editors:
mary long
jo marcotty
barb cornell
sunday
mctguzine
inside:
page four-books
page five-
perspective
-
Number 5 Page Three October
FEATUR
Local music cfrcuit:
Hard climb to the top I>
By JO MARCOTTY familiar popular wrapping so they
THE PIANO PLAYER'S hands can play more gigs.
scuttled crab-like across the "I make money playing sock hops
key board and he played a series in Livonia, Pontiac, places like =5*x s
o sigt, fast, fluid chord Te that, Martin said Homecomings
dinepcedituh-dm mk too. But this is seasonal work. Af- X.
^. basement of the Blind Pig bobbed ter it's over there's a big zero, and \
their heads at the easy airy sound all the groups around here battle
of the band. It was jazzy, clearly it out for the few jobs there are."
rhythmic music, improvised to AL JACQUES SAT down at the w z '
evoke an emotion, a mood, to make table. Jacques is the base play-
the listeners smile. Not really jazz, er and lead singer for a locally
said one person in the audience, based Blues band called Lightin',
but funky' music. which has also played regularly In
The piano player stood up, his the area.
head scraping the low ceiling beam Last week Lightin' played with
and he said into the microphone, the Average White Band, a big-
"Okay people," we're going to take name soul group, before a crowd of
another break. We'll be back in a 6000 in Flint.
while. I'd just like to remind you "It was the real thing," Al laugh-
that we're the Rabbits from Ann ed, as though still amazed that
Arbor." they'd done it. "Lights, a stage, Daily Photo by PAULIN
Later that night, sitting at a 6000 screaming people, the whole
table in a quiet corner of the Blind bit." All Directions" Jazz in the basement o the Blind Pig
Pig, Martn explained that he has Their Flint concert was not their IDietos:Jz in heb em tofheB dPg
been playing music in Ann Arbor first. In this aspect Al's band has
for five or six years. "We've just made it - out of Ann Arbor and They no longer have to exclusively and the audience turned their at- their own music, reac
made a change to being very com- onto the road. "I've probably play- play Top 40's or popular hard rock tention to the music. The mood be- through their own Grea
mercial," he said leaning forward. ed every college campus in Ala- to get people to listen. "Yeah, came concentrated, they listened feeling, right now they
Last year I didn't want to play bama," he said. BTO reminds me of Ford Motor attentively to the wild combination play what people expect
rock and roll. All that stuff is so Al doesn't really mind that Co.," Al said. "Assembly line stuff, of sounds held together by a bare- And that's where they're
easy to play, just two or three they're still playing sock hops. "I But a lot of people like it, and ly perceptable rhythm. A woman believes, because people
chords and turn the amp way up. I play music, they jump up and that's all right. But Jesus, I've half way back sat in a pool of they know. "They are afir
don't like to think of myself as ac- down and have a good time, and I played it for a million drunken frat light, slowly nodding her head. In times to listen to a ban
climating to a style, but sometimes have a good time. It's still com- parties." the hallway two people gently, al- committed to a band,"
you just have to make that deci- municating. I play so people can Martin nodded his head in agree- most unconsciously, moved with "They might like it, bu
sion." enjoy it, so I like to play what ment. "Sure I've done it too." How the beat. friend doesn't they w
Rabbits still doesn't play rock they enjoy." about the Blind Pig? Martin themselves."
and roll. Their style is similar to Now Lightin' is more or less on "This is a great place to play. voke that kind of responsiveness, Lightin', through a co
The saxophone what is called the New Jazz, or its way up the musical ladder. They'll always give you a chance and they know they have compro- of luck, a willingness t
'fusion music' as another local mu- "We're getting called back, Al said. Thylalasgvyoacane ndteykwteyaecmpo ofuka ilnnsst
psdyer fori'uan desib' is a coat And tts the most Amorant to do what ever you want, and the mised in order to be certain of it. ible, and hard work,
Mad Ba sician described it, a combination And that's the most important people who come here are great. They have made a conscious de- jobs now. They've even st
g of jazz and rock and blues. Off beat thing. Once you've got you foot But look, I got to go finish my set." cision to follow popular musical ting goals for themsel'
But after playing the Ann Ar- And because they've made a name DOWNSTAIRS THE CROWD had trends in order to stay on the mar- we've decided to get all
bor circuit Martin and his group for themselves, they can fill half thinned out, the Rabbits broke ket. paid off by January 1." r
have decided to package it in the their shows with their own music, into heavy, almost raucous piece, If they eventually want to do See THE STRUGGLE, P
he aduft book store: Haven for the lonely,frustrate
19, 1975
ES
E LUBENS
h people
tivity and
have to
to hear.
stuck, Al
like what
aid some-
d and be
he .said.
t if the
on't trust
mbination
a be flex-
is getting
arted set-
ves, "Like
our debts
he said.
age 5
d
4
By CHERYL PILATE
JOHN W. LIKES to fantasize
about sex. Chubby, pug-nosed,
and balding, he is approaching his
40th birthday and finds his erotic
daydreams far more arousing than
what most people refer to as "con-
ventional" sex. His marriage is sta-
ble, but he finds sexual relations
with his wife less exciting than an
hour with Johnny Carson. But an
affair is clearly out of the question.
Although a respected, affluent
businessman, he is too unsure of
his own sex appeal to try "making
it" at a singles bar.
But he has found one outlet for
his sexual needs. When frustration
mounts, he shuts the door to his
bedroom and takes out his collec-
tion of "dirty" maeazines - an
array of glossv photos depicting
the most extravagant erotica ima-,
ginable. Although he is careful to
make sure no one knows of his
imaginary lovemakinv sessions. he
no longer feels Luilty about his
closet desire and makes frecuent
trios to the adult bookstore.
T IKE MANY OF the customers at
the Fourth Ave. Adult News. he
has been a repnii1r nntron for a.
counle of vears. A tvnie.1 evening
in the bookstore will finrd him and
a dozen or so other eustnm ers in-
tently rerusiin the vast sel-tion
of hooks and mneP7ines rlepioned
to feed even the most outlmndih
sevn i annetities.
The titles rtomnetiny for the
rpnrior'S attenfimn. --,neh n' nomt
anidr Tratded T'eneer"n mel a g
Lvit - are hoth lurid anrl 10i-
erops, but almoct. no one it lnnh-
iir,
are frustrated, some are lonely,
some are merely curious.
"I guess I come here for enter-
tainment, maybe vicarious thrills,"
muses a soft-spoken, thirtyish,
male patron. "I can't say I'm en-
tirely comfortable about being
here, but its a lot better than
watching T.V." Another man,
bearded and younger, cloaked his
loneliness in a nervous laugh. "I
guess I'm interested in just about
anything that has to do with sex,"
he says with an uncertain anxious
smile.
DESPITE THE TREPIDATION of
some of the store's clientele,
the atmosphere in the small estab-
lishment tends to be fairly relax-
ed - at least on the surface. The
lights are bright, but not harsh.
Rock music plays softly in the
background, making the lack of
conversation seem less noticeable.
A poster on one of the walls play-
fully declares: "Abandon Inhibi-
tions. All Ye Who Enter Here." A
full-size, nude, male "playmate"
stands in one corner.
A steady stream of customers
flows through Adult News all day
long. Although middle-aged men
comprise the bulk of the store's
business, it is not unusual to find
women or college students there.
The store carries about 250 mag-
azines, most of which make Play-
boy and Penthouse look Puritan in
comparison. Although the Adult
News also stocks these more con-
ventional publications, it special-
izes in magazines which aren't
found on the rack in the corner
drugstore. "A Spotlight on Chicks
iv, 1z~ Pal ~ ~rn~'1nie i~n~ PnTY
"We're one of the best-stocked
adult bookstores in the state," one
of the owners says proudly.
In addition to explicit photo-
graphs and plotless novels ("I can't
get through more than two pages
of one;" says the manager with a
half-amused grimace), the store
also carries a mind-boggling array
of vibrators, artificial sexual or-
gans, and sex "aids." And a cus-
tomer seeking immediate satisfac-
tion can seek refuge in a tiny,
darkened booth and watch a three-
minute skin flick for a quarter.
Dwight, part of the Adult News,
believes his store provides an im-
portant community service and as-
serts "Peonle from all walks- of
life come in here." According to
him, prominent local officials can
often be seen browsing through
the racks.
At 30, Dwight has been in the
pornography business since his col-
lege days at the University's Flint
campus and strongly believes that
adult books provide a safety valve
for the pent-up frustrations of peo-
ple who do not have a regular, nor-
mal sex life.
"I think you'll find that the av-
erage customer is not the kind of
guy who is screwing over his wife.
But, he's frustrated and needs to
fantasize," he contends. "The mag-
azines that sell the best are those
with five and six page spreads on
one girl. That way a guy can fan-
tasize and say 'she's my girl - I
See 4TH, Page 5
Cheryl Pilate is Co-Editor-in-Chief
of the Daily.
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