The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 28, 1994 - 9
'Judd Winick gets real
These guys look as happy as a bunch of cows grazing in an open pasture.
Part till the Cows
By TED WATTS And the ba
Blasting from Minneapolis come the Cows. For the first adoring fans.
time in aboutayear, this highly kinetic four-member AmRep much more lai
roup is returning to our general vicinity. offerings. "It's
Bursting with more energy than an irradiated Lakota, the Selberg. "As y
ows have been hammering away at making senselessly you try them in
ood noises seep from a guitar, a bass, a drum set, some (an old song),'
ocal chords and various horns. They may, thematically, be But you've got
ess than socially redeemable. Their last four albums have you look like a
been entitled "Orphan's Tragedy," "Sexy Pee Story," "Cun- Not everyti
Stunts" (heh, heh) and "Peacestika." But then, social of albums we's
eemability isn't necessarily the thing you want in a band, France and set
is it? If it's something cool or just sonically hedonistic you barn. He gave u
want, then this might be just the rocky bluesy punky stuff off so we (re
you've been looking for. working with hi
And frontman Shannon Selberg certainly has a stage Still, therebi
presence that grabs you like Ted Kennedy in a singles' bar. I'd had for yea
"There are just so many thousands of bands," said Selberg, haven't heard f
"you just wanna tweak people's adrenaline flow a little bit, and got a new 1
make sure they get their money's worth and remember you they don't mak
of the pack. I'm aquiet and shy guy normally, and if I get what the Boy
tage I can act out how I normally feel." As he's been bugles, I can te
known to go into the crowd and smear a shaving cream bra box." A new
"ff on the crowd, he must feel pretty social. Or maybe not. distinctive air
'It makes me kinda nervous when people stare at me. You something diffe
1ind of feel like a cornered rat. I think if they're going to get club.
look at me, they should really look at me." The intrepi
Of course, skill and ability to hold attention aren't items that mak
verything. If they were, a band like the Cows that has been wear) at Salva
n the cover of an important indie music rag like Fiz would here where I g
,ejustruling theuniverse. Well, take a look at their day jobs. best. They mak
"I deliver film to and from film labs," said Selberg. "Thor those big shoul
isentrager, the guitar guy) is a guard at an art gallery, "(But the i
evin (Rutmanis, the bass guy) is unemployed and Norm wanted them to
the drum guy) is a bartender at a stupid alternative club." see that forT I
elberg enjoys touring because, if nothing else, "it's good to
et out of Minneapolis for awhile."
come home
and has some new material to show their
Their new album "Orphan's Tragedy" is a
id back recording in parts than their previous
hard to say how we've evolved," explained
ou go along, you wanna try new ideas, and
new songs. You go 'What the fuck, just like
so you fix it up so it doesn't sound like that.
tta fix it up better, 'cause if you fix it worse,
a sap."
hing's changed, though. "For the last couple
ve been using lain Burgess, and he moved to
up his own studio in an old, country French
s a really good deal 'cause he had some time
corded) it with him 'cause we're used to
him," said Selberg.
has been a loss in the band. "My old bugle that
rs was stolen off the stage in Los Angeles. I
from it since," mourned Selberg. "I went out
bugle, though. It's pretty hard to find 'cause
ke Boy Scout bugles anymore. I don't know
Scouts are playing, but they're not playing
11 you that. I got it at a pawn shop new in the
bugle is very necessary, since it lends a
to the Cows' brand of music. It's a little
erent to bounce off of the walls of a smoky
d vocalists seems to haunt places of value for
e a more entertaining show. "I get (my stage
lion Armys. There's a real nice one around
et most of my stuff. Women's shirts are the
ke you look more of a he-man. They have
ders and they make the waist look good.
nflatable woman suit) I got at a sex shop. I
take it out of the box. 'What do you wanna
want to see how tall it is. 'What for?' Cuz I
See COWS, Page 10
By TOM ERLEWINE
A year ago, the only fame Winick
had was as the creator of "Nuts and
Bolts," a fiercely satiric and funny
comic strip that ran in The Michigan
Daily while he was a student at the
University from 1988 to 1992. These
days, he's known across the country,
thanks to a stint on MTV's popular
real-life soap opera, "The Real World."
"It's as real as it could possibly be
within the contrived reality that is 'The
Real World,"' said Winick. Nothing
on the show was staged - "you get
used to the fact that there's going to be
a camera there all the time." Neverthe-
less, television does distort some of the
realities of everyday life. "Everybody
thinks MTV pays for everything," said
Winick, "but MTV only puts you up in
a million dollar house and pays for
utilities. If you want to eat, you have to
get a job."
In thepast season, "The Real World"
increased its popularity, thanks to two
specific people: Puck and Pedro. Ini-
tially, Puck -- an unwashed, scabby,
confrontational punk bike messenger
- was the face of the third season of
"The Real World;" in the end, Pedro -
a soft-spoken but strong AIDS activist,
sadly suffering from the disease- was
its heart and soul.
That doesn't mean Judd faded into
the background. Several episodes were
devoted to Winick searching for a job
or for a love; while he was "raked over
the coals" in a couple of episodes, none
of it embarrassed him.
Pedro and Judd became close.
friends while they lived together and
Judd was instrumental in getting Puck
kicked out of the house. And he doesn't
feel sorry about that, either. "Puck was
shown in a much kinder light," he said.
"I mean, just how many times can you
show somebody interrupting you and
being obnoxious? I think more people
actually cared about Pedro. The ratings
actually went up after Puck left."
Unfortunately, after everyone
moved out of the house, Pedro's health
deteriorated rapidly. Currently, he's
hospitalized in Miami; Winick says
that Pedro's in "the last days of his
illness ... he can't even come to the
phone anymore." Before he was hospi-
talized, Pedro asked Judd to take over
his speaking engagements for him; in
the past few months, Winick has been
speaking at various AIDS awareness
symposiums, filling in forPedro. "Pedro
wanted me to do it, since I am the target
audience - young, heterosexual
males," explained Winick.
Although the speaking engage-
After "The Real World," Judd Winick plans to pursue a career as
artist. It suits him don't you think?
a bohemian
ments have kept him busy, Winick has
still found time to concentrate on his
own career.Currently, "Nuts and Bolts"
is available for syndication in college
papers and is in development for T.V.;
he is also illustrating a series of books.
While "Nuts and Bolts" was very
popular when it was a regular strip in
The Michigan Daily, Winick has had
some trouble moving it into syndica-
tion. Eight months after he graduated,
he was back at home. Ironically, the
setback was what led him to apply for
"The Real World:" "I was sitting around
my parents' house! I needed to get out
and do something."
Winick hasn't visited Ann Arbor
for two years; tonight he returns to the
University to emcee the Homecoming
pep rally. During his time here, he
plans visit his old haunts. Yet for many
of his classmates - and for many of
the members of this year's graduating
class - Winick was part of their Uni-
versity experience.
"I didn't realize how much 'Nuts
and Bolts' meant to people until I put
the book (a collection of strips pub-
lished during his time at the Univer-
sity) together before graduation," said
Winick. "I started to get letters from
people saying that I was a big part of
their lives at Michigan. They would
wake up in the morning, get a cup of
coffee and the Daily, read 'Nuts and
Bolts' and do the crossword puzzle."
Two years later, Judd Winick him-
self has entered become a part of many
viewers' weekly rituals. With any luck,
"Nuts and Bolts" will return to news-
papers - along with hitting the air-
waves - so he can be as well-known
for his art as he is for his love-life.
JUDD WINICK will be emceeing the
Homecoming pep rally at Hill
Auditorium tonight at 7p.m. Tickets
are $Sfor students, $10 for non-
students.
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WHAT TO DO IF YOU FORGET
TO SET YOUR CLOCK BACK:
(REMEMBER, DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME STARTS SUNDAY.)
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Have breakfast for once.
If you're lucky, all the prizes won't be taken from
the cereal boxes.
Workout before class.
You and the swimmers will have the gym all
to yourselves.
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