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. r# !.AA , i rani 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 Name Address