Page 8-The Michigan Daily- Wednesday, October 2, 1991
Bogosian quit drugs, loves kids
by Mary Beth Barber
We know you were on pins and
needles. Will Eric Bogosian make a
pass at the reporter? And how does
he feel about children? And when
will we find out? Well, here it is:
Part Two of the lengthy, post
summer-show interview with Bo-
gosian, verbose performance artist
and star of the upcoming concert
film Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll.
Daily: Have your monologues
changed, and have your attitudes
changed since you've had children?
Fric Bogosian: Pretty much most
of my politics, and it's not even
politics, more like a social attitude,
has... I pretty much formulated
them in my early twenties and they
pretty much stayed the same. I'm
very hardcore pacifist, um, anti-
homophobia, anti-sexism... I'm not
leftist, though, which perhaps does-
nt sound like it makes sense, for me
to have the attitude that I have, but,
uh, I don't believe in that shit...
But children... the main thing
that I changed my mind about after
having children is having children. I
just see that having children is bet-
ter than before. I don't, I don't think
that... people often think they know
what they are getting into. I was one
of those people.
I think that, uh... I'm a person
who took the sex, drugs, rock 'n'
roll credo pretty much to... I mean,
I'm no Keith Richards, but I took it
to a place that was fairly out there,
and I think a lot of that is about
turning myself on, and that's what
life is about somehow. Life is about
seeking whatever highest thrill I
could find, on whatever plane, and
that has been a big shift for me, and
it isn't just with children, it's with
my life in general... a more diffuse
way of looking at my youth, a more
meditative, um... my appetite has
really changed, and instead of like
being a little kid who, you know,
loves ice cream and who eats four
gallons of it a day and gets sick do-
ing that, I realize that there's lots
of different flavors out there and I
try to buzz around a bit.
And also that sometimes even
things are are painful or difficult
have their own rewards in them,
which is the last thing I would have
said ten years ago. I was never
looking forward to anything. I was
trying to avoid any type of pain and
any type of confrontation or any-
thing that was difficult and, um,
there was a lot of experience that I
didn't experience because I didn't
want to go those routes... just a big
baby. That's been a big change that
fits in with kids. I don't know how
anybody could have kids and be, like,
using drugs or anything. I can't ima-
gine, because it's such a selfish
activity that you wouldn't have
time. It would take away from kids
in many different ways.
D: Really?
B: Well, you can be on drugs, but I
mean, it'd have to be... not like the
way I was on drugs. Um... I
wouldn't have a lot of time for the
kids, and the time I did have, I
would often be impatient or angry,
wanting to do something else. Ob-
viously it would be those twenty
minutes a day when I would be
great. Any child of an alcoholic can
'I'm very hardcore
pacifist, um, anti-
homophobia, anti-
sexism... I'm not
leftist, though, which
perhaps doesn't sound
like it makes sense'
tell you that there are moments
when Dad or Mom are just wonder-
ful, and there are a lot of times
when Dad or Mom are not so won-
derful, and so I'm glad I'm not in
that place while I've had kids, be-
cause it's not functioning, and not
functioning for the kids, either.
D: You have two boys, right?
B: Yeah.
D: Would you raise them differ-
ently if one of them was a girl?
B: Probably.
D: How come?
B: I don't know what I'd do. I mean,
I can be anti-sexism and I can still
know that I'm sexist, and I would
probably do something, although I
don't know what it would be. I
mean, I'm raising my boys different
then what is the normal way of
raising a boy anyway. I'm not a big
sports guy, and so my son isn't
really into sports. I don't get into it
anyways. It's not really up to me.
Boys, you know, act different. I
don't know if... how old are you?
D: I'm twenty-two.
B: Well, when you have kids or
meet people with kids, share notes
with them. The notion that boys and
girls are exactly the same and that
it's all social training is just plain
wrong. Boys do things from a very
very early age that has nothing to do
with the way they're trained. We
could not get a stick out of his hand
for two years, three years. He just...
anything sticklike, he would have it
in his hand all day long. One time he
saw a gun on T.V, the stick became a
gun, and it was a gun forever after
that. And the tiniest suggestion that
he's already moving toward this
phallic thing...
D: Well, you say that he sees (a gun)
and then he turns it into a gun? But
you don't see a woman on television
holding a gun. Very very few.
B: That's true.
Stay tuned for our next installment
from loquacious Eric Bogosian.
He'll expound on New York,
hippies, and then he'll attempt to
delve even deeper into our re-
porter's personal data.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are: (I-r) Flea, Chad Smith, John Frusciante and'
Anthony Kiedis. Ain't they funky now?
who
what
where
when
who
what
RECORDS
Continued from page 5
I fear that I may have made this
record sound too "nice," but it's
hard to describe it any other way.
Except for the filler tune, "Lover's
Rock," there is absolutely nothing
on this record to offend anybody.
Holsapple and Stamey create the
kind of music that makes you want
to pick up an acoustic guitar and
learn the tunes so you can sing them
for your friends. But even in second-
hand form, the songs stand alone.
Andy Cahn
The Red Hot
Chili Peppers
Blood Sugar Sex Majik
Warner Bros.
There's blood on my hands, sugar
on my tongue, sex on my mind and
magik in the air: Momma, it must be
the Red Hot Chili Peppers!
Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the long-
awaited follow-up to the band's fi-
Live music from around the
globe will abound in Ann Arbor
tonight! At Rick's, catch the Bead
Band, who allegedly blend (and we
quote their obnoxious press release)
"Rock, Folk, Blues and Pop to cre-
ate an original and exciting style
characterized by catchy melodies,
tight three-part harmonies, intelli-
gent lyrics and improvisational,
groove oriented jams." Gee, haven't
we heard that somewhere before?
On the other hand, if you head down
to the Blind Pig you can catch the
Bhundu Boys' African Beat from
Zimbabwe, in their only Michigan
appearance. Tickets for this show
can be bought at TicketMaster for
$10 (plus $2.50 evil service charge).
If you prefer to drive to your en-
tertainment, Ohio's eternally cool
Pere Ubu appears at the intimate
Alvin's in Detroit tonight with the
Broken Yo-Yo's. Tickets are
$12.50 in advance. Or you can check
out 808 State (a.k.a. the Super
Synth Band) at St. Andrew's Hall.
Why the heck should you drive all
the way to the Motor City to see
some synth band? Because this isn't
any ordinary keyboard group. 808 is
one of the few house-disco-techno
bands who have the guts to tour and
actually play their instruments live.
And they said it couldn't be done!
Call 961-MELT for more info.
Planning on going to the Carlos
Fuentes lecture scheduled for
tonight at 8 at Rackham Audi-
torium? Well you can't, 'cause it's
been cancelled! Ha ha ha.
U
I
I
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25-function unified remote controls both
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On-screen programming by remote plus
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110 channels including cable
Audio/video input and output jacks for
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I W.
cry 1989 release Mother's Mil*,
features the Peppers kicking up thei,
trademarked brand of dirty white-
boy punk-funk like never before.
The album was recorded at:,a
haunted mansion deep in Holl-y
wood Hills, where Jimi Hendri%'
once stayed and the Beatles sup-
posedly first took acid together.
This unique environment has re_
sulted in a body of work that ex
plores musical domains that are.
completely new, barely hinted at
any of the band's earlier discs.
First and foremost, this album i'
Grade-A, 100 percent, extra-super.
FUNKY. And while that adjecti'
has been over-used and abusedA
death, in this rare case it's authentic
Flea's rubberband basslines slap you
silly, while Chad Smith's thu-,
derous drumming snaps, crackles9
and hip-hop's deep in the pocket. IBut
where the boys once seemed happy
I I
to just make a joyful noise, on1,
BSSM" they are determined to make
joyful music. Much of the cret
goes to the Bearded Wonder, p":-
ducer Rick Rubin. Notorious for4fs
work with bands like Run D.M
Slayer and the Cult, Rubin his
stripped away and refined the al
bum's 17 songs, leaving only bare@
bones, rock-solid grooves.
George Clinton himself will
shed tears of pride and joy at track
like "If You Have To Ask," where:
chunky butterfly guitar licks tap-|
dance over a big, bad beat that woul4
test the mettle of any boomin' jeep:
sound system. But is it funky? "If
you have to ask/ you'll never know)
Funky motherfuckers/ Will note
told to go," replies lead singer n
Where he once relied ,1
solely on his stop-
start rapping, Keidis
now displays a rich,
deep-throated croon
'i
thony Keidis, in his finest back-all
eycat growl.-
Keidis' vocal abilities have im
proved considerably since Mother' $
Milk. Where he once relied solely
on his stop-start rapping, Keidis
now displays a rich, deep-throate
croon on songs like the achingly
beautiful "Breaking The Girl." Ts
lush, rolling ballad is poweredy
dense acousticguitars anda hauntg
f sound like a cross between Led Zep-
pelin III and Dinosaur Jr.'s Grein
Mind. "I Could Have Lied" aid
"Under The Bridge" further probe
this new, mellow side of the Pej-
pers. ("Under The Bridge" eet
climaxes in a choir-soaked refrain,
reminiscent of the Fifth Dim -
sion!)"'
Blood Sugar Sex Majik does
include its share of sonic, break-n6
anthems. "Suck My Kiss" and te
album's first single, "Give t
Away," will please the bands
faithful brigade of stage-divers AftI
mosh-pit slammers. The boys aD
whip up a little down-home gum6
on their frantic rendition of Robert
Johnson's blues classic, "They'i
Red Hot." And the title track evet
hot-foots into Seattle territory
with a dual-guitar riff in the cho4
that crunches like Godzilla on To-
kyo. Speaking of guitars, guitarist
John Frusciante must be lauded f&
finally coming into his own on tbi
disc. His playing really shine
throughout, from the hardcore Mar-
shall-stack-driven workouts to the
soft, acoustic numbers. .
The Red Hots are still preaching
their twisted, freaky credo of un-
inhibited sex, freedom and nature,$
some might be offended by the
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