Feb. 04, 2003 Online Since 1996 Vol 77 No. 30
Bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers to play Legends Stephanie Marshall
Entertainment Beat

Special to The Appalachian
Steel Canyon Rangers, a traditional bluegrass band, is coming to Legends Thursday as part of their tour. Boss Hogg will be the opening act and will play for an hour. The concert is expected to start at 9 p.m.
   The Steep Canyon Rangers and Boss Hogg will be performing in Legends Thursday, presented by the Appalachian Popular Programming Society (A.P.P.S.).
    People love the Steep Canyon Rangers; they are a good, traditional bluegrass band and have been growing in concert size, Nathanael A. Wills, chairperson for the Appalachian Heritage Council (AHC) said Friday.
    AHC tries to get the Steep Canyon Rangers here at least once a year, but they have been in Whitewater and Crossroads Coffeehouse before, and they have had to turn people away, Wills said. Whitewater holds only 220, and Legends holds 1,000, and we are expecting lots of dancing and an energetic crowd for Thursday night.
   The Steep Canyon Rangers have a pure energetic bluegrass sound, Wills said.
    Their performance Thursday will be part of a tour where they will visit places such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNCCH), Atlanta, Ga., Asheville, Raleigh, Nashville, Tenn., and many other places in the southeast and Colorado area, according to the Steep Canyon Rangers official Web site.
    The Steep Canyon Rangers’s members include Elizabeth “Lizzie” Hamilton on fiddle and vocals, Woody Platt on guitar and lead vocals, Mike Guggino on mandolin and vocals, Graham Sharp on banjo and vocals and Charles Humphrey on bass and vocals, according to the Web site.
    The band was started four years ago while the members of the group were attending UNCCH.
    They have just recently opened for bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs in Asheville at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center and have a new album released called “Mr. Taylor’s New Home,” Wills said.
    Their new album, according to the JamBase Web site, has definitely established the Steep Canyon Rangers as one of the best new bluegrass acts on the scene.
    Boss Hogg, who played last semester at the Bluegrass and Old-Time Jamboree, will perform along with the Steep Canyon Rangers.
    Boss Hogg is the warm-up band and is estimated to play for an hour or so, Wills said.
    Boss Hogg has a fast-paced, crisp sound, he said.
    The Steep Canyon Rangers and Boss Hogg are a good introduction to bluegrass for those unfamiliar with the music. For bluegrass lovers, this will most certainly be the last time two bands of this caliber can be seen for only $4, Wills said.
    The show will start at 9 p.m. and is expected to last until curfew at 12:30 a.m. Tickets are $4 in advance at W. H. Plemmons Student Union information desk and $5 at the door.		  
Different method to buy Dave tickets Stephanie Marshall
Entertainment Beat
   Dave Matthews will perform an acoustic concert in the George M. Holmes Convocation Center Saturday, March 29.
    As of last Friday, the show will officially start at 7:30 p.m rather than 8 p.m. as advertised on campus fliers.
    Tickets for the performance are on sale this week but will be sold through a different method than Appalachian Popular Programming Society (A.P.P.S.) has used in the past.
    A push for advanced ticket sales became necessary because Dave Matthews’ management originally planned to sell tickets Saturday, the day of the concert, Assistant Director of Student Programs Brad Vest said last Friday.
    Instead of selling tickets on a first-come first-serve basis, there will be a wristband lottery giveaway at the Holmes Center box office Thursday from noon to 6 p.m. The wristband does not guarantee a ticket but simply secures a place in line for ticket sales Friday.
    “With this lottery-type of selling, we are trying to make it fair for all students and discouraging students from camping out to get tickets,” said Vest.
    To receive a wristband, students need to present a valid Appalachian State University I.D. There is a limit of one wristband per I.D. holder.
    The wristbands are numbered sequentially. At 6 p.m. a number will be drawn and whoever has that numbered wristband is secured a place first in line on Friday when the tickets are sold.
    The winning number will be announced on WASU 90.5 FM at 6:30 p.m., posted at the Holmes box office, on the Holmes marquee and online at www.apps.appstate.edu.
    “With the wristband we are making sure everyone has the same chance; this is the fairest way,” Vest said.
    Ticket sales begin at 4 p.m. this Friday. To buy a ticket, a student must present a valid Appalachian I.D. and a wristband. Tickets will be $49.50, paid either in cash or credit card. There is a two-ticket limit per person.
    “There will be no complimentary tickets; even the chancellor has to buy tickets,” Vest said.
Weekend Excursion back in Boone, at Legends tonight Stephanie Marshall
Entertainment Beat
                                                                                                Appalachian Popular Programming Society (APPS) is starting the second semester off with a bang, bringing a band to Appalachian State University whose members once were Appalachian students themselves.
    Weekend Excursion, consisting of Appalachian alumni, is coming to Legends tonight.
    Weekend Excursion is a popular, fun band that always puts on a good show that brings in the crowd, Peter D. Van Schoick, stage shows chairperson, said Tuesday.
    Weekend Excursion’s members include, but are not limited to, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Chris Groch, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Jeff Foxworth and drummer and backing vocalist Cas Edmunds, according to the Weekend Excursion Web site.    This Raleigh-based band got its start in 1995 while the members were still seniors in high school. Their first show was held in Edmunds’ basement. According to their official Web site, that year they ended up making a demo tape that was sold in a local dentist’s office.
    After graduation the band headed off to become students at Appalachian. When they received an overwhelming response to their demo tape, they brought in John Plymale to record their debut, self-titled CD, according to their Web site.
    From then on, the band was forced into juggling its time between school and weekend tours. The time paid off because they again recorded with Plymale in 1998 for a second EP, “Five to Six.”
    While at Appalachian, Weekend Excursion was involved with the fraternity scene, Van Schoick said.
    After college, the band went on to record their third EP, released in 2000, called “Radioactive,” which would become one of North Carolina’s hottest sellers released that year. The band also spread their touring radius from Florida to Washington, D.C., according to their biography on the Web site.
    In 2001, violinist Mike Ferry announced that he would be leaving the band, which was a shock to all, including the other band members, according to www.SamHillbands.com.
    Mike Ferry left the band to go to graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Van Schoick said.
    Weekend Excursion recently released their debut with The Redeye label called “Take Me Home.”
    This new release is the first song-writing contribution of Fisher and the first without the violin work of Ferry, according to the Web site.
    “Kick off the new semester with a party, Weekend Excursion style,” Van Schoick said.
    The tickets are $7 in advance and are being sold at the information desk in W.H. Plemmons Student Union or $9 at the door.
    The show starts at 9 p.m. with an age limit of 18 years or older.

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