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 handmade handmade silver jewelry from Thailand items from Guatemala __ _ -- GROUND FLOOR OF THE MICHIGAN UNION cnllrr4 cTATF rrt~RT Today- Friday, loam-5pm