thursday, december 7, 1978
page 6
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Newsbeat
Country Comforts ... A legion of
trountry columnists and radio representa
tives saw the preview of Clint Eastwood's
new film Every Which Way But Loose last
Saturday at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas,
and Eddie Babbitt, Charlie Rich and
Sondra Locke, who makes her debut in the
film, were on hand. Eddie and Charlie
(whose single from the pic, "I'll Wake You
Up When I Get Home," will be released on
this label this week) performed that night.
Clyde the orangutan, who helps Cling
chase Sondra and has his own romantic en
tanglement in the film, couldn't make the
scene, but the apes were represented by a
chimpanzee who greeted the journalists in
a bar across the street after the screening.
The visitors were issued hardhats for that
episode, possibly to protect them from any
incontinence on the part of the swinging
chimp.
Clint also appeared on halftime of the
Dallas-New Orleans football game on Sun
day; a computerized picture of Clint and
Clyde appeared on the scoreboard, with
the names reversed beneath, as Eddie's
version of the title song was played. Clyde,
now nearly as bankable as his mentor, is
close to being singed for another flick.
Jessee Colin Young will link up with his
children for a family Thanksgiving prior to
his first eastern seaboard date in Pitts
burgh. Juli, 12, and Cheyenne, 8, will con
tinue on the tour in their Dad's bus there
after, but will not miss any homework, as
they'll be accompanied by a lady tutor.
Jim Morrison? Jim? Jim, are you there?
The guintessential 60s rock star was sought
out recently by fans old and new in a
seance sponsored by radio station WIOQ in
Philadelphia. Approximately 150 listeners
who had won invitations filled the Main
Point, a sixties-ish coffee-house-cum-plant-store
and participated in a meditation
session by a lady medium, who. it seems,
had been put in touch with the spirit world
following having her heart re-started after
dying in an auto accident. Sitting in front
of a huge poster of Jimbo, she counseled
the lucky winners to muse on the "colors
of the soul," which they did in increasing
silence until a cat jumped onstage in front
of the poster. Draw your own conclusions.
In fact, the next voice the assembled com
municants heard was that of Morrison call
ing, "Is everybody here?" These are the
first words of An American Prayer, Morri
son's poetry and music album backed by
the Doors, which had begun to spin on the
turntable.
The listeners in Philadelphia stayed for
four helpings of the album, as did the 180
WNEW winners in New York, chosen from
7000 contest entries, "one of the largest
responses" the station has ever had for a
promotional contest, according to Scott
Muni. In addition to the Philly and New
York sessions, there were others held in
Buffalo (sponsored by WBUF), Detroit
(WABX), Chicago (WXRT), Houston
(KLOL), Boston (WBCN), Washington,
D.C. (WHFS), Hartford, Conn. (WCCC),
with more to come in San Francisco
(KSAN).
Jackson Bowne's triple platinum
Running On Empty has been logged as the
fastest-selling catalogue album in the
WarnerElektraAtlantic Fall discount pro
gram. Jackson is taking a well -deserved rest
(and writing more songs), after doing three
tours this year, and breaking attendance
records in seven locations in the east and
midwest on his just-completed Summer
outing. He broke the all-time attendance
record at the Tanglewood Music Festival in
Lennox, Mass., and broke box office
records at the Nassau Coliseum on Long
Island, the Post Pavilion in Columbia,
Maryland, Robin Hood Dell in Philadel
phia, the Garden State Art Center in
Holmdel, N.J., Pine Knob in Troy, Mich,
gan and at the Blosser Music Festival near
Cleveland.
Jackson's Summer tour comprised
twenty-seven dates in nineteen cities, over
a period of thirty-three days. Karla Bonoff
had opened for him on his earlier January
and March-April tours, but this summer
there was so much demand for his material
he felt it made sense "to do it all by our
selves." So Jackson and his band ended up
doing a three-hour show with a twenty
minute intermission. Coming soon: a new
Browne album, after he finishes producing
the debut solo effort by slide guitarist and
band member David Lindley.
Shankar: 'Happy crowds change
and become more appreciative'
By Kent L. Walgamott
Few musicians would say they are pleas
ed that the size of their audiences has
dramatically decreased, but sitarist Ravi
Shankar is one of them.
The 58-year-old Shankar, a beloved,
mystical figure to the young people of the
late '60s, played his classical Indian music
at rock festivals and sell-out concerts across
the country.
Today, he plays in smaller halls to
smaller crowds but he said he is "very
happy that all that is finished."
"Today, it (the crowd) is much smaller
because the fad is gone," Shankar said.
"It was superficial, they came because I
was George Harrison's guru."
But, he said the "sitar explosion" which
started when Harrison became his student
"for a very short period of time" in 1966,
Scott are among jazz musicians who
studied under him and implemented some
aspects of Indian music into their works.
But, he said the study of the sitar is an
extremely long process.
"It takes more than a lifetime, a life
time is not enough, that is what my guru
said."
He said many westerners had a miscon
ception about playing the sitar.
They believe they can learn a few
chords on the sitar and then go on their
own like guitar, he said.
But, he said sitar is not that simple.
First the student has to memorize the
fixed portions of the music which is not
written down, but rather is passed down in
an oral tradition, Shankar said.
"Then we improvise, this should not be
confused with jazz improvisation because it
is completely different."
Ravi Shankar
had some good points as well as bad.
"It brought all the young kids to our
music which was a tremendous thing."
"The bad was all these kids had that
attitude, they were coming to hear rock
pop music. They were disrespectful being
stoned, having that flippant attitude. It was
difficult, bizarre. I was being appreciated
for the wrong reasons."
Drive away audience
Shankar said he may have driven away
some of his audience by his statements that
Indian music and religion should not be
mixed with drug use.
"Don't take it that our music -md
religion are mixed up with drugs. I'v 1 been
fighting against all this. I turned oui u iut
of our audience, but I felt it was my duty
to do so."
He said the audience which remains
is much more appreciative of his work as a
classical musician.
"Those who remain, who are still with
us are really wonderful. They are the true
understanding and appreciative listeners."
The pioneer in bringing Indian music to
the west, Shankar said he had been record
ing since 1945 and traveling to all corners
of the world since 1956 introducing people
to Indian music.
"It was quite a job in the beginning," he
said. But, he said the increased interest in
sitar in the '60s aided his cause.
However, Shankar said he didn't feel
Indian classical music had had much in
fluence on popular western music.
"I wouldn't say there has been a lot of
influence. George may have written a
couple songs philosophically and tney used
the sitar as sound, but that is not Indian
music.
"The true influence is more on jay."
Coltraiit and Scott
He said the late John Coltrane and Tom
Photo by Mark Billingsley
"You have to take it seriously. If you
do it for fun you end up hanging it (the
sitar) on the wall."
Interplay important
Shankar said the interplay between the
sitar player and the tabla (Indian drum)
player is very important.
"Both have to be very well trained. I
choose a raga and he immediately under
stands what cycle I'm playing and he
follows. Then we begin to improvise."
"The excitement of doing something
new on the spot is the most exciting thing
about our music and that is what excites
the listener too.
Shankar said he travels only tor short
8 to 10 week periods and he travels so
much that it does not bother him and has
not caused him to change his lifestyle.
"It is tiring, but that is a different
thing."
In addition to being accompanied by
Alia Rakha on the table, Shankar is joined
on stage by Noda Mullicka who plays the
drone instrument of Indian music, the
tamboura.
Handmade sitar
Mullicka also has a special relationship
with Shankar as he made the sitar that
Shankar played.
Mullicka said it took him over a year to
fashion the instrument from seasoned
gourds and teakwood using a hand chisel to
carve the wood.
He said the instrument which has seven
main strings and 13 sympathetic resonating
strings, weighs seven and one-half pounds.
The neck of the instrument is ringed by
a white inlay with colored designs which.
Mullicka said he put in using colored wax.
Shankar's third appearance in Lincoln in
the past 15 years, but his first in over 10.
was sponsored by the University Program
f ouncil's Concerts Committee.
