New Direction

From the Vault: Timberland edges Manning

Posted: Saturday, October 25, 2003 12:00 am

Published in The (Sumter, S.C.) Item

I remember having to follow someone from a grocery store to the high school because I was lost. Also, I had to drive about an hour back to the Manning bureau and file the story in about 20-30 minutes. I think this was the game where I had the exact halftime statistics as the statistician for Manning High School. Ah, the joys of covering high school football.

 

Wolves edge Manning 25-21

By BEN LEDBETTER

Item Sports Writer

ST. STEPHEN -- Manning High School's football team started out strong Friday against Timberland Friday at the Timberland field, but it wasn't enough.

The Wolves used three fourth-quarter touchdowns to defeat the Monarchs 25-21 and win the Region VIII-3A title for the second consecutive year.

The loss also ends Manning's 5-game winning streak as the Monarchs drop to 5-4 overall and 3-1 in the region. Timberland remains undefeated at 8-0 and 3-0.

Manning actually led 21-7 at halftime, but not sustaining drives and being flagged for eight penalties for a loss of 70 yards doomed the Monarchs, according to head coach Robbie Briggs.

"We had three separate times where we were getting eight, nine, 10 yards on first downs and we would hold them," Briggs said. "Three drives in a row that really hurt us. We just can't overcome those things. Penalties killed us. We really outplayed these guys tonight, and penalties and special teams killed us."

Manning scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, one on a Larki Parks 35-yard run at the 9:40 mark and the other from Josh Miller three minutes later with a 29-yard run to put the Monarchs up 14-0.

Following a Miller score in the second period, the Wolves got on the board when Patrick Speights went in from four yards out at the 6:53 mark.

Speights finished the night wth one touchdown and 119 rushing yards on 17 carries. Parks, who also ran for 54 yards and a touchdown, had four catches for 74 yards. Miller finished the night with two touchdowns and 74 rushing yards on 18 carries.

That drive started after Ryan Moultrie scored the last of Timberland's three fourth-quarter TDs with 1:21 left when he ran in from five yards out.

"I'm proud of our guys," Briggs said. "They've overcome a lot of adversity, and we'll go back to the drawing board."

Another thing that doomed the Monarchs were mistakes such as dropped passes, Briggs said.

"We dropped some key passes down here on a vertical route that would have been a first down," Briggs said. "We just didn't take over when he had to. We had missed opportunities. You have to give those guys (Timberland) a lot of credit."

Different offensive formations did help the Monarchs in the early part of the game, Briggs said.

"I think we showed them some different formations early they weren't expecting. We had them off guard," Briggs said. "Like I said, we had three drives in a row, if I'm not mistaken, where we're getting seven, eight, nine yards, first downs and we're getting a 10- or 15-yard penalty. You just can't do that and win."

From the Vault: State Championship advance

High school football is big in a lot of places and one of those is the state of South Carolina. I remember this game came down to one play at the end and Gaffney was able to head back to the Upstate with the title. Sidney Rice who is quoted in the story went on to play football with the University of South Carolina and professionally with the Minnesota Vikings. This story was published in The (Sumter, SC) Item.  

Indians saw quick change with Strickland

By BEN LEDBETTER

Item Sports Writer

Posted: Tuesday, December 2, 2003 12:00 am

COLUMBIA – With new head coach Phil Strickland, the Gaffney High School football team was at least guaranteed a fresh face leading a squad that finished 2-10 last year, including a 37-27 loss to Summerville in the first round of the 4A Division I state playoffs.

Strickland brought more than a new face, however.

This year was vastly different as the Indians sport a 13-1 record, with the only defeat a 42-14 loss to defending Division II state champion Byrnes. Gaffney is now ready to face Sumter for the Division I state title Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium beginning at 2 p.m after beating Summerville 19-16 in overtime last Friday.

For senior wide receiver/defensive back Sidney Rice and linebacker Antwan Sarratt a change was evident as soon as Strickland had control of the team.

“I noticed as soon as the coach came in, he cared about the players right off the bat,” Rice said Monday at a press conference at the South Carolina High School League offices. “He wanted everybody to get together and talk to him about whatever questions we had to ask him.”

“He was more concerned about school than just football,” Sarratt said. “That really caught my attention. He could take us somewhere. By listening to him, we finally made it. Our dream came true of being in the state championship as a senior.”

The Indians did have to work hard to make the title game as they scored two second-half touchdowns to send the game into overtime. They vanquished the previously undefeated and nationally-ranked Green Wave in overtime when Rice caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Antonio Gaffney.

Rice, who is listed as 6-4 and 185 pounds, used his height advantage to make the catch.

“I was just glad coach gave me the opportunity to catch the ball,” Rice said. “The quarterback put it right there. I’m used to getting jump balls. It was almost perfect. I just went up and got it.”

Rice, who leads the team with 73 catches for 1,316 yards and 13 touchdowns to go along with one rushing touchdown, is used to getting jump balls since he has played with Gaffney’s boys basketball team, the state’s defending 4A champion.

“It feels good to be a part of two teams that made it down here the same year,” Rice said. “I always wanted to (do it). I didn’t know it was going to happen.”

Rice’s receiving numbers nicely complement the rest of Gaffney’s offense, which also has a strong running game in senior running back A.J. Littlejohn.

Gaffney has completed 153 of 262 passes for a team-high 2,459 yards and 23 touchdowns against nine interceptions. He also has four rushing touchdowns. Littlejohn has a team-high 24 touchdowns and 1,484 rushing yards on 240 carries.

As a team, the Indians have 2,556 rushing yards on 464 attempts and 2,600 passing yards, completing 167 of 285 passes against 10 interceptions.

Gaffney will face a Sumter team that’s just as balanced offensively as the Gamecocks have 3,254 rushing yards and 2,547 passing yards.

From the Vault: Spencer racetrack's fate to be determined

This was one of the first stories I did for The (Lexington, N.C.) Dispatch. When this story ran, the newspaper was still publishing on an afternoon production cycle.

Fate of proposed Spencer racetrack still to be decided

BY BEN LEDBETTER
The Dispatch

Published: Friday, August 3, 2007 at 10:29 a.m. 
Last Modified: Friday, August 3, 2007 at 12:00 a.m.

 SPENCER | The fate of a proposed raceway slated for this Rowan County town will wait another week after Thursday's meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

 After a public hearing that went nearly five hours, the board decided to schedule deliberations for 6 p.m. Thursday with another meeting scheduled for that Friday, if needed.

The first phase of High Rock Properties LLC's project - primarily the two-mile racetrack and 114 condominiums - is included in the company's request for a conditional-use permit. The developers also were asking for a pair of variances from town buffer and setback requirements.

However, if High Rock is allowed to build on the property, it might have some work ahead.

High Rock Chief Executive Officer David Risdon said part of the land is contaminated with benzene, arsenic and mercury. Risdon said the elements are not on the property for the actual racetrack, but his company would clean it up.

Although he agreed to clean up the contaminated land, Ann Brownlee, founder and president of the Trading Ford Historic District Preservation Association, said she does not think a racetrack and the historical area could coexist.

"The current plans would irrevocably destroy the site," she said.

Brownlee said the racetrack site was where a one-day battle occurred in April 1865 during the Civil War.

Risdon said Thursday the short battle occurred near but not on the property and that he had confirmed that with the state.

Out of the six people who spoke for and the two who spoke against the racetrack during the public comment portion of the meeting, one was a real estate attorney and one owned land on the site.

Salisbury real estate attorney Randy Reamer spoke in support of the High Rock project and said he represented a group of businessmen who owned property near the site.

"Our belief is the project will increase the value of the land," he said. "Any activity would result in an increase in value."

Two speakers in support of the project were from the Sports Car Club of America and the National Auto Sport Association.

Charlotte resident Dick McOllister with the SCCA said, if approved, the High Rock course would be the first road course in the state.

Salisbury resident Rodney Whedbey, who has driven in SCCA races, said he owns 2.9 acres of commercial land at the site.

"One thing as property owners, we would be negatively impacted" if the project is denied, he said.

The two opposition speakers were a resident here and a representative of Norfolk Southern Railroad.

Frances Driscoll, who lives in Spencer, said the area where the proposed development would go is historically significant while Scott Myers with Norfolk Southern talked about the impact on the railroad, which runs near the proposed racetrack and parking spaces.

 

 

From the Vault: Cross Country meet has variety of stories

Hurricane Floyd had recently hit the eastern part of North Carolina, however that didn't keep Northern Nash's cross country team from heading to Greensboro. A team from the Los Angeles area was also at this meet. Leading Wake Forest University's cross country team at this meet was Bill Dellinger, who coached Steve Prefontaine at the University of Oregon. I actually got to speak to Dellinger, however, my quotes from him were cut because of space.

September 26, 1999, Sunday, ALL EDITIONS

FLOYD CAN'T FAZE N. NASH RUNNERS

BYLINE: BY BEN LEDBETTER; Special to the News & Record

SECTION: SPORTS, Pg. C11

LENGTH: 467 words

Although Hurricane Floyd kept Northern Nash High School closed this week, it did not stop its cross-country teams from traveling to the Greensboro Invitational at Hagan-Stone Park.

Shawn Holland, despite missing a whole week of training, dueled with Northern Durham's Chris Schmader to win the Championship high school boys race. Not only did they miss a week of practice, but the Fighting Knights had to finance the trip themselves.

''The decision was made yesterday at about 5:30 (in the afternoon) to come here,'' said Robert Holland, Shawn's father. ''We had to travel with our own vehicles because we couldn't go on a bus. We haven't been in school all week. The administration wouldn't let us have a bus.''

This was the first time a high school from as far away as California has attended the Greensboro Invitational, event director Charlie Brown said. Woodbridge, from the Los Angeles area, was looking for an extra meet to fill its schedule. One of its runners, Nicole Scott, won the girls Championship race.

''The majority of our girls are seniors,'' Woodbridge coach George Varvas said. ''We wanted to give them a nice treat, take them on a nice trip. So out of all the meets we looked at across the country, this sounded the best. ... So we thought this would be the best place to go, and it turned out to be better then we thought.''

Varvas' joy was the culmination of scheduling and raising money that he, co-coach Cheryl Evans and the rest of the team had to do before boarding a plane for Greensboro.

Scott, who was under the weather Saturday but showed few ill effects on the 3.1-mile course, won the Championship girls title a full 15 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack.

Page's Leslie Jimison was the top area finisher in the Championship girls race, finishing 12th. Pirates runner Dave Gott finished 17th in the boys Championship race.

Northwest Guilford finished sixth as a team and Southeast Guilford finished 10th among Championship girls, while Southeast's boys finished 18th.

In the Invitational boys race, Northeast Guilford senior Matt Busick took third place at 16:56, four seconds off the lead. Brandon Black from Ledford was fifth in 17:04, while Jordan-Matthews' Daniel Newlin finished seventh.

Western Guilford, Eastern Alamance, Jordan-Matthews, Asheboro and Ledford came in fifth through ninth in the boys race.

In the girls Invitational, Jessica Ballance of Fort Mill, S.C., finished 20 seconds ahead of the pack, while Ledford's Carley Matthews finished fifth.

Wake Forest ran its first local meet under new men's coach Bill Dellinger, who recently retired as coach at the University of Oregon, where he coached accomplished distance runner Steve Prefontaine.

The Deacons won both the men's and women's Division I college races.

 

My first high school football game story

This was my first high school football game story and it was a tough one. It was tough because this was the first time I kept statistics for a game. I was grateful that someone called in the statistics from the game. I finally mastered the art of keeping my own numbers when I worked for a small daily in South Carolina.

News & Record (Greensboro, NC)
October 23, 1999, Saturday, GREENSBORO/HIGH POINT EDITION
HP CENTRAL EASES PAST N. ROWAN

BYLINE: BY BEN LEDBETTER; Special to the News & Record

SECTION: SPORTS, Pg. C5

LENGTH: 419 words

DATELINE: HIGH POINT

HP Central 52 North Rowan 14

High Point Central was pumped for Friday's game against North Rowan. Perhaps too pumped as the Bison managed only seven points in the first half on their way to a 52-14 victory over the Cavaliers.

''I thought we were ready to go but you never can tell,'' said High Point Central head coach Gary Whitman. ''Things got rolling in the second half a little bit. We had a lot of penalties in the first half, a bad play here, a bad play there. We ended up with bunches of long situations.''

Starting the game, Bison senior quarterback Rashad Stevenson was trying to create a balanced offense with his rushing and passing skills. In the second half, he went to the air more often, turning the Cavalier defense on its head. The second half looked like a different ball game as the Bison scored 28 points in the third quarter.

Central's Rickey Haywood 11-yard scamper in the second half to the one-yard line set up a Rashad Stevenson touchdown plunge with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Haywood scored three touchdowns in the second half, one being a 40-yard interception return with 15 seconds into the fourth quarter.

''I had a good offensive line that was blocking for me,'' said Haywood. ''In the first half we were kind of clever, we came out with the big head as if we were the number one seed. In the second half, coach told us to settle down, take it easy because eventually it will come along, and it came along just like he said.''

Central was off last week, and was showing signs of blemishing their undefeated record in their last two wins over East Davidson and Salisbury.

During that off week, Whitman converted some defensive backs to wide receivers, which provided Stevenson with more targets.

''They were just too much for us,'' said North Rowan head coach Roger Seacrest. ''It was like I told the kids, we just got whipped by a better football team.''

With the win, The Bison solidify their hold on the Central Carolina 2-A title with their undefeated record, and are in the running for a return trip to the state playoffs.

 

From the Vault: ZYDECO SWEETHEART BREAKS MUSICAL MOLD

News & Record (Greensboro, NC)
February 17, 2000, Thursday, ALL EDITIONS
"ZYDECO SWEETHEART" BREAKS MUSICAL MOLD

BYLINE: BY BEN LEDBETTER ; Special to the News & Record

SECTION: CITY LIFE, Pg. 12

LENGTH: 454 words

She's not called the ''Zydeco Sweetheart'' for nothing.

Rosie Ledet, one of the few female bandleaders in zydeco, fronts her husband's band, The Zydeco Playboys. It was a job she found by accident. When her husband, Morris, worked during the day, Rosie practiced on his accordion.

She got better. Soon she became proficient enough to lead her husband's band. The band became Rosie Ledet and The Zydeco Playboys, a group that's played some of the country's biggest roots music festivals.

''Well, it was the only thing there, the only instrument around the house,'' said Ledet, referring to her husband's accordion. ''There was nothing else like it until Morris bought a bass.''

Ledet will play Saturday at the Greensboro Hilton during the annual Mardi Gras concert sponsored by the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society. They bring a Louisiana-born style of music that has Ledet branching out into different parts of the country.

In 1998, the band started showing up at some big festivals, including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the St. Louis Roots and Blues Festival and the Kansas City Grand Bon Ton Cajun and Bluegrass Festival.

Zydeco is familiar territory to Ledet. She grew up listening to rock 'n' roll in Louisiana. But she heard zydeco musicians Boozoo Chavis and Andres Esprey, attended zydeco dances and started to like this accordion-based music.

She realized there wasn't much difference between zydeco and blues except that zydeco used the accordion and a washboard and sang in Creole, a language mix of French and Cajun found in Louisiana.

''A lot of the younger people are putting rap and R&B into it,'' Ledet said. ''Some will use reggae sounds with the guitar for the whole rhythm of a reggae song.''

Ledet is one of the few younger musicians who still writes her own songs. She also uses Creole in her material, although sparingly because she doesn't want to alienate people who don't understand her lyrics.

Still, Ledet is breaking ground. She's is one of the few women in zydeco who are leading their own bands.

''Women stay home and raise the kids,'' she says. ''I know some women who play instruments. They just never chose to (lead bands). It's always been the guys.''

Ledet's latest CD is the 1999 release ''I'm a Woman,'' her last for the Maison de Soul label. She is negotiating a deal with Rounder Records, the Boston-based label of soul singer Wilson Pickett and bluegrass fiddler Allison Krauss.

Although she has many accomplishments as a zydeco musician, Ledet has a few things she still hopes to do.

''The thing I'd like to do the most would be to record with Carlos Santanna someday,'' Ledet said. ''He's always been my favorite.''

 

One of my NASCAR stories

 

When I worked in South Carolina, I was able to cover auto racing, specifically a NASCAR race at Darlington. However, this story from the June 14, 2003 edition of The (Sumter, S.C.) Item was about the announcement that Darlington Raceway would be losing its Labor Day weekend race. That race was moved to November. 

One of my first articles

This was the second article I completed for a commercial newspaper during my senior year of college. If my memory is correct, I overslept for the first interview and had to reschedule. That was also the time I moved the alarm clock from the night stand to another point across the room, so I would have to actually get out of bed to turn it off. 

JIMISON EXPECTS SUMMER'S WORK TO GIVE HER A BOOST;
WITH A SUMMER OF NATIONAL COMPETITION BEHIND HER, PAGE'S LESLIE JIMISON LOOKS;
TO CHANNEL THAT EXPERIENCE IN THIS YEAR'S CROSS COUNTRY SEASON.

BYLINE: BY BEN LEDBETTER; Special to the News & Record

DATE: August 22, 1999

SECTION: SPORTS, Pg. C13

LENGTH: 453 words

Page junior Leslie Jimison had some close encounters in Omaha, Neb., this summer: with ultracompetitive runners, with brutal heat and with security worthy of a presidential motorcade.

In her first season of competition with the Greensboro Pacesetters, Jimison qualified for the National Junior Olympic meet in Omaha. The track meet, sponsored by United States Track and Field, brings together athletes from around the country who have qualified through state and regional meets.

''You are able to see how serious people are,'' Jimison said of the competitive atmosphere.

''It was more security than I have ever seen,'' she said. ''You would have to wear these little wristbands, and that was new and different to me. There was a ton of people and it was really hot, with a 100-, 110-degree heat index.''

Jimison, accustomed to finishing near the front of the pack for Page, came in 18th in the 1,500 meters with a time of 5:16. She was also a part of the Pacesetters' 3,200-meter relay team that finished 16th out of 21 teams in the intermediate girls age division.

Jimison was seventh in the 1,600 meters at the state 4-A outdoor track meet in Charlotte three months ago.

''She does the extra stuff,'' Pacesetters coach Charlie Brown said. ''She makes the sacrifice of time to make it worth while.''

Jimison started running track in the seventh grade, and she ran her first five-kilometer race in the eighth grade. ''It was hard,'' she said of her first 5K. ''I couldn't have done it without my dad encouraging me because I would have stopped by myself. During the race, you're wondering, 'Gosh, why am I doing this?' But afterward it's a real feeling of accomplishment.''

Jimison will return to a Page team that won the Metro 4-A girls cross-country title in 1998. The Pirates also placed third in the regional meet and 14th in the state meet at Charlotte.

Jimison, who was the first runner to finish for Page, placed 15th overall with her personal-best time of 19:45. West Forsyth and Northwest Guilford, which finished fourth and 10th, respectively, were the only other schools from the area to qualify for the meet.

One of Jimison's goals this year is to surpass her state-meet time, which she anticipates doing later in the season.

Jimison will be a student adviser on the State Board of Education this year. Jimison, who is one of two high school students from the state appointed to the board, will attend meetings once a month as a nonvoting representative.

''My friends are like, 'You can get us out of school early. You have connections,' '' she said.

Based on her running success, it appears Jimison prefers hard work to using connections.
 
Too bad for her friends.

From the Vault: Cross Country race in Greensboro

February 13, 2000, Sunday, ALL EDITIONS

DROSSIN WINS HER THIRD STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

BYLINE: BY BEN LEDBETTER; Special to the News & Record

SECTION: SPORTS, Pg. C8

LENGTH: 586 words

After taking the previous two eight kilometer races at the USA Winter Cross Country Championships, Colorado's Deena Drossin won her third in a row Saturday, with a minute between her and second-place finisher Jen Rhines.
 
Drossin finished the race in 27 minutes, 48 seconds at Bryan Park.

''Well, I lose races towards the end because I don't have much of a kick,'' said Drossin. ''I wanted to have a cushion. I didn't want to worry about getting into a kicking match with anyone towards the end. So I was fighting right from the gun and hurting every step of the way.''

Drossin will represent the U.S. in the World Cross Country Championships March 18-19 in Vilamoura, Portugal. The top six in each of the six events qualified for the World Championships.

In the Junior Women's 6K, Shalane Flanagan edged out defending champion Erin Sullivan with a time of 21:59 to Sullivan's 22:02.

''It was an awesome race. I was just happy to run it with those girls,'' said Flanagan. ''I thought they were going to take me out and I was just going to be fighting for third, fourth, fifth or sixth. I felt really good coming off over here so I just went with it.''

Flanagan will attend North Carolina next year on a scholarship. Flanagan is a high school senior from Massachusetts.

Flanagan's mother, Cheryl Treworgy, a former world champion qualifier, was at the meet to watch her daughter.

''It's like getting to do it all over again,'' said Treworgy. ''I know what it's like to be out there in that mud and have the pressure of some great athletes that you're racing against. So it's just like being there.''

Treworgy competed in the 1970 IAAF World Championships on a team which included individual winner Doris Brown.

Freshman Duke runner Sheela Agrawal was fourth with a time of 22:12. Agrawal was selected ACC freshman of the year and all-ACC.

In the Senior Men's 4K race, Adam Goucher paced the men's field with a 11:56 mark, outdistancing the field by 10 seconds.

''Through the course of the race I couldn't even push off,'' said Goucher. ''I thought my shoes were off because my feet were so cold.''

Goucher was the defending 4K champion, winning the race last year in Tacoma, Wash., in 10:29. Goucher was also the first person since Bob Kennedy in 1992 to win both the NCAA and USA cross country championships.
 
Senior N.C. State runner Chan Pons came in seventh in 12:17.

Although there were some high stakes races throughout the day, there was an Open/Masters and an Eastern High School 4K before the championship events.

''It's not like baseball, you just can't play a game of baseball against the pros,'' said UNCG runner Leonard Mitchell. ''If you want to jump in and race with Goucher, (Alan) Culpepper or whoever else you want to, you do it.''

Mitchell was part of a group from the UNCG cross country team who was working on the meet staff.

In the Eastern High School 4K, Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons had the first three finishers.

''It was pretty tough because the whole thing was under water,'' said Grimsley runner Matt Hair. ''But it was fun just to know you're running the best course as the best people in the country.''

Page runner David Gaadt and Hair were the top local finishers, coming in ninth and 10th respectively. Page's Leslie Jimison was the top female finisher, coming in 17th.

The meet will be featured in March on New Balance Elite Racing on ESPN.

Greensboro has also secured the Fall National Cross Country Championships in 2003.

From the Vault: Moby feature from 1999

Here's a feature I did on Moby for the (Greensboro, N.C.) News & Record when I was in college.

November 25, 1999, Thursday, ALL EDITIONS

BY BEN LEDBETTER; Special to the News & Record

Although he's shelved with the techno records in the music stores, 33-year-old New York pop music adventurer Moby has other elements that would place him just about anywhere.

At a time when pop music is searching desperately for new direction and energy, Moby, whose latest album ''Play'' is one of the most acclaimed albums of the year, stands as an explorer who is out on the front lines. Moby's been on a tour of Australia and New Zealand since July in support of ''Play,'' which also garnered four stars in the June 24 issue of Rolling Stone magazine and was named one of the 90 greatest albums of the decade by Spin magazine.
 
He will perform at 10 p.m. Tuesday at Ziggy's in Winston-Salem.

Moby is a nickname, given to Richard Melville Hall by his parents. He is named for and related to ''Moby Dick'' author Herman Melville, source of the moniker idea.

Like the artist Beck, Moby is fascinated with pop's blues and rock past and its uncharted future, though he leans more toward electronic dance textures than Beck's more formal, folk-oriented song structures.

But, although Moby's music is found in techno or dance sections in music stores, he resents the techno label on his latest release.

''It boggles my mind when people call it a techno record. People get definitions in their heads when they don't even listen to the music,'' he says in a phone interview.

The starting point for ''Play'' was a box set, Sounds of the South, by folk music historian Alan Lomax. The box set is a collection of recordings that Alan and his father collected from the beginning of the century. A friend of his loaned him the box set after dinner one night, and he liked it so much that he decided to use it on ''Play.''

Moby used a handful of vocals from Lomax's box set to build his own songs, using elements of hip-hop, blues, dance, even classical. For the most part, his piano and percussion provide the instrumental foundation.

Although the box set was the predominant thing sampled on ''Play,'' the songs range in variety from the emotional tracks ''Porcelain,'' ''Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad'' and ''Everloving'' to the hip-hop-esque ''Bodyrock'' and ''Machete.'' Some songs fall somewhere in the middle, like ''South Side.''

Moby's vocals are generally low and somber, although they show signs of excitement in ''Bodyrock.'' During the more somber pieces, Moby's voice along with the other elements of the song come together as a collage, with no element very prominent. The introductory track ''Honey'' opens with vocals by Bessie Jones that resonate throughout the song, mixed with rhythmic and instrumental overlays.

''Electronic music is a broad umbrella. Most of today's music that's generated electronically tends to be more interesting then the cliche of four white guys with guitars and drums,'' he says.

''Play'' further chronicles Moby's musical exploration, like his 1997 ''Animal Rights'' release, which went back to his hard-core and industrial roots. Moby has a creative control guarantee in his contract; that's one of the reasons for the diversity of his musical repertoire. As a singer, writer and producer, he also considers himself a fairly autonomous person: ''I think it's weird to let people at companies to have creative control.''

Although other artists use the liner notes of a CD for lyrics and thanks, Moby uses them for essays on topics as fundamentalism, prisoner rights and veganism. Although not related to the songs, they communicate many of his social and spiritual beliefs.

Moby was on the eclectic path when he started playing the classical guitar at age 10 in preparation for the punk and hard-core explosion that found him in a few bands by his late teens.

''The punk scene was at times very wonderful, other times terrible and other times exciting,'' he says.

Some of his favorite bands from this era were Black Flag, Bad Brains and Minor Threat. Black Flag's lead singer Henry Rollins and Minor Threat's lead singer Ian MacKaye went on to play in bands that garnered notoriety later on. Rollins fronted the band with his name while MacKaye was in Fugazi.

Moby is also a vegan, which means he does not wear or consume any animal products, nor does he consume drugs or alcohol.

''I love animals, and I find it hypocritical to be causing them suffering,'' he says. ''It seems asinine to love your dog but to eat chicken and pork.''

Moby also embraces many teachings of Christianity, although he says he would not consider himself a Christian in the conventional sense of the word.

Moby does not like to count on other people to make creative decisions, although if there is usually someone he respects at the company, he takes their suggestions.

With much of today's popular music shifting from letting artists develop to the amount of time they can stay on the radio and generate a profit, Moby labels the resulting effect, ''disposable teeny bopper music.''

At his Ziggy's show, expect a wide range of music that is anything but.