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8 I Thursday, June 15, 2006 | The Red & Black
VARIETY
Real laughs
from faux show
SPECIAL | The Red & Black
i “Dog Bites Man” airs Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. on
Comedy Central.
By ABBI LIBERS
alibers@randb.com
Is your kitchen killing
you? Which cereals don’t get
soggy in milk? News enters
the realm of hilarity when the
KHBX news team tackles the
stories that matter.
From producer Dan Mazer
(“Da Ali G Show”) comes
“Dog Bites Man,” a new
mockumentary series from
Comedy Central that goes
behind the scenes of KHBX,
a fictitious local news station
in Spokane, Wash.
The made-up news team
chases down the stories that
really matter, all the while
tricking innocent bystanders
into thinking they are a legit
imate news team.
“Dog Bites Man” is com
prised of loosely scripted
scenes — a la “Curb Your
Enthusiasm” — and impro
vised interviews with real
people.
“We’re basically doing an
improvised sitcom in the real
world. We put it in front of
real people and force them to
deal with our fictional story
lines,” said Matt Walsh, a
member of the cast who has
also served as a
correspondent on “The Daily
Show” and is a founding
member of the Upright
Citizens Brigade comedy
troupe.
Joining Walsh’s faux news
team are the show’s produc
er Tillie Sullivan (Andrea
Savage), cameraman Alan
Finger (Zach Galiflanakis)
and intern Marty Shonson
(AD Miles). Together, the
group makes for one wacky
news team.
Walsh plays Kevin Beekin,
the over-confident, dopey
reporter who takes himself
way too seriously.
“Kevin believes he’s doing
really hard-hitting expose
type news pieces when it’s
really just about...being care
ful on windy days because
shopping carts can run into
your car at the mall parking
lot,” Walsh said of his charac
ter. “Those are the kind of
stories that Kevin thinks he’s
blowing the lid off of.”
Although his background
is originally in performing
improv with the Upright
Citizens Brigade, Walsh
said doing the television
show is no different from per
forming in front of a live
audience.
“For me the rules are the
same. Improv is about
attacking the most interest
ing thing that’s going on and
then heightening and sup
porting what was last said,”
he explained.
Walsh said when thinking
of story ideas the cast tries
to come up with the craziest
things possible.
One such idea involved
having his character go on
spring break dressed up like
an MTV-style VJ. This results
with Kevin Beekin surround
ed by teenagers as he lay in a
hammock reading them fan
mail he wrote himself.
Walsh said they have even
gone so far as to attend a
KKK picnic and a Southern
Republican leadership con
ference.
“Obviously the KKK is not
a good place to go, but we
went there anyways,” he said.
As for the unsuspecting
people they interview, Walsh
said, for the most part, peo
ple buy their act.
“Everyone we meet does
think we’re a real news team
from Spokane. Sometimes
we tell them the truth, and
sometimes we don’t,” he said.
“Most of the people we
interact with are really nice.
They’re just kind of annoyed
and sort of surprised at how
stupid we are and how inef
fective we are as a news
crew.”
In the series premiere,
which aired last Wednesday,
Beekin and the rest of his
news crew attempted to
uncover the truth about
body builders.
After several takes, Beekin
was finally satisfied with his
interview after asking hard
hitting questions like “How
big are your balls?” and “Is it
true that most bodybuilders
are bisexual?”
Because there is no script,
Walsh said the team usually
shoots 15 to 20 hours of
footage to get a 22-minute
episode.
“We can’t control how peo
ple react,” Walsh said. As a
result, the team must do
multiple interviews to get the
footage they want.
Even so, Walsh said the
documentary style provides
positive things.
“You get authentic, real
reactions and it challenges
you to really immerse your
self in the character and to
really believe what you’re
saying. It’s not amped like
sitcoms are,” he said.
Walsh said “Dog Bites
Man” sets itself apart from
similar mockumentary-style
shows like “The Office” or
“Arrested Development”
because those shows are
totally scripted.
Script or no script, noth
ing can stop this news team.
As the show’s tagline says,
“News travels fast. Unless
there’s traffic.”
“Dog Bites Man” airs
Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. on
Comedy Central. Select
scenes and the show’s pre
miere episode may be viewed
all the time on Comedy
Central’s “Motherload” web
site.
Annual Bonnaroo festival hits Tennesee
LIVE releases
Creed-like album
By KELLY SKINNER
kskinner@randb.com
There was once a group
of musicians collectively
called LIVE. It was a rock
band that rocked hard and
angry and beautiful too.
Ed Kowalczyk had that
distinct, charged voice that
could be recognized any
where. Songs like “The
Dolphin’s Cry” or
“Lightning Crashes” could
send chills down a person’s
back. They were energy
songs and passion songs.
This was the LIVE of the
‘90s, and, as bands are
known to do, the band kept
making albums.
Since it’s close to impos
sible to do better than a
No. 1 album (1994’s
“Throwing Copper”),
LIVE’s done with its most
recent album what many
artists have done before —
reinvented itself.
LIVE has reinvented
themselves into Creed in
order to create “Songs from
Black Mountain.”
Maybe these were wise
financial decisions, but how
much does a person need
in exchange for his soul?
LIVE has transformed
itself, true, but not neces
sarily into a better band.
Listeners that crave raw
emotion and the overall
intensity of the old LIVE
will be dumbfounded.
The album’s tracks are
forced and cheesy and gui
tar riffs are repetitive and
bland. In addition, variety
from song to song is non
existent.
This album is not neces
sarily “bad.” It will actually
be a big hit for a few key
groups of listeners:
1. Creed fanatics who
LIVE
Album: “Songs From Black
Mountain”
Grade: C-
Verdict: For those hoping for
another “Throwing Copper,”
LIVE is DEAD.
don’t mind their favorite
band being royally ripped
off. Either that or they don’t
realize that they have actu
ally bought a LIVE album
instead of a Creed album.
They may think this is a
great Creed performance
recorded LIVE at a place
called Black Mountain.
2. People that need
some music for cleaning
the house or doing long dis
tance driving — monoto
nous, steady and loud
enough to ensure them
they’re not falling asleep.
Just because this album
is a dud doesn’t mean that
Creed — I mean, LIVE —
can’t redeem itself.
Johnny Depp has had
his share of bad “experi
ments,” and Gwen Stefani,
without a doubt, has had
her ups and downs.
In all honesty, this
album isn’t terrible. It just
doesn’t meet the expecta
tions of someone hoping for
a great new LIVE album.
But then again, not
everyone can be a renais
sance band.
Save that for people like
The Beatles, or Beck.
Fans camp out
with bands
By ABBI LIBERS
alibers@randb.com
For the fifth year in a row,
music lovers everywhere will
gather at their own personal
mecca — Manchester, Tenn.
— for Bonnaroo, a summer
music and arts festival.
Katie Carmody, a junior
from Roswell, has attended
the festival for the past two
years.
“It’s like the biggest field
party in the world,” she said.
The four-day, multi-stage
camping festival will kick off
tonight at 7 p.m. and will end
Sunday at midnight.
For the past four years,
Bonnaroo has been held on
the same 700-acre farm in
Manchester, Tenn., which is
located 60 miles south of
Nashville.
This year the festival
promises to bring together
some of the best performers
in just about any genre you
can think of, officially break
ing its traditional jam-band
lineup. Headlining this year
are Tom Petty & the
Heartbreakers, Radiohead
and Phil Lesh & Friends.
According to the festival’s
Web site, Bonnaroo will be
Radiohead’s first U.S. festival
appearance since they head
lined Coachella in 2004 and
will be the group’s only
appearance of the summer.
Jam band lovers need not
fear though, as the festival
will still host many jam-band
favorites such as G. Love &
Special Sauce, Disco Biscuits
and more.
Despite the stellar lineup,
Carmody opted not to attend
this year.
“I was just ready for some
thing different and really
wanted a smaller festival that
suited my taste more,” she
said.
The Bonnaroo website
recently announced that tick
ets for the festival have sold
out. This means at least
80,000 fans will be present for
the four-day music extrava
ganza.
Bonnaroo has more to
offer than just music, as it
has a 100-acre entertainment
village that includes a classic
arcade, on-site cinema, silent
disco, comedy club, theater
performers, a beer festival
and a music technology vil
lage.
“There’s tons of tasty
food, interesting people, real
ly cool vending and beautiful
artwork,” Carmody said. “I
met some great people and
had really interesting conver
sations.”
Carmody said she’s seen
Bonnaroo become more
mainstream over the past few
years.
“It’s definitely a lot less
genre-specific, a.k.a. pure
jam bands, and is open to a
wider variety of music,” she
said.
Bonnaroo will present over
100 acts on its nine stages
including newcomers Death
Cab for Cutie, Bonnie Raitt,
Beck, Ben Folds and Blues
Traveler.
The festival will take place
Friday through Sunday, but
gates open today at 7 a.m.
Carmody said she’s heard
SPECIAL | The Red & Black
▲ Bonnaroo, the four-day, multi-stage camping festival in
Manchester, Tenn., begins tonight at 7 p.m. and will end
Sunday at midnight.
of people waiting as long as
12 hours to get in the gates,
so her suggestion is to leave
as early as possible.
“Drink tons of water, have
an open mind and, most
importantly, see as much
music as you can,” she said.
‘Flag Day is what
dreams are made of’
F or many of you,
Wednesday was prob
ably another typical
day. Maybe you went to
class or spent the day
recovering from a massive
hangover from your
Tuesday night keg party, or
both. However, it was actu
ally the most important of
American holidays — Flag
Day.
Alright, I’ll admit I did
n’t know that either. After
all, Flag Day isn’t even on
most calendars and nobody
gets out of work or class for
it, which is an important
qualifier of major holidays.
Easily overshadowed by
Memorial Day, the Fourth
of July and pretty much
every other holiday —
besides Arbor Day, a holi
day that celebrates trees —
Flag Day often goes unno
ticed and unappreciated by
all except die hard patriots.
Matt Katsaros, a fifth-
year student at UGA, told
me, “Flag Day is what
dreams are made of.”
I’m not really sure what
that means, and he refused
to elaborate on his love of
Flag Day, so I was forced to
do a little research. Allow
me to educate you about
this humble holiday.
Flag Day became an offi
cial United States Holiday
on August 3, 1949, when
President Truman signed
the act of Congress that
would make June 14 the
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official day to celebrate the
American flag and all that
it stands for.
How could anyone over
look this monumental
event of President
Truman’s career?
Oh right, Truman also
decided to drop a giant
bomb on Japan that would
end World War II. With such
severe competition in the
historical timeline, it’s no
wonder that Flag Day never
had a shot at the big time.
Perhaps Flag Day would
have had a better chance at
being remembered if a less
ambitious president —
Gerald Ford, for instance —
had signed it into law.
Despite its raw deal in
history, Flag Day still has
an army of supporters
fighting for people to at
least remember that June
14 is Flag Day.
What is this group of
people who have doomed
themselves to a lifetime of
frustration? The National
Flag Day Foundation,
which tackles the responsi
bility of making Flag Day
stand out in the minds and
hearts of Americans across
the country.
How do they do this?
The group encourages you
to join in the National
Pause for the Pledge of
Allegiance, which occurred
Wednesday at 7 p.m.
However, the group
encourage Americans to
really reflect upon the
words and draw inspiration
from them, rather than
reciting the pledge mind
lessly like we did in elemen
tary school.
As the holiday has
already come and gone, I
suggest marking your 2007
calendar now. Make the
most of Flag Day 2007.
Steal ideas from Fourth
of July celebrations, drive
up to South Carolina and
buy fireworks that you will
most likely blow your
hands off with and throw a
red, white and blue party.
Finally, when 7 p.m. rolls
around, put down your
Solo cups, salute the stars
and stripes, say the Pledge
of Allegiance and feel
proud, knowing that you
and your friends will be
joining thousands of other
Americans —who will most
ly be old men in Veteran of
Foreign War halls — in an
act of patriotism.
Perhaps then we can all
agree with Katsaros that
Flag Day is what dreams
are made of, even if we’re
all too drunk to know what
those dreams are.
— Chris Homer is a
contributing writer for
The Red & Black