monday, January 16, 1978
page 20
daily nebraskan
arts and
n
'Gnomes' for those
adults yet grasping
childhood dreams
By Pete Mason
Entertainment Editor
Gnomes, Wil Huygen and Rien Poortvliet, $14.95, Harry
N. Abrams, Inc.
Gnomes is not a book for pragmatists or cynics.
The earth-bound reader, who, by his very nature pre
fers more solid stuff, will find this book a mild diversion
at best.
But to those of us who still have glimmering memories
of childhood wonders, Gnomes is a reaffirmation of the
existence of all things on the other side of reality. If you
still hope that a Santa Gaus lurks among the shadows on
Christmas Eve, that Alice's rabbit is still rushing to keep
an appointment or that Gose Encounters of the Third
Kind is a piece of prophecy, then Gnomes is for you.
Author Huygen reports, by way of a map, that gnomes
have not been sighted in Nebraska. This is not to say they
aren't here. Gnome sighting, like bird watching, requires
two observers for confirmation. If you have a good pair of
binoculars and a friend, and you handle yourself well in
embarrassing situations ("Hey, what are you guys looking
for?)", you have an opportunity to fill in a blank spot on
the map.
Like Tolkien, Dutchmen Huygen and Poortvliet have
constructed a world. Gnomes reads like a natural history
textbook by Audubon. We learn that gnomes stand about
15 cm. high, weigh no more than 300 grams and have a
life expectancy of 400 years.
They have extraordinary senses of smell, touch and
hearing. ITiey are expert craftsmen. They have extra
sensory perception, can forecast the weather and have a
sense of direction as good as a homing pigeon.
We even learn that the female gnome ovulates only
once in her life, always giving birth to twins and that the
male retains his potency until the age of 350.
While Huygen's text is charming and informative, it is
Poortvliet's wonderful illustrations which make Gnomes
such a masterful flight of fancy. The woodland scenes are
richly colorful and have so much depth one can almost
smell pine needles and dry leaves.
The fanciful species are painted with originality and
humor. Poortvliet's goblin, troll and snotgurgle are master
pieces of characterization.
The snotgurgle, a thoroughly repulsive denizen of the
darkest corners of the Russian Urals, is so vividly por
trayed that the reader may be afraid to touch the picture
for fear of getting phlegm on his fingers. It seems trolls
and snotgurgles have a perpetual sinus problem and ob-
sessively pick their noses. After seeing the picture it's easy
to understand why "snotgurgle" obviously is the only pos
sible name for this creature.
Gnomes' final pages deal with gnomes' relationship
with humans. According to Huygen's history, gnomes
have been intervening in the affairs of man for ages, al
though we rarely are aware of it. This brings us to a pos
sible reason why books like Tolkien's Silmarillion and
Gnomes currently are on everyone's best seller lists.
There seems to be an increasing interest in all things
fantastic. Just look at the popularity of movies like Star
Wars and Gose Encounters, the growing interest in the
occult and the supernatural, even the rise of fundamental
Christianity among the young. Could it be these are all
symptomatic of a certain disillusionment with those cold,
harsh things modern life has to offer? Perhaps we are all
secretly hoping for a gnome to intervene in our lives.
There are those who will say that if this is true, it's unhealthy-
means to escape realities which must be faced.
I would disagree with them. A pressure cooker has a
valve through which steam passes when pressure reaches a
certain level. If we can apply this analogy to life in the
1970s, then flights of fancy are means by which to re
lieve the pressure. '
Fantasy is a valid realm, a real world and as nice a place
as any to occasionally visit. If we can find the proper
balance between Terra Firma and Never Never Land, we
can add a new perspective ur lives. I, for one, pity
anyone who, after reading Gnomes, neglects to watch his
step when walking through tall grass.
Local recording industry notes increasing demand
By Casey McCabe
Only a few years ago, the recording industry was the
sleeping giant of the business world.
Today, the multi-billion dollar .operation is a
growing, changing, and profit-making business.
Again this year it wUl surpass all combined motion picture
and professional sports revenues.
Viewed from th$ outside, it may seem to be an indus
try that perpetuates itself on the sale of 10 million Fleet
wood Mac or Peter Frampton albums, but actually it takes
on may different aspects that influence our daily lives.
On a local level, Lincoln's W W Sound Siitdios Inc.,
3809 Adams St., is one of the city's five recording
services. It currently is expanding to meet increasing
demand.
' 'The recording business can get a little complex at
times," said recording engineerproducer Frank Green.
"A project taking two hours may end up taking six as
new ideas develop. Still, with most of the work we do,
one person can control the entire process."
The studio is quipped for 8-track recording, record
production, disc-cutting, duplicating and audio-visual
production. It also contains its "own music and sound
effects library. Apart from the job of producing
records, W W Sound has a separate studio which handles
commercial recordings. Studio personnel produce several
of the familiar jingles heard daily.
"A big part of our work is with commercials and ad
agencies, from low-key jingles to high-quality production
numbers," Green said. "But we want to increase our work
with musicians, and (we) are very conscious of the Jocal
talent. We currently are in the process of getting national
exposure for them."
-It's not easy," he added. "It's important to have
contacts. We have some on the West Coast that help us,
but we try to get those with the best possibility for
getting the most people to hear our work."
Two of the studio's hopefuls are local musicians Steve
Hanson and Sally Cowan. Green currently is co-producing
Hanson's album, while Cowan will be putting out her
second release at WW Sound. Past successes were the
Hail to the Teeth comedy album which brought a national
contract to the Harris Brothers, and a single written by
Green and Jim Morgan, C. B. Beaver Fever, which was
recorded by The Midwest Ramblers and pressed for
national release on Monument Records.
Some musicians come to W W Studios and take finan
cial risk to get their music on a recording. But according
to Green, the studio producers also help budget per
formers for their personal needs. Other times, out-of-state
musicians will check out local facilities and record
during their stay in Lincoln.
Another studio function is recording film soundtracks.
An interesting case, Green said, was when a Baltimore
man came to W W Sound to record the track for the
movie The Three Little Pigs. With only a keyboard player
and percussionist, the task required 13 different tracks
and took six hours to record nine minutes of material.
Eventually, the film and soundtrack premiered at Wash
ington's Kennedy Center.
Green is especially proud of a new console control,
priced at about $22,000. The studio also has an array of
multi-track units, mixers and play-back systems.
Green admitted W W Sound has come along way since
its beginning 10 years ago in a garage-type building with
some basic Ampex recorders.
The advancements in the recording industry have been
phenomenal," Green said. "There have been a lot of
changes in the industry, and by ourselves here. Equip
ment, technique and the like change nearly as fast as they
come out."
Looking to the future, Green indicated that the biggest
advancements are yet to come, and with greater strides in
the field, the current high equipment prices may decline.
"The biggest breakthrough is not quite here, he said.
"Digital recording (sound transferred into digits), when it
comes, will be as big of a change as the invention of
recording tape-all else will become obsolete."
: ---V i ....
Recording studio engineerproducer frank Green sits beside a control board at W W Sound Studios Inc 380a
Adams St. ..- '
