Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1992)
Arts®Entertainment New band breaks into Lincoln music scene By Patrick Hambrecht Staff Reporter_____ Within the span of a week, Our Slave will attempt to hold two more crowds in euphoric bondage, as they did on Nov. 20. They will be playing at the Red and Black Caf6 Saturday, and with Gorilla Theater and House of Commons Dec. 11 at an alternative dance/concert happening inside Bell Hall in Papillion. The band from Lincoln High School won surprised, rave reviews for their first lime out on stage. “Our Slave is the best damn local band I’ve ever heard,” said Ben Kroc/c, an undeclared freshman at University of Ncbraska-Lincoln. Group hopes to repeat early success “They were a jolly bop of a band that was intellectually stimulating, with a real twist of delight.” Singing for Our Slave is by an award-win ning violinist and Madrigal singer, Jill Olson, a senior at Lincoln High. She cites her influences as Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix. “Most of the music I listen to is of men, because that’s what’s out there,” Olson said. “The singer I admire more than anyone is Ella Fitzgerald. If I could sound like anyone, I’d sound like her. She has so much talent, you can see her soul when she sings, you can hear so much emotion.” Josh Grenier plays guitar for the band, and many of the melodics originate from him. His music creates a throbbing mass of melody and distortion. The sound of Our S lave cannot be compared to many of the other alternative bands headed by females. Any possible similarities fall away in the face of the music’s understated ferocity, subtly punctuated by the bass and drums. It’s a melodic drone that marches toward the listener like animated, razor-edged marionettes. Grenier said healtributed much of the group’s craftsmansh ip to his respect for the group Smash ing Pumpkins. “A lot of times when people play, or solo, they play in the minor pentatonic scale, but Smashing Pumpkins will play any major scale and in a very melodic way,” Grenier said. “They play not so much to show off, but to get at the feeling behind what they’re doing.” Oli Baha, a senior at Lincoln High, said that it had become easier to work with Grenier and his melodies. “Every guitarist has a distinct style, Baha said. “I think his style is very jazz-oriented. Band-wise, we’re really getting belter. Before I had to slop and ask him what he was leading towards, now we’re much more connected.’ Baha also allribu tes the band’s m usical slant to Olson’s vocal presence. “Just by the way a person sings, it can change the band. Since Jill joined us, we’ve become a lot more melodic, something you can bob your head to.” The band said they were looking forward to their week of shows. They said they were glad the tickets for both of the shows were inexpensive. The Red and Black Caf6 show Saturday is free, and the showcase on Dec. 11 will be $4. “It bothers me when we go to the Common place and twice the people are silling outside as arc in, because they can’t afford the show,” Olson &ud. Tickets for the Dec. 11 show are available at Dirt Cheap and Drastic Plastic in Omaha, and Twisters Music and Gifts and Recycled Sounds in Lincoln. I_^_ _I Courtesy of Pershing Auditorium Raffi Cavoukian will present “Raffi: A Family Concert” to night at Pershing Municipal Auditorium. Musician with message for children to perform family concert at Pershing By Stacey McKenzie Senior Reporter _ Raffi, the gentle singcr/songwritcr with an environmental message for families and children, will perform “Raffi: A Family Concert” tonight at Pershing Municipal Auditorium. Raffi Cavoukian, bom in 1948 in Cairo, Egypt, has received national acclaim for his musicianship in Canada, where he resides, the United States and around the world. This summer, Raffi accompanied representatives of the Environmental Children’s Organization to Rio de Janeiro for The Earth Summit. “With our Earth in trouble, we’ve all got to commit to being part of the solutions that we need,” Cavoukian said. “We need to set a good example and make a commitment for a bright and healthy future for them. “In this day and age, I think we all know that if we don’t cooperate on this'globc, we’re not going to make it.” Raffi cooperates by not using ex cessive packaging for his recordings and by printing his books on recycled paper. While performing, Raffi said, he liked to have the people in his audi ence sing together. That way, he said, they can feel a power, a common spirit. “Family, these days, is many things to many people. When we’re singing together, we sure feel like a family. Raffi’s musical styles arc varied and include folk, country and calypso. There will be lots of humor infused into tonight’s performance, he said. Children, teachers, parents and school boards have been using Raffi’s songs since his firstchildren’salbum, “Singable Songs for the Very Young,” released in 1976. Since then, Raffi has recorded nine songs for children and published four songbooks and eight picture books based on his music. There arc almost one million copies in print. “Evergreen Everblue,” Raffi’s lat est album, reflects his concerns for the global environment Tickets, $ 12.50 for general admis sion and $11 for children age 10 and under, arc available at Pershing Audi torium and all TickctMasier outlets. Release of classic George Carlin means gold mine for comedy fans “Classic Gold, Vols. 1 & 2” George Carlin Eardrum Records George Carlin has become an American comedy institution during his 30-year career. His style in the late 1960s was a departure from the standard sitcom shtick that smothered the mainstream. Carlin followed in the footsteps of the great Lenny Bruce, and became a star. Listening to “Classic Gold” it’s easy to discover why he’s become not just a comedian, but one of our most brilliant social commentators. “Classic Gold” actually is a rcrclcase of three of his most popular , albums, unavailable for years, “FM and AM,” “Class Clown” and the Grammy-winning “Occupation: Foolc.” Within, you will find such comic classics as “I Used to Be Irish Catho lic.” Carlin’s Irish Catholic back ground is a rich vein of material, and he mines it for all it’s worth. His impersonations of the priests, nuns and fellow Catholic school stu dents arc at once uproarious and inci sive social commentary. But it’s nei ther mean-spirited nor vengeful. He’s just taking childhood memories and putting his own bizarre twist on them. “I used to be Irish Catholic,” he begins, “but now I’m an American.” “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” is famous in its own right. It even became the subject of a Supreme Court case in 1978, and the monologue now lies enshrined in Volume 428 of the United States Re ports — true immortality. His examination of language, tak ing things we never notice and skewering them so as to make it look easy is one of Carlin’s true strengths. Other topics attacked are drugs, divorce, sex in commercials and our commercial culture. Radical in the late ’60s and early ’ 70s, it seems tame in an era when an artsy book of erotic photography by a singer can cl imb the bestseller lists. But Carl in loses none of h is punch, and his comments still ring true. If anything, he gains in stature. Warning — because of the lan guage and content this material is not for the faint-hearted or the easily of fended. — Sam Kepfield --, Rapper sings of race issues _ . v _ Haris endorses pro-black stance -□ “Sleeping With the Enemy” Paris Scarface Records In the season of the pro-black rappers, Paris steps on the band wagon with his sophomore release, “Sleeping With the Enemy.” “Sleeping With the Enemy” addresses many issues that deal with the black community. This LP begins with the title cut “Sleeping With the Enemy,” which slates that “every brother ain’t a brother,” and while no names arc specifically mentioned, JointChicfs ofStaffchairmanColin Powell and the race war in America arc im pli^L i ms cui icaas directly into the next track, “House Niggas Bleed Too.” Listeners hear a conversa tion between two black men in which they say if they conform to the majority beliefs in society they can succeed. After this conversa tion, there arc three shots that pre sumably cause their deaths. The lirst three tracks that Paris lays down set up the feature track on “Sleeping With the Enemy.” “Bush Killer” is a very hard hitting cut in which Paris releases his anger toward President Bush using a mock assassination at the beginning of the cut. Paris calls Bush a devil and raps “so don’t be telling me to get the nonviolent Paris second album “Sleeping With the Enemy" raises social and political questions. y spirit/cause when 1 m violent is the only lime the devils hear it.’* A lot of this LP is dedicated to the government. On the inside cover there is a picture of Paris hiding behind a tree while the president is on the other side of this tree getting out of his vehicle. On the opposite side, the Declaration of Indepen dence is printed. Through the first halfof “Sleep ing With the Enemy,“listenersmay See PARIS on 13