, i . - ; •
arts®Entertainment
Lincoln fans to taste XYZ’s alphabet soup
Tight Fit to open
L.A. band’s show
> By Shannon Uehling
Senior Editor ' *
More than just four pretty boys
who play in another rock band from
Los Angeles, the members of XYZ
arc proving they have the stamina to
remain afloat in rock’s turbulent al
phabet soup.
The band will be stopping in Lin
coln today to perform at the Royal
Grove, 340 W. Comhuskcr Highway,
in support of their latest album, “Face
Down in the Gutter.”
Area band Tight Fit will open the
show at about 9:30 p.m. XYZ is sched
uled to seize the stage at 11 p.m.
XYZ, formed in 1985 in Holly
wood, is comprised of Pall Fontaine
(bass guitar), Paul Monroe (drums),
Marc Diglio (guitar), and transplanted
Frenchman Terry Ilous (vocals).
XYZ look the L.A. music scene by
surprise early in its history, playing
consistently sold-out shows at the
famed Sunset Strip night club, the
Whisky A Go Go. The foursome even
broke Motley Cruc’s attendance rec
ord.
The hard rockers have worked
industry greats such as Don Dokkcn,
who produced the band’s debut self
titled album, and guitarists Billy White
and John Norum, among others.
Singles such as “When I Find Love,”
“Inside Out,” and “Souvenirs” have
propelled XYZ into national atten
tion and earned them considerable
airplay.
The concert is part of a new effort
by Twisters Music and Gifts, under
the name “Twisted Productions,” to
book largcr-namc groups into the
Lincoln area.
For a closer look at X YZ, the band
will make an appearance at Twisters
at 14th and O streets at 3:30 p.m.
today. This will be an informal, in
store “Meet and Greet” to sign auto
graphs and visit with fans and cus
tomers.
XYZ enthusiasts 18 years old and
older will be allowed into the show.
Tickets arc S4 in advance and $5 at
the Royal Grove door.
Courtesy of Capitol Records
xyz members Patt Fontaine (bass guitar), Marc Diglio (guitar), Terry llous (vocals), and Paul Monroe (drums) will perform in
Lincoln at the Royal Grove tonight.
Courtesy of JIVE
Hi-Five’s “Keep It Goin’ On’’ album features more mature
music according to its members.
Hi-Five hoping second album,
better music keeps on going
with older, broader audience
Hi-Five
“Keep It Goin’ On”
Jive Records
After their highly successful, self
tilled debut in 1990, Hi-Five is back
with their sophomore effort “Keep It
Goin’ On."
The latest LP is an effort for the
group to appeal to a more adult audi
ence. Group member and lead vocal
ist Tony Thompson said, “This album
is much more mature."
Despite the group’s effort to be
come more mature, the first song of
IhisLP,“She’s Playing Hard ToGet,”
sounds like last summer’s hit, “I Like
the Way,” revisited.
Even though the first song on this
1 LP seems geared toward the teen-age
crowd, evidence of the band’s ex
panded vocal style appears on the
next song, “Quality Time." This is a
smooth ballad written and produced
by up-and-coming labclmatc R. Kelly.
Kelly wrote and produced four tracks
on the LP and definitely leaves his
mark.
“She Said,” and “Fly Away” arc
other ballads that showcase Hi-Five’s
newfound depth.
“A Little Bit Older Now" is a
See FIVE on 16
Latest Lee film suggests Brandon
has Bruce’s talent, unique flair
1____ ____ __
“Rapid Fire”
By Gerry Beltz
Staff Reporter
With the release of “Rapid Fire”
(Cinema Twin, Edgewood 3), Bran
don Lee join* the fraternity of Seagal,
Van Damme, and his father, the leg
endary Bruce Lee, as a true martial
artist-lumcd-aclor.
In “Rapid Fire,” Lee portrays Jake
Lo, a college student who is the sole
witness to a mob-related assassina
tion, with head wise guy Serrano (Nick
Mancuso) pulling the trigger.
He gets picked up by the leds lor
the witness-protection program, but,
naturally, the mob has some people
on the inside, and Jake ends up with
only his heavy-duty martial arts train
ing to survive. Along the way, we
discover that Jake’s don’t-want-to
be-involvcd attitude stems from hav
ing seen his father killed during the
riots at Ticnanmcn Square.
The film also offers a look at Ll.
Mace Ryan (gruffly played by Pow
ers Boothe), a veteran cop who has
been chasing Serrano’s archenemy,
Tau (Tzi Ma), for nearly 10 years. He
and his partner, Karla Withers (Kate
Hodge), find Jake and try to convince
him to help set a trap, but Jake’s life
is the bait.
Of course, not a whole lot of depth
or character development exists in
“Rapid Fire,” but the audience can
Find out a little bit about what makes
each character lick.
Lee is great as the smart-mouthed
Jake who gets in way over his head
but still has time for an occasional
wisecrack.
What Brandon lacks in his father’s
acting capacity and intensity, he makes
up for in his fighting ability, as well as
jbrealhing a little bit of fresh life into
the martial arts movie business.
Lee and stunt coordinator JefT Imada
choreographed the film’s five major
martial arts sequences, and all arc full
of chops, kicks and various other flashy
maneuvers that cause body parts to
bend in ways they weren’t meant to.
But they manage to do most of it in
ways that have a little more kick (no
pun intended) than the typically bad
martial arts movie.
For the “martial-arts-movic-with
out-a-plot” trivia fans, Al Leong, a
requisite player in almost any martial
arts movie who also appeared in “Die
Hard” and Lethal Weapon , shows
up here as well—and he actually gets
some screen time!
He and Jake have a powerful en
counter in a blazing Chinese laundry
factory. This is one of the best one
on-one fights in the movie simply
because he gives Jake a real run for
his money in the speed and skill cate
gories. Hopefully, Leong’s talent will
e explored in future movies.
The promotions for “Rapid Fire”
tout that “Brandon Lee has arrived!”
The question is “Docs he have
what it takes to stay?”
Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
Brandon Lee stars in “Rapid Fire” as Jake Lo, a college
student who witnesses a mob killing and must protect
himself with his only weapons, his hands.