A.P.P.S.
provides opportunities to get involved
Janelle Silverman - Entertainment Beat
Appalachian
Popular Programming Society (A.P.P.S.) electrifies university nightlife
with music, movies and more.
Thanks to dedicated
volunteers and valuable advisors, students can look forward to a
variety of popular events this year.
Films in I.G.
Greer Theatre, live bands at Legends, various cultural dances and
other special performances are just a few things that are brought
to this campus through the A.P.P.S. program.
Appalachian
State University students can join any of the seven activity councils
and help with decisions such as which concerts, shows and other
events will be brought to campus each year.
The seven councils,
each with their own head chairperson, advisor and 25-30 members,
get together once a week to discuss what campus entertainment to
provide.
The seven councils
are as follows: the Concert Council, designated for attracting national
acts, the Stage Council for regional bands, the Club Shows Council
for local entertainment, Special Events Council, Cultural Awareness
Council, Appalachian Heritage Council and the Films Council.
According to
junior Sarah Lyerly, a social work major and chairperson for the
Stage Show Council, ÒEach council decides what bands or other forms
of entertainment should be brought to campus and then asks the council
advisors to try and book the shows.Ó
Lyerly continued
by saying, ÒJoining A.P.P.S. is the best way to have fun, get involved
and volunteer. It is fun to be able to meet the bands and especially
to see your hard work pay off in the end with a great final product.Ó
The duties
of an A.P.P.S. member consists more of fun-filled activities with
great benefits rather than mundane obligations. Each member attends
shows, provides hospitality for the band members and other entertainers,
helps with advertising and comes to council and All- A.P.P.S. meetings
once a week.
A.P.P.S. plans
on making this year even better with more places to hold concerts
now that the George M. Holmes Convocation Center is finished, and
the new Whitewater room in Plemmons Student Union is available,
in addition to Legends.
Brad Vest,
advisor for the Concert Council, said, ÒWe redid Legends this year.
The chairs and carpet are new and the repainting gives it a better
look for shows.Ó
Upcoming A.P.P.S.
events include Cravin Melon on Sept. 13 and DJ Logic and Project
Logic on Sept. 26, both at Legends.
For more information
or an application, stop by the A.P.P.S. office in Plemmons Student
Union, or call 262-2855.
'Room for Squares' provides opportunities to
get involved
Janelle Silverman - Entertainment Beat
Any male musician
playing an acoustic guitar and singing thoughtful written lyrics
cannot avoid being compared to Dave Matthews these days. AtlantaÕs
John Mayer has already achieved the distinction as being ÒThe Next
Dave Matthews.Ó With MayerÕs complex guitar chords and seducing
vocals, the comparison is inevitable.
A sound clip
can be found on the web of Mayer mocking Dave Matthews on a radio
show. After listening to it, there is a sense of MayerÕs frustration
in trying to seek a separate identity.
After leaving
BostonÕs prestigious Berklee College of Music, he moved to Atlanta
in 1998 to break into the cityÕs music scene and began playing in
area clubs, including DecaturÕs infamous EddieÕs Attic.
The comparison
to Dave Matthews originated in MayerÕs solo performances with an
acoustic guitar. Mayer released his first EP ÒInside Wants Out,Ó
one year later which is now out of print and very rare. The majority
of the tracks were recorded acoustically.
Mayer performed
in Austin, Texas in March 2000, at the South By Southwest music
conference. This exposure landed him a deal with Aware/Columbia
Records (Train, Five For Fighting) to record his first full-length
album with producer John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, Ben Folds Five).
MayerÕs first
album, ÒRoom For SquaresÓ gave him the chance to rid himself of
the comparison. ÒI have been labeled an acoustic musician, and that
was only because I didnÕt have a band,Ó Mayer said.
Every track
on ÒRoom For SquaresÓ is backed with a rhythm section, and a large
portion of the songs is recorded with an electric guitar. He tours
with the albumÕs recording bass player David LaBruyere. The album
has created an underground buzz that has lead to audience filled
venues across the nation.
ÒRoom For SquaresÓ
will be re-released through Columbia Records with a new track and
cover art on Sept. 18. With ColumbiaÕs large promotional and advertising
budget, there is little doubt Mayer will explode to a new level.
Mayer will
perform this Thursday at Legends. The opening act is to be announced.
Doors open at 9 p.m. Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door.
This is a BYOB six-pack limit (with proper I.D.) event by A.P.P.S.
Club Shows. For more information please call 262-3032 or visit apps.appstate.edu.
Juvenile
lives up to name in "Project English"
Ty Brueilly
- Club / Intramural Sports Beat
Juvenile was
sitting on top of the hip-hop world two years ago.
His 1998 release
Ò400 DegreezÓ eventually became quadruple-platinum and the tracks,
ÒBack That Thang UpÓ and ÒHaÓ still ring out in the clubs non-stop.
With his newest
release, ÒProject English,Ó Juvenile is trying too hard to compete
with his previous album. Juvenile does not seem comfortable getting
away from his old antics and trying something new.
The album starts
off with a three-minute intro similar to every Cash Money release.
This is too excessive for an albumÕs intro. The intro shifts into
the single off the album, ÒSet It Off,Ó in which producer Mannie
Fresh re-uses a beat he used in 1993 with UNLVÕs ÒDrag Ôem in Tha
River.Ó
Even though
this beat is recycled, the track is guaranteed to make your head
nod, and JuvenileÕs rhymes are some of the best on the album.
Juvenile uses
his catchy voice in the next track, ÒH.B. Headbusta,Ó followed quickly
by Ò4 MinutesÓ featuring the Hot Boys. In this track, B.G. and LilÕ
Wayne steal the show right from Juvenile by catching your attention
from the moment they enter the song.
ÒMy LifeÓ is
yet another remake of ÒAinÕt No Sunshine.Ó This is a cut that is
worth skipping right over thanks to DMXÕs quality remake of the
song last year.
Mannie Fresh
produces the next song, ÒSunshine,Ó with an upbeat tempo and a twist
of reggae. Once again, B.G. and LilÕ Wayne and B.G. shine.
ÒBe GoneÓ will
leave audiences in confusion. This is the longest cut on the album,
and Juvenile does not appear during the entire five and a half minutes.
After JuvenileÕs
absence, the album begins to deteriorate. In ÒMamma GotÓ Juvenile
repeatedly says ÒShe get it from her mammaÓ after every line, and
the beat sounds very similar to his hit ÒBack That Thang Up.Ó
In the final
track, ÒWhat U Scared 4,Ó Juvenile leaves audiences not wanting
to listen to ÒProject EnglishÓ again but wanting to hit all the
tracks LilÕ Wayne appeared on and go buy the newest LilÕ Wayne album.
Juvenile gives
no incentive to go buy this album.
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