.P,ge 6-Tuesday, March 20, 1979-The Michigan Daily

We Buy, Sel, and Trade
RECORDS AND TAPES
221 E. Liberty Plaza LIGHTE
 66-7685 *E0 ce
READING
Tonight at 8 pm
ANSEM HOLLO
Residential College-
Banzinger library
The Contemporary
Craftsman
as Artist
slide lecture
Julie Hall
March 21 8:00p.m.
Kuenzel Room
MICHIGAN UNION 763-4430
Open to the public
free admission
UNIVERSITY ARTISTS
and CRAFTSMEN GUILD

Big weekend: Madcats & Englishmen
- ~ ~ ~ graivn.

ByhC ZOJN "When we sing we all mustrlite to make a good deal of money, especially

"Our harmonies are very hit or
miss," said Martin Carthy earnestly,
though unconvincingly. His group, the
Watersons, an a capella English folk
singing quartet on their first visit to
Ann Arbor, rang out fascinating and
majestic four part vocal harmonies
during two Sunday night concerts at the
Ark, which were anything but
haphazard.
"We call if free harmony," added
Norma Waterson, Martin's dark-haired
wife. "No one has any assigned parts
like bass or soprano: We sing the notes
however the music tells us to.
Sometimes no one has the melody and
two of the harmonies are meant to
combine for the main line. We don't
really analyze it."
THESE WATERSONS are very
popular and practically a legend among
English folk music buffs both here and
abroad, and their concerts in Ann Arbor
were solidly attended. "Recording
together and in various combinations
we have eight albums released in this
country," said Mike Waterson, a mid-
dle-aged building contractor by trade
back in Northern England. "Our recep-
tion in the States has been very

The Ann Arbor Film Cooperative Presents.at Aud. a.
Tuesday, March 20
DISNEY'S SILLY SYMPHONIES
7 ONLY-AUD. A
To celebrate Mickey Mouse's 50th anniversary, we present the finest of
& Walt Disney's musical cartoons. Precursors to FANTASIA, the SILLY SYM-
PHONIES were born in 1928 on the success of the first Mickey Mouse car-
toons, in which animated figures were synchronized with specially-composed
music. Tonight's selections are from the "Golden Age": SKELETON DANCE
(1929); THE BAND CONCERT (1932); and THE OLD MILL (1937). Pius three
classics with Mickey, Don, Goofy.
THREE STOOGES SHORTS
8:40 ONLY-AUD. A
Back by popular demand are MOE, LARRY, and CURLY. Tonight we present
more of their finest, all uncut and typically outrageous.
REEFER MADNESS
(Leo Gosnier, 1936) 10:20 only-AUD. A
Originally titled "Tell Your Children," this anti-marijuana propaganda film
seen today is a hilarious camp comedy. The weed is described as "the new
drug menace which is destroying the Youth of America!" With THE
MYSTERY OF THE LEAPING FISH (John Emerson, 1916). This classic "Cocaine
Comedy" is a parody of Sherlock Holmes. Scenario by Tod Browning,
supervised by D. W. Griffith.
TOMORROW: THE EXORCIST

V V*fl1*wC Ally,** C 411 111uA 11L, W
each other," explained Lal Waterson,
Mike's wife. Lal is the only member of
the group who doesn't cup a right hand
to the ear while singing to help main-
tain pitch. "Never learned that way."
All four group members live in the
same shouse, and they find themselves
working up songs, "kicking them into
shape" during car rides to and from the
approximately thrice-weekly shows
which they perform back in England.
"As a consequence, before we perform
anything it's usually been sung around
for quite some time," said Mike.
"Though we tend not to practice: We sing
together."
The obvious result of this kind of
group spirit and friendly, intimate
relationship with the music is the
dynamic, rising harmony which has
become a group trademark. "This talk
about the Watersons being a harmony
group, frankly, gets on our nerves,"
smiled Mike. "We tried to sing unison a
while back, but it was unnatural: We
couldn't help but slip into the different
parts."
MARTIN CARTHY, a major force in
the revival of traditional music, opened
the evening with approximately an
hour of guitar playing and ballad
singing before being joined by the other
three members of the Watersons. Solid,
melodic six string picking plus Carthy's
hard baritone singing were a pleasant
combination, but an hour's worth of
ballads requires enervating concen-
tration on the part of any audience,and
such a performance is better suited for
those with the temperament for poetry
readings and two-hour lecture classes.
In describing his popularity and that
of his group, Carthy remarked that they
are "very big on the folk scene, which is
not very big in England. I'd say it's
rather an underground form of enter-
tainment which is peopled by
amateurs. Performers who want to

the groups, have to go from folk to pop
music. There's very little crossover
between the two, as in America."
Carthy added that he enjoys touring,
but only for a few weeks at a time: "We
like to get back home and relax."
'.I can't afford to do this for much
longer than three weeks," added Mike
as he took a long drink from a mug of
room-temperature imported beer. As
long as there were real-life Englishmen
in the room, why the lukewarm suds?
"Don't be silly!" they roared. "You
can't sing on iced beer! It tightens up
your throat and chest muscles: That's
why everybody sings in our pubs, and
only the performers sing in vyor bars."

wheeling, independent style, what he
calls a "synthesis" of many kinds of
music. "Any and all musical influences
can be brought together," he says,
"This is the folk process."
Based on his "synthesis" presented
this weekend at the Ark, one comes
away satisfied and impressed, not only
with the skillful arrangements but with
the jovial informality with which he
performs. His act is great fun to watch.
This may come as a surprise to
many, who would have doubts about
spending an entire evening watching
one musician play harmonica. This
preconception is understandable,
provided that it is accompanied by a
general lack of familiarity with the in-
strument and its possibilities, but Mad-
cat manages to incorporate just enough
variations and, yes, gimmicks, to keep
his act interesting.
MADCAT has toured with Dave
Brubeck and company in years past,
and Brubeck once said of him, "It
doesn't matter if he's playing a hoe-
down kind of thing that gradually
evolves into a blues and pretty soon into
jazz. We've found that audiences here
and overseas go with him all the way."
Born in Park Ridge, Illinois, Madcat
grew up in Chicago, and found his way
to Ann Arbor in 1969, which he regards
as a "wonderful place to live." He began
playing folk guitar in high school, until
Sonny Terry captured his attention on
a Brownie McGhee album. "My heart
was stolen by Sonny Terry's har-
monica," he said, "and I decided that's
the way I wanted to sound."
In the late 60's, Madcat became
acquainted with Dave Brubeck's son,
Chris, who played in a band called New
Heavenly Blue. He toured with them,
recording a pair of albums in the
process, and in 1973, joined another
Brubeck son, Darius, and toured with
his ensemble along with Dave's quar-
tet. When this quartet disbanded, Mad-
cat and Darius' crew toured and direc-
tly backed up Dave Brubeck on jazz


piano. From there, Madcat joined a
"funk" band called "Sky King," until
venturing off on his own.
"After playing in other people's ban-
ds for ten years, my apprenticeship is
over," he explained. "It's time to play
my own music just as I feel it. . . no
compromises."
In his professional career spanning
the last decade, Madcat has appeared
in Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Ken-
nedy Center, the Cellar Door, Bottom
Line, the Sydney and Berlin Opera
Houses, among others.
According to Madcat, performing
solo is actually easier than with an en-
semble, in that "there are no com-
promises - I can play songs on the spot
- I can change verses and songs. It's
very freeing." On the other hand, he
explains, there are drawbacks: "What
I miss is a band."
ALTHOUGH there were moments
when he appeared lonely at the Ark, his
constant shuffling of his many in-
struments, along with a delightful ap-
pearance by ageless Percy Danforth on
the bones, his performance never
seemed to bore the audience.
A virtual arsenal of Hohner marine
band and vest pocket mouth-harps,
each in its own key, littered a tray next
to his microphones, and with them, a
combination of Jew's harps, whistles,
and a "kalimba" (an African thumb
piano), accompanied the ever-smiling
virtuoso as he played his harmonicas,
sometimes two at a time or several in a
series.
Watch out for Madcat. At the age of
29, his career as a composer and in-
novator, as well as a performer, looks
promising to say the least. He has
talked of forming a new band, "the type
of band that plays the type of music I
like to play."
Based on the spirit and skill he
displayed at the Ark this weekend,
Madcat and his ambitions look to be a
force with which to be reckoned as time
progresses.

Peter 'Madcat'Ruth
By STEVE HOOK
IT IS REALLY high time that we get
acquainted with Peter "Madcat"
Ruth, for though he has made his
career here in Ann Arbor, the amazing
harmonica virtuoso may one day get a
professional offer he can't refuse, and
we'll all be the poorer for his absence.
Madcat, who also sings, dabbles with
the acoustic guitar and dozens of weird
and unusual instruments such as bir-
dcalls ai.d pennywhistles, defies
categorization. He detests the thought.
"Categories people put on music seem
artificial. It's really all just music to
me. If you can label my style, then
you're the first."
He plays a variety of music, from folk
blues to country and jazz, and many of
his arrangements incorporate more
than one genre. He will admit to being
heavily influenced by Chicago blues,
and does not deny that the folk blues
style of harmonica artist Sonny Terry
has played a great role in his musical
development.
BEYOND THAT, he has a free

SOUNDSTA GE:

Opportunity knocks
for amateur talent

This space contributed by the publisher as a public service.


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SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS PRESENTS
AN ALL- PROFESSIONAL CAST IN FOUR ONE- ACTS
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY EDWARD ALBEE
THE AMERICAN DREAM *******
THE 100 STORY 830 p.m.
5:00 P.M. LISTENING
Q )COUNTING THE WAYS
MARCH 31 - POWER CENTER
SPECIAL OFFER !! BUY FIRST PERFORMANCE- - GET THE
! ! SECOND PERFORMANCE 1/2 PRICE ! !
Tickets $4-$8. Available at the PTP Ticket Office in The Michigan
League, weekdays from 10-1, and from 2-5 p.m., and at all J. L.
Hudson stores. For information call 764-0450.

'By ERIC ZORN
Who among us has not at one time or
another, no matter how appalling the
prospect, imagined himself a perfor-
ming musician? Come on: The tennis
racket guitar? The pencil microphone?
The conjectural audience?
But all too often, "real" entertaining
is reserved for those with lots of hustle
and talent who take enough hard
knocks on their way up to keep them
writing depressing songs for a lifetime.
Of course, the Ann Arbor amateur only
needs a schtick and the courage to per-
aMaizixBlues
5th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT
Tuesday April 3
Tket $ ?
4
95..
t& ,

form, because the microphones are
open Wednesday night at the weekly
Ark coffeehouse hootenannies. And
now, in an effort to further oppor-
tunities for those of us who only ma ch
the concerts in Crisler arena, the
programming division of the University
Activities Center (UAC) is sponsoring
weekly "Soundstage Coffeehouses."
"We are setting up a forum for
student talent," said Jenny Schuman,
LS&A sophomore and coordinator of
the program. "This should be a nice
chance for music school and LS&A
students to get together and hear all the
different kinds of music which people
are playing in this area."
SCHUMAN, WHO can be reached at
763-1107, conducts auditions for Soun-
dstage, but stresses that the purpose of
the tryouts is essentially to get a feel for
what the performer is going to do and at
what point they might best fit into the
show. "No rock and roll," she added,
looking around the cozy confines of the
first floor Union lounge where the stage
was set up. "That's not quite the idea.
Otherwise, all kinds of music are
welcomed."
Thursday night's Soundstage was
fairly well attended, considering the
problems Schuman had with publicity,
and as the word spreads,-students and
members'of the community should find
See SONGS, Page 7

Leukmi.
Itsnolonger
a death sentence.
When you were young, no form of
cancer terrified your parents more than
leukemia did.
Just fifteen years ago, a child with
leukemia could expect to live only months.
But, thanks to research, things have
changed.
Children who once lived months are
now living years. Many of them are grow-
ing up. Some are already adults, living
normal lives.
Did you ever wonder what the
American Cancer Society did with the
money you gave us? Well, some of it went
to leukemia research. And, if we had more
we could do more. Give to the American
Cnr r tr . ;ncri Ptv

GRRDUATiofl


rNow Showing, Campus Am e Buterfield Thectrel
WEDNESDAY IS MONDAY IS ADUETS FRI., *AT., SUN.
"BARGAIN DAY" "GUEST NIGHT" EYE. &HOlIDAYS S3.50
$1.50 unti 5:30 TWO ADULTS ADMITTED ALLMATINEE S $.5.0
FOR PRICE OF ONE CHILD TO 14 i1.50
Wayside Theatre WALT DISNEY'S
3W rhvuIsht...gulrrs"
Phon" 434-1782 "06Avenrue l/rruasf

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MON., TUES., THURS. 7 & 9
FRI. 7 & 9:25--SAT. 1'3-5-7-9:25
SUN. & WED. 1-3-5-7-9
4 ACADEMY AWARD
NOMINATIONS
INCLUDING
BEST ACTRESS
BEST SCREENPLAY
BEST SONG
Ellen Alan
Burstyn Alda
Next ',ear
PIPE ORGAN EVERY NIGHT


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