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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1999)
Wednesday, October 6,1999'_Page 13 Novelist spins regional yams The dictionary definition of “Plainsong” is: a story about a centuries-old subject that is told in a plain, unadorned manner. In many ways, the definition is descriptive of the Great Plains region. The land is flat and considered by most people from outside the Plains boring and insignificant. The atmosphere and its effects on people who live here have changed little over the centuries. The winters are still painfully cold, and the summers are still blister ingly hot. The people still deal with it. Kent Haruf tells their stories. “Everything I write about is located out in the northeastern corner of Colorado,” Haruf said in a phone interview from his home in Murphysboro, 111. “It’s the part of the world that I think of as home.” Haruf, an author and professor at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, has written three novels set in the High Plains region of northeastern Colorado. His third piece, “Plainsong,” is the story of a number of different people, all coping with dif ferent hardships in their lives. While the setting is a visible part of “Plainsong,” Haruf said it wasn’t the focus. His focus is on the people who are often overlooked. “Living on the Plains makes you slow down and look at things more closely, because there aren’t things like mountains and forests to look at,” Haruf said. “If you’re going to see the Plains, you actually have to look at what you see there. Once you do that, there is much to see. “The Plains aren’t pretty, but they’re beautiful.” He said the subtle nuances and differences in the people were often hidden beneath the overall aura of the Great Plains. And rather than leave those characteris tics —be they integrity or impurity - shrouded amid words of unwarranted warmth, Haruf chooses to expose reality through fiction. “I’m not trying to romanticize it in any way. Instead, I’m trying to be accurate,” Haruf said. “What I describe in the Plains are concrete details, often unnoticeable if you’re not paying attention, and I hope the readers would have a better notion of what there is to see.” Despite being an inhabitant of the Great Plains, Haruf is hardly provincial. He graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University and worked a variety of jobs there after. They included a stint in the Peace Corps and teaching English in a remote vil lage in Turkey. He didn’t publish any writing until he was 41 years old. “What those different jobs and different places I’ve lived have done for me is helped me as a writer, because I’ve had a range of experiences with a range of peo Faith in blues guitarist realized at Zoo Despite slow start in Lincoln, singer-songwriter always had owner Boehmer’s backing By Josh Krauter - Senior staff writer Zoo Bar owner Larry Boehmer knew Coco Montoya was good, even if the rest of Lincoln was a little slow in catching on. When the blues singer and gui tarist first played at the Zoo Bar, the crowd was small, and Boehmer lost money on the show. But Boehmer didn’t say good riddance to Montoya. He immediately called Montoya’s management and booked him again. “I knew he was going to catch on,” Boehmer said. Montoya did catch on and is one of the bar’s most popular performers. Fans can see him play two 75-minute sets there tonight. Concert Preview The Facts Who: Coco Montoya Where: Zoo Bar, 136 n. 14th St. When: Tonight 9:30 Coet: $8 The Skinny: Blues musician is equally good at vocals and guitar. Although Montoya has been fronting his own band for only about five years, he’s been playing blues on the road since the early 1970s. He started out as a drummer for blues legend Albert Collins, who taught him how to play guitar. After his stint with Collins, Montoya played guitar for John Mayall. Montoya said in a press release that his guitar playing evolved quickly under Mayall because of the pressure in being Mayall’s guitarist. Mayall’s three previous guitarists were Eric Clapton, Peter Green, who founded Fleetwood Mac, and Mick Taylor, who later joined the Rolling Stones. Mayall knew he had to be good to compete with his predeces sors. Boehmer first saw Montoya play when he was with Mayall, and he said Montoya impressed him greatly. “He just basically took my head off,” Boehmer said. “He was that good.” Montoya went solo.after Collins, who was dying of cancer, told him he should go out on his own. Since then, Montoya has released three solo albums and toured world wide. tf i ow/y a handful of current blues guitarists that really get me excited, and he s one of them” Larry Boehmer owner, Zoo Bar He stops in Lincoln frequently, Boehmer said, and sometimes it’s not just to play. One of his songwriting partners, Dave„ Steen, lives in Lincoln, and Montoya sometimes flies down to collaborate on songs with him. Boehmer said fans should expect a contemporary, electric blues sound with a touch of Santana-flavored Latin rock from Montoya. He said Montoya’s singing is just as good as his gnitar playing.. “He’s certainly one of my favorites,’’ Boehmer said. “There’s only a handful of current blubs gui tarists that really get me excited, and he’s one of them.”