8A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY OF DAILY KANSAN FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2008
MUSIC
Drumline plays with Keith Urban
BY ANDREW WIEBE
awiebe@kansan.com
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
When members of the KU Drumline heard they would have the opportunity to perform along country music star Keith Urban, many didn't even know who Urban was, let alone count themselves among his fan base.
Members of the KU Drumline perform Wednesday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., with country-music star Keith Urban, playing a quick set between two of Urban's songs.
"To tell you the truth, none of us on the drumline were the biggest Keith Urban fans," Ian Rocker, Garrett junior and bass drum player, said. "I don't really think we realized how famous he was until we got there."
Wednesday night, 18 KU Drumline snare, bass and symbol plaques became the latest college or high school drum corps to perform alongside Urban as part of his 24-city tour. The opportunity arose after Urban's representatives contacted
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drumline instructor Greg Haynes.
Haynes said he didn't even know who Urban was before being contacted. He said it was initially a challenge to find members to perform because it was the drumline's offseason, but once members found out about the opportunity to perform at the Sprint Center, all but two committed to participate.
The drumline performed a short segment during the middle of Urban's show, providing a transition between two songs. Although the performance lasted only a few minutes, Andrew Jackson, Overland Park freshman and snare player, said standing three feet away from Urban was a thrill.
"We were all getting pretty into the music," Jackson said. "And then all of a sudden it happened, and it was kind of like a roller coaster. It was over before we even knew what was going on."
During the show, members sat in
a reserved section near the front of the stage. Rocker said the atmosphere was definitely different from where the environments the group normally performs in — Memorial Stadium and Allen Fieldhouse.
"You are on stage, everybody is focused on you, expecting you to perform and do what you do," Rocker said. "It's a little more nerve-racking I would say."
"The fans were screaming so loud we really couldn't even really hear ourselves playing," he said. "They screamed the whole minute and a half we were up there."
He said although the crowd seemed surprised to see the group on stage at first, they gradually warmed up to their performance. Jackson said he was impressed with how involved and enthusiastic the audience was once they got over their initial shock.
Rocker said even though he wasn't an Urban fan, performing alongside Urban was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
"It's going to be cool to look back and tell your kids that you played in front of 25,000 people in a drumline," Rocker said.
Edited by Jared Duncan
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Legislators pass Kansas coal plant bill
The bill allows Sunflower and its partners to reapply for the permit, under rules requiring the secretary to approve it, allowing the $3.6 billion project to go forward. It also limits his power to deny future air-quality permits and to impose new limits on pollution and greenhouse gases.
BY JOHN HANNA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
inspired Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood."
Many legislators argue restrictions on the secretary's power will restore consistency and fairness in how the state regulates potential air
TOPEKA — Legislators upset by a state regulator's decision to block the construction of two coal-fired power plants in Kansas passed a bill Thursday to overturn his decision and reduce his power.
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS Kansas governor
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is expected to veto the bill.
"This isn't eBay," Neufeld said. "The comment I made is in regard to the fact that people are now telling me what they want. That doesn't mean I'm opening an auction and trading."
The Senate passed the bill, 31-7, a day after the House approved it.
The companies want to build the two plants in southwest Kansas, outside Holcomb, a town of 1,900 best known for being the site of the murder of four family members that
It's a response to the secretary of health and environment's denial in October of an air-quality permit for Sunflower Electric Power Corp. and two out-of-state partners.
But Neufeld said the governor misinterpreted his remarks.
hazards. Sebelius contends they'd prevent the secretary from protecting public health and the environment.
Supporters had four votes more in the Senate than the two-thirds majority necessary to override a veto. But in the House, where the vote was 75-47, they're at least six votes short.
"I fully intend to go back to the table with the proposal that I made at the outset."
The Democratic governor said she is "stunned" by talk that supporters expect to get enough votes by making trades on other issues. House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, an Ingalls Republican and strong supporter of the bill, has said opponents would "let me know what
that they would be playing. 'let's make a deal' with energy policy"
he know what they want" on the budget and other issues.
"He seems to be inviting a legislative auction on a very important policy decision," Sebelius said. "I think their constituents would be disappointed
The final version of the bill was drafted by three senators and three House members, who included several "green" provisions designed to attract the support of reluctant House members. The Senate had debated none of them, but they didn't cause problems with supporters sustaining their two-thirds majority there.
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Those provisions include a mandate that renewable resources, such as wind, account for 10 percent of the generating capacity by 2012 of investor-owned utilities and electric cooperatives. The figure would rise to 20 percent by 2020.
"It advances a secure energy policy for Kansas," said Earl Watkins Jr., Sunflower's chief executive officer. "It effectively ensures that we'll have affordable energy in the future."
As for Sebelius' threatened veto, Watkins said: "I hope she reconsider. If she doesn't, then we'll just have to deal with it."
She's proposed allowing Sunflower to build one of its plants if it commits to investing in wind farms and conservation programs. Sunflower has rejected the deal, saying it needs two plants to keep out-of-state partners who will help finance the project.
Sebelius said that if she vetoes the bill, as expected, and legislators sustain her veto, she'll continue to try to work out a compromise.
"I fully intend to go back to the table with the proposal that I made at the outset," Sebelius said.
Neufeld has been confident that supporters will pick up the extra votes they'll need to override a veto. After Wednesday's vote in the House, he said some opponents want commitments on budget issues, while others have proposals they want debated — or blocked.