Arts & Entertainment
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Courtoy of Polygram
KISS
Kiss, Vixen will ‘Rev it Up’
at tonight’s Pershing concert
By Michael Deeds
Senior Editor
Rock legend KISS will bring
the band’s “Hot in the Shade” tour
to Pershing Auditorium tonight,
continuing a 15-year tradition of
radio-ready metal.
“Hot in the Shade” is the group’s
23rd release, recorded at Fortress
Studio in Hollywod.
Born in the cold alleys of New
York, KISS was formed by Gene
Simmons and Paul Stanley in a
tradition that drew influences from
Alice Cooper and all the glitz of
the 1970s. Just more than a year
later, the band was headlining are
nas, stadiums and any other venue
that could hold a bunch of scream
ing teens. Album after album went
platinum, and KISS now boasts
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worldwide sales of more than 60
million records.
KISS was voted Most Popular
Group In The World over the Beatles
and Led Zeppelin from 1976-1979,
during the height of the disco era.
KISS now holds the record for the
most albums in the Top 100 simul
taneously, charting with five en
tries. That beats Elvis.
After personal problems resulted
in the loss of drummer Peter Criss
and guitarist Ace Frchley in the
early ’80s, the band went through
several personnel changes before
finding its current lineup of Eric
Carr and Bruce Kulick.
The band has been signed for
another lOyearsof material, which
will include seven albums, great
est hits compilations and “Alive
HI.”
Opening for KISS will be Win
ger and Vixen.
Winger, led by vocalist/bassist
Kip Winger, the band is well re
spected as a group of musicians
See KISS on 10
Gore, drugs, theft mesh
in mobster flick, ‘Fellas’
By Julie Naughton
Senior Reporter
“GoodFcllas” is the extremely
gory, extremely graphic and extremely
well-told story of one man’s lifelong
involvement with the mob. The movie
is based on a true story, and is brought
to life by critically acclaimed direc
tor Martin Scorsese.
The movie is the story of Henry
Hill (Ray Liotta), a half-Italian, half
Irish man who has always wanted to
be a gangster. The movie opens with
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his narration, looking back on his
childhood in New York City. Hill
tells the audience that gangsters had
power and respect, which is why he
wanted to be one. His father was
against it, but all his mother cared
about, according to the Hill narration,
was that the gangsters were from the
same part of Italy that she was from.
One of the first mob bosses Hill
comes in contact with is the rich,
wcll-rcspectod Jimmy Conway (Robert
DeNiro). Jimmy lakes a liking to the
young Henry, and takes him under his
wing. Jimmy teaches Henry valuable
mob skills (murder, theft, truck heists),
as well as telling him the most valu
able mob credos: don’t rat on your
friends, and don’t tell anyone any
thing when questioned by the police.
Jimmy also becomes a trusted friend
to Hill, and the two tell each other
everything and commit crimes to
gether.
The movie traces about four dec
ades in Hill’s life. The first part of the
movie shows his childhood. The sec
ond - and major - part of the movie
deals with his 20s and 30s, when he
meets and marries his wife, Karen
(Lorraine Bracco), has his children
and spends time in jail. The last part
of the movie shows what happens to
Henry in his early 40s, when he gets
involved with buying, selling and using
cocaine.
The movie is basically Henry’s
story, through the adultery, killing,
lying, cheating and stealing. The film
shows, graphically and well, what
happens when people get mixed up
with the mob.
The movie also traces the same
four dec ades in Karen Hill’s life, and,
to a lesser extent, is also her story.
Bracco is completely convincing, first
as the young Jewish woman com
pletely in love with her new Catholic
mobster husband, and then as the young
wife and mother forced to support
herself and her two small children
when her husband is sent to jail. And
finally, the movie portrays her as a
woman that descends into cocaine
addiction hell as she and her husband
sell the stuff.
“GoodFellas” is very graphic, and
does not shy away from portraying
brutal murders and torturing — the
heinous behavior that should make
everybody hate these people. The actors
make the characters three-dimensional
and hard to hate. The characters be
come people to fear, as well as people
you might meet walking down the
street. It’s a scary concept.
Liotta is excellent as Henry Hill.
As a Catholic mobster, Henry breaks
just about every one of the Ten
Commandments — Liotta carries this
feeling forth without making Henry
seem like a cold-hearted scum. In
other words, Liotta makes Henry a
human character, one that is hard to
completely hate (despite all of the
horrible things he does.)
DeNiro turns in a great perform
ance as Conway. His Conway is char
ismatic, committed to the mob, loyal
and smart. DeNiro and Liolta’s per
formances play off of each other well.
It is DeNiro and Liotta, combined
with the talents of Bracco, who make
the film so well told.
Bracco, as Karen, displays the tal
ent that should make her a major star.
She looks like a young Debra Win
ger. Her talent is at least equal to, if
not greater than. Winger’s. Bracco is
superb as a woman who wants to
escape from the hell that has become
her life.
The real Henry Hill is currently in
the Federal Bureau of Investigations’
Witness Protection Program. He and
his wife, Karen, recently separated
after 25 years of marriage. The real
Jimmy Conway is serving a term in
prison and will be eligible for parole
in 2004.
‘ ‘GoodFellas’ ’ is based on the book
“Wiscguy,” by Nicholas Pilcggi. The
screenplay was written by Pileggi and
Scorsese.
“GoodFellas” is playing at the
Cooper Theatre, 54th and O streets.
Singer needs a throat lozenge
Wreck’s raw sound doesn’t crash and bum
By Brian Meves
Staff Reporter
Wreck
“Soul Train”
Play It Again Sam Records
Wreck is a band you could throw
raw meat at, and the music would eat
it up and spit it back in your face.
This LP thoroughly exemplifies
Wreck’s ‘‘don’t give a damn” ap
proach to music.
“Soul Train” is the first full-length
release from the Chicago-based duo.
Formed originally in Milwaukee in
1988, the founding members - gui
tarist and vocalist Dean Schlabowske
and drummer Bart Flores - left for
Chicago to pursue the much heralded
“Chicago-guitar sound.”
There they hooked up with pro
ducer and former Big Black front
man Steve Albini, and Die Krcuzen
bassist Keith Brammcr, a friendly
combination.
“Soul Train” utilizes no catchy
rhythms, no overproduction, no syn
thesizers and most of all - no regrets.
However, it docs feature a me
lodic mixture of post-punk, garage
rock and industrial rock.
The sound is as raw as can be, but
isn't that what you would come to
expect from a band named Wreck?
Especially, one that was produced by
Big Black Albini.
The front man who feeds this beast
of a group is Schlabowske. His vocals
are straight-ahead terror. He has defi
nitely mastered all of the vocal char
acteristics needed for this raw group.
From the sinister laughing on “Ribs
And Balls,” to his extended periods
of moaning, yelling and chanting on
“Raised By Whites,” you can almost
hear Schlabowske reaching for an
other throat lozenge.
Between his rude vocals, he also
plays a mean guitar. The chords and
riffs rip at your ears with an intensity
that would easily scare away your
mother. Schlabowske creates such a
wh irl w i nd o! noise that it sounds more
like dull knives gashing through alu
minum cans.
Joining in with the vocal and gui
tar fury, Flores approaches and at
tacks his drum set as if it were an
arsenal. With each drumstick*he sends
out tremors that slap at your head and
beg for forgiveness.
From the lower depths of hell,
you’ll find Brammer pounding on his
bass in constant torture.
When you combine all of these
relentless sounds to go along with the
music’s start-stop, alive-dead flow,
you have Wreck.
But it’s not a wreck.
John Wladar steps in to add some
raging guitar on “Ribs and Balls,”
“Retail,’ ’ and "VariousTimcs,” and
the band, overall, glides the road of
distorted ecstasy.
“Soul Train” is an album by a
group of guys having fun playing
their instruments and not really car
ing what it sounds like -- though it
does sound good.
And if they don’t give a damn,
why should we?
W reck ’ s raw sound doesn ’ t crash and
bum
Courtesy cf Ray It Again Sam