Arts & Entertainment
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■ Band returns with new violinist
By Joeth Zucco
Senior Editor
It’s time to take the skinheads
bowling.
Camper van Beethoven, the
funny and serious and exotic band
from Santa Cruz, Calif., will play
in Omaha Tuesday night at the
Ranch Bowl.
A few things have changed, yet
remained the same, since they last
played in the area. They’re still
touring the country in the same
blue van. They’re still experiment
ing with unique sounds and inter
esting album titles. But they no
longer have Jonathan Segal, the
violin-kcyboard-evcrything-else
player. Now they have Morgan
Fichtcr, a classically trained vio
linist, who brings a new angle to
the band.
Fichter joined the band six
months ago when Camper van
Beethoven was in the midst of
recording “Key Lime Pie” and
getting ready to go on tour. She
said that David Lowery, the lead
singer and guitarist, called her and
sent her a tape. She went down to
Santa Cruz, Calif., and auditioned
with the band for three hours. A
week later, Lowery called her back
and asked her to join. Fichter quit
her waitress job in San Francisco
and did just that.
“Never in my life did I expect
to be in a band like-this,” Fichter
said.
She wasn’t too familiar with the
band before she was asked to audi
tion. She said that she had seen
them once, but it hadn’t been one
of their best shows.
“Some musician friends of
mine listened to Camper van
Beethoven a lot. I knew they had a
lot of different kinds of music inte
grated and a violin,” Fichter said.
Fichter studied classical violin
at a music conservatory and even
went to college, but dropped out
because she was unhappy with it.
She said that the classical environ
ment is very competitive and is a
cold environment for musicians to
be in. She said she always had
liked listening to other kinds of
music but was discouraged to
play it by her teachers.
' I like to play music that chal
lenges me a lot, ” she said.“ I usu
ally didn’t have to sit down and
think up a tune that would fit with
guitar. It’s really hard, but I’m
willing to go for it.
‘‘The classical.field didn’t ful
fill me spiritually. I had more rock
‘n’ roll in me,” she said. “I wanted
to incorporate violin playing into a
situation that really rocks.”
Fichter said that the band has
been touring for about three
months. They started out with a 10
day primer tour in California so
she could get used to playing with
the band. She said the band has
been headlining for almost a
month. Before that they loured
with 10,000 Maniacs.
‘‘I had never toured before. It
was really scary for me playing in
front of 5,000 people,” she said.
“I’ve gotten used to it, to looking
out and seeing people have a good
time.”
Fichter said that the response on
the tour has been very positive. She
said that she didn’t know how
people would respond to her.
“People would come up and
say they had their doubts, but I
sounded good and fit in well.
People don’t realize how they’ll
respond to a new person in the
bands. Some people have a hard
time coping with change.”
Fichter said that being the mi
nority -- the only woman and the
odd instrument — of the band also
is hard. But she said that being in
the band is kind of like being mar
ried to someone or involved in an
intense relationship.
“There arc good parts and parts
that need to be worked out,” she
said. “There are experiences I’ve
never had before: learning the
music, playing with the musicians.
It’s fun and cha^onging to play
with musicians belter than you.”
Besides getting used to playing
in front of thousands of people and
being the now kid on the block,
Fichter said that louring is a chal
lenge in itself. She said she never
has enough time to sit back and
think. She’s been eating at
Denny’s and McDonald’s more
than she’d like. And she misses her
friends back in San Francisco.
“It’s challenging. You learn to
like yourself a lot.”
The title of the new album,
“Key Lime Pie,” came from
Lowery, Fichter said, adding that
there was no particular reason for
it.
“We liked it. Probably a lot of
people don’t know what key lime
pie is. It makes them curious and it
sounds funny,” she said. “Some
times we don’t do things for logi
cal reasons.”
Fichter said she likes the differ
ent sound of “Key Lime Pie,” as
compared to the others. She added
that the issues dealt with in the
songs are more real. She said that it
shows the growth in their musi
cianship.
“I like Camper van Beethoven
as a more serious band than as a
wacky band. I personally identify
with the songs on this album (bet
ter) than others.”
Fichter said people have to be
open to change. She referred to the
Rolling Stones and the Who, who
basically sound the same as they
did when they first started out.
“Musicians aren’t mannequins
that play the same music. They
change.”
David Fahlaaon/ Daily Nabraakan
Black and brash
Black Francis auitartst and vocalist lor the Pixies, plays at State Fair Park’s Agricultural Hall
Frfdav nioht to a very enthusiastic crowd. Francis switched to acoustic guitar halfway
through the show to add a new range of sound to the songs.
Courtesy Virgin Records
* Camper van Beethoven
Camper van Beethoven
upholds early standards
By Mark Lage
Staff Reporter
Camper van Beethoven
“Key Lime Pie’*
Virgin Records
“Key Lime Pie,” Camper van
Beethoven’s second album for
Virgin, is a return to standards of
quirkish excellence set by the
band’s earlier independent re
leases.
“Our Beloved Revolutionary
Sweetheart,” the band’s Virgin
debut from two years ago, is not a
bad album, but it’selean sound was
far too reserved and featured little
of the typical Camper sense of
humor. “Key Lime Pie” returns to
more adventurous, interesting
music, and occasionally is as
funny as earlier releases. This is
evident in the liner notes, in which
the listener is told what kind of
shoes each band member wore
while recording the album.
This recalls the cover of the
band’s self-titled third album,
where Soviet spies were credited
with swimming upstream dis
guised as trout.
For long-time fans, the bad
news is that resident musical odd
ball Jonathan Segal is gone, the
latest casualty of the ever-mutat
ing Camper lineup. The value of
the violinistAeyboardist/guitarist
is shown by the fact that he is
replaced by a handful of people on
“Key Lime Pic.’’
Morgan Fichtcr joins the offi
cial band lineup as violinist, but
side musicians arc brought in to
play things like pedal steel, things
See CVB on 10
Junk food ‘completes’ diet
By Emily Rosenbaum
Senior Reporter
No college student’s diet would be
complete without the push-button
convenience of junk-food dispensers.
The Nebraska Union on City
Campus houses one vending area
near the Crib on the first floor. Three
cold drink machines, offering 16
varieties of soda pop, and two glass
front machines, with the usual candy
bar, potato chip and nut selection,
make up the vending area.
There’s also a microwave beside
the machines for making Chester
Cheetah popcorn (which costs 75
cents; natural flavor only, and use of
the microwave is free).
Each of the pop machines has a
built-in dollar changer, that keeps 50
cents and gives the customer a can of
pop and 50 cents in return.
The East Union has a cold-drink
vending machine in the first floor
north lobby area, in addition to the
cold drink, cold milk, glass frorftand
ice cream machines located near the
Terraces Cafeteria.
“If you want a sit-down dinner,
then a vending machine won’t appeal
to you,’’ said Gene Mcerkatz, Uni
versity Vending System manager.
“But, if there’s a long line at Burger
King, a vending machine might bo,
just what you want.’’
Mcerkatz said Burger King has
lured some students away from the
vending machines, but sales still have
been substantial.
Last year, total sales from vending
machines in the Nebraska Union
reached $73,525, according to Daryl
Swanson, Nebraska Union director.
The machines are operated by the
University Vending System and the
union receives a sales commission.
Last year’s vending commission was
$20,046, he said.
One of the attractions of the vend
ing machines is that they follow the
same hours of operation as the union,
Swanson said.
“Students need and want pop and
snacks at all hours of the day,” he
said.
The vending machines in the East
Union yield low-volume sales, he
said, but are kept there as a service to
the students.
Meerkatz said the consistent big
gest sellers from the university vend
ing machines are the Snickers candy
bar and Diet Coke. The Milky Way
candy bar comes in first for world
wide sales, he said. Pepsi and Moun
tain Dew are the second and third best
soda sellers, respectively.
The Symphony candy bar from
Hershey’s is the newest bar “to make
a big splash,’’ he said.
While most of the offerings in the
union vending machines safely could
be described as junk food, an attempt
at something healthy has been made.
Quaker raisin and cinnamon granola
bars (35 cents) and California Natu
rals (raisins, nuts and cashews for 35
cents) can be found among the Dolly
Madison Zingers (cream-filled cakes
for 60 cents) and Ruffles Cheddar and
sour cream chips (35 cents).
“You can walk up to the machine,
drop in your money and get a quality
product,” Meerkatz said.
