Page 8-The Michigan Daily -Thursday, January 18, 1990
Allison happy to eat and play
BY KIM YAGED
THE message on Frank Allison's
answering machine, "We're either
gone, goner or really gone," most
certainly rings true. To begin with, I
was left a message that Frank wasn't
sure if he could make plans for any
new gigs because his bass player
was leaving. Then, when I got it
squared away that I wanted an inter-
view, not to book him, Frank told
me to meet him at Bell's Cafe, a
restaurant that, I soon found out, has
closed. Eventually, over runny eggs
and good hash browns at the Fleet-
wood, I was able to speak with the
man behind the absent-mindedness.
First of all, the rumors are true.
John Boyle, the bassist for Allison's
band, the Odd Sox, is leaving the
band. Allison said that John has a
career as a hairdresser and at this
point in his life that is where his in-
terest lies. Allison describes Boyle's
leaving as "real amicable."
"Everybody's good-natured about
it. I don't feel like I'll never work
with the guy again or anything like
that," he said. Not willing to con-
cede whether he prefers playing solo
or with the band, Allison said that
there is an intensity to both.
"When I play by myself, the
songs, the words, become so much
more important because you can hear
'em. When there's a band there you
get the musical diversity. I just
started playing by myself so I'm
kinda excited." There's a new edge to
the band as well, he said, a result of
the void left by Boyle. For now,
however, Allison and the Odd Sox
have decided to postpone the search
for a new bassist in order to see how
things will work if they exist as a
trio once Boyle leaves. Accompany-
ing the change in the band's lineup
are hopes for a new album.
"We've got a record about half
done. Some,of it is solo-oriented.
Maybe I'll make a smaller solo EP
or combine it with some stuff from
the band. At this point it's so unfin-
ished that I don't know," Allison
explained.
Allison said his favorite bar to
play is Lili's in Hamtramck. "The
people that own it are really, really
nice. Lili was a persecuted Polish
Jew. That's kinda my favorite bar.
It's got nothing to do with the audi-
ence. It's just that most bar owners
are real slimy people," he said,
adding that he still loves The Blind
Pig and Club Heidelberg.
Recently, Allison performed at
two benefits - one for the homeless
at the Ark and the other for the Rain-
forest Action Committee. This is
what he considers to be his volunteer
work and rightfully so, since he has
raised a lot of money for a variety of
people.
"People need to understand that
they're animals on the planet Earth.
That they're not prophets of God.
They're animals of the planet Earth,
and they've got to treat the planet
Earth like they're members of it," he
explained.
The rumors are true.
John Boyle, the
bassist for Allison's
band, the Odd Sox, is
cleaving the band.
Allison said that John
has a career as a
hairdresser and at
this point in his life
that is where his
interest lies. Allison
describes Boyle's
leaving as 'real
amicable.'
Although Allison's career may
not be the most usual or lucrative,
he said his family has remained sup-
portive. "For a long time he kinda
had a job for me at his shop. It was
more along the lines of helping me
get into the music business," he said
of his father. "My grandmother is
my weirdest groupie. She comes out
to every other show and buys me
gifts," he continued.
Allison worries that his music is
not "college radio enough." His
songs eminate from the things that
happen to him or his friends. "I can
even get an idea off the TV. It comes
from a million different places,
whatever happens to stick in your
head," he said. His favorite musi-
cians are Hank Williams and Lead-
belly, and he likes music from the
hills. "Because of the music industry
it's become a real 'baby, baby I love
you' hit-oriented kind of thing, and
personally, I think that's a bad
thing," he said.
For now, Allison said he thinks
he wants to play music for the rest
of his life. When asked about goals
he has achieved and those he may
have for the future, Allison said,
"I've got all the Marx Brothers
movies on tape, that was something
I never thought would actually hap-
pen. My next dream is to have all
the Buster Keaton movies on tape.
I'm living, and I'm happy. I'm as-
suming I'm at a point where I'm as
happy as I'm gonna be, even if I
make it. As long as I have enough
food that I can eat, and I can hang
around on somebody's couch, watch
their TV and smoke their pot, I'll be
happy."
FRANK ALLISON AND THE ODD
Oh, the good old days... when mom baked apple pie, the Eastern bloc
gave you nightmares and Frank Allison and the Odd Sox were a quartet.
SOX will perform at The Blind Pig
tonight, Club Heidelberg January
26th and Lili's on January 27th.
Their final performances with John
Boyle will be in February. All
shows begin at 10:30 pm.
band's desire to sound like the origin
nal while maintaining each groups'
collective instincts regarding their
musical styles. But, because some of
the covers are not performed in the
same conscientious manner, half of
the album dies of an indulgence
overdose.
-Annette Petrusso
Various Artists
Stairway to Heaven, High-
way to Hell
Mercury/Polygram
As part of rock manager Doc
McGhee's sentence for a drug-related
crime, he organized the Make A Dif-
ference Foundation, "a non-profit or-
ganization dedicated to combating
drug and alcohol abuse among youth
via a pro-responsibility message."
Its big event, the Moscow Music
and Peace Festival, brought popular
metal bands to the Soviet Union for
what was apparently the largest mu-
sical event in the history of that
country.
This charity album is the com-
panion piece to the festival, with the
profits split between Make A Differ-
ence and a similar Soviet organiza-
tion. This album, comprised of
bands who performed at the festival,
has them covering their favorite
songs originated by bands whose
members suffered drug-related deaths.
It is a worthwhile tribute to the dead
and those artists who participated.
While some of the cuts are me-
diocre interpretations, they at least
are noteworthy because of the bands'
enthusiasm and the fresh metal looks
at the songs. Three drummers, Jason
Bonham, Tico Torres, and Mickey
Curry, collaborated as Drum Mad-
ness to cover Led Zeppelin's Bonzo
showcase "Moby Dick." Although
the song suffers at points from drum
overkill, it still gives a respectable
nod to a great drummer.
Skid Row's vain attempt to do
justice to the Sex Pistol's "Holiday
in the Sun" is saved only by Sebas-
tian Bach's screaming vocals. The
cleaner edge of their metallic rock
sound just does not gel as a version
of this early punk song. Motley
Crue and Bon Jovi turn their respec-
tive covers of Deep Purple's
"Teaser" and Thin Lizzy's "The Boys
are back in Town" into mushy tunes
that sound too much like the newer
bands are pretending they wrote the
songs.
The most inspired piece of the
whole album is^Ozzy Osbourne's
version of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple
Haze." With an excellent guitar ef-
fort and Ozzy's throaty, maniacal
vocals, this cover enlivens the song,
giving it a new edge, and ensuring
Hendrix will be regarded as a metal
god who will influence the next gen-
eration.
Likewise, the jam from the festi-
val never drags. Each of the three
cuts are the result of a cooperative
effort among these usually egotistic
bands, and catalogs a memorable
moment in rock history. These
solid, clean productions balance each
$t29
MONDAY- SA A
IW- ~.iY ~vat t- ~o G ood T im
Charley's
_V
KILLDOZER
Continued from page 7
Barely 15 people were brave
enough to stay in for their set, yet
another of the bed-wetting, pant-
shitting shows for which they're so
famous - Gerald virtually eating
the microphone, Bill fretting his
guitar with someone's crushed
Miller can, and Dan essentially
destroying his drum set. One hell of
a set. With the trio expending every
ounce of their god-given energy for a
mere 15 fans, ending the set slumped
in a pool of perspiration and broken
guitar strings it was one hell of a
show. We couldn't even hear by the
time Scratch Acid went on. Then
again, so what?
NEED
THESE?
a'
f
KILLDOZER will plow over Club.
Heidelberg tonight with Ann.
Arbor's WIG opening up. Tickets:
are $5 and the show begins at 10:30
p.m.
;{
THE PROGRAM IN FILM & VIDEO STUDIES PRESENTS
David Bordwell
Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Communication Arts
at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, renowned film scholar, and
author or co-author of such seminal texts in film studies as The Classical
Hollywood Cinema, Film Art, and Narration in the Fiction Film, will screen Girl
Shy (Harold Lloyd, 1924, 65 minutes) and give a talk entitled:
.FIND
THIS
C
SHELF TAG
Fall 89
0
0
0
RE9UIRED
TITLE'
A UT HOR:
PUBL: EDITION:
PROF:
-s -- - ---------- - - -- - - - --- - - -- - - -
Course, Course Number
Section
0
0
0
Thursday, January 18th
7:00pm
Angell Hall Auditorium C
Admission is Free
Friday, Jan. 19th, Prof. Bordwell will meet informally with students, faculty and staff
10am-12pm 2520 Frieze Bldg.
I
HERE!
411 1
1V
MICHIGAN UNION BOOKSTORE
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