Music
Section B • Page 5
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, November 2, 2000
Band members balance school, music
Bv Kate McCartv
Special to the Kansan
The best advice Richard Gintowt, Palatine, Ill., sophomore, ever heard was to "follow your dreams but cover your ass" from Rick Valentin of punk-pop Poster Children.
That's what Gintowt and the other two member of the band Ghosty are trying to do.
Gintowt; Andrew Connor, Sioux Falls, S.D., sophomore; and Mark Hurst, Philadelphia, Pa., freshman; describe their style as "Ghosty music" — an original mix of sounds inspired by bands such as The Who, The Clash and Wilco.
Ghosty music is optimistic and upbeat, said Gintowt, the group's drummer.
"We are college rock — college being something different from mainstream music," Gintowt said. "We exist because of all the music we listen to — The Kinks, Elliott Smith, Red House Painters, Johnny Cash, Shudder to Think, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead — but we don't sound exactly like any of them.
"Mark listens to lots of hardcore music like God Head Silo, but we certainly don't play hardcore music."
Gintowt said the differences among the band's members gave
them a good chemistry when it came to making music.
"At any rate, I find myself humming the tunes all day long, so I assume they're pretty catchy," he said.
Connor, Ghosty's lead singer, guitarist and songwriter, said group members picked the band's name because they liked made-up words. It doesn't really mean anything, he said.
Gintowt and Connor started playing together last year when they met in the KU residence halls. Hurst joined the band at the beginning of the school year when he and Gintowt realized they had similar musical interests.
Gintowt said the band's energy level had risen since Hurst joined the band.
"Mark got to be in Ghosty because of his sparkling fashion sense," Gintowt said. "It's a mix between Elvis and Bruce Lee."
The band has played on campus and at a few parties. It will perform at 11 p.m. Monday at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St.
"We're trying to build a good base of listeners." Gintowt said.
The group first performed at The Bottleneck almost two weeks ago. The bar, nearly empty for most of the evening, filled with faithful Ghosty followers at 11 p.m.
Ghosty:
When: 11 p.m. Monday
Where: The Bottleneck, 737
New Hampshire St.
When: 11 p.m. Monday
Cost: $2,18 and older.
The three students practice a few times a week at Connor's house.
When balancing music and schoolwork, Gintowt said school had to come first, although the band was a close second. He said he was a perfectionist when it came to rehearsing and that the band played a song until it was right.
Hurst is Ghosty's bassist and self-proclaimed jugernaut.
"Music is my cure for catharsis." Hurst said.
Gintowt said the hardest part about starting a band was having to find a balance between school and music.
"Ideally, we wouldn't have to balance school and the band, and we could devote all our time to music," he said. "But making a living off of being in a band is a long shot at best, and that point is at least five years down the road. So now the challenge is to find a comfortable medium."
He also said that finding people who cared about the music was
Ghosty will perform Monday night at
The Bothellie. Contributed photo
hard.
"There's so much good music out today that it's hard to catch the ear even of people who really love music." Gintowt said. "The only way to succeed, unless you're Dynamite Hack and you score a big hit doing a dopey cover of a gangster rap song, is tenacity and dedication. That's why the most rewarding thing is having your hard work pay off when somebody tells you that they dig your stuff."
— Edited by Clay McCuistion
Liquid Soul brings acid jazz to Bottleneck
Liquid Soul has exploded onto the music scene from a small, underground street-jazz sound in Chicago.
By Debra Steele
The band plays at 11 p.m.
tonight at The Bottleneck, 737
New Hampshire St. Tickets are
$10.
Special to the Kansan
This will be the group's first time performing in Lawrence.
Bob Torongo, Chicago senior,
is a Liquid Soul Street Team
Member, which entails volunteer-
ing to put posters up around
Lawrence and spreading the
word about the group.
"I've been listening to them
for over a year." Torongo said.
"They have great vocals and an eclectic style. You never know what they're going to do next."
Liquid Soul is a 10-piece ensemble, and its trademark is acid jazz — a mixture of jazz and urban dance music.
The band formed in 1994 with saxophonist Mars Williams as the frontman. It found a home playing at Chicago's Elbo Rohm.
The band members claim to have been influenced by many jazz greats, including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Bill Whiters.
Liquid soul includes trumpeters, saxophonists, bassists, drummers, trombonists, rap
pers and vocalists.
It was put into the spotlight after playing at Dennis Rodman's birthday party and opening for Sting.
It also has performed twice at the South by Southwest Music Festival, and the Austin American Statesman called Liquid Soul the "the single hottest showcase of the festival."
The band has released three albums. Its debut was self-titled, followed by Make Some Noise and Here's the Deal.
Liquid Soul, loyal to its hometown fans, plays every Sunday at Chicago's Double Door Club.
An associated press writer
Liquid Soul:
When: 11 p.m. tonight
Where The Bottleneck, 737
New Hampshire Street
Cost: $10, 18 and older
said "the thunderous groove this band lays down, topped with the smoking horns, makes it pretty much impossible to sit still while they are playing."
Those going to watch Liquid Sould perform tonight at The Bottleneck could get an earful. Edited by Clay McCusition
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