ARTS

Page 5


The MichigannDoily

Tuesday, October 23, 1984

Page 5

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'Psychedelically speaking:
The skinning of the Furs

By Andrew Porter
sThe Psychedelic Furs will perform at
center stage in Canton tonight to sup-
port their latest album "Mirror
Moves." Michigan Daily reporter An-
,drew Porter recently spoke with Furs
bassist Tim Butler. The following is a
transcript of their conversation:
j Daily: Does much of a sibling rivalry
exist between you and your brother and
do you mind the fact that he steals the
limelight and appears to lead the band?
Butler: He's definitely the figurehead
of the band, but that doesn't bother me.
The band needs a frontman. Besides
I'm a bass player and he's a singer. I
can't sing and he can't play bass.
,There's really no rivalry. We respect
each other's position. With respect to
him being in4he limelight, I'm really a
shy sort of person and it doesn't matter
to me anyway. I'm happy doing what
I'mn doing.
'D: What lurks in the future for the
psychedelic Furs? Will they be around
five or ten years or iill they be coming
to an end soon so that everybody can go
their own separate ways?
y.B. I can see us being around for a few
more years. We won't stick together for
20 years, like some bands. I see us
breaing up before that long. I'm sure
,there's at least something else each of
us would like to do before we get that
old. At this point in time, I'm quite con-
tent.
D: Do you think that the Psychedelic
Furs will become more and more
popular as the years go by or do you
,think that they've reached a plateau in
terms of breaking through to listening
.audiences in this country?
B. I don't really think we've reached
a plateau. Last year you could have
said we've reached a plateau and that
,we couldn't become more popular. But

we have. We've played to twice as
many people this year as we did in the
same cities last year. For example, last
night we played to 7,000 people in
Chicago and 1,000 people had to be tur-
ned away, which is twice what we did
last year. We're definitely growing
each year in popularity.
D: Could this be due to a compromise
in your sound?
B: I think we're different and more
exceptional. We haven't really
mellowed out. The Top 40 radio stations
are at last finding our songs playable
without sticking out from the other
songs in their format. You never know
if you've reached a plateau until your
next album comes out. This new one's
still selling quite well and each sells
better than the one before it. Each year
more and more people start to listen to
us. I'm more optimistic about
American listening audiences than you
are.
D: How does a typical Psychedelic
Furs song develop from start to finish? ,.
B: Because, since out last album,
Rich (Butler) and I have been living in
New York and John (Ashton) has been
living in England, Rich and I will
come up with a tune and we'll get
together in a rehearsal studio with
John, who will fly in, and we'll spend
two weeks learning the material we
give him and he arranges it.
.D: Keith Forsey both played drums on
and produced your last album. Is he a
producer with drumming ability or a
drummer with production ability?
B: We originally had Keith producing
the album with a different drummer.
Keith said that the drummer we had
couldn't get it together in the studio and
that he really wasn't very good. He told
us to get rid of him, so we did. We star-
ted by using a linn-drum and Tommy
Price out of Billy's (Idol) band for a
couple of tracks, but then Keith said

he'd go and do a couple of tracks as
well. When he came in as a producer
nobody thought that he would end up
actually drumming on the album. Right
now, though, we have a drummer
named Paul Garisto touring with us. He
used to play with Clarence Clemmons
and with Red Rockers.
D: How much did Steve Lillywhite
add to "Talk Talk Talk"? Did he
smooth out the rough spots or did he
steal the show?
B. Steve just wanted to capture us the
way we sound on a good live night. Not
too much overdubbing and stuff. He
came to see us a couple of times before
we went into the studio.
D : There seems to be a new politicism
creeping through music again much
like there was back in the late '60s.
Originally spearheaded by Paul Weller,
we now see bands like Culture Club
singing about nuclear holocaust. Have
the Furs remained political because
they're complacent or because they
don't care to address these issues?
B: We just don't care to be linked
with any of this stuff. It just doesn't do
any good. Bob Dylan was one of the
greatest protest writers ever and he
couldn't do anything in the sixties so
I'm sure Culture Club can't do anything
either. Besides, I don't think that the
government listens to rock 'n' roll
records . . . they definitely don't.
D: Lately, many musicians have
begun to voice discontent with rock
videos. Do you feel the same way or are
you an advocate of them?
B: I think they're very important
nowadays because they get through to
people who live in out of the way places
where bands never play. MTV reaches
them and shows them what new
music's going down. If they see you on
the video and they like you then they'll
go out and but the album even though
you might never play there.

_ .
° , ,

The Psychedelic Furs will play at the Center Stage in Canton tonight.

pression of the music coming out of the
U.S. today?
D: It doesn't seem to bother you that
in order to catch an Elvis Costello video
or even a rare Furs video like "Pretty
in Pink" that you have to be watching
MTV at 5:30 on a Sunday morning?
B: Well, I think it depends on the
quality of the video and not the band
that makes it. "Love My Way" got into
heavy rotation last year, which is like
once every four hours, and "Ghost in
You" from our new album got the same
treatment this year. You've got to give
them a quality video. I think if you do
that they're willing to play it.
D: Now that you've been in the
United States a while you've probably
been exposed to a little American
music: R.E.M., the dB's, Let's Active,
Violent Femmes. What is you im-

B: Improving. I personally don't like
R.E.M. very much. I think they sound
rather like the Byrds. They seem to be
the great hope for a non-English hip
band. You know, there's this big British
invasion. I think people will cling to any
band like them that can try to stop the
flood. I've heard of the Violent Fem-
mes, but I've never heard their music.
D: Who do you think will be the next
great songwrtier of the generation, the
person who will pull music through the
eighties?
B. Prince or Bruce Springsteen. I've
been listening to them a lot lately. Prin-
ce is my favorite at the moment.
D: Before we conclude, I'd like to
know what you think are the three best
albums in rock 'n' roll history.
B: First is definitely "Blonde on
Blonde" (Bob Dylan). Then, I think

"Velvet Underground and Nico,"
"Magical Mystery Tour" by
Beatles.

and
the

764-0558
764-0558


The Flute of James Galway

By Tracy Uselmann
W hen the Ann Arbor audience in
Hill Auditorium gives a standing
ovation, the concert must have been
good.
On Saturday night, James Galway
4alked out on stage with his golden
flute, and immediately took command
'of the auditorium. The unpredictable
man spoke to the audience, and with his
Irish accent, changed the entire
program to the way he saw fit.
After playing his first piece,
"Sonatine in G major, Op. 100" by
Dvorak, he stood on stage and watched
all of the late arrivals find their seats
for about five minutes. He continued
Splaying after this little episode, leaving
and appearing onstage whenever he
desired.
' After the actual intermission, he an-
niounced that he would now play what
'was written in the program. Even
,though only knowledgeable flute
players could have recognized the
repertoire which Galway had played
during the first performance, anyone
could have recognized which were
Galway's favorite pieces to play.
Galway can afford to be unpredic-
table because he is one of the best. His
rapid techniques and double tongue
-movements are performed at top speed
While his embouchure remains
motionless. Galway has always
believed that this motif keeps the tone
under control.
There is no question that Galway
maintains this control. In fact, he can
change his tone to create different
moods. This technique was especially
obvious during his performance of the
"Hungarian Fantasy, Op. 26" by Dop-
pler. His style was especially evident
during this piece because the piece
gives the flutist room to improvise.
Galway not only plays his instrument
but he plays to the audience as well. He
G

resembles a leprechaun, especially in
the way he positions his feet while he
plays. When he is not playing, he puts
his flute on his shoulder, his hand on his
hip, and watches Phillip Mool play the-
piano. The flute and piano were so well
balanced, especially in the "Duo Con-
certant for Flute and Piano, Op. 129" by
Czerny. Other pieces included in the
evenings' repertoire were "Sonata"
(1958) by Poulenc and "Introduction
and Variations on a theme from 'Die
schone Mullerin,' D. 802" by Schubert.
Galway came out for two encores,
one of which he played "The Flight of
the Bumblebee" for which he has a
record of 49 seconds. No one knows why
Galway likes to perform stunts such as
this. He has definitely created his own
rules for the game. This is obvious
through his diversity from classical
repertoire to recording country music
in Nashville that he attracts all audien-
ces. Diversity is not strong in the critics
eyes, and that is one area where some
feel he has not taken the right path.
This does not stop the little Irishman

who is so proficient that any chance he
may decide to take could not hurt his
performance. In fact, most people find
it rather humorous.

THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO
BECOMING A NURSE IN THE MY
And they're both repre-
sented by the insignia you wear
as a member of the Army Nurse
Corps. The caduceus on the left
means you're part of a health care
system in which educational and
career advancement are the rule,
not the exception. The gold bar
on the right means you command respect as an Army officer. If you're
earning a BSN, write: Army Nurse Opportunities, P.O. Box 7713,
Clifton, NJ 07015.
ARMY NURSE CORPS. BE ALLYOU CAN BE.
WE WANT TO TAKE YOU
9

Galway
... on a whirlwind tour


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courtesy of the
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to the first 100
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office.

raduate Program in

h
N
5
N
; ,,

Pudic Policy and management
(M.A., Ph.D., V MBA)
With Specialization in
Public Finance, Health Policy,
Urban Services, Environmental Regulations,
Energy Policy, Social Welfare and Labor Economics
For information
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