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campus Calendar and News Briefs

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‘Cane Cards will no longer be issued at the Registrar’s Office. Students must go to 110 Allen Hall at the School of Continuing Studies to obtain ‘Cane Cards. Hours of Operation will be Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

SEPTEMBER 15 –
OCTOBER 15

The Hispanic Heritage Month Committee and the Department of Multicultural Student Affairs is pleased to bring you National Hispanic Heritage Month. As part of the celebration, we have planned a month long calendar that promises to have something for everyone. Join the University of Miami community in recognizing and exploring Hispanic culture and achievements. Opening Ceremonies are on Monday, September 16 at noon, on the University Center Patio. All events are free to the University of Miami community. Hope to see you there! For more information visit www.miami.edu/msa

SEPTEMBER 19 –
SEPTEMBER 23

Zab Sang Institute welcomes you to participate in a rare opportunity to benefit from the heart of wisdom. The senior teacher of the 17th Karmapa, a Tibetan Buddhist Senior Abbot, will be in Miami to discuss topics such as Bondage and Liberation, the Tathagata, and Nirvana. Visit www.zabsang.org or call Laurie at 786-268-1548 for more information.

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund, a national scholarship-granting organization, will be launching the UM Scholar Chapter at the Lowe Art Museum from 4 to 6 p.m. The purpose of this event is to recognize outstanding Latino scholars and to encourage all Hispanic students at the University of Miami to participate in Scholar Chapter activities.

Witness the SAFE Paramedics Drinking and Driving Reenactment at 9 p.m. in UC Ballroom A.

SEPTEMBER 20

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority car wash at Eaton Circle from 12 to 5 p.m. $5 for cars and $7 for trucks. Buy tickets in advance from any AKA member.

SEPTEMBER 23

PSI CHI, the National Honor Society for Psychology, will hold general meetings every other Monday in UC 245 at 6 p.m.

OCTOBER 6

The Society of Bar and Gavel will host its 3rd annual RACE Judicata, a 5K run/walk around the UM campus to raise money for the CHARLEE Family Cares Homes Program. This program provides alternative housing to emotionally challenged children in the Miami-Dade community. For more information, visit the Dean of Students office at the Law School, room 212, or send email to barandgavel@law.miami.edu. Come out and run or walk for a great cause!

The Florida Commission on the Status of Women awarded Dr. Patricia Whitely, Vice President for Student Affairs, with a certificate of achievement for her contributions to the improvement of life for the citizens of Florida. The FCSW is a group dedicated to empowering women in achieving their fullest potential and recognizing women’s accomplishments. Whitely frequently speaks to high school students about self-esteem and goal setting and this past January served as Executive Director of the Alice Manicur Symposium for Women, a national conference designed to give female administrators an opportunity to network and gain support from their peers.

Elections for Student Government are just around the corner. Campaign to become a Senator and help improve life at UM for all undergraduate students. Elections are September 23-25; mark your calendars and VOTE! To find out more, visit www.miami.edu/student-activities and click on Elections Commission.

Students who DO NOT wish to be listed in the new University of Miami’s Telephone and E-Mail Directories must notify the Registrar, in writing, on or before Friday, Sept. 27. Bring your letter to the Office of the Registrar, 121 Whitten University Center. Include in your letter, your full name, student number, information to be deleted from the directory (phone and/or address, e-mail or complete deletion including name), and be sure to sign it!

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s Festival Miami presented by the School of Music. The 19th season which begins on Saturday, September 21 will feature 28 performances, all packed into five spectacular weeks. The Festival continues virtually non-stop through Saturday, October 26. Call 305-284-4940 to purchase tickets or for additional information.

Quick, the deadlines are coming. If you are interested in the Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright, and Gates awards, you can find explicit details about each on our website: www.miami.edu/honorsprogram. You may also come to our office, Bldg. 21-Y, in the Student Services Complex, and pick up a sheet of information on each award.

The Toppel Career Center presents Toppel 101 (formerly Senior Orientation) from September 4 to November 25! This is your opportunity to get acquainted with the career resources you need, whether your plans include employment or graduate study.

Nomination forms are now out for Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society. Forms are due October 1 by 5 p.m. in the Dean of Students office, 21-E. Call 305-970-2192 for more information.

Fraternity recruits doubled

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It was altogether a record-breaking recruitment.

Over 300 men attended the Greek Forum held on August 29 and the number of participants involved in rush more than doubled from last year,” said Mike Johnston, vice president of fraternity enrollment and student government president.

“One thing to keep in mind is that the majority of our new incoming freshmen are very involved and ambitious students, partly because of the high entrance standards that have been placed on them,” Johnston said.

The Greek Life Barbecue, held during Orientation Week, was the most fun event, Johnston said.

“It was such a relaxed atmosphere. The kids could see the fraternities in their own air,” Johnston said. “And, it was the only event combined with the sororities.”

Last Sunday-Bid Day-the recruits were given envelopes indicating which fraternities had accepted them. The new pledges then proceeded to sign the applicable paperwork and declare which fraternities they decided to join.

Later, at the Rock, each pledge declared individually their chosen fraternity of the 10 involved-Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Sigma Pi, Kappa Sigma, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, Kappa Sigma, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Alpha Mu, Sigma Chi, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Zeta Beta Tau.

“I see becoming part of a fraternity as a great way to get into different activities, make friends, and really help out our community,” said Chris Duffy, a freshman and Pi Kappa Alpha pledge.

“I really took rush as an opportunity to figure out which type of guys I wanted to associate myself with,” said John Victor, freshman and Sigma Chi pledge. “I’m really glad I got a chance to be able to get the right vibe from the right group of guys.”

Sigma Alpha Epsilon [SAE], an interest group that is in the process of meeting the necessary requirements to become a Florida Alpha Colony, was the only organization involved that was not a fraternity.

“Basically, in a few weeks, we’re going to be a chapter without a charter,” said Gabriel Santamarina, SAE group member. “Becoming a colony is one small accomplishment that will put us one step closer to our ultimate goal of becoming a fraternity.”

“We are really excited to be on our way towards becoming a Greek organization on campus,” said Roberto Castro, SAE Rush Chair. “We’re looking forward to working closely with all of the Greek organizations on campus and hope to be a valuable asset to the university and to the surrounding community.”

On Sunday the American Greek Letter Organization [AGLO] will host a mandatory new member symposium to educate the pledges on what it takes to be Greek.

“How do you want to experience college? If you go Greek it’s the only organization that you’ll be in for the rest of your life,” Johnston said.

Bid or Bust

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New recruits began spreading the good news last Sunday when they peeled off their shirts at the Rock, exposing their chosen sororities.

In what is known as the “revealing tradition,” the 2002 sorority pledge classes showed the world exactly where their loyalties lie after the week of recruitment events that ended on Bid Day last Sunday.

The pledges wore big T-shirts, under which were their Bid Day shirts displaying their chosen sororities. The individual sororities gave their new pledges their shirts beforehand and spent the rest of the day getting to know their new sisters.

“Sorority recruitment is a mutual selection process with women choosing sororities and sororities choosing women,” said Kandyce Fernandez, Vice President of Recruitment for Panhellenic.

During recruitment week, recruits were required to meet twice with each of six sororities-Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Delta Phi Epsilon, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Sigma Delta Tau and Delta Tau Alpha-and get acquainted with all aspects of sorority life through informal conversation and skits.

Unlike fraternity recruitment, sororities have a Panhellenic Association formal recruitment process with four rounds of organized activities before Bid Day.

“It was a very intense experience,” freshman Jessica Rosen said. “I didn’t expect it to be so strict, but it ended up being a lot of fun.”

“We’re sisters; it’s like a family,” Lynds Best of Kappa Kappa Gamma said.

According to organizers, this year surpassed the record set in 1936 for the number of women who were involved in recruitment activities. The quota, the total number of recruits divided by the number of sororities, for each sorority was 51, organizers said.

“It was very stressful for me to pick the right sorority,” said freshman Cathleen Barkett, who was not allowed to tell the Hurricane which sorority she had chosen before Bid Day. “They’re all really good girls and it was hard to pick which sorority I felt most comfortable with.”

“I didn’t want to be a part of sorority life originally, but once I saw how involved they are, I knew I wanted to be a part of that,” said Emma Carroll, Tri Delta sister.

Organizers said that the event went smoothly and that everyone who participated enjoyed the experience.

“I think that the girls who participated in the activities and were really interested in the whole process are definitely excited about becoming a part of us,” said Brooke Norwood, a Kappa Kappa Gamma sister.

“I’m happy that all our new sisters found a place in one of our sororities,” Fernandez said. “This is the beginning of a whole new experience for them.”

Less trip hop, Morcheeba

It can be described as lethargic, laid-back music injected with dreamy, wistful vocals along lush melodies, rhythms influenced by Seventies soul with a feel of exotic psychedelia in the background, and beats infused with a spirited hip hop groove. However, the sound of Morcheeba, often mistakenly labeled by the press as trip hop, cannot really be categorized in the endless array of musical genres. Their idiosyncrasy as artists and the experimentation in their music-e.g. combining peculiar instruments such as a charango, a 10-string Bolivian guitar, or a bassoon in pop songs, or sampling Bollywood film scores into songs influenced by country and blues tunes-puts them in a category that is very much their own.

Sitting in a small, modish hotel room at the SoHo Grand in New York, singer Skye Edwards, her long, wavy hair dangling over her face, attests modestly that “Paul is the leader of the group and Ross fits somewhere in the middle,” while she is just a mere “follower” in the band. Nonetheless, the group’s sound emanates from the collective effort making up Morcheeba. Paul Godfrey is the band’s beathead and lyricist, writing all the songs. He is responsible for the music’s hip hop vibe and spends his free time as a DJ who spins mostly hip hop. His brother, Ross Godfrey, is the guitarist/multi-instrumentalist and has been influenced by artists such as Neil Young, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Bob Dylan and Marvin Gaye. The differing musical interests between the brothers as well as Edwards’ soulful croon are what create the genuine sound of Morcheeba.

“It’s a blessing and a curse that, in one way, we don’t sound like anyone else,” explains Skye, “but we can’t exactly fit in any category, especially here in the U.S. where music seems to be quite segregated. I don’t know in what genre our sound can fit.” Paul asserts that their sound carries on from when, he thinks, music found its demise in the seventies.

“With disco, everything went a bit formulaic-like,” he explains, “and rock went terribly cringy and embarrassing.” The group wanted to pick up the pieces, without making a rebellious stand as has been done by punk music, then rejuvenate and replenish the sounds of good rock, country and blues in innovative ways, such as by using hip hop beats. “All the focus is on bringing those classic traditions to our trademark heavy beats,” he says.

Watching the group live reveals that this is a group of dedicated musicians, and not some pretentious trip hop act hiding in the studio-shroud. The stage, presided by Paul on turntables, resembles more of a rock show with a power combo of guitar, drums and bass, unlike a regular DJ show, which is usually only enhanced by enchanting visuals in the background. The group encompasses the force and vitality of a rock power trio, vigorously filling up Irving Plaza with the sounds of their instruments and voices, as Ross entangles the audience with him through inspiring solos and slide guitar movements.

Following the release of their first three albums, Who Can You Trust, Big Calm, and Fragments of Freedom, Morcheeba is coming to terms with its success. “It’s a cliche, but you can become self-conscious about the fact that people know who you are,” says Paul. “So, now the goal is to concentrate on the songwriting and production [instead of trying to make a name for oneself].” The trio has come quite a long way and their matured sound has expanded and incorporates, in the midst of its signature mellow groove, the various, growing tastes of the members.

“I guess we have evolved into an adult sound, but that’s because we have grown into adults,” explains Skye. “It’s easier to do more now because we have better equipment in the studio and Paul and Ross have become really well rooted in their production skills.”

Their newest release, Charango, has the same light, funky feel, but is also garnished with a sexy, tropicalia dress on “Sao Paulo”-resulting from their first trip to Brazil-a nostalgic folk outfit with “Undress Me Now” and “What New York Couples Fight About,” both co-written and the latter performed with Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner, and a smoldering hip hop rhythm on “Women Lose Weight,” featuring Slick Rick, as well as on “Charango” and “Get Along” with Pacewon of The Outsidaz.

“This isn’t a case of us going out and looking for the exotic,” explains Paul of the album’s direction. “It’s a natural result of what’s been happening to us, and what we’ve been listening to.” Ross adds: “We’ve used the place that we’ve come from-that English beats tradition-and reached to as many things as possible to make this defining sound. Skye, Pacewon, Slick Rick and Kurt Wagner can all sit together comfortably on this record.”

Moreover, their production process has matured and the band faltered from indulging their stardom with drugs and excess, which they did very much before; after all, their name cleverly means “more cheeba,” inspired from rapper Schooly D’s way of referring to weed.

“On the first albums, the guys were pretty out of it most of the time and would work through the night,” notes Skye. “Now, we were all much more clear-headed, obviously having a joint to relax here and there, but we were much more organized to the point of having a white board with a grid, writing each song down and what each song needed; I was coming into the studio almost every day and Paul would show me short sound bytes, asking which ones I preferred.”

The members want to eventually pursue their own solo albums to develop their more personal tastes and Skye avows that the group doesn’t hang out together outside the music, each one being busy with their individual schedules, but the “power trio” of Morcheeba has grown and matured as a collective. The eclecticness of the new album, as well as the way the group wants to outreach a broader audience and tour to new locations such as Australia, Japan and Russia, displays Morcheeba’s musical proliferation. “I just want to attain cities we’ve never been to before,” says Skye, “and I’m hoping that people who have never even heard of us will buy the new album.”

Omar Sommereyns can be reached at SOASIS@aol.com

The Autograph Man

Check out the follow-up novel to Zadie Smith’s successful debut, the 2000 bestseller, White Teeth. The Autograph Man’s protagonist, Alex-Li Tandem, is a dealer in fame, particularly in the signatures of anyone who ever did anything of note. He’s half-Chinese, half-Jewish and his best friend, Adam, is a black Jew, born in the U.S. but moved to the ordinary London suburb of Mountjoy, where most of the novel takes place. Alex is a yearner and is infatuated with actress Kitty Alexander, whose autograph is especially valuable because she gave it out so rarely. In between smoking marijuana in the evenings and maintaining a relationship with his girlfriend, Adam’s sister, Esther, he will go to New York and seek out Kitty, possibly then drowning in the murky pool of fame himself.
-OS

Stealing Harvard ** 1/2

John Plummer (Jason Lee, doing his likable, average guy shtick) is in love with his long-time girlfriend, Elaine Warner (Leslie Mann). Together, they have saved $30,000 for a house that will, hopefully, solidify their “ideal” dream of contentment. Simple enough. But who cares about that? This movie is called Stealing Harvard, and most people just want to see Tom Green wear thick glasses and jump over bushes, or sit, baffled by the fact that he’s a multi-millionaire.

However, the first lemon twist of plot is Green-less and occurs in the first ten minutes, when we meet John’s trailer trash sister, Penny (Megan Mullally) and her daughter Nanzeen (Tammy Blanchard). A video clip from Nanzeen’s grade school days is played. It shows her crying in the halls because she didn’t know how to spell the word “tarp.” John, being the caring, wonderful uncle that he is, assures her that she is brilliant and promises to pay for her college education. Well, guess what? Good for you, and the price of tuition rings in at $29,879.

John suffers the predictable inner conflict. Should he shatter Elaine’s heart or Nanzeen and Penny’s? Of course, he’s chooses to compromise – the most difficult and comedic choice – by trying to obtain an additional $30,000. Cue in Duff (Tom Green).

Duff owns his own business called “Landscape Escape,” where he specializes in planting dead plants in wealthy people’s lawns, and then butchering their expensive shrubs – don’t ask – it’s Tom Green. Duff also makes some dough by running a beer buying service for minors. According to the trusty, cinematic, banana peel guidebook, this makes him the perfect source for advice on how to rack up thirty grand.

As soon as Tom Green enters the plot, it becomes very cliched and predictable. However, what else do you expect from this guy? Some fans may be disappointed, because this time, unlike last year’s cult-classic, Freddy Got Fingered, he doesn’t take the comedy overboard. His performance still manages to inject some life into the overall blandness, and the audience was practically rolling in the aisles during a few scenes.

Lee and Green take part in a number of charades to try and bag the additional $30,000. They come across an eclectic group of people that all offer their share of laughs. The movie has an average amount of reoccurring jokes and funny situations, and none of them rely on juvenile toilet humor. Well, just the ones about anal cleanings, cross dressing, and bestiality.

Any serious moment in the film is quickly relieved by another Tom Green dose of awkward hysteria. Jason Lee’s comic stability is the glue that holds everything together (Green just appears to get high of it). This lead role, even in such a minor film, proves that Lee is fit for the big leagues. Movies studios have already taken noticed. Next year, Lee has three credible films scheduled for release, including Stephen King’s buzz worthy Dreamcatcher and pal Kevin Smith’s Fletch Won and Jersey Girl.

Stealing Harvard is by no means a top-ten worthy movie. It’s a decent laugh if you have a couple bucks and an open evening to pre-game with friends beforehand (recommended). There’s little doubt that diehard Jason Lee and Tom Green fans have already taken part in such a ritual. For everyone else, expect a humorous rental from director Bruce McCulloch, of Kids in the Hall fame, that stars an actor who likes to wear gutted deer jackets.

Update: Gorilla Captured, Boycott off for now…

We the management of Soho Lounge & Grille, would like to address the incident that occurred at Revolver. They have resolved your issue by replacing the security for their events. It is unclear to us as to what exactly happened, but to ensure your concerns, the proper measures have been taken care of, effective immediately.

Sincerely,
The management of Soho Lounge & Grille

The infection of “Truth” doesn’t hurt, it just spreads like a swarm

Watch the invasion of anti-Big Tobacco submerge your scene as teens spray colorful graffiti on garbage cans, as a plague of INFKT team members denounce gruesome facts about cigarettes, and notable DJs spin and “infect” the crowd with hip hop and break beats, while a group of b-boys swirl in the center. The 2002 INFKT truth tour launched in Washington Square Park, New York, this summer, hosted by BET’s Big Tigger and MTV VJ La La, with a lineup of deft and agile artists, such as The X-Ecutioners, Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, the Rock Steady Crew with Crazy Legs and graf legend, Lee Quinones, painting a graffiti-induced “TRUTH” piece on the tour’s orange van. Stopping in seven cities-NY, LA, ATL, Chicago, ATL, Kansas City, Seattle and Denver-it will continue to spread into several nationwide festivals, college events, malls, beaches, movie premieres, concerts…

The truth campaign made its start with harrowing commercials broadcasting, in a direct, clever fashion, the many detrimental materials in cigarettes and the manipulative marketing techniques of the tobacco industry. Funded by the American Legacy Foundation (ALF), which was created by a Master Settlement Agreement (M.S.A.) between 46 states-a $206 billion agreement-the campaigns tap into the teenage market of 12-17 year olds by delivering the “truth,” portraying rebellious-looking, multi-ethnic teens bluntly affirming shocking facts about tobacco products to counteract what Big Tobacco is trying to sell: a product that is supposed to avow a look of independence and defiance. After all, the transition into adulthood-adolescence-is indeed a baffling search for identity and a quest for control and expression.

Truth seems to want to provide an alternative to youths seeking that innate desire to express themselves and help them make informed decisions about tobacco use. However, are these campaigns a propagandist tool telling the youth it’s bad to smoke-which should be avoided in a liberal society-or a benevolent social act aimed towards the survival of the next generations and the admonition of Big Tobacco’s mendacious promotions?

“The tobacco companies are marketing a harmful product and we’re just marketing the truth,” explains truth youth marketer Tasneem Nanji. A fellow marketer, Amanda Taylor, elaborates on the issue: “We’re anti-lies, not anti-smokers, the truth just needs to be told; the first time I saw the truth commercials, I thought, “wow, that shit is real!” Nanji also thinks that the number of teenage smokers in the U.S. is appalling. “There are 3 million smokers between the ages of 12-17,” she says, “and many are thinking they’re rebelling, due to the marketing techniques of the industry.”

So Big Tobacco is selling an image, an image of rebellion and liberty, that American teenagers especially cherish very dearly because of a traditional value of freedom signatured in this country.

“But, this tour can provide options to people,” says La La. “It lets you know that smoking is not the best way to go, Big Tobacco tells you it is, then you can go home and make your own decision.” Maybe this can be an alternative, a cool vibe, people congregating for a festive symposium, engaging in artistic expression while raising awareness.

The alternative is short-lived though since many in the crowd of hundreds that showed up always have the opportunity to smoke, but the movement is still ferociously in the face of teens, in their TV and magazines everyday, cunningly discharging info.

Lee, in the midst of signing autographs and spraying his tag on teens’ skateboards, comments on the presence of art on the tour: “Every culture and generation has the art it deserves; now, the youth here will look more to graffiti ’cause it’s so right up in their front door, they’re connected and identify to it; it’s a way to outreach a vast amount of teens the truth campaigns are aiming at. This is a benevolent consideration of our younger generation, ’cause, as corny as it seems, they’re tomorrow’s people.” Lee’s currently thinking about developing a book on his lifetime artwork, wants to do a retro at the Whitney Museum in New York and is considering scriptwriting for film.

The X-Ecutioners, who just dropped a new album, Built From Scratch, and are soon touring with Eminem, did a fierce performance of turntable artistry. Member Rob Swift mentions, “This is a positive promotion of health consciousness and DJing as a growing art form that will continue to influence people.”

In the meantime, young heads in the park still do their thing, some reading a book and smoking, others kicking a soccer ball around, a cigarette dangling from their mouths. Does Big Tobacco really lie to its consumers? Smoking can be a way of self-expression, but maybe truth wants to show that the industry is abusing the image of rebelliousness. Though ALF conducts research on the effectiveness of the campaigns, measuring the amount of young smokers is still ambiguous. Yet 75 percent of 12 to 17-year-olds are aware of truth ads and the content they display.

“We’re just babies now,” says Taylor, “but we can ‘infect’ the whole U.S.; I can see an explosion in a few years, an awakening for everybody.” Perhaps this is an even bigger movement, an anti-capitalistic revolution that can overthrow a billion dollar industry…or maybe I’m being a bit too optimistic for the truth. Log on to www.thetruth.com for more info

Omar Sommereyns can be reached at SOASIS@aol.com

The Monjees Life is good Monje s

The Monjees are your essential college band. This does not mean that they will eternally reside within such creative confines. No, they’ll probably be “out like Mariah” the moment the members put on their funny little hats and snatch their $30,000 pieces of paper. Or, maybe it’ll be the golden moment when Master P decides to fly a director down to Miami to shoot their first video for No Limit Records. Whichever comes first. In the meantime, they’re chilling, playing shows, toking, listening to lots of vinyl and hating on Dashboard Confessional. There’s no rush, just good vibrations.

This is a relaxed, down-to-earth chat with the Monjees. Never heard of them? They’re good peoples and a sweet reggae band. Who do they sound like? A little like Sublime, without jocking their steez. Throw in some soul, some ska (the real deal, not the stuff your lame, little brother hums to himself while he’s perfecting the art of Handi-Snacks (among other things)), and some distant punk influence and it’s on. While you’re at it, throw in a case of Red Stripe and a pack of cherry-flavored beedies.

This is the time to ask questions. Where can you see them perform? Tonight at the Hard Rock Cafe, 401 Biscayne Blvd., with punk rockers Better Off Dead and the acclaimed, underground hip hop of Algorithm. Who? Shut it. Why? Reggae is one of the only types of music that’s easy to enjoy live, regardless of your musical preference. The Monjees happen to be especially sick. In fact, they’re so sick that they’re opening for Talib Kweli at the Hard Rock Cafe on October 11. Plus, chicks dig reggae bands because it puts a “warm glow around everything,” and you know what that means. How much? Like $5 or something. What’s your deal? It’s 5 a.m., and this interview is bomb, so just read it.

Q: So, I did some research for this interview and opened a dictionary. The word “monjee” is not in it. What in the hell?

MJS: We’re the “monjees.” It’s us.

Q: And you guys started playing as a band in ’97 or ’99, right?

MJS: 1999, but we sucked. We started off as a ska band. I (Paul = lead singer) liked a lot of ska and reggae and he (Andrew = trombone/keyboard) liked a lot of hip hop and jazz. Our guitar player, who loved pop-punk, I mean loved it, was the roommate of the drummer from New Found Glory, and he wrote the songs. We wrote some shi**y songs, and once him and our old drummer left, who just totally sucked man…

Q: I heard he was a heavy drinker?

MJS: We should have never let him play drums. He was really good at drinking rum and reading, that’s it. But the thing is, he would never have fun when he was drinking, he’d just bitch about being an alcoholic.

Q: What’s he doing now?

MJS: No clue. Last I heard he was in AA.

Q: So he’s MIA?

MJS: Yeah, M.I.AA. He’ll be a linear note in our CD. Actually, there’s a lyric in one of our songs that goes “Tim was on the bucket, and then we said f*** him.” He originally started out playing a bucket, and he was way better at the bucket than the drums. He rocked the bucket, ’cause there was only one thing to hit. Once he got five things in front of him, he got confused.

Q: That’s hilarious. He probably saw five buckets when he was hitting the one, so he thought he was playing the drums. Master P recently signed you guys to his label, No Limit Records. What’s the deal?

MJS: We were hanging out at Hard Rock in May, and the promoter was like “Master P is coming and he wants tables reserved!” and we thought, “let’s give this guy a good show.” So after the show, we went over to meet him, but the thought of getting signed, honestly, never cross our minds. I mean it’s No Limit. He talked about doing something with us, so we gave him a demo, and a couple weeks later he flew down this dude, Boz, and we signed with them in this shi**y pizza place in SoBe. It was weird. He’s straight business, and he does everything himself. Basically P runs this global, multi-million dollar operation with his celly. It’s hot, and even when things get frustrating waiting for decisions, it sure beats a major label bossing us around, you know? We have total creative control. Better Master P than Ja Rule (laughs).

Q: Since you play reggae, do people ever ask where your dreads are?

MJS: Yes, all the time. It’s either that, or “can you sell us weed?” People don’t know what reggae and Rastafarianism is all about. They know about it on a surface level, where it’s Rasta+dreadlocks+reggae = weed. There are so many people who like Marley only because he smoked. Dreads in the Rasta culture are a sign of strength, it’s in the Bible as well, but you don’t need them to play reggae or to be Rasta. It’s just dedication, they call it “livication.” I want people to know that it doesn’t matter who you are, you can listen to our music. As long as you like to sway to the music, you can drink a beer and enjoy it.

Q: I heard that you fellas use to drink and write poetry with Chris Carraba from Dashboard Confessional? What in the hell?

MJS: Hah, f*** this kid. Do you know how tall that dude is? He’s 4’9″. He’s screwed a lot of people in this scene over, and I know for a fact that he’s a little girly bi***. The worst part is that he’s been married for, like, years, but he still writes songs about breaking up with girls. If I ever see Carraba, I’m going to punch him.

Q: Did you guys see him on MTV’s “Unplugged”?

MJS: He’s unplugged to begin with, so it doesn’t make any sense. He should get plugged in for once, that’ll be a stretch. He should get plugged period!

Q: What do you say to the person reading this, who’s like “Gee whiz guys, these guys are cool and all, but ska music just sucks?” Can you understand why some people find ska to be so redundant?

MJS: Well, there’s a lot of ska out there. It’s like punk, there’s something out there for everyone. It’s sort of like comparing the Sex Pistols to the Ramones – so different. If I had only heard the Sex Pistols, I might’ve passed on it, but I discovered the Clash, and that changed everything. And then you have a band like Bad Brains, who are easily one of the greatest bands of all time, but people in general just sleep on them.

Q: Are you fellas chummy with New Found Glory or what?

MJS: Chummy? Could you have used a gayer expression? Hah, no, not really.

Q: Yeah, well, in my opinion those guys are straight Chartwells. They eat it, and true punk bands don’t have their music being blasted in malls and inside Hot Topic. Moving on…can you guys elaborate on letting kids freestyle @ your shows?

MJS: That’s how I (Paul) came up personally. Those were my first experiences performing live. But, it’s funny because some people will come up to the mic and say, “Hey man, I’ve got a freestyle I just wrote.” And then there’s always the Eminem kid that comes up and says “Yo, yo, my mom is crazy and she does drugs, I have to go to my dawg to get hugs…” and I’m always like you are wack as hell. We should find that dude and put him on our next CD.

Q: Corona, Red Stripe or Pap’s Blue Ribbon?

MJS: Red Stripe. Mos’ definitely. Everyone out there should try Kalik and support the local Hurricane Reef, Caribbean Pilsner. Oh yeah, the sampler at Titanic is also pretty top notch (plug, plug).

Q: You guys use to have a house together, but you got evicted because you didn’t pay rent, right? Or, was it all the parties?

MJS: Hah. No, we were just total slobs. All we did was drink, eat and practice. No one ever wanted to take out the trash, so we’d have like a fortress of beer bottles, practically guarding us from our landlord. We threw all the trash onto this table, and it just kept building and building. The real reason why we left is because the refrigerator broke down, and we had crabs in there, seafood, and it drained all over the floor, and it got so hot inside the house. The smell was ridiculous. We just packed up our stuff, and we ended up leaving a lot of stuff there. It was so bad that we couldn’t take it, and of course laziness played a factor.

Q: Where do you see the Miami music scene heading in the future?

MJS: Live music in Miami is going to get much bigger. I think a lot of these SoBe places have opened up to live music, because the techno thing’s not working, especially at a $25 cover. That and the fact that the doormen are still herbs, that’s why I’m not going to go. Hard Rock is starting to throw the hottest shows, like the Beatnuts last month, and De La and EPMD coming up for like $15-20, with little hassle. The De La show is, like, $8 plus 2 cans of food, because the Bob Marley Foundation is doing it. I don’t how many kids at UM have seen these groups live, but they’re amazing. You can’t beat the price. As for our band, no matter what, we want to rep Miami to the fullest. This is where we got our start, and we will always play our best shows here.

Q: Let’s say you guys blow up and you suddenly have a choice between Avril Lavigne, Brody from the Distillers, or Gwen Stefani? To even things out, let’s say it’s a pre-Bush Stefani, because Gavin’s probably tapped her out by now.

MJS: Gwen Stefani pre-banging the dude from Bush? Whoa. Avril, I don’t know man. We played at this summer’s Warped Tour, and there were like fifty girls who looked just like her, and her music sucks. Avril would be like a one time thing, and the Brody-thing freaks me out because of Mallrats, so pre-Bush Gwen. No many people know that Avril was a Canadian country singer before she flipped it to punk – seriously. Now, MTV calls her the “punk rock princess.”

Q: Why should people check out the show tonight @ Hard Rock?

MJS: There’s some great f***ing bands playing. If you like punk, if you like hip hop, if you like dancehall, if you just like to dance, you’ll like it. If you’re in a sorority, you’ll like us. Plus, the Hard Rock Cafe is a chill place to drink and live it up.

Q: What do you guys think of the Life & Art section of The Miami Hurricane?

MJS: It’s hot. Now there’s stuff in there that’s actually worth reading. It’s no longer like “How to Get to Key West” part 7 and “Top 40 Grove Hot Spots.” We’re feeling it. Props.

Look for upcoming Monjees concert dates, including the De La Soul show, in the Life & Art calendar.

Hunter Stephenson can be reached at hurricaneaccent@hotmail.com.

Entertainment Calendar

Tonight
Drench into Happy Hour at the Rat from 4:30-9 p.m., then shake your booty as a DJ spins until 12 p.m.

Local rockers Holy Terrors perform at Churchill’s, 5501 NE 2nd Ave., for the Eighth Annual Miami Rock Festival, which runs through Sept. 29. Cover for shows vary. Call 305-757-1807.

“Hip Hop Meets Ska” at the Hard Rock Cafe Miami, 401 Biscayne Blvd., as The Monjees, Better Off Dead and Algorithm shatter the stage. Show starts at 9 p.m. and the cover is $5. Be there or miss out on an ill performance. All groupies, call 305-573-6588.

Saturday, September 14
Check out “Primal Screams and Songs,” an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, with mixed media by artists such as William Cordova, Beatriz Monteavaro, Matthew Ritchie and Dara Friedman, through Sept. 28. Call 305-893-6211.

“Purvis Young: The Life I See” paintings by the local outsider artist, recently opened at the Bass Museum of Art, 2121 Park Ave., Miami Beach, and are on display through Nov. 10. Call 305-673-7530.

Sunday, September 15
Paul and Young Ron’s Zetafest. Nickelback, Saliv, Jimmy Eat World, Earshot, Non-point, Mad at Gravity, Blindside and Sugarcult perform at Lockhart Stadium, 5201 NW 12th Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are $27 and $32. Gates open at noon. Call 866-862-3275.

Tuesday, September 17
Spider Man plays at the Cosford, time TBA.

Sunday, September 22
Mortician, Scar Culture and Malignant play the Culture Room, 3045 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Call 954-564-1074

Saturday, September 28
Bhakti Baxter, founder of Miami’s alternative art space, The House, opens his first solo museum exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 770 NE 125th St, North Miami. The project will evolve on sight as the artist uses a variety of natural and constructed elements to show. Call 305-893-6211.

Sunday, September 29
Music prodigy Conor Oberst’s Bright Eyes plays with M Ward and the Bruces at the Manuel Airtime Theatre, 900 SW 1st St. Call 305-274-9282 for more info.

Top 25 Poll

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1. The University of Miami
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Tennessee
5. FSU
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Nebraska
9. Washington State
10. Michigan
11. Oregon
12. Washington
13. Michigan State
14. Florida
15. Georgia
16. Marshall
17. Colorado
18. Wisconsin
19. USC
20. NC State
21. Texas A&M
22. Notre Dame
23. LSU
24. Penn State
25. Colorado State

‘Canes final visit to Philly

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After their 41-16 disposing of Florida at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, the top-ranked Miami Hurricanes made their statement to the rest of the college football world: They are still the team to beat.

However, if Miami wants to continue their championship form, they must avoid a letdown of sorts. Tomorrow afternoon’s contest at Temple represents a challenge of different sorts for the Hurricanes, one that Miami will have to show they can play consistent football. Head coach Larry Coker doesn’t see any potential for a letdown.

“A letdown is something you use as an excuse,” Coker said. “I don’t think it’s natural to have a letdown and we are not going to let that happen.”

Historically, Temple has not posed any sort of problem. Miami enters tomorrow’s game with a 10-game win streak against the Owls, including a 38-0 shutout at the Orange Bowl last year.

Yet, two things bring out a yellow flag for any assumptions that Miami will win this one in a cakewalk. First, the game will not be played at the familiar surroundings of Veteran Stadium, but rather at the historic Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. Again, Coker does not view field location as an incentive for the Owls.

“Our normal approach is to play the game and not give the field too much credit,” Coker said. “That’s the same approach we used last week.”

There is also the fact that the contest comes three days after the anniversary of Sept. 11, something that the state of Pennsylvania, due to the events of Flight 93, were a major part of. At the same time, Coker points out that the Hurricanes had a close call with directly being involved in the tragedy.

“Leon’s [Williams] mother worked in the World Trade Center,” Coker said. “He went through a period without contact, before he eventually contacted her. Fortunately, she was late for work that day.”

On the field, the Hurricanes dominate nearly all of the matchups. Despite the absence of Andre Johnson, who sits out this week’s contest due to discomfort in his shoulder, the Temple secondary still has Kevin Beard, Ethnic Sands, and emerging threat Roscoe Parrish to deal with.

“I got a lot of confidence in KB,” said offensive lineman Vernon Carey. “He’s made a lot of plays in college, and this also gives Roscoe a chance to step up and make some plays.”

On the ground, Big East offensive player of the week Willis McGahee comes off a 204-yard effort against a mediocre Florida defense. In order to pick up a large yardage total again, the Hurricane offensive line must contend with Outland Trophy candidate Dan Klecko.

Whether the unit stops Klecko remains to be seen, but Carey has been impressed by the offensive line’s improvement.

“I’m pleased, but Coach Kehoe isn’t,” Carey said. “I’m pleased that the O-Line has done well as a unit and we just need to keep on working.”

On defense, strong safety Maurice Sikes grabbed the headlines after intercepting a Rex Grossman pass and taking it back 97 yards for a touchdown. Sikes, who picked off two passes in the Florida game, also took home Big East defensive player of the week honors.

“Mo Sikes is a big part of our secondary,” said cornerback Al Marshall. “He’s been around here for a long time so he’s kind of our leader and he is going to be a heck of a player.”

Although the defense as a whole remains stronger than ever, the front four were dealt some bad news. Santonio Thomas, who saw time behind William Joseph at defensive tackle, tore his pectoral muscle in Gainesville and will miss the remainder of the season. Freshman Orien Harris replaces Thomas on the second team.

“He [Santonio] is in good spirits,” Coker said. “He does have a redshirt year, and in fact, he laughed and said, “Coach you wanted to redshirt me anyways, didn’t you.””

Although the incentives could play out in Temple’s favor, the Hurricanes should be able to have the way on both sides of the ball. The biggest challenge, according to offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski , remains remembering that Miami has a game

“They’ve always given us a battle, whether we’ve gone up there or played down here,” Chudzinski said. “We need to keep our guys focused and coming off an emotional game last week, we need to stay on task.”

Jeremy Marks-Peltz can be reached at jmp310@hotmail.com.