2 a OvertheEdge September 18, 1996 i ate CARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Ae ee Dols MES Pop in the Park... No Wait! the Gym! by Lauren Bacon A young child was careening around in circles at the intermission, following the coloured lines on the gym floor. He ‘looked ecstatic — it could have been the Beethoven. Kids seem to have a magical sense of excellent taste when it comes to the classical music. Although the first half of the “Pops in the Park” included a brass fanfare by Dukas, a sparkling trumpet concerto Haydn), and an evocative, impressionistic new work (Rocky Mountain Overture, a commissioned piece by John Birch), the many children in the audience weren’t captivated until the orchestra began the final movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Although the piece ripped along at a speedy tempo (which was, actually, not quite in control, ensemble-wise, and should probably have been taken a shade more slowly), there was an atmosphere of intense concentration about the spectators which had not been present until now. It was as though everyone realized that here was the real dope that John Williams (soundtrack composer of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc.) learned from. j The second half included the (in)famous William Tell Overture by Rossini, which had grown men throughout the audience slapping their thighs and pretending they were Lone Rangers. Following this spectacle was the musical highlight, Sibelius’ Finlandia. Here, the orchestra took the opportunity to tone down the fun and show off their excellent musicianship. Though the temp felt quick at times, the symphony’s ensemble was shown off here to its best advantage. . A medley (oh, shudder at the word!) of James Bond themes and the theme from Mission: Impossible rounded out the program. I was really hoping that the 2nd violin player who had sung O Canada to open the concert was going to strut out and belt “Thunderball,” but it wasn’t to be. Still, it was fun, despite the fact that, during the Mission: Impossible theme, the gymnasium’s acoustic amplified the four-count-’e,-four percussionists to the point of completely overwhelming to the other instruments. The concert was meant to take place at Fort George Park . (hence, the title), but it was moved indoors, to the CNC gym, due to rain. There was still a sense of a summer fair about it, though, with balloons abounding, ice cream for sale, and booths . where one could gather information about various local arts groups. Most of the kids took the opportunity to make as much noise as they could with the trombone (one of a variety of instruments) on display at the “Musical Petting Zoo”. Everything about this event, in fact, conveyed a sense of community, from the musicians’ casual dress, to the crooning of the national anthem, to a weirdly unfunny skit which had the conductor and concertmaster in army fatigues. This was a fun concert and everyone knew it — children were welcome to run around and yell during the performance and the afternoon was all the better for it. I only wish there were more classical concerts where half of the audience is munching on Fudgesicles. CIpyt pary AST For woe Wlostain ef ho Print ‘George Syiehenscs 1996/ 1997 season, call 562-0800. -Jes Burkitt The first time I saw Prince George’s Fueled By Ignorance (FBI) was in the summer of ‘95, when they opened for Another White Male. The concert was memorable as my first Urban Cof- feehouse Concert, but it was also memorable because it kicked some serious ass. Unfortunately, after that, I saw hide nor hair of them for about a year. Enter summer of “96. FBI played the Civic Centre along with Total Deth, The Real MacKenzies, and Facepuller as one-of the Youth Daze events of the summer. A dif- ferent drummer, a different bass- ist, and with different songs, they still held the same power that was at their last concert over a year ago. A few shows later, I ran into Bill (Bowers, who joined up as their manager about two months ago), Simon (Springer, vocals), and Shawn (Gairdner, drums) as fans after an Urban show while hanging about with the cleanup crew. After a short conversation, we decided that an interview would be in order. Fi- nally, at the beginning of Septem- ber, we met again and stopped threatening each other with an in- terview and set a date. Myself, Simon, Shawn, and Adrian (Castley, guitar) met one after-_ noon to talk about the band and the music. FBI’s only original two members, Simon and Adrian, went to the same high school, but never hung out together. One day after graduation, Barry (Keibel, NSMA freak) mentioned to Adrian that Simon was looking to sing for - a band. Adrian and Simon ran into each other at McDonald’s one day, “and the rest, as they say, is his- ” tory. Shawn, ex-drummer for the Dawson Creek band Purge, moved to Prince George in hopes of joining a band with a future. He hassled Simon and Adrian merci- lessly for three months, but at that point in time, They weren’t look- ing for a new drummer. The change wasn’t planned; one day, Dave, the old drummer, was no longer a member, and Shawn was in. Todd (Wickstrom, bass) was friends with Simon for a long time while Todd was still playing bass for Supercab. Supercab broke up, FBI was hurting for a bassist, and Todd was looking to play something heavier. It’s fairly ob- vious how fate worked out. When creating the FBI sound, the process usually follows a regular pattern. The band minus Simon will grind out some of its usual wicked jams, then Simon puts words to it afterwards. The process of writing lyrics is not just spontaneous; they actually have something to say. As the name of the band implies, the songs are about igno- rance. The band is against igno- rance of any sort (“all of the -isms; sexism, racism, etc.”) Simon also described in that “I say things that I feel need to be said, that other people won’t say; what really burns me.” The band’s current events include playing in Prince George (at the Urban) with Minority (whom they will be doing a few shows elsewhere) and Deep Fryer. It’s going to be on Sunday, Sep- tember 29th, at the Urban, with tickets being $6, $8 for non-mem- bers. Also, they have applied for a FACTOR grant (a government grant to pay for 50% of the pro- duction costs) to get a CD re- corded. Finally, they are desper- ately searching for a jam/rehearsal space, and are willing to pay. When asked about their music, and specifically what kind of music do they play, answering starts to get a bit harder. They don’t like labels (labels are for loser press people like me). They were quite clear on what they were not (like definitely not country or death metal). Their musical influences are varied, from funk to hip-hop to hardcore, with strong influences from bands like Korn, Rage, and the Deftones. I think Simon put it best when he said, “The music is Fueled By Ignorance, and that’s it. You'll have to come judge for yourself.”