BULK RATE u. S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 2419 Kansas City, MO ITCH FREE! RONNIE SPECTOR REGINA BELLE UNFINISHED BUSINESS ALL BY MYSELF UnfInished ~~ On A Rooftop oangerous (With Bangles' Susanna HofIs) WhoCan= r~ Money) ~ Hear the BEST NEW BIATSat . MODERN MUSIC MONDAYS SURFACE [!!] FROM CBS RECORDS 2 KC Pitch • JULY f~.·";".·.-:... · ~'t!. -~ the loose ! KC pITCH! On ~ f; well, GQd help Us all. JACK CASHILL So hQW do yQU make sure that you d'On't fall I~r.·· ..':. prey to this, the smarmiest 'Of all epidemics? Irony Deficieny In "crisis!' When a baby seal bites the dust - Dr F'Or starters, yQU can practice saying one thing ~ir .July 1987 • Issue 79 ~r~I".:" r mDst any other animal tD the left 'Of a chicken and meaning an'Other. It's a good exercise t'O i~~~ ~4' ~: ~~~~}~i~~~~~~~ ~. ~ li':~ ~,t..... .lr' -ti'~-t1",•. ~~j"\J - fDlks in Lawrence cQnsider it an "'Outrage!' loosen up YDur soul. As a secDnd step you Mid-America ".<4, 4128 Broadway ~~ When bible-thumpers dDn't like the slant 'Of a might imagine a 10,000,000 strong chorus of ~ Kansas City, Missouri 64111 ,;t ob Geldof has not yet set a con­ m'Ovie they haven't seen, they just sort 'Of turn dusty, dessicated, sw'Olien-bellied, fly-covered ~.. ~ (816) 561-1580 f~~~ cert date on our behalf, but rumor purple and denounce it as "blasphemY.' When Ethiopians sitting on your shoulder. Then the ~~ Publisher Hal Brody ~ has it that he soon will. The pro­ a middle manager can't get a job he wants, he next time the water level is SQ low that you have ~'1 Executive Editor Donna TrusseD ~~ blem is that severe. Irony deficien­ has a "mid-life crisis!' When certain Black tD fill your dinner guests' finger bowls frQm .~ Managing Editor Scott O'Kelley ~~ cyB (ID) has reached crisis levels in Mid­ bDurgeoisie can't get jobs they're nQt par­ the swimming pool, ask the chorus if they k~ Advertising Hearne Christopher ~ America, and the prognosis is that it will only ticularly qualified fQr, it's furiher proQf that think it's a "crisis:' too. Chances are they'll have ~-';j 1YPesetting Graphic Specialties n ~ get worse. "nothing's changed in the last thirty years!' a better perspective on things. • #1$ Printing Neff Printing ~." Indeed, no area in America is ravaged by as And when a yup finds a scratch in his Saab, .~~ Distribution Saul Thcker, ~ many virulent strains as is our benighted land. ~.J. ",.. Connie Yukon \;:~: Bible-Belt ID spreads up from the south and saps our southern and eastern suburbs. Afro inditln.persi(ln.tlrtlk~;· Contributing writers: American ID gnaws away at the edges of the l.eroi~ BiD Blast, Joe Bob Briggs, Jack inner city. Country Club ID has turned Mis­ CasMl, Clay Copilevitz, Tom Gryska, sion Hills into a wasteland. Middle Manage­ John Henderson,lee Holly, Art Mayo, ment ID threatens much ofJohnson County. WEST ':%5n:litft'af,faK{%;d Linda McDaniel, Scott O'KeIIey, BiD Nutra-Hip ID has long since devestated ...~ Shapiro, Stephen SImpson, Mike Soden, Lawrence. And now, Yuppie ID worms its way .... Walter Stanford, Steve Walker into the very core of the city. A little background 'On the epidemic: In its 72J s.w. Blvd. KeNO most progressive stages, ID represents the total KC Pitch is sponsored by PennyLane absence of irQny in an individual. For thQse Records; Copyright • 1987 by Brody' 'Of you who may never have been exposed, irony SIDE lunell //-3 mon·(ri Records. All rights reserved. Subscrip­ ~ at its simplest level - means the saying 'Of dinner 6:-'0-10:30 tions are $S for one year or $9 f'Or two 'One thing and the meaning 'Of the 'Opposite. In years. PennyLanemail 'Order custQmers America, it is practiced best and mQst con­ fIIurs,lfI,stlt only and Preferred Customers get a free sistently by New YQrk cabdrivers, for whQm CAFE subscription. almost everything is expressed with a 180 sidewtllk cole now Dpen IDf summerl variance from literal meaning. * * In the cabdrivers argot, "Nice day, isn't it?" can 'Only mean that it's raining like hell. ~. 1979 The Last of the Blue Devils Film Co- "There's a sweetheart" refers inevitably tQ a w'Oman whQ has a bad case 'Of acne, a quarter tQn 'Of excess poundage Dr a pimp. And "Great THE USTOFM City, New Y'Ork" is usually uttered in the midst 'Of a traffic jam and means invariably that the WESTPORT place sucks. qsLUE <Di~l-! 4128 BroaPway Alth'Ough New Y'Ork is the epicenter 'Of KANSAS CITY JAZZ ... Kansas City, MO 64111 American irony (save fDr large parts 'Of (816) 561·1580 Manhattan nDW ravaged by Yup ID), irony thrives in 'Other parts 'Of the cDuntry as well. Maine CDmes tD mind. SD does Texas. So, tDO, LAWRENCE do the blue-cDllar neighbQrhoods and ghettQs 844 Massachusetts 'Of most Eastern cities. Rich veins 'Of irDny can Lawrence, KS 66044 alsQ be fQund throughQut the hill country from (913) 749-4211 the Piedmonts tQ the Ozarks. Pockets 'Of it dQt the far west as well. N'OW it may n'Ot seem terribly tragic that when KC cabdrivers say, "Nice day, isn't it:' SOUTH KC it prQbably is a nice day. But this area's literal­ 1201 W. 103rd mindedness is symptomatic 'Of a greater defi­ Kansas City, MO 64114 ciency. ThrDugh rrQny, the New Y'Ork cabdriver (816) 941-3970 acknQwledges the absmdity 'Of existence and his 'Own preposterous place therein. Just as im­ portantly, irQny allQws him tQ find the humQr OVERLAND PARK in the absurdity. As a result, the cab­ 9641 W. 87th driver /ironist tends nQt tQ take himself, his jQb, Overland Park, KS 66212 or his environment too seriQusly, as he might (913) 341-5255 say, "Why ShDUld I? I mean, what am I, the president 'Of the United States or something? Is the whole fucking free wQrld wDrrying Records • Cassettes whether I'll make my hDuse payment this Compact Discs • Videos mDnth? Give me a break!' coaot ..... ADd .... 0n:butI'a'" 'The Lut oftha Blue .,..,.. Pro.Iac:e4II .... Dbected by Bruce RIcker In Mid-America, h'Owever, mQst everYDne takes themselves very seriDusly indeed. SD when sDmething is amiss in their wDrld, they treat it as a tragedy and expect 'Others tD dD likewise. Thus, when the water levels dropped in MissiQn Hills last year, the problem was Onl $39.95 VHS or Beta widely referred to - withDut irony - as a News Caution: I brake for The company is planning a special promo­ tion in support of the format that almost records singlehandedly built the recording industry. Rhino strikes again. The Santa Monica­ This campaign will include Save the LP kits, WELCOMES based record label that has· championed complete with T-shirts, pins, bumper stickers numerous vintage and rare reissues, as well as and special deal on Rhino LPs. In addition, new recordings by fringe acts, is at it again, this Rhino Records will donate a portion of sales time with a noble purpose. Feeling that record­ of their records purchased from July 6 through ing the Thmple City Kazoo Orchestra and reis­ July 31, to Rhino Rescue USA. suing the Jonathan Richman catalog weren't Harold Bronson, Rhino's managing direc­ high-minded enough, the label is now embark­ tor, calls this promotion "a serious call-to­ ing on a "Save the LP" campaign. arms. It's time to focus on preserving the en­ Rhino's president, Richard Foos, explains, dangered elements in our international culture:' ''As a label, wf!ve always had immense respect he explained. "Somewhere in the African for the history of pop music and I think it plains, things might be a little more sane, 4 would be a shame to lose contact with the because, rhino to rhino, wf!re reaching out with traditional vinyl record:' Reactionary backlash? rock and roll:' Alarmist die-hardism? Nope. Rhino, who has As cassette and compact disc players find also released a catalog of successful CDs, is their way into more and more homes, record just fighting for the survival of an endangered stores acroSs the country are shifting away from species. In addition to their record battle. the the vinyl disc. What we have here, is a pop­ label is combining this fight with Rhino Rescue culture domino effect. Remember, there are USA, an organization committed to saving the already CD-only compilations. Can a record­ record label's namesake in Africa. free America be far behind? WIERD AL VANKDVIC FUZZY DICE JULY 14th, INVITE YOU TO THEIR FIRST ANNIVERSARY PARTY 8:00P.M. THURSDAY, JULY 16 AT THE GRAND EMPORIUM FREE FUZZY DICE AND SURPRISE GIFTS Also at JIMMY'S JIGGER July 24-25 .--.-t=l1 And we thank you for your support rn-. ~ .JULY 15th. 8:00 P.M. PRESENTED BY N~ WtfZ, I'III.INTATION. srUPIO ~/...E:E:.PSR.. * SA:~ .. &'1 f.t.cunc WId. flu /-01) u.t; ~ if/7 to ~.~ ---.. we-il H,row 11"\ (;V)i1 t>ne.. e>+ OUIr ~a.uf1.tvJ CoverS 1=1{e:e I with epeeial gu•• t ERASURE JULY 20th, 8:00 P.M. OUl" I"\.IM/ ShJre on MASt;. ~-r: IS !7:J"r­ (trnlt; /a.rqtr ~ O()r old. ()ne - Voult Jx ~zed. a:..-I­ ovr fI'ar1("fvJ are( ?rlc.~C,_ with CUTTING CREW (C!:!..!2.. SAU: JM/~ 10 .$Tcx:.IL) JULY 23rd, 8:00 P.M. #IAIV.UFA"vl<e.K> OP Iof? t:(UI1.~1 TY r=vroAi Nl"tT{~>£.<;' 7 coveR,.S MID 1~LJ.,OwS q 77 MAst;.