ARTS 'the Michigan Dailyy Thursday, October 26, 1989 Page 7 Soundstage rocks'U' Host Donovan Grey spiffs up an institution BY KRISTIN PALM THEY call him Mellow Yellow. He calls himself Donovan Grey (the British spelling, of course) which is testimony to the fact that University Activities Center's Soundstage is becoming more professional, with people behind the scenes using cos- mopolitan names and everything. Grey is the director of Sound- stage, a student-run production that features live bands and other enter- tainment at the U-Club on Thursday nights. In his lofty British accent (real or not? You be the judge), Grey explained the origin of Soundstage, which, like its director, is elusive. "It evolved from open mike into a coffee house, mostly two piece acts, acoustic, then we started having bands," he said. Since his term as Soundstage di- rector began, Grey said he has tried to alter the production's old status as a forum for strictly straightforward music performed by local musicians. ,Grey's means of bringing this change about include the incorpora- tion of heavy metal and theme shows into the Soundstage lineup. Furthermore, said Grey, he strives to provide variety. How? "Well, I was supposed to marry Zsa Zsa Gabor (on stage) but that fell through," he said. However, he adds, his luck has not been as poor with other ven- tures, and tonight's Dog Sol- dier/Vibratory Synod show will also feature Grey's own creation, the Samhain Feast of the Dead, in honor of the upcoming witch festival. The illustrious feast will be only slightly reminiscent of bat-eater Ozzy Os- bourne. "I sacrifice something inani- mate," Grey assured. "I was hoping to sacrifice a regent but that was not possible." Grey said one of his goals for Soundstage this year is to feature popular acts from around the nation as opposed to strictly local bands. But this does not mean Ann Arbor musicians will be left out in the cold. "The idea is to make local acts more successful by having them open for bigger acts," Grey said. Boston's Scruffy the Cat and De- troit's Halloween have already played Soundstage this year, but big names are not all this production has to of- fer. As a matter of fact, Grey said, Soundstage probably has one (or two) up on shows at other area bars. "We have a clean place and a healthy imagination." A healthy imagination, indeed. At a recent performance by Ann Arbor's Juice, Grey, who emcees the Soundstage shows, gave away eight quarts of (what else?) juice. In stick- ing to the variety theme, several types of juice were distributed among audience members. More common items, such as t- shirts and records, are also fair game for giveaways. In addition to having a live band, next Thursday's show will be a basketball pep rally. David Barrett, the person responsible for music during the Winter Olympics and the NCAA Basketball Tourna- ment, will perform, and University basketball coach Steve Fisher will also be present. Grey said that Fisher is in no danger of being considered sacrificial material, thanks in part to another member of the Athletic De- partment. "I've been leaning toward Bo lately," Grey said. While a pumpkin or similar ob- ject may be the only item officially sacrificed tonight, audience members may need to watch out for their eardrums as Detroit heavy metal band Dog Soldier hits the stage. Lead singer Cristina Samonte has Detroit band Dog Soldier plays the U-Club's Soundstage tonight. Donovan Grey, the enigmatic emcee, will surely make the evening at least a memorable one. He might hand out free dogs, or soldiers... maybe he'll go for more mundane giveaways this time around. been compared to Joan Jett, Pat Be- natar and Tina Turner, and the group's overall sound is said to re- semble that of the Stooges, Blue Oyster Cult or, most often, Guns N' Roses. Perhaps they could be de- scribed as diversely adherent to the hard rock style. For those who can't make it to Soundstage or want a sneak preview for upcoming weeks, WCBN DJ Grimm Reaper, conveniently enough, features Soundstage artists' music on his Metal Church show at 1 a.m. on Sundays. Grey claims to be Reaper's agent (perhaps this is show biz lingo for alter-ego) but the masked marauder of death's actual identity has yet to be publicly re- vealed. Dual personality assertions aside, Reaper may have just been greatly affected by Grey's assertion regarding Soundstage productions: "It is the sort of variety where people will feel stupid if they miss out and everyone will laugh at them." And revelling in the laughter will be one lanky, cheery Brit and a mys- terious, masked machete man with a penchant for the Satanic. Unless they are one and the same. Or maybe they are all some guy named Mike... DOG SOLDIER will perform at the U-Club tonight at 10 p.m. , , Y The Textones Through the Canyon Rhino Do you remember 1980 to 1986? Do you want to? America's favorite nostalgia la- bel, Rhino, has gotten "hip" and re- leased a compilation LP of an early '80s, two critical-hit-album band, the Textones, using material which never made it on to either of their records. This album, though, just sounds like bad outtakes. The record allegedly chronicles their highest undiscovered points as a band. The band was co-founded by Kathy Valentine - later a member of the Go-Go's - and Carla Olsen. Composed mainly of covers of vari- ous forgettable people like the Searchers and Neil Sedaka, and me- diocre material of their own, this trip down recent memory lane seems fu- tile at best and comparable to search- ing for undiscovered diamonds in a gumball machine. Releasing second- rate material is not the way to make an old, fairly obscure band revitalized for today. The earliest tunes are the only thing of any interest. When Kathy Valentine was still in the band in 1980, she wrote two tunes now saved from obscurity by this record, namely "Can't Stop the World" (later rerecorded by the Go-Go's) and "Some Other Girl." Each make the early 'Tones and the Go-Go's seem amazingly good relative to early '80s women like Pat Benatar and Joan Jett and today's great examples of competent musical women, the Ban- gles and Bananarama. Valentine's rave-ups are masterpieces compared to the blah relived but not revived on this disc. I had forgotten that "Happy Days" was still on the air as late as 1982 and made '50s nostalgia hot, that is before I heard the cover of "Keep A Walkin'." I'd rather forget if I have to listen to boring at its pinnacle and would rather see a com- pilation of what the band itself con- siders their "good" songs songs culled from their two LPs. Does Rhino actually expect that this col- lection will make the world mad at itself for overlooking the Textones while they were still a band? -Annette Petrusso The Alarm Change I.R.S. Records I have to keep listening to this record over and over. Not because it's great or anything, but I can never remember what any of the songs sound like. Nothing seems to register in my mind except bits and pieces. While The Alarm tried out the ever-popular "back to basics" ap- proach with Change, the result is lackluster. As the plentiful promo materials included in my copy eagerly point out, Change was recorded in a primi- tive 12-track studio (14 on the tape and CD - hmm, am I missing something?) in Wales with "legendary" producer Tony Visconti. Unfortunately, he seems to have let The Alarm's (formerly) fresh and in- See RECORDS, page 9 --- . Early '80s critical faves the Textones just aren't as hip as they used to be. Co-founder Kathy Valentine wisely took a vacation from this band. Express yourself in Daily Arts Call 763-0379 ENNUI=" U . Undergraduate Psych. Society EMU vs. U of M YPSI ARBOR LANES New Mixed League Now Forming! Bring A Friend in and Bowl Every Other Sunday To Beat Teams of Eastern Students League Meeting Oct. 29 at 4:00pm Starts Nov. 5th MASS MEETING for current & prospective members THURS. OCT 26 6:30 pm Pendleton Room, Mich. 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