Special to The Appalachian

Astrosonic brings electronic music, break-dancing, prizes and fun

Janelle Silverman - Entertainment Beat

Astrosonic, a combination of five DJ’s, will fill the dance room with its unique electronic music on Saturday from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. at Boonedocks in downtown Boone.

Dru Luck, an Appalachian State University junior and self-design major within the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, will produce the show.

He has been playing records for three years and has been producing events for about two years.

Along with being a DJ, he has been break-dancing since he was 16. His first major success came Aug. 25 when he held a sold-out show at Boondocks.

Luck also hosts his own radio show on Thursdays from 2-3 p.m. on WASU 90.5 FM. Throughout the show he has giveaways, such as CD’s and other promotional material.

Luck has recently started his own production company, called Good Luck Productions, in partnership with Appalachian State alumna Dena Light.

The duo organizes and produces events and puts on competitions for break-dancing. “The goal of our production is to bring the best electronic musicians to Boone,” said Luck.

“DJ music” is accomplished by mixing and matching tempos of different songs and playing them at the same time, said Luck. “At some points you are playing two records at once,” he said. “It involves mixing, scratching and tricks with the turntables to create a cool transition between the records. The goal is to make the transition unnoticeable.”

The show at Boonedocks will showcase four DJ’s from North Carolina, including Luck, and will feature DJ Danny McMillan from Essex, England. Each DJ will play for one hour, with the exception of McMillan who will play for two.

Luck opens the performance at 10 p.m., followed by Raf from Asheville, Spirit Child from Charlotte, McMillan and Johnny Grubb, an Appalachian State alumnus.

The show will also include a break-dancing competition in two rounds.

The first round will be from 11 p.m. to midnight, and the second round will be from 2-3 a.m.

There will be a $200 cash prize along with 20 other prizes. Dancers from all over the state are expected to attend the contest, said Luck.

Luck chose Raf and McMillan to perform in the show because they write and produce their own music.

Raf will put on a show that includes mixing original drum and base sounds and will do tricks with compact-disc players and turn tables.

Raf writes all of his songs, some inspired by the Sept. 11 attacks, and his style is “tech-step, with a fast, hard tempo,” said Luck.

Spirit Child, McMillan and Luck have the same type of break-beat tempo, which is more traditional, said Luck. He described his own style as a lot of scratching and tricks, with a sound like hip hop.

He currently remixes and is just starting to produce his own music.

McMillan has his own record label and has been performing for more than 10 years and is one of the premier break-beat DJ’s in England, said Luck. McMillan and Spirit Child are currently touring the United States together.

Grubb, an alumnus of Appalachian State’s Hayes School of Music, got his start as a jazz musician.

“Grubb’s style is called house style, with the same tempo as break beat, with a different rhythmic drum pattern,” said Luck. “It is traditionally referred to as the four-four and has a very futuristic sound.”

Grubb will also perform Oct. 19 at Mythos in Charlotte, with Diesel Boy and Baby Anne, said Luck.

“Our goals for this show are to pack Boondocks out and to make everybody dance from the front of the room, all the way back to the bar,” said Luck.

Tickets for the upcoming show on Saturday can be purchased at the door for $10.

Ages 18 and up will be admitted.

Courtsey ASU News Bureau

Screenwriter Stephen Fischer will speak tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Liville Falls Room of the student union.

Fischer lectures on elements of screenwriting

Travis Kamiya - Entertainment Beat

Screenwriter Stephen Fischer, a writer-in-residence with the Department of English this semester, will speak tonight in a lecture entitled “Screenwriting: A Professional Approach: From Emotion to Motion – How Movies Move.”

The program begins at 7:30 p.m. in Linville Falls Room of Plemmons Student Union.

Fischer will also conduct a dialogue workshop tomorrow at 10 a.m. in 302 Sanford Hall.

Fischer, who teaches screenwriting and playwriting classes at Appalachian State University, has created original screenplays for Paramount, MGM, United Artist, Warner Brothers (WB) and Disney Animations.

Fischer created the sitcom “My Sister Sam” for CBS. He also designed the children’s show “Pinwheel House” for Nickelodeon.

Fischer is also credited for some PBS, ABC and NBC pilots.

Pilots are prototypes of television shows that stations consider accepting as new programs or saving to run later.

Fischer has written a made-for-television movie called “The Way You Say My Name,” which is slated to star Katie Holmes of the WB’s “Dawson’s Creek.” The movie is a post-college love story.

Professor Susan Weinberg of Appalachian State said the ultimate goals in getting Fischer as writer-in-residence were for him to instruct classes in the departments of theatre and English and for the Department of Theatre to perform a new script by the writer. The script will be presented later this year.

Fischer met professors Lynn Doyle and Weinberg at the North Carolina Writers Network. Fischer was impressed with Doyle’s poetry reading, said Weinberg, and the three began a conversation.

Since then, Fischer has lectured here four times as part of the Visiting Writers Series.

“We are really excited to have him here. I think he is a great teacher,” said Weinberg.

Fischer considers himself a ‘New York boy.’ He grew up in the NY, NJ, PA, and suburban areas of New York.

Compelled by his friends’ screenwriting pursuits, Fischer embarked on his own screenwriting career, and when he submitted his first work, an interested agent picked it up, he said.

Fischer earned a B.A. in religion at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. Afterward, he moved to England and joined the National Theatre of Great Britain.

He has written a musical that was performed at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, the same place where “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” was performed.

When asked which factors may prevent a script from being produced, Fischer said expense is a major concern.

He said movie length is also important because theaters can show more 90-minute movies than three-hour movies.

The script is both the most and least important factors in determining whether it is produced, said Fischer.

The script is most important for its story content and least important because it is useless without director, producer and star.

When asked the best advice he might give to an inspiring screenwriter, Fischer said, “Go to law school.”