page 12
thursday, april 5, ,1979
daily nebraskan
Ex-Byrds' flightinto the 70s
McGuinn and friends emerge with a sweet sounder
By Casey McCabe
An album reuniting three original mem
bers from a mid-60s supergroup might be
expected to depend greatly on its nostalgic
value.
But on McGuinn, Clark, and Hillman,
which brings together ex-Byrds Roger,
Gene and Chris respectively, there is no
attempt to raise any ghosts from the dead.
Instead they have come out of the studio
smelling sweet, romantic and like a very
slick product of 70s audio technology.
Ihe three, along with David Crosby and
Mike Clarke, first lined up together in 1964
as the Byrds to become the leaders in the
new category of "folk rock." Original
members soon began to stray from the
group and The Byrds went into a seven-
year power slide, disbanding completely in
1972.
Focus on production
The 1973 reunion organized by David
Crosby, which featured the original line-up,
was not well received critically nor finan
cially. This might explain why McGuinn,
Clark & Hillman has the air of a more pre
conceived, production-oriented album,
something with much more tangible com-
merical success.
As The Byrds, the group was known for
tight vocals. As McGuinn, Clark & Hillman
they have taken a step further to become
exclusive vocalists, allowing the instru
mental to be handled by an equally tight
collection of back-up musicians.
Songwriting contributions find four by
Clark, three by Hillman and two by
McGuinn. The album leads off with Hill
man's "Long Long Time," a fairly light,
happy-go-lucky blend of acoustic and
electric guitar leads, and as the rule goes
for the rest of the album, consistent, well
mixed vocals.
"Little Mama," like Gene Clark's other
compositions on the LP is a little sadder,
slower, and more melodic than his compan
ions', contrasting well with the following
selections, McGuinn's "Don't You Write
Her Off."
McGuinn, recognized leader of The
Byrds provided that group with their most
identifiable sound, the same throaty, some
what nasal vocals head on classics like "So
You Want To Be A Rock 'n Roll Star" and
"Chesnut Mare."
On McGuinn, Clark & Hillman, that
voice creates the only audible connection
with their former group. "Don't You Write
Her Off is the album's most intricate
vocal undertaking, and, performed with
studio (lawlessness, emerges as one of the
LP's stronger cuts. Best avoid analyzing the
lyrics though-nothing very deep or reveal
ing here.
"Surrender to Me" finds a very smooth,
saleable sound along the lines of Firefall or
The Little River Band, and the side winds
up with Clark's "Backstage Pass," full of
saccharine lyrics and grandiose musical
backing, providing a commercial flip side
to "Rock V Roll Star."
The two Chris Hillman contributions,
"Stopping Traffic" and "Sad Boy" on side
two, give the album its only real rock V
roll edge, but it is still not a very sharp
edge and wisely stays within the group's
boundaries.
Clark's "Release Me Girl" adds a small
touch of funk to the format, while once
again it is a McGuinn composition, "Bye
Bye Baby," that shows a sound reminiscent
of the old Byrd days. Coincidentally or
not, the song, aided by flute and string
arrangements, is one of the album's best.
McGuinn, Clark & Hillman is aided
greatly by a well arranged but unobtrusive
string section, and the trio's fine knack for
meshing vocals often carries them through
some uninspired, something trite lyrics and
music.
A good test of the group's capabilities
will be their ability to reproduce the slick
sound of the album on a live stage. They
will have that change when they visit
Omaha's Music Hall May 1 1 . But as long as
the memory of The Byrds lingers in fans'
minds, don'be surprised if McGuinn, Clark
& Hillman get just a little nostalgic.
Women loosen hold on male grasp in entertainment jobs
By Peg Sheldrick
Once upon a time, women who wished
to work in the entertainment business had
their choice of a small range of pursuits,
from starlets to strippers. Some areas of
the business were barred to them altogeth
er. But since the start of the women's
movement in the late 1960's, women have
slowly but surely found their way into new
roles, both figuratively and literally.
Progress can be traced in many facets of
show business, but one of the most notice
able male strongholds to succumb to
change is the position of disc jockey. At
one time, only masculine voices filled the
gaps between songs. But all of that is
changing.
Margy Ryan, disc jockey at KFMQ
radio, said female air personalities still are
rare, but that women in broadcasting are
"considerably more common than five
years ago."
"I think broadcasting as a whole is be
coming much more open for women," she
said. "(They've) been kept out of it for so
long."
Broadcasting degree
Ryan received her training at UNL. She
graduated last December with a degree in
broadcasting. Her ambition is to work on
the air in television.
She became a disc jockey first on a part
time basis, found that she liked it, and is
now at it full time. Though she wasn't the
first woman to spin records for KFMQ, she
still is part of a minority in the world of
broadcasting.
She said stations are "feeling the push"
to hire more women and that the women's
movement has had an impact on the field.
"It's been very helpful because it is
getting women into jobs they never had be
fore, slie said. Women disc jockeys may
be rare because "mere are a lot of broad
casting jobs that pay better" and women
entering the field may be opting for them.
The thing that nags at me now and
will for some time is whether being a wo
man got me the job ... not knowing
whether or not you got the job on your
own merits or because you're a woman,
Ryan said.
Theatre
Theatre is another area in which women
are pioneering new territories, ideologically
and professionally . -
Judith Pratt is a 33-year-old Ph.D. stu
dent whose experiences include acting,
directing, and miming in locales such as
New York and Boston. She considers her
self "strongly feminist."
"In my early twenties when it (the wo
men's movement) hit, I had to fight a
harder battle than those who came after,"
she said. "I look at women who are forty
and I wonder, my God, how did they' get
anything done? ... I spent all of my early
twenties thinking I was committed to the
work, but in the back of my mind thinking
Prince Charming would gallop along and
marry me and I wouldn't have to be com
mitted to anything . . . Then I said to my
self, Judith, you have to do it for yourself.
No one can do it for you, and if they did,
you'd hate it."
Solo efforts
Pratt said changes in attitude have
affected her work both as a mime and as a
director. Her solo mime efforts began in
1974, and Pratt said she found herself
working with primarily male images in
mind' Marcel Marceau, for example.
"When I was an audience member
watching a woman, I realized I was watch
ing and I was thinking I was watching a
woman mime," she said. "There are more
and more women in mime, but mime is a
problem for women because the image to
the mime is androgenous read male. You
think of the mime as the universal man.
"In 1974 I was at a mime festival, and I
discussed the problem with a woman there.
We discovered wc had the same problem:
we read female (have unmistakably femin
ine builds). So it's difficult being a mime
and being the 'universal man.' Though no
body actually hisses you off the stage, you
feel a little unnerved."
Alter routines
Pratt said some women alter routines to
compensate for this uncomfortableness.
"I never did," she said. "I do it as a
human. When I was at Columbia I did an
all woman show, not on purpose but be
cause all the people I wanted to work with
were female."
The women's movement has helped give
"inner support" to "all of us," Pratt said.
It was interesting that she reached her
decision about commitment at age 23, she
said, while a 23-year-old friend of hers
went through the same decision process at
age 1 1 - about the same time as Pratt. That
meant "a whole load of garbage she didn't
have to dump."
In Pratt's opinion, mimes and directors
who are female have the same basic diffi
culty. "The problem is being aggressive," she
said. "Women choreograph or design more
often than they direct. I personally believe
that people have difficulty taking direct
ion from a woman. It makes them nerv
ous," said Pratt.
Unwilling men
"One of the things that happens is it
cuts both ways,' she continued. "Not only
would the men I directed be strangely un
willing to listen to what I said-1 would be '
unwilling to come on strong."
Continued on page 13
UNL touring groups take the arts outstate
By Pes&eldrick
Before the lively arts had been safely
sequestered in concert halls and theatres,
bands of performers were known to roam
the countryside, carrying art to the hinter
lands and making names for themselves
among the people.
That tradition is not altogether dead.
Consider, for example, the Sweet Ne
braskaland company, the Scarlet and
Cream Singers, and the Dance Lecture
Demonstration troupe. All three groups
tour the state performing for old and
young alike. They travel by vans as oppos
ed to oxcart, but the spirit is similar.
"It's part of a goodwill-type thing, said
Amy Mills, of the Sweet Nebraskdand cast.
"It really shows people who don't live in
Lincoln what the theatre department is
like. It's also helping hit a lot of high
school seniors interested in the theatre who
might want to come to UNL. It's also a
historical review. . . But mostly it's
goodwill for the department.
Gives workshops
The cast travels to such towns as
Gordon, Falls City and Curtis performing
their musical play and giving workshops for
the local high school students. The
response varies.
"We've had some really good, some
really mediocre," said Mills. "But mostly
it's good.
Camaraderie characterizes the Scarlet
and Cream Singers, according to four-year
veteran Deb Schmidt.
"Throughout the four years we've
always had a good relationship, she said.
"I think it's great to get that many people
to get along so well and enjoy each other."
She said members "party together" as
well as perform together.
Their engagements are usually for
Chamber of Commerce groups and alumni
functions. On campus they perform occas
ionally in the Nebraska Union. They will
appear Friday and Saturday of this week in
Kimball Recital HaO.
Promotes dance
"We think of ourselves as an entertain
ment group, but we are aware when we go
out somewhere that we are representing
the university," Schmidt said.
The 20-member group gets favorable
attention and provides "good PR (public
relations) for the U," according to
Schmidt..
The Dance LectureDemonstration en
semble promotes dance.
The whole thing is oriented to showing
them what dance is- that it's just movement-
that anyone can do it," said the
group's only male dancer Jim Beal.
They visit elementary schools around
Lincoln at the request of teachers.
"When you're performing you get a re
sponse, said Beal. "They laugh. By the
end you can tell by their faces, the quest
ions they ask that their skepticism is gone.
They're much more enlightened. It shows
up more in young boys.
Disco discussed
"The kids are coming in when we warm
up. I always try to pick out one of the
young boys who's the leader of the clan
and if I can get him out on the floor to do
it, the others will follow."
The children, after hearing the talk,
watching the demonstration and participat
ing themselves, have the opportunity to ask
questions, some of which are bizarre,"
said Beal. Disco is invariably discussed, and
the children are always curious about how
long the dancers have been at it.
"Probably, the funniest question ... was
a little boy who asked a girl in the group
for a date," said Beal.
"They ask who can dance. That's what
the whole thing! about-who can dance,'
said Beal. "We show them by having them
do the movements with us.