Mecca of Digable Planets Interviewed, Page 4A. Interview By

& - ______- ______.Q teM àJjA utï h Mecca of Digable Planets Interviewed, Page 4A.

The Arts and Entertainment Supplement to the Daily Nexus, for March 9th through March 15th, 1995

% Interview by Kevin Carhart he music of Lois Maffeo is a very pleasant sensa­ tion: memorable melodies over minimal acoustic T guitar chords and a crunching drum. The catchi­ ness doesn’t give a clue to the depth that sinks in upon closer examination— Lois’ lyrics are a balance of warm and cutting, heartfelt and stinging. It’s a further pleasure to see Lois in concert because she’s really funny— her jokes all hit, she has the crowd roaring. For years she’s been a staple of the principled in­ dependent music scene up in Olympia, Wash., where her label, Up'Records, is located. Her new tour has just begun, and she’s playing the Liv­ ing Room on Saturday. You can’t get much better than melody, humor, warmth, principle and proximityl A rtsw eek spoke to Lois on the phone just before the tour started, and what follows is an edited transcript. Artsweek You’re about to have a new tour. LOIS MAFFEO: Yeah, leaving tomorrow morning.... First stop is in San Francisco, then to L.A. and Santa Barbara, and then we’ll head across the Southwest, through the South, up through the East Coast and back. Really long — seven weeks. AW. It’s a real treat not to have to think about the LA. show of something. This club, the Living Room, it’s a pretty new thing that they’re having Kill Rock Stars bands, and you, and Some Velvet Sidewalk was fust there. ... It’s kind of a treat LM: Did you see Some Velvet Sidewalk? AW. Yeah I did, and there’s a question there. They’re very much a punk band in terms of how their music sounds, and I’ve heard you use that phrase, but your songs are really pretty. LM: And it’s 'cause I say I’m a punk band as well? AW. Well, I’m curious, I think it’s interesting is there a rift? You seem to use punk rock as the spirit, kind of an ethic.... LM: Rather than a sound? I definitely was influenced by punk rock. You know, I used to be a big fan of Ameri­ can hardcore — I loved Black Flag. When people say, “Oh, you’re a folk singer,” well, I never really listened to folk music. I love folk music, but I always listened to punk rock. AW. Well, how does it change the message to be coming through in a pretty context? It's one of the live-show LM: I think how it’s changed is that American kids used the framework of original punk rock, of kind of get­ ting away from the corporate structure and trying to be shocking, in order to start their own labels and then* own fanzines, that kind of do-it-yourself ethic. Radical music to me doesn’t have to be earsplitting. I think it could be very minimalist and I think there are some minimalist punk rock bands, for instance, Young Marble Giants or The Raincoats both used a non-rock ’n’ roll framework to create punk rock. AW I have a feeling that som e punk-rock musicians who are really noisy but who have something to get across, maybe they feel as though to be pretty­ sounding would be too complacent, like you have to put up a hard sound because you’re working on hard id ea s. LM: Right.... I don’t find that necessarily to be the case, although I definitely honor it I love punk music, or hardcore, whatever you want to call it AW. Are listeners receptive even though it’s „ of the year! With Lois, Shove, and 3 other LM: Sure, I think so. I’ve played with some harder bands like Unsane and Fugazi, and I was nervous, like “Oh, my God, they’re not going to dig this at all.” But I bands. It's at 7190 Hollister, beginning at don’t think anybody’s so narrow— I mean, some people are— butl think a lot of people are really educatedmusic 7 :3 0 , this Saturday, the 11th. Don't miss it! consumers, their tastes are broader. See LOIS, pJA , 2 A Thursday, Mardi 9,1995 Daily Nexus

Obviously, I really need this, because I’m not very healthy. Get Down on However, sitting down, I finally got to listen to the music in a very relaxed state. Prior to this, I had listened to the disc a couple of times in my car, but trance the Get Down states are very difficult, if not dangerously Professor Trance & The Energizers healing. illegal, while driving down the 101. It is in Professor Trance & The Energizers N ow, I have been known to “cut a rug,” this winded-yet-comfortable state that Island “get down on the get down” or “bust a the real beauty and depth of this music hit move” on occasion, but I must admit that me. Within the last few years there has been I never looked into the healing qualities The style is distinctively tribal in na­ a fairly large explosion of trance and am­ of dancing. But what the hell? It has been ture, but it is not of any particular na­ bient compact discs. However, none to long thought that music held amazing he­ tional region. While the music provides my knowledge have taken the idea of aling powers, and regular physical exer­ an extremely primal feeling, the quality of trance music to the spiritual extremes of tion is proven to keep people healthier. production is on par with any current screams of the digeridoo bring forth a Professor Trance, a.k.a. Frank Natale, Hie combination of the two couldn’t technophilic excursion, and there is a de­ multitude of percussion layers and tribal and the Energizers. hurt. finite influence by contemporary under­ chant samples, building like a primal For the Energizers and their "spiritual Lucidly for me, thoughtfully included ground dance music. hunger. elder,” Frank Natale, trance music is part in the slip cover was a five-step list of di­ “Xingu” begins with a slow heartbeat The other cuts range from spacy, wan­ of a larger global phenomenon called rections on how to trance dance. pulsing under quick, airy breaths and a re­ dering times like “Energise” to pumping trance dancing. According to the Energiz­ As it said in the directions, I first placed laxing synthesizer chord. Then the roll of dance floor-filling tracks like “Breathe ers, trance dancing is “an ancient Sna- my feet parallel to my shoulders and al­ a drum sets off a jumpy conga and djembe Connect Us All.” As a whole, Frank Na­ manic practice which invites Spirit to em­ lowed my body and mind to let go and re­ beat layered with tribal mutterings, quick tale and the Energizers have created a body us; to heal us through spiritual ec­ lax. Then I tied a bandana over my eyes vocal blasts and short flute melodies. As very interesting work that can be appre­ stasy.” The Energizers, who are an and became aware of my breathing as I in­ the track continues, a snare drum kicks in ciated on many levels. international tribe of creative people with haled and exhaled deeply. After the re­ for extra power and a catchy bassline —Matt Turner a common belief in the “Great Mother commended five minutes, I further re­ bumps alongside. “Drumming Circle” Earth” as the original deity, practice laxed and let my body move to the leads in with a steady beat as the insects trance dancing, as well as soul hunting, rhythm. Soon I was supposed to feel a and other inhabitants of the jungle wildly spirit animal ioumeys and teacher plant “vibration or energy moving through” me, cadi out to the deep rumbling of an aborig­ rituals to achieve these states of ecstatic but all I got was a cramp and I sat down. inal digeridoo. Quickly, the strange — this is music you will want to keep quiet It’s private music for you and you only. Private, because lead singer Avy is a un­ ique soul, whose affecting voice and lyrics are the perfect companion to loneliness, s / t e Sounds anguish and frustration. When you find Sharkboy and powerful images. yourself moping because “love stinks” — M atin ee Sharkboy is a six-piece act from don’t feel bad, simply spin this disc and be nude/Tristar Brighton, England, that incorporates lu­ reminded that someone knows just how that they’re a blues act. In every case, scious melodies and unorthodox arrange­ you feel. Avy has been to the desolate part though, the band's music ideally accom­ In addition to the grandiose egotism I ments to create a surreal sound which is of the mind where pain lives — you can panies Avy’s haunting vocals. It’s dark enjoy when writing reviews of other peo­ truly captivating. M atin ee?s mix is pep­ hear it in her oddly beautiful voice on ev­ and brooding, but hopeful and hearten­ ple’s work comes another, even more self- pered with muted trumpets, cello, guitars, ery track of M atin ee. ing at the same time. serving advantage to being a music critic: bass, drums, percussion, keyboards and Also impressive are Avy*s bandmates, Admittedly, Sharkboy plays mood I get free CDs! To be honest, most of them saxophone (I), which all fit together in a who do some pretty heavy experimenta­ music — music for a lonely, pissed-off are better frisbees than they are music, but paradoxically unstructured way. The tion on this disc. A lot of different styles night or an afternoon of deep introspec­ once in a while, a rare and special disc will songs’ lack of arrangement (or is it their show up in the music of M a tin ee, but tion — but when the mood does in fact come in the mail and I find myself able to abundance of arrangement?) is refresh­ none oi them are blended in familiar strike, this disc is its perfect companion. forgive the record labels for their many ing in that you never quite know what to ways. The rudeboy horns in “Yo Yo” will M atin ee is like a giant, colorful swirl past mistakes. Sharkboy’s album, M ati­ expect. No, these songs probably won’t have you swearing that Sharkboy is some painted on a deep, black canvas. This is n e e is one of those efforts; it’s a finely make their way onto MTV’s regular rota­ kind of gnarly British ska band, while the good stuff. crafted debut glowing with raw emotion tion any time soon, but that’s just as well nasty guitar in “Sugar” will convince you —Eric Steuer

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TALK RADIO You Talkin' To Me? 990 KQSB-AM LEYKIS inthe afternoonSANTA BARBARA r . ^ A ^ Daily Nexus Thursday, March 9,1995 3A : c h uu ©3fl®0Q ^ D ig est This One of the grand Belly themes throughout K in g music’s histoiy is innova­ Sire/4AD tion. From Beethoven to Mozart to Scott Joplin to Comparisons be­ Miles Davis, the one dis­ tween Kristin Hersh and tinguishing feature of great her stepsister and former musicians is that no one Throwing Musemate had ever quite heard what Tanya Donelly are sure they were doing before. to come up wnen some­ UCSB Ph.D. candidate one mentions either one Anne Deane has worked of them or their bands. her whole career to enter (We could also mention this tradition. She started Kim Deal and the Breed­ writing at age 13 and ers, but that would really pursued music through make things the Oberlin Music complicated.) Academy undergraduate Listening to both program to UC Santa Bar­ bands’ new albums, bara’s Music Dept, which Throwing Muses’ Uni­ has led to the discovery of versity and Belly’s K ing, her current instrument, a quickly highlights the NeXT computer. songwriting differences “Puberty” is confusing. to “hold his tiny frame in Deane has composed between the two. Hersh Lines like “Covered in your arms,” and the and produced some of the prefers a harder edge, honey / Showered in mother in “Super- most successful computer- while Donelly favors fuz­ beer / Now when you Connected” sees a child based music in the collegi­ zier guitars and poppier spin on your head like a with a “third broken ate world. Her flagship musical score ol arrangements. Along monkey” are strange and window” and “hair full iece, Positive Thinking, of Fred Chance, a long­ The instructions are for these lines, K in g is a don’t make sense at first, of glass.” A variety of Eas been performed by the time friend and poet, as computer-generated great follow-up to the but a childish sense of styles and statements on Synchronia new-music the subject of P o s itiv e sounds, which are an es­ Belly debut, S tar — al­ glee and fun begins to the subject follow, from ensemble in S t Louis. It T h in k in g . Chance re­ sential part of the piece. though, unlike the clean­ take form. “L’O Ennio” exploring was also performed at corded himself reading the The sounds, which have sounding S tar, K ing has The theme of life soon the inside of our minds Bowling Green State Uni­ poem for her composition no other description in heavier guitars ana dis­ changes to death with to the folksy “The Bees,” versity and the 1993 Na­ and actually lived to see music, combine with flaut­ tortion, as Donelly “Red,” a mad epitaph telling a wayward son to tional Flute Conference in much of its success. Three ist Betsy Cuffel and wraps and twists her soft that changes from a eul­ beware of life. Boston. In February, she weeks before his death, he Chance reading his poem voice around the music. ogy to a wild, crazy K ing is one of the best was selected as one of se­ recited the poem at a per­ “Positive Thinking” into a But much like its pre­ death, ending with a albums of this year. It ven American composers formance in Boston. strikingly touching ex­ decessor, the new album great riff. It all makes you shows that beautiful voc­ to be distributed worl­ Deane dedicated the com­ pression of grief. possesses ambiguous lyr­ ask, Who’s Red? The als and lyrics can be dwide to public and col­ position to him in her per­ ics that take a few listens child? mixed with loud guitars lege radio stations for pos­ formance program. Using computers has al­ to understand. The entire album be­ and distortion. And pro­ sible broadcast Audiences have discov­ lowed Deane to explore The album begins with gins to take form as a duction is by Glyn Johns, The composition, ered in her work old me­ what would otherwise be a Sonic Youthish progressing life, as whose work goes track to which is about the AIDS- mories of their own past impossible for acoustic screech that develops “Silverfish” asks the the Beatles. K ing is defi­ related suffering and death losses and traumatic composition. By overlay­ into the daze of “Pub­ father of the child for nitely worth getting. of one of Deane’s close events, and some have ing the flute and poetry erty.” Like its namesake, emotional support and —Michael Lin friends, has surprised found themselves com­ reading and precisely tim­ Deane with its wide pelled to speak to her ab­ ing their interplay, Deane However, she acknow­ herself and her audience. but to really do something popularity. out them. “People have produced extraordinary ledges that none of them “If people can engage in a that makes an impact in­ Her newfound success come up to me after per­ sounds. “At times, it al­ sound anything like her musical experience which side me. I think that doing may have something to do formances and started tell­ most sounds as if the flute music. “Secretly, I would helps them get in touch that will also make an im­ with her philosophy on ing me about when their is speaking the words, and love to be a pop star,” she with their g rief,” she said, pact on someone else. The composing and perform­ grandfather died or what I really like that,” she said. said. “But that's not the “then maybe they’ll be able Positive Thinking piece ing, which has developed happened when their son Deane’s own favorite music I hear in my head.” to discharge some of those was really neat because into her impetus to write had a big accident,” she composers include the Her ultimate goal is feelings.” that was something that I music. “I really want to said. “[Positive Thinking] likes of Luciano Barrio, therapeutic, combining However, she believes was working through in communicate with my au­ really helps people get in Ravel, Stravinsky, Ricky various musical mediums her art will always start my personal life. dience,” she said. “I’m re­ touch with their feelings Lee Jones, Talking Heads (she is currently working with her own interests. ally interested in setting up over a loss of a loved one.” and XTC, all of whom on a piece about Chancq’s “I’m really trying to look “The hardest thing ab­ a dramatic musical experi­ Deane included two “have a dramatic kind of last day of life, scored for a inside as to what’s impor­ out being an artist is look­ ence so that people will pages of “Special Instruc­ bang to their work, and chamber quartet) with her tant to me and what I want ing in all the time.” feel something.” tions” in the performance that’s what I’m trying to personal experience to to say,” she said, “and not This is why Deane program, followed by the do.” produce catharsis both in just to write another piece, —Chris George

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Thursday, March 9 • 7pm • Free "Next time, remind me to have the A public lecture by the Oklahoma law professor who came to the UCSB Girvetz Theater (Girvetz 1004) customers pay before they eat!" notion's attention when she testified at the Supreme Court For more information please call 893S4I1. .Woodstock’s Pizza 928 Emb. del Norte 968-6969 Justice nomination hearings of Clarence Thomas. April 1 1 /8 pm./UCSB CampbellM Where to Eat, Drink & Make Merry? Students: $6 General: $12 f f University of California, Santa Barbara, 1995 fl. Find out in the Weekend Connection, this Friday in the Daily Nexus. Tiritéis A Info * UCSB Arts ó Lectures Ticket Office: 893-3535 4 A Thursday, March 9,1995 Daily Nexus

Monty An Interview with Disable Planets’ Mecca jLuke j

very gray day. As I chill inside my car A in the Campbell Hall/Cheadle parking lot, I realize that my mood right now is very similar to the weather outside. Gray, cool, kinda b la h , really. I’m very tired from an eventful Friday night be­ fore, which kinda spilled over into Saturday morn­ ing. But it’s now Saturday afternoon, and I’m still ex­ hausted. Do I have to do this interview? I’m afraid they're gonna eat me alive for some reason. I usually don’t get anxious before an interview, but I am right now. Probably just from a lack of sleep. I spot a friend sitting in front of the doors which lead into Campbell Hall’s lobby. She’s chatting with a brother I’ve never seen before. I say “Wassup” to my friend, and as the brother turns towards me, I see his “blowout comb all access” laminate dangling from his neck. I proceed to complain to my friend ab­ out how tired I am from the previous night’s activi­ ties and the brother from the Digable crew begins to laugh. I ask him what's so funny as I introduce my­ self to him. And he tells me that it seems like everyone on the tour feels just like I do, and that the past week has been particularly cepts. They b o th have “jazz hip-hop group,” or ideal of what hip-hop your question — I didn't bum dropped. grueling for Digable themes. This one just hap­ whatever, that is definitely s h o u ld b e? really like it M: Uh-huh, yeah. Well, Planets. One night in LA ., pens to be different, that’s a concerted effort from re­ M: Hip-hop should be AW. That’s all right that happens with all new the next in Santa Cruz, all. cord companies and jour­ ... I mean it is an express­ Your label, Pendulum groups. But the success... I then back down to San AW: What would be nalists [she pauses and ion of youth, from urban Records, is now owned by guess the first single, “Re­ Diego and finally to Santa the theme of Reachin’? looks directly at me]. But areas. The state of hip-hop EMI, as opposed to your birth of Slick,” was diffe­ Barbara — an exhausting M: Well, the first [al­ you can’t escape that ’cuz now is that there’s such a former label, Elektra. rent In conjunction with California tour indeed. bum] was just an introduc­ when people are tiyin’ to level of exploitation. ... How has your treatment the video, the way it was Somehow, hearing that tion of Digable Planets, push plastic, they gotta do This country has the by the label changed in stylized — we’re in a jazz the group I’m about to in­ you know ... biggin’ up what they gotta do. power to just push ev ery ­ view of that? club — it had a whole dif­ terview is as tired as I am where we’re from in rap AW. What’s the crea­ th in g ... so right now, its M: [Becomes very hesit­ ferent feel. It was a diffe­ makes me feel much bet­ music. It was a representa­ tive process that you all kinda outta control. ant while holding tape re­ rent rap video from all the ter, and I look forward to tion of us then. It [was] as a group go through ? There’s a lot ofless-quality corder — it looks as other songs.... It was like a meeting them and record­ just a reflection of us — M: Well, we do all of our groups, I think, being re­ though she’s trying to fig­ breath of fresh air— that’s ing a good interview. that’s what the theme is on own production. There’s leased. Finish the question ure out how to turn it off] what a lot of people What follows is an both [albums].... But lyri­ no set formula or anything — what was the rest? Um, w ell... the treatment seemed to take it as, plus edited transcript of A rts- cally on the second album, to putting together a song. AW. How do your own by die record company... just having a multigender w e e k ’s interview with we talk a lot more about Sometimes musically... we political beliefs fit into it’s just, I mean, Pendulum group also appealed to a Mecca, also known as different issues that were would come up with the what hip-hop should be? Records... [pauses several lot more people. And a Ladybug. present on the first album music on the production Your ideal. seconds] simple hook like “Cool Artsweek It seems like but were overlooked or end, and then the lyrics M: Hip-hop is a culture AW. You don’t have to Like Dat” always does the answer the question.... job. Mi I can answer it The AW. What are some of treatment — there’s no the goals that you as indi­ special treatment because viduals want to accom­ of a successful first album, plish through your art? first single, whatever, or M: We just wanna make winnin’ a Grammy. good music, you know? There’s nothin’ that’s It’s an art form, it’s some­ changed. You’re still a thin’ that we practice every slave to your record com­ day. It ain’t something that pany regardless o f who’s distributing your product We just hope that this time around with EMI and [their new president], hopefully our stuff will be promoted more this time around. So far, I can’t say that that’s been happen­ ing. But what can you do? You just gotta always be ... you just make a record ready to make moves. and that’s it. It takes prac­ AW. How would you tice, just like any other ca­ explain the success of reer or art form, and just to your first album? From make good beats and at my perspective, it almost the same time have some seemed as though when meaning and depth to your you released the album, it lyrics. cam e outta nowhere, and AW . W hafs in the fu­ this new album, Bloioout misunderstood. might follow, or it might tnat inclucfe^tyle^iress, it blew up. What do you ture for D igable Planets? C o m b , is very thematic, as A W : D isc u ss th e have been an inspiration language, film or what­ think was responsible for M: The future? Um ... opposed to the first album. group’s image then as op­ lyrically that translated ever. It should just be an th a t? [laughs] we’re all gettin’ M e c c a : Is v e r y p o s e d to h o w yo u fe e l it is and we came up with the expression of th a t, you M: Well, first of all, the mto production for other thematic? now. Do you think there music afterwards. So know, but how it should album didn’t come from people. I’m interested in AW. Well, is more th e­ was a conscious effort on there’s no set formula— it be, I can’t really say how it “nowhere.” It came from a getting into the film busi­ lotta hard work, a lotta matic than the first al­ your label’s behalf to por­ just changes. I guess you should be. People gotta ness, directing. ... [so­ trials and tribulations in bum. Is that true? And if tray you in a certain way would call it like a vibe or make money. You can’t meone with the band yells so, what would that as opposed to now? whatever. say it shouldn’t be on the our lives, you know, since something to Mecca, indi­ th em e b e? M: Well, our image has AW. What are your radio, it shouldn’t be on our birth.... cating that she should fin­ M: Both albums... have always been fu s t u s. Who feelings on the current MTV, because people AW. I m eant"outta no­ ish soon] Yeah, I an­ their own.... They're both we are now as fiu- as label­ state o f hip-hop, and how gotta survive. People gotta where” in the sense that swered your question. separate entities. They ing and placing us in do your own political be­ make that money, you no one really had heard of Hopefully you heard it both have their own con­ categories in music such as liefs correlate to your know. I hope that answers you guys before that al­ AW. Cool, thanks. Daily Nexus Thursday, March 9,1995 5 A

ing the most vociferously that indie is the greatest and major labels suck are stand­ LOIS ing there smoking cigarettes, drinking beer— I mean, they’re giving their money Continued from p.lA to even bigger corporations. I’m not say­ AW: l feel as though there’s some­ ing I dig corporations — I hate them — th in g to. the fact that you’re still record­ but I’m saying there’s a lot of subtlety in ing ony/that som e of your contempora­ this argument. It’s not cut and dry. ries are signed to major labels.... What AW: Yeah, it’s confusing ... I’m won­ are som e of the things you like aboutyy dering if there’s anything to this kids im ­ LM: Well, they’re my friends and I can agery, with Yoyo, the Yoyo A-Go-Go trust them completely. They’re people concert in the summer, and back when I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life you were in Courtney Love [Lois’ old knowing and working with. I’ve never band, which was totally unrelated to been offered anything by another label, so the Hole woman], when you had the it’s kind of a moot point. I think some Highlights single, and I was wondering people assume that I have, but I haven’t if there was an idea to that AW: Connected to that, l was won­ LM: I’m not really sure. I do recognize dering about the song “Indie. ” Is it an your point about that, and a lot of people anthem or is it ironic? actually said about rio t grrrl that a lot of LM: No, it’s not ironic at all, but I think these young women were choosing baby- it’s not necessarily about indie rock. It’s doll aesthetics. And some people kind of Drummer about your own self-independence and took a feminist argument about it, like your self-confidence and your willingness that they’re trying to create childlike ap­ Heather to be an independent person. When they pearances, which are useless if you’re try­ Dunn (1.) handed out the songs, they were sup­ ing to have a strong woman’s voice... but I posed to be about the holidays, so I think a lot of us just have an aesthetic and picked the Fourth of July, Independence that’s closer to ’50s and ’60s styles, and Lois Day. that the closest we get to that is that child­ M affeo AW Ahhh... I’m wondering, it’s never hood format or aesthetic or graphic style. bad to be an idealist, but is it possible to So it really speaks to me — I know, but I AW It was a weird bilL All the Go- source but it’s not verifiable. So I’m opti­ have an indie label these days, what hate all the ’70s stuff, but that’s partially Betweens fans sort of left after Grant ... mistic but not wholly involved. with so many arcane financial ties? I because I’ve lived through the ’70s, but That’s kind of like my secret pet band, AW. On the new single, there’s a new don’t know particularly how to feel ab­ ’60s and ’50s stuff I feel much more of a the Go-Betweens. Do you have any that recording of your old Courtney Love o u t i t On th e o n e h a n d , I fe e l a s th ou g h kinship to. a re... song “Hey Antoinette!” you judge every song on its own merits. AW. That reminds me of your Zom­ LM: Oh, you’ve named one of mine. LM: Yeah. LM: You mean about keeping indie vs. bies cover, of ‘The Way I Feel Tonight” The Go-Betweens are an incredible influ­ AW. Are you going to bring back the major labels very separate? I’m almost hoping on Saturday that ence to me. I’ve been lucky enough to see Courtney Lotte songs? AW. Right I’U hear word that, oh, you’ll break a guitar string because it them three times. LM: I don’t think so. We kind of did SpinART is funded by somebody, and gives such a good reason to sing an a AW. [Kevin has convulsions] Wow! that because we’ve being doing it live, and Sub Pop is, people have distribution de­ c a p p e lla . LM :— And one of two shows in my life I really like the way it sounded with Amy a ls — I gu ess ifs a question o f a personal LM: [Laughter] Is that a request? that I wept, I was so happy to see.... I’m a drumming — she no longer drums with spirit Do you think it can keep on in AW. And where did you get your big fan of Marine Girls, Beat Happening, me— and... Heather an d ! playthem live. spite of the overt circumstances that com ic timing? It’s brilliant. Jonathan Richman, Black Flag.... I love They are pristine to me, the memory — I some people take to be a comedown? LM: [More laughter] I grew up in a re­ old jazz standards, I love Peggy Lee, I love enjoy playing them. I figure, I wrote ’em, I LM: There’ll always be an “under­ ally large family. It’s competitive — you Stax records, Otis Redding, A1 Green... might as well. There’s also been talk of, ground,” there’ll always be the point have to go for big laughs if you want to get AW. I first heard you when I heard ab­ should they be rereleased on CD — the where the underground merges with the seconds at the dinner table.... I talk a lot out the One Last Kiss SpinART compi­ single is impossible to find — but you mainstream, and I think that’s what we’re when I play because I used to be a lot lation on e-mail and heard the song know, we were a really small band. When seeing right now. But then there’ll just be more nervous to play, but I was never “Baserball Bat,” which doesn’t sound we existed, hardly anybody knew about another underground created. One of my nervous to talk in front of crowds. But very much like you.... us. And we cut our singles... favorite records this year came out on LM: No, just the spirit of when it was AW. W hat is the song “C harles A tlas, ” Slash, which is basically a major label, the recorded, the style of it— kind of an angry from the new album, about? record by the Latin Playboys. And I love and violent tune. LM: I think it’s kind of a metaphor for that record. I’m not bummed, you know. I “Young Marble Giants AW. Yeah. Do you have any feelings change. You sometimes wonder if you wish I could give my money directly to ev­ on electronic mail, the Internet? would have liked someone better if you ery band, but it doesn’t exist I think the or the Raincoats both LM: I’m. not really a computer person. knew them when they were a child, or more you try to stratify it and say, “Oh, AW. Uh huh. It can be a baa thing sometimes you know someone and you suck because you have this deed...” LM: I’ve found it to be very handy in you’re really happy when you first know There a r e some real enemies, and I don’t used a non-rock’n’roll some instances and in other instances them, and then something changes in like giving money directly to the major that I feel it’s somewhat elitist and I feel their life, like they make money or they go labels because I don’t dunk that they, framework to create not very connected to it. I’m kind of wait­ to college or they do something. And it’s they spend it on really weird stuff. ing, kind of holding back, but I see it as kind of saying, I’m wistful for the time AW. Junkets and ... kind of handy. I heard Exene Cervenka when we were less-developed people or LM: Yeah, stuff like that. But if a band punk rock.” read some of her writing recently, and she younger. makes that decision and chooses to sell said, “You know, if computers were so AW. I see.... their re cord like that, and I like the band, I playing in front of crowds is really hard great, why would anyone let us have LM: It’s kind of a request, saying OK, have to support them in that decision, for me so I was just trying to cover up my them?” Of course, she’s kind of you’re Atlas now, you hold the world on and hopefully they’ll get some of my scaredness by, kind of, almost coming conspiracy-theory oriented in that your shoulders. Now can you just take a money. down in a sense. response. few minutes to just go back, to have some AW: Yeah. That seems like an impor­ AW Well, it goes over great! You AW Yeah. I just use it as a means to nostalgia — the good old days. tant thing Thinking about an indie ought to do an album of stand-up. an end for a lot of music — I m ean , AW Is that running through the al­ label and a major label is sort of the LM: [Laughs] Yeah, some people said, there’s an indie-pop list.. bum? I’d written down “wistful" same line of reasoning as people who “When’s your spoken-word record com­ LM: And I think that’s really great«but LM: It’s a little bit of a moody album, a boycott a particular product because of ing out?” I’ve also read some things that people period of change in my life. I moved back where the corporate interests are putting AW. That Alligator Lounge show was have written, articles about me, that I to Olympia right prior to recording it, and their funding and it’s sort o f like a per­ great ... I saw Grant McLennan play know that they’ve taken something off I just kind of decided that I wanted to put sonal line of reasoning within a web, a there, and the other band was Los Lobo- the Internet that they’re using as a fact my roots down in Olympia rather than circu s. tomys, which has members of Toto. which I know is not a fact That’s when it stay in Washington, D.C., so a big period LM: Oftentimes, the people I hear say­ LM: Oh, rea lly . That is freaky. kind of bothers me, when it’s used as a of change for me.______On the Street In honor of their 10th in 1980, but is based al­ ing the audience confused oine, begins the show as anniversary, the Santa most entirely on the film of as to just who these people innocent and shy as can Barbara Civic Light Opera the same name. In fact, all are. At several points, the be, but through the influ­ has resurrected perhaps of the songs in the score audience broke out into ence of her incredible tap­ their most celebrated pro­ are from the original com­ laughter as a character ping toes, she lands herself duction ever, 42nd Street. posers, some from the film, would suddenly switch a role in the chorus line of Their original production some not. As a result of momentum. In one scene, a Broadway show. Then in 1989 became a colossal this mish-mashing of film the show-within-the- the impossible happens. hitand marked the turning songs and nonfilm songs, show’s director goes from In what seems almost to be point in SBCLO’s history sometimes the show lacks kissing the lead to lectur­ a Nostradamus-like pre­ toward a higher qualify of a tightness and focus that ing her in a matter of diction of the legendaiy theater. an original piece would seconds. rise of Shirley MacLaine, If it is anything, 4 2 n d have. But the saving grace of Peggy rises to the occasion S treet is fun. There are no The book of the show, this show is tiie dance when the show’s star serious issues addressed ironically, is the weakest numbers. SBCLO has as­ breaks her ankle. In just here, no social statements, part Since it was essen­ sembled a wonderful cast short of 36 hours — ten no meaningful themes — tially the only contempor­ of dancers who pull off minutes of show time — just two and a half hours of ary part of the show, one each number with seem­ she learns the entire lead the director, played by othy Brock. All together, good, clean entertain­ would hope/expect it to be ingly limitless energy. part and saves the show. Reece Holland and Don the cast pulls off the show ment And 42nd Street is of a higher quality. No Choreographer Jon En- Played demurely by Stewart, respectively. with a professionalism well-endowed in the en­ such luck. Instead, the dia­ gstrom, who was a mem­ Cathy Wydner, Peggy is Holland’s character ste­ and energy rarely seen el­ tertainment department. logue stumbles along awk­ ber of the original Broad­ the shy girl next door, als the show. Easily the sewhere in Santa Barbara. The dances are huge, wardly and the plot wan­ way production, has done quiet and reserved until show's warmest singer, he This production of 4 2 n d happy and hoppin’, and ders here and there. Songs a fantastic job at creating she gets on stage. Once leads tiie dancers on sev­ S treet may have its flaws, you’ll be exhausted just are shoehomed into the some exciting dance there, Wydner dances up a eral tour de force numbers but in terms of pure fun, watching them. The songs story with little regard to moments. storm and adds some qual­ that’ll leave you panting. it’s just about as good as it are likewise — there’s not their necessity. Character­ 42nd Street follows the ity vocals to boot. Peggy’s Joy Claussen, too, puts in a gets. a serious one in the lo t ization is inconsistent and rise of one young actress. required love interests are qualify performance as the 42nd Street was written often contradictory, leav­ Peggy Sawyer, our her­ the show's male lead and aging and annoying Dor­ —Davin McHenry j MP 6A Thursday, March 9,1995 Daily Nexus Themes

Well, if s not every day they also find a suitcase you get to see a Scottish full of high-denomination black comedy about death banknotes, presumably and dismemberment. Ifs proceeds from some form also not every day that you of organized crime. After see a film as consistently some soul searching, they entertaining as S h a llo w decide to do what any G rav e. Set almost entirely worthwhile set of movie Arthur Agee and William Gates dream of being NBA in a large apartment, ifs a characters would do — players like Isiah Thomas. H o o p D ream s is the true and cheerfully immoral tale keep the money and dis­ intensely moving stoiy of the two boys who begin playing told with quick wit and pose of the body. Allison basketball in the inner city, where they are “discovered” bad skin — quintessential raises some reservations by talent scouts. It traces their two very different high urban Britain, in fact. and is countered with “But school careers on their way to college. Accountant David you’re a doctor, you kill The film ricochets between the boys’ two families, in­ (Ewan McGregor), doctor people every day.” corporating direct interviews and personal accounts into Allison (Kerry Fox) and But David raises the the film’s lengthy but meaningful and well-put script. the fast-thinking, slightly most objections, and un­ Arthur realizes his ambitions when a scout for the pre­ obnoxious Alex (Christ- fortunately, ifs he who scenes like this, rather would be Red Rock West dominantly white private school S t Joseph sees him ofer Eccleston), the come­ draws the short straw and than the one-liners, good (for me, last year’s best play. The school recognizes his talent and pays 50 per­ dian of the trio who works must perform the grisly though they are, that leave film) with its tight turns of cent of the tuition. It seems to be the beginning of the as a (what else?) tabloid acts that will stop the body a smile on the lips. narrative and calm consummation of his dream of leaving the ghetto, getting journalist, need to rent out from being identified. It is instructive to com­ conscience. an education and playing in the NBA. the fourth room in their Understandably, this un­ pare S h a llo w G ra v e to the On a small budget, di­ Hie camera closely documents Agee’s loving family. spacious flat After teasing hinges the poor boy’s celebrated Pulp Fiction, rector Danny Boyle and They don’t scorn him for his ascension, instead feeling as and ridiculing some pros­ mind and later he becomes which also had a wry look writer John Hodge have though they can live their dreams through him. The pride pective tenants, they de­ paranoid and moves to the at organized crime and vi­ achieved something of a and closeness are shown, as are the hardships, as the cide on a placid, mysteri­ attic, taking the money olence. This picture has coup. Some of the scenes family struggles with the father’s cocaine addiction. ous, self-described “wri­ with him and hiding it in none of the vacuousness might be hard to stomach, The other hopefiil, William Gates, is drafted straight ter" (Keith Allen), whose the water tank. Here the that ultimately made the and you may not lose to file varsity team as a freshman at S t Joseph. He finds a air of mortality hints at film enters a surreal phase other so unsatisfying, slick much by waiting for it to veiy generous family, the Weirs, to become his sponsors what's to come. as David, perched in the and dazzling though it come out on video but, if and pay half of his tuition. A few days later, they rafters, peering down from was. The violence, even you understand the hu­ William plays extremely well during his first two years break into his room to find holes he’s drilled in the when farcical, is never sen­ mor, Shallow Grave has at S t Joseph and, as a sophomore, receives letters from him lying on the bed ceiling, scuttles from one sual or designed to give to be one of the most sti­ different universities asking him to consider their naked and, more impor­ end of the attic to the other you pleasure; ifs not a mulating films of the year. school. Both of the boys learn numerous lessons through tantly, dead. To confuse lit from below by probing moving comic book. Per­ their game— that ifs more than just shooting hoops, ifs their emotions further, beams of ghostly light. Ifs haps a closer comparison —Martin Knight

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a lil While the film is tracing William through St. Joseph, Arthur is driven back into public high school after two years when he can no longer afford the tuition. The event crushes Arthur’s morale, and he realizes the function and power of money in a basketball career. This point is made further in the depiction of the two boys’ coaches in the later years of high school. Arthur’s coach back at his local high school is from the commun­ ity and possesses the same concerns as the boys on the team. He’s interested in winning, but also in the team’s morale. PILPÍRTpL entedby 3Ay t e k c o m p u ter s While William’s coach at St. Joseph is not depicted as a bad guy, he admits that his paycheck depends on the team’s performance. If his squad of boys produces a star player, he receives substantially more. He understands William’s concerns, but is at conflict between the boy’s welfare and the concept that winning leads to money. William attends a summer basketball camp intended for the top high school players, where coaches from all of the top basketball schools come to rate the players. They tell the camera that they must find only the best players because their job depends on how well their team per­ forms. The school loses a lot of money if their domes are not filled with fans. Because William is on this higher- league team, he gets disillusioned with his dream of be­ ing the next Isiah Thomas and playing for the NBA. He concludes that “basketball became more like a job” and Hardware »Software »Printers »MultiMedia* Accessories «And More! wasn’t enjoyable anymore. Hoop Dreams superbly documents the lives of these Custom Computer Systems at Affordable Prices! two boys. It shows how one seemed to have an edge over Receive $50 Off any Base 486DX or Pentium System the other, but that both were basically just kids striving to reach their goals in any way they could. One of the film’s strengths is its depiction of realistic, imperfect characters with good and bad qualities. Although the running tíme We Now Take VISA, M/C & Discover! 0 0 5 - 1 7 5 9 of three hours is a bit daunting, I would highly recom­ 250A Storke Rd. Goleta. K-MART Shopping Center! mend this film. —Melissa Altman Daily Nexos Thursday, March 9,1995 7A

Flight of Fancy

Borrowing from mystery writer Ruth which had mingled in the family blood­ Rendell: There are some films one wishes line generations ago when the Coneelys one had never seen, in order to have the were the only folks on the island. pleasure of seeing them for the first time. As she learns more about the family The Secret o f Roan Inlsh is such a movie. history, Fiona becomes determined to re­ You leave the theater wishing you could gain her infont brother, the baby lost to see it with die eyes of a first-time viewer. the sea when the waves stole him away in R o a n In ls h tells a charming, decep­ his cradle. Fiona’s efforts drive the film, tively simple story. But ifs not easy to dis­ but it is the peculiar tales of Coneely his­ miss it after you’ve seen i t The images, tory that drive Fiona. tales within the film, and characters linger As these stories provide the engine with you, bobbing up unexpectedly from which propels R o a n In lsh , Sayles’ direct­ the subconscious so that you find yourself ing gives the film its flavors and colors. He thinking about them at die oddest mo­ wisely uses Ireland’s inherent connection ments. And the more you think about it with the mythic to lend his film mystical die more you realize now much there is weight The mysteries of Roan Irtish, the beneath the film’s veneer of a simple tale links between the Coneelys and the mys­ about an Irish family. tical ocean, and the haunting seals that At the start, we meet Fiona Coneely, a have been caring for young Jimmy since young girl going to live with her grandpa­ he was taken from his family seem per- rents off die coast of Ireland sometime af­ fectiy natural and believable in this ter World War II. After setting up die situ- legend-ridden land.

ation— the Coneely families had recentiy The production is impeccable. Every itsBoulder departed the island of Roan Irtish, where detail fits smoothly within the other­ they had lived for generations, to take up worldly mood that Sayles carefully crafts life on the mainland, where the living is and deftly maintains throughout the film. k Enjoy the relaxed, comfortable atmosphere o fthe Boulder campus • Choose from over 500 hard — director John Sayles plunges us R o a n In lsh the film is as far from a typical courses • Select from five-, eight-, and ten-week terms or intensive courses deep in the waters of the rantily’s history. Hollywood movie because Roan Irtish is i '* Have time to work, travel, or just have fun And a strange history it is. Apparently, far from the New World. You won’t find a few years earlier, when the family was any of the brash, precocious children that Plan now to make the Summer of 1995 a Boulder one! abandoning Roan Irtish for the mainland, are popular with Hollywood screenwri­ the ocean colluded with seagulls to steal ters m this film. Fiona, played naturally by T erm A : June S'ftdy 7 T erm f t July 1 l-August 11 the family’s baby as he lay in his cradle on young Jeni Courtney in her first perfor­ Term C June 5-Juty 28 Term D : June 5-August 11 the beach. The sea was angry with the mance, acts like any girl her age. She gets Shorter, intensive courses also available. family for leaving Roan Irtish, and took frightened talking to a Coneely with a Cafl or write for your free CU-Boukkr Sommer Session Catalog. the infant as punishment reputation for being odd, and acts with re­ J m I& y "* V (303)492-2456 And in the film’s best sequence, Sayles sourcefulness when she is confronted tells the story of the seal woman. It seems with a strange situation. Office of Admissions-Regent Administrative Center 125 • Campus Box 30 that long ago, a Coneely took a selkie— a So run, don’t walk, to the Riviera, University of Colorado at Boulder ■ Boulder, CO 80309-0030 seal transformed into a woman — as his where R o a n In ish is playing in limited re­ wife, and she bore him children. Since lease. The mysterious waters of Roan In­ U n iv e r s it y o f C o l o r a d o a t B o u l d e r then, every generation of the family ish and the peculiar history of the Con- would produce a “dark one,” a Coneely eely family beckon. Comeonin— thewa- with black hair who is most comfortable ter is fine. Yes, send me the free 1995 CU-Boulder Summer Session Catalog. at sea. These dark ones are, of course, products of the seal woman’s blood, —Tony Luu N a m e ______

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