ARTS The Michigan Daily Tuesday, March 25, 1986 Page 7 'Living the blues: Guitarist Buddy Guy By Alan Paul B uddy Guy is almost too good to be true. The 50 year-old guitarist has been playing the blues since he was a small child growing up on a Louisiana farm. His manic style is legendary among rock and blues guitarists. "Buddy Guy epitomized for me the artistry of electric blues guitar," English guitar hero Jeff Beck said. "It was the simplicity, the stabbing manic phrases that he came out with. It was me, that sound." Unfortunately, Guy's acclaim barely reaches beyond the inner musicians circle. He has no recording contract. The fact that he directly in- spired Beck, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards, all millionaires several times over, as well as the late Jimi Hendrix, yet continues to play small clubs can't help but hurt. Yet the ar- ticulate Guy is not resentful. "I don't resent them at all," Guy said, his southern drawl still noticable after three decades of living in Chicago. "The artists don't have a thing to do with it. In fact, they spread my name. They're all friends of mine. Eric (Clapton) and the Stones have done me great favors. Who can we blame? If you own a great thoroughbred, he still can't win if he's not even entered in the race." "No matter how well I play, I need exposure," Guy continued. "Other people play two or three of my licks and they're stars. They pick up a guitar and people run to them. Everything I got, I did myself. I had to play my way into places." It is virtually impossible for a pure blues player to achieve commercial success. B.B. King, after 20 odd years of playing the "citlin circuit" 300 nights a year, incorporated strings and recorded some more poppy num- bers. He has since had several top selling albums and now plays Atlantic CIty and Las Vega. "You can't blame B.B. for making a decent living," Guy said. "There seems to be a lid on pure blues. People seem to have something against the music. It's just blues; it speaks about the facts of life. Maybe people don't want to hear it." "I'm surprised I haven't gone commercial, but I just love the music so much I keep coming back to it. It's in my blood," Guy said with a laugh. "I do what I hav e to do and I'll die with it. The music's treated me well. I maynot be rich butI'mcomfortable and I'm happy. How many people can say that they really love their jobs?" Young blacks don't listen to blues much anymore. The music gets almost no airplay on "black" radio stations. This fact would seem hard to swallow for a man such as Guy, who has devoted his life to the art form. "There's no blues for them to listen to. They're not flashing mine or B.B.'s picture across the television," Guy commented. "Kids can see that bluesmen aren't really going anywhere. I just wish to hell I could stay with a record company and in- fluence some people. Kids have a lot of freedom, a lot of options today. The blues were all we had." That being the case, is there a future for the blues? Dazzling dance Blues guitarist Buddy Guy appears tonight at 10:00 at Rick's American Cafe. 'Books Jealousies Justine Harlowe 453 pp. $3.95 Bantam Books One is innocently good. The other is cunningly evil. They both want the same man. No, this isn't "Dynasty"-although it comes very close. Jealousies by Justine Harlowe is about two beautiful sisters whose ambitious dreams of fame and for- tune unfold in a captivating novel of love, envy and high society glamour. Shannon and Kerry Faloon are raised in poverty by a strict Irish father in the Australian Outback. Their deprived childhood encourage them to seek a better life among England's high society. Their sum- mer is made more exciting, however, with the arrival of Lord Zan Fitzher- bert, a distinguished Englishman, to the Outback. Both sisters fall in love with him, but Zan only desires one of them. When Zan's visit ends he leaves Koonwarra to continue his role as one of London's wealty elites, but he can- See BOOKS, Page 8 By Malia Frey "An American Tribute," performed by Dance Department students and faculty, was a show that no one should have missed. The show opener was a light piece choreographed by Bill DeYoung, and performed by nine dancers to DeYoung's clever and sometimes humorous choreography, accompanied by the songs of Kay Swift. Soprano Joan Morris sung tunes like, "Nobody Breaks My Heart," and "Can't We Be Friends" with piano accompaniment by William Balcolm. Audiences were kept on their toes with DeYoung's unexpected choreography, for instan- ce, when three of his dancers "fell" off the stage. A cast of eighteen dancers perfor- med Vera Embree's "Changes" to the music of DAvid Swaim. In contrast to "A Little Piece," "Changes" was a more serious piece about human roles. Trios, duels, and solo pieces by student dancers focused on the role of housewife- mother, a romantic, and the working man, among others. Jessica Fogel 's piece, "Vermeer Variations" was a modern inter- pretation of 17th century paintings by Jan Vermeer. Designer Doug Miller created a fascinating set, based on two of Ver- meer's works. "Woman Reading a Letter at an Open Window," and "Maidservant Pouring Milk." While the cast danced, slides of Vermeer's work were flashed on a screen behind them. Fogel's choreography was also intriguing-dancers constumed in 17th-century garb moved around the stage with letters, as in Vermeer 's work, while in contrast, others danced with telephones, creating intricate patterns with the phone cords. The recreation of Doris Hum- phrey's "Day on Earth" was excep- tional due to the smooth-muscled, energetic performance of Peter Sparling. Sparling danced with ease with his stage wife, danced by Beth Corning and child, Tarra Dionne, creating a natural sense of family throughout the piece. The final and most exciting piece was Sparling's own, "Modern Life." With new wave set design by U of M architect Robert Cole, and trendy costumes by Patricia Bove, the piece focused on today's youth culture. 6 SOLUTIONS TO YOUR PROBLEM Use these numbers to call the Michigan Daily Billing .... Circulation Classified . Display ... News..... S ports. *. . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . ... . . . . ... . . .. . . .. . . . 764-0550 764-0558 764-0557 764-0554 764-0552 764-0562 oJbe+ 3icbigatn 3 §iI I STUDENT RIGHTS PARTY A Year's Experience Advocating Student Interests % JBEN FAIGEL LS&A RACKHAM Lisa DeYoung Thea Lee for President * Kathleen O'Connor Bruce Belcher Rebecca Felton Gus Teschke MSA Women's Issues Committee Chair Hillary Farber Christopher Young " MSA Freshman Orientation Leader * Michelle Fischer Brian Burt * MSA Public Relations Coordinator * Glen Wiliams Jennifer Heitman Michael Margolis Bob Smart MARK w ..iBR . Susan Carter BUSINESS Lisa Russ Bennett Kaplan for Vice President * Matt Tucker B * * Yvonne Bloch Rob Medway " Ph.D. Student in Economics Ken Weine Ira Baer " 2 years Rackham Student Government 'K Ann Carmack LAW Ed Kraus Deborah Weisman Jim Spencer WE WANT WUAT YOU WAMY Spencer Bron ARCHITECTURE WW A WHO WA Dave Chung Jere Williamson Expand the Niteowl " Enforce the city Housing Code MEDICINE ENGINEERING * Establish a campus-wide escort service " Fair dorm alcohol policy * Taek RIN* . No compromise code a No classified research *a Lee Leela Fernande~s " Free Speech " No research destructive to human life. * ARTRoger VanDuinen * ART Raeuinn * Centralize minority student services - Student Regent * DavidRobery MacMahon David Lovinger Cynthia Wenzel . EDUCATION Terry Young MITE MIR TILE PARTY