ARTS OThe Michigan Daily: Tuesday, September 10, 1991 Page 5 The La's hit with 'There She Goes' Liverpudlian lads could, like, be the next Fab Four, you know what I mean? by Annette Petruso second of five parts "If you want, I'll sell you the life story! about a man who's at loggerheads with his past all the timel he's alive and living in purga- tory! all he's doing is rooming in hotels! and he's scooping up lots of wine" - "Son of a Gun," The La's t16 Whether or not this song is au- tobiographical for the La's (song- writer, lead vocalist, guitarist and chief La' Lee Mavers in particular) i arguable, but Liverpool's latest export to America has a reputation im and an attitude that perfectly fits this quote. Allegedly, the La's are "diffi- colt" to interview. Speaking to bassist John Power on the telephone finom his hotel room in Dallas, however, was actually enjoyable. Speaking with a thick Liverpudlian ascent, he was amiable, mellow and pleasant. "That's because I just got up and I'm dying for breakfast," he explained. "I'm lying in my hotel 'room and I'm going to have a shaower because I smell. But apart frpm that, all the lads, it's what you soe is what you get, like. If they're 1 a bad mood, they let you know about it." In many other articles in both the British and American press, the Lh's complained about their self-ti- tbd debut album not capturing their real sound ("Basically, I'm bored with talking about it," Power said) because of an impossible pro- now and then you put a tune on, and if you're feeling low or if you're feeling high, it does have exactly what you needed to do, like. "Anything that means some- thing to you, you're going to get emotional and you're going to get moody and you're going to get happy and all that, because it means something to you. So, yeah, we are, I suppose, moody." This attitude, one of self-confi- dence and directed drive, flows when Power discusses the La's' own music. "To be honest with you, yeah (we expected to make it this far in the USA)," he said. "It's not big headedly, like, but, you know, confi- dence in what we were doing. And when you've got something good, you know what it is, you know what I'm saying? You don't deny it, never deny what you've got." Including, Power said, their hit single, "There She Goes": "Well, I thought it de- served to be a hit, like, actually..." In concert, this honest attitude affects how the La's perform. "We can do bad shows or we can do great shows. If the sounds go right and the audience is right and we're right, we can be amazing, like," said Power. "The audience get off on it, anyway. We're a lot more critical than other people, of ourselves, so, like, what we'd see as good or bad is something totally different from the audience or the critics. "We're not the average band. I'm not going to say we're not the aver- age person, like. But as bands go to- day, you know what I mean, we know what we want, and we want to get it. We strive for that." The La's' songs, however, come from a very common place. "Politics of the heart and soul, hu- man like. Morals and conscience es- pecially, I mean. Not deep or noth- ing, like," Power explained. "It can only be about (life), can't it? What happens is, you grow up ,.nd life See LA'S, Page 8 Box o' La's John Power, on the. music the La's make: "Music, real music. Hard, soft - soul, a soul ring, if we could." Power, on weird American gigs: "Last night was a bit weird. Loads of girls got on the stage and started jumping on us. For the first time in my life. It was like, what the hell is going on here? It was quite good." Power, on the Beatles' cartoon: "I remember them when 1 was kid, like, but the accents were completely fuckin' wrong. They were all Birmingham. They were stupid. Whoever it was done them accents for that cartoon deserves a good kick in the head.y Power, on selling out "Anyone who doesn't want to be successful in what they do, what the' hell are they doing it for? All this shit about copping out and selling, out, that's a load of shit,, 'cause if you've got good songs and good things, you 're not selling out." Power, on success: "The thing is, we're not raking in money yet or anything like that, you know what I mean? But we're doing what we want to do." -An nette Petruso The La's (l-r: Cammy, Lee Mavers, Niel Mavers and John Power) may be new kids on the block right now, but when they record their White Album, you'll regret mocking them and their fans. ducer, Steve Lillywhite, and an anti- La's British record label. Power, however, eagerly re- sponded to all of the charges about the band's reputation, in particular the rumor that their first American tour earlier this sumnmer was spent fucked up. "Oh, well, it's probably, like, I can't remember," he said. "Do you want me to sign a statement? You know, we have a laugh, like. You've got to do something to get you through." That's where the mu- sic comes in. The La's wistfully captures an essence of post-early-Beatles. Lee Mavers' sweet-sounding voice and the utter simplicity of the La's' gui- tar-based tunes bely their harsh rep- utation. But the La's (which also in- cludes drummer Neil Mavers, Lee's brother, and guitarist Cammy) shouldn't be compared directly to the Beatles. Though both bands have similar musical roots ("Rhythm 'n' blues, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry... James Brown," said Power), the La's also stretch their influences into the present ("Marley... the Who, Captain Beefheart and a lot more, a lot more," he continued), maintaining an uncompromising passion and self-criticism, a focused honesty that the Beatles lost early on, if they ever had it all. The band's press release tries to sum the La's up succinctly, as "contagious working class melan- choly." Though this description may be true, it isn't a whole. "Well, it's accurate a bit, like, I can see what he meant, like. But as I say, you can't sum it up in three words, you just can't sum anything up, because the minute you do, you bracket it off, limit it," said Power. "There's thousands of people out there, all with different feelings, all who think that the song is personal to them. But that's a fair assumption." Just hearing Power explain his attraction to music describes part of the La's musical disposition. As Power explained, "It's love, reli- gion, lust. Music to me and anyone else, I reckon, you know, it hits the right notes, you know, it's a reli- gion, you know what I mean, and if the right song's there, and if there was a tune, you. must have had it, ,¢ 7 1 t t . ........---- ~ ~ ~........ ... -- ---- -.... ----ee .-.. ea g in rau _4 I i right around the corner, don't forget to get your picture taken for the yearbook! FEE: $5 DATE : This week and next week, Monday thru Friday (Sept. 9 thru Sept. 13, and Sept.16 thru Sept. 20) TIME : 8:30 am to 5:00 pm PLACE : 420 Maynard St. / STUDENT PUBLI CATIONS BUILDING (next to the Student Activities Building) If you cannot make your portrait appointment, just come whenever you can during the portrait weeks and we will fit you into our schedule. We recommend that you come in for a walk-in appointment Monday through Wednesday as there are usually over 400 people that wait to have their picture taken on Thursdays and Fri- I «:)I