The Behrend Beacon
We like our music Extra Medium,
with a side
In I.eanne Acklin
staff w riter
With the 1999 release of their de
hut album “Happy Accident." the al
ternative/rock band Extra Medium
Munehow proved that there is still
tresh. original music to he heard.
The group, with ties to Clarion via
lead, singer Joel F.ustiee, has existed
m its present form since February of
1 t)1, 9. Flaying the Clarion, Penn
■State, anti lUP circuits during their
1 years of bandomhood. Extra Medium
»has managed to earn widespread rec-
ognition. independently sell upwards
iof a hundred copies of "Happy Acci
; dent," and become stationmp3.com' s
; Featured Stream of the Week. "I like
•being the stream of the week...that
kicks ass," commented Eustice in
light of the recognition, which was
warranted this week.
■* Deservedly so. "Happy Accident"
tracks that far surpass the
1 requirements for radio play. Songs
Csuch as "No Truth," "Consequence."
;'und "Fear" all begin relatively soft
bonly to hit hard a few seconds in,
Awhile covering topics such as deci
**sions. despair, and distress ("oh my").
TTlie lone chick ballad, "World Inside,"
•♦captures all the niches of a summer
>theme song and packs just as much
I .sincerity. Just think of how the slower
vsongs produced by rock groups turn
bout.. .groups like Guns “n Roses, Poi
-*son. and Aerosmith come to mind.
1-Thai's tight, smile, you know you’ve
! got that song in your head right now !
; The vocals in this song finally come
up from the basement, dust them
selves off a little, and intensely shine
upscale a couple of notches, proving
that Eustice can stretch his range no
tably. anti should consider doing so
more often.
The remainder of the songs on this
album. "Backwards Glance,” “Lost,"
"Sky Today." and "Can't Stand the
J une" bring back the eminence of the
lead cuitar that has been evident
throughout ruck. Shamefully this lus
• ter has been lost in the shuffle of the
; bubble gum pop and cheesy techno
urn jams o
SUMMER JOBS
Erie manufacturer looking to hire general shop
. , .......
laborers for the summer. Jobs run from mid-May
(or end of semester) through August.
A variety of positions are available.
Great Hands-on
Experience, Good Pay
Call Barbara at 451-0400 for details.
The Dick and Jane column will no longer be appearing in
of fries...
Extra Medium practices for the new album
that has flooded the music market
throughout the 90s and up to today.
Following suit with bands such as
Matchbox 20, Toad the Wet Sprocket,
and Everclear, Extra Medium's lead
guitarist Steve C’urll has undoubtedly
done his part to respectably feature
this root of rock once again (transla
tion - the guitar in these songs abso
lutely rocks).
All the songs are written and pro
duced by Extra Medium, w ith remain
ing members Miles Altman (guitar).
Jerrod Shook (bass), Eric Eisenman
(drums), and The Duck (mascot) do
ing their share to pull this band into
the light where it belongs. The fu
ture. as long as these guys continue
to do shows, looks promising. "| We]
recently signed with Taxi in hopes of
finding a label." explained Eustice.
Additional exposure has and will con
tinue to come from the cyber circuit.
For move information on CDs (buy
it!), downloads, booking, and bios,
visit their sites at www.wclcomc.to/
c.xt ram ct/in m. ic it - ic. I is ten .to/
ext ram e ilium , ir ic u\ mp 3. com/
extramedium. and n it \v.stationmp3.
Features
(Note: After 2 solid semesters of
writing the local band beat for the
Beacon, I have had the privilege of
meeting some of this area’s most
dedicated and passionate artists. Ex
tra Medium was actually the only
band I knew before hand that I was
going to feature, and was the reason
I took on this beat. I am now dedi
cated to the promotion of heartened
and hardworking artists and have
come to share their passion and love
for music. I hope through my articles
that I have opened your eyes to the
amazing talent this area holds, and
encouraged you to enjoy a night or
two in the presence of such spirited
people and music. Thank you every
one for a wonderful year - Leanne
Acklin)
April 21, 2000
Spring and Summer bring new
season of
Spring is finally, here and summer
will soon be showing its face. This
means two things. One, the semester
is finally over, and two, a new season
of movie releases is about to hit the
aters. So what screen shows do we
have to look forward to?
A story about strength and adver
sity will start the wave of must-see
movies this spring. Where the Heart
Is features a 17-year-old girl (played
by Natalie Portman) in the pursuit of
survival after she is left at a Wal-Mart
by her boyfriend in a small Oklahoma
town. Not only is she jobless and
broke, but she is pregnant. The rest
of the star cast includes Ashley Judd,
Stockard Channing, and Joan Cusack.
Directed by Matt Williams, the movie
is based on the best-selling novel by
Billie Letts and is set to be released
on April 28.
Next on the list is Big Momma’s
House , a story about an FBI agent sent
to Georgia to protect a single mother
and her son from an escaped convict.
This comedy takes shape as the agent
is forced to impersonate a southern
granny “Big Momma” in order to re
main undercover. The cast is com
posed of Martin Lawarence, Nia
Long, and Paul Giamatti. Directed by
Raja Gosnell, the movie’s date of re
lease is June 2.
FILE PHOTO
Another comedy on the way, di
rected by Bobby and Peter Farrelly,
is entitled Me, Myself and Irene. Vet
eran comedian Jim Carrey plays a cop
afflicted with split personality disor
der who escorts a woman back to her
home town. The trip becomes an ad
venture as he falls in love with her
and tries to win her affections. The
cast assisting Carrey includes Renee
Zellweger, Chris Cooper, Robert
p
E
S
by Katie Przepyszny
features co-editor
Aries (March 21-April 19). Sleeping through
class for the sixteenth time this semester might not
be such a good idea.
Taurus (April 20-May 20). Your birthday’s com
ing up, make sure that it is one hell of a bash and
be sure you invite Bongo!
Gemini (May 21-June 21). Maybe if you didn’t
have that last beer you wouldn’t be seeing double
Cancer (June 22-July 22). Be careful about what
you eat or drink, everything causes cancer.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22). Beware of three legged
monkeys bering strange gifts.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Give your professors a
surprise and show up for class for a change.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Partying the weekend
before finals can be detrimental to your grades.
Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Sorry scorpios, I’m
outta ideas for this week, so you’re on your own!
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Mangos, they’re
not just for breakfast anymore, nudge, nudge, wink
wink.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). What the heck is a
capricorn anyway?
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb 18). Go fishing!
Pisces (Feb 19 - March 20). Deep thought Isn’t
it amazing that anyone at Behrend could actually
have a deep thought?
by
Bongo the three legged
monkey
movie releases
Forster, and Richard Jenkins. The
movie will be released June 23.
When comics hit the movies, the re
sult is a screen version of X-Men, a
live-action adaptation of the most
popular comic book series ever. Di
rected by Bryan Singer, the movie
version features famous faces such as
Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn-
Stamos, and Patrick Stewart. To be
released on July 14, the movie dis
plays the pursuits of the X-Men with
their extraordinary powers as they
race to fight to protect a mankind that
doesn’t understand them and therefore
fears them.
Coming to theaters August 11,
Brendan Fraser, Elizabeth Hurley, and
Frances O’Connor will star in Be
dazzled. Directed by Harold Ramis,
the movie touches the subjects of sex,
power, and money as a man makes a
deal with the Devil to get the girl of
his dreams.
To be released next fall, George
Tilman, Jr. directs an inspirational
movie about military history. With a
cast including such big names as Rob
ert De Niro and Cuba Gooding, Jr.,
Navy Diver recaps the experiences of
Carl Brashear, who with the help of
master diver Billy Sunday, overcomes
a crippling injury, racism, and bureau
cracy to become the Navy’s first Af
rican-American Master Diver.
Entering theaters at a date yet to be
announced is From Hell, a story based
on a graphic novel by Allan Moore
and Eddie Campbell. Directed by
Allen and Albert Hughes, the movie
is set in Victorian London and is a
retelling of the Jack The Ripper mur
ders.
Whether it’s comedy, romance, ac
tion, horror, or drama you like, this
coming season of movies has it cov
ered. Check the theaters near you.
Above: Scenes from the upcom
ing movies Where the Heart Is,
Big Momma’s House, and Me,
Myself and Irene.
o
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JOL
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