Page 8-The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, November 3, 1987
Firehose,

Slovenly

shoot

hoops

By Beth Fertig
and Robert Flaggert
There's a package deal heading
our way tonight in the form of
another one of those SST Records-
style famous double whammies:
Firehose and Slovenly, two bands
from southern California, will be
hauling themselves to town for what
will probably (and unfortunately) be
one of the last shows of its kind at
the Blind Pig.
There's some history behind
what both bands have dubbed this,
the "James Worthy Tour '87." In the
words of Slovenly guitarist Tom
Watson, they have been playing to-
gether since they "were all too
young to even sit inside and watch
the show." Both bands got their start
on the same night (along with an
early performance by Saccharine
Trust) at a club called Capone's,
back when Slovenly were known as
Toxic Shock and two of the current
members of Firehose were in the
Minutemen.
Firehose consists of Mike Watt
on bass and George Hurley on
drums, both of Minutemen fame,
along with newcomer Ed "from-
Ohio" Crawford, on guitar and
vocals. Hurley sets a strong beat for
Watt and Crawford with his inces-

sant pounding, which he punctuates
with the bob of his head and the
flailing of his four year growth of
beached blond bangs. Watt and
Crawford remain consistently in the
foreground, issuing forth powerful
bass lines and sharp, raging guitar
licks. The drums and guitar form
around the bass, usually the pre-
dominant instrument in their songs.
The Minutemen's career came to
an abrupt end in December 1985
with the untimely death of guitarist
D. Boon. Watt and Hurley were
understandably hesitant about re-
suming a band after the death of their
close friend, but they regrouped as
Firehose when they met Ed
Crawford, a Minutemen fan who had
left a series of urgent messages on
Watt's answering machine requesting
an audition. Today, Firehose retains
much of the Minutemen's style, but
Crawford's voice is much cleaner
than Boon's, and his guitar style
sounds more like R.E.M. than Watt
and Boon's Blue Oyster Cult-
influenced playing.
Slovenly are very excited about
the "James Worthy Tour '87." A
staple in the Los Angeles club
circuit (even though they now live
in San Francisco), they had
somehow never gotten around to
doing a national tour until they
received the offer from Firehose.

"We're five friends who knew each
other before we knew what music
was," Watson says. "We all had
heavy lifestyles outside the band. We
also couldn't really affordit finan-
cially and in our lives." When they
made up their minds to join Firehose
on tour, they decided to do it honor.
"Slovenly and Firehose are both
basketball fans, although I'd say it's
mostly Mike Watt," Watson says,
explaining the title of their double
tour. "We're more Lakers fans,
though. And James Worthy is a
great figure. We're also playing his
home town of Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, and it all kind of fell to-
gether... in honor of Worthy. We
love the Lakers."
Watson is also happy to see his
friends Mike Watt and George
Hurley playing together again. "D.
Boon's death was possibly the
lowest part of my life. We were all
close friends, not just a rock and roll
thing." As for Firehose, he says,
"They make me feel really good
every time I see 'em. We're really
excited to be able to tour with
them... our music compliments each
other."
Slovenly are also playing in
support of their most recent album
Riposte, an otherwise smooth
sounding record that's indelibly
marked by their lead vocalist's free-

Firehose have hit the road in an act of pure devotion to L.A. Lakers' star James Worthy. Imagine that
Slovenly are sitting in the back seat...

form, half spoken intonations. Their
loose-fitting melodies are jagged
enough to defy an accurate
description, but you can bet their
show tonight will be well worth
catching.
Watson has high hopes for his
band, their next LP, and of course,

basketball. "We're thinking of get-
ting an SST basketball team
together... possibly playing other
record labels. We'd like to play
Homestead."
As for tonight's show, he says,
one can expect to hear lots of cuts
from Slovenly's most recent album,

as well as "all your favorite songs"
He also says that Firehose will play
their whole new record If n, whicfl
will hit the stores in a month and a
half. And, he adds, "We'll sign every
basketball at the show."
Be there by 10 p.m. Cover charge
is $7.


Pierre Bensusan shows

off his

fancy fretwork


By V.J. Beauchamp
Pierre Bensusan, the well-
acclaimed, French acoustic finger-
style guitarist, and his Ensemble,
will be making an appearance for
two shows at 7:30 and 10 p.m.
tonight at the Ark.
Monsieur Bensusan's background
is very interesting. He was born in
Algeria, North Africa, and because
Algeria was a French colony, he
grew up speaking French as his
native language. His ancestors were
originally Spanish Jews, who had
been hunted during he reign of
Isabella I the Catholic, and fled to
Spanish Morocco and Algeria. As
Jews in an Arabic culture, they
retained their own identity, but also
incorporated the dominant culture.

Perhaps this explains why Ben-
susan's music is so varied and eclec-
tic.
This is guitar music, moving
from textural to British and Celtic
traditional embellishments to jazz,
sometimes within the space of one
cut. This is, however, not flashy
guitar music. You may well be
overwhelmed, as he is very
impressive. But the sensation is not
that of being hit over the head with
his technical prowess (though he has
it), rather it's like swimming in
wonderfully warm water.
Bensusan's fans include John
Williams, George Winston, Doc
Watson, Eric Schoenberg, and
certainly this writer. His music
contains such varied influences as
British folksters John Renbourn,
Bert Jansch, Stefan Grossman, Dave

Bensusan began his recording
career at 17 with broadly acclaimed
Pres De Paris, which won him the
coveted Grand Prix Du Disque.
Recently, Lost Lake Arts, a
subsidiary of Windham Hill Records,
reissued the best material from that
album and Pierre Bensusan II under
the title Early Pierre Bensusan. The
company also re-released his third
album Musiques. While the cover
graphics look very new age, the
music is rich, textured, sometimes
crunchy. It is music with substance
(and that will probably not displease
new age fans as well). It pis
enjoyable, it is pleasant with or
without food, and, it must be noted,
is nowhere near elevator music. The
pressings are superb, too. His other
full album, Solilai (on CBS) is
certainly worth tracking down, too:
In a 1985 interview with Guitdr
Player Magazine, Bensusan
commented, "I've almost never been
attracted to guitar music. I'm not a
guitar freak... I just feel I am part of
the universe and that the music' I
want to play has nothing to do with
any one category."
I'm told he's pretty damn hot
with his Ensemble, too. And they're
not just for Francophones.
Get there early for either of the
shows (7:30 and 10 p.m.) to secure
yourself a good seat. It's all
happening at the Ark, 637 and 1/2
S. Main, tonight.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
GRADUATE PROGRAM
We invite Chemical Engineering seniors and those in Chemistry or
related majors to apply to the M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Chemical
Engineering. Assistantship and Fellowship stipends up to $15,000
are available now and for fall 1988 for study in biotechnology,
composite materials, polymer science and other "high-tech" areas of
Chemical Engineering research. For information and application
materials contact:
Dr. D.J. Miller, Coordinator of Graduate Recruting
Department of Chemical Engineering
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Mi. 48824-1226
(517)355-5135
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
MSU Is an Affirmitave Acton/Equal Opportunity Employer

Guitarist Pierre Bensusan plays an innovative concoction of tunes that draw from his diverse ethnic
background.

Liebman, and Martin Carthy, R y
Cooder, the late Irish piper Seamus
Ennis, and jazz greats like Egberto
Gismonti, Milton Nascimento, and
saxophonist Wayne Shorter.
Bensusan has an incredibly versatile
technique, and his melodies and
understanding of music tie it all
together and make it his own.

Bensusan began playing guitar at
age seven, after studying classical
piano for four years. After some
experimentation, he settled down
with the open modeled DADGAD
(low to high) tuning, which brings a
bell-like clarity to his work.
Unlike some guitarists, Bensusan
does not collect instruments. His

custom Lowden guitar, made near
Belfast in Northern Ireland, rarely
leaves his side. Recently, George
Lowden made a ten string guitar for
him, to satisfy Bensusan's desire for
an instrument with an extended bass
end. Dave Evans, an English guitar
maker, was also commissioned to
create a 22 string harp-guitar, based
on the old Gibson model.
Bensusan's other instruments, which
usually stay at home in Paris, are
his seldom used electric guitar, and
an Argentian accordion.

NORTHWEST
AIRLINES
OPEN HOUSE
LOCATION: Romulus City Hall
A oddard/1-94)
DATE: Wednesday,
November 4, 1987
TIME: 11 AM to 7 PM
1111 South Wayne Road
Romulus, Michigan
Take 1-94 to Romulus-Wayne Road
exit, go South on Wayne and left on
Goddard. Take first right to City Hall
Hiring now for paorttime opportunities as CUSTOMER
SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES. Northwest's commitment
to excellence in customer service creates new
opportunities in an exciting, challenging and fast paced
environment. You will be working at the airport meeting
and greeting our arriving and departing customers to
provide assistance with flight/gate information, answering
questions regarding travel itineraries, and dealing with
any special problems and concerns.
You will be involved in 3 days training and have weekly
work schedules consisting of 20 hours/week. You will need
to. ha nvn. n +, t wn,-rk im riovni eritorrm'

.c'mon... thursday's classes aren't all that important
I AUG RACK
Stand Utl zcmdy
presents comedian
TIM ROWLANDS
Student Comedans
RICH EISEN JIM MERCURIO
WEDNESDAY
NOVEMBER 4
And Your Host
JIMMY RHOADES

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