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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 1979)
daily nebraskan tuesday, October 9, 1979 Band changes from f cot-stomping to listening music page 8 By Jerry Fairbanks The members of Solid Rock are chang ing from their namesake's style to more radio-oriented music, trying to And a sound more acceptable to Lincoln audiences. "We're going to ride that wave without getting too commercial," lead singer David Novak said, referring to the New Wave material the band is incorporating into its act. "Anymore, music goes to show," he said. "People want to see something. We're after lights and body movements." Drummer Fred Reddick noted that the attitude toward music had changed recently. "A lot of bands do music for them selves," Reddick said. "They'll stand up there and play and when they get off, peo ple will say, That's nice,' but they won't be affected." "Now people want to stomp their feet. They want music they can dance to." Gary Armstrong, who plays a precise lead guitar, said, "Anyhow, New Wave is simpler to play." They noted that when they began the band about a year ago, the name was more descriptive. Novak said they began playing together when he and bassist Roger Dick returned to Lincoln from Minnesota, where the pair were part of a band called Brat. Novak said he knew Reddick, who knew Armstrong, and the four got together to play in a shack behind Armstrong's house. "We didn't just jam like other bands do when they first get together," Novak said. "We started playing songs first things." "We started playing parties after that. Our first one was a Halloween a year ago." Reddick said it was hard for a rock band to find club dates in Lincoln. 4The managers say rock V roll causes too much trouble," he said. "If they could hire the right people to control the crowds, they wouldn't have that trouble." "For its size, there aren't too many places to play in Lincoln," Novak said. "There were more clubs in Minnesota and a lot more bands." Reddick agreed. "There 'd be a lot more bands in Lincoln if there were more places to play." KZUM's successful3 benefit hosts blues, mellow jazz How does a non-commercial radio station survive? In part, through benefits. This aspect of monetary support is basic to the philosophy of KZUM 89.5 FM, Lincoln's public-access radio station, and the goal behind last Sun day's concert at Hidden Valley. It is unfortunate, however, how much commercialism is sometimes involved in attaining this goal, according to KZUM station manager Julie Williams. Williams called the benefit a "qualified success," in the sense that it succeeded in earning money for the station, but failed in promoting KZUM's philosophy of public support. "In a way it was kind of a shame that all we got out of it was money, not community involvement," she said. Williams said she was disappointed because the bands all played for money and Hidden Valley's prime interest in hosting the benefit was to sell beer on Sunday. However, Allan Stibal, in charge of finances for the benefit, noted that the bands have expenses of their own and can't be expected to always donate their time. Of the $1240 earned from ticket sales, according to Stibal, $764 was used to pay for the bands, the use of the sound system, and advance advertising, clearing $476 for KZUM. This money will be used to pay insurance, and to help offset $2200 of station debts, Stibal said. It was apparent that few of those attending the concert Sunday night had KZUM's interests at heart. One Hidden Valley patron, pointing to the banner behind the stage bearing KZUM's call letters, inquired as to which band it was, how to pronounce its name, and when would they be playing. At any rate, three local bands filled the afternoon and evening with good music beginning with the Leroy Critcher Trio. Critcher's group delivered its usual quality performance of mellow jazz, despite the relatively sparse audience arriving before 6 pjn. , Immediately following were the South Street Shakers playing their brand of rockin blues. The Shakers, with their present personnel, made their debut at a KZUM bene fit at the Zoo Bar approximately eight weeks ago. Since - i -n nnti, , v 111 S yf If Lh, !'' O w lid t Photo by MaryAnm Colon The Heartmurmen play their brand of rockin' blues for KZUM benefit. then they have shown almost phenomenal improvement, blending new material and musical technique into their act, and securing. gigs in Omaha, Lincoln, Emerald, and Burchard, Nebraska. The Shakers were booked at Hidden Valley through the weekend, and it was through them that KZUM was granted permission to hold its benefit there Sunday, according to band members. The final band of the evening, the Heartmurmurs, were the prime attraction for the crowd. The Heartmurmurs feature Chicago-style electric rhythm and blues-and have just released an album under the Candy Apple label, titled The Heartmurmurs Live at the Zoo Bar. Studio Theatre play offers strong cast to open season By Betsie Ammons Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander, the first play in the UNL Studio Theatre's 1979 fall season, is a study in survival. The play, by Preston Jones, is set in- Bradleyyille, a small Texas town. It spans 20 years in the life of Lai Ann, Homecoming schedule Homecoming schedule of events: Tues., Oct. 9: Royalty elections, 9 ajn.-5 pjn Neb. Union. Wed Oct. 10: Royalty elections 9 ajn.-5 pjn.East Umon Wed., Oct. 10: Movies: "Collisions" and "Reefer Madness" 8:30 pjn. Love Library Outside Wall Thurs., Oct. 11: Homecoming parade 8:45 pm beginning at Kimball Hall Thurs., Oct. 11: Bonfire, Pep Rally, Live Music 9 p jn .-1 a jn. Coliseum Mall Friday, Oct. 12: House Decorating Judging 9 pjn.- 12 am. Friday, Oct. 12: UPC-East Dance 9 pjn.-12 am. Flexible Flyers- East Union Saturday, Oct. 13: Student Talent Show 10:10 a jn.-12.00 pjn. Union Plaza Mill Saturday, Oct. 13: Alumni Association Party 4:30 pjn. Hilton Hotel Saturday, Oct. 13: Ozark Mountain Daredevils the Bob Devaney Sports Center 8 pjn. Tickets at Nebraska Union and all regular outlets. Sponsor ed by UPC. a dreamer turned realist, who watches her high school friends leave town while she remains there and stagnates. Somehow, things never seem to go the way Lu Ann plans, but she copes with a "what-will-be-wiil-be" atti tude. A competent cast makes the Studio Theatre's produc tion a fitting tribute to playwright Jones, who died Sept. 20 at the age of 43. Jones is known for his studies of the south, notably Texas. Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander is one of a set of three plays entitled 'Texas Trilogy." Graduate student Caron Buinis gives the role of Lu Ann credibility and style. The role is demanding because it requires the actress to change with time. BUINIS IS GIGGLY, shy and a little convincing as Lu Ann, the 17-year-old high school cheerleader. She then becomes jaded and hard as Lu Ann, beauty technician with a blonde bouffant hairstyle, who frequents the town bar after a broken first marriage. Finally comes her transition into faded, world-weary Lu Ann, burdened with an alcoholic brother, an invalid mother and a disrespectful daughter. Three men In the town's sleazy bar were the strongest of the supporting characters. Bartender Red Grover, played by James Mellgren, was a cynical man who couldn't understand how he ever ended up In BradleyviSe. Graver's attitude can be summed up in his pet phrase "Who gives a damn? Mellgren Is bitter and cutting as the unhappy bartender. Robert Ball as Rufe Phelps and Eric Hager as Olin Potts provided some of the play's funnier moments. Hager and Ball, crotchety and slow as two town characters, execute a fight over a checker game and Lu Ann's sex life. Hie scene contains some of the play's best writing, and the two actors live up to its demands. ACCENTS COULD have presented a problem for the cast, but they were good for the most part, neither too exaggerated nor too understated. The set, designed by Thomas C. Umfrid, was simple by necessity, since the play required a change f rom the Hampton living room to Red Grover's bar. Subtle changes in the living room set heiped the move between time periods. Umfrid added a more modern phone and a television set, and put a slipcover over the chair to bring the audience into 1973. The walls provided another interesting facet to the set. Mingled with pictures and family photographs, the wall paper had just a hint of people's faces in it, old and washed looking, conveying the idea that many people have been born, lived their whole life, and died, in Brad kyville. The play's music also was skillfully chosen. At the be gmin o the Play, they used Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin Heart and other similar tunes. By the play's end Eton John and John Denver were the featured per formers. Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander continues through tonight at 8 pjn. at the UNL Studio Theatre. Tickets are S2JS0 for students, but at last word the play was enjoying sekout status. However, the theater will sell no-show tickets after 7:45 pin.
