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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1981)
page 6 daily nebraskan tuesday, april 7, 1981 Crowds help New Riders through record slump By Pat Higgins On the road with a new album, the New Riders of the Purple Sage still think of themselves as "survivors of the 60s," said guitarist David Nelson. "We started the band in the summer of 1969 when Jerry Garcia got his first pedal steel guitar," he said. "Singer John Dawson and myself are the oroginal members. The statue of limitations has to have run out on us by now."' Other members of the current edition of the New Riders include Allen Kemp, guitar; Pat Shanahan, drums; Bill Wolf, bass; and Buddy Cage, pedal steel. happy," Nelson said. Dawson is brutually honest about the economic realities of the record business. "We'd love to go platinum," he said, "because you can coast for years on a good album. But we need FM and AM airplay to do that and radio stations have tightened up their formats. "Nobody wants to take chances any more," he added. "There is no such thing as a free-form radio anymore now it's called album-oriented radio and in every city the same songs are played. "We need legions of fans to call the radio stations and we are starling to get some airplay," he said. This is the New Rider's first LP on A& profile The New Riders are on tour opening lor the Marshall Tucker Band. The Riders pro moted their 1 1 th album, l-'eelin ' Alright, at Pershing Auditorium Sunday. "We went through a three-year period without a record contract or an album," Dawson said. "But we were still able to draw a good crowd. They're very loyal. It' It's really great when the crowd sings along with our songs." The New Riders look upon touring as a necessary evil. "That's how you earn money," Dawson said. "The real work is going through baggage claims and sitting in rent-a-cars. Once you actually get to the show itself, the playing aspect is always enjoyable. "We've played some interesting places. For instance, Cain's in Tulsa where all the Hank's used to play Williams, Snow, and Thompson. The Tucker boys too, are a real fun group to tour with. Debut remembered The New Riders have benefited from their association with counter-cultural icons the Grateful Dead, and they seem to attract many of the same fans -if T-shirt logos are a reliable indication of public opinion. "I was playing with Jerry Garcia in Palo Alto coffeehouses in 1962 in a group called the Wildwood Boys " Nelson said. "Then the Dead gave us our initial start when we toured nationally with them even before he had an album out." Dawson recalls their debut performance with some amazement. "It was the Hell's Angels' annual ball in San Francisco's Longshoreman's Hall," Dawson said. "Owsley was running the P.A. "Owsley took the sound system apart when we were supposed to be playing, which did not make the Hell's Angels too The New Riders of the Purple Sage. M records and Dawson is happy with the arrangment. "A & M has treated us well, Dawson said. "We both want to sell records, the only disagreement is the method." Something for everyone The New Riders began their career as bluegrass purists but their sound has evolv ed over t imc. "Sure, we used to turn our amps up to 10.' Dawson said, "but in the '70s every body started cleaning up their act. Nelson has a Ph.D. in bluegrass and some of the real giants of bluegrass like Frank Wake field and J.D. Bush are friends of ours." Dawson is pleased with the latest LP. "I think the quality is consistent," he said. "There are 1 I good cuts on the record and there is something for everybody on it bluegrass, rock and country." The New Riders were formerly produc ed by Jerrv Garcia and Phil Lesh of the Dead. "We don't see each other all that often anymore because of conflicting schedules," Dawson said, "but we're all part of the same family." The New Riders' producer is now Chuck Mellone. "Chuck is excellent to work with," Dawson said. "He's just like an airplane pilot with his checklist," he added. "We tried to do every cut as live as possible and I think we did a really good job on the arrangements." Tucker concert oddly rejuvenating By Michael Zangari Companion No. 1 looks over my should er at the scr.-p of paper I'm scribbling on. and sucks the processed cheese sauce off the concession stand nacho. "Urn." she says. "Is this going to be another cerebral review or what?" she asks, wiping the corners of her mouth. The com ment on the paper is "The New Riders of the Purple Sage's live show bears a strik ing resemblance to their recorded material -they're both boring . . ." I shrug my shoulders. "It's the same old California Quaalude lay-back-till-you-fall-over stuff they're obviously bored with the material, why shouldn't I be'"' I head for the bathroom. I feel a twinge of guilt. I like the New Riders. When they're on. they are a lot of douglas 3 13th ft P 47b 7??? 3:30-7:30-9:30 Something is alive in the Funhouse! 5:40-7:40 9:40 The State of the Ait in Living Animation. ASSZZUCASf POP S. com 5:20 7:25 9:30 mm 'owe IK? MM drive in 488 5353 OPEN 7:00 SHOW 7:45 ROBERT DE NXRO RACING DULL BEST ACTOR! "DOGS OF WAR' OME WEEK OKLY! fun, but unfortunately they are off. As is often the case with warm-up bands, they have gotten the short end of the mix, mak ing instrumentation and vocals muddy. All the notes are there, but the energy on stage is lacking and their material has gotten pro gressively weaker since their Panama Red Lp. I make a mental note to reserve judg ment on the newer songs till I hear the recorded versions. They arc mildly Poco-ish and may stand. The contingent of the Grateful Dead community that has come to the concert on the promise that someone in the New Rider's liad to have touched the hem of Jerry Garcia's chinos, is split into two groups waiting around the urinal. One group is holding a consciousness-raising session. The other is casting an I Clung oracle for "SunJy,'' who is having girl friend problems. The man tossing the pennies looks up at me -all pupils and says. "You're reviewing this aren't you?" Confused. I say yes. "1 could tell." he said, "you're the only one here who isn't smil ing." Sunday night at Pershing. The audience is politely subdued and attentive. There are cowboy hats everywhere. The crowd is quickly separated into two camps those with hats, those without. Those with tend to move in amoeba-like communities mumbling "I hear you" into the pockets of their Van Halen t-shirts. Those without hang hack and sip their Cokes in the bleachers. The Marshall Tucker Band, headlining tonight, is at the tail end of its tour. Cer tainly one of the most competent of the long-standing Southern bands, they open with a low-key jazzy number. "Run Like the Wind." Nice flute and guitar interplay. Lead guitarist Toy Caldwell's jazz sensi bilities make for some interestingly structured country-swing. Caldwell is certainly one of the most distinctive guitarists in rock 'n' roll. B.B. King with two lumps of sugar, sweet gospel lines that border on the sublime in places. Most of the songs feature extended solos, some of which are quite good, others that are pure flash Speed Queen pyrotechnics. The band rushes through most tunes, and it seems as if every so often Caldwell re members that he likes to play and slips into some very tasty passes. The encore version of "Can't You See" was the most obvious place where this change-over occurred, you could see the change register on his face before the solo picked up. The band members play well off each other. There is an element of looseness. They trade lines, whether it be vocals and guitar, or guitar and flute and sax. This provides some really nice moments. Especially on another encore number "This Old Cowboy." (They called the lead guitar ist from the New Riders back on stage to share a little community, and his solos just humed (reminding me again how compet ent the New Riders are with a little energy and better material.) The show was pleasant, the -rowd un usually docile. Both bands did their jobs, incited a little dancing at the community digs, and generally provided a back drop for the evening's motion. The ground didn't shake, nor was the crowd dis appointed. It was another night on the rocks both for the bands and its audience. Vaguely familiar, oddly rejuvenating. "7 Adult Film m winner 01 f Association Erotic Film Awards! (The Academy Awards of l-Rated Movies) Best Actor (jamie gillis) Best Supporting Actress (GEORGINA SPELVIN) est Best Best Screewstav PredactHMi Walue Musical Score est CmewitBflf jphy Best Original Son 5 ONE WEEK ONLY! SECOKD FEATURE: "The Untamed" uuinTitm Water color artist to speak at international symposium An American painter whose work has been published in Vxe Promised Land will lecture on the first day of an international symposium at UNL. Artist Gordon Wctmore of Signal Mountain, Tenn.. will present an illustrated lecture at noon Thursday in the Nebraska Union. Wetmore co-authored Vie Promised Ijind with Israeli diplomat Abba Lban and author Leon Uns. Me has described the series of water colors produced for the book as "what Jesus would see today if he strode the path of the artist." Advanced reservations are required for the luncheon and can be made by sending 56 to the Symposium Committee S40 Oldfather Hall. UNL 68588. Wetmorc's appearance will be part of the "Israel, the Middle Last, and American Interests" symposium sponsored bv UNL. A free concert by Israeli pianist Yefim Bronfman will be held at 8 p.m. Thursday m Kimball Recital Hall. Reserved seat tickets are available without charge at the Kimball box office.