thursday, april 20, 1978
page 2
ad lib
Would-be Travoltas vie for Saturday night fame
By Casey McCabe
What is this that is out to unseat rock 'n roll as Ameri
ca's most popular music? What is this phenomenon that's
turning the complacent youth of today into frenzied
dancers?
It's disco, friends-and although a couple of years
behind the coasts, it's finally hit the midwest with ever
increasing intensity.
Depot's aisles. "I guess the attraction is to find out who
the best dancers in the midwest are."
Rytych is a three-year veteran of disco deejaying,
splitting his time between the Depot and Pogo's in
Omaha. For tonight, he has some back up help from Todd
Shanno and Omaha AM radio celebrity. Jimmy O'Neil.
'The movie's been the biggest thing to ever encourage
disco," he says. "It's changing the style from freestyle, to
dancing as couples. There's a lot more practicing taking
y ,P JRF"- , ;.. ,
Photo by Mark Billingslay
Depot deejay Dennis Rytych oversees the Omaha Disco Club dance finals.
The people closely involved with disco in the area are
quick to admit, "It's the movie." Saturday NigHt Fever,
the story of a young New Yorker's fame as dancing king
the discos has been an unexpected gold mine for the
movie industry. Already viewed in Lincoln by over 35,000,
the film has enjoyed a healthy stay at the Plaza Theater
since December and the crowds keep pouring in.
Besides earning an Academy Award nomination for
John Travolta, and producing cne of the most success
ful soundtracks of all time, Saturday Night Fever has had
a profound social effect as well.
Suddenly everyone is a star. With a lighted dance floor,
loud music and strobe lights, mild mannered Clark Kents
are quickly turned into their alter egos. People are
dressing up and using choreography, unheard of for years
in popular dance.
In searching for the heart of disco-mania, we were
lucky to hit the jackpot. A large 'crowd converged on the
Depot Bar with the intent of seeing "the real thing" when
the Omaha Disco Club held its dance finals in Council
Bluffs last Thursday.
Borrowing its format from the movie, the contest
featured nine couples who had made the weekly pre
liminaries, battling for trophies and a $500 first prize,
f- largest ever given in the midwest.
'This crowd is really amazing," says deejay Dennis
Rytych, reflecting on the mob of people filling the
place."
"And attitudes are changing," notes Rytych. 'The
poeple who used to dance to rock are dancing to disco.
My duty as a D J. is to know what people like by instinct.
And it's pretty much been pure disco."
Rytych introduces me to contestants Kris Karabatsos
and Ed Nestlebush. 'They're the best we have," he says.
Kris and Ed have been dancing together since October.
Both are Creighton University students, and both are 18.
Which means they, like many other enthusiasts, must
either drive to Council Bluffs where the drinking age is
lower, or depend on fake IDs in order to make the disco
scene.
But here at the Depot they're the local favorites and re
ceive the loudest approval from the crowd throughout the
night.
To get down their current routine, it has taken a
month of hard practice. But it's worth it they say.
"We just love dancing, or anything with disco in it,"
says Kris.
They've each seen Saturday Night Fever twice and
agree it has done a great deal for their favorite hobby.
Ed is a seasoned veteran of the disco world, having
moved to Omaha from his home town of Las Vegas. He
didn't expect how far behind the rest of the country mid
west is in catching on to disco.
"When I think of dancing, I think of loud disco," he
says. "Rock turns me off. I was surprised how many
live night on
the town
Two Eyed Jack's: freeride, April 23, Jade, April 29,
8:30 p.m. to midnight
Oscar's: J J. Buxun, April 20 through 22, Highway
Call April 27, 8 p.m. to midnight
Tony and Luigi's: Cal Stevens, April 20 through 22,
8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Reubens: Emanon, April 20 through 22, April 24
through 27, 8:30 p.m. to midnight
Royal Grove: Sylvester, April 20 through 21, Larry
Raspberry, April 26 through 27, 8:30 p.m. to midnight
.Jesse's: Sally Cowan, April 21 thorugh 22, Chris Grif
fith, April 24 through 25, Mark Ross, April 26 through
27, 8 p.m. to midnight
Zoo: Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang, April 20 through
22, Heart Murmurs, April 24, Second Edition, April 25
through 26, Charlie Burton and Rock Therapy, April
27,8:30 Cvm.to 1:30 a.m.
Entertainment Editor: Pete Mason. Cover Design: Liz Beard. Layout:
Kitty Policky.
Ad lib is an entertainment supplement published by the Oaily Nebras
Ican. Editor in Chief: Ron Ruggless. Advertising Manager: Gregg Wurde
man. Production Manager: Kitty Policky. Business Manager: Jerri Ha ussier.
Unless covered by another copyright, material may be reprinted with
out permission if attributed to Ad lib, entertainment supplement to the
Daily Nebraskan.
Ad lib is distributed Thursdays with the Daily Nebraskan.
Cover photos by Mark Billingslcy
(daytime)
THURS THRU WED
MORNING.
6:00 O BOZO
O NOT FOR WOMEN ONLY
ff) CBS NEWS
OS U FARM AND RANCH REPORT
1:10 O NEWS
:1S fl UNO SCENE (WED.)
.30 f J ROMPER ROOM
fj BUNKY'S FUN CLUB
7:00 O ARCHIES
O O TODAY
O CBS NEWS
f 1 GOOD MORNING AMERICA
O I OREAM OF JEANNIE
O MORNING SHOW
O SESAME STREET
7.30 0FUNTSTONES
0 MCHALE'S NAVY
100 fJPOPEYE
CI OOOO MORNING AMERICA
fl O CAPTAIN KANOAR
fJFUNTSTONES
C3 M-6CH00L PROGRAMMING
(UNTIL 3:30) Nova (FRI I
JO Q LITTLE RASCALS
people here were dancing to rock. Also, people here just
dance in jeans or whatever. Back home the people really
dressed up, and they're just starting to here."
Will the disco craze last long?
"It betterl I can't say why it wouldn't. I hope it lasts
forever, or at least until I can't dance anymore."
After allowing ample time for the crowd to dance,
drink, and for the bar to get sufficiently hot and sweaty,
the contest begins. It has all the makings of a show itself.
Video cameras roll so those who want to see it the next
night can view it on a six foot TV screen. Excitement in
creases as the Channel 6 Action Cam News team arrives,
and the deejays continually do their part, thanking those
who make things possible and adding a dramatic tou
when ever necessary.
When the dust clears, the script has been followed. Kris
Karabatsos and Ed Nestlebush earn a $500-f irst prize, and
their own place in the disco hall of fame.
'The biggest change in music has been brought on by
the movie," said Uncle Sam's assistant manager Jim
Smith. "The film has just worked over the nightclub
market. Probably one-quarter of all the requests we get
are from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and at
least 80 percent are for straight disco. Rock has been set
back so far, it's almost pathetic."
One of the features of Uncle Sam's is a weekly battle
of the DJ.'s which directly pits rock against disco.
"It's unbelievable to see a crowd divided in half and at
each others' throats all night," Smith said.
But disco has gained the edge, and the people are
taking it not only as a form of music, but as a lifestyle.
"It has affected the dress of people too," Smith said.
'The guys who are into it are wearing tight pants and low
cut shirts, more girls are wearing dresses and things like
flowers in the hair."
"Sure, we get about five Travolta's on the dance floor
a night," he said. "It bothers me to a certain extent.
People start dancing alike, and it gets old."
There is another very obvious aspect of the disco. 'The
Hustle" is done off the dance floor as well as on. Every
night they come to places like Uncle Sam's or The Depot,
often in separate cliques of guys and gals, checking out
the opposition, and hoping to make a score. Smith said he
doesn't like to look at Sam's as a pick up joint, but ad
mitted they use gimmicks like ladies' night to bring in the
crowd.
"EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT ITS A FOX HUNT, AND
ALL THE FOXES ARE AT UNCLE SAM'S," blare the
flyers on the tables at Sam's. One young man is slightly
disgruntled after unsuccessfully pleading with an attrac
tive girl for a dance.
"Yeah I like to dance, but I like women better," he
says. "You'd be kidding yourself if you didn't think 90
percent of the people here were looking for a piece of ass.
I mean I don't think these girls are dressing up the way
they do for each other."
He returns to a table to be consoled by his buddies.
Meanwhile "Stayin Alive" the theme from Saturday
Night Fever comes on, producing "oohs" and "ahhs"
from the crowd. An exhausted couple about to leave
the floor, drag themselves back on and start churning
again. For those without a partner the search continues.
Views of the disco craze are fairly well divided, either
you love it or hate it. Others maybe just don't want to
admit how much time a day they spend with an AM radio
and their Disco Trimmer. Nevertheless it's a valid fad and
a very profitable commodity.
How long it will last is hard to guess, but like the
marquee says-"the fever is spreading."
FORTUNE
Rollers
(EXC.FRI.)
O CARTOONS
0:00 O TOO CLUB
0 O SAN FORD AND SON
(THUR..FRI.) Card Sharks
(MON , TUE .WED.)
O ALL MY CHILDREN
CI PASS THE BUCK
Q PHIL DONAHUE SHOW
O NEW ZOO REVUE
C3 ROMPER ROOM
30 O O HOLLYWOOD SQUARES
0 PRICE IS RIGHT
O BCVITCHEO
10:00 O 0 WHEEL OF
(THUR.,FRI. High
(MON , TUE , WED )
O HAPPY DAYS
fl HAPPY DAYS
Martha s Kitchen (FRI I
O NOT FOR WOMEN ONLY
m IN-SCHOOL PROGRAMMING
(UNTIL 3:30)
10:30 O RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING
fj KNOCKOUT (THUR..FRI.)
Wheel Of Fortune (MON ,TUE.,W
ED.) OO FAMILY FEUD
O KNOCK OUT (THUR, FRI.)
Wheel Of Fortune (MON ,TUE . W-
ED.)
0 LOVE OF LIFE
fl FATHER KNOWS BEST
1140 O NOT FOR WOMEN ONLY
O TO SAY THE LEAST
(THUR..FRI ) Sanford and Son
(MON , TUE , WED
OO (20.000 PYRAMID
O TO SAY THE LEAST
(THUR., FRI.) Sanford And Son
(MON .TUE .WED )
O 19 YOUNG AND THE
RESTLESS
O HAYBERRY R.F.O.
11-30 0 O GONG SHOW
0 CONVERSATIONS
00 RYAN'S HOPE
0 C3 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW
O HIGH HOPES
B IN-SCHOOL PROGRAMMING
(UNTIL 3:30) Arabs And Isarells
(MON ). Writer In America (TUE )
AFTERNOON
12m f FOR RICHER, FOR POORER
flOOO NEWS
ONOONSHOW
J ALL MY CHILDREN
0 JIM NABORS SHOW
fj SESAME STREET
IMS 0 FARM ACTION
12:30 0 DICK VAN DYKE SHOW
0 O DAYS OF OUR LIVES
O CROSS WITS
0 fQ AS THE WORLD TURNS
1:00 0 LUCY SHOW
OOONEUFETOUVE
0 MOVIE The Cat People"
(THUR.), Toughest Man Alive"
(FRI ), 'Double Dynamite (MON ).
Roseanna McCoy (TUE ). "Call
ing Dr. Kildare"(WED )
IN-SCHOOL PROGRAMMING
(UNTIL 3:30)
1:30 0 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES
00 DOCTORS
069 GUIDING LIGHT
2:00 O PLEASE DON'T EAT THE
DAISIES
0 O ANOTHER WORLD
O O GENERAL HOSPITAL
2:30 0GOMERPYLE
0 0 ALL IN THE FAMILY
O DENVER NOW
3:00 0 MICKEY MOUSE CLUB
0 0 FOR RICHER, FOR
POORER
O 0 EDGE OF NIGHT
00 MATCH GAME
0FUNTSTONES
3:30 O TOM AND JERRY
0 0 GILUGAN'S ISLAND
O PASS THE BUCK
0 PHIL DONAHUE SHOW
0 1 LOVE LUCY
0MERV GRIFFIN
0 KALAMtTY KATE'S CAR
TOONS 1B ELECTRIC COMPANY
4 00 0 GILUGAN'S ISLAND
0 MY THREE SONS
0 1 DREAM OF JEANNIE
0 DINAH
0 SUPERMAN fTHUR.FRU My
Favorite Martian (MON.. TUE., W
ED) O MIKE DOUGLAS
(S MISTER ROGERS
4:30 0 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER
O BEWITCHED
BRADY BUNCH
0 BIG VALLEY
O FAMILY AFFAIR
0 SESAME STREET
t OO f ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW
0000 COUPLE
00 ABC NEWS
1 J I LOVE LUCY
3 30 0 ROOKIES
00 NBC NEWS
0 BEWITCHED
U0 CBS NEWS
0NEWS
O ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW
OVER EASY
