A RTSm________ The Michigan Daily Wednesday, October 28, 1992 Social Distortion: born only to lose? by Jill C. Banks About eight years ago, at a small backyard high school keg party in L.A., a typical garage band was setting up for their first gig. The four young 'uns were nothing but a handful of the many folk termed "punks." Social Distortion - Mike Ness on vocals and guitar, Dennis Dannell on rhythm guitar, John Mainer on bass, and Chris Reece on drums, were preparing to entertain a group of high school cheerleaders, the milkman the gardener, surfers with long hair, and anyone else that wanted a cheap mug of beer. From there, they took it one step at a time, tattoos and all. In a recent interview, rhythm guitarist, Dennis Dannell, expressed the difficulty of building Social Distortion's name. "(We) thought it was going to be nothing but fun and games and real glamorous all the time which wasn't the case," he said. "We found out real quick that it takes a lot of hard work and perseverance. Don't get me wrong, it is cool being in a band. Basically we feel that it's 23 hours of bullshit everyday and one more to go." Social Distortion's songs are the stories of their lives. Dannell explained why all of the lyrics seem so depressing. "We can relate to singing about pain more than how happy we are," he said. "One of the reasons is that we've been heavily influenced by the '30s and '40s Delta Blues and even Chicago Blues. When these guys are sitting around playing their songs on their front porch and singing about how much pain they're going through, we can really relate to that and they're really believable. "It's really not what we set out to do, that's just the way it happens. It's easier for us to write about the emotion pain than how happy we are or how good our dinner was last night." The quartet does not like to be classified into '(We) thought it was going to be nothing but fun and games and real glamorous all the time.' It ain't Frankie and Annette, but the Comedy Company tries really hard. Live comedyawth no beach and no blanket by Melissa Rose Bernardo Comedy Company producer Dan Abrams offered me money to "make Comedy Company look really good." He was very intent on plugging their upcoming show, "Beach Blanket Big Show," as much as he could. "I think we've got a good thing here," Abrams said. But people don't realize that it's there. Comedy Company began only 14 years ago as the vision of a group of struggling sketch writers. They called themselves "The Sunday Funnies" and performed in the U Club or the Union Ballroom. Abrams explained that while comedians can be "self-gratifying" and in search of "ego-mas- saging," all comedians have "an inherent need to make other people happy." They were not actors, but "they had a thirst for comedy and a need to express themselves," Abrams said. Eventually the University Activities Center (UAC) realized this, gave them funding, and found them a place to perform (Mendelssohn Theater). "The Sunday Funnies" became "Comedy Company" - a bare stage became, a designed set, a piano between sketches became a band, and a group of writers found a cast of actors to bring their ideas to life. Abrams explained that Comedy Company has gradually become more and more of a production, along the lines of SophShow or MUSKET. They now spend a large portion of their budget on set design to give the audience more visual stimulation. "In this age of MTV, super-production, 'Terminator 2' special effects, splicing, and multi-media, people have been conditioned to thrive on the active visual," he said. The show includes a 10 1/2 by 14 foot television screen, which will serve as a constant visual backdrop for the show. As for the format of the show, it has a very wide range of comedy, from low comedy and slapstick to farce and sophisticated humor. He said that part of "the meaning of life" of Comedy Company is to paper the show toward the student crowds. There is a bit of profanity (the standard "fuck MSU joke"), but no gratuitous swearing. "Barring the occasional F- word - and it is very rare - (the show) is anything that you would see on 'Saturday Night Live,"' Abrams said. If you were wondering about the title, "Beach Blanket Big Show" has nothing to do with the theme of the show. It is just Comedy Company tra- dition, Abrams explained, to include the words "Big Show" in the title - past titles have included "Big Showdown," "Bright Lights, Big Show," and "I Stubbed My Big Show." As Abrams said, "It may sound lame, but we're basically a bunch of kids writing what we think is funny; we get no credit, people don't get paid, we put in more hours here than for our classes - just for the love of the genre." Comedy Company has a loyal following ("I don't know if they're just desperate for comedy or what"), but they want more than that. For the love of comedy, Abrams entreated, take a chance on this new kind of live entertainment. BEACH BLANKET BIG SHOW will be presented October 29, 20, 31 at 8 p.m. at the Mendelssohn Theater. Tickets are available at the Union Ticket Office, $4 in advance or $5 at the door. Call 763-TKTS, a particular musical category, they simply believe that they are a good old rock and roll band. "We have a hard time with people classifying us because we're always trying to keep progress- ing and keep growing and not just get caught up in the same old rut," commented Dannell. "We just basically figure music's music. There's only two kinds of music and that's either good or bad, or if ya like it or ya don't." The band says that they have a lot of good music still left in them. When thrown the ques- tion of how long Social Distortion will be A Strait shooter Good golly! A new singing cowboy by Carina A. Bacon OK, I knew everyone was mak- ing fun of a movie based on country music, but I still wasn't prepared for what I saw when I got to the movie theater on opening night: 30 people. That's it. I knew there was going to be trouble when the movie opened up to Dusty singing in front of millions of screaming fans. Wait, I thought, is that supposed to be the legendary George Strait? It couldn't be; t didn't recognize that greaseball with the beard, mustache and ponytail. And I called myself a country fan? An immediate cut to a well-worn brunette with bright red lipstick and tight red leather dress told me she Pure Country Directed by Christopher Cain; with George Strait, Lesley Ann Warren, and Isabel Glasser was going to be someone important. When the concert was finished, sure enough, we saw the brunette waiting outside, past the screaming fans (are they for real ... or did they just get paid a lot?), in a sensual pose with two beers in her hands. It's Lula (Lesley Ann Warren); Dusty's man- ager, wife, lover ... ? (We never re- ally find out.) When Dusty suddenly gets fed up with the glitz of his Vegas-like show (complete with fog, flashing lights, and loud music), he decides to take off from his own tour and hitches a ride with a cowboy hat touting truck driver. But wait, what happened to Dusty's snakeskin cowboy boots? I know I think, as the camera inno- cently pans to the truck driver's feet; there they are. And I thought the south was supposed to be the friendliest place in the world - you can't even get a free ride! In the middle of nowhere Dusty finds a barber shop, and minutes later he emerges with a clean-shaven face (oh my God it really-is George Strait!) and no ponytail. Well, finally a little action (at least in the looks department). I was even beginning to hear a few chuckles of laughter - Wow! Was that me? After getting words of wisdom from his grandma, Dusty decides to visit the first bar he ever played in. Two thumbs up for the bartender who gives him a beer on the house. (Was that adoration I saw in his eyes as he stared at Dusty?) Hm, subtext - maybe it's all in the subtext. After a fight to defend a woman's honor at the local honky-tonk that night, Dusty ends up at her house (don't worry, nothing happens). Eventually Lula tracks him down and takes Dusty back home to Las Vegas to do his last show on the tour. Little does she know, Harley (the woman Dusty fell in love with, whom Lula lied to and ruined his re- lationship with) has a big rodeo con- test in Vegas the same day of Dusty's concert. Imagine that! Does Harley win the contest? I don't know, but she and her whole Isabel Glasser, George Strait, and Lesley Ann Warren in what we sincerely hope is not a typical, pure, country pose. RECORDS Sophie B. Hawkins tongues and tails Columbia Sophie B. Hawkins' "tongues and tails" is as diverse as the administra- tion would have you believe the University is. There is no song type on the LP. Instead, the song styles range from the radio pop of "Damn I Wish I was Your Lover" to the Bob Dylan cover "I Want You." There's the danceable rhythms of "Mysteries We Understand," a supple love bal- lad called "Before I Walk On Fire," and "Live and Let Love" sports a jungle beat introduction. Hawkins utilizes a variety of keyboard effects on many of the tracks. The only re- curring entity on the CD is the se- ductive delivery of her vocals. This technique is at its apex on "Carry Me." The track is introduced with a drum beat reminiscent of a military march and quickly floats into an airy simmering of the song's title whis- pering about. Her voice sounds like a woman mid-orgasm, the music eventually catching up to her. All this is followed by a chaotic inter- lude that waivers for some moments but briskly floats off, fallen limp. The song is apparently a celebration, but it is not clear of what. If Hawkins were to have a trade- mark, that would be it. She's myste- rious, her lyrics shrouded in ambi- guity. Perhaps you don't know what she wants, but her method is un- doubtedly alluring. - Kim Yaged Alvin Lee Zoom Domino Alvin Lee carved his niche in rock history as the fastest guitarist this side of the Hudson by dazzling the acid soaked masses at Wood- stock with his band Ten Years After. (The masses were also dazzled by Richie Havens, The Grateful Dead and the guy running the P.A.) But many people noticed that behind the high velocity notes were dumb songs and bad singing. So you'd think he, would record guitar-based albums focusing on his swift lead work to capitalize on his reputation. However, "Zoom" is no such thing. On Lee's newest release, he plays either watered-down heavy riffs or bad blues, neither type being very faithful to its source or interest- ing out of that context. On all the songs the main points are his indis- tinctive vocals (he sounds like Bob Dylan in his country period) and his insipid lyrics. (Best line: "You better watch out for that Chernobyl cheese.") Lee has slowed down consider- ably since his glory days, and his guitar lines are uninspired and lugubrious; he sounds like Richie Sambora. Even George Harrison's lovely slide guitar on "Real Life Blues" fails to spark a similarly moving work from Lee. The only excitement comes when Lee steals Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Six- teen" riff. For an alleged guitar genius, Lee seems out of ideas. Once upon a time, you could de- pend on Alvin Lee for at least some flashy licks. Now that he's lost his touch, "Zoom" retains only the weak singing and poor songwriting that the critics slagged him for way back when. -Steven Knowlton 9 1 ARTICULATING THE FAITH IN AN AGE OF TECHNOLOGY A series of three evening discussions- Wednesdays I I STUDENT ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT CENTER I __ ____._