Far Too Jones to Release CD at Legends

Kara Hodge - Entertainment Beat

College pop-rock group Far Too Jones (FTJ) will be at Legends tonight at 9 p.m. As a promotion for the CD-release party, FTJ produced ÒShame and Her SisterÓ on their own record label, Aszams Records. Raleigh-based band Drifting Through will open.

Comprised of singer Christopher Spruill, guitarists Jason Marks and Dave Dicke, bassist Alan Callahan and drummer Scott MacConnell, FTJ emerged from Raleigh as well and quickly became one of the Southeast region's most popular touring bands.

A year after issuing their self-titled debut CD in mid-1995, they released ÒCrawling Out from Under.Ó Follow-up EP ÒPlastic HeroÓ yielded the local hit "Falling Back Down," the success of which resulted in a deal with the Mammoth label. ÒPicture Postcard Walls,Ó FTJÕs Mammoth debut, appeared in 1998.

After the Disney Corporation bought out Mammoth, FTJ was forced to release ÒShame and Her SisterÓ on their own. FTJ created theirown label, Aszams Records, to have creative freedom.

ÒWeÕre really excited about putting this record out ourselves,Ó said Spruill on his web site. ÒThatÕs how this band started in the first place and itÕs good to be in control of our career again.Ó

ÒShameÓ is a progressive move for FTJ. Categorized as pop/frat rock, the bandÕs previous CDs have explored little. ÒShameÓ is personal and intimate; the lyrics are both direct and poetic and the sound is more expansive of their musical ability.

ÒI wanted this album to be completely real. Musically itÕs more aggressive but we came at it from a more emotional level,Ó said Spruill in a recent phone interview.

The bitter break-up track ÒJuliannaÓ has made radio play and has a strong electric sound added to the theme of a broken heart. FTJ shows its dark side in ÒTrip Through You" -- Trace me in gray, cold comfort and hollow brow / Black winged bird, carry me away / IÕve known no such hope -- and in ÒClose to You" -- Watching day-break chase shadows from you, as you cling to sleep / ThereÕs a moment in my world when I donÕt want to breathe.

The good stuff: Songs like ÒBallad of MaryÓ and ÒBlown AwayÓ are a good attempt at the placid side of pop rock. The band members' lyrics are simple and real.

The sound gets better as the album progresses. The not-so-good-stuff: Moving away from ÒPostcard WallsÓ was a good move for the band but it is not as progressive as they let on. It sounds a lot like their other work, just with a little more push and emotion.

In other words, they need a little more spice and aggression in their sound if they want to move forward. Overall, FTJ is making its mark on college pop. TheyÕre talented, pleasantly real and ÒShameÓ is nothing to be ashamed of.

Spruill said so himself: ÒWeÕre proud of this album. It was everything we wanted to do.Ó Far Too Jones with Drifting Through will play tonight in Legends at 9 p.m. Tickets are $4 in advance and $6 at the door.

The concert is B.Y.O.B. 6-pack limit with a valid I.D. For more information about FTJ, check out their web site at www.fartoojones.com.

String Cheese Plays Asheville

Kara Hodge - Entertainment Beat

With a name like String Cheese Incident, you would expect the band members to be as absurd and random as the title. Surprise, surprise -- they are. Straight out of Boulder, Colo., String Cheese Incident (SCI) will play in Asheville on Saturday at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium to promote their new CD ÒCarnival 99.Ó

The five-man band mixes jazz, bluegrass and world beats into a funky sound almost reminiscent of calypso. SCI formed in 1993 in the small skiing-resort of Crested Butte, Colo.

Soon after the bandÕs start, the members moved to Boulder and began to pursue music as a career. Non-stop touring throughout the country and performances at the well-known Telluride Bluegrass Festival soon helped promote their sound and style to the rest of the country.

ÒOur philosophy has always been to just do what we do and enjoy it as much as we can,Ó said violinist Michael Kang in a recent magazine interview.

Besides Kang, who also plays the mandolin, SCI consists of Bill Nershi on acoustic guitar, Keith Mosely on bass, Kyle Hollingsworth on piano and accordion, and Michael Travis on drums. Since the formation of SCI, the band has become well known for their live shows.

TheyÕre impressive not only for their talent, but also in their stage presence. If youÕve ever been to one of their shows, you know that the audience is one of the key elements in their performance.

Their fan base is like any live touring band -- think the Grateful Dead, Phish or Dave Matthews Band. ItÕs dedicated and huge. They play for the crowd, not to them, by telling stories about songs, sharing embarrassing moments and listening to the massesÕ requests.

ÒAs long as we can continue to find enjoyment in this for ourselves, then I think thatÕs when the crowd gets off the most.

If weÕre having a great time up there with each other, itÕs a great gig and thatÕs what the audience wants,Ó said Kang. ÒCarnival Ô99Ó is a step up from SCIÕs previous live-release ÒThe String Cheese Incident Live.Ó The double-disc set, produced off their own label, SCI Fidelity Records, is 120 minutes of live originals and some funny interpretations of some of their favorite cover material.

They cover jazz classics like Paul DesmondÕs ÒTake FiveÓ and Jean-Luc PontyÕs ÒMauna Bowa,Ó and bluegrass tunes like ÒShenandoah BreakdownÓ and ÒHold What You Got.Ó

The good stuff: The rap/funk tune ÒJellyfishÓ has great lyrics: My brain is just a jellyfish in the ocean of my head / Cause I drank too much tequila / And I woke up seeing red. They use improvisation as much as possible and it works well -- you actually feel like part of the show in ÒCarnival Õ99.Ó SCI is hilarious, talented and represented live better than most bands on live CDs.

The not-so-good-stuff: ÒCarnival Ô99Ó would be better if they used more of their own material, and not so many covers. SCIÕs talent lies in their ability to improvise at any given time in a song.

They are funny and wierd and even if you donÕt like bluegrass, theyÕll grow on you. String Cheese Incident will play Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in AshevilleÕs Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Tickets are $20 and can be charged by phone at (828) 251-5505. For more information contact the web site at www.stringcheeseincident.com.

Triple Threat Versus Review

Chaos Games: Planetary Collisions vs. Smuggling vs. Vandalism

Ian Hutchinson - Entertainment Beat

In the realm of video games, there is no love lost between Nintendo, Sega and Sony.

Why else would Nintendo and Sega deploy the big guns when Sony was prepared to release the PlayStation 2 (PS2)? However, that isn't to say Sega or Nintendo are on their last legs; their most recent respective offerings, "Jet Grind Radio" and "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" are quite impressive.

But how do they stand up to Rockstar Game's first PS2 effort "Smuggler's Run?" All three games have one element in common: chaos. In "Jet Grind Radio," you assume the role of one of many street vandals (or artists, if you prefer) in the semi-futuristic Tokyo-to.

You are part of a street art gang known as the GGs, who skate about tagging their turf and establishing new turf. However, the authorities and rival gangs are not digging your artistic expressions and, well, let's just say chaos ensues. In "Zelda," the heroic Link stumbles into a parallel world destined for doom after chasing a mysterious villain who stole his horse.

This new world is on a collision course with its moon and will be destroyed in three days. It doesn't look like it's going to be an easy event to stop, but Link will try anyway. However, if Link can recover his sacred ocarina, he can travel back in time to the beginning of the first day, giving him all the time in the world.

In those three days, Link must restore order not only to the world, but to the lives of its citizens as well. No pressure ... right? In "Smuggler's Run" you are (surprise) a smuggler of various forms of unlawful contraband.

Your job is to get the illegal goods (drugs, weapons ... kidneys) to the interested parties and not get stopped by the border patrol. It may not sound complicated, but the cops have top-of-the-line vehicles while you have a pretty shoddy choice of vehicles.

You're basically outgunned, but if you can outmaneuver the boys in blue, you're home free. So, how do these games stack up? Graphically, "Jet Grind Radio" gets the gold. Imagine if you put a cartoon in the context of a 3-D game and you have "Jet Grind Radio."

The character movements are fluid and even the shadows in the game perfectly follow your chosen vandal. As far as depth goes, all three are winners. "Grind," "Zelda" and "Run" all have deep, detailed environments.

In "Run," there are expansive, detailed courses to race across which seem to go on for miles. "Zelda" has its own brand of depth, giving every character you meet their own schedule that you must remember to help them.

"Grind" introduces you to various parts of Tokyo-to in its early stages, but then shows you how big the city really is by bookending those previous stages together for big street-tagging challenges.

The best controls go to "Zelda," pure and simple. Everything you were able to do in the last Zelda game, you can do in ÒMajoraÕs Mask.Ó "Smuggler's" controls are fickle. If you steer the car on the analog control, the turns are too hard; if you opt to use the control pad, the turns are too soft.

Spray painting combos in "Grind" are not that difficult, but performing tricks like skating backwards are nearly impossible and frustrating. The greatest thrills lie in "Run." The terrain is sometimes on the verge of insane, but then, so are the authorities chasing you.

The speed of the game is a rush and the jumps and falls are intense. "Grind" has hilarious pursuits. You may not see a vandal as a major threat, but that won't stop the cops in Tokyo-to from deploying heat seeking missiles on the GGs. "Zelda" is more puzzle and task-oriented but it also has some good action, like battling monsters on horseback.

"Grind" and "Zelda" share the ingenuity award. "Grind" has style and it even allows you to create your own graffiti tags.

The next best thing to seeing your name in lights is spraying it all over the streets of Tokyo-to. "Zelda" also wins for its "Groundhog Day" feel (see the Bill Murray movie if you're confused) and its use of various masks that grant Link unique powers.

Overall, the heroic Link slays the smugglers and the GG Gang. "Majora's Mask" brings real time and continuity to a new level in video games while remaining entertaining and challenging.

While the "Groundhog Day" factor is initially frustrating (i.e., losing money, minor items and restoring past problems when you travel back in time), but once you get into the rhythm of the game, that frustration passes.

Dungeons that are defeated do not remain defeated but all goal-critical items gained from those dungeons are not lost. Even when the world resets, the game still moves forward.

Also, the individuals you meet each have their own problems that you have to solve. On top of that, the characters have excellent body language and some even dance perfectly. At the end of the day, NintendoÕs new "Zelda" takes the cake and leaves "Grind" and "Run" with the crumbs.

If you're looking for a Nintendo alternative, then "Jet Grind Radio" is worth checking out. "Smuggler's Run" gets an honorable mention for displaying the PS2's vast potential even if the power of the system is not taken full advantage of. Those lucky enough to own a PS2 should at least give it a rent.