10
April 30,1998
^it5 $c (Entertainment
MayFest offers music, fun this weekend
Katisha Hayes
Pendulum Reporter
A fun-filled day of special events,
games and music will make
MayFest on Saturday, May 2 un
forgettable.
From temporary tattoos to vol
leyball, MayFest will liven up
Elon’s world. In addition, special
guest Gran Torino will rock the
house as they give Elon a dose of
their unique music.
This 2-year-old Tennessee-
based band is a combination of
funk, reggae, R&B and rock music
that will leave all music lovers
pleased.
Jen Klyne, the 1998-99 music
chairperson for Student Union
Board, is excited about the Gran
Torino performance.
“They are unbelievable,” she
said. “They have a lot of talent.”
GT is comprised of eight tal
ented individuals: P.J. Alexander
on trumpet, piano, organ and vo
cals; Stephen Decker on lead gui
tar and vocals; Chris Ford on lead
vocals and rhythm guitar; Dexter
Murphy on trombone, piano, or
gan and vocals; Todd Overstreet
on bass and vocals; Scott Pederson
on trumpet, saxophone, and vo
cals; Whit Pfohl on drums and Ja
son Thompson on saxophone and
vocals.
The band is known for their horn
section, and will liven up the festi
val as they perform a full-concert.
“They are a band that anybody
can get into,” Klyne said.
“When you see them performing,
you can tell they are enjoying them
selves.”
In regards to
their credentials,
GT has released two
CD’s, including
their previous one
titled “Live at the
Chameleon Club,”
which was recorded
by a technical super
visor, who sold it to
them later.
Their most recent
CD is titled “One,
which was recorded
studio after nearly
two years of touring.
“One” has become ahometown
favorite, and as a result has sold
more than 5,000 copies in its first
few weeks on the shelf.
“The band decided to forego the
live approach in favor of the more
controlled and precise atmosphere
of the studio,” said Mark Jordan,
writer for the Memphis Flyer.
Whether live or recorded, GT’s
energy and unique style will enter
tain audiences and leave them want
ing more.
Gran Torino has been described
as a “rock ‘n’ soul party.” Elon
will get a chance to see if this is
true when the band performs at
Mayfest Saturday.
SUB chose this band because
their talented horn section would
create a surround sound effect out
doors.
Q^anTorino performs
Saturday at MayFest.
Members of SUB saw the band
perform at Ziggy’s in Winston-
Salem, and asked them to perform
at Elon.
Ben Senn, the current music
chairperson for SUB, said they
were lucky because the band is
perforrning in Knoxville, Tenn. on
Friday night and in Raleigh on
Saturday night.
GT will perform on Saturday
from 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Rudd
Field.
Chamber Singers perform
concert in McCrary
Brie Bittenbender
Pendulum Reporter
The Elon College Chamber
Singers will showcase their tal
ents Sat, May 2 at 8 p.m. in
McCrary Theatre.
The group consists of 25
auditioned male and female
singers, who per- form
challenging
pieces that range
from 16th cen
tury to contem
porary.
In addition
to their perfor
mances at Elon,
Chamber Singers have par
ticipated in the 1998 NC
ACDA Collegiate Choral Fes
tival.
The group perform music
that contain up to 16 parts that
must be sung acappella, which
means without musical ac
companiment.
Some of the musical
pieces the group will perform
are three works by Ralph Vaughan
Williams, two spiritual pieces, a
work by William Hawley, which
will be sung by two groups of
singers, and two secular motets.
In addition, some of the piece
will be performed solo, where indi
vidual singers will be featured. Th(
singers who will perform solos ar(
Jennifer Oleszczuk, soprano; Dai
Calloway, tenor; Jamal Green
baritone and Bret
Williams
bass.
Ri
c h
a r
Cook, the direc
tor of the Cham
ber Singers, i;
pleased with hov
far the group hai
come in preparatioi
for the concert.
The group hai
grown from a choir o
people to 25 in over twc
years. "
The Chamber Singers concert i:
Saturday at 8 p.m. in McCrary The
atre. Tickets are free with an Elor
College ID.
Wahlberg hands in a stellar performance
Ian Spelling
Tribune Media Services
Mark Wahlberg may be a hot,
respected commodity now, but it
was just a few years ago that the
start of “Boogie Nights,” “Bas
ketball Diaries” and Renaissance
Man,” not to mention the per
former formally known as Marky
Mark and the ex-Calvin Klein
underwear model, seemed des
tined for a life behind bars.
“I felt that way because of the
path I’d been on,” says the soft-
spoken Wahlberg of his oft-
chronicled brushes with the law
and his brief jail stint as a teen
ager.
“Even when I was trying to
stay out of trouble, the whole
karma thing was working against
me. It was hard. I had a lot of
anger and a lack of common sense.
Butnotnow^ I’ve gotgood people
around me. The acting is my
therapy, my way to vent. I think it
would be a waste if I didn’t use all
of my real-life experiences to my
advantage.”
But what personal experiences
could he possibly put to use in “The
Big Hit,” a new action-comedy
that’s like Jackie Chan and Chow
Yun-Fat’s flicks on speed?
“It sounds funny, but my in
ability to say no is there,” Wahlberg
says, laughing.
“I still have people in my life
who can do whatever they want.
They’re my friends and my family,
so it’s OK. It’s not the same as
letting other people take advantage
of me.”
In “Big Hit,” Wahlberg plays
Mel, a sweet-natured hit man with a
conscience. Mel is engaging to
bitchy Pam (Cristina Applegate),
fooling around with gold-digging
Chantel (Lela Rochbnj, and under
the thumbs of both.
It’s true love, though, when he
meets Keiko (Chia Chow), the
daughter of a wealthy industrialist
he and his testosterone-laden team
- Lou Diamond Phillips, Antonio
Sabato Jr., Bokeen Woodbine and
Robin Dunne - have kidnapped
after a botched moonlighting job.
“It’s just so over the top, so out
there,” Wahlberg says of the film
during a conversation at a Manhat
tan hotel.
“All I could do was sit there
and laugh. What’s cool is that I
had to play it so low and everybody
else is just going crazy. It was a
tough shoot. I’ve got my bumps
and bruises. The first day, I got
kneed in the groin, then I smashed
my knee into the marble edging of
a podium, and then I smashed my
elbow.
“I knew if I got out of there
breathing the first day that I’d be
fine.”
As ‘"Big Hit" reaches the
aters, "Boogie Nights" arrives on
video. Many feel that the Oscars
stiffed Wahlberg, who starred in
the acclaimed period drama as a
porn star Dirk Diggler. The actor,
though, won plenty of respect for
his work.
“All I hoped for at the end of
that was that filmmakers would
not only see what I’m capable of,
but what I’m willing to do as an
actor. ‘Boogie Nights’did every
thing for me I hoped it would.”
Wahlberg’s now shooting
"The Corrupter" with Chow Yun-
Fat, though he swears the film is a
drama and not an action movie.
After that he heads right into "The
Yards" with Joaquin Phoenix and
James Caan, then the boxing film
"Out on My Feet” with Robert
DeNiro. Sounds like a matter of
striking while the iron is hot.
“Not necessarily,” he says.
“My whole approach is just to
do something different every time
and to try to continue to grow as an
actor. I’m not in a huge rush.”
Wahlberg also recorded a song
for "The Big Hit" soundtrack, one
can't but wonder if he even has time
for a personal life.
"Oh, I've got an interest in a
personal life," he said, denying ru
mors that he's dating "Big Hit" co-
star China Chow.
"It's just that these movies are
ones that I've been attached to or
involved with for a long time. They
just all happened to fall into place
this close together and the only time
they can get done is now. If I don't
do them now, who knows what will
happen. I'mnot^onnagettoointoit,
but I've still got a personal life, and
that's OK."