aMaizixiBluies 5th ANNiVERSARY CONCERT Tuesda Aprnl 3 Pioneer High School Auditorium, 8 pm Tickets $250 Adult, $2 Student, Group Rates. Call 764-0384. Aiimni Associaion, Mich. Union 994 2189, Pioneer High Music Dept. U of Ms Vocl Jazz & Dance Ensemble Page 6-Sunday, April 1, 1979-The Michigan Daily I TELL LENNY KAYE, guitarist, bassist, and songwriter for the Patti Smith Group, that the audience seemed pretty receptive to the new material the band presented the night before at Second Chance, and he just laughs. "The new stuff's great!" he boasts, knowing he's right. This blend of cockiness and talent has kept the Patti Smith Group alive for four years; they've smashed all the obstacles that commonly befall new bands through the power of their rock 'n' roll and their sheer deter- mination to succeed. AMERICAN ROMANCE by mike taylor 1 r t- I Though the bulk of their material will never be played on radio as we now know it, though they don't make much money ("Cover bands who play the bar band circuit in Jersey make a lot more money than we do," claimed drummer Jay Dee Daughterty), they're satisfied just being a rock 'n' roll band. OF COURSE, there is the problem of convincing folks that the Patti Smith Group is a band, not just a collection of New York musicians supporting the artistic dreams of Patti Smith. The group's revolutionary second album, Radio Ethiopia, was heavily criticized in most circles for having too much of a "band" sound, but Kaye says the problem was simply that "people weren't really prepared to accept us as a rock 'n' roll band." Last week, Kaye, Daugherty, and basist/guitarist Ivan Kral peppered their conversations with me with references to "our albums," "our tours," and "our sound," and frequently called their band PSG, perhaps as a way of muting the significance of their mentor. All three share songwriting credits with Smith on songs like "Pumping (My Heart), "Till Victory," "Redondo Beach," "Ask the Angels," and never songs like "Broken Flag" and "Citizenship." "Sometimes Patti will actually have melodies, rhythms, and words in her head," Kaye explains. "Sometimes Ivan or I will come up with a kind of musical background and she'll be able to get onto it. Sometimes songs come out of jam- ming." Daugherty adds: "That's what a real group is about-it's flex- ibility, it's input from all the people-that's what flavors it. When you've got a good combination, it's great." THE THREE musicians were in town two weeks ago for "Spring Training '79," a series of three con- certs at Second Chance designed to prepare the band for a major tour later this spring. "We've been off the road for four months, which is the longest we've ever been off the road since we star- ted," expalined Daugherty. "We're just sort of warming up to it gradually." Lenny Kaye adds, "We're still a little stiff. We have loose moments, but most of the really loose moments seem to come in the improvisation, when we don't have to concentrate on what note we're supposed to play next. We're trying to loosen up suf- ficiently on stage so that we can really work on a one-to-one basis. And it's starting to work." THOUGH SOLOS from each band member gave songs like "So You Wanna Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star" and "Poppies" a relaxed freshness, the structure of the evenings was most responsible for the easy-going character of the week. The band played two sets a night, allowing them plenty of room to ramble, as well as giving them plenty of space to present their new album, Wave. "We're experimenting with this, and we may actually use this form on the road," Kaye told me at WCBN last Wednesday. "There's not the pressure to go from one song to the next and not leave any holes and not rush into the next song. If we want to change the set while we're up there, we can. If we feel in the mood, if we want to throw this song in, we can." Each show was different, but all were highlighted by the times Lenny Kaye stepped up to the microphone to sing Buddy Holly's "Little Boy" elZpse or the Who's "The Kids Are Alright" and Ivan Kral sang John Lennon's seldom-heard "Cold Turkey." "I DO DIFFERENT songs," Kral said as he propped himself up again- st one of the Second Chance basement walls Wednesday night, "but John Lennon is my personal favorite. I love doing his songs." All three were eager to talk about Wave due out in late April. "It's like any new album," Jay Dee Daugherty said. "'It's another step in the continuing saga of the Patti Smith Group. We always strive for growth, and to do something new, to try not to be stale." Kral interrupts: "There are good tracks, good ideas. I like the basic sound. The sound is different because of our producer, Todd Run- dgren." "TODD'S GREAT-super talen- ted, an excellent arranger," Daugherty added. "After the tight conceptualization of Easter we wanted an album with a little more breathing space to it," Kaye notes. "We wanted, in a sense, a more experimental album." I point out that the new songs seem slower than the older tunes, and Lenny cringes. "They are a little slower, it's hard to say. I'm a little too close to the record right now to be able to see it., I'd say there are slower ones, but then 'Frederic' is a kind of upbeat, dance kind of thing." HE CONTINUES: "A song like 'Frederic,' that's a song that's to me is a hit. I could hear that on top 40 radio. I'd better hear it on top 40 radio. And it's a disco song, you know, anathema ! On the other hand, it's a cool song. I like it, you know. I think it moves ass, it's a good beat, it's got great singing, it's got great lyrics; it's not like a piece of bullshit. It's about three minutes on the album, but we're thinking of re- recording it. We're going to put it out the way it is on the record, but we might do another version of it for about 10 minutes." All of us talked a great deal about the New Waves, about selling-out, and about survival, and Kaye of- fered this scenario: "Over the next three or five years all of the breakthroughs will have become totally assimilated into rock 'n' roll, so that what seemed radical and New Wave now or a year ago will seem very common and conser- vative, and then about 1985 another new wave will have formed that will try to throw over such old farts as the Clash and the Patti Smith Group, and more power to them! "We know there's going to come a time where we're going to want to put down the torch. It's like we were there to pick up the torch when it was our turn; we want the kids of the future to keep rock 'n' roll going." Emm THE ONE TRUTH BAND FEATURING JOHN SPECIAL GUEST LARRY CORYELL EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066 March 6 = April 6 -'I q WEDNESDAY- MAY 2-8pm HILL AUD. ANN ARBOR TICKETS $ 6.50,5 550, 4.50 An exhibition produced by the California Historical Society, describing the experience of Japanese Americans during World War 11. Included are many photographs by Dorothea Lange. Opening Reception: March 16, 9:30 p.m. Symposium at 7:30 p.m. Speakers: Professor Harry H. L. Kitano, Ph.D. and California Congressman Norman Y. M ineta. Tuesday thru Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. -1 \1 Tickets on saleTuesday April 3 At The Michigan Union Box Office (11:30-5:30 M-F) and on Wednesday, April 4 at Schoolkids' Records and both Discount Records in Ann Arbor and Huckle- berry Party Store and Where House Records in Ypsilanti. For information: 763-2071. Eclipse Jazz .opergtes under the auspices of the Office of Major Events. 11 I N R FIRST FLOOR -MICHIGAN UNION 764-3234 And I'll give you a jelly bean Liu Ten-Hai of Peking, China, shows conductor Arthur Fiedler his "pipa," a stringed instrument he will use playing with the Boston Symphony orchestra during his American visit. 2nd Annual LumberjAck Conelave ALL DAY-TODAY Palmer Field Competitions, Demonstrations, Prizes OPEN TO ALL-FREE ADMISSION Join the Arts Page Sponsored by: UAC Special Events Engineering Council N.R. Club / Rain Date: April 8 V00,