The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - March 18, 1993- Page 3
Women's Glee Club keeps on moving
by Michelle L. Weger
It's 5:35 on a Thursday afternoon and Dean Earl
Coleman needs a burger in 10 minutes. He has a 6:00
rehearsal for a concert that's just over a week away,
and he will not be late. When the waitperson at the
Red Hawk assures him he'll have his burgeron time,
Coleman's grin is as bright as the maize turtleneck
peeking out from the top of his Women's Glee Club
sweatshirt. The Assistant Dean of Minority Affairs
fortheSchool of Music wears that shirt with pride-
this is his fourth year as the group's conductor.
We discuss the irony of his situation-being the
only male (other than accompanist Brian Altevogt)
in an organization largely run by the 60 women who
comprise it. Coleman is quick to challenge assump-
tions'aboutaman'sability tobe sensitive to women's
issues. In fact, he says that when he took over the
group in the fall of 1989, he had to do some "re-
educating." He recalls, "When I first got here, it was
girl this and girl that. And I said, 'Huh-uh!"'
Coleman credits his first college teaching job
with shaping his attitudes. "It was seeing women in
a women's college where they were the leaders," he
says of Stevens College, a small liberal arts school in
his native Missouri, where he built a 400-member
choral program from 14 singers. In fact, Coleman
strongly feels that the Glee Club's opportunity for
women to develop leadership skills is as important,
if not more so, than the experience they gain as
musicians. Even that is secondary to his hope that
their participation in the group be relevant to their
experiences as students and as people. To that end,
for the first time, the program notes for the Spring
Concert will be written by the singers themselves.
Something else that concerns Coleman is the
group's morale. "When I first came in, they sort of
felt like the stepchildren," he says, referring to the
inevitable but inequitable comparisons made be-
tween his choir and the venerable century-old insti-
tution known as the Men's Glee Club. A New York
tour in the spring of 1991, concerts for alumni
associations and appearances by subgroups like
Mo's Boosters and the Harmonettes at tailgate par-
ties and sporting events have all served to promote
the group's image.
He also feels that the community benefits from
the Club's presence. "It's a different sound," he
remarks, talking specifically about the traditional
Michigan songs which appear on every program.
"You don't get the raucous, beer-drinking sound,
like you do with amen's chorus."Women's Glee, he
says, also exposes people to different types of music
than are often heard at concerts given by mixed-
voice choirs. For instance, at the members' request,
Coleman has started programming more works by
women composers. The March 19 concert will fea-
ture a set of three pieces with a feminist bent, based
on poetry by Ann Kilkelly. The composer, Zae
Munn, is a professor at St. Mary's College at Notre
Dame, and will get to hear the songs in person when
she comes up for the performance.
Earlier on the same day of Coleman's insta-
burger request, the Glee Club's assistant conductor,
Linda Blanchard, sat down for a few minutes to talk
about the group. Amaster's student at the School of
Music, Blanchard shares Coleman's view that the
Club serves several functions.
"It's an opportunity for women who are fine
musicians to have a musical outlet. At the same time,
a very important camaraderie has developed. It's a
supportive place to address women's issues and it's
become a forum for discussion," she said, adding
that the women made it clear to Coleman that, "They
don't simply want to sing repertoire, they want to
explore issues." In addition, she feels that the group
is strong because of its "unbelievably positive repre-
sentation of women in the University, working to
produce a very heartfelt performance."
Blanchard also commented that she's learned
much from Coleman about constructive rehearsals
and high-energy motivation techniques. "He has
worked to establish a positive energy in rehearsals.
You leave them feeling charged up." Coleman, for
his part, feels fortunate to have a woman assisting
him, to have a role model for the singers. "I am
conscious of that," said Blanchard, "I think they're
plugging for me to do well, and they give me a lot of
respect. I think they connect with me because I'm a
woman."
That respect shows through later that evening
when, half-way through the rehearsal, Blanchard
takes the podium to conduct "Reeds of Innocence,"
a piece for choir and oboe, which will feature oboist
Nicole Austrins. Her manner is cool-as-cucumber
professional, and her style is directly opposite from
Coleman's bouncy, buoyant conducting. But both
have an obvious gift for communication, and every
time Blanchard stops to correct, she also compli-
ments.
As they run the piece, Coleman's words come
flooding back. "The most important thing about the
group is that it gives the women a bonding experi-
ence." And heartfelt doesn't even begin to describe
it.
THE WOMEN'S GLEE CLUB will perform
Friday at Rackham Auditorium at 8p.m. Tickets
are $5, $3 students at the Union Ticket Office or
at the door. Call 763-TKTS.
The Women's Glee Club will grace Rackham with their presence Friday.
Firehouse burns with desire
The Young Disciples are part of a growing wave of great music from Great Britain.
Youn Discies gaer a folng
W by Scott Sterling
While U.S. soul music continues to
'devolve' into lifeless takes on equally
bland pop music, England has revived
the lost art of finely crafted soul grooves.
Tune in to any "urban contemporary"
radio station, and hear for yourself. One
faceless, machine-driven 'new jack
swing' (yawn) track after another.
What you'll also notice is that when
a song jumps out and catches your ear
with personality, true raw vibes and
(gasp!) live instrumentation, it's more
than likely from across the Atlantic. The
jazz-infected funk of the Brand New
Heavies, Sade's sultry croon and now
the Young Disciples.
"The Road To Freedom," the Dis-
ciples' debut album, is astunning amal-
gamation of R&B, rap and jazz. Live
backing tracks collide with two-turn-
tables, while vocalist CarleenAnderson
sweetly narrates the proceedings with
her gorgeous voice. Songs like "Appar-
ently Nothin' "and "As We Come To
Be" pulsate with 1970s-addicted ar-
rangements and classic R&B styling.
But there's even more going on in
this tasty mix. Tracks like "Talkin' What
I Feel" feature rapper Master Ace in-
stead of Anderson, while "Step Right
On" is a rare groove monster that uti-
lizes The Outlaw Posse.
"We're constantly changing," says
Femi Williams, one half of the Young
Disciples. "We can come back in any
shape, form or size. That's the whole
idea of the Young Disciples."
Initially recording with only turn-
tables and a cassette deck, it was Paul
Weller(theJam, Style Council)that first
recognized the Disciples' potential.
"I did my apprenticeship with the
Style Council," recalls the other half of
the Disciples, Marc Nelson. "Basically,
it was Paul (Weller) that said 'you've
got a good sound.' He gave us a weeks
worth of time in his 24-track studio to
see what we could do. In that week, we
did the backing tracks for "Get Yourself
Together" and "Apparently Nothin'."
With the release of "The Road To
Freedom," the Young Disciples took
Britain by storm, scoring two top 10
singles and a slew of British music
awards.
Andalthough they're lumpedin with
the whole 'Acid Jazz' movement in
Europe, the Disciples are quick to dis-
miss such comparisons.
"Young Disciples is a movement
within itself," emphasizes Williams.
"I wouldn't even go as far as to say
that," Nelson continues. "I'd say that
the movement started long before you
heardaboutacid jazz. There'sabig funk
scene in England that I'd say we're
more a part of."
"The Road To Freedom" also has
something to say. The songs all radiate
a definite positivity, which Williams
says is unavoidable.
"It's too easy to be negative, it's too
easy to forget. The quicker you try to
forget, the more intensified the problem
becomes."
But he bristles when I ask about the
pro-Black vibe that runs throughout the
disc.
"You think these things don't hap-
pen to White people? Maybe that's
something we've taught ourselves. Pain
knows no color."
Maybe, but what about songs like
"Freedom" and "Talkin' What I Feel,"
both of which have definite African
references?
"Well, there are pro-Black things in
there, but it's not discounting Whites,"
concedes Williams.
Regardless of the message, the
Young Disciples have produced yet
another UK gem that pulls one more
nail from the coffin of soul music. That's
enough for me.
by Kristen Knudsen
With recreational but uninfluential
songs like "Don' tTreatMeBad," "When
I Look Into Your Eyes" and "Sleeping
With You," it comes as no surprise to
hear Firehouse guitarist Bill Leverty
declare, "We've never been the
neurosurgery songwriters."
Leverty, singer C.J. Snare, bassist
Perry Richardson anddrummerMichael
Foster prefer to keep the music and
lyrics of Firehouse simple. They're not
out to change the world. While some
bands concentrate on showing off tech-
nicalability, Leverty said thatFirehouse
would rather write uncomplicated melo-
dies, which he hopes result in a more
natural sound.
"We've always been like, let's write
songs that are simple but very effective
and don't need a whole lot of changes
and elaborate chord sequences to get
the attention of the listener. A lot of
times less is more," Leverty said.
Now that's debatable, but Firehouse
did walk away with last year's Ameri-
can Music Award for Best New Hard
Rock/Heavy Metal Band. I don't know
if that really means anything, but the
"less is more" philosophy does seem to
have at least some merit. Recognize,
though, that this philosophy does not
carry over to the lyrics, which more
often than not concern only one thing.
(Oh come on, take a guess ...) In point of
fact, eight of the 12 songs from their
self-titled debut deal with issues of the
heart (among other organs), as do seven
of the 12 songs on the more recent
"Hold Your Fire" album.
"We do have a big inspiration in our
lives, that being love and girlfriend kind
of things, and we think about that a lot,
so it definitely comes out in ourmusic,"
Leverty described, "We're not these
kind ofj erkboyfriend slap-around-your-
girl kind of guys. We're more in touch
with making our girls feel good. And
that's just the way we are. We're good
guys."
Good guys - obsessed with sex.
Not unheard of. That's not all they think
aboutthough.Once inawhile, Firehouse
focuses on different subjects, like not
giving up ("Hold The Dream") and
doing your best ("Reach For The Sky").
Yeah, once in a while.
"We have a song (on "Hold Your
Fire") called 'Life In The Real World,'
which is about the nine-to-five drone
kind of situation. We have 'Hold The
Dream' and a couple other songs on
there that deal with not necessarily is-
sues, but just about other things that we
think about in our lives," Leverty said,
"A lot of it is about partying and being
with your friends and then also about
being with your girlfriend, and a lot of it
is aboutjust real life. But we always try
to sing about the positive side of life
FIREHOUSE will appear at the Ritz
in Roseville at 8p.m. tonight and
tomorrow night. Tickets are $10.
Write for Airts
For info about music, books, fine arts and
theater staffs, call 763-0379
instead of the big bummers that can
happen everyday. If you want to turn on
the news, you can get enough bad news
there. We always want to be like the
good news."
Or, in many cases, no news at all. I
mean, it really is not all that astounding
to discover lyrics like, "Ooh I need your
lovin' and I need your sex, I wish that
you can send it to me Fed Express"
(from the song "Get In Touch" -just
one example of many).
Inane, yes. Offensive, maybe. News-
worthy, no. But then again, no news is
good news. Isn't it?
;.,
:,
a
f
FAST, PROFESSIONAL
SERVICE. IT'S WELL
WORTH THE TRIP TO US.
WE HAVE THIE
" Experience
" HUGE parts inventory
" Connections
a
xm
,
London $459*
Munich $539*
Athens $659*
Paris $539*
Fares arena dtrip from Detroit. Very flexileTaxes
not included and some restrictions apply. Many
other destinationsavailable.
1220 S. University Avenue STE 208
An Arbor, MI 48104
313-998-20oo
h. ds
,M
s
lr
"L
Careers in Psychology
! don 't Want to Grow Un to be a Psycholosdst:
START A
GOODjBOOK
THIS SUMMER.