ARTS The Michigan Daily Monday, January 25, 1988 Page 7 Joe By Fred Leighton Joe Ely is best known as a gui- tarist but he used to be in the circus That's right, the circus. After spend- ing some time in New York around 1975, Ely returned to his native Texas where he joined Ringling Brothers. "It all happened by acci- dent," he says. "I'd been up in New York City just tryin' to get by any- way I could." Although Joe Ely has spent much of his time "just tryin' to get by,' he's been a big influence on musi- cians throughout the country. He's best known for his associations with other groups, whether playing with the Clash, or opening for Linda Rondstadt, Tom Petty, or the Rolling Stones. But Joe Ely is one of America's best innovators of melding country music with rock 'n' roll. At the same time that Ely found himself in the circus, he became in- fluenced by the beat generation writ- ers, namely Jack Kerouac. "I always carried them around," he says. "I could relate to them at that time and still can. I've been ramblin' around ever since." The combination of the circus and beat generation writers is the perfect blend for someone like Joe Ely. 'Especially musicians can relate to B' ly brij that stuff, a lot of it is the lifestyle of a musician, the travelling and be- ing on the road," he explains. "Kind - of the general ambiance of romantic . misery. It was terrible working con- - ditions, low pay, not anything really d good, but the thought of it is real romantic." Ely was born in Amarillo, Texas - and raised in Lubbock - a town known to many as the home of - Buddy Holly. It was there that he first got involved in music, and put a band together after he returned from New York. "One time I just decided to come back and put a band to- gether," he says. "Because I had a whole suitcase of songs I'd been writing, and I got back to Lubbock in the springtime." That's also when he joined the circus. "I went down and watched them f put it all together, and asked a guy if ' I could start working. He handed me a sledgehammer and said, 'take off your shirt and start drivin' stakes.' I - kind of got inducted without really - thinking about it. We went around s to every stop in Texas, New Mex- I ico, and Oklahoma." This spirit of perseverance helped d Ely through hard times. Difficulties with record labels have plagued his career in the past, but he's now with t a new label, Hightone Records, and things have taken a turn for the bet- ter. His new album, Lord of the ngs genuine 0 innovations 0 Highway, suggests a need to travel, to continually experience. The new single, "My Baby Thinks She's French," is doing well, and has picked up momentum on video channels. "That kind of took us all by surprise, because we really didn't expect it," Ely says. "We weren't aiming for that whole end of it." Ely's songs don't need a lot of explanation. They come from an era unconcerned with glitz and glamor. In 1981 when Ely's acclaimed al- bum, Musta Notta Gotta Lotta, was released, there was talk about the connection between English rock and American country styles. "I didn't really understand it either," Ely says. "Until I found myself over in Eng- land quite a bit, and I think that there's a certain part of country mu- sic that appeals to the English bunch more so than American rock 'n' roll music." The Clash were one bunch of guys Ely became friends with while in England. The group was thrilled to tour with him throughout Texas in 1982. "Their whole knowledge of it was stuff like Marty Robbins gunfighter ballads - things that I wouldn't have really in a wild guess thought they'd heard before." Ely enjoyed England's music scene. "When we first started going over there, the whole rock 'n' roll world in the States seemed to be kind of jaded and a dead-end street, whereas in England it was really alive and vibrant. It was nice to be at a place where there was really some- thing different happening." Ely's influences are what you'd call diverse. "Earlier times, madmen like Jerry Lee Lewis, and later on when I got a band together, the first wave of English bands, like the Rolling Stones were influential," he says. "Then when I left to travel around, songwriters back to Jimmy Rogers and Robert Johnson, and on through, like, Woody Guthrie, the whole early American guys who first started getting songs together. Even now, I listen more to songwriters than I do to bands, so to speak." A few days ago, Joe Ely went to Nashville to work with one of his favorite songwriters, Guy Clark. "He's putting together an album of songs, and he recorded a song I wrote while I was with the Ringling Brothers called 'Indian Cowboy."' Ely was fortunate as a youth to record in a Lubbock studio owned by See FROM, Page 8 The Lord of the Highway makes a stop in Ann Arbor tonight to unload some sweet music. Pick up your package at the Blind Pig tonight. TUESDAY LUNCH FORUM at the INTERNATIONAL CENTER,- 603 E. MADISON January 26 at 12 noon: "Honduras: Economic Development In Honduras" Speaker: Elwood "Woody" Holman, Architect, Former Chairman of Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce for additional information -please call 662-5529 Introduction to Geology in the Rockies Sponsoredby: The Ecumenical Campus Center and the International Center Lunch Available: $1.00 (students) $1.50 (others) U-M Students TORONTO & NIAGARA FALLS for SPRING BREAK Feb. 21- 26 Travel and Room Cost $215 Open to All For more information contact The International Center at 603 E. Madison " 764-9310 International Center needs deposit by 1/29/88 c'mon... thursday's classes aren't all that important LAUG RACK presents comedian Stand Up Comedy ERIC TUINNEY HOST OF THE CBC's HOTTEST TALK SHOW!!! Special Guest TIM COSTELLO Student Comedans RICH EISEN MARK ROSSEN WEDNESDAY JANUARY 27 And Your Host PETER BERMAN Summer 1988 (June 30-August 16) Earn EIGHT HOURS of University credit for studying Introductory Geology in the Rocky Mountains, including: " Yellowstone National Park * Grand Tetons * Dinosaur National Monument " Craters of the Moon " Flaming Gorge SETTING This ideal "outdoor classroom" offers some of the most scenic and interesting geology in the entire Rocky Mountain region. Mountain uplifts and deep erosion have exposed a variety of Earth structures and rocks of diverse age and origin. The effects of alpine glaciation, landslides, stream erosion, and a host of other geological phenomena provide an unmatched introduction to geology. The geological history of the Teton, Gros Ventre, and Wind River mountain ranges is fully recorded in a sequence of fossiliferous rocks which in many cases can be interpreted in terms of processes still at work today. LOCATION The University of Michigan field course is taught at Camp Davis, a permanent facility built by the University in 1929. Camp Davis is about 20 miles south of Jackson, Wyoming, near the junction of the Overthrust Belt, the Snake River Plain, the Wind River Range, and the Green River Basin; the Tetons lie to the north, the Gros Ventre Range to the east, and the Basin and Range Province to the west. It is simply an excellent place to learn about geology. The camp is located on the Hoback River near its junction with the Snake River; the trout fishing is great. CAMP The field camp was constructed by The University of Michigan in order to provide a teaching facility in the Rocky Mountains. Camp Davis living quarters consist of rustic cabins with wood-burning stoves and running water. Showers and laundry facilities are shared by students; meals are served mess-hall style in a large dining room. Camp facilities include classrooms, a first-aid station, a large recreation hall, a softball diamond, and a volleyball court. Other facilities are available in Jackson; transportation to town is provided twice a week. COURSE CONTENT Geological Sciences 116 is an in-depth course covering all aspects of geology. The thrust of this course is to teach students about minerals and rocks in a variety of settings. Approximately two weeks of the course are spent on trips to other parts of Wyoming as well as Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, and Utah. You will examine minerals, rocks, and fossils in their natural settings. Although lectures are a part of the course, most of your time will be spent in the field where instruction is often on an individual basis. FACULTY The Camp Davis teaching staff consists of faculty from the Department of Geological Sciences at The University of Michigan and visiting faculty from other universities. The course is typically staffed by three faculty members and two graduate teaching assistants. CREDIT Geological Sciences 116 carries EIGHT (8) credit hours and is equivalent to a two-term sequence of introductory geology. It satisfies the natural science distribution requirement in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. PREREQUISITES No prerequisites. High school seniors and university students are encouraged to apply. SCHEDULE Geological Sciences 116 runs for 6 weeks. The dates for the 1988 summer course will be from June 30, when the caravan leaves from Ann Arbor, until August 16, the day that the caravan returns to Ann Arbor. COSTS Cost, including lodging, meals, tuition, health fee, and transportation to and from Camp Davis, is $1,600 for Michigan residents and $1,770 for all nonresidents. All class-related equipment and field vehicles connected with the course are supplied by The University of Michigan.