jayplay
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday
January 24, 2002
1B
DEADHEADS UNITE Miss the Greatful Dead? Never fear — cover bands are playing their shows verbatim. SEE PAGE 4B
CAMPING FOR SPORT
Jayplay writer Beckv McClelland gets the chance to chill with diehard Kansas campers
KIMBERLY THOMPSON/KANSAN
Bryson Dewitty, St. Louis freshman, of the "Fieldhouse Friends" campout group, plays SSXTricky on a Playstation 2 while a member of "Hawk at Heart" sleeps nearby. Campers have been in the Fieldhouse since 8 a.m. Sunday waiting for the KU versus MU basketball game.
By Becky McClelland Jayplay writer
Teamwork, determination, long hours, fierce competition — forget the men's basketball team members, this is about the fans. The fans who arrive at Allen Fieldhouse at 6 a.m., bearing names such as "G's Up, Ho'S Down," "Dirty Birds" or "Gooden's Goonies." They sleep on the concrete floor or do homework in the dim light while leaning against an abandoned concession stand. They do all of this for a chance at first-row seats at men's basketball home games.
I joined their proud ranks Sunday. I went into the Fieldhouse to have a look around, and came out a member of the "Jeff BoShit he's good" camping group.
Brett Logan, Olathe graduate student, welcomed me into the group's ranks and shared a little about the history of my new crew, which was sixth on the seating list. Logan and his group started with the name four years ago — when Boschee was a freshman — and they plan to keep the name, even after Boschee graduates in May.
"One time when we were camping our first year, Jeff was walking by for practice and said he liked our name," Logan said. "He totally approves."
I eagerly agreed to sit my shift and read the rules carefully.
'Thou shalt have a group member
present from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. every weekday; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. Should role be called and thou are absent, thou shalt lose thy spot. Thou shalt call role at any time thou chooseth, but thou must wake up sleeping campers and check bathrooms first."
The rules are all formed and agreed to by the campers themselves, with the exception of occasional modifications by the Athletics Department.
Meanwhile, most campers slept. Some read everything from Cosmo to Organic Chemistry. A few had laptops. The "Hawks at Heart" had the sweetest set up, which included air mattresses and a TV.
The excitement of camping, I discovered, was not in the camping itself. The waiting was simply a demonstration of the passion that lies in the hearts of many folk who breathe KU basketball.
The "Muck Fizzou" squad — just occasional campers — was camping for the first time this season. The members had shown up at noon with about 10 people.
Most of the other groups took things a little more seriously and showed up for the 8 a.m. lottery. Sophomores Tiffany Horsefield from Cuba, Mo., and Daina Jablonski from Overland Park, are diehards. They fine-tuned their camping skills last year while camping with "Corky's Cuties." They camp every game and plan to continue until graduation.
"We've told everybody in our group to call roll every shift, especially during
classes,"Jablonski said.
Others have raised camping to an art form. The Phog Phanatics are famous even outside of the camping world for being intense fans. Jana Butcher, Chanute senior organized the group her freshmen year. The Phog Phanatics operate at the maximum capacity of 30.
"People beg me to be in the Phog Phanatics," Butcher said. "Most of our members used to be leaders of one of the six to eight other big groups."
Dedication earned Brande Aleman, Kansas City, Mo., junior, a spot in the Phanatics after she sat a seven-hour shift for another group. The Phanatics have even inspired a spinoff group, but Aleman maintains that it's a friendly rivalry.
It was quiet as I left the Fieldhouse. My shift was done. More groups had added themselves to the lists, and Butcher predicted there would be more than 100 camping groups before tip off. And by Monday night, these catatonic campers will be transformed into some of the loudest fans in the stands.
Contact McCiel-
land at 864-4810. This
story was edited by Kyle Ramsey.
KU student makes money off of bitter school rivalry
By Erin Ohm Jayplay writer
Rivals Kansas and Missouri will face each other on the court Monday, but the competition won't be just between the athletes. The same competitive spirit is spilling over to the fans.
The schools' long-standing rivalry gave Jonathan Gordon an idea of how to express Jayhawk pride. He began selling blue shirts with the slogan "Muck Fizzou" printed across the chest.
A native of Munster, Ind., Gordon was unfamiliar with the great matches of the Big Twelve Conference. He first experienced Missouri's loathing for Kansas when he went to a basketball game at Mizzou two years ago.
"When we first drove onto campus they had in the windows, 'Beat KU.' And I was like, 'What!?'"" Gordon said. "They hated us way more than we hated them."
Gordon handles all the ordering and bookkeeping, and friends stop by to help sell the shirts.
Tradition and rivalry are the reasons Gordon decided to market his idea.
"I wanted to help it grow for the next generation of people who go here," Gordon said. "I love sports and I love to see everyone get excited."
The biggest challenge was finding a place to sell the shirts. Because Gordon is not in a fraternity or any other campus organization, he said he found it harder to market the shirts. Gordon has been selling the shirts out of the Crossing, 618 W. 12 St. located north of the campus.
"By going to the Crossing I get to support KU, because to me, the Crossing is a part of
Crossing is a part of KU." Gordon said.
Most of Gor d on ' s advertising is done by word-of mouth. Once
out, Gordon found that people were very interested in buying the shirts. He has sold about 700 this year.
Dirt cheap miracles happen in the used bin
ROCK SNOB
By Andy Gassaway Rock snob
Sadly, few people can afford the record collection they wish they had.
Sure, you could pick up every interesting album you encounter if you quit buying groceries, but unfortunately biological needs tend to outweigh musical appetites.
Used bins tend to look bleak, boasting inexhaustible supplies of rejected Chumbawumba albums and She's All That soundtracks, but with patience and a strategy, this parched wasteland can yield cheap worthwhile finds.
Thankfully, there is a bastion of afford- able music dumped in the used bin.
Digging into the pop compost that is the used bin, one can expect to find unfamiliar names and record labels. These albums are your bread and butter and must be approached with a discriminating taste, as most of these oddball discs with unknown songs will have to be judged on aesthetics alone.
In doing so, three major characteristics of each album must be analyzed: Cover art and packaging, external information and the cover's veneer.
However, when it comes to a cardboard package with nothing but a blurry photo of a tricycle, it's time to pay attention. The music might not be historic, but at least you'll go home owning an album by a band with the fortitude to put out an entertainingly packaged disc that probably sent its label to the poorhouse. And what's cooler than owning an album distributed by a defunct label? Nothing.
First, let's discuss the packaging. A plain jewel case with a photo of four pouting, tattooed rock gods, for example, is not worth anyone's time or money. Sure, it could very possibly contain one or two mediocre rock tunes, but it's also a dull, safe buy.
COMMENTARY
Andy Gassaway aeassaway@kansan.com
Purveying the information printed on the outside of the album is one of the quickest indicators of the quality of a used bin nugget. Is the label familiar? If you
happen to own albums by other artists on the same label, especially if it's a small label, you can arguably justify a purchase.
But let us turn to more important matters, such as the album title and the name of the band. If you plan to drop four bucks on a strange CD, make sure it's one by an artist with a little imagination. If it happens to come down between Echoes of Bemusement by the Undeniable Figs or the self-titled release from the Biff Swanson Blues Band — well, you make the call.
Finally, take a gander at the condition of
the packaging. Does it still have the filing sticker attached to the top and a shiny, blemish-free cover? If so, keep going because someone (luckily not you) paid full price for this album only to discover that it was complete plankton fodder and returned it the very same day.
But, if the CD in question is scratched up with a worn-out booklet, exchange your American currency for it as soon as possible. Some mutant out there obviously loved the album enough to keep it around for eons, and probably only parted with it because of a cash emergency. It's a jewel especially if the album is the only one of its kind in the used bin.
Ultimately any trip to the used bin is a gamble. Miracles can happen when you're willing to take a risk in the used bin, and besides, how else are you supposed to know if that Apes of God album could have changed your life?
Contact Gassaway at agassaway@kansan.com
LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR
TODAY
TODAY Jazzhaus,926 1/2 Massachusetts Shanti Groove, Jam Band
The Bottleneck
737 New Hampshire
Houston, Lafayette, Dirtnap
and A Storied Northwest
TOMORROW
TOMORROW The Bottleneck Proudentall, Fifth Ticket and Ghosty
Cup and Saucer, Kansas City Sky Burial
The Lied Center 7:30 p.m. Dew Direction Series presents Hart Rouge
Grand Emporium, Kansas City Eric Sardinas
Davey's Uptown Rambler, Kansas City Full Feature and Fatback
Abe & Jake's Landing,
8 E Sixth Street
The Schwag
Jazzhaus Strange Pleasures and Jam Band
SATURDAY
SATURDAY
The Bottleneck
Brent Barry & the Roots Crew
And The Speakeasy
The Beaumont Club,
4050 Pennsylvania,
Kansas City, Mo.,
Hank Williams III and
Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash
The Granada,
1020 Massachusetts
5 p.m. Adema, Pressure 4-5,
onesidezero and Sinistar
10 p.m. College Night
featuring DJ shred
Grand Emporium Kelley Hund
Jazzhaus Matthew Moon Band, Boulder's Party Band
SUNDAY
The Bottleneck
The Lawrence Arms,
Rise Against and The Ghost
Fred P. Otts (Plaza)
Go Generation, Red Squares,
and GC5
Westport Flea Market Snakebite Orphans
Replay Lounge The Immortal Lee County Killers
MONDAY
The Pub, Kansas City Red Planet, Sylvain Sylvain
Davey's Uptown Rambler Submission
The Bottleneck Hank Williams III and The Hearers, presented by KJHK 90.7
TUESDAY
TUESDAY
The Bottleneck
H20, Mest and Bigwig
WEDNESDAY
Kansas Coliseum Linkin Park, Cypress Hill, Crystl Method and Adema
Lied Center Willie Nelson
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