THE
GROOVE
By Jeff Randall
Vinyl-bound
faith remains
interesting
As a rallying point for all hu
manity, religion is pretty much an
unbeatable force.
And that’s just one of the rea
sons I collect Christian music.
To be perfectly honest, I’m not
what one would call a “good Chris
tian.” I’ve spent many nights won
dering exactly what place religion
holds in my life.
But no matter how high or low
my faith is on any given day, my
small but saucy collection of Chris
tian tunes always manages to
brighten my day.
From the fantastic, glamorous
splendor of “Jesus Christ Superstar”
to the modest, simplistic song works
created by Centerville, Iowa’s,
Gateway Singers, every Christian
album in my possession has its own
character and approach to the single
subject of praising the Lord.
Some of the more appalling el
ements of the Christian music spec
trum reside in albums recorded for
the PTL Club (you remember Jim
and Tammy Bakker, right?).
Thmmy’s solo effort, “Thmmy Sings
... You Can Make It!,” is a cheaply
produced collection of original
songs by Mike Murdock, whose
lyrical and musical abilities are dif
ficult to distinguish from most el
evator-destined pop tunes.
But the most obvious reason to
dislike this and other PTL albums
is the ugly story that lies behind
them—Jim Baker’s thievery and
Tommy’s materialistic whiningbut
side of these albums amount to
nothing less than hypocrisy. Chris
tian music by two people whose
actions have proven to bedecidedly
un-Christian is hard to listen to with
out getting queasy.
On a more trustwortny Christian
musical note, Teens 4 Christ’s al
bum, “Just a Little Ihlk,” has a mere
believable tone. The group was a
four-part, all-male vocal harmony
group with piano accompaniment
and occasional female vocals.
Based in Murdock, Neb., Teens 4
Christ were far from the singing sen
sations of 1969 and '70. But their
slightly off-tempo, out-of-tune ren
ditions of songs such as the title
track and “I Am on the Battlefield
for My Lord” are full of young en
thusiasm that would be difficult to
fake.
And, if you look at what popu
lar Christian music was originally
designed to do—spread Christian
teachings with sincerity and, if at all
possible, catchy music, Teens 4
Christ and a piano succeed where
Jim, Tkmmy and an auditorium
sized orchestra fail.
The small-town, makeshift reli
gious groups have talent that is
questionable, but faith that seems
unshakable. And, sales figures,
mass popularity and marketability
aside, that’s what Christian music
really should be about.
Randall k a junior news-edi
torial major and a Dsfly Nebras
kan associate news editor.
By Ann Stack
r Senior Reporter
John Zacovec knows something
about Halloween. He’s lucky enough
to live with the holiday year-round.
Zacovec is also known as Grandpa
John of Grandpa John’s Pumpkin
Patch, located at 4801 NW 48th and
Hwy. 34.
For the past five years, he’s made
it his business to scare the pants off
people. Besides selling pumpkins, he
offers a haunted hayrack ride, a jump
in-pumpkin and Pumpkinland fun
house for kids, mini-golf and a haunted
house called “the dead zone.”
New to his Halloween-fantasyland
this year is the Amazing Maze, a four
acre com maze planted in die shape of
ajack-o’-lantem.
“The com maze is the biggest ad
dition we’ve made,” he said. “One
good thing about it, we didn’t have to
get any building permits to make it.”
His wife, Judy, helps run the farm and
has a boutique with Halloween acces
sories.
One thing Zacovec hopes the patch
offers is an enjoyable family experi
ence, he said.
“It started as a way to mix the innei
city people with us in the country,” he
said. “We just want families to come
here and create memories — annual
memories.”
That shouldn’t be too difficult con
sidering the amount of things there are
to do at Grandpa John’s. Just admiring
all the old fanxtequipmenfc the Siamese
rescued waterWheel frorirthe now-de
funct Peony Park could take up an af
ternoon.
New this season is a 70-foot silo
with a great view of the maze—you
can see the face of the jack-o’-lantern
in the center of the maze. The nose, a
Jay Calderon
JOHN AND JUDY Zacovec operate Grandpa John’s Pumpkin Patch at NW 4801 and Hwy. 34. The patch
is open from Sept. 28 through Halloween.
couple of haystacks, bears a sign read
ing, “Congratulations! You made it.”
The view is worth the trip up 70
stairs. There’s even humor on the way
up the silo—a painted sign reads, “If
you love something, set it free. If it
doesn’t come back, kill it!”
If you’re planning on touring the
maze, Zacovec said to allow about 45
minutes to an hour to tour it. And defi
nitely wear sneakers and jeans—the
com stands six feet tall in some {daces,
completely obliterating the skyline^
But going through the maze is a Am
time—Zacovec is even inviting some
Of |heoj^j|G^itical figures—includ
ing Mayor Mike Johanns—out to “see
how much they know about com” Fri
day night.
The trip out to Grandpa John’s is
definitely worth die price of admission,
which is very reasonable. For only $2,
you get in the gate and it covers the
hayrack ride, die dead zone and the silo
climb. Another dollar covers mini-golf
and the com maze is $3. "
The com maze will be open week
ends from 9 am to 6 pm Saturdays
and noon to 6 pm Sundays until Sept.
28, when the maze, the hayrack ride
and the pumpkin patch will be open
daily from 9 am to 6 pm
The haunted house opens for week
end visits Oct. 11. Then it will be open
Fridays and Saturdays from 7 to 11
pm and Sundays from 7 to 9:30 pm
By Bret Schulte
Staff Reporter
The band Dayroom played live at
Duffy's Monday night, and after hear
ing them play I remembered why die
name was stuck in my mind. A year
ago, I had seen the Athens, Ga. band
in South Carolina and these fellas posi
tively jam with an enthusiasm that
bands like Phish could learn a lesson
from.
Once Dayroom ripped out the first
wall of electric pleasure, I realized I
was going to rapidly run out of adjec
tives for the word “funk.” However
close Dayroom runs tocomparisons of
Widespread Panic and Phish, they
dodge true classification.
They are grassroots, I suppose, but
how many grassroots bands feature a
keyboardist who prefers using the syn
thesizer as a church organ, or a carou
sel score to create a carnival environ
ment?
Throughout the show, Brad
Zimmerman, the drummer, pounded
the skin like he was exorcising the
devil. Manhandling the guitar, Mike
Winger kicked his bare feet to meet his
forehead, singing and howling. After
this show. I think for the first time, I
finally know what the word “love”
means.
Supa-lounge, from Omaha, kicked
off the evening and Dayroom didn’t
THE BAND DATROOM from Athens, Ga. played Monday night at
Dufly*s. Guitarist Mike Winger epjoyedplayingin Nebraska, and hopes
to return.
get stated with their hour-long show
until 11:40. The reaction from the
crowd, about 30 people strong, seemed
extremely positive.
A fellow next to me experienced
several epileptic seizures Airing eiray
extended jam session. Some guy in the
front was the firgt man I’ve overran
to successfully combine air drums, air
guitar, and aone-leggedjig that would
probably lack the living hell out of Van
Damme. Everyone else seemed satis
fied with a simple evening of light
head-bobbing.
After the set, 1 got the chance to
speak with Winger, vocalist and gui
tarist for Dayroom.
He said that Dayroom has been al
most exclusively a road band for al
most two years. However, die band still
appreciates the studio and what it can
do for both the band and the fan.
“The road and the studio are two
very different vibes. I couldn’t do just
(me. You get to experience life full
force and in your face on the road,”
Winger said. “But the studio gives you
a chance to make something perfect,
and even capture something a little
more enduring.”
Dayroom shrugs off comparisons to
other bands known for both then ex
tensive touring and studio intensity.
“We don’t really see ourselves be
ing influenced by Phish or Widespread.
We do listen to a lot of Prince bootlegs
in the van, though. But, of course, not
the widespread Prince,” Winger said.
“Traveling in the van really lets you
get to know the songs. What you can
do with diem and how you can keep it
interesting each night”.
It is that mentality that keeps
Dayroom going, night after night, and
the crowds notice.
“People we starting to follow us
around, which is both cool and freaky
at the same time,” Winger said.
Winger said he really enjoys play
ing in Nebraska, and feels that our lo
cal scene is comprised of 9ome great
up and coming bands.
“I really like Nebraska and I hope
we end up playing here a lot more”.
