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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1994)
fernday, December 12, 1994 Gregory offers more than music Performers vent disgust with society By Jo»l Strauch _ Senior Reporter Gregory doesn’t just know how to play; they know why they play. The three-member band with great sound and a sense of purpose will play Dec. 23 with Mercy Rule and XXY at Le Cafe Shakes, 1418 OSt. Owen Cleasby, Gregory's gui tarist and vocalist, said the band wanted to do more than entertain. “Being able to communicate ab solute truths is the biggest goal that I have as a vocalist,” he said. “You can do that with poetry or writing, but music behind words creates a more powerful vehicle.” But the truth is, this world can get ugly, and Gregory’s members vent their disgust with society in their music. “What we communicate with ourselves and our peers is confu sion,” he said. “There is a lot of bullshit, malevolence, corruption and self-servient people who want to take what you have and not give anything back.” Ken Brock, Gregory’s drum mer, said the band’s contempt for society seeped into the music. “There is a lot of sarcasm and a lot of cynicism,” Brock said. “It boils over from what you see in life” But, Cleasby said, Gregory tries to show a light at the end of the tunnel. “There arc very few things in life that you can believe in,” Cleasby said. “If you can believe in yourself and those around you, you are able to create deeper friendships and senses of trust.” Gregory doesn’t expect every one to get the message. “We want people to come out and see our shows and approach it on whatever level they want to,” he said. “But I don’t really expect much from an audience that is unwilling to open themselves up.” “The trick for us is to get other people to listen and communicate as much truth as possible.” People should experience Gre gory on a deeper level than most bands, Cleasby said. “People use music to form a mentality about how they see the world around them,” he said, “but Michelle Paulman/DN Owen Cleaeby fronts the Lincoln band Gregory on vocals and guitar. The three-mem ber band will play Dec. 23 with Mercy Rule and XXY at Le Cafe Shakes. too many people rely on music on a superficial level. “They never really use it to find their own depths, their own means of survival,on a human, emotional level.” Although Gregory's music can be angry, the band doesn’t want to amplify these feelings in its lis teners, Cleasby said. “We have a lot of negative over tones in our music, but we as a band don't want to fuel other people’s negative emotions.” “We want people to be open to our music, but it is not a tool for their vampirism.” Band members said they used Gregory to gain self-belief and ful fillment. “I know that everyone in this band would be able to flourish in j See GREGORY on 16 Traditions begin on the stage By Paula Lavlgn* Senior Reporter From decorating the Christmas tree to baking cook ies, Christmas is full of tradi tions. Some of the season’s most exciting traditions occur on stage. Year after year, theater goers enjoy old favorites like Charles Dickens’ “A Christ mas Carol” and Tchaikovsky's “The Nutcracker.” In the past decade, Omaha’s Manheim Steamroller concert has joined those two as holiday must sees. Manheim Steamroller He made the herald angels rock and the three kings roll. Chip Davis, founder of Manheim Steamroller, uses acoustic and electronic music to put a 20th-century twist on 18th-century Christmas car ols. The variation worked, and Manheim Steamroller sold more than 10 trillion copies of “Manheim ^Steamroller Christmas” and “A Fresh Aire Christmas.” Davis works out of a re cording studio in the basement of his Omaha home and is hailed as one of Nebraska's best and brightest. The musician defines his music as “18th Century Rock ‘n’ Roll,” he said in a press release. He regards his music as “eclectic” instead of New Age because “it draws from a lot of different sources to come up with something totally differ ent.” “1 draw from the Renais sance, from Rock and Roll, even from Gregorian Chants coupled with synthesizers,” he said in the release. “But it is not free-form like a lot of New Age stuff. I follow pretty rigid structures. I'm still writing in classical form. “I wish Mozart could sit in my basement. Think of how much fun a guy like that could have with all this junk.” By mixing the classical with the experimental, Davis See TRADITIONS on 16 James Meshling/DN Tis the season for many films By Qwry B»ltz Senior Reporter Each holiday season, Holly wood releases film after film, hop ing every one will be a money making hit. This season has been a bit dif ferent from past holidays, with big flicks like “Star Trek: Genera tions,” “Interview With The Vam pire” and “The Santa Clause” opening before Thanksgiving. A couple of big-name movies will be released this weekend. “Speechless” stars Geena Davis and Michael Keaton as a couple of political speechwriters who fall in love while working for opposing politicians. Fans of “Sleepless in Seattle” will probably like this one. Jim Carrey goes for another brainless hit with “Dumb and Dumber,” also starring Jeff Daniels. This flick guarantees more moronic humor and stupid behavior, but if people will pay to see “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” they’ll probably sell their souls to see “Dumb and Dumber.” As the shopping days dwindle next week, the theater traffic will be as jammed as the malls. Macaulay Culkin’s (hopefully) last prepubescent film, “Richie Rich,” based on the once-popular comic book, opens Dec. 21. Word has it several scenes had to be redone because Mac’s voice was changing during filming. Steve Martin also will hit the screens Christmas Day in the com edy “Mixed Nuts” (originally en titled “Life Savers”) as an em ployee at a suicide-prevention cen ter. See FLIX on 16
