■ Entertainment
Review
By Kellye Way
Staff Reporter
kjw2o3@psu.edu
Artist:
Bowling For Soup
Album: A
Hangover You Don’t Deserve
Release Date:
September 14, 2004
Number of Tracks:
(plus 2 bonus tracks)
Rating:
of 4 stars!
It’s no secret that the first sin
gle “1985” from Bowling For
Soup’s latest album “A
Hangover You Don’t Deserve”
tops most-requested charts all
over the country. The Texan
pop-rock quad showcases sim
ple, easy to enjoy lyrics without
making the listener think too
hard. Vocal leader Jaret
Reddick proclaims that the
band aspires to be the next
Silverchair, but their sound is
actually more reminiscent of
Green Day, Blink 182, or
Fountains of Wayne. “1985”
was a great choice for a starter
single off this album since it
gives a short, accurate glimpse
into the overall feeling of the
whole album.
The fun, snappy lyrics are
“catchy as hell” says Johnny
Loftus of All Music Guide. With
words and ideas that are not
any more complicated than
they have to be, this band has
a very fun feel, The group
claims that their biggest influ
ences are The Ramones and
Cheap Trick and many of their
songs are stuffed with refer
ences to pop culture, including
a shout-out to the Bush twins
on the track “Ohio (Come back
to Texas)”.
If alternative pop-rock isn’t
really your thing though, “A
Hangover You Don’t Deserve”
can be fun for a few songs, but
might get old after 17 tracks.
However, the cleverly funny
words on every track are worth
hearing at least once. The
album also offers two bonus
tracks, which give a rare, raw
look into the jam sessions of
the quirky band guys just hang
ing out.
Although the overall beat and
rhythm remains the same
throughout most of the tracks,
each new song has it’s own
catchy hook and irresistibly fun
lyrics that musters a smirk and
a smile every time.
Just in case you were won
dering where the band’s name
originates from, in an interview
with VHI, front man Reddick
said, “Steve Martin’s Wild and
Crazy Guy album has a bit
where he talks about a fake
show called “Bowling for Sh*t.”
Me and the original drummer -
we’ve been best friends since
we were three - thought that
was funny and we decided to
milk it for everything it was
worth, so we were constantly
bowling for something.
When our original band was
breaking up, he said at our last
show, “Come see our new band
in a month, Bowling for Soup."
It was totally fictional, but it
worked and stuck.”
Learn your ABC’s of beer
The Capital Times
reviews the Hot Spots
of Harrisburg
By Eric Thomas
Assistant Editor and
Nat Melincove
Staff Reporter
ewtl22@psu.edu
ncml2B@psu.edu
1 7
3 out
Since 1997, the Appalachian
Brewery Company has been
one of the most popular spots in
the city of Harrisburg.
The 50,000 square foot build
ing houses one of the largest
brew pub in the country and the
first brewery in the city in 46
years.
Aside from their assortment of
homegrown beer, the place
prides itself as one of the better
dining spots in and around the
capital region.
“People walk in and they are
overcome at what they see
compared to what it looks like
on the outside,” said manager
Eric Beamesderfer. “The first
time I came in here, I said to
myself, I’ve got to get a job
here.”
The cozy atmosphere wel
comes ‘everyone Wh© is getting
off from work or looking to relax
after a 12-hour day of classes.
The building was reborn after a
fire in 1993, which gutted the
entire structure. It was
redesigned two years later and
reopened in 1997 later by four
owners whose friends became
known as “Friends of the
Gregorits takes another turn in his life
By John Fox
Staff Reporter
jtfls3@psu.edu
Motivation to create can be
found in the most unlikely places.
For Gene Gregorits, AKA Gene
Suicide, it was the brash music
of the Sex Pistols which fueled
his mid-90’s fanzine, NO
FUTURE.
Spanning 4 issues and 3 years,
NO FUTURE was Gregorys’
retort to his miserable surround
ings in Harrisburg as well as a lit
erary condemnation of the cur
rent state of punk rock.
“Sex Pistols fetishism and gen
eral obnoxiousness,” said
Gregorits on the genesis of NO
FUTURE. “It was my introduction
to self publishing, it taught me
how to write journalism, do
graphic layout, utilize a Xerox
machine’s special features, and
make myself everyone's enemy.”
In NO FUTURE, the indication
of self-loathing was always pres
ent and the disenchanted youth
of Harrisburg eagerly devoured
its Xeroxed pages. Gene
Suicide became the voice of
adolescent unrest in a conserva
tive good ‘ol boy town.
Gregorits is more humble when
referring to his readership. “I did
n’t have a fan base,” said
Gregorits. “I merely had an
assortment of cheap voyeurs
who tried to keep tabs on me,
because they were all waiting for
me to die. People who enjoy my
work I’d assume to be heavily
Brewery.”
For your drinking pleasure,
year round brews include
Susquehanna Stout, Rurist Pale
Ale, Mountain Lager, Jolly Scott
The Capital Times staff takes a break from work to
enjoy festivities and homegrown beers at the
Appalachian Brewing Company Wednseday night.
Scottish Ale, and Broad Street
Barely Wine and Water Gap
Wheat.
If you are in the mood to check
out multiple beverages, peruse
medicated and/or drunk. I con
nect with people with severe
emotional problems; sex fiends
and manic depressives. NO
FUTURE lasted 4 issues, each
one was better than the last, but
it was so hideously misguided
that it became an unintentional
spoof of punk zines in general. I
hated punk culture, and I was
highly critical of it in NO
FUTURE. My message, which
was essentially anti-conformist,
was correct, and justified, but it
just came out all wrong. I looked
like an asshole.”
For those who want to know,
Gregorits defined Gene Suicide;
his life, death, and occasional
resurrection
“Gene Suicide isn’t really any
thing more than me when I’m
drunk,” said Gregorits. “It’s a side
of my personality that I’m not
proud of, and no one calls me
that anymore. I could easily say
that it was my alter ego, but to be
honest my behavior hasn’t
changed much. When I was on
the rampage last night, in
downtown Detroit, throwing
myself down upon the sidewalk
until both my hips became
swollen and black, that was
Gene Suicide. When I’m rude to
a girl, that’s Gene Suicide. You
have no idea how unpleasant it is
to maintain that other self,
because I am, believe it or not, a
very sweet person.”
In 1997, Gregorits started to
compile interviews with New
York City song writers and film
the microbrew scale by getting
their popular sampler, an assort
ment of microbrews on tap.
The menu also includes the
monthly special, which features
two different brews each month.
The September special is the
Rockville Rye Ale, October’s is
the Pennypacker Porter, which
A.B.C. calls a “chocolatey flavor
makers for his
new project called Sex & Guts. It
was at this time he realized, as
most creative occupants of
Harrisburg do, that in order for
his work to be appreciated and
flourish he would have to move
to a real city. The Big Apple was
the most natural choice.
“I resumed doing Sex & Guts in
New York and worked at Kim’s
Video, whose clientele consisted
of many high profile celebrities,
ranging from John Waters and
Quentin Tarantino to David
Bowie and Annabella Sciorra,”
said Gregorits. “I also worked for
a punk rock cosmetic company
as international sales manager,
and in a chess store. In New
York I didn’t feel quite at home so
I started drinking very heavily. I
became known around town as
Gene Suicide. My magazine
became recognized, and I met
many of my heroes. Much of my
time in NY remains an alcoholic
blur...dozens of one night
stands...l was starting to unravel.
I began a column in a music
tabloid, writing as Gene Suicide.
The column was a monthly gig,
and I used it to vent my frustra
tion with culture, New York, and
American apathy.”
Gregorits talked specifically on
the origins of Sex & Guts. “I start
ed doing Sex & Guts because I
couldn’t gain access to Johnny
Rotten, and didn’t see much
point in continuing to do a Sex
Pistols fanzine without that inter
view ever becoming possible, so
with a slight roast finish.”
The menu includes such
entrees as the 9/11, which is a
juicy 16-ounce New York strip
steak grilled to your liking with
onions and mushrooms, the
reason for its name? For each
steak sold, a dollar contribution
goes towards the Trade Towers
Orphan Fund in New York City.
The menu is also loaded with
A.B.C. originals such as beer
battered fish and chips, sun
dried tomato pierogies, and
lager bratwurst and garlic
mashed potatoes
The best part of the menu is
the brew master’s suggestions
underneath each listing.
A.B.C. also houses a bar
upstairs, which includes pool
tables and serves liquor.
“We are talking about having a
three story deck that we could
use in extreme winter,” said
Photos By Jennifer Kauffman
The Appalachian Brewing Company provides a nice
atmosphere for relaxing after work or meeting friends
for dinner to catch up on old times.
Photo C'ourtsev ot'dcnc (ircgorits
I instead created Sex & Guts to
write about films and cover the
underside of entertainment cul
ture with the energy of the Sex
Pistols. Sid Vicious did manage
to appear on the first issue’s front
cover,” he said.
Sex & Guts was a hit and
earned Gregorits infamy across
Beamesderfer. “We are always
looking for improvement and
welcome suggestions from
guests.”
Beamesderfer said weekends
tend to be the busiest, mention
ing that the bar gets anywhere
from 125-300 people on a given
Friday or Saturday.
To maximize your microbrew
drinking experience make sure
to check out Octoberfest, which
is ongoing until October 9.
Check out the
next HOTSPOT
in the next issue:
October 11 2004
KoKomo’s sports
bar and grill
the U.S. and Europe. The fourth
and most recent issue, published
in 2003 by Phony Lid Books,
came out in the form of a hugely
anticipated and highly successful
280 page book chock full of inter
views with prominent musicians,
filmmakers, writers, and enter
tainers. Sex & Guts also has a