FOR EXIT, FINDING OWN VOICE IS SWEETEST THING.Byline: Simone Schramm Correspondent The all-girl pop/rock band Exit doesn't have a record deal, but that has not stopped the group from gaining some global experience. Recently the women, who live in the Valley and Ventura, performed for the troops in Bosnia. They gained a whole new set of fans and a whole new understanding of the outside world. After playing their last gig Slang for "gigabyte" or "gigabit." See GB. gig - gigabyte as a U2 cover band at the Rock 'n' Roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. Hall of Fame in June, someone at Balkans Entertainment asked them to tour Bosnia during the Christmas break. Being a young band, they never expected an opportunity like this. ``My first reaction was just excitement of being somewhere just so different than here,'' said guitarist Courtney ``Captive'' Lavender lavender, common name for any plant of the genus Lavandula, herbs or shrubby plants of the family Labiatae (mint family), most of which are native to the Mediterranean region but naturalized elsewhere. The true lavender (L. . ``But then it kind of got to where we were like, 'What exactly are we getting ourselves into?' and 'What are we going to be doing?' and 'Who exactly are we playing for?' and 'What exactly are they doing there?' '' Sarajevo stuck out as the most profound experience. Going through sniper alleys "Sniper Alley" is the informal name for the main boulevard in Sarajevo which during the Bosnian War was lined with Serbian snipers' posts, and became infamous as a dangerous place for civilians to traverse. and seeing orphaned or·phan n. 1. a. A child whose parents are dead. b. A child who has been deprived of parental care and has not been adopted. 2. A young animal without a mother. 3. children play in a roped-off playground Playground - A visual language for children, developed for Apple's Vivarium Project. OOPSLA 89 or 90? near a field of land mines shocked them. ``So if the ball goes out of bounds and the children are playing they'll send the littlest ones to go retrieve it because the light weight may not set off the land mine,'' said lead singer Nikki Poynter. There was a graveyard in the middle of the city, bullet holes in walls and bomb marks everywhere, yet people still carry on. ``It made playing for the troops that much more meaningful,'' said Lavender. ``It wasn't just, 'Oh, we're playing these shows for men that have to be in uniform.' There was a story around it, and we felt the history behind it,'' she said. The band, named for a song on U2's 1987 ``The Joshua Tree'' album, formed in 1999. The idea of becoming a U2 tribute band wasn't their intention. ``The only thing the four of us could play (and barely) was U2, and even that was slow moving. It took us a long time to get it together, and in the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , we just worked on U2, it just happened that way,'' said Lavender. While the band, which includes drummer Pam ``Dim'' Bluestein and bassist Susan ``Affa'' Hamilton, doesn't sound exactly like U2, it conveys that same energy and drive. But now EXIT wants to branch out. The group has been writing new songs and showcasing them at live performances. ``We're finding our sound and we're finding out what Exit is,'' said Susan. ``For some bands it takes two seconds, but then, for others, it takes longer to develop, and we're developing.'' To find out more about Exit, visit www.exit-band.com. EXIT Where: Club Good Hurt, 12249 Venice Blvd., West Los Angeles
When: 8:45 p.m. Friday. Tickets: $5 with a flier that people can print from the band's Web site, www.exit-band.com. Call (310) 390-1076 for information. |
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