The Billings Gazette du lieu suivant : Billings, Montana • 36

iBillhujs 5arcttc TEMPO Saturday, April 17,2004 The Source i I i f- i- if v. I'll i 4) 5 i IS 7 4 The Reputation will headline an show Sunday at Venture Theatre. Jason Miller REALITY CHECK Changes could make 'Bachelor' much better I gotta hand it to Jesse Palmer. He really stepped it up in his first rose ceremony a couple of weeks ago as the new "Bachelor." It was a big-time play. After picking the wrong girl with die final rose because he said the wrong name, he called a timeout and regrouped.

He ended up getting the girl he wanted to move on. And the situation didn't turn into nearly as big of a disaster as it could have. But, let's face the facts. Besides this one semi-interesting moment from the first episode of this latest season, "The Bachelor" has offered little in the form of entertainment recently. Sure, it was easy to laugh at (yes, at) Bob Guiney, but thaf about it The show has gotten extremely stale.

The concept has been repeated over and over again with little or no changes. Frankly, it has become boring. I don't know how many more times I can listen to host Chris Harrison say, "This is the final rose tonight" Hey, Chris, we know that We can see there's only one left! But that's beside the point ABC should be capitalizing on new "Bachelor" Jesse Palmer's National Football League experience. Shoot for those NFL viewers, I say. A few changes could make the show much more interesting and exciting for everyone involved.

Go deep, ladies For starters, instead of handing roses to the contestants he chooses to stay at the end of each show, perhaps Palmer could have the ladies go deep and pass the roses to them, "Hail Mary" style Then give contestants who weren't picked a chance to intercept the roses. That would be cooL It would be worse than bouquet tosses at weddings. Someone would definitely get hurt As far as football fans were concerned, this would only add to the fun. Palmer could give the contestants mini footballs instead of roses. These would be much easier to pass (and intercept).

Or he could hand out stadium hot dogs to the women that move on. At the end of the show, they could all hold their dogs up in the air and take a big bite together while saying a toast How about a two-minute drill with each contestant? Palmer could be given two minutes to ask rapid-fire questions to each contestant Sort of a "Bachelor" meets "Budweiser Hot Seat" A i 1 Angst, honesty, originality showcased at Sunday concert mi The band has an original sound to it tight, expressive, and forceful, without being bombastic. Elmore's wonderful voice belies her often-caustic message and the band's full instrumentation, complete with horns and keyboard, helps fuse the genre between indie band and punk rock. The Low Flying Owls emerged on the California rock scene two years ago with the band's unique combination of acid-rock and British psychedelic rock. The Owls' debut "Take the Scenic Route" was released in 2002 followed by the 2003 release "Elixir Vitae" which shows off vocalist Jared Southard's intense, Jim Morrison-like vocals and the band's powerful, edgy and ever-changing sound.

Feedback-laced guitar, dark vocals and driving rhythms intensify the band's sound, especially on the first track, "Glad to be Alive." The song was featured this season on the television series "The Sopranos" in a scene at the Bada-Bing as well as in a Nissan car commercial Southard's lyrics are haunting and the melody sticks to you like polyester pants in the summer. Southard strikes a balance between sit .3 4 headlining band at Sunday's packed shows at the CMJ Music Festival in New York. The band recently played a sold-out show at the 2004 South by Southwest Music Festival and plans to continue touring through falL Billings band 1090 Club is fronted by Sean Lynch and W.E.T. features Josh Hirsch, founding member of Krunk. Battle's role as a organizational force By painstakingly melding the vocal tracks from rapper "The Black Album" with musical swatches from, the Beatles' "White Album," DJ Danger Mouse concocted his own "Grey Album." He pressed only a few thousand copies, but as underground acclaim erupted, the Beatles' publisher, EML responded with a storm of cease-and-desist letters.

Downhill Battle got a threatening letter of hs own when it organized Grey Tuesday, a day in February when almost 200 Web sites offered the album for download That was really, really exciting," Wilson says. "People were putting a ton on the line, risking getting sued for quite a lot of money, because they felt strongly enough about the position and the principal" It was a defining moment for Downhill Battle and for the issue that the group has chosen as its main platform: the freedom to sample musk. As a musical tool, sampling the lifting of music from other recordings came into its own with the emergence of rap. But in the early 1990s, musicians who had been sampled fought back. In the years after that legal crackdown, Wilson says, "they started jacking up the prices (for permission to sampleX You couldn't really use samples legally without a major label behind you.

You could use maybe one or two in a song. After that, it was business suicide." The Low Flying Owls will be the other performance. his snarling lyrics and his ironic sense of humor, especially evident on another cut off the CD "Looks of a Killer," which helps highlight this interesting band's diversity of sound. The Low Flying Owls began their first-ever national U.S, tour in late 2003 to support "Elizir Vitae culminating in Grassroots guerrillas take up the battle against big music By JACI WEBB Of The Gazette Staff Billings bands 1090 Club and W.ET. will open an all-ages show Sunday for two touring indie poprock groups at Venture Theatre.

The show, which starts at 7 p.m. with a $5 cover charge, features headline acts, Midwestern poprock quartet The Reputation and Sacramento rock band Low Flying Owls. The Reputation's female lead singersongwriterguitarist Elizabeth Elmore has been a force in indie rock since her band Sarge was named to Rolling Stone magazine's "hot bands" list in 1998. Sarge was profiled in SPIN, Interview and Playboy before its demise in 1999. Since then, Elmore finished her law degree at Northwestern University and formed The Reputation, which released its self-titled debut in 2002 The band's follow-up CD "to force a fate" is due out Tuesday.

An advance copy of the CD shows off the band's lush arrangements, rocking rhythms and Elmore's smooth as arsenic vocals, searing with angst and honesty. Central showcases 'Odd Couple' Billings Central Catholic High School presents "The Odd Couple," by Neil Simon April 22-24 at Venture Theatre in downtown Billings at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5. The play is directed by Tonia Fischer-Clark. The play stars Central High students.

The play is about two divorced men who decide to share a New York apartment Felix (Cameron Cook) is fussy, fastidious to a fault His cleanliness is next to insanity. Oscar (Dane Halvorson) wreaks havoc on a tidy room with the speed and thoroughness of a tornado. Throw into this odd mix their four poker buddies; Speed (Chris Matrix), Murray (Aaron Odermann), Roy (Curt Seidel) and Vinnie (Aaron Hyams) and the "birds" from upstairs Cecily (Cassie Dow), and Gwendolyn (Catie McFJhinny) and you have an evening of hilarity. For more information, call Tonia Fischer-Clark at Books help teens deal with terrorisni If a subject parents hoped they would never have to discuss with their children. Yet since Sept 11, 2001, news about terrorism is inescapable, and a large number of teens are concerned about it Accordingly, the American Library Association has recommended five non-fiction books about terrorism, especially for teenagers: "Political Violence and Terrorism" edited by Mary Hull "Terrorism" by Anne G.

Gaines Better host Maybe Chris Berman could take over hosting duties from Harrison. I'm sure he'd come up with a cool Bermanesque nickname for Palmer. If be something like Jesse The Body" Palmer or Jesse Palmer "Pilot" or even "Jessie's Girl" Palmer. You get the idea. NFL draft guru Mel Kiper could get involved by providing a "Big Board" list of his top contestants.

If nothing else, Kiper's slick head of hair is always worth a laugh. How about a play-by-play announcer. I picture Kevin Harlan screaming as Palmer says the wrong name at a rose ceremony. John Madden could add color commentary. Don't get me wrong, ABC added a new twist by putting a spy among the contestants to help Palmer make the right choice.

This is a good change. But I still feel like the network missed the boat Why not dress up one of Palmer's New York Giants teammates as a woman and have that person be the spy? Tiki Barber, Kerry Collins or Michael Strahan posing as a woman would be hilarious. The possibilities are endless. As long as Stuart Scott isn't involved, the show, with a few changes, could go from stale to stellar. Booyahi Jason AfiZJer, a setf-prockrimed dvBHSn Gazette dwingdayBt bars.

He canbe reached at mIier)SSngsgcaettEJxmcr6S7-t181 "Silent Death" by Kathlyn Gay "Why Do They Hate Mer by Laurel Holliday "Caught in the Crossfire" by Maria Ousseimi St Labre scholarship offered to seniors ASHLAND St Labre Indian School Educational Association will offer the sixth annual St Labre Native American Honor Scholarships to area graduating seniors who are enrolled members of the Northern Cheyenne or Crow Indian tribes. One $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to the graduating Northern Cheyenne or Crow Indian senior with the highest ACT exam score at each of the seven area schools. Proof of acceptance at a post-secondary institution is required. There are no degree restrictions and students may enroll in the majors of their choice. Scholarships are available to graduating seniors at the following schools: Lame Deer Public High School, Colstrip Public High School, Northern Cheyenne Tribal High School, Lodge Grass Public High School, Hardin Senior High School, Plenty Coups High School and Billings Central Catholic High SchooL Students should contact their career guidance counselors for application information or Sue Schipman at St Labre Indian School, PO Box 77, Ashland, MT 59003, (406) 7844500.

Fax: (406) 784-4512. The application deadline is May 3. By JOHN JURGENSEN The Hartford Courant Many of the people involved in the guerrilla war against the music industry are simply out to get free stuff. They are de facto combatants, downloading songs in anonymity unless, that is, the industry flushes them out with a lawsuit Then there are individuals who stage more conspicuous offensives. People like 24-year-old Holmes Wilson, who stepped into the role of music activist last August, when he and friend Nicholas Reville started a legal defense fund for file swappers sued by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Out of a home office in Worcester, Mass, they run Downhill Battle, an advocacy group that wants to rid the market of what he calls the "oligopoly of major labels that dominate the recording industry. From simple sticker campaigns to a subversion of a music-based Pepsi promotion. Downhill Battle has built a reputation through grassroots multitasking. Last month, the group launched its latest effort BarinedMusic.org, a free source for music that the major labels consider illegal and onerous. One of the recordings available on the site is the creation of a Los Angeles producer and DJ that touched off a major controversy at the beginning of the year, solidifying Downhill.