ENTERTAINMENT 12 The Duquesne Duke Thursday, February 11,1988 Scruffy the Cat climbing the 1988 charts By F. Samuel Zbozny

Duke Entertainment Writer The re's scruff-a-plen t y in Boom Boom Boom Bingo, Scruffy the Cat's recent five song E.P. Scruffy's got an armful of three-chord riffs influences that date back to Bo Diddley, and a willingness to raid other territory - country ofttimes • in search of a cover or a chord. But a lot of Boston-back-to- t he-basics bands, such as the Del Fuegos and Dumptruck, are like that. What Scruffy has that many bands lack is a manic sense of fun. Roots isn't a style or a mannerism for Scruffy. They genuinely want their audience to, in the words of band member Charles "Potato" Chesterman, "have a really good time, and come in and drink a lot, and meet friends and go crazy." The E.P. catches the band on their home stage, a bar called TT the Bear's Place, for one dance- able live side. A brisk, cowpunk stomp called "Shadow Boy" leads into what must be the cheesiest remake of Del Shannon's "Run- away." Chester man's adenoidal vocals ride high and low over the chicken-scratch guitar and bus of Stephen Fredette and MacPaul Sunfield, and the loppy farfisa of Burns Sunfield. "Happiness To Go" rounds out the side with in the studio, where crowd cheers Cormells, whose Irish-inflected the luxury of a full review, merely door. the finest chorused guitars on don't obliterate songwriter Ches- instrumentation on their album a recommendation: see them, and WXXP has been giving the either side of the Charles, along terfield's clever lyrics, the slinky of the same name recall both Scruffy the Cat at Graffiti this studio cuts some airplay, and with the thrash-tiil-y our-f eet-er ode bassline of "You Dirty Rat," or Fairport Convention and Boiled Monday, February IS. Shows should be giving more as the drumming of Randall Lee Gibson the great fuzz-psych-guitar wash In Lead. are 7 p.m. (all ages) and 10 p.m. band's concert date at Graffiti IV. on "Blue Russian." Tune and space considerations (over 21) and tickets are available draws near. It promises to make The E.P.'s other side sees Scruffy Touring with Scruffy are 77i« unfortunately do not allow me at Oasis, NRM, Eide's and at the anyone's best of "88 list, so go. Thorogood's new release: not enough good By Mike Wojcik Be Bad. "You Talk Too Much," Feel Good" by James Brown, like Diddly's-Who Do You Love," good said in radio interview this "I Really Like Girls" and the title and juvenile lyrics. Van Morrison's "Gloria" and John week "Forgetting our roots, the Duke Entertainment Writer track were penned by Thorogood Lee Hooker's "Crawling King blues, is like forgetting our mid- 1987 contained such platinum himself. Receiving an abundance Thorogood also fails to fresh- Snake." dle names," he could have been gems as Heart's Bad Animals of album-oriented rock radio air- ly capture the intensity of older However, all is not bleak on more lyrically, rhythmically, and and Michael Jackson's Bad. In play, "You Talk Too Much" rock and blues standards. Songs Born To Be Bad. "I'm Ready," melodically inventive as on the keeping with the previous year's showcases the lyricism Thorogood like "Highway 49" by blues diety co-written by Fats Domino, is albums Maverick, Bad to the morbid theme, rock-a-billy pur- displays in earlier songs like "Bad "Howlin* Wolf" Burrnet, "You inundated with the spirit of the Bone, and Move Over. Producer suit George Thorogood and his to the Bone," "I Drink Alone," Cant Catch Me," by rock van- '50's and is ornamented with Terry Manning, who worked with band, the Destroyers, have a new and "One Bourbon, One Scotch, gard Chuck Berry and "Shake dark saxophone accompiament Thorogood previously, recorded release, Born to Be Bad. One Beer." "Born to Be Bad," Your Moneymaker" are found- performed with Jerry Lee Lewis- the band digitally and attempted Influenced by such rock and inspired by Tennesse Ernie Ford's ed upon predictable saxophone like frenzy. Another piece, to create a quintessently clean, roll titans as Bo Diddly and The " 16 Tons" and The Stone's "Jum- and repetitive slide guitar solos "Smokestack Lightening," is re- vibrant album, but instead made Rolling Stones, "Lonesome Geo- ping Jack Flash," sports a frail, that create a generic brand of minicent of the dark, swampy it emotionless and homogenized. rge" has offered to the airwaves a melodic chorus that lacks Geo- blues. Other covered compositions mood of the deep South. In short, one word in the title frigid, synthetic, and calculated rge's buzzsaw vocals. The final like the country and western "I'm But, the brilliant performan- succinctly describes this release: album, that, as a musical collage, Thorogood piece, "I Really Like Moving On," and "Treat Her ces of two remade blues classics "bad." To support Born to Be lacks movement. Girls," has unoriginal harmonic Right" are lifeless corpses in does not justify the purchase of Bad. Thorogood will rock Pit- Only three tunes on Born to breaks that resemble those in "I comparison to previous remakes Born To Be Bad. Though Thoro- tsburgh in March. Graffitti party features Spuds* MJThrough the Ears By F. Samuel Zbozny Lawrenceville's first finger in wait, though. Among the six and "Princess Grace"ending the chains like NRM, have not okayed posterity's pie will be on hand, tracks of side one is a wall- album. it yet, but the independents have Duke Entertainment Writer along with Pittsburgh's finest breaking remake of Claudine been enthusiastically ordering. Valentine's day.. .limited funds dubu-trash and, as if that were Clark's "Party Lights" and also The album, all 12 cuts of it, is For those who cant wait for the .. .no idea what to do. . .sound not enough, Paul Harris (from "Her Name was Thunder," the 100 percent local, from the mix- chains, "Thru the Ears" will go familiar? Well, don't blow what Hector in Paris) and 11th hour. song that proves that women down done at Dave Erny's South on sale this Friday at Record little you have on some evil cho- "with thighs like cooling towers" Side Studio studio to the striking Graveyard in Oakland, says Spuds colates and a nastier sentiment "It's been a long time coming," can score, too. coves cot drawn by Robert Patla, manager Jim Petruzzi. from Hallmark. Your money would says bandmember Hank Leward- of Post-Gazette fame. be better spent on admission for owski of "Thru the Ears,"the Sarcasm leaps from the grooves Album: "Thru the Ears", on you and your best beloved to the band's first album. One look at on side two. "Tourist without a Even the record store you pick the Nappadu label Spuds album release party this the song list gives some feeling Brain" leads with Patti Burns it up at will probably be local. Party: Saturday. 8.D0 p.m.. Saturday at Graffitti. All six of that "Thru the Ears" is worth the My Eyes" eventually following, Lewandowski says that the big Graffiti.