8- The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 6, 1993 Fame does not kill UNV Universal Nubian Voices combine talent with style By DUSTIN HOWES Universal Nubian Voices' John Powe is poised for eternity. Trying to supersede the R&B trends of quick fix, quick hit, quick sex music, UNV makes old school songs that "your mom could listen to," says writer and singer John Powe. Not that the grooves aren't funky, but Powe says the group "wanted people to appreciate us for our vocal talent ... I write classics not trendy hits." Their album and hit single with the same title, "Something's They clearly have vocal talent, some sense of social responsibility and seem to relish the old days when R&B was made on talent, not on how sexy the women in your video are. Goin' On" does indeed reflect this in that it is one of the few R&B jams of late which reflects on falling out of love with someone, not just trying to get into bed with some- one. Three of the fellas hail from Lansing and now live in Detroit and there has been something of a controversy over their allegiance to their hometown during their appear- ances on various entertainment shows. Powe cleared up some of the controversy over what was perceived by some as a neglecting of roots when on Soul Train they gave ups to Detroit but not Lansing. Powe said they had taped Train a number of times and that they used the wrong edit, the one without their Lansing shout out. According to Powe, ever since then, on BET and Arsenio they have always given top props to Lansing. Powe also brought up the fact that although they give Lansing "the credit" because it is where they grew up, Detroit was really where they got their break. The group was able to catch the program director at WJLB in Detroit "on a good day." He listened to their single "Something's Goin' On" and immediately said "'Man, that's a hit."' Within a week the group was number one on the Top Eight at Eight and releasing the single independently they sold "like 13,000 copies in Detroit alone." From there, record labels "came flocking" and they were signed to Madonna's label, Maverick. The producers of their first album, Penn Point Produc- tions, gave UNV free studio time to record their album but the group will be moving on in their next endeavor. Producer Teddy Riley, who the group met on Soul Train, is scheduled to produce four songs on their next album and had planned on doing a remix for their first, but is busy doing the Blackstreet and Big Bub albums. A number of remixes from this album will be released with UNV doing a remix and Kenny from Intro doing another. The group also plans on producing a three new groups, one of which is from Lansing. "Hopefully," says Powe, the group from Lansing will be hooked up with "a major deal" by January. So it seems UNV is a model group. They clearly have vocal talent, some sense of social responsibility and seem to relish the old days when R&B was made on talent, not on how sexy the women in your video are. With an album that is almost gold and a single that is 20,000 from gold, the group hopes to prove that "just because you have some songs that have some depth and some meaning doesn't mean you're a sucker." Here's hopin' the fame doesn't get 'em. Interpretations were inspiring By ROBIN BARRY Poems have different meanings for everyone. Last week, the performance and Mixing Our Metaforce Ann Arbor Public Library November 29, 1993 visual displays of "Mixing Our Metaforce" gave an audience the opportunity to experience some of those meanings. "Mixing Our Metaforce," was the final project of students enrolled in professor Alice Fulton's women's studies class, "Women and Commu- nity." Over the term these students read various poems by feminist au- thors, which they were required to respond to in their own way. Some ways students communicated their re- sponses were with song, photogra- phy, video, theater, pottery, dance and original poetry. The evening was truly inspiring. After the introduction, the perfor- mance opened with an originally cho- reographed dance by Jill Gringer. The dance, entitled "Isolation" was based on the ideas of place portrayed in some of Sandra Mcpherson's and Eavan Boland's poems, and was per- formed to Louis Armstrong's, "What a Wonderful Life." Gringer was in- tense. She silently portrayed the mood and desperation of someone who is trapped and fighting to free herself. There were also a quite a few poets who had written their own po- etry in reaction to the feminist pieces. Eric Breedon created a voice for the "Haitian Cleaning Woman." His po- ems were thick with imagery, reveal- Some ways students communicated their responses were with song, photography, video, theater, pottery, dance and original poetry. ing the experiences of this seemingly invisible woman. RanaJaleel's poems were inspired by the works of Eavan Boland. Her poem "Cancer" was powerful, using cancer as a metaphor for lost dreams. It was beautiful and frightening. There was also a singer/song writer involved in this production. Katie Pantlind used a guitar and her own bluesy soulful voice to sing some poems. Music added a great deal of emotion to the lines which reading often leaves behind. During intermission the audience was encouraged to browse the dis- plays by various visual artists. Jennifer Rosen's "Three Coats" were just that, three coats. But not exactly the kind you would wear in public. Instead, these garments acted as metaphors for the poems, and cre- ated images that you could feel when worn as well as observe on the hanger. One particularly interesting coat was adorned with the heads and bod- ies of baby dolls, and trimmed with silverware. Instead of a string of pearls this coat offered strings of cheerios, and instead of lace it was embellished with doilies and teacups. This coat gave the viewer a quick look into the experience of a housewife and upon trying the coat on one is immediately aware of a great weight. Through their various talents, ev- eryone brought a new dimension to the poems and made a personal state- ment about the poetry. Local Bands - Please turn in all relevant press material at least one week before performances. Send inquiries to 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Call Tom at 763-0379 for more info. U U Interested in Biotechnology? he Cellular Biotechnology Training Program will offer Cellular Biotechnology 504 in the Winter '94 term. opics covered include cellular communication, cellular energetics bioremeditation, production of bloactive molecules, biosensors, and engineering reactor design. P rerequisites: Introductory course in Biology and Biochemistry FINALLY, AN EXAM YOU DON'T NEED TO STUDY FOR!!! R is HA R OSON 1 .