jjjBte- ARTS^ENTERTATNMENT
Local band’s blues win over out-of-town gigs
Senior Report*
They say a prophet is not without
honor — except in front of a home
town crowd.
Local bands that couldn’t fill a
men’s room on a Friday night play to
large screaming audiences at out-of
town gigs.
What gives?
Band members with Lincoln’s
Honeyboy Turner & Cryin’ Heart
don’t have a clue—they just keep on
plugging.
“When people know you’re a local
band you get that kind of‘local band
thing,’” said Mike Brindell, guitarist
for the group.
“When we play elsewhere we can
pack a house, he said.
Not that all their local venues are
duds — the five-piece “rockabilly
and blues” band have something of a
following at Duggan’s Pub.
“We have 200 people in that place
when we play there,” he said.
And the band does play occasional
gigs at the Zoo Bar.
But by far and large, their biggest
fans are out of town, he said.
That adds a lot of travel time to the
band’s already busy schedule.
“We’re all trying to keep full-time
jobs and being on the road all the time
can really burn you out,” Brindell
said.
The lack of local enthusiasm is
made harder to understand by the fact
that Honeyboy focuses on blues —
enormously popular music on the Lin
coln front.
“We play electric rockin’ blues,”
Brindell said, “not what we would
call ‘weenie blues’.”
To Brindell that means classic
Chicago blues like Billy Lee Riley’s
“Red Hot.”
“We’re talking about tunes that are
20,30,40 years old,” he said.
Remaking old songs is nothing new
in the world of rock and roll, accord
ing to Brindell.
“If you look at what Elvis was
doing in the ’50s, he was picking up
blues tunes from the ’40s.” he said.
Honeyboy, which hopes to cut its
-
We’re all trying to keep full-time Jobs and being
on the road all the time can really burn you out.
— Br indell
guitarist
first recording in December, also in
dulges audiences with a little
rockabilly.
Honeyboy also includes: John
“Honeyboy” Turner on vocals,
Brindell’s brother Harvey on guitar,
Eric Byorth on bass and Gary Will
iams — the Zoo’s sound man — on
drums.
Brindell was introduced to the blues
by his brother, who started the band
three years ago, and he’s enthusiastic
V w
about the music.
“You have to put a lot of feeling
into it while you’re playing blues. If
you don’t get that, you haven’t suc
ceeded.”
Brindell said he likes bringing clas
sic blues to the people.
“A lot of these old obscure tunes
people don’t know. They think it’s
original,” he said.
“People don’t care what you play
as long as it’s good."
Predictable ‘Program’ scores big with performances
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“The Program”
§rlrttr
Because it shows the dark side of
college football,“The Program” won’t
be wcll-recieved by most football fans,
but it is a decent movie.
Centered around the Eastern State
University football program and coach
Sam W inters (James Caan), ‘The Pro
gram” follows the lives of the team
members and the problems they face
both on and off the field.
Joe Kane (Craig Sheffer, “A River
Runs Through It”) is the star quarter
back and a Heisman Trophy hopeful
who is haunted by alcoholism and a
fear of success.
Freshman Darnell Jefferson (Omar
Epps, “Juice”) is coping with being
the new kid on the block, and strug-:
glcs to pass his placement exams.
Other issues the movie deals with
are steroid use and the importance of
a college education to even the most
promising players.
And let’s not forget the all-impor
tant love interests that rise and fall
throughout the movie. We have
Camille (Kristy Swanson. “Bufly The
Vampire Slayer”) attracted to the
mysteriously charismatic Kane, and
Autumn (Halle Berry, “Boomerang”)
as the love interest of Darnell and
rival teammate Ray Griffen (J. Leon
Pridgen, II).
Courtesy of Touchstone Pictures
On location for “The Program” director Ward, right, and star Craig Shelter prepare to shoot a scene.
Caan’s portrayal ofWintere moves
between that of a father figure that can
whitewash almost any situation, to a
cruel dictator that cares more about
football than his players and their
education.
Caan handles it all well, but it’s a
bit too stereotypical for this type of
film.
All of the performers handled their
roles well, but how much can be done
with something as predictable as this?
The film itself shows very few
positive aspects of college football.
We see the cash gifts from alumni, the
different ways to cheat on drug tests
and alumni who care more about the
team winning than the well-being of
(he students. ~
While “The Program” is fairly pre
dictable —good performances make
it worth seeing.
— Gerry Beitz
Book recounts Superman s recent nistory in great detail
Brian ShoWtc/ON |
“The Death and Life of Superman”
Roger Stern
Bantam Spectra Books
For thaw readers who cannot get enough of
superhereos from comic books and the funny
pages, Bantam Books delivers “The Death of
Superman.”
Written by Roger Stern, one of five writers
of the Superman comic books, the novel chron
icles the life and death of the Man of Steel —
and his alter ego, Clark Kent.
Stem bases his book primarily on some 40
separate issues from four Superman comics
published during the last nine months by DC
Comics.
Those issues ran the “Doomsday” storyl ine,
which ended in Superman’s death; the “Funeral
for a Friend” stories that showed his friends,
family and loved ones mourning him while the
world reeled from the shock; and the “Reign of
the Supermen” stories, which showed four dif
ferent men, each claiming to carry on Super
man’s work.
Stem’s novel retells those events in much
greater detail, giving behind-the-scenes infor
mation and nevcr-before-rcad details about the
four would-be supermen.
The book also explains some historical de
tails, such as the origin of Dark’s name, his
costume and his first public appearance. It also
peeks into the Man of Steel’s relationship with
nis parents and his lover, Lois Lane. The back
Sound on the Kents is interesting, and for all
b softie readers, heartwarming as well.
Since the material is so familiar to anyone
who hasn’t spent the last nine months under a
rock, the book is a quick read. Stem’s style is
smooth as he eases in and out of the present,
relating memories and past anecdotes.
It also contains an ominous epilogue: a brief
moment with a creature strapped onto an aster
oid in the outer reaches of space. A creature
known as Doomsday.
“The Death and Life of Superman” is filled
with new insights and gives a depth to Super
man’s story that the comics are unable to
convey.
It’s a must for Superman fans.
For those who know nothing about the Man
of Steel, it’s an opportunity to learn everything
one needs to know about the world’s greatest
superhero.
—Anne Steyer