Page 8-The Michigan Daily- Friday, October 30, 1992 Hiroshima's multi- cultural message Passage to a Forster classic by Kim Yaged "What's more obscure than an Asian American multi-cultural group playing an unclassified music in America today?" That's the question posed by ban Kuramoto, one of the four core members of Hiroshima. Ku- ramoto plays keyboards, synthe- sizers, saxophones, flutes and sings background vocals, as well as provides some production on the band's latest release, "Prov- idence." On this, their sixth LP, the music and the band members are still as eclectic as Kuramoto is himself. .une Okida Kuramoto is a world-renowned koto player. As ,Dan Kuramoto described it, a koto is a "Japanese harp about a little over six feet long and about a foot, and a half wide and strings that run the length of it. And it's tuned by bridges that are movable so that } every time we change keys (June) has to move all the bridges, and there's thirteen strings. She plays it with three picks on the right hand. It's a very unique sound," he said. The taiko is another Japanese instrument used by the band. It is "a Japanese festival drum proba- bly in its origins the biggest of all drums," Kuramoto explained. "We don't record it that much because it's almost unrecordable because the sound of it. The overtones are so loud that it builds up so much sound pressure that most of the studios in L.A. are not big enough for the sound pressure to escape, and so the microphone capsule starts to collapse, and it doesn't even sound at all hardly. It just makes a plinking noise. So you kinda have to be there. It's just a gigantic drum, and it's Johnny Mori who plays it. "It's both drum and dance and everything kinda all at the same time," Kuramoto said. "It's kinda performance art thing. (Johnny) does something at a certain point of the show with our drummer Danny Yamamoto that's its own kind of institute in itself." Clearly, Hiroshima is an expe- rience best felt live. The band members acknowledged this fact by recording a number of the tracks off "Providence" live in the studio with few takes. by John R. Rybock Dan Kuramoto (third from left) and the rest of Hiroshima bring their obscurity to the Fabulous Fox tonight. To enhance their diversity when performing, Hiroshima is joined by a variety of other musi- cians on flutes, saxophones, con- gas - anything is possible. This time around, new lead vocalist Jeanette Clinger is included in the entourage. The varied racial and ethnic backgrounds of the band contribute to the uniqueness of the music. Kuramoto described the sound as ranging from "like a Miles Davis vibe to a hip hop vibe to sambas and salsas and to straight ahead rock and roll, be- cause those are the influences that we have, and the way that they work together I guess it's just pe- culiar to the way that we grew up, because it seems normal to us. I mean, really, we don't even trip on it. It's nothing that's contrived be- cause it's just what we hear." Encapsulated, Kuramoto said: "There's a focus in what we do in the band Hiroshima, and that's to make the statement that the rich- ness of America is inherent in its cultures. And so, our multi-cul- tural blend, that mix, that respect, and the strength that we get from the diversity of our cultures is what I think makes America sin- gularly great ... This is a multi- cultural planet ... and that's the message that we want to take to the world, but we have to start at home." HIROSHIMA will perform tonight at the Fox Theater in Detroit. Call 645-6666for more info. RECORDS Continued from page 11 music wouldn't exist. There'd be no Helmet, no Ministry, no grunge, no real metal, no cheesy-ass pseudo- metal, no self-indulgent metal, no nothing but Led Zeppelin clones. Therein lies the importance of Black Sabbath in "The Black Sab- bath Story, Volume I." Though the Miist Sab (which included Ozzy Os- bourne on vocals, guitarist Tommy Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward hitting the skins) took their cues from blues, and pro- gressed into one of the most influen- tial metal bands ever, they weren't glitzy, they were gutsy innovators. Looking at an open-shirted Ozzy even in 1970, one sees flab and not the carefully honed handsome preen of Robert Plant - an analogy which can apply to their music as well. Ap- pearances weren't important, and even in the current interviews with Iommi and Butler the band focused on the music. Further, the 1978 concert footage for the 1972-released "Snowblind" comes before the pre-concept video for "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath" from 1973. Most of the segments aren't particularly exciting, visually or in importance. Despite the potential of the topic, "Black Sabbath Volume I" seems pretty hokey and poorly researched. "Volume I" is definitely not a slick MTV rockumentary. - Annette Petruso I. 1 i UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL OPEN TRYOUTS Ehscape te election by Kathleen Kong Are you growing weary of the hype surrounding the elections this year? If so, Late Returns '92 provides an opportunity to escape the election chaos through performance poetry, music, and dance on Monday night. Ken King, producer of Late Returns '92, said that the show is his way of responding to politicians and the decisions at hand. Unsatisfied by the can- didates and their "prosaic" debates, King said that he created this perfor- mance in an attempt to offer "an alternative to these guys on election eve. "(Late Returns '92) is not political in the traditional sense, but a whole other way to understand this campaign - that's not to argue with them (the candidates) directly, but to put a little music, a little dance, some eloquent language and produce something meaningful and important," King said. This event features original poetry by Matthew Smith and Wolf Knight, who have been friends with King since the '60s. Their poetry will be put to all original music and dance against the backdrop of painted sets, "which will hopefully illustrate and elucidate what we're doing by creating a sort of visual and emotional impact," King remarked. Representing a younger generation of performers are Billy and Kenny King, sons of producer Ken King. Billy, age 15, plays the guitar, keyboard, "and just about anything, really," according to his Dad. Kenny, age 11, plays the keyboard and sings. The King brothers made their debut over four years ago at the WCBN Bash; since then, they have performed at the Ark and several Ann Arbor Art Fairs. For the Kings, Late Returns '92 represents a sort of family affair. King's wife Kate McQueen choreographed the dance pieces and will dance and sing in the performance on Monday night. "Emotionally, it just feels good for people tc. see Billy and Kenny and their mom singing together," King said. For all those who crave an unconventional alternative to the election eve activities, Late Returns '92 might be the answer. Look forward to "a suggestion that the evening news has evolved into a sophisticated if sometimes macabre variety show." LATE RETURNS '92 will be performed at Performance Network on Monday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $7 at the door. Call 663-0681. The novel "A Passage to India" was written in 1924 by the classic storyteller E.M. Forster, who als wrote "Howards End" and "A Room With a View." His novel is brought to the screen by David Lean, who was behind such films as "A Bridge on the River Kwai" and "Lawrence of Arabia." The result of this collab- oration is a familiar story (with many similar tales originating with Forster's novel) which comes off fresh, never cliched. The film takes place in India, while it was still a British colony. The story follows Adela (Judy Davis), who travels to India to visit her fiance, along with his mother, Moore. They are disillusioned to find the British pretty much ignoring the natives. But Adela and Moore want to see India and its people. Through one of their more tolerant British friends; Fielding (James Fox), they meet a Muslim widower named Dr. Aziz (Victor Banerjee). In his attempts to be friendly, he takes them on an all day picnic to visit some legendary caves. In the caves, Dr. Aziz and Adela go off on their own. Adela runs out injured, and Dr. Aziz i charged with attempted rape. As the ensuing trial progresses, the tensions between the Indians and the British rise. A Passage to India (1984) Directed and written by David Lean; with Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee and James Fox Victor Banerjee is astounding in the role of Aziz. In a world where he is often treated with indifference by foreigners, he maintains an eager- ness to be friendly with them. He is wonderfully childlike when shown the smallest bit of attention. He is, in fact, overeager to be friendly, a trait which leads to his arrest. All of the acting is strong. Actu- ally, "natural" may be a better word. The audience never feels that these people are acting, but rather that they are just being themselves. David Lean is at the top of his game, recalling in this 1984 film his earlier classics such as "Lawrence of Arabia." In adapting the novel for the big screen, Lean is careful in hs measurements. He gives us just enough of India's lovely scenery to provide a real taste for the country without turning it into a picture post- card. Did Aziz do it? Was she halluci- nating? The answer has been debated over the years, with the "right" one dying with Forster over 20 years ago. Director Lean leans in one di- rection, but keeps to the novel. Another question left unanswered is exactly what was the film about. A theatrical review of a stage adapta- tion stated the story was of the "incompatibility of East and West." Forster cahed that absurd, that the real story was of "the difficulty of living in the universe." I suppose it is up to the interpretation. A PASSAGE TO INDIA is playing tonight at 8:45 in Angell Aud A. 0 [I CRISLER ARENA 7:00PM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2 .. r:: 4Vf " ": fIf{ :ti " f "tif f U- J C-~ e l7 D The Michigan Daily 0 We've got it all NEWS e SPORTS ARTS PHOTO OPINION 301 South State 761-4358 Join us on Halloween and enter the Masterball contest! Ask for details! For all your Halloween tricks-n'-treats " candy -, * cards . r a ,.. _ . costumes . makeup f*0 S '' . 5 /+, , 241 E. Liberty, across from the Post Office Mon-Sat: 11 a.m.-midnight, Sunday: Noon-10 p.m. Carryout-998-0008 FAX 998-0303 FREE DELIVERY --; r - ! -y{ THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEN'S & WOMEN'S ** BASKETBALL BAND AUDITIONS Auditions will be held at Revelli Hall on November 2 - 5, 1992 The audition will consist of sight reading. Drum Set players will also need to demonstrate various styles. .'0~1T TCTOYr r' * T A T~ rT' erpse & !Mj\ present THE Either/Orchestra sue-10 piece ensemble To ingt:pmM Tonight 8:30 p.m. MLB 4 High Energy Big Band g and Beyond a so09 0 r ~0O