Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 21, 1990
We may only be Americans,
but we've still got Zydeco

ROCHES

xv)

BY NABEEL ZUBERI
IN Britain, they have this love/hate
relationship with the U.S.A.
They hate America for the cruise
missiles and the air force bases that
make our island the U.S.'s largest
aircraft carrier, for the McDonald's
sprouting up in our decaying inner
cites, the hypocrisy of the new Mc-
Carthyism - the drug war, the con-
servatism, the lack of a viable left,
the political unconsciousness, the
ignorance of the outside world, the
support of dodgy regimes from El
Salvador to Israel, the police actions,
the CIA bully boys of Coca-Colo-
nialism, the free enterprise tyranny,
the corporate mind, the thirtysome-
thing bourgeoisie, bad television,
the banality of the media, the plural-
ism that is more of the same rather
than truly eclectic, the religious fa-
natics, the tourists, the fake sincer-
ity, the need to talk when you've got
nothing to say, and the power ballad.
They also love America in as
many ways. But it's an America
that, for the most part, existed in a
mythical past. We love old movies,
varsity jackets, chinos, 501s,
brightly colored cars with big fins,
the kitsch, the demented books by
alcoholic authors, the jazz, blues,
R&B, country music, rockabilly,
rock 'n' roll, soul, funk, garage
punk, and music from Louisiana.
For a European, zydeco music is
pure Americana at its best; America
as a bastard hybrid culture, and as ev-
idence that this country can be a
melting pot. Terrance Simien and
the Mallet Playboys exemplify the
protean energy and dionysian fervor
of this type of American music.
This young band is moving forward
into the future but is always aware
of a rich tradition. Cajun and
Caribbean rhythms meld into a
hodgepodge of real fire. Zydeco mu-
sic is one of those few musical
forms that has a sense of commu-
nity. This is music to be enjoyed
live and amongst friends.
TERRANCE SIMIEN AND THE
MALLET PLAYBOYS play the Pig
tonight. The show begins at 10 p.m.;
cover is $8.

Continued from page 7
"As a child I was always very
quiet," Suzzy explained. She pro-
jects the opposite on stage, play-
ing ring leader. "Cow-catcher is
how I describe it - I bust
through the obstacles," she said.
"Maggie, being oldest, is sensi-
tive. She feels the smallest
movements, and therefore makes
small movements."
Suzzy said the group is
pleased with Speak, and with
MCA, their new label. "It's the
first time we've done something
that sounds like we do, like our
performances," she said. "We've
learned how to handle the instru-
mentation, the production. The
whole experience has gotten re-
ally rich for us."
THE ROCHES play tonight at 8
p.m. at the Power Center. Tick-
ets are $16 at the Union and
Ticketmaster.


No, we didn't rip this picture off a kiosk. The Roches, sisters (from left)
Terre, Maggie and Suzzy, all share a middle name: quirky.


House Party (sorry, no beer)

r,
s

Terrance Simien and the Mallet Playboys, being a Zydeco band, insist
that you have fun; they'll ensure it by jumping into the crowd to hang out
with you. The Daily has an official policy of not making food references in
Zydeco stories, but we've just got to tell you: PJ (as in Records) is
making jambalaya for everyone.

BY JEN BILIK
T WENTY-FOUR hours in the life of a teenager
sounds like another Brat-Pack extravaganza, at best a
Pretty in Pink. Even worse, imagine aforementioned
adolescent trying to escape being grounded during one of
the hottest parties of the year. But it was with precisely
this plot line that House Party won the Film Makers
Trophy at January's Sundance Festival. Following on
the heels of the Black Filmmakers Series, House Party
will have a special preview showing this Sunday, spon-
sored by the U-M Program in Film and Video Studies.
House Party came into being originally as a promise
from director Reginald Hudlin to his childhood friends,
that one day he would make a movie about their high
school parties. Although he made the first version of
the film for his senior thesis at Harvard, Hudlin decided
to update it for a mainstream audience. Working with
his brother, producer Warrington Hudlin, Reginald
assembled a cast of Black musicians, and a production
crew that was more than 60 percent African-American
(most crews are less than five percent Black). The
Hudlin brothers wanted to show the viability of a Black
crew behind the camera, as well as the success of the ac-
tors in front.
In the starring roles as groundee and party-giver are
rappers Kid N' Play (Christopher Reid and Christopher
Martin). Three members of the group Full Force make
their appearance, and George Clinton scratches as the
party's DJ. Full Force wrote and produced 'an original
song for the movie, "The Family is in the House." The
film takes place in East St. Louis, Illinois, in Hudlin's
effort to capture the life of a Black neighborhood some-
where geographically between Los Angeles and Harlem.
In addition to the Film Maker's Trophy, House
Party won an award for best cinematography and took

second place among the audience at the Sundance Festi-
val. The New York Times said of the film, "Reginald;
Hudlin's direction and feel for his characters' speech and:
style raises the film above its genre." House Party ad-
dresses such issues as birth control and the relationships
between Black youth and white cops. The Times went
on to say "while Mr. Hudlin creates an effortless narra-0
tive that sweeps viewers along on a strong current of
visual energy and music, he also carries the audience
through a range of Black society, from a country club to
a cramped housing project."
Introducing House Party on Sunday Night will bet
Warrington Hudlin. He received his first notice with his'
documentary films, including Street Corner Stories and'
a film on the making of Spike Lee's School Daze. In
1978, Hudlin founded the Black Filmmaker Foundation,
which has contributed greatly to the emergence of the
Black independent cinema movement.
HOUSE PARTY will be shown this Sunday at 7p.m., in
Lorch Hall. Although the film is free, tickets are re,,
quired. Tickets will be given out, one per person, at
the Program in Film and Video Studies office, 2512-
Frieze, from 8am to 5pm, through Friday. The,
remainder will be distributed at the door.

Share the
newt,

.4
S.4
y W

a4lrl


B.

"Pizzas, trophies and road trips-our Volkswagens deliver."


r.
F"
#' '.
> ,
':£ .
.;ti#.

'°'
vt
. .
S"
:: , .
?.

Andy and Liza Keene
Texas A&M University

*1

Andy and Liza Keene, students at Texas A&M,
talk about their silver Volkswagen GTI's.

cars have," explained Andy. And he should know.
Andy's been racing his GTI on the Autocross

parked side by side. But we don't know how
much longer they can keep them together. Right
-X4 -...A - 4 - 1 4 L,: L -- A ,J..,. - - 1--1,1 -44 -




a
.

A