ENTERTAINMENTpage 15 Technique • Friday, February 21, 2003 • 15 Nothing to do? Baseball is back! We’ve got an abundance of concert It’s that time of year again. No not ENTERTAINMENT listings, so you don’t have to sit at spring break—baseball season. Turn to home every night. Find a band and go the sports section to get a preview. Technique • Friday, February 21, 2003 ssee a show. Page 19 Page 28 Goo Goo Dolls visit Atlanta on tour with Bon Jovi Art Seavey talks with bassist Robby Takac about the tour, their newest album, and the Buffalo roots of the band By Art Seavey in the theaters, you know, and smaller given the power.’ You feel like su- Staff Writer arenas and stuff like that. But with perman when you’re a kid,” he joy- these guys it’s 20,000 people a fully reminisced. College students rue the waking night—pretty intense. Nearly ev- “And then I discovered that there hours, but when the phone rings ery show is sold out; it’s just crazy. “ were no bass players around. And and Robby Takac, bassist of the Goo “I guess from my perspective you know being a kid that couldn’t Goo Dolls, is on the other end, there growing up and paying more atten- hit a baseball to save my life…it was is a bit more motivation to throw tion to the Ramones, and Hüsker crucial for my social situation to get off those covers. Being a longtime Dü than I did, you know, Bon Jovi in a band.” We had a good laugh at fan of the Goo Goo Dolls, I couldn’t and Poison I guess. It’s pretty amaz- that. wait to dive into conversation with ing, like, how big [Bon Jovi] is right Robby grew up just outside of him. now.” Buffalo, New York. He sees it as a A 38-year-old man with a husky “neat” place to spend the early years. figure and raspy, rock star voice greet- It was there that he met Johnny ed me good morning. Robby is an Rzeznik, front man of the band. affable, upbeat guy with plenty to “I remember when I “[Johnny] was in a band with say. The twenty or so minutes we my cousin, and I was in a band with spent speaking together are definitely got my first electric our original drummer George. I went a highlight of my Technique career. guitar...going, ’Oh my and filled in some shows playing I started with the basic questions. rhythm guitar with my cousin’s band “We got in last night and went God! I have been and I kind of met John through that to my absolute favorite Japanese res- given the power.” channel. So we spent the majority taurant in the entire United States, of our twenties getting hammered which is in a little strip mall by a Robby Takac together and trying to finish college Kroger here in Buckhead, and had a Bassist, Goo Goo Dolls and stuff.” drink and went to bed,” he recalled. Robby explained to me that the The band was in town with Bon nature of Buffalo played a key part Jovi. They had a show at the Philips in getting the Goo Goo Dolls start- arena that night. They are traveling across the coun- ed. “It was an easy place to get no- “Everybody’s getting along, no- try in a caravan of busses and a truck. ticed locally…I guess the lack of body’s seem to have killed each oth- “We’ve been out 40 weeks on this clubs and such was sort of the cata- er or anything, it’s going well,” he Gutterflower record already, so we’re lyst for us to get out of the city and laughed. pretty much in tour mode here.” start to play around a little bit more “It’s a little bit different than Robby, at the age of twelve, was back in ’86-’87 when we started what we’re used to…We sort of given a gift that truly set his future out, which I think probably helped By Robert Hill / STUDENT PUBLICATIONS evolved through the clubs and things course. “I remember when I got my us out a real lot in the long run.” Robby Takac (above), bassist for the Goo Goo Dolls, performed last week like that up to a level where we’re first electric guitar…I just remem- with his band at Philips Arena. They are currently touring with Bon Jovi. sort of comfortable with ourselves ber going, ‘Oh my God! I have been See Dolls, page 16 Generals realistically School provides a raucous college ride showcases Civil War battles By C. Jason Mabry side plots involving townspeo- Contributing Writer ple and military men flesh out the action and bring the grue- Title: Gods and Generals some reality to the forefront. Dur- Starring: Robert Duvall, Stephan ing the intense battle of Lang, Jeff Daniels, Mira Sorvi- Fredericksburg, a southern Irish no unit is fortified behind a stone Director: Ronald F. Maxwell wall, and a northern Irish unit is Rating: PG-13 commanded to breach the wall. Runtime: 229 minutes The attackers and defenders re- Score: 4 out of 5 stars alize the painful predicament yet remain helpless, and thus epito- Gods and Generals, the latest mize the internal conflict of the movie from Ted Turner, is the Nation during the era. prequel to the 1993 drama Get- The imagery is intense, and tysburg and the second installa- the action sequences are not typ- tion of the Civil War trilogy based ical Hollywood-style. One has on the novels written by Jeff the feeling of being a townsper- Shaara and father Michael Shaara. son watching as the war trudges The film focuses on the found- through the streets. The movie ing of the armies of the North appears to be very accurate and a and South and follows the ac- realistic representation of the con- tion through the Battle of Fred- ditions and hardships present ericksburg. Movie highlights during the nation’s most diffi- By Richard Foreman / © 2003 DreamWorks LLC include the epic battles of Bull cult toil. In parts, the movie drags, Frank (Will Ferrell, above) reverts to the raucous behavior of his younger, untamed alter ego “Frank the Tank” Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, leaving the viewer with the im- when he joins an off-campus fraternity with his buddies Mitch (Luke Wilson) and Beanie (Vince Vaughn). and Chancellorsville. pression of observing the entire The action revolves around Civil War, but it takes on a play- By C. Jason Mabry Mitch Martin, played by Luke Frank (Will Ferrell) and the mar- the rise and sudden fall of Gen- like atmosphere, engrossing and Contributing Writer Wilson, is a working man in his ried-with-children Beanie (Vince eral Stonewall Jackson, adeptly engaging the viewer. early thirties without much going Vaughn). The next day, the college portrayed by Stephen Lang, who The film does not indicate Title: Old School on in his life. Suddenly, he loses dean (played by Jeremy Piven), whom depicted Major General George that one side is in the right, one Starring: Luke Wilson, Will Fer- what little is going right when he the friends picked on while in school, E. Pickett in Gettysburg. cause more just, but pits both rell, Vince Vaughn, Ellen Pompeo, walks in on his girlfriend in an awk- requisitions the house strictly for The cast plays an interesting contingents against one another Juliette Lewis ward situation. college use. mix of historical and fictional in a struggle of determination to Director: Todd Phillips A few days later, he buys a house When all appears over, the friends characters. While the movie fo- Rating: R near a college campus and his friends concoct what is at best an impracti- cuses on historical commanders, See Gods, page 17 Runtime: 91 minutes throw a blowout party. His friends Score: 4 out of 5 stars include the about-to-be-married See School, page 17 16 • Friday, February 21, 2003 • Technique ENTERTAINMENT and find the one song they want. Dolls from page 15 According to Robby, this shelters Dark Blue depicts L.A. crime scene them, however. “You’re not going He talked about how Buffalo has to find a lot of the nuances and By Amy Schmisseur taken a downturn since the steel subtleties that bands have to offer, Contributing Writer industry pulled out. Robby has in- which makes an interesting band, vested in the city and cited the con- as opposed to one interesting song.” Title: Dark Blue viction of the people. He has even He agreed with the idea that a Starring: Kurt Russell, Ving opened up a studio primarily for majority of society latches onto the Rhames, Scott Speedman, Bren- recording commercials. source of the music rather than its dan Gleeson “I have a studio in my house in substance. “To most people, music Director: Ron Shelton L.A., as does John,” he said. This is just that distraction that gets them Rating: R allows the two to write and experi- from the office back home and maybe Runtime: 113 minutes ment whenever they need to. Rob- the 7-11. They shut the radio off Score: 3 out of 5 stars by, despite his main role as the band’s and they’re done with it.” bassist, usually writes and sings a “It’s weird when you’re not hold- Opening with the violent beat- handful of songs on each album. ing a record in your hand.