Tuesday, April 10, 1C34
Daily Ncbraskan
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Aire's
Accordian energizes Bon-Ton's KG blue
n
By Donna Sisson end Tish Mocklcr
A "fun type of blues" may sound like
a contradiction, but that's exactly what
the Bon-Ton Band is.
"Bon-ton originally meant Tun' or
'party, and that's what we try to do,"
said Butch Smith, saxophone player
for the band.
The Bon-Ton Band, based in Kansas
Citv. consists of Richard Lucente. accor
dionist and lead vocalist; Billy Dye on
guitar and lap steel guitar; Mike Har
vey on drums; Blue "Shoe" Shoemaker
on trombone and harmonica; Butch
Smith on saxophone, and Ed Toler on
bass.
The name comes from the restau
rant and bar, Kiki's Bon-Ton Maison,
where the band first started playing on
Saturday afternoons with Lucente and
a bass player and drummer. Lucente
then added new professional musicians
until they wound up with the group
they have now, Lucente said.
The Bon-Tons, who played last week
end at the Zoo Bar, sound like a musi
cal Mardi Gras. Their music has a blues
background but is played a lot faster
and with more energy than blues nor
mally is experienced.
The Bon-Tons have been labeled as
"zydeco" blues, which is basically Louisiana:
style style rhythm and blues with an
accordion, but Lucente says their only
connection with zydeco is the accor
dion. The roots are the same but the
Bon-Tons' instrumentation and rhyth
mic patterns are different, he said.
The accordion certainly adds a lot to
their music. It modernizes the blues
format the band uses by, at times,
sounding like a raw version of a syn
thesizer. It gives a roller-coaster edge
to their sound, making it cheerful and
easy to dance to.
Lucente started in music by playing
the piano when he was young and
switched to the accordion about one
and a half years ago. One of the band
members suggested that it was Lucente's
aggressive accordion playing that won
him the nickname, "Squeege La Juice,"
which is a play on the name Luigi from
his Italian heritage.
The accordion was fairly easy to
learn but is hard on the left arm where
all the pumping strength comes from,
Lucente said. Another adjustment in
the accordion is that the keyboard is
upside down, he said.
Just as the accordion allows their
music a happy edge, the horn section
provides tart dashes of sensibility. The
horns also delve deeply into the mourn
ful, as the trombone can go low into
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Donna SissonDsily Nebreslcan
Richard Lucente of the Don-Ton D.ir.d.
the audience's emotional pits.
This is Lucente's first band, while the
other members have played in many
capacities and have a wide range of
influences. Smith said he played in at
least 150 bands and has played all
types of music.
"I followed my heroes around and
bugged them until they let me play,"
Toler said. Eventually he had the oppor
tunity to play with blues artists includ
ing Johnnie Taylor, Earl Hooker and
Albert Collins, he said.
Much of the band's uniqueness comes
from its material, which is written by
Lucente. Their performance contains
about 70 to 80 percent original mate
rial, Lucente said.
"We hear consistently that people
don't hear what we do any place else
we play in a pretty familiar format,
but it still has a different sound,"
Lucente said.
The different sound comes not only
from their music, but from their explicit
lyrics. The lyrics, which youll have to
hear for yourself, are definitely "ornery,"
Toler said. People appreciate such songs
more when they have had a little to
drink, he said, sarcastically labeling
them, 'tender love ballads."
Particularly spectacular about the
Bon-Tons are their solos. When the
accordion or trombone breaks into a
frantic solo it invariably sets the au
dience into an uproar.
Some of the best solos, agreed the
band, are played by Billy Dye on guitar.
"Dye is an incredible guitarist " said
Lucente. He has toured and recorded
with such notable blues musicians as
Luther Allison.
"When Billy does a solp, the crowd
just gets hysterically applauding," Toler
said.
"It's a pretty nice ensemble sort of
deal," Lucente said. "People pretty much
pick their parts based on kind of a
loose suggestion of what it ought to be
it makes it a little bit spontaneous
that way," he said.
"Everybody can sign their name to
what they play, everybody has their
own personality in the band, their own
character," said Harvey. "They're not
being dictated by an outside force
other than the fact that it started off
with this R&B from Louisiana kind of
style and everybody can take that and
go where they want to," he said.
They are working on a full-length
album of all original material to be
released this summer, Lucente said.
They plan to produce the record them
selves and have unlimited studio time,
he said. "We're gonna fool around with
it and see what works best," he said.
Lucente, who also is a graphic artist,
plans on designing the album cover.
"It is an interesting concept if you
want to look at it that way. I think of it
in terms of a project. If I didn't think I
had any kind of influence I wouldn't
want to do it. I wouldn't want to work
for anybody else's band, let's put it that
way. I couldn't be a side man and that's
the whole deal. I'm fortunately in a
position where I don't have to be, so
that gives me a little bit of freedom,"
Lucente said.
"(The Zoo bar) is the first place we
played out of town and its just great
here. The people are real nice. This is
our sixth or seventh time at the Zoo,"
Lucente said.
After their album is released they
plan to do some limited touring. They
said they want to play in Louisiana
because "it would be kind of interest
ing to see what they think of us down
there," Lucente said.
In reference to their music. Lucente
said, "Well just take it as far as it goes.
Either it goes or it doesnt, and so far I
haven't seen any indications that it
won't get us where we want to go. We
aren't gonna make millions of dollars
but we still have a lot of fun." he said.
ISaeiBg9 dun!!? develops to (opiMdly
By Mike Frost
The phrase the moguls use when motion pic
tures come out is "released." However, in the case
of Racing With the Moon, a new film directed by
Richard Benjamin, the word "thrust" may be
more apropos. . . ' .
Racing With the Moon, let's not mince words
here, is a horrendous film. The blame can be
. Film
Review
placed squarely on the shoulders of director Ben
jamin and screenwriter Steven Kloves.
As a guest on the Tonight Show, Benjamin is
affable enough. As a director, he is less accomp
lished. In fact, the title director is something of a
misnomer. This film is notable mainly for its lack
of direction. Benjamin's "direction" is void of any
real style or substance. Rather than out of a love
for film, Benjamin seems to be sitting in the direc
tor's chair merely because he's tired of acting. Or
perhaps he wants to be introduced as "the multi
talented Richard Benjamin" on future talk show
gigs.
Kloves' failings far outshadow Benjamin's. Ben
jamin, after all, did successfully pull off last year's
My Favorite Year, although the film's success was
largely in spite of rather than because of him.
Kloves seems genuinely afraid of allowing any
thing resembling a plot complication to develop.
The story itself is a rather plebian tale of boy
meets girl who live happily ever after. Unfortu
nately, the boy (Sean Penn) meets the girl (Eliza
beth McGovern) within the first 15 minutes of the
film. This leaves two tedious hours of happily
living ever after.
There are some complications, but they are all
quickly resolved, if they're even addressed at aU.
Penn's best friend, played by Nicholas Cage, is a
jerk who could potentially get in the way of the
couple's happiness. However, this was evidently
all ironed out behind the camera, because the
first time McGovern and Cage are shown together
on screen, they seem like old chums. Similarly,
McGovern, in one sequence, pops up at Penn's
parents house; evidently they know her, but the
filmmaker doesn't share that potentially comic
first meeting with us.
These quick and easy resolutions ultimately kill
the film. Cage gets a woman pregnant and she
gets an abortion. Penn and McGovern initially
admonish him for his behavior. But after awhile
all is forgiven. Heck, the film implies, it's just an
everyday abortion, for gosh sakes.
Tnis careless auituae aooui sucn a major deci
sion is not just poor judgment. If the filmmakers
want to condone abortion, that's fine; however to
portray it as just one of those things teenagers go
through is totally irresponsible.
Perhaps strong scenes between Cage and Penn
or Penn and McGovern could have over come
these lapses in common sense.
Here again, though, the film fails short. Penn
and Cage's shared scenes are unconvincing. Mc
Govern and Penn's scenes are similarly disap
pointing. The film's opening sequences, with Penn
pursuing McGovern in an extreme fit of puppy
love, are charming enough. However, they become
lovers so quickly that the initial moments of shy
ness are soon forgotten.
At the same time, they don't seem to have any
real interest in each other as individuals. Penn
mistakingly believes McGovern is rich; in actuality
she is the daughter of a maid. One would expect
lovers as intimate as Penn and McGovern to dis
cuss their families and background at least once.
Evidently, it just never came up.
There are many other problems with the film,
but discussing all of them would, as they say give
away the ending (this is not to imply that you're
ever in any doubt as to what the conclusion will
be). Racing With the Moon 's main thesis sems to
be everything s swell as long as you have your pal
and your gal. Its a shame those involved didn't
chose a vehicle with slightly more ambition