Four college grads travel, learn in roadtrip film
A road trip serves as
the foundation for an
insightful documentary
on the modern job hunt
By Natasha Chilingerian
Pulse Reporter
“The Open Road," created by four
recent college graduates, is a docu
mentary that asks the number one
question on the minds of most col
lege students: "What am I going to do
when 1 graduate?"
The film gives a wise piece of advice
for this common conundrum: how to
explore the
possibilities
MOVIE out there
REVIEW
and
turn
something
you love
into a career.
The creators of "The Open Road"
are also the founders of the individu
ality-promoting project Roadtrip Na
tion. In the film, the foursome —
Michael Marriner, Nathan Gebhard,
Amanda Gall and Brian McAllister —
decide to forgo their original, tradi
tional plans of becoming doctors,
teachers and working for family busi
nesses. They beautify an old 1985 RV
with a coat of bright green paint and
travel 15,000 miles around die nation
in search of insight to their futures.
This search takes them to college cam
puses where they talk to students
about their future plans, eventually
taking them along to interviews with
successful people.
On their journey, the road-trippers
talk to such professionals as the co
founder of Nantucket Nectars juice, a
lobsterman in Maine, Dell CEO
Michael Dell and Starbucks chairman
aqd founder Howard Schultz. These
honest question-and-answer sessions
gave the interviewees a chance to talk
about how their career plans changed
while in college and what strategies
got them to where they are today. The
professionals offered an array of ad
vice to college-age people, such as
turning a hobby into a career, follow
roadtrip nation
Courtesy
ing your dream even if others criticize
you and accepting low pay in the be
ginning to gain experience. Each in
terviewee left their mark on the young
travelers by signing the ceiling inside
their RV.
"The Open Road" functions as a
travelogue and a tool for career inspi
ration. The film showcases beautiful
places, such as Seattle and New York
City, and includes segments with the
four travelers engaging in enjoyable
activities, such as jumping off a dock
into water in Maine. By including fun
and games, the focus is taken away
from the serious topic of the post-col
lege job search, reminding viewers
that life isn't all work and no play. The
documentary also shows the prob
lems they encounter, such as mechan
ical problems with their RV and an
anthrax scare in Washington, D.C.
This film offers great insight to
anyone who is struggling with their
future career plans. By giving the
lobsterman just as much respect and
attention as Schultz, the road-trip
pers prove that quirky careers can be
just as appreciable and rewarding as
big-business careers. The variety of
people interviewed shows that no
interest is too dumb to become a
life-long occupation. For example,
the vice president of programming
for the Cartoon Network said in the
film that he chose his career because
he loved cartoons and wanted to go
to work wearing jeans.
The only thing missing was a con
clusion from the four stars of the film.
Gebhard, Marriner, McAllister and
Gall never go into how their own ca
reer plans evolved during or after the
trip, which seemed like a glaring over
sight after such a journey.
Roadtrip Nation has released a
book by the same name which details
the group's fall 2001 road trip and of
fers advice on finding one's path in
life. The Roadtrip Nation founders
also run a program, "Behind the
Wheel," where they select several col
lege students every year to embark on
their own path-finding road trip. A
second documentary, "Destination
Unknown," was released recently and
followed the first "Behind the Wheel"
road trip from last summer. Both doc
umentaries are available on DVD. For
more information about Roadtrip Na
tion, visit their Web site at
http://www.roadtripnation.com
Contact the Pulse reporter at
natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.
Milton Mapes' two albums go from bad to boring
The Texas country band
makes music for masochists
and elevator passengers
By Natasha Chilingerian
Austin, Texas-based country/rock
group Milton Mapes went through a
dramatic metamorphosis between
their first and second albums — from
inducing headaches to creating unno
ticeable background music.
Milton Mapes writes songs about the
West, and although their lyrics are po
etic and show expertise and insight into
seem to match in quality. Their debut
album, "The State Line," introduces
Greg Vanderpool's gritty voice and the
group's uninspiring sounds.
Pulse Reporter
REVIEW
the Western
United
States, the
music, for
the most
part, doesn't
The first track, "Used to be Enough,"
is a song about an unsatisfying love that
tries to be emotional but fails as soon
as a percussion instrument sounding
like a rattlesnake emeiges. But this song
sounds heavenly compared to the next
track, "Down By You."
"Down By You" can be played at
full blast to purposely annoy much
hated neighbors. It is a scratchy, muf
fled tune with lyrics that are yelled
and a droning, deafening guitar play
ing the same chord over and over.
The remainder of "The State Line"
is a little easier on the ears. In "Lub
bock, " Vanderpool's voice is almost
soothing, but the song has about as
much variety as the Slim-Fast diet
plan. The same guitar/drum melody
plays repetitively throughout the track
like a broken record, and this sent my
level of irritation up the wall.
The mood then turns to slow and
soft, except for the second half of
"Numbers," which showcases a fast
beat that rests on the line between fun
i
mmmwrnrn
Courtesy
and annoying. The last track, "Quick
Eyed Love," has fast percussion that,
like "Lubbock," is repetitive. Other
wise, the songs are sweet and relaxing.
This is the safest way for Milton
Mapes to go, because although their
slow tunes aren't quite breathtaking,
they are much easier to listen to than
the rapid, headache-inducing noise in
their fast music.
The band seems to have realized
this just in time for their second al
bum, "Westemaire," which is mostly
slow and quiet. On the tracks that do
speed up a little, the improvement
from irritating to catchy is evident.
"Westemaire" boasts creative lyrics
about feelings and life in the West, but
they are so abstract that they tend to
confuse instead of inspire. It's likely
that the only person who understands
these songs is Vanderpool himself,
who writes all music and lyrics for
Milton Mapes. The words are like di
ary entries, free-flowing feelings with
out any explanation of the related
events. The only straightforward song
is "A Thousand Songs About Califor
nia," which is a nice tribute to the
state: "Some go for money. Others go
for love. / Some wanna be the last
ones who can sit and watch the sun
go down / So if you make it to those
golden mountains / Tell my good
friends I'll be seeing them around."
The quiet nature of "Westemaire" is
a nice break from "The State Line,"
but each track on the former is indis
tinguishable from one another. Since
the music fails to jump out, the al
bum will best function as background
music for a quiet social gathering or as
a relaxation tool.
Greg Beets of The Austin Chronicle
said the Milton Mapes “plays the kind
of music you warm up to gradually."
But in my opinion, music should
reach out and sweep the listener away
the minute it is played. Captivating
music normally captivates immedi
ately, and after the first play, Milton
Mapes is just noise.
I doubt I'll listen to Milton Mapes
again, but if you're willing to wait for
weak music to grow on you, there will
be an opportunity to give Milton
Mapes a chance at a live performance
this month. The band will be playing
on Jan. 27 starting at 11 p.m. at the
Samurai Duck, located at 980 Oak St.
Contact the Pulse reporter at
natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.
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•The summer job
Includes all of July
and the last week
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For more
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■VI11VI HALL
8th &
Lincoln
■ Friday ■
Truck Stop Still Lifes:
Casiotonefor the
Painfully Alone
and Films by Bill Brown
and Stephanie Cray
Keyboant/Films
8:oo pm, $5 door
■ Monday ■
The Decemherists,
CorinnaRepp,
Mine Thirty-Seven
Rock
S:oopm,$7door
■ Tuesday ■
The Klezmatics
Klezmer
8:oo pm, Ut, advance, Si6 door
■ Wednesday ■
Lawrence Arms,
2 Bucks Short, The Ghost,
Cap Cun Suicide
Punk Rock
8:oopm, $6 door
A11 Ages Welcome
687-2746
Community
Canter for the
PerformtogArts