Wednesday, October 15. 1980
page 12
daily nebraskan
Charlie Burton and the Cutouts to debut Friday
By Pat Higgins
Serious rock 'n' roll aficionados will be pleased to learn
that Charlie Burton and the Cutouts will be making their
public debut this Friday in Malcolm, at the Branched Oak
Inn.
A previous incarnation of the band was known as
Charlie Burton and Rock Therapy and they enjoyed a
reputation as the killer band in the greater Nebraska area.
In addition to their exciting live performances, they
issued a series of independently-produced and released
singles which garnered considerable favorable notice from
national publications including Creem, Village Voice,
Trvuser Press and the New York Rocker, a rather impres
sive track record for a band operating out of Lincoln.
Rock Therapy also had the pleasure of being the open
ing act for Sire recording artists, the Ramones, and the
ever-popular collegiate faves, the Talking Heads, where
they rivaled the headliners in audience response.
However, they have been in a state of suspended ani
mation since theii final performance as Rock Therapy on
New Year's Eve. Friday's show is planned as a tune-up for
a Halloween bash at the Drumstick, which they guarantee
to be totally insane.
Still rock V roll
"It's the same but different," says plain-spoken drum
mer Dave (Rebel) Robel, "We're still a rock 'n' roll band
but you can't pin a label on us or limit us to any one
mode of music. The key difference between the Cutouts
and Rock Therapy is that in the old band we did about a
50-50 mix of originals and cover tunes. In the Cutouts
we're doing virtually all originals.
"Charlie has been coming up with some really great
new songs. He is a great rock 'n' roll song writer and I
think "Rock and Roll Behavior" (a Rock Therapy single
release) is a classic of our time."
Burton himself is a rather complex individual. Onstage,
he is known for his primal, uninhibited rock 'n' roll in the
grand tradition of the savage young Elvis Presley. Off
stage, he is self-effacing and articulate.
"Our goal is to get through to as many people as pos
sible," said Burton. "I'd like to think that we have the
talent, but more than anything we want to maintain our
self-respect. For instance, I love rockabilly and we did a
lot of it in the. old band but there is absolutely no way
that L would be part of any oldies revival. We're contem
porary performers. I would like to aspire to success be
yond the local level, otherwise, I would feel foolish."
The Cutouts' only new member is lead guitar player
Phil Shoemaker.
"This band has been a tonic for me," Shoemaker said.
'The band I was in before was a glitter rock group. The
Charlie Burton experience has changed my life."
Steady bass player G. "Otto" Spalti added, "PhU is the
most fun guy I've ever worked with. He has a lot of re
sponsibility as the only new member and he really has
handled it well. Personally, the biggest change for me is
doing back vocals, which I love."
Many influences
There is a variety of musical influences that shape the
Cutouts' sound. Shoemakers' musical taste is slightly at
variance from the other band members.
"I love Eddie Van Halen," he claims. Robel can re
member seeing Elvis on Ed Sullivan, which, he said, had
an earth-shattering effect.
"1 was inspired a lot by the MC5 and the 60s garage
band, and great drummers like Charlie Watts, Keith Moon,
and Animal, of the Muppet show. I also really like the
Ramones and Elvis Costello, but there are so many people
jumping on the New Wave bandwagon that it is becoming
ridiculous. A spike hairdo does not make you a rocker."
Burton is an avid record collector with a huge inven
tory of vinyl of all genres that broadened his taste.
"Right now 1 like Iggy, Sam and Dave and (country
artist) Ral Donner but it changes all the time," said
Burton. "I like a lot of New Wave and in a sense we're
New Wave in that we guarantee not to play any Top 40
material."
The Cutouts have only been playing together for a
short time.
Burton contends, "We're in a gestation period right
now, waiting to be bom. We're not looking for a long
term record contract tomorrow, although we wouldn't
turn one down either.
"We do plan on recording again as soon as possible.
We're just going to try to keep improving. We want to be
fun and entertaining, but when we're ready, well push it
to the limit."
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Charlie Burton and the Cutouts debut Friday in Malcolm at the Branched Oak Inn.
Concert tour is reunion for Elton John's drummer
By Casey McCabe
Nigel Olsson, drummer for Elton John
and pop star in his own right, says it's good
to be home.
It's difficult to understand his thick
English accent via the telephone of his ho
tel in Houston, Texas. It's one of many
rooms he has been in since Sept. 4, when
the Elton John tour started in America.
And it's one of many he still has to face be
cause the tour is scheduled into December
when the band closes out in Australia.
"Home is with this band," said Olsson.
"This tour is going great."
The tour has been a reunion of sorts. In
1975, after the platinum success Captain i
Fantastic, John surprised many by releas
ing Olsson and bassist Dee Murray from
his band. The two longtime members had
been with Elton for most of his finest
work, and many argue that this was the be
ginning of a downhill slide for the 1970's
most successful pop artist.
Then, after being used sparingly for
John's first album of the eighties, 21 at
3S both Olsson and Murray were asked to
join the entourage for John's most exten
sive tour in years. If there was any exist
ing animosity, it has disappeared because
the band has been playing like a tight-knit
family enjoying a bit of deja vu.
"It's been five years since we've really
been together;1 Olsson says. ' Wre going
ck to the basics, and I must say it feels
great."
In those five years, Olsson has taken a
stab at finding his own market. His second
self-titled solo album, released in 1978,
yielded him two encouraging hit singles, a
hit cover of Sam Cooke's "A Little Bit of
Soap," and his own composition "Dancin'
Shoes." In the current show, John hands
the spotlight to Olsson to perform two
hopeful singles off his new album Changing
Tides.
Olsson's new status shows up in the tour
arrangements. Nigel has his own publicity
people and road manager, his own equip
ment, a different record label, and even his
own dedicated fans. In Lincoln, several
young girls who clutched the railing behind
the stage and spent the full 2Vi hours try
ing to get the diminutive drummer's attention.
One more time
"It doesn't feel like I'm a different ent
ity in the band," explains Olsson. "Of
course it's good for myself promotion-wise
to be able to reach this many people,
but I always wanted to tour with this band
one more time.
"Elton's very happy with the results,
and we're planning on doing an album with
him in June, but I'm still going to put out
another solo album soon, probably in Jan
uary." Still, his solo status was nebulous
enough that Olsson admitted to being
frightened when he took over the micro
phone from John in the first shows of the
tour.
"I wasn't sure about being able to hold
Elton John's audience, until I realized
these were just people having fun," he said.
As far as the music he like ot make,
Olsson's philosophy is to try and please
everyone. He says Changing Tides is a
change for him, more rock 'n roll and some
rhythm and blues. Still, his niche has been
discovered in a category he said is over-looked-Adult
Contemporary. Although
Changing Tides consists entirely of mater
ial from other songwriters, Olsson plans to
do more writing for his next album.
Continued on Page 13
Frontier family benefits from
inner comfort in 'Heartland'
By Jennifer Bauman
Heartland is based on the actual ex
periences of widow Elinore Randall and
he"r seven-year-old daughter Jerrine. In
1910, they moved to Wyoming where Eli
nore began work as a housekeeper for
Clyde Stewart, a cattle rancher operating
on a homestead claim.
reunsuj
Wanting eventually to be her own boss, (
Elinore filed claim on a homestead adja-'
cent to Clyde's land. After a time they dis
covered they each had something the other
needed: Clyde would benefit from the ex
tra land for his cattle and Elinore needed
liquid capital and experience about high
plains farming to get started. So they pool
ed their resources and got married.
Heartland is told from Elinore 's point of
view and focuses special attention on roles
of frontier women. Like many others who
moved west in response to offers of cheap
land and available jobs, Elinore knew little
about what life really would be like. Vast
empty spaces, harsh weather, and crude liv
ing accommodations greeted newcomers.
In addition, Elinore found occupations
vere not open to her because of her sex.
And though she did want to farm her own
land, she realized that her farming experi
ence in sheltered eastern climates didn't
prepare her for solo work in Wyoming.
Like My Brilliant Career from Australia,
Heartland shows the attempts of a turn-of-the-century
rural woman to maintain some
degree of control over her own life. The
protagonist of the Australian film is young
and idealistic and chooses to follow a
career instead of getting married.
Continued on Page 13