Group changes, name’s the same Indie pop band The Spinanes returns to Lincoln with new lineup By Jim Zavodny Staff writer The last time indie band The Spinanes played a show in Lincoln, audiences were shocked only two peo ple took the stage. Since then one has left But remaining member Rebecca Gates, with a few friends, has taken to the road again to promote “Arches and Aisles,” The Spinanes’ newest release. Gates, despite her accompanying musicians, is die sole member of The Spinanes, who roll into Knickerbockers on Sunday evening. l He band s original two piece arrangement consisted of singer/gui tarist Rebecca Gates and drummer Scott Plouf. They first appeared in Lincoln at Duffy’s Tavern in 1993. 4 The Spinanes’ latest offering on Seattle’s Sub Pop Records is basically Gates’ first solo album since no new musicians have been permanently added to the lineup. For the recording of “Arches and Aisles” and the current tour, Gates hired musicians - some friends, others just admirers - to play the songs she composed herself. “Basically they’re just people whose work I respect and who I enjoy being with. And I just asked them if they would help me, and I was really lucky that everybody said yes,” she said during a phone interview. Replacing Plouf for the “Arches and Aisles” tour is Jerry Busher, a drummer from Washington, D.C., who normally plays in a punk band called The All Scars. Boston native Ted Leo is manning guitar and bass, while Kendall Maade, a member of the band Masco tt, lends her keyboard abilities to the mix. Writing the songs for the new album without Plouf didn’t faze Gates, she said, because she wrote almost all of The Spinanes’ material even while Plouf was still with the band. “The only tiling that really changed is that I felt, like, with this album I just spent more time working on the songs themselves and sending them in what ever direction I felt like sending them. because I knew dial I could get whoev er I wanted to play on them,” she said On the new album’s first track, “Kid In Candy,” Gates makes a refer ence to her recent move from Portland, Ore., to Chicago (“I just wanted a larg er city to live in for awhile”) when she sings: “Feeling good, yeah, feeling fine every day, that’s because you’re 3,000 miles away.” Gates said that lyric had a lot to do with the fact that sometimes people like each other a lot better when they’re not around “My lyrics always mean a couple of things to me, but I think that all I was really trying to say was that a lot of times you feel better when there’s ... (pause) nothing on this record is point ed towards Scott I mean, not nothing, but by the time I made his record, we hadn’t worked together for over two years,” she said Gates and Plouf started playing together in Portland m 1991, and they planned on adding a bass player to the band after their first show. Gates said crowds couldn’t believe only two peo ple were making such incredible music. “The first show went really well, people really liked it We started realiz ing that the songs felt pretty complete, and that we totally worked on stage together,” Gates said. “So we thought, well, we’ll just kind of keep going with this and add people latex, and it ended up taking like four or five years to add people.” After The Spinanes created a pair of critically acclaimed albums, 1993’s “Manos” and 1996’s “Strand,” Plouf left and joined the Northwest rock out fit Built To Spill. Gates, meanwhile, continued to write songs under the name The Spinanes by herself. “If there was a big musical change, then I would feel it’s more appropriate to make a name change,” Gates said. “But I still felt like the songs that I was writing and the way that I was thinking about music was very much in line with the first two records.” When the band went on tour in sip port of “Strand” in the spring of 1996, they added two musicians to die lineup for the first time. Plouf departed soon after, and his absence hasn’t affected Gates, she says. “For me, this isn’t an adjustment A lot of people have said that they like the band, and a couple of people have said they miss the two-piece. And you know, whatever, everyone is entided to their opinion, positive or negative.” Anticipate a positive vibe when The Spinanes debut their new look for the first time in Lincoln on Sunday at Knickerbockers, 901 O St Opening act Holy Ghost will kick things off around 9 p.m. The 18-and over show costs $6. I Concert combines music, politics I Just imagine, a chance to Rock the Vote without Idalis offering polit ical inspiration in-between rock blocks. Tonight, Nebraskans for Peace, PAC is supporting a free concert to get young people interested in local politics, particularly Initiative 413 - the hotly disputed proposed tax M The show brings together local acts Happy Dog, Electrolyte (former ly G.I.O.) and Luck of Aleia at the Culture Center, 333 N. 14th St for a 8 pm. show. The coordinator of Nebraskans for Peace, PAC and organizer of the concert, Aaron McKain, will be reg istering voters at the show and asking for donations to fight Initiative 413. He said no one, particularly stu dents, would agree with the initiative once they understood its implications. “It denies any type of real proper ty tax relief to citizens as well as promises to stifle the future of educa tion in this state,” McKain said. He argues that the tax lid, will end up costing students more for tuition each year as the state could not increase spending on programs like public education. Although tonight’s benefit con cert encourages young people to take an active stance against Initiative 413, McKain said die show, which features three bands composed of well-established Lincoln veterans, is open for all to enjoy. Gallery shows local artists I GALLERY from page 7 play, “Catnappers” and ‘Tears,” capture what seem to be solitary moments of separate lives. “Catnappers” depicts a young girl, actually Spangler’s daughter, sleeping as a cat rests comfortably in her lap. “I do a lot with kids,” Spangler said. “Kids think of fantasies and pretend.” Another portrait, entitled “Maestro,” shows a young boy in a long tailed jacket, leading an invisible orchestra from an old box. “Tears” represents another side to the artist who said the blue-colored woman was inspired by a mourning friend. That’s the kind of empathy you hope to see from a tattoo artist The Noyes Art Gallery, 119 S. Ninth St, is open from 10 ajn. to 5 p.m. All exhibits are free. Please call (402) 475-1061 for more information. NEWTON from page 7 If you haven’t heard The Voice, man, you haven’t heard anything. Somewhere between silk and smoke, that’s where Wayne Newton’s voice resides. Listen to the way he lilts his way through his signature tune, “Danke Schoen.” He was just a young pup wlffen that song waa recorded. He sounded like an old pro. Revel in the way he ascends through “Loving You,” filling it with emotion but never sounding strained. When Wayne Newton comes to town, all you have to do is listen. Sit back, close your eyes and think about the Sands Casino, circa 1960. Think about a smoke-filled room, clinking glasses and a nattily dressed crowd, snapping its fingers in unison. Because, in die purest sense, that’s what Wayne Newton is. He’s Las Vegas. He’s its King. And, who knows, he could be an innocent American savior. Wayne Newton’s performance will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $39, $35 and $31, half-price for stu dents. For more information, call the Lied Center box office at (402) 472 4747. fLin First Class Billiards Center QJt . *30 Brunswick Pool Tables • Electronic Games • 6 Televisions • Spirits * Parts liMtUti S&U Zim WU 399 Sun Valley Blvd. 474-3545 Hast be 10 to Enter, 21 after ^^HHjl||m|Bm| 8pm(20 after 8 pm with 20 Something Players Card) Waa III II =a=^H fiSfifiSSS^B Wr STANDUP COMEDY IN LINCOLN JUST GOT FUNNIER! Seen on Eveningat the Improv Headliner Willie Farrell Plus feature act Bill Martin ||||jlSl|jiij|jj^ - snow # for * Christmas? <^> a film by Sandpine Vfeysset October 4th Ross Film Theatre Students: $4:00 i Non-Students: $6. Showings at: J&jL | # 3, 5, 7, & 9 pm 1 "Explodes with life, freshness, I and spontanaityr -Stephen Holden, NEW YORK TIMES m w for more Information call UPC * 472-8140 Nebraska NU vs. Texas A&M Friday, Oct. 2 @ 7 p.m. . NU vs. Texas Sunday, Oct. 4 @ 1 p.m. Abbott Sports Complex Tickets available at the door. Body Basics and Lamer Quest would Hha the chance to treat you and a friend to a free game of laser tag tat amt Quest when you come support the Nebraska women's soccer team. The entertainment ^version of an . *1 :;';f .-'m i AtthcSticflifr9,y»gaoa<>ccafli|o»ft