Arts@Enterta inment
Spankin’ Rufus brings funk to the Zoo
By Matthew Grant
Staff Reporter
A Rastafarian-styled, old school
bus will roll into Lincoln for the third
time today.
Inside will be Spankin’ Rufus, pre
paring for their performance this
evening at the Zoo Bar, 136N. 14th St.
Spankin’ Rufus is a band with a
dual identity crisis. The six-piece out
fit from Columbia, Mo., consists of a
college-trained horn section and a
rhythm section with graduates of the
listen-and-leam approach to playing
an instrument.
The result is an upbeat fusion of
jazz, funk and rock that Tom
O’Connor, Spankin’ Rufus’ guitarist,
was reluctant to define.
Previously the band has described
its music as “chock-full of maximum
testicle funk.” Whatever it is, it’s a
combination that is gaining the band
recognition on the Midwestern cir
cuit.
Another draw is their stage show,
which is gaining a reputation for in
tensity and nudity.
“From time to time there’s a bit of
nudity — except in Illinois,”
O’Connor said.
And what about tonight’s show?
“You can count on a butt cheek or
two,” O’Connor promised.
“But that’s not the main focus,” he
quickly added.
After five years together, the band
decided to get serious earlier this year.
They quit their jobs and pooled their
savings to independently release their
self-titled compact disc.
They painted their bus and Spankin’
Rufus hit the road. The band has been
touring extensively ever since — in
Omaha, Chicago, New Orleans, Aus
tin, Texas, and everywhere in be
tween.
Their plan for the immediate fu
ture is to keep working and playing
hard, with hopes of moving on to
bigger things.
Every couple of weeks there are
indications of progress, O’Connor
said. The most recent is a beer com
pany interested in sponsoring the
group.
And what about the message be
hind the music?
“It’s kind of like a Bugs Bunny
cartoon, meant to be looked at at
different levels,” O’Connor said.
“When you’re a little kid it’s fun and
entertaining, when you’re near adult
hood you can look at it and still get
something out of it.”
Courtesy of Big Thumb Productions
SPitf K.MSf8, a m'xec*‘9enre band from Columbia, Mo., will perform tonight at the Zoo Bar,
lot) N. 14th St.
“Captain Ron" stars the following actors as the Martin Harvey family: Katherine (Mary Kay Place), Martin (Martin Short), Benjamin
(Benjamin Salisbury) and Caroline (Meadow Sisto).
‘Captain Ron’ sets sail on the seas of cojnedy
“Captain Ron”
By Ingrid Youngquist
Staff Reporter
The grouping of Kurt Russell,
Martin Short, a severely decayed
wooden yacht and a trip on the Carib
bean is best summed up in one word:
fun.
The combination appears in the
Thom Ebcrhardt film “Captain Ron.”
While this film probably wouldn’t
rank among the most outstanding com
edies of the year, it is truly refreshing.
In the film, stresscd-out corporate
executive, Martin Harvey (Short), his
wife (Mary Kay Place) and children
(Meadow Sisto and Benjamin
Salisbury) take off for a spontaneous
adventure in the Caribbean after Mar
tin inherits his seafaring uncle’s boat.
The Harveys arrive in the Carib
bean to discover that their newly in
herited boat is past its prime. They are
discouraged until Captain Ron, a
wigged-oul, scruffy-looking,
deadlocked professional seafarer
played by Russell, “saves” the day,
and the family sets off rather suddenly
on the adventure of a lifetime.
As Captain Ron says, “If anything
is going to happen, it is going to
happen out there (at sea).” And it
does.
The film is chock-full of mishaps
and missed islands as the fam ily learns
to sail, is sequestered by
subvcrsionarics and chased by sea
pirates.
Though the acting is average and
the humor is moderate, Russell makes
an unexpectedly good pirate. Captain
Ron’s character is atypical of those
played by Russell in recent years.
Much of the humor derived from
Captain Ron in the film comes from
his habits.
While Russell is supposed lobe the
lead character in the film. Short’s
ability as a comic actor shines through.
Place, known for feature films such
as “Starting Over” and “The Big
Chill,” also puts forth a standout per
formance as Martin’s skeptical wife,
Katherine, who turns out to be the one
who keeps the family from abandon
ing ship.
Perhaps the most redeeming part
of this film is the scenery and the
music.
With views of the ocean, palm
trees, sunsets and the islands domi
nating almost every frame the film, it
becomes a vacation for the eyes.
The music is also an asset. All of
the music in the film has a Latin or
calypso feel with much of it being
performed by Bob Marley and The
Wailers and various Hispanic per
formers.
“Captain Ron” is probably not the
greatest film in town, but it’s fun and
refreshing. The Harveys are a per
fectly normal upper-middle class fam
ily that one can relate to easily.
Because most people never run
across the chance for a Caribbean
adventure, the Harveys’ trip is one to
watch, laugh at and admire.
If you are looking for an escape
from the daily grind of work, school
and studies, “Captain Ron” is a nice
two-hour break, and you don’t even
need to know how to sail.
After 11 months,
Charlie Burton
returns to Zoo
without Hiccups
By Shannon Uehling
Senior Editor
This weekend marks a homecom
ing for Charlie Burton, formerly of
the Hiccups.
Burton will perform Saturday at
the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St., with
guitarist Evan Johns and his band.
The performance marks Burton’s first
appearance at the Zoo Bar in almost
11 months.
Burton performed in Lincoln las*
Halloween night. That final perfor
mance celebrated the anniversary of
his first Zoo gig.
While Burton was with the Hic
cups, the band released several al
bums, including “Don’t Fight the Band
that Needs You,” “Green Cheese”
and a live album recorded at Omaha’s
Liftickct Lounge in 1990, “Puke Point
at the Juke Joint.”
The singer/songwriter has been
working in Austin, Texas, with Johns
for the last several months.
Jeb Schoonover, Burton’s publi
cist, said Thursday that in addition to
performing songs from Burton’s de
funct Hiccups, the duo also would be
performing some of the 20 new songs
Burton had written.
Saturday’s performance will be
tin with a set by Johns and his band,
choonover said. During the next set,
Johns will be joined by Burton.
Burton has been busy writing songs
and performing since his departure
from Lincoln, Schoonover said.
“There’s also a possible album in
the future,” he said.
The performance will begin at 9
p.m.and last until 1 a.m. There is a $4
cover charge.