Wednesday, October 12, 1977
page 12
daily nebraskan
arts & (((diM
BJ.'s bout with death renewed faith,
brouaht haDDiness. financial rewards
W II
By Kathy Foreman
BJ. Thomas has been through a lot of changes in his
35 years, the most recent and dramatic of which he
shared with a sparse, concert crowd at Pershing Municipal
Auditorium Sunday night.
Dressed in Levi's and a midnight-blue velvet blazer,
Thomas looked out into the crowd and gave his testi
mony. "IVe got to thank the Lord for letting met be with
you tonight," he said to about 450 persons. "I could have
been dead from drugs by now, but the Lord saw fit to
save me and now I'm a Christian."
After the conert, Thomas said his "bqrn-again Chris
tian experience" came in Texas in January, 1976. The
hollow of his cheeks sunken, and his face haggard from
former hard times, Thomas explained the circumstances
leading to his conversion.
"I Vas a 12-year drug addict (speed, cocaine, and
Vahurn). I had a broken marriage and my personal and
physical shape was bad , , . trashed."
Popping pills
The Houston native said he started popping pills in
1968 after a stab wound punctured one lung. Thomas
said that to keep performing, he used speed to keep up
his energy and Valium to keep down the pain. However,
after the wound healed, he discovered he was a drug
addict, he said.
"I tried to stop several times," the singer drawled.
"But every time I did, I'd have epileptic-like fits and
tear things and wreck cars and not remember . . ."
Looking down at his cowboy boots, Thomas mom
entarily appeared to relive the anguish of those hard
tiroes, , Ui
"I had 12 of those fits in 1974 and so I gave up fight
ing it (the addiction) and hit the pills harder than ever.
Thomas, who said he had an aunt die from a mor
phine addiction, said he also had a brush with death:
Leaning forward, a silver cross peeking through his shirt,
Thomas said, "I was in a plane in 1975 and I died in the
air. They couldn't get a pulse and my fingernails turned
black."
Addiction behind him
However, Thomas said with God's help the drug addic
tion is behind him and most of his publicity now comes
from his conversion.
"I realize they want models for the young." the
green-eyed singer said. "But I get kind of embarrassed
when they make such a big thing put of my conver
sion." While his newly found religion has brought Thomas
personal happiness, it also has brought him financial
rewards, he said. Taking a long drag on his cigarette,
Thomas smiled and said his record, "Home Where I
Belong" has been number one on the gospel charts for
two months. The record, which Thomas said he is sure
"the Lord has blessed", also has earned Thomas a
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Photo bv Mark Billingslev
B.J. Thomas has gone from popping pills to singing
gospel.
crack at the Dove Gospel Music awards in November.
Career on rise
A.M. radio listeners know that Thomas' pop music
career also is on the rise. His latest single, a remake of
the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby" is in the top twenty
of the pop charts. Glancing at a diamond-studded horse
shoe ring worn on his right hand, Thomas insists he is
not making a comeback.
"It's my style to be hot for a year or two then drop
out of sight for a while .then get hot again," Jerry Thomas,
BJ.'s brother and road manager, said Thomas is hot again,
with all the bookings on his current tour (except Lincoln)
being sell-outs.
Although the Lincoln crowd was small, it was respon
sive and enthusiastic. Teen-age girls lined the front of the
stage and shrieked as Thomas walked toward them.
The whole crowd joined the soft-voiced singer in the
chorus of "Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song."
Wishbone Ash second effort is second-rate album
By JeffTaebel
It has been four years since Wishbone Ash came out
with their classic album, Argus, and after listening to their
new release, Front Page News, it becomes painfully
evident that the quality is not equal to the first. As a
matter of fact, it is not even close.
music review
Wishbone Ash members are: Martin Turner on bass and
lead vocals, Andy Powell on lead guitar and mandolin,
Steve Upton on drums and Laurie Wisefeld on guitar and
vocals (replacing the band's original guitarist Ted Turner).
The major problem with this lineup is that when
Turner left, he took Wishbone's capacity for creating the
incredibly powerful dual guitar leads that were the band's
Funnymen show
comedy universal
By Charlie Krig
Henny Youngman and Kelly Monteith: their styles are
truly, "Comedy of Then and Now," but their abilities to
make people laugh Sunday proved to be universal. . ;
The two comedians performed as the first performance
of the Union Program Council symposium on laughter,
"Tickle Your Fancy." The audience, composed of persons
of every age; responded enthusiastically to both men with
laughs and applause.- ! V: k v,v--
But in spite of the performer's differences in style, sub
ject and age, they agreed on several points during inter
views before the show,
"College audiences are fine-very good," Youngman
said. Monteith agreed, saying college audiences allow per
formers freedom of expression.
The men also had common problems during their rise
to fame. Youngman said that during his school days he
often went to the vaudeville shows instead of reporting to
the school detention center after being thrown out of
class for cracking jokes.
After that he performed with a band, but one night the
comedian didn't show up so Youngman said he went on
stage to tell the jokes he had learned. That is where his
trademark, the violin, emerged.
Still, Youngman had not thought about being a come
dian, V
"My career is really a dream because I never, prepared
for anything," he said.
Monteith said he started out in drama school but then
turned to comedy, working his way up from coffeehouses
to strip joints to Rayboy clubs and finally to television.
He said the strip joints "taught me how to survive and
how to handle myself," with more training coming from
handling the hecklers than from trying to develop style.
"It's good training. You do it because you gotta' be
there," Youngman said about his work In Las Veg3$ strip
joints. "It was grueling in those years."
"It's horrendous," Monteith said. "You sweat in areas
you never knew you sweated before. Especially if you
trademark in its Argus days. The lyrical spirit and beauti
ful melodies that made some of. its old songs, most
notably "Warrior" and "Throw Down the Sword," so
enjoyable also are gone.
Side one opens with three immediately forgettable
losers: "Front Page News," "Midnight Dancer" and
"Goodbye Baby, Hello Friend." No, these tunes won't
make you forget any of Wishbone's earlier work, but they
might make you remember that headache that has been
bothering you. But the fourth track; 'Surface to Air,"
is where things really begin to take off, if youll pardon
the expression.
The song begins with the first interesting vocal arrange
ment on the album. Never mind that it sounds vaguely
reminiscent of the Beatles' "I Want You (She's So
Heavy)." With lines like: "abrasion is wearing you away
all you want to do is go out and play," how can you go
wrong? With Martin Turner vocalizing, it's likely to
remind you of John Mayall in his least guarded, most
pretentious moments.
Short instrumental
Side one closes with a short instrumental, "714,"
which starts out unassumingly enough until the listener is
hit with cascades of strings, possibly in an attempt to
achieve an interesting guitarorchestra effect, a la
Jeff Beck's version of "Diamond Dust'- The fact this does
not work matters Utile, as it gives the listener a well
deserved rest from lyrics.
Side two is somewhat better, kicking things off with a
couple of near-rockers, "Come in from the Rain" and
"Right or Wrong." Powell's guitar work on these two
v songs probably is his best on the album. Unfortunately,
they are nothing you probably have not heard before.
You might want to skip the undistinguished "Heart Beat"
to get to the fourth cut, the touching "Day Found Your
Love", as this is the saddest song on the album (in every
respect).
The second side closes , with "Diamond Jack." This
song contains some nice harmony guitar work and the vo
cals are listenable, hut it never really gets going. Never
theless, when I hear this closing number, I'm filled with a
warm, rich feeling because I know that this album finally
is over and I can listen to something with some life in it.
Maybe I'll play Argus next.
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You call that music? Comedians Kelly Monteith (left) and Henny Youngman. photo by Bob Parn
ti i r tt . .i . i ii tit -
nave to waiK oui oi me incaire inrougn me audience.
Youngman said comedians must play the audience and
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never reave in em saves open to iroume.
"You must be above the audience. You must he able
to handle them. If you can't, you don't belong on stage,
he said.
Television also proved to be the catalyst for recogni
tion in both men's careers.
"Nobody would know you without it (television) "
Youngman said.
Monteith said his summer replacement comedy series
was a good experience and he wouldn't mind doing it
aain, but with more time and money to "do it right."
You've cot to nut it Of! whether it crnn.l nr nnt
Monteith said.
In spite of their common ideas, the men practiced
widely different techniques on stage.
Youngman, 71, "in showbiz for 45 (years) and before
mat, starving," had a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. He has
been around long enough that he can afford to be brus
que, youngman comes in for an appearance wearing his
performance suit, goes on stage and immediately after
ward lakes off for the next show.
The 34-year-old Monteith said he takes time to relax
and make sure his hosts are comfortable, too. He said he
still is waiting for his big break so he thinks about making
the right impression.