Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 3, 1995 TAG: 9503030068
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS BANKS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But they don't take offense if you call them a band of geeks.
Offspring, the hot L.A. punk rock band featured on the cover of this month's Spin magazine, has four young musicians who glibly admit they were the smart - not the cool - kids in high school.
"It's a pretty geeky thing to be in the math club," Offspring guitarist Dexter Holland says in the Spin article. "And
what's worse, I was the president."
Holland, who was also his high school class valedictorian and is now only a dissertation away from obtaining his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Southern California, formed the band with bassist Greg Kriesel in 1987. Offspring also features Noodles (Kevin Wasserman) on guitar and Ron Welty on drums.
The band hit it big a year ago with the release of "Smash," an album that sold over 4 million copies on the independent Epitaph record label. Brett Gurewitz, former guitarist for Bad Religion, is the owner and founder of Epitaph.
The album, which has been in the Top 10 for months, has two MTV video hits, "Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)" and "Self Esteem."
Offspring's style appeals to what the group's promoters call "the disenchanted youth of suburban America." The songs speak of the absurdity of living in a world with gang violence and drive-by shootings and the anxiety of growing up in reactionary environment.
The group, currently on a national tour, will rock into Radford Monday for a 7:30 p.m. concert at the Dedmon Center. Quicksand will open the show.
Tickets, $13 for the public and $10 for Radford University students and staff, are on sale at the information desk in Heth Hall. For ticket information, call 731-5420.
FROM THE CITY OF FLOWERS: The Women's Artists and Scholars Series, along with Virginia Tech's music department, will sponsor an evening of music by Italian composer Joan Yakkey. The free concert starts at 8 p.m. Saturday in Squires Recital Salon.
Yakkey, who was born in New York and educated at Queens College, moved to Florence, Italy in 1967. She married and went on to earn three advanced degrees from L. Cherubini, the state music conservatory, in Florence. She now teaches at the conservatory and conducts four youth choirs at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole.
Yakkey often prepares children's choirs and soloists for roles in the Italian opera theaters and music festivals. She has published several children's folk song books, a children's coloring method for note reading and a collection of international Christmas carols for young choirs.
You'll get the opportunity to see the work she does for professional musicians Saturday.
Musicians from Radford University and Virginia Tech, along with guest artists, will perform several of Yakkey's works, including her new Piano Sonata featuring pianist Teresa Ehrlich.
Mezzo-soprano Mary Hyatt of Kent State University and Italian percussionist Elena Pierini will be in the spotlight for Yakkey's arrangement of "The Bells," based on the Edgar Allen Poe poem.
Blacksburg musicians Linda Plaut, Mary Louise Hallauer, Nancy McDuffie, Jana Ruble, Elizabeth Crone and Maureen Mellody will be participating with Clarity James, Caryl Conger and Jill Coggiola of Radford University. The Virginia Tech Women's Chorus, led by Khristina Motley, opens the concert.
Yakkey has been in the New River Valley this past week working with young singers and musicians. Saturday's concert should be a fitting send-off as the musicians pay tribute to her work.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT: Gilbert Trythall will bring his electronic music to Radford University Tuesday for an 8 p.m. concert in Preston Auditorium.
Trythall, a professor at West Virginia University, has written textbooks on electronic music. He's a composer, a performer and a popular lecturer.
Tuesday's concert features Trythall's new music for synthesizer. Soprano Sally Rutledge and electronic wind instrumentalist Paul Scea will perform.
Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for children and free for Radford University students and staff.
WHO'S THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL? You'll find out Saturday if you're in the audience at Christiansburg High School auditorium.
Ten young women will be on stage under the lights when the Miss New River Valley Pageant gets underway at 7:30 p.m. They will be competing for the local title and the chance to represent the New River Valley in the Miss Virginia Pageant this summer.
The contestants will model evening gowns and swimsuits, show off their talents as singers, dancers and musicians and participate in on-the-spot interviews.
Traci Basham, 1994 winner of the Miss New River Valley Pageant, will crown the new Miss New River Valley. Steve Holstein of WPSK's "Holstein and Company Morning Show" is the master of ceremonies.
Special singing by Dari Cupp and Abi Greene is part of the program, too.
Tickets at the door are $7. Advance discount tickets, $5, are available at Diane's Hair Center and Pageant Palace & Formals on West Main Street in Christiansburg.
SAND HOPPERS AND TEENY BOPPERS: Everyone is invited to tonight's "Back to the Beach" party and dance put on by members of the PTA at five Blacksburg elementary schools. It's happening from 7:30 to 9:30 at the Blacksburg Recreation Center on Patrick Henry Drive.
The event is a benefit for the Interfaith Food Pantry. All you have to do to get in is bring one non-perishable food item.
"The food banks run low on food this time of year," explained Chris Vining, president of the Margaret Beeks PTA. "We thought this would be a good way to bring the organizations together and do something for the community."
Earl Brown, the dynamic disc jockey, will play the tunes so kids of all ages can participate in the limbo, line dancing, cake walks and other assorted fun things.
"This is for adults and kids," Vining noted. "It's a family event."
AT THE HOP, HOP, HOP: The Southwest Virginia Swing Dance Society's first dance was so popular, it's time for a repeat!
Despite the icy weather at the Feb. 4 dance, organizers said "78 swinging souls" showed up to do the jitterbug, the shag and other swing dance styles.
The second dance is Saturday at the Blacksburg Community Center. It starts at 8 p.m. and runs to 11 p.m.
If you're hanging back because you don't know the steps, hang back no more.
Patti Ennis, a dance instructor from Charlottesville, will teach several workshops before the dance. Lindy-Hop and Lindy workshops for beginners and intermediates will be held at 3 and 4:30 p.m. respectively. A beginning jitterbug class begins at 7 p.m.
The cost for each workshop is $4. The fee for the jitterbug workshop also admits you to the dance at 8 p.m.
You don't need a partner for these lessons. You may sign up in advance by calling 381-5028 or just show up at the door.
Refreshments will be served at the dance. All events sponsored by the Southwest Virginia Swing Dance Society are alcohol-free and smoke-free.
by CNB