On Friday, my token spontaneous friend approached me with a proposition for a would-be adventure. The scheme was simple: a night spent waiting in line for ESPN's "College GameDay," the Holy Grail for many university men. It sounded boring, but he promised there would be TWIZZLERS. I said I would go.
Pop-punk band Motion City Soundtrack has been funkifying festival scenes since its formation in 1997 and rocking around the world with the likes of Blink 182, Fall Out Boy and Incubus. The band, which is now working on its fourth album following the success of "Commit This to Memory," will perform in Gainesville at the Real Big Deal Festival on Sept. 13. Bassist and back-up vocalist Matthew Taylor talks with the Alligator about the band's future, travel habits and what they love about the festival scene.
Caution: Objects in your rearview mirror are older than they appear.
After the merger of their record company Capitol Records and the subsequent release of their new album "Singularity," the members of modern rock group Mae realized something: This isn't working. Despite experiencing severe debt, lack of management and a minor existential crisis, the band set out to find out a new way that did work. Drummer Jacob Marshall talked about the group's upcoming show in Gainesville, its trials with finding management and where it wants to go from here.
Crocs, Inc. and 360 Productions are collaborating for the Crocs Next Step Campus Tour, which will be rolling into Gainesville on Sept. 14.
Minus one organ and plus one new baby, the husband-and-wife musical team Mates of State return to Gainesville for the first time since March 2006. Known for their organ and drum arrangement and catchy, complex pop harmonies, the indie-rock duo shed their signature organ sound on the new album, "Re-Arrange Us." Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel will be toting the new keyboards and their daughters, Magnolia and new addition June, on the road with them Sept. 13 and 14 to the Real Big Deal Festival at the Alachua County Fairgrounds. Calling from a houseboat in the middle of a lake, Hammel discusses the band's rearrangements, what it's like touring with two young daughters and why America is ready for change.
AVE: So, what are you doing right now?
Why? is all about asking questions. Ask front man Yoni Wolf why call a band Why? and he'll shoot back, "Why not?"
I first became interested in cooking in high school and came to UF (pursuing a degree in art) with ideas and recipes that have helped me cook healthily for myself while staying on a budget. Because I am on often cooking on the fly for one, I have to remain flexible; thus I developed an improvisational attitude towards cooking. As I see it, if you become familiar with a particular ingredient, technique, or basic recipe and learn how to play with it, it can become so much more than one involved, rigid recipe ever could.
Of the many reasons a restaurant may not be a crazy success, often ¾ dare I say most of the time? ¾ the quality of the food is the last. Some of those places are so devoted to the goodness of what they serve that they totally overlook everything else, including promoting themselves. They miss unbridled potential. That is the biggest problem with one of my favorite places in town, The Book Lover's Café.
It was an ordinary day when Three Legged Dawg band member Billy Ray took a walk in his yard. His dog had taken a dump in the grass. To his amazement, a butterfly was perched on the excrement as if to symbolize the triumph of freedom and beauty over ¾ well, crap.
"Why is it that a sophisticated animal like a chimpanzee does not utilize inferior creatures? He could straddle a goat and ride off into the sunset," asks "Encounters at the End of the World" director Werner Herzog, who also directed "Grizzly Man" and "Fitzcarraldo."
In this post-9/11 fantasy world, everyone is split into two sides: freedom fighters and terrorists, with no room for middle ground. Based largely on this premise, "Traitor" comes off as rather unbelievable, and at times almost ridiculous, as it channels Cold War-era nuclear fears brought about by propaganda.
Don't lie. You know all summer long, the second an orange or blue article of clothing caught your eye, you were nearly required to buy it. Football season is back, ladies and gentlemen, and it's time to whip out your game day attire. Urban Meyer's whiteout didn't quite succeed â€" for more reasons than multiple see-through sundresses after the first quarter downpour â€" and at the Florida vs Hawaii game, orange and blue still reigned as the dominant colors in the Swamp. Sadly, I witnessed far too many fashion faux pas. So, to clear up some game day fashion confusion, here are some do's and don'ts.
Some people may think college is just a holding tank of fun before entering the real world, but it's actually much more than that. It's a time to figure out what we want to do with our lives and see where we want to plant our feet. In order to figure that out, we all have to endure the dreaded interview process.
At 2 a.m. on a main street in Athens, Ga., a parade is forming. This is not your average late-night parade, but a kazoo parade led by the singer of legendary indie-pop band The Music Tapes. Members of local band Oh Sanders followed a crowd of 300 fellow indie-music fans, passing spectators and fraternity houses while repeating the same six notes on the kazoo.
Two weeks ago, I was watching TV with some buddies when I discovered something disturbing â€" an uncommon occurrence on TV, for sure.
When UF was ranked the No. 1 party school at the beginning of the semester, I was not remotely surprised. The bar scene and nightlife have always been a significant part of college life in Gainesville.
It's mid-August, and the bells of Century Tower - maybe a few e-bill notifications, also - are beckoning you to UF, a sultry and sticky swamp where you become an under-financed, oversexed version of your at-home self.
While watching "Hamlet 2," you may be bombarded by a number of questions that seem important. "Who is Steve Coogan?" you might find yourself thinking. "How did a barrage of misfits in Tucson magically learn to act and sing?" and "Why is the funniest joke about Elizabeth Shue, an actress who has been a blip on the blockbuster radar since the late 1990s?" Though these questions may seem minor, they'll consistently make you question the validity and overall merit of the movie at large.
Solutions by The State News
