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
