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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1987)
Arts & Entertainment Cruzados emerge from punk beginnings By Charles Lieurance Senior Editor In 1979, Los Angeles joined Lon don as a mecca of punk rock, estab lishing a mutant hybrid of the 1977 Brit-punk that made croups like the U.K. Subs and The Stranglers look like innocuous popsters. Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Germs and Fear took thrash very seriously, adding to the “loud, fast rules” dogma the Ameri can sense of competition. If Brits could play it fast and loud, we could play it much faster and much louder. Few of the groups survived, some of the crowd didn’t survive at all, and most of the scene burnt out on its own creative nihilism. Concert Preview Henry Rollins of Black Flag de cided he was a “serious” artist/poct, the Circle Jerks turned into a novelty band, Darby Crash of the Germs self dcstructcd, and Lee Ving from Fear went on to star in episodes of “Fame.” The Plug/,, a more accessible part of the East L. A. Hispanic punk annex, became the Cruzados after the band formally split up in 1982. Renewed interest in the group caused by their role on the soundtrack of Alex Cox’s “Repo Man” encouraged guitarist/ vocal i st Tito Larri va and lead g ui tar i st Steven Hufsteter to reform under the new monicker. The Cruzados’ show' at FarmAid III showed they are capable of pulling more from the overused blues rock genre than most others who sit dead bulled in the format (sec Fabulous Thundcrbirds). Tonight’s Cruzados show at the 4 Royal Grove promises to have the same impact as the FarmAid show', it not more. Previously, during the L A. punk explosion, the Plug/ put out tw o taut,enervated LPs — “Electrify Me” (1979) and “Better Luck” (1981) — that showed them as a blend of influ ences above and beyond punk limita tions. Reggae, pop, country and folk music all played a part on these early albums, ail played with precision and i a new-wave car for musical tension. Their roots homages — a break neck Spanish version of the Richie Valcns classic “La Bamba” on the “Electrify Me” LP and a similarly charged version of Johnny Rivers’ “Secret Agent Man” on the “Repo Man” soundtrack—have always kept them close to the barrio sound without being overly reverent as Los Lobos sometimes is. The Cruzados’first LP, a self-titled effort that made Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of top albums by new, young bands, found Hispanic roots that even Los Lobos had ignored. The romantic strains of mariachi guitar are behind the fluid, round-toned roman tic lead guitar of Hufsteter, and Larriva’s voice provides a lush sere nade on the album’s picture-perfect pop songs. Although for some these are not the most respectable roots of Hispanic music, Larriva and Hufsteter make i every passage luminous. \ For the Cruzados’ newest LP, Hufsteter departed, leaving Larriva ^ w ith a more pedestrian working-class roots band. “After Dark” spawned a minor hit. “Bed of Lies” mimicked the blue jean/bandana rock of John Mellcncamp without adding anything new to the brew. Still, on stage, the ‘Larriva’s voice provides a lush serenade on the album’s picture perfect pop songs.’ Cruzados manage to stretch their bluesy rock sound enough to surface from the heap of new rexus guitar bands with a modicum of musical ingenuity. Larriva’s voice is still in ^ top form, ranging from a sewer-cat U growl to a troubadour’s romantic I The opening band is Airstrikc, I regional thud metalheads, prancing m through the cliches in search of that big record contract in the sky. The doors open at 7:30 p.m. The cover is S6. _____] Ward Williams/Daily Nebraskan The Cruzados Art League’s art ‘potentially’ well-done By Charles Lieurance Senior Editor The Art League Gallery in Richards Hall 205 has the creative ambience of a bohemian artist’s loft studio. Its half-oval windows and uneven white-washed brick walls offer a secluded artistic grotto unique to this campus. Designed as a non-juried spot where student artists can be shown in their formative stages, the gal lery has been home to as many aesthetically confused pieces as it has been to minor masterpieces, but the idea of the gallery is the important thing. Art Review Reviewing the current exhibit without this disclaimer would be a mistake. Much of ti;c work is sc amateurish that criticism would be unfair; some of the work shows promise but that promise may be accidental, and what’s left is obvi ously the work of very talented students. For instance, criticizing a wall hanging of U2 lyrics calligraphed with biblical reverence or a medi ocre self portrait done from what may be a high -school chcerlcading photograph is like walking into a double-wide at the Shady View frailer Court and insulting their gaudy macramc plant hangers or their chipmunk salt shakers from Mount Rushmore. If you don’t want to see stuff like this, why did you go to the trailer park in the first place? If you don’t want to sec anything less than a Manet or an Oldenburg, don’t go into a student art gallery. Platitudes like “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and “if you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all” generously apply when dealing with such things. Potential, potential, potential.. . that’s the key word here. Several pieces do stand out. A large painting called “3 Dreams” by Cindia (like Cher, or Ma donna?) covers a great portion of the west wall of the gallery and * simply vibrates with color. It’s a bi/arre floral world of intercon necting, organic shapes coiling around one another as an anony mous figure on stairs in the left hand corner of the canvas lends her identity and personality to the dreamscapc. Although the midsection of the painting is overly busy, both sides of this show im mensc prom i sc. The anonymous figure on the stairs has a lonely, alienated quality reminis cent of black urban art in the mid 1970s, and the large floral shape on the right side resembles Georgia O’Keefe in its use of muted desert colors. Too many shapes and col ors in the center, though, detract from the spectacular use of color and shape that accent the sides. “Chelsea Dethroned” hy Karla Judt takes a pedestrian subject —a small chdd in a loul mood •— and, by capturing a subtle nuance of expression, makes it fascinating. The lace is nearly unforgettable, sort of a mix of spoi led pouting and juvenile anger. This separates this watercolor from the myriad ftf other cutesy child paintings that litter small galleries around the country. Kate Brook’s two pieces, “Underlined Lizard” and “Side lined Lizard," seem to be most suited for the outside art world and larger galleries. On an amorphous clay-colored background, Brook creates an etched grid and places a lizard shape onto the grid or beside it. T his is a polished use of experi ments going on in the art world daily. Brook’s use of texture, or ganic shape vs. staunch geometric shape and line, and surrealistic minimalism, is controlled and interesting. “Begin” and “Changing Opin ion” by David Stensland are simi larly suited for viewing in more professional company. Brightly colored acrylic paint molecules wiped to indicate motion conflict See ART on 7 IJ Ward Williams/Daily Nebraskan Scott Anderson’s While Shepherds Watched?” at the Art League Gallery.