The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - Thursday, October 14, 1993 - 4

Autumn pts

childho
Crunching leaves. Brisk air. Cider-
and doughnuts. These things mean
fall to me. And in case there is any
doubt, Fall is definitely here.
When I was a little girl, fall was a
great season for me. It meant class
field trips to the cider mill. It meant
huge piles of leaves to jump in. It
meant fires in the woodstove.

But since I've been "grown up,"
fall has become a whole lot less en-
dearing. Now fall means trudging
across the Diag fighting the wind
which blows from al directions. It'
means studying for midterms. Itmeans
the first major cold of the year.
I'm not sure when I made that leap
fr6m rolling around in decaying leaves
tocursing the day thecoldwind started
blowing. All I know is that some-
where along the way I seem to have
misplacedmy child-like spirit. Some-
where between the pumpkin patch
and the cider mill, I forgot how to act
silly without worrying what everyone
was thinking of me.
I find at this time of year espe-
cially Istartpanicking about the books
I haven't read and the papers that
need, writing. I forget that if some-
thing doesn't getdone, it'sjustnot the
entd of the world.
During this time of year I find
myself longing for the days when
naps were mandatory. If only I had
known then what Iknow now, I would

have taken advantage of every nap.
Last weekend I drove up NMrth to
Ludinginton, Mihigan. It was beauti
ful to see all the leaves changing color.
It seemed as if the whole world was
exploding with color;beautiful, bright
reds, oranges, yellows and greens.
Even with the gray skies the trees
seemed to be smiling.
I started to think about how much
time I was wasting thinking about
meaningless,trivialthings.ihad spent
more time finding useless ways to
procrastinateand feeling guilty about
it than I had doing what needed to be
done. And in the mean time, I had
missed chances to walk in the Arb
with leaves crunching under my feet
So,.I realized f have to work on
recapturing my chi dike vision. I
have to stopeing so serious and
laugh a littlemonre. Instead ofwaiting
around for that cute guy tocall me, I'll
just call him. Instead of wishing I
could takeawalkintheAI'll just
go take one.
What have I got to lose? When I
was little, I never hesitated to walk up
tosomeone new andstartup aconver-
sation. (In fact, my parents once found
me talking to a group of strangers at a
street fair.) So, what's my problem
now? Why am Iembarrassed to intro-
duce myself to new and interesting
people? I can only be missing out on
some great experiences.
So, hey, I'm just going to grab the
bull by the horns and head out on that
limb. I'm going to find my child-like
spirit if it kills me. (See, I'm sounding
relaxed already.) Don't be surprised
if a girl with leaves in her hair walks.
by and says hel'o. It's only the little
girl I found on one of my journeys.

Steady Earnest may look like an intense ska band, but when they're not punching out Jamacian rhythms they like to hang out at Denny's.
ance around and have a great time with Earnest

By TOM ERLEWINE
Boston has had a thriving ska scene for years,
highlighted by the recent success of the Mighty.
Mighty Bosstones. Many other worthy bands have
been working in the Boston area, including the
seminal Bim Skala Bim. Within the past year,
members of Bim Skala Bim have been pursuing
projects outside of the band, including lead vocal-
ist Dan Vitale's side-project, Steady Earnest.
"It's gotten to be a little more than a side-
project," said Vitale, referring to the release of the
band's debut "Out of Line" and the supporting
tour. A year ago, Steady Earnest was formed as an
informal, loose departure from the members' es-
tablished bands. "A lot of friends from other ska-
bands have said that they wanted to get together
and do something - sort of like a jam or record-
ing, just a one night thing - and it sort of snow-
balled," explains Vitale. Although the project was
intended as a release from the pressures of the
members' main groups, it has also.strengthened
their original bands."Mainly [Steady Earnest]
was for fun," said Vitale, "secondly it was so I
could be more productive writing with other
people. The writing with Bim started to get less
productive and we all made a conscious decision
to try to work with other people and get more
inspiration and hope that would spillover into the
Bim Skala Bim writing."
Aftli bgh'Vidi e is spending this mhonth tour-
ing with Steady Earnest, he has not left Bim Skala
Bim in the slightest. Last month the band put out

their fifth record, a live album that is his favorite
yet. Having recently signed a distribution deal
with Relativity Records, Vitale's BIB Records is
also thriving. In addition to the recent Steady and
B im albums, the label has scheduled the release of
an English compilation called "The Shack," which
features an star-studded line-up of ska favorites,
including the Toasters, Special Beat, Bim Skala
Bim, Aural Akins, Nutty Boys, Loony Tunes and
"... We have a lot of similar
tastes, but we're able to
incorporate a lot of things and
give the album some diversity."
-Steve Barnes
members of Madness. Last month, Vitale com-
pleted a tour with Bim Skala Bim where they hit
a number of cities they normally don't reach,
including Lawrence, Kansas, Iowa City and St.
Louis, as well as the bigger markets of Chicago,
New York and California.
Last week Steady Earnest began amonth-long
tour, which runs across the entire country, hitting
a variety of established clubs and out of the way
venues. "We're at a Denny's right now, in East
Lansing," informed guitarist Steve Barnes, amem-
ber of the Boston-based Allstonians. None of the
members of Steady Earnest have quit their origi-
nal bands; all of them squeeze the band into their

hectic schedules. "Dan and I were talking yester-
day that we have a lot of similar tastes, but we're
able to incorporate a lot of things and give the
album some diversity," explained Barnes. "Our
tastes are all pretty eclectic and I think it comes out
on the record. I started out getting into a lot of
early British punk and I really like rockabilly. It
kind of comes out in 'Out of Line,' I think." The
band's eclecticism keeps the album from growing
stale, giving it a fresh, energetic spark.
Naturally, most of the band is devoted to the
Jamaican ska sounds of the late '60s, as well as
England's ska-revival of the late '70s and early
'80s. In fact, the origins of the band's unusual
name derive from an old ska song. "The Rolling
Stones called themselves the Rolling Stones be-
cause ofaMuddy Waters' song," reminded Barnes.
"There's a Jamaican singer by the name of Prince
Buster who had a song called 'Take It Easy,'
which we cover on the record. In some of the lyrics
in ithe talks about rocking steady; he says 'Eating
fish chips / Steady Earnest,' and it's kind of a
tribute." Steady Earnest remain faithful to the
music's roots yet never are enslaved by them,
making "Out of Line" a terrific party record. As
Barnes says, "[Ska] is great music and all of us are
into the whole idea of Steady Earnest as being a
really great way to travel around and play music.
And hopefully get people to dance around and
have a great time."



t
_
I °'
;;
4
-fi
:.
E

STEADY EARNEST wiII play Rick's tonight.
Call 996-2747 for details.



p.

Musicahleuebration rememberssictins~ ands survivors

WOOD'
OttW
c 1T,4,2.

, .
>R .
d , '

QUILT

I

Continued from page 1
other authors chose to give the rights
to Music Theater International, who
now represents the show. "We feel
it's very important that it's out there


being used in the communities,"he
explained. It usually takes a couple
of years to get a show produced in
New York,'years in which the show
and its message would just be lying
dormant.
Not that Schak doesn't want to do
New York. "I would love it to have a
New York production and get a good
review so that lots of people could
know about it and do it ... (but) my
commitment to this play is so differ-
ent. My interest is getting the show
done," he explained.
"And the letters we get are just
amazing. People were so moved," he
stated. "We knew the stories would
be moving, and we had attempted to


include a wide variety of musical
styles and character types just for the
entertainment side of it, but what we
didn't realize is one, how universal it
was, and two, how funny it was.
"As much as there was tears and
pain expressed and empathy, there
was just as much humor and joy."
How can you find joy in a show about
AIDS? Shack explained: "Because it
talks about moving beyond loss and
grief and guilt. It talks about making,
a commitment to moving forward,
and to being active - even if it's just
making a quilt panel or wearing a red
ribbon ... it's very emotional." He
confessed that even now, after his
years of involvement with the show,
he is moved to tears atevery rehearsal.
"Quilt"is dubbed a "musical cel-
ebration." A natural reaction is to
wonder "a celebration of what." Shack
explained: "Because these people are
celebrating the love that they have by
making these panels, and because it's
an affirmation of life in the face of
death, and that is a celebration.
"But for me, what is there to cel-


ebrate when you've got 200,000
people dead and millions affecteda9
worldwide, no government policy and
a horrible backlash against the people
who are affected?
"Because the disease started be-
ing identified as a gay disease, there
was a lot of stigmatization about the
disease ... but oddly, what's begin-
ning to happen is because the virus is
relentless and crossing all borders -
national borders, group borders -
ultimately it's going to be impossible
to stigmatize every group. It's going
to affect us all and through this com-
mon thread we may have finally
pooled to some global community in
an effort to deal with this.
"It may be ironically that this aw-
ful disease - by making us deal
openly and straightforwardly with is-
sues like sex, like differences between
groups - will bond us in a strange
way. And that would be a cause for
celebration."
TION will be presented at 8p.m.
October 21-23 and 2 p.m. on
October 24 at Lydia Mendelssohn
Theatre. Tickets are $14 and $10
($6 for students), except for the
October 21 benefit performance,
which requires a minimum donation
of $10. Call 764-0450.

Welcome Students and Faculty!!
"We Cut Hair To Please"
- 6 Barbers " No Waiting
THE DASCOLA
STYLISTS
For Men and Women
668-9329 Liberty off State


MUSIC TOUR T-SHIRTS AS EASY AS ABC
A- AC/DC,AERosMfHr,AuCE IN CiwNs,ANTHRAx B- BABES IN TOYLAND,BAUHAUS,BEASTE
BoYSIBATLESBLACK CROWES,BLACK SHEEPBUND MELON,BUFFALO ToM,BuRN,BurnHoLE
SURFERS C- THE CLASH,THE CURECYPRESS Ha. D- DANZIG,DEAD KENNEDYS,DEPECHE
MoDE,DNOSAuR JR.,MILES DAVIS,THE DOORS,DR. DREDYLAN E- EXPLOHtED F- FArH No
MORE,FISHBONE,FLUD,FUGAzi,FUNKADEUC G- GRATEFUL DEAD,GUNS'N' ROSES,GWAR H-
HELMET,HENDRIX,HOLE, HoUSE OF PAIN 1- ICE CUBE,IGGY,IRON MAIDEN J- JANE'S
ADDICTION,JUDGE,JOPLIN K- KISS,KRAvtnz L- LEMONHEADS,LIVING COLOUR,L7 M-
MARLEY,MC5,MEGADETH,METALWCA,MGHTY BOSSTONES,MINISTRY,MwOR THREAT N-
NIN,NIRVANA 0- ONYX,OZZY P- PANTERA,PEARL JAM,PINK FLOYD,PIXIES,PORNO FOR
PYROS,PRIMUS,P.E. 0- QUEEN R- RAGE Vs. THE MACHINE,RAMONES,CHILI
PEPPERS,REM,ROWLNS S- SHELTER,SKINNY PUPPY,SPIN DOCTORS,STONE TEMPLE PILOTST-
10000 MANAs,TOoL U- U2 V- STEVIE RAY VAUGHN,VELVET UNDERGROUND W- WEEN,WHITE
ZOMBIE X- X CLAN,XTC Y- YOum OF TODAY Z- ZAPPA,ZEPPEUN +1000s MOREL

Smail
Classes.

(,.

S a oig Scores.
I Guaranteed.

"Hey Beavis, if I
wanted to read I'd no

I


I

I 1