vu Mike 'Warren/DN
THE MANICS have undergone a few lineup changes since their inception. The groups current roster includes (from left to right) Brooks Hitt, Janies
Saroka and Ethan Jones.
Band vows
to lighten
live show
By Jeff Randall
A&E Editor
For most punk bands, restraint is
a rarely mentioned and little-prac
ticed word.
But for the Manics, it might be a
necessity.
In the past, the three-piece band
has been true to its name in live per
formances, dropping pants, hurling
firecrackers and twisting knees at
shows in the basements of various
friends.
Tonight, the Manics will perform
at Knickerbockers, 901 O St., as an
opening act for local band G.I. Jill
and Estrus recording artists the Fells.
“If we’re playing at a party, any- ■
thing goes,” said guitarist/vocalist
Brooks Hitt. “At an established
place, we kind of have to tone it
down.
“I guess you could say it’s not as
X-rated.”
But subdued theatrics aside, Hitt
said, the band’s fast-and-furious
approach to rock music will remain
intact.
“We played a show at the Culture
Center and went through 12 songs in
about 10 minutes,” he said.
“This time, we’re looking to
stretch it out to about 15 minutes.”
Flecked with traces of older
punk-rockers such as the Ramones
and more-recent artists such as the
Draggs, the Manics are what Hitt
calls “a simple rock ’n’ roll band.”
“We’re pretty aggressive, pretty
I
loud, pretty obnoxious.”
The group recently rebuilt its
sound with the addition of bass play
er Ethan Jones.
Jones’ addition to the band’s line
up moved former bassist James
Saroka to the drums, a change that
Hitt, a senior physics major at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is
more than happy with.
“We used to be kind of like most
old-school punk bands,” he said.
“Now, I’d like to think we have more
of a groove.”
And with confidence in the new
lineup, the Manics are prepared to do
more than they have in the past.
“We’ve been together for a cou
ple years, but we weren’t doing
much,” Hitt said. “Now that we’re
happy with who we’ve got, we want
to do more.”
But, according to Hitt, doing
more doesn’t mean doing what most
other bands do, including profes
sional recording or seeking out a
label.
“We’re not really interested in all
that,” he said. “We’ll do what we
want to do.
“For now, we’re perfectly happy
recording stuff ourselves.”
And if that means Manics fans
will have to rely solely on live per
formances for exposure to the band,
Hitt said he wouldn’t mind.
“People need to get out and do
something,” he said.
66
We re pretty loud, pretty aggressive,
pretty obnoxious!*
Brooks Hitt
Manics guitarist, vocalist
“Lincoln is the strangest college
town. Nobody seems to want to go to
shows around here. And because of
that, we’ve had a drought of good
bands coming through.”
And until that attitude changes,
the Manics will continue trying to
chip away at Lincolnites’ apparent
lack of musical involvement.
“You should have some angst.
You should have some rebellious
ness,” Hitt said. “You should do
something other than just drink beer
nn the weekends.
“And now that the Edge is dead, I
guess you’ll have to get out once in a
while.”
Tonight’s show is an all-ages
;vent. It begins at 6 p.m. and has a $4
:over charge.
Mudhead players perform original scripts
By Sarah Baker
Senior Reporter
It’s the only performance
that crams Greek Myths,
Midnight rendezvous and
Generation X’ers into three
nights.
The Mudhead Players, the
resident theater troupe at the
Wagon Train Project, will take
the stage this week to perform
three original scripts.
Susanne Evans, a member of
the group, said it’s primary
focus is to create theater suit
able for all audiences.
“Our aim is to bring the idea
of ritual into theater,” Evans
said. “We want to open up a
connection between art, religion
and spirituality.”
Evans said most of the pro
ductions the Mudhead Players
perform are adapted from sto
ries or old myths, and are origi
nal scripts written by members
of the troupe.
“A lot of pre-Christian the
ater started out as rituals, and
we want to bring that holistic
idea back to theater,” Evans
said. “It’s not just art, it’s a
human experience.”
The performances this week
end are all written by members
of the troupe.
“Tangled Up in Blue,” writ
ten by Brad Bosen, co-founder
of the Mudhead Players, is a
romantic tragicomedy.
“The Marriage of Cupid and
Psyche,” by John Renfield, is an
adaptation of an ancient Greek
myth, and “The Next Big
Thing,” by Jason Blattert, tells
the story of five Generation
X’ers and their interaction with
religion.
Evans said these perfor
mances are just like normal
plays, but the actors use the
scripts onstage.
“We will establish characters
and concepts, and there will be
minimal scenery,” she said.
Evans said the audiences can
expect something new and dif
ferent each night with each of
the different performances.
“The first show is a romantic
and tragic comedy - they can
expect to laugh and cry,” she
said. “The second show is really
for all ages, and the audience
can expect to gain some knowl
edge of Roman mythology and
hear an ancient story from
another culture.
“For the third show, I think
they will just be surprised and
entertained.”
Evans encouraged people to
come and see the shows because
they are a unique experience.
“There is so much theater in
Lincoln, and this is something
different and also a chance to go
for free,” she said. “This is free
culture, and some people might
appreciate a different take from
a different place ”
The Mudhead Players per
form Thursday through Saturday
at the Wagon Train Project, 512
S. Seventh St. All shows begin
at 7:30 p.m. in the Seventh
Street Loft.
No admission is charged for
the shows, but anyone can make
a donation. For hiore informa
tion, call the Wagon Train
Project at (402) 435-5592.