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Dr. Mescalito  FREESTYLE FINISH HIM! It’s a KO for Substance Abuse Music Friday, Jan. 2 at the Steak Knife in Dinkytown. MC Impulse takes the stage with a rap to “Get loose like prune juice.” As part of the Substance Abuse crew, Impulse is opening for Ecid at a CD release party for his album, “Nineteen 80 Three.” (Perhaps a spin off Limp Bizkit’s song “9 teen 90 nine”?) DJ Pseudonym spins some beats under classic rock riffs for Impulse, including the Guess Who’s “These Eyes.” At 11:45 p.m., Ecid opens his set with “Manmade Material,” one of the songs from “Nineteen 80 Three.” By this point, the Steak Knife is full and the audience is attentive as Ecid performs his sarcastic blend of rock’n’roll-hip hop. “All I do is music and my girlfriend,” Ecid says. Born as Jason McKenzie in Minnesota in 1983, Ecid started writing rap lyrics at 13. He recorded “shitty-sounding basement songs” on an eight-dollar microphone and a cassette player. At 15, he formed a group called MidWe$t Conspiracy with an MC named NaPalm. Ecid was going by “Greedy Dice.” “That was the high school age of everything,” he says. “We started making crappy little songs together. First we burned, like, 50 CDs and we sold them in a week at school. Like a month later, I pressed them up as actual albums and then I got rid of another hundred.” Tensions between Ecid and NaPalm led to the dissolution of MidWe$t Conspiracy a couple years later. “[NaPalm] always got in trouble, and I didn’t wanna make songs with him anymore….He was always in jail or on some drug, and it was basically dragging me down,” Ecid says. Upon going solo, Greedy Dice became Ecid (dice spelled backwards and pronounced ‘Ee-syd’) and recorded an album called “Stance-Sub Abusive.” The album has been getting air time at college radio stations across the country. In 2002, at the tender age of 19, Ecid founded Substance Abuse Music and began collaborating with high school friend and MC, NoMad. “We were talking in high school and we’d just chill out in classes and just talk about rap instead of working on homework. So the next thing I knew, he was like, ‘Well, let’s try and do stuff together.’” NoMad says. Recent additions to the “SA Crew” are MC Impulse, Souper Mario MC, and DJ Pseudonym. Impulse and Pseudonym worked together as Sec-Tor 7G before their involvement with Substance Abuse Music. Contrary to what would be the obvious meaning behind the Substance Abuse name, Ecid claims it’s not negative in any way. “It’s not the whole drug thing, it’s substance. I’ve always taken a lot of pride in lyrics, trying to make songs that say something, not just hogwash.” “At first I didn’t like the name, but then I just accepted it for what it was. We’re not, like, ‘Do drugs, kids,’” Impulse says. Whether rapping social commentary about 9/11 (While the tele-bam was clappin’, America cried/We cried/The whole country died that day) or an introspective song (Is this or isn’t/A song about the simple pleasures in life/About the simple fact that I can think in depth), each song contains substance beyond the prototypical rap song. Ecid carries a notepad with him at all times. “The other day I was driving with my girlfriend and I was, like, ‘Oh, no, I just remembered this.’ I gave her a marker and made her write it down while we were driving because I didn’t want to forget it.” Souper Mario MC jokes, “If his fingers could spit ink, he’d be a typewriter.” The SA Crew features satirical and sarcastic lyrics, riding on top of harder-edged, house-related beats. Many of the songs on “Nineteen 80 Three” use samples, which Ecid edits and chops until he makes something new. His use of sampling sets him apart from hip hop artists, using classic rock and classical pieces not traditionally thought to be right for hip hop. “Half Empty” is based off the guitar riff from the Eagles’ “One of These Nights,” while “Fully Loaded Mic” features a cheerful, elfin-sounding flute. “You know, people are always like, ‘Are you ever gonna make beats without samples?’ Well, yeah, I could but I just wouldn’t like the beats,” Ecid says. “There’s an art to sampling. You just gotta do it justice.” The group takes hip hop in a new direction, bring together all musical styles to create a unique brand of hip hop. But not everyone hears the uniqueness in his music. They recall one incident while performing at a restaurant called Mangia near the campus of the University of Minnesota. “These dudes came in and one said, ‘That’s whack’ when he walked by. While the dude was freestyling, he was like, ‘Crackers’ and all this crap,” Ecid says. Impulse adds, “They were saying ‘These beats are too white.’” “Someone called us ‘white hop.’” Pseudonym says, “It’s kind of endearing. We are suburban kids.” While the group is crossing the racial boundaries of hip hop much the way Eminem has, the most important aspect of their music is that they don’t pretend to be something they are not. “I hate the fact that people say, ‘Oh, you gotta keep it real,’ but actually we keep it real because we don’t say we’re from the ghetto,” Ecid says. While there is a distinct difference between gangster rap and the Substance Abuse crew’s style of music, the difference is cultural. Impulse sums it up: “I didn’t live it, so why would I rap about it?” The SA Crew does most of the recording and production out Ecid’s mom’s basement in Blaine, Minnesota. (“She gives these guys cookies and stuff.”) Ecid takes responsibility for getting everyone together for recording sessions and rehearsals. “Usually on Saturdays I try to get everybody to come to my house to work on beats or make songs. It has to be a family. You have to do this everyday,” he says. “One day Mario came over at ten in the morning and we worked on a song until four the next morning. I made the beat that day and we wrote the lyrics,” he says. “Ecid equals Sug Knight,” Pseudonym quips. “He’s the producer of the century,” Impulse says. “What was really cool about meeting up with Ecid is that I had no direction. I knew kinda what I wanted to do when I was working with this other cat, but it just wasn’t working out, and Ecid’s so devoted to everything.” The group has plans to do a double album as a big promotion for all aspects of Substance Abuse Music: Sec-Tor 7G, Ecid, Souper Mario MC, and NoMad. They sell “Leg Boots” at shows, which is a collection of live and recorded material. Back at the Steak Knife, Ecid is performing “20 Years,” a poignant look into a 20-year-old’s imagination of life in 20 years. Impulse then takes a mic and as Pseudonym lays down rock riffs over beats, Substance Abuse Music takes the stage.  Friends only! Russia is leading the competition after the preliminary round at the 2006 European Championships in Volos, Greece. Seven other teams qualified to the team finals on Saturday. Yulia Lozhechko led the Russiaans with a 15.100 on uneven bars and a 15.600 on balance beam. Teammate Anna Grudko had the highest qualifying score on vault, and Nadhezda Ivanova qualified to the floor exercise final. Irina Isayeva contributed a 15.150 and 14.575 on balance beam and floor exercise, respectively, to qualify for those finals. Polina Miller rounded out the Russian team, but did not qualify for any individual events. Defending champion Romania ended the competition just 0.2 behind Russia. Despite a 14.575 from Steliana Nistor, the Romanians ranked eighth on uneven bars. Nistor’s score was good enough for a spot in the event final. Romania led the competition on balance beam and floor exercise, however. Sandra Izbasa qualified to beam and floor with top scores of 15.675 and 15.550, respectively. Defending beam champion Catalina Ponor qualified to the final in fourth place with a 15.450. Ponor, who has stated the Europeans will be her final competition, also qualified to the floor final. Vanessa Ferrari, new to the senior ranks this year, led the Italians to a third place finish in preliminaries. Ferrari qualified to finals on bars, beam and floor. Beth Tweddle earned the highest score of the competition with a 15.800 on uneven bars while leading her team to a spot in the final with a seventh place finish. Teammate Shavahn Church injured her knee on floor exercise and is doubtful for the final. Ukraine, Spain, France and the Netherlands rounded out the top eight teams who will compete in the final. Host team Greece just missed the team final, finishing in ninth place. However, the Greeks advanced one gymnast, Stefani Bisbikou, to the beam final. Complete results: Team Preliminaries (Top 8 advance to final) 1. Russia 176.150 2. Romania 175.950 3. Italy 174.650 4. Ukraine 173.300 5. Spain 171.600 6. France 168.450 7. Great Britain 167.225 8. Netherlands 166.400 9. Greece 165.975 10. Switzerland 165.450 11. Germany 164.600 12. Czech Republic 162.350 13. Poland 161.750 14. Belarus 157.650 15. Hungary 156.875 16. Sweden 152.050 17. Bulgaria 149.500 18. Latvia 147.925 19. Finland 147.525 20. Israel 146.825 21. Austria 146.100 22. Denmark 132.950 23. Iceland 101.950 24. Norway 97.325 Vault finalists: 1. Anna Grudko RUS 14.612 2. Olga Scherbatykh UKR 14.500 3. Carlotta Giovannini ITA 14.387 4. Ariella Käslin SUI 14.325 5. Jana Komrskova CZE 14.300 6. Katja Abel GER 14.200 7. Sandra Izbasa ROM 14.125 8. Imogen Cairns GBR 13.937 Bars finalists: 1. Beth Tweddle GBR 15.850 2. Vanessa Ferrari ITA 15.625 3. Darya Zgoba UKR 15.250 4. Yulia Lozhecko RUS 15.100 5. Lenika de Simone ESP 14.950 6. Jana Sikulova CZE 14.725 7. Rose-Eliandre Bellemare FRA 14.650 8. Steliana Nistor ROM 14.575 Beam finalists: 1. Sandra Izbasa ROM 15.675 2. Yulia Lozhecko RUS 15.600 3. Stefani Bisbikou GRE 15.600 4. Catalina Ponor ROM 15.450 5. Vanessa Ferrari ITA 15.225 6. Marina Proskurina UKR 15.225 7. Irina Isayeva RUS 15.150 8. Lenika de Simone ESP 15.100 Floor finalists: 1. Sandra Izbasa ROM 15.550 2. Vanessa Ferrari ITA 15.475 3. Catalina Ponor ROM 14.675 4. Irina Isayeva RUS 14.575 5. Thais Escolar ESP 14.450 6. Nadezhda Ivanova RUS 14.450 7. Olga Scherbatykh UKR 14.450 8. Marina Kostyushenko UKR 14.450 Current mood:  FRIDAY!.
The 2006 European Gymnastics Championships in Volos, Greece begin today with the women’s competition. The competition is being held in a swimming pool converted to a podium. The senior competition will determine team and individual event champions, while the junior competition will determine team, all-around and individual event champions. Of the five champions from last year’s European Championships, Romania’s Catalina Ponor (balance beam) is the only returning competitor. Ponor has expressed that the Europeans will be her last competition. Russian Anna Pavlova is also absent from this year’s competition. Pavlova won the junior all-around title at the 2002 European Championships, and won three medals (all-around, vault, balance beam) at last year’s Championships. The last European Junior Championships was held in 2004. Notable juniors from 2004 such as all-around silver medalist Vanessa Ferrari (Italy) and Nadezhda Ivanova (Russia) are on the senior roster this year. Current mood:  blah.
The U.S. women’s senior and junior teams had a stellar showing at the Pacific Alliance Championships, earning top honors in almost every category. The team and all-around winners were determined Thursday, April 13. World Champions Chellsie Memmel and Nastia Liukin lead the U.S team to the senior team title and also tied for the all-around crown. Jana Bieger and Shayla Worley finished third and fifth, respectively, but were not eligible for all-around awards due to an FIG rule stating only two athletes per country can earn all-around awards. Australia’s rising star Hollie Dykes led the Aussies to a second place finish and an all-around bronze for herself. Her 16.000 on beam was the highest score of the competition. Elyse Hofner-Hibbs was impressive on beam (aerial cartwheel to two layout stepouts) and bars to finish fourth all-around. Her Canadian team placed third. In the junior competition, Iowa native Shawn Johnson earned the highest scores on vault and floor exercise on her way to the team and all-around title. Bianca Flohr earned the highest score on uneven bars and second place all-around. China’s Xiao Sha was third all-around with a meet-high 16.150 on balance beam. Canada was able to edge past China for the silver medal in the team competition, however. Senior Team 1. United States 183.150 2. Australia 177.050 3. Canada 172.050 4. Japan 166.450 5. Hong Kong 134.650 6. Mexico 123.800 Junior Team 1. United States 181.450 2. Canada 171.300 3. China 171.050 4. Japan 167.800 5. Australia 143.850 6. Chinese Taipei 130.100 7. Hong Kong 125.550 Senior All-Around 1. Nastia Liukin USA 61.050 1. Chellsie Memmel USA 61.050 --- Jana Bieger USA 61.000 3. Hollie Dykes AUS 60.550 --- Shayla Worley USA 60.350 4. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs CAN 58.950 5. Daria Joura AUS 57.900 6. Alyssa Brown CAN 57.700 7. Mayu Kuroda JPN 56.750 8. Ayaka Sahara JPN 56.700 --- Aisha Gerber CAN 55.450 --- Sakiko Okabe JPN 55.250 9. Yeny Ibarra MEX 54.600 10. Maricela Cantu MEX 54.550 Junior All-Around 1. Shawn Johnson USA 61.000 2. Bianca Flohr USA 60.150 --- Tessa Pama USA 59.700 --- Rebecca Bross USA 58.800 3. Xiao Sha CHN 58.100 4. Nansy Damianova CAN 57.600 5. Kristina Vaculik CAN 57.450 6. Momoko Ozawa JPN 56.750 7. Jasmine Webb AUS 56.650 8. Koko Tsurumi JPN 56.350 9. He Ying Hui CHN 56.250 10. Alyona Pronina RUS 55.750 The U.S. women swept the senior event finals. 2005 World team member Jana Bieger won vault and floor, while Liukin notched a win on uneven bars. Memmel won balance beam. Junior all-around champ Johnson notched wins on vault and floor, and teammate Shantessa Pama won uneven bars. The lone foreign victory came from China’s Xiao Sha with a 16.275 on balance beam. Senior Women's Vault 1. Jana Bieger USA 14.912 2. Yeny Ibarra MEX 14.350 3. Alyssa Brown CAN 14.212 4. Miki Uemura JPN 13.937 5. Angel Wong Hiu Ying HKG 13.362 Senior Uneven Bars 1. Nastia Liukin USA 15.975 2. Shayla Worley USA 15.400 3. Mayu Kuroda JPN 15.375 4. Monette Russo AUS 15.225 5. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs CAN 15.125 6. Maricela Cantu MEX 13.975 7. Belinda Castles NZL 12.625 8. Lin Chia-Ying TPE 10.775 Senior Balance Beam 1. Chellsie Memmel USA 15.700 2. Nastia Liukin USA 15.625 3. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs CAN 15.250 4. Hollie Dykes AUS 14.975 5. Monette Russo AUS 14.550 6. Ayaka Sahara JPN 14.250 7. Maricela Cantu MEX 14.025 8. Olivia Jobsis NZL 13.800 Senior Women's Floor Exercise 1. Jana Bieger USA 15.500 2. Chellsie Memmel USA 15.400 3. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs CAN 14.875 4. Ayaka Sahara JPN 14.375 5. Hollie Dykes AUS 14.275 6. Olivia Jobsis NZL 13.925 7. Maricela Cantu MEX 13.500 8. Angel Wong Hiu Ying HKG 11.950 Junior Women's Vault 1. Shawn Johnson USA 15.175 2. Shantessa Pama USA 14.925 3. Nansy Damianova CAN 14.900 4. Liao Huifan CHN 14.625 5. Margarita Stepchenko RUS 14.575 6. Momoko Ozawa JPN 14.125 7. Jasmine Webb AUS 14.100 8. He Ying Hui CHN 14.075 Junior Uneven Bars 1. Shantessa Pama USA 15.550 2. Bianca Flohr USA 15.450 3. Kristina Vaculik CAN 14.500 4. Alyona Pronina RUS 14.275 5. Momoko Ozawa JPN 14.150 6. Yessenia Estrada MEX 13.600 7. Li Shanshan CHN 13.475 8. Ashleigh Brennan AUS 12.850 Junior Balance Beam 1. Xiao Sha CHN 16.275 2. Shawn Johnson USA 15.675 3. Li Shanshan CHN 15.300 4. Alyona Pronina RUS 14.625 5. Rebecca Bross USA 14.350 6. Jasmine Webb AUS 14.200 7. Kristina Vaculik CAN 14.050 8. Momoko Ozawa JPN 13.525 Junior Women's Floor Exercise 1. Shawn Johnson USA 15.375 2. Shantessa Pama USA 15.225 3. Xiao Sha CHN 15.025 4. Alyona Pronina RUS 14.725 5. Jasmine Webb AUS 14.625 6. Kristina Vaculik CAN 14.550 7. Koko Tsurumi JPN 14.475 8. Yessenia Estrada MEX 13.950 Dr. Mescalito’s commentary: Liukin looked tired during competition, and I thought she could have benefited from a competitive break. Liukin had a few small errors on her bars and beam routines in the team/all-around competition, and stumbled on floor. Despite the errors, Liukin still tied for first all-around. I hope she is not peaking too early before the 2008 Olympics. Memmel looked great. This was her first competition since a recent ankle surgery, and she proved that she is ready for this new scoring system. Bieger is really starting to earn a name for herself, with a recent win at the Cottbus Cup and now victory on vault and floor at Pacific Alliance. She competed at the 2005 World Championships on uneven bars only, and is making herself known as a solid competitor. Shayla Worley has the whole package—personality, elegance and difficult tricks. Pacific Alliance was her second major international meet, and she handled the pressure with poise. Austrlalia’s Hollie Dykes established herself as One to Watch on the road to Beijing. Her routines are difficult and graceful. Dykes’ style reminds me of 1996 Olympic all-around champion Lilia Podkopayeva. I was impressed with the Aussie team overall. They’ve really been on a charge on the international scene, but had a disappointing Olympic competition in 2004. With Russia’s and Romania’s programs falling apart, Australia could be on the podium in 2008. Canada performed admirably, but the gymnasts lack polish. Hofner-Hibbs was the only Canadian to execute her skills with good form. Aisha Gerber was ill and consequently not up to par. China did not send a senior team, but the juniors gave a sneak peek into the future of Chinese gymnastics. Xiao Sha’s 16.275 is one of the highest scores thus far in the season. Perhaps with the new scoring system, the Chinese gymnasts will get their just deserts on events like bars and beam. I’ve still not gotten over Kui YuanYuan being ripped off during the 1997 world championship beam final. Kui performed the most difficult and most beautifully-executed routine that night, but was rewarded with a dismal third place finish. Current mood:  bouncy.
Last week, I predicted who I thought would be on the U.S. senior and junior women's teams for the Pacific Alliance Championships next week. Dr. Mescalito's picks: Senior: Chellsie Memmel Kassi Price Shayla Worley Jana Bieger Junior: Bianca Flohr Shawn Johnson Samantha Peszek Shantessa Pama The actual teams are as follows: Senior: Chellsie Memmel Nastia Liukin Shayla Worley Jana Bieger Junior: Bianca Flohr Shawn Johnson Rebecca Bross Shantessa Pama I really am surprised Liukin is competing. She's not injured or anything, but I just thought perhaps Marta Karolyi would give her a bit of a break. I'm excited to see her compete again though! NBC is airing the event April 16 at 3 p.m. CT. HURRAY FOR GYMNASTICKING! Current mood: excited.
Work has been sucking hardcore, and I haven’t had time to write. The 30th Cottbus Cup was held in Germany over the weekend. American Jana Bieger won the vault title over Oksana Chusovitina. Bieger also qualified to the uneven bars final. An arched Stalder-full left her with the bronze. China’s Li Ya won the gold, and Russia’s Irina Isayeva won silver. Isayeva won the beam and floor titles. Bieger was the top qualifier going into the beam final, but underrotated a double front dismount and settled for silver. Romania’s Catalina Ponor qualified to the floor final, but performed a very weak set. Ponor lost execution points for poor form on twisting skills and ended with a simple double-twist. The Olympic champion was awarded a mere 13.25 for her routine. Lenika DeSimone of Spain and Lais Souza of Brazil won silver and bronze on floor, respectively. Hurray for Jana Bieger! She won three medals at Cottbus, which is a world cup event. I discovered this website for gymnasts, coaches and fans called Igymnast.com. It’s like Myspace for gymnasticking. I found all kinds of current and former elite gymnasts, including Alicia Sacramone, Jana Bieger and Nastia Liukin. I made a profile and so far I have two friends: Alicia and Jana. I’m still waiting for Nastia to approve my friend request. Cool. Sacramone, Bieger and Liukin will be attending a selection camp April 4-7 to determine who will comprise the U.S. junior and senior team for the Pacific Alliance Championships April 13-15 in Honolulu, Hawaii. In addition to the United States, China, Japan, Australia, Russia, Canada, New Zealand and Mexico are among the countries competing. NBC is airing the event April 16 at 3 p.m. CT and 4 p.m. ET.!! YAY! With such a deep field, it will be interesting to see who is chosen for the U.S. team. Does Marta Karolyi pick a team to outright win or does she pick a team that has a good chance to win, but doesn’t have much experience? The U.S. will win if Karolyi chooses Sacramone, Bieger, Liukin and world champion Chellsie Memmel. However, she may gamble and give some of the other girls international experience to prepare them for the upcoming team world championships. If Karolyi chooses the latter option, I don’t think it would really be much of a gamble. Any combination of the girls at the selection camp could win the team gold. Individual medals are at stake also, and the U.S. would surely like a replay of the 2005 World Championships, where the U.S. won nine medals. I’m going to go out on a limb and make my picks for the Pacific Alliance teams. Senior: Chellsie Memmel Kassi Price Shayla Worley Jana Bieger Junior: Bianca Flohr Shawn Johnson Samantha Peszek Shantessa Pama I think the juniors will be picked to win and the seniors picked to win and gain experience. Memmel will go for sure, because she is coming off surgery and has not competed since worlds. Karolyi will want to get her back into competition. Bieger seems to be untapped talent. After winning three medals at Cottbus, she will be a big player for the U.S. Worley and Price do not have much senior international experience, and Karolyi will want to test them to see if they are ready for major international competition. I think Karolyi will give Liukin a competitive break. Karolyi and everyone else knows Liukin can win and pull in the big scores, but too much competition can give way to burn out and/or injury. The other possibility is that Karolyi will take the 2005 worlds team, sit back and watch them dominate the entire competition. We’ll see if I’m right after April 7! Current mood: excited.
What Olympic Sport Are You?  gymnastics Gymnastics: a damned difficult, demanding, dangerous, debilitating, dehydrating, method of self-destruction. It’s the hardest sport and you know. This sport takes time, dedication, patience, concentration, grace, power, strength and stamina. You’re pretty small for your age and you’re more muscular than the average person your age and size. You love this sport and declare it the best and hardest sport in the world. You know the Magnificent 7, Nadia Comaneci, Shannon Miller and Carly Patterson. You dream of becoming all-around champion. Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook! I've been reading gymnastics forums all day. Via one of these forums, I found Alexandra Marinescu's myspace page. She's a club DJ now. Awesome! Current mood:  bored.
Balance Beam 1. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs CAN 14.950 2. Hollie Dykes AUS 14.925 3. Becky Downie ENG 14.075 4. Monette Russo AUS 13.850 5. Rosalie Hutton SCO 13.775 6. Francki van Rooyen RSA 13.500 7. Helen Galashan SCO 13.375 8. Alyssa Brown CAN 13.050 Women's Floor Exercise 1. Hollie Dykes AUS 14.650 2. Ashleigh Brennan AUS 13.925 3. Francki van Rooyen RSA 13.900 4. Jenny Hannah SCO 13.775 5. Hannah Clowes ENG 13.650 6. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs CAN 13.625 7. Rosalie Hutton SCO 12.775 8. Imogen Cairns ENG 12.350 Current mood: blah.
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