Stephen F Austin State University - Stone Fort Yearbook (Nacogdoches, TX)

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Alabama Performs in Coliseum By Michelle Dewitt The three cousins from Fort Payne, Ala., and their longhaired drummer stole the audience ' s hearts with their outstanding performance on October 1. Fans left with hoarse voices and blistered hands. They screamed and clapped like typical groupies throughout the entire performance. SFA Coliseum will never be the same. The show opened with )anie Fricke, Female Vocalist of the Year. In her red leather pants, the curvaceous blonde sang favorite saloon songs and a few of her hits. Fricke was mis- ty-eyed when she sang It Ain ' t Easy Bein ' Easy and You Don ' t Know Love. Her number one hit, Heartache Lookin ' For A Place to Happen, quickly changed Fricke ' s mood to one of electricity. The men seemed to es- pecially enjoy the song. After an intermission, the house lights went out and blue-green smoke started coming out of the drum set. For a minute, I thought I was at a KISS concert. A deep voice introduced the Entertainers of the Year, and I knew it wasn ' t KISS. Alabama ' s opening song, Love in the First Degree, had the audience screaming for more. And more good stuff is what they got. Three of the boys in the band automatically scored points when they appeared on stage wearing SFA T- shirts. Lead vocalist Randy Owen scored points with his natural good looks. After singing what has become their favorite theme song, ,v My Home ' s in Alabama, they felt obligat- ed to sing a rendition called Your Home ' s in Texas. The audience went wild. Jeff Cook, lead guitarist, played a piece of Tennessee River with his teeth on the guitar. Cook also proved himself to be quite talented at harmo- nizing with his cousins. The group relied on audience participation to keep the show sus- penseful. They made you feel as if you were telling them what you wanted to hear. They even went so far as to swing a spotlight around the near sell-out crowd pep-rally style for yell competition. The audience was then allowed to sneak-preview Eighteen Wheeler and I ' m Not That Way Anymore, two songs released in late )anuary. The charming Owen dedicated Close Enough to Perfect to all the women in the world who don ' t get enough credit from the men in their lives. He could have won Gloria Steinem ' s heart with that line. „ Owen too frequently played to the sparse audience behind the stage. Al- though it was a nice gesture to those who waited too late to buy good tickets, those up front could barely hear the beginning of such favorites as Old Flame. The adoring fans could not get enough of Alabama. The group was brought back repeatedly for encores. The SFA Coliseum was shaking from people stomping their feet and de- manding more. Randy Owen, )eff Cook and Teddy Gentry — three cousins from Fort Payne, Ala. — have come a long way. Owen and Gentry used to work as carpet layers while Cook had a government job. Don ' t ever think we ' re too big to need your help, Owen said at a press conference before the concert. Musicians have something to say. Singing is the way we express our- selves and get a lot of things off our chests. Photos by Bob Leonard

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Opposite page: The court yard bordered by McCee Business Building, the Steen Library and the Education Building is filled with students throughout the class day. This page, Left: The area serves as a place to catch up on the latest news and socialize. Below: Although The Wall is frequented by members of the Creek associ- ations, other organizations meet at The Wall. Provides Meeting Place, ' Social Hangout to inspect the guys. They ' re always hanging around their favorite frat, campaigning for Lil Sis. Anyone who hangs out at The Wall will notice that the students who congregate there represent a variety of stereotypes. Although many believe you have to belong to a Greek association to feel comfortable there, students of different clubs and teams are also found at The Wall. Sometimes, however, a student feels as if he is invading someone else ' s territory by standing there between classes. The other day I happened to be sitting on a bench studying for class. All of a sudden I was surrounded by 20 guys in matching shirts. I felt like a fool, one freshman said. A few students said they think the idea of The Wall is on a high school student ' s level. They believe the idea of standing by a slab of ce- ment to look important is ridiculous. The kids who mill around their cliques acting like they ' re better than others who don ' t have a clique are so immature! one junior said. Most of the students who do visit their peers on a regular basis believe that those who criticize them are guilty of prejudging people. People that act like we ' re snobs are imagining things, Julie Flora, Piano senior, said. I stop by to visit the fraternity walls to say hello to friends I haven ' t seen in a while, not to act like I have status. Mary Ann Notter, Dallas senior, agreed with this view. Going by The Wall ' to see what everybody is up to is fun. It ' s perfectly normal to want a meeting place established between classes. You can always hear people saying, v Hey, I ' ll meet you at The Wall ' after class! ' Student Life 21

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Student Life 23