r
AR
'The Michigan Daily
Thursday, 0.ctober 3. 199
* Salin'*1
the sea
.of bi~g
cheese
Primus scores
with label, tour
by Richard Davis
Primus has risen from the crowded
ocean of Cali fornia's alternative
bands. Their blend of rock, funk,
comedy and commentary has not
only earned them a fond place in the
heart of nearly every college radio
station in the country, but also a
coveted slot on the Gathering of the
Tribes tour, which features Young
Black Teenagers, Anthrax and Pub-
lic Enemy. Before their Washington,
D.C. performance, Primus guitarist
Larry Lalonde had a few things
things to say about the band, the
tour and the Dead.
RD: So what do you think about the
grouping of rap and rock together?
LL: I think it's great. I mean, I love
Public Enemy, so it's just great for
me to be able to see them every
night. And it seems like everyone's
into it. Plus, you know, nowadays
people like all kinds of music, so
it's not weird to find somebody that
likes all these bands.
RD: Do you like rap?
LL: Yeah, I like, you know, not all
of it. Mostly the most hardcore
ones are the ones I like.
RD: So what do you think about
sampling and rappers "borrowing"
pieces of other people's songs?
LL: Some of it is cool. You can be
pretty creative with it. But some of
it is just - I mean, there's a lot of it
that's just basically a whole 'nother
song with different lyrics. But the
way that Public Enemy does it is
just great. Their stuff takes a lot of
thought. It's not just simple stupid
things.
RD: Do you hang out with Public
Enemy or Anthrax after the
concerts or anything?
LL: Once in a while. You know,
Page 5
Unnecessary plot
mars football movie
Necessary
Roughness
dir. Stan Dragoti
by Jen Bilik
W hile the spate of recent inde-
pendent, innovative films has
pleased the critics, it is movies like
Necessary Roughness that reassure
viewers that predictability is, after
all, preferable. The film triumphs
over competitors such as Barton
Fink by releasing us from the anx-
ious state of post-cinematic confu-
sion. And by making the viewer feel
intelligent, the film goes a long
way towards reinstituting national
self-esteem. Additionally, Necessa-
ry Roughness carves a niche for it-
self as the perfect movie to see
alone, because after seeing it, there is
nothing to talk about.
With a football setting, along
with a comeback theme that can't
help but warm the heart, director
Stan Dragoti unites favorite te-
levision actors such as Scott Bakula
(Quantum Leap), Sinbad (A Dif-
ferent World and Showtime at the
Apollo), Jason Bateman (sister of
Justine, a feat in itself, and recurrent
figure in many popular sitcoms),
and Rob Schneider (copyman-erooni
on Saturday Night Live), so audi-
ences won't feel displaced from the
comforts of the living room.
The film takes place in the
Southwest, at Texas State Univer-
sity, a setting that later allows the
characters to brawl at a rodeo bar.
We are introduced to the Texas
State Armadillos at their lowest
spiritual and athletic point -
they've just been convicted of vari-
ous college football violations and,
as a consequence, the entire team has
been expelled, and they must now
rebuild their athletic reputation.
The catch: unlike many Big Ten
schools, Texas State must draw its
entire team from students who
actually.study. These students com-
See SINBAD, Page 8
Primus (l-r: Tim Alexander, Larry Lalonde and Les Claypool) meld a mean mixture cF me t \ funk (sorry,
there's no other word for funk that begins with a "m.")
everyone is just kind of around
sometimes. I talked, to Chuck a lit-
tle bit, and Flav, well, you always
know when Flav's around.
Everyone's really cool, though. We
went to see a movie with the
Anthrax guys last night.
RD: How does all your new-found
'Yeah, I've met
Gerardo. He's actually
a pretty cool guy'
-Larry Lalonde,
Primus
fame feel since you've risen to the
top of the metal and alternative
charts?
LL: Well, you know, it's pretty
cool to have people actually know
who we are now. Actually, I was
just realizing a second ago that now,
instead of having to get water, I can
get more and more Coke, so I'm
pretty stoked about that. That's the
big highlight of it all.
RD: How do you feel being on a
major label now?
LL: This is working out really good
for us, 'cause Interscope is a new
thing. They're kind of like an
independent, because everyone there
is really cool. It's like a family
thing. It doesn't seem really corpo-
rate or anything. We have all the
control. And it's also cool because
it's kind of a bummer being on an
independent when people tell you
everywhere you go that they can't
find your record. So it's nice to
know that people can find your
records if they want to buy them.
RD: Are you kind of the flagship
band of Interscope Records?
LL: Well, we probably sell the
least of ihern becuse, well, they've
got Gcrardo
RD: (h w() ' d y f
LL: ...and Ma e Murk,
RD: Yik! o : kidding me. So
what do you hiNk Ibout being on
the same Uk be as thos Iys?
LL: Uhu. it's pr-) cool you know.
RD: Have Iu n c them at any
seedy recor purtit
LL: Yeah, m m rardo. He's
actudly a p : t) Iuy
R U: (stunn ed' W'
LU: Yeah, so vir that they know
what theyvre duie because they're
really selmU m' rocord.
RD: So what do ik about being
labeled as a "tirash/funk" band?
LL: I think it's pretty funny. Those
words just sound weird to me going
together. But I don't know, if that's
what people want to call us. We
don't really consider ourselves to be
Sei PRIMUS, Page 8
Murray Perahia tickles the ivories at Hill
by Julie Komorn
In the continual celebration of
Mozart's Bicentennial (so we cele-
brate his death, not his birth, but if
the music sounds good, who really
cares?), Murray Perahia, one of to-
day's most graceful pianists, returns
with the Orpheus Chamber Or-
chestra of New York to perform
three of the Big Guy's piano concer-
tos. The combination of sounds be-
tween pianist and symphony should
provide warm musical dialogue.
Piano concertos are generally
lighter-spirited than classical sym-
phonies. Yet Mozart's concertos of-
ten reach a full range of emotional
expression, from sweet melancholy
to exhilarating passions, and the
three pieces selected, No. 11 in F.
major, No. 25 in C major, and No. 22
in E-flat, are no exception.
All of the musicians taking part
in the performance are acclaimed as
premier interpreters of the music of
Mozart. Perahia's CBS Master-
works recordings of the complete
Mozart Piano Concertos with the
English Chamber Orchestra has re-
ceived many major awards.
While Perahia has given six
recitals in Ann Arbor between 1977
and 1990, this is the first time he
will perform as an orchestral solo-
ist. The New York-born pianist be-
came the first American ever to win
the prestigious Leeds Competition
in 1972. A year later, he gave his
first concert at the Aldeburgh Fes-
tival, and in 1981, he was named a
co-artistic director at the Festival.
The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra,
* meanwhile, returns to Ann Arbor
the Orchestra intriguing is its lack
of a conductor. The 16-string, nine-
wind players who comprise Orpheus
are completely self-governing. The
members themselves are responsible
for repertoire, programming, re-
hearsal, technique and the rotation
of seating position, so that each pla-
yer has the opportunity to be a
gained recognition with a Lincoln
Center debut n 1)74, and the group
performs anmanyl in a concert se-
ries n Camvgie Had a suple of the
New York mu .
S URRA p!7f:.RA/A AND TIE
0/IF / i /A A BE i? ORCIlES-
TRA wil pOr r tonig'ht at 8 p.m.
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section leader.
In an attempt to break from- or-1from $18$.
chestra tradition, the group was from the U n p/
founded by cellist Julian Fifer and a23 ry phor
group of fellow musicians in New P a hia dent rust keTs
York City in 1972. Orpheus quickly today in iheTowe
. , yes range
are available
rtn Tower,764-
764-TKTS. Stu-
are available
I I I 1 0
in
Other programs available in England, France, Greece
Israel, Italy, Niger, Spain, and the Soviet Union.
For program details complete the coupon below and mail to:
Boston University
International Programs k
232 Bay State Road
Boston, MA 02215
617/353-9888
An gequal opportunity, affirmative action insttut on
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