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Friday, April 20, 1C34
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Pago 12
By Pstty Pryor
The Teddy Doys came all the way
from Texas Wednesday night to bring
their "tear it up" roots rock 'n' roll to
the Drumstick.
"We like to have a good time, just go
out there and get sweaty," pianist Wally
Shannon said before the show.
As with their last Lincoln appear
ance in September, also scheduled mid
week, the crown was sparse but knew
what it wanted to hear, and the five
man band from Houston delivered.
Besides Shannon, the Teddy Boys
are Ted Aldine on lead vocals and
acoustic guitar, Kevin Rath on lead
guitar and vocals, Kid on bass and
Kevin McKinney on drums.
The band's early Texas R&B roots
are evident in its music, which is prob
ably best described as beefed-up, rowdy
rockabilly. The sound is not as pure
and lean as the snare drumupright
doss orana ot rockabilly, but is fleshed
out with hard-charging piano and fat
ter guitar licks.
The band members all grew up
around the Houston area, where they
listened to a steady diet of Gene Vin
cent, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis
and country greats like Hank Snow.
Their Wednesday night set included
a generous sprinkling of classics
"Twenty Flight Rock," "Little Sister,"
"Steady with Betty" which reflects
these influences.
As with most bands, though, a classi
fication of their music just doesn't
stick. Shannon found amusement with
the attempts at defining what the
Teddy Boys play.
"Billboard said we were jazz- and
funk-influenced. Then Trouser Press
called us punker rockabillies, and
somebody else came up young whip
persnapper rockabillies,' "he said. "They
call us whatever they want, but we just
play it the way we feel it."
"Neither, "he said, can the band be
pegged by the traditional "Teddy Boy"
look velvety-trimmed or leather
jacket, narrow pants and ducktail
which originated with early '50's Brit
ish rockers.
"The audience decides (what the
look means)," Shannon said. "We our-
s
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v Kevin Eath (left) and Ted Aldine cf the Teddy Beys
selves aren't that fashion-conscious. I
mean, we're certainly no Culture Club."
The Teddy Boys have been together
for a little more than two years, Shan
non said. Before that, he and Aldine
played in a variety of rockabilly,
country-influenced bands, as did the
other three members.
Those two years have been filled
with endless local club dates, which
later evolved into more extensive,
regional touring.
Tarzan movie fails to explain
noble savage'sinner conflicts
Before too long, the band was open
ing shows for Carl Perkins, Dave
Edmunds and Elvis Costello, Shannon
said.
The longer they play, the rougher
their music gets, he said, which is the
way the band likes it.
That's just the way it happens with
us," he explained. "It's more natural
I'd rather avoid the polished edge."
They've garnered more popularity
on the East Coast, particularly around
Boston and New York, he said, where
their EP, Drive litis, is receiving con
siderable airplay.
Still, Shannon said, the band has its
work cut out for them in their musical
pursuits.
"The traveling has really accelerated
over the past year," he said, "but we're
really just barely getting started. This
is our life."
By Toger Swanson
A tale of two jungles is the theme of
Greystroke, the Legend of Tarzan, Lord
of the Apes.
Both "jungles" are lavishly photo
graphed and displayed: the steamy
rainforests of West Africa and the
stodgy, puritanical estate of Victorian
Scotland. Director Hugh Hudson gives
the viewer a grand travelogue but; a
disappointing story line.
Film
Review
Greystroke holds promise by shun
ning the stereotypical macho hero in
the tradition of Johnny ,Weismueller
and Ron Ely. Instead it tries to show
the Lord of the Apes as a sensitive and
intellectual man with the survival sense
of the wild and the social savvy of
highly structured British society.
Newcomer Christopher Lambert
lacks the traditional physique of a Tar
zan, but captivates the audience with
. his intense gaze and animalistic inten
sity. He seems more at home in the rcle
of the ape, never quite being at ease as
the seventh Earl of Greystroke. Sir
Ralph Richardson gives his last cine
matic performance as Lambert's
grandfather.
Richardson, who's not totally in touch
with reality, joyfully receives his grand
son. Jane is seen only during Greystroke's
stay in Scotland, which makes up only
about a third of the film. She is played
by another newcomer to major motion
. pictures, Andie MacDowell. The tradi
tional love interest between Tarzan
and Jane is surprisingly underplayed,
although MacDowell provides the right
mixture of ladylike grace and adven
ture. In spite of her relentless maneuv
ering, Tarzan leaves her behind, return
ing to the jungle, his rightful home.
The gaps in the story are disappoint
ing. Time seems to be a factor in scenes
in which Tarzan is introduced to the
finer aspects of culture by his Belgian
"rescuer" (Ian Holm). He arrives in
Scotland a thoroughly cultured gen
tleman after a voyage from equatorial
Africa. The film could have better de
veloped Tarzan's realization that he is
a man, not one of the wild, a fact that
lie eventually refuses to accept.
By his refusal to accept the mechan
ical jungle of the civilized world, Tar
zan points out that men are not so
removed from primates. The jungle is
violent. That is the way of nature, a
fact which Greystroke thoroughly ex-
presses in bloody detail v
Ce:'ti:i::ci on Ps3 13
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Werner Ero.
Gafctepher Les&t-t p!rp3 Tsizsa la GrcvslGlce
