On theHollywood Beat: John
Amos was recently in Los An
geles to co-star along with
Brandford Mars lis in a short
feature spotlighting the talents of
yet another, young Black
filmmaker Marco William , as
part of a Discovery program
giving new directors their first
shot at film.
Dlahann Carroll's Last : What drew John Amos to the
Hoorah: The Five Heartbeats" project was hot only the chance
marks a return to the silver creen to work with WilliamJ, but the
8ehind- The-Scenes
olll
"I didn't w nt to be ru hed. I
nted to put out qu lity film,"
obert To n end' e pi n -
lion 0 hy it h t en him three
Ion ye r to Iollo up hi hi h
Iy- eel imed film debut, Hol
lywood Shuffle".
"A lot of the film th t Bl c
peopl re in re hot in wh t I
c 11 "coonerama", I'm tired of
cooner m ." W nything,
hi 1 te t film he Five
Heartbeats" ( ted f r rele e
M rch 29th) i wei worth the
w it. Town end y he went to
open udition and per onally
w over 7,000 actor before
ca ting the film , which i based
on the ri e nd fall of a group
during the Motown era of the
60' .
Town end went on the road
with the Dell to re e arch the
film, before he and pal Keenen
Ivory Wayan penned the script.
Not only doe it showcase his ac
ting, writing, directing, and com
edic abilitie , but it also cast a
light on Robert's singing. And
he' not bad. Rounding out the
Flve Heartbeats, are Michael
Wright, Tico Wells, Harry J. Len
nix, and Leon, who created quite
a stir with hi provocative perfor
mance in Madonna' controver
sial "Like A Prayer" music video.
Most recently, Townsend
passed on a house in Malibu to
plunk down $2 million and pur
chase a building (Tinsel
Townsend Productions) in Hol
lywood, complete with a 99- seat
theater. He hopes to make it a
center to develop Black talent,
from writers to directors, with
plans to start his first season of
plays this September. And why
wouldn't he be determined.
for veteran ctre Di h nn C; T
roll. C rroll 1 t appe red op
po ite J mes E rl Jone
"Claudine". Th t b c
1 74. Tod y, C rroll y
try to" t y y from n er",
hen he thin bout the pli ht
o the BI ck ctre in Hol-
lywood.
However, he more th n
pie ed to be a p rt of "The Five
Heartbeats." Say C rroll, "I en
joyed w tching Robert. I feel
though I'm in on the beginnin of
the new breed. I think we've
turned a corner." And while her
part in the film w n.' t I rge
one, he ay that it wa
wonderful r�le.
Before ccepting the part, he
and Town end met for lunch at
the Plaza in New York. Recalling
their first meeting, Carroll char
acterizes both of them playing
coy. "Robert said he had fifteen
minutes, and 0 I aid I had bout
ffit en minute . But of cour e,
they got to talking and well, you
know. At the moment, Carroll is
focu ing her energies on getting
another TV serie . "That would
be my last hoorah. I'm getting
tired."
Meanwhile, former co-star,
Sidney Poitier struck an eight
picture deal with Columbia Pic
tures. With his new pact, Poitier
will get the chance to star, direct
and produce, in whichever order
he chooses.
involved.
By Th Way:
W hington nd John Lithgo
will team to play good cop-b d
cop in Warner' ne ction
thriller "Rlchochet, " now filmin
in Lo Angele . The c t include
Ice- T, who i taking cling re I
eriou the e d y .... Wh t'
taking Lionel Richie 0 long In
. cornin out with n Ibum?
Motown' not ' ying, but they
did however y that n arti t the
caliber of a Lionel Richie c n
take much time a he like.
In the me ntime, labelm te
Diana Ro i piggybacking her
way up the R&B charts on a .duet
(entitled "No Matt�r What You
Do") te ming her with hip-hop
heartthrob, Al B. Sure.
FRONTLIN
oldler comprl ed
almo t thirty percent of the
U.S. troot» In the Per Ian Gulf
War. In "Black America's
War," airing Tue day, April 2,
9 P.M. (check focal II tin ),
FRONTLINE examine the
legacy of the Gulf War on the
Ilvc, . of ,I, ck . A ,.n .
ANOTHER BAD. CREATION - (L-R) Red, M rk, Chris, LII' Dave, and Ro-Ro.
Another Bad Creation
Take five young teen and pre
teen boys and their swinging
partner, brimming with singing
and dancing talent and good
looks, put them together, stand
back and you 've got, in gracious
urban music jargon, another bad
creation.
Only, this time, it's literal
Chris, 11, brothers Mar and
Red - 8 and 10 respectively -
LIP Dave 7, Ro-Ro 12 and
homey General "G.A." Austin,
11 comprise 'Another Bad Crea
tion, the dazzling new discovery
and first Motown act from New
mlltion/Bell, Biv, DeVoe mem-
er Michael Bivin ' Biv Enter
tainment Inc.
Just like their name, Another
Bad Creation i coming "hard:"
"Iesha," the group' debut single,
produced by Dallas Austin and
written by Bivin and Austin, is a
"Poi on"-type monster with all
the fury of tone rna h.
Of cour e, the tory of how
creation wa di covered of
classic music biz fable proper
lions. Bivins ran into the fellas
in Los Angeles about a year ago
while the group was in town
making demos.
BIVINS, A MAN versed in
spotting young talent, was im
pre ed simply by the unit's ap
pearance. "They just looked like
a group," says Bivins. "A blind
man could have seen the poten
tial, and this was before I found
out they could sing and dance."
Almost immediately Bivins
and the group were working
together, with the New Edition
veteran haping their mu ical
ound and appearance. In no
time the group wa in the tudio,
and again they wowed their musi
cal mentor by cutting "Iesha" in
ju t three days, remarkable for
newcomers.
Both on recordings and
onstage, Another Bad Creation is
a ort of New Editiion-meet -
Bell, Biv, DeVoe amalgamation, <>
exuding the hardworking flash of
NE and the swagger, funkiness
and street-styled savvy of BBD.
But Creation has its own thing
- what other vocal group boasts
an onstage D.J. and, especially,
the omni-presence of Creation's
sixth member, General "G.A."
Austin, the group's very own
one-man pos e and homeboy.
It's a cool concept you imply
gotta see to understand.
. I:_ol all their onstage prowess,
offs(age the fella are ju t "nor
mal" kids who embrace the late t
trends in film, music and fashion.
They love mo t port and almo t
no hotel room 0 • the road will
escape the fellas' penchant for
body salm ei ion and to-the
death pillow fights.
However, harne s the po itive
energy and excitement mu icaHy
and you've got o me thing pe
cial, the best of everything cur
rently happening in cutting-edge
R&.B/pop. You've got: Another
Bad Creation.
African Pop at its be t
CAROLYNW
Arts Correspondent
IELD
with a upply of urgent tc.
"The Lion and His Queens"
offer an earthy, high energy
"jive" imilar to the blues.
Mbaqanga, it called in South
Africa, literally' a poor man's
stew.
Mbaqanga combine tribal'
and ·t 0 w n hip r h y t h m wit h
lyric that tell of the joys and
sorrow of daily township
life. Though lyrics are ung
in Zula. the album "Rhythm
and Art." i mo tly in English.
Hit like Won't You Sing
Along" and "Sing. This Song"
explain jive mu ic and invite
the listener to join in.
THE VO AL and electric
instrumentation of the e
veteran mu icians merge into
vivacious and powerful dance
rhythms. Mbaqanga provides
a fresh and melodic sound
that is climbing pop charts in
ternationally. Shanachie
. Records 'ha relea ed a half
dozen' album featuring Mah-
"Face .. A new musical trend
doctor, that's right a doctor.
To carry it a step furt-her he'
a I ung special it!
Opening this unusually
talented pr of'e ional act is
Huel West, broth r to Ace.
Huel i musi ally inclined
and ha hi own production
co.
All in all, they forecast a'
J at h i n ian d t e M I'ft 0 tell a
Que ens sin c e the M a ti'o re 11 a
Queens ince t e 1980's.
. Mahlathini' current pet
name "Lion of Soweto" began
as a Zula dancer. • In the' 50 s
he emerged a a jazz and wed
ding vocali t , The Lion's
grave I t hroa ted vocal iza tion
reminded me of Howling Wolf
as he interjected commentary,
did Zulz posturing and "ha-d
the last word."
The Mahotella Queens are
South Africa' best female
vocal trio.
They began w.ith West
Nko is' band in the '60' but
- left to "get the children up,"
then returned to singing in the
'80's. The Queen col
laborate wi th Mahlathini for
an unmatched blend. Their
voice combine in sweet r
monious melodies. Mildred.
Manxola, Hilda Tiobatia and
Nobesuthu Shawe are
grandmother, yet dance and
move like young te r
Simon "Mahlathini" N'
Kabinde i a culture hero at
home in .So u t h Africa. His
musical popularity i also
commended in France,
England and North America,
where he' "making home a
global place." Demand
brought West Nkosis' Mak
gona Tshole Band, Mahlathini •
and . t he M a hot e II a Que e n
back to the United States for
their second 40-cit<y tour.
Ann Arbor kicked it off in
January and Hou ton will
wind it down in March.
On thc edge of my seat I
watched their penetrating per
(ormance March 13 at the Ark
in Ann Arbor. "The Indestruc
tible Beat of Soweto" had be
come my tali man o� what
Afro-pop music would mean
to a proge sive breed of musi
cal activists.
El e c tr if y in g and gripping
by DEBORAH CULP
Correspondent
,.
Face, is a dynamic new.
mu ical trio with promise to
rake the m us i c industry. by
storm. Performing the la est
in origi nal contemporary, R &
B, and "ea y listeni ng" music,
are; Ace Wc i, Rick Black,
and Eddie Franklin.
. Eddie is the son of Areatha
Franklin, also know affec
tionately as the "Queen of
Soul". Allhough Franklin i
the queen's offspring he and
the other group me m b e rs
make no bone about who' -
who! To pen an exact quote
from the brother would be:
" he's who he is, and I'm
ho I 0),".
The e hardworking young
men are a true talent in their
own right, and when they
aren't performing on
Wedne day' at Or tb e i as
Place, they are working at
their per pective job ue ' , at
tendin cia es , rehearsing,
or preparing for an out ide
engagement in addition to
pre par in g for the i rho w .
The am ap p l i e s to the
and memb r ,and peaking
or the band, her' nether uni
que twi t .... the lead guit r
player i an actual medical
fresh change to our already
"happening" music indu try.
In a world where it' very
easy to play follow the leader,
FACES, will leave an impre -
ionable example that can be
followed by all upcoming ar
tists. Croon on guys, we'll be
w atchlng and Ii tening.
the way to the top. (l-r) Rick 8 lack, ddl
ce We t. (Photo by Debor hlp)