Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 20, 2001, edition 1 / Page 9
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®fje Saily (Bar Mppl Ozomatli Delivers Politics, Latin Fire on Chaos By Ashley Atkinson Senior Writer Forget about Ricky Martin and J. Lo. If you’re looking for the real Latin inva sion, you’ll find it in the L.A.-based Ozomatli -a party band with a political agenda. While Ozomatli’s sound is rooted in salsa, the group is as Ozomatli Embrace the Chaos diverse as the city that spawned it: Ozomatli counts blacks, Chicanos, Cubans, Japanese, Jews and Filipinos among its nine members. Its music, likewise, is a cultural med ley. Many of the tracks on Embrace the Chaos wouldn’t sound out of place at your favorite Mexican restaurant. But Ozomatli doesn’t stop there, throwing the classic Latin sound for a loop with tumtabling, hip-hop lyrics, impressive guest appearances and innovative touch- Pittsboro Native Delivers Solid Guitar Lines; Jump Little Children Returns to Indie Roots Randy Whitt So It Goes ★★★★☆ N.C. country boy Randy Whitt began strumming his guitar at an early age to escape the boredom of his home town of Pittsboro. With his first album, “So It Goes,” his excellent guitar performance reinforces the old adage of “practice makes perfect” His guitar playing overshadows his vocals. They aren’t bad, maybe just a lit de less polished and practiced than his guitar playing. When he sings the tide track, he belts out the chorus as over eamesdy as a kid trying to impress the crowd at a talent show. There are also occasions when you can’t help but feel like he’s winking at his audience. He sounds like an unorig inal mixture between Elvis and Chris Isaac in “Hip Cat,” but when he literal ly meows into the microphone, that per sonal touch makes you smile. There are other times when he chan nels a countrified version of Counting Crows’ front man Adam Duritz. The opening riff of “G Street” seems like it’s straight out of “Angels of the Silences.” from “Recovering the Satellites.” On this track, his vocals finally get an edge - something missing over the course of the relatively short album (at 37 minutes). But while his vocals may prove somewhat inconsistent, his guitar play ing is excellent throughout. Whitt switches back and forth between electric and acoustic, and both play well. His electric guitar has a bit of a jazzed-up Santana feel to it, but his acoustic guitar really lays the founda tion for some powerful, serene tracks. The only time the album ever falls flat is at the end of some tracks. “Breadcrumb Lullaby” fades out with a long stretch of out-of-place a cappella singing then ends to the sounds of con versations at a cocktail party. Was the point to make the album seem longer than it really is? While Whitt plans a cross-country tour next year, he’s playing around the Chapel Hill area until then. Check him out before he hits the road. By Allison Rost Dredg Leitmotif ★★★★☆ With their 1989 masterpiece, Paul’s Boutique , the Beastie Boys changed hip hop forever with their reinterpretation of the style; California-based rock outfit Dredg aim to do the same thing to rock by infusing it with styles ranging from instrumental-jam bands to hard core. While Leitmotifialk far short of revo lutionizing anything, Dredg’s first full length release shows enough promise and emphasis on innovation to make their larger-than-life aspirations seem possible, though unlikely. The album seems to be the answer to age-old question - what would happen if a bunch of artsy-hippie types who really like hard rock made an album? Leitmotif is mish-mash of hard rock songs, slower guitar-driven instrumen tals, a pinch of hard core and a smatter ing of R2D2-inspired bleeping, bloop ing transitions. The most entertaining and easily accessible parts of the disc are the rock sections of the songs which sound like a more intelligent version of Silverchair. It’s interesting to see how Dredg attempts to integrate the rock sections with the instrumental and hard core ideas. “Yatahaze” and “Movement II: Crosswind Minuet” both begin as sim ple rock songs that then crescendo in emotional intensity to hard core, then fade away into instrumentals. Few bands could competendy cram as many feelings into a five-minute song as are sardined into “Yatahaze.” With track listings like “Penguins in the Desert” and liner notes that seem to include a drug-induced travel log rather than lyrics, Dredg appears to be the kind of self-important, pretentious band critics love to abuse. Fortunately, the band backs up its eccentricities with The band formed in L.A. in 1995, starting out with gigs at political benefits and soon earning a rabid local follow ing. Its music is intended to promote social change, although English-only lis teners might not get all of the message - the raps are in English, but the sung lyrics are in Spanish. And Ozomatli doesn’t just talk the activist talk; its members walk the walk as well (bassist Wil Dog Abers once staged a three-month sit-in to protest the treat ment of L.A. Conservation Corps work ers). But Ozomadi doesn’t let the serious nature of its agenda get in the way of a good time. Each track is packed with energy and exuberant brass, and if you throw this on at your next party you bet ter be ready to switch between salsa dancing and booty-shaking. The album gets the party started with “Pa Lante,” whose energetic chorus is catchy, interesting music that pushes to the edges of the rock genre and gets bet ter with each additional listen. Leitmotif was recently re-released in an attempt to drum up public interest for Dredg’s first effort on its new record label - Interscope Records. It will be interesting to see whether increased attention from the public eye will result in Dredg becoming more “radio-friend ly.” One hopes it won’t. The strength of the band is its neu rotic fear of sounding like one of the generic groups who currendy populate the airwaves. The day Dredg starts mak ing albums that don’t include seamless transitions from emo-rock to hard core would be the day that Dredg fails in its mission to expand rock’s horizons and recedes into anonymity. By Trafton Drew Jump, Litde Children Vertigo Oh, the sweet sounds of freedom. Speed Reading workshop offered by the Learning Center Does it seem like reading assignments take FOREVER to complete? Do you have to keep going back to read a page? Do you feel lost in the text? The workshop will meet from 3pm to 4:1 spm on September 25 and September 26, October 2 and October 3. You must attend all four classes. Call 919-962-3782 or email learning@unc.edu to sign up. We are located at 204 Phillips Annex. Council Travel is open and available to help all students who currently seek assistance with their travel plans. We are monitoring all information from the FAA and individual airlines so please call or stop by Council Travel for the latest information. At this time, airlines are accepting bookings and future travel plans can be made. You may contact Council to arrange your travel plans for Study Abroad and Fall Break. The thoughts of everyone at Council Travel are with the victims of September 11th's events and their loved ones. €oiJfldl /rffSp 308 w Rosemary St travel Chapel Hill, NC 919 942-2334 America's Leader In Student Travel 1-800-2 COUNCIL www.counciltravel.com il>outhtotck "i 'Psn s oif i BBS Course ran Open to the Public * t mmothi Southwick Amateur Championship XIV September 29 & 30,2001 5 Awesome Prizes in 8 Flights!!! Visit www.SouthwickGolf.com for details and entry form Call 919-942-0783 for Tee Times Directions: Take 54 West 20 miles to a stoplight. Take a lel * on Swepsonville Rd. and go 1 mile lo a stop sign. Take a right on Swepsonville-Saxapahaw Rd. and go 17 miles. A Take a left on Boywood Rd. We're 1 'I? miles on the left 3136 SouTHWICK Drive • Graham, NC 27253 * Valid with student or faculty' i.d. DIVERSIONS punctuated by trumpet blasts. “1234,” featuring Pos and TruGoy of De La Soul, deftly mixes hip-hop rhymes with hot horns and a beat that’s all funk. Other tracks are more characteristi cally Latin, with group choruses and blazing brass. But the band throws in unexpected elements that keep the sound contemporary - the salsa of “Dos Cosas Ciertas,” for example, slides into a rhyme undercut by an electronic drum-and-bass beat. Indian tabla drum ming is featured prominently on a cou ple of tracks, as is the kora, an African stringed instrument. The smooth rhymes of “Vocal Artillery,” provided by Will.l.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and underground hip hop queen Medusa, are laid over a trumpet riff that’s straight out of a New Orleans rag. And the jazzy “Pensativo” sounds like the soundtrack to a mystery movie. Ozomatli’s ideology becomes clear on “Embrace the Chaos,” which fea Jump, Little Children has returned to its independent-release roots after part ing ways earlier this year with former Atlantic Records imprint Breaking Records. On Sept. 25, the acoustic-funk pop sters will officially release Vertigo - its first album in three years - on their own label, EZ Chief Records. And this one is worth the wait. Vertigo takes listeners on an emotion al rollercoaster ride through the person al experiences of the Charleston, S.C.- based quintet since the 1998 release of Magazine, the band’s only major label record to date. The band has abandoned much of the blues and Celtic-tinged sounds of previous albums in favor of a more pop flavor, but they still manage to stay dis tinct and fresh. Vertigo meddles with gui tar effects and smooth arrangements to create a sound that is all its own. From the pulsing rhythm of “Too High” to the melodic refrain of “Words of Wisdom,” the fivesome will remind you why they have earned such a wide tures lyrics from hip-hop impresario Common. The track begins with a recording from a protest, at which Ozomadi per formed, of the 2000 National Democratic Convention in L.A. The police pulled the plug on the band after one song, and then fired rubber bullets into the crowd as it tried to peacefully disperse - all while then-President Bill Clinton gave a speech on America’s greatness. The song encourages listeners to “embrace the chaos:” recognize what’s wrong in society and act upon it. This positivity flows throughout Ozomadi’s music, even as it addresses social ills and the hypocrisy of the establishment This country needs a band that makes you want to change the world as much as it makes you want to dance -and Ozomadi is it The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. grassroots following, despite performing on street comers and in clubs. While the guys are talented songwrit ers in their own right, there’s something operatic about listening to Jump, Litde Children tunes - understanding the lyrics isn’t mandatory for understanding the emotion behind them. Just like past performances, lead vocalist Jay Clifford fills in any gaps on Vertigo with his some times-haunting, always-passionate deliv ery. Clifford, also the chief songwriter of Jump Litde Children, uses his careening vocal delivery to add shades of emotion SB-95 (haircut reg. $11.50) 141 Rams Plaza, Chapel Hill (located off 15-501, on the bus route) 967-0226 M-F 10am-Bpm • Sat 9AM-6PM Sun l2pm-spm www.supercuts.com ismuis As hip as you want to be. 2 expires 10/25/01 . I INVESTMENT STRATEGIES THAT ARE CLEAR AND CONCISE. EVEN IF OUR NAME ISN’T. Aside from our name, we've always been in favor of making things simple. . So contact us for smart, easy investment techniques to help you reach your financial goals. TIAA-CREF.org or call 1.800.842.2776 • '- . lt-i/fi other liungt -innk • T ... ' 'V' : .•■'. |" ■ • |.. j; ... . * - • •- . , ,•’ • ‘vv • ..;: V*. .* * RETIREMENT INSURANCE. MUTUAL FUNDS COLLEGE SAVINGS TRUSTS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Jff jjiF is® wTso"* temmmktlS; Los Angeles-based Latin outfit Ozomalti mixes world music influences, political ideology and good time grooves on Embrace The Chaos. to the broken imagery of his lyrics. His songs focus around love and all its vari ous effects on life. “Lover’s Greed” speaks of the lengths that love will take people, conjuring images of fat birds feeding on spring blossoms. Elsewhere, “Angeldust” dreams of oceans on fire, signalling the impending end of a love affair. But versatile vocalist and musician Matt Bivins will disappoint those Jump, Litde Children fans who have come to expect at least one fun, funky rap num ber from him. His dark, introspective performance of “Singer” seems more lo foe. Thursday, September 20, 2001 suited for open mic night at a local cof feehouse. Despite one starkly out-of-place tune, Bivins and his bandmates maintain their success with this eclectic mix of mourn ful ballads, thoughtful mid-tempo tunes and driving high-energy tracks. It’s as if Jump, Little Children has seen the ugly world of major record labels and has matured both musically and lyrically from the experience. Welcome back from the dark side, guys. By Harmony Johnson l tfywi ► One Located Near You ► Voted Students #1 Tanning Salon ► Cheapest Rates Around ► Cleanest Salon In Town 919-933-2117 919 942-7177 TAN YOUK-rtiPE 2 \ TANYCUKtm 151 E. Rosemary St or 15-501 S. 4 Smith Level Rd. OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK OPEN 6 OAYS A WEEK 9
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Sept. 20, 2001, edition 1
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