Friday: 9:00 am - 8:00 pm Saturday - Sunday: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm
I
MSC OPAS February 15-April 14 Tuesday - Friday: 9:00 am - 8:00 pm Saturday - Sunday: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm
STARK GALLERIES Women Call for Peace March 7-May 26 Tuesday - Friday: 9:00 am - 8:00 pm Saturday - Sunday: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
by Derek Favini
It’s a shame College Station isn’t credited with having a more prolific art scene. From the outside looking in, the notoriety of A&M’s outstanding engineering and agricultural programs—and the the hard science culture it implies—casts a pretty big shadow over the arts community. Our “normal” community is often the yin of artsy Austin’s “weird” yang, and culturally, the community has been unfairly perceived as lacking in the arts. However, from the inside looking in, many residents of the Brazos Valley know this assumption could not be further from the truth. Locals, as well as the constant coming-and-going student community, always keep the region saturated in permanent and transient artists. The scene may be smaller than most urban centers, and it’s most certainly disorganized, but, collectively, the artists who dot our landscape do have a number of institutional outlets to both foster their creativity and to promote it. For over 35 years, one such institution, The Brazos Valley Art League (BVAL) has served as a haven for visual artists to share their work together. The BVAL sparks inspiration in the local arts community, promotes local artists, hosts numerous events, and passes the paint brush on to new generations of aspiring artists. One of their favorite ways to inspire future artists is by inviting artists to share their expertise and techniques with the local community. Early next month, on April 1, the BVAL will be hosting award-winning artist Liz Hill as she showcases her water color and collage skills in a demonstration open to the public from 12pm till 1pm. For those whose creativity is ignited during the demonstration, a 2-day workshop held on April 2 and 3 will be led by Hill which focuses on water colors and collages. Both the demonstration and the workshop will be held at the Arts Center located at 2275 Dartmouth Street, College Station. For those unfamiliar with water colors, this workshop is a great way to expand your skills; and for newcomers, it’s the perfect way to explore your artistic side. Ticket pricing information and sign-ups for the workshops are available at bvartleague.org.
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Conflict & Development: The Nexus of Animals, Environment, and the Human Condition
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1 Insult hurled at 30-across 6 Mediterranean island nation 11 Two for Juan? 14 Block, as an Arctic ship 15 Message sender SETI hopes to detect 16 Hose problem 17 Photography size, based on Elgar? 19 Lance with a gavel 20 Driver around Hollywood 21 Spectator 23 “The Price Is Right” game 25 Ernie’s special friend 26 Reverberate 29 “Wowzers!” 30 “South Park” protagonist 32 Understand fully 34 Dropped a line 36 Longtime Harry Belafonte label 39 Polite 41 Shakespeare nickname 43 Bizarre 44 Tahrir Square’s country 46 Disturbed 47 “If it feels right, do it” 49 Public regard 51 Caustic substances 52 Scotch mixer 54 Chew out 56 Game where you tug on your ear 59 Smokin’ 63 Rand of “Atlas Shrugged” 64 2013 dance all over YouTube, based on Mahler? 66 Was winning 67 Went on the radio 68 Toss option 69 “Gangnam Style” rapper 70 Times to eat cake, casually 71 Dark-skinned wine grape
1 Get on tape 2 Berry in juices 3 Sea bird 4 Stake out by the road, perhaps 5 Reporter April, friend of the Ninja Turtles 6 Great Leap Forward name 7 Jovial weatherman 8 Pole dance? 9 Loose-leaf selections 10 Stud fee? 11 Seriously irritate, based on Verdi? 12 Like a rind 13 Make pig noises 18 “Bridesmaids” director Paul 22 Diamond stat 24 Word before created or elected 26 Breakfast brand 27 Street ___ 28 Useful, based on Haydn? 30 Numerical suffix 31 Diver’s place 33 Banana shell 35 Weasel’s cousin 37 Plains language 38 Contributes 40 Driving force 42 Did some farm work 45 “The Pelvis” 48 Rowboat mover 50 Chicken ___ (dish on “The Sopranos”) 52 Make some money off those tickets 53 “I just remembered...” 54 Quotable Yogi 55 Tries out 57 “Moby Dick” captain 58 “Pore Jud Is ___” (Rodgers and Hammerstein song) 60 It’ll grow on you 61 Tulsa’s st. 62 New age musician/former TV host John 65 Alt-weekly workers, briefly
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r e g n i l S k n i r D GET TO KNOW YOUR FAVORITE BCS BARTENDERS
SLINGER OF THE WEEK
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Ted Mad Hatters MW: If you were a drink, what would you be? T: The manliest drink out there: probably Coors Original. MW: What is the craziest thing you’ve seen while working behind this bar? T: A lot of fights, a lot of drama. On my first night, I was working the door and I saw a girl get thrown out of another bar naked. She had gotten into a fight and in the process lost her clothes. MW: Do you ever experiment with new drink recipes? T: Not really. They like us to stick to the drinks that are in the book, so I usually do that. Every now and then we change it up if someone asks for it. MW: If you could bar chat with one person—a celebrity, sport star, anyone—who would it be? What would you want to talk with them about? What drink do you think that person would ask for? T: Probably Michael Jordan. I’m into basketball, so I think that’d be a nice person. I would like to think that he’d be drinking an old fashioned. Like Maker’s or Crown; something real classy. MW: What is your personal favorite drink? T: My personal favorite drink would be a ‘New York Mother Effer.’ It’s Crown, Jack, Soco, Amaretto, sweet and sour, and Coke. It’s kind of like a tea but more of a man tea. MW: What is the worst mixing combinations, in your opinion? T: Probably gin. There isn’t a lot that has gin mixed with something else. MW: What is the most disgusting drink people ask you for, in your opinion? T: People ask us for a lot for pickle shots, which we don’t do here; but I do not like pickle shots. I’ve never gotten a taste for them. I understand some people like pickles, but that’s my least favorite drink shot. MW: If you could only make one drink for the rest of your life, which would you make? T: I like a London Tea. I push that a little bit. A London Tea is a Long Island with Amaretto.
Slinger’s Signature Drink
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MW: What is your signature drink? T: “I tend to push the Dirty Hippy. It’s a shot that’s layered; looks good, tastes good. It’s Malibu, pineapple, Grenadine, Blue C, and then Jager on top.”
Malib G re n a d i u ne Blue C Ja g e r