r. i V ir. .-
Line-Up for Elastica
.British bands reportedly. are mounting some sort of New British Invasion.
That may be true. But the best British band of the decade hasn't released
their album yet - Elastica. With their spiky riffs, irresistible hooks and
undeniable sexiness, Elastica is total pop godhead. Their album comes
out on March 14, but you can catch them tonight at the Shelter beneath
St. Andrew's for just $8.(doors open at 6:30 p.m.).
Page 8
Friday,
Mnr h '2Ia
Warcat wt1hD
What would you say to the Dave Matthews Band? ~
the
By Karl Jones
Daily Arts Writer
In the depths of Charlottesville,
Virginia stands a bar by the name of
Millers. Four years ago, bartender
Dave Matthews was serving up drinks
with oneeyeon the glass and the other
eye on drummer Carter Beauford,
saxophonist LeRoi Moore, bassist
Stefan Lessard and violinist Boyd
Tinsley.
"Dave had seen us play at Mill-
ers," said Tinsley, "and he asked us to
do a recording project of some songs
of his. We did, and we decided to stay
together as a band because we were
just having so much fun."
The term "recording project"
doesn't quite emphasize the success
of the Dave Matthews Band's self-
produced and distributed 1993 debut
"Remember Two Things." Thanks to
a solid fan base and nonstop touring
schedule, the band managed to turn
this $12,000 "project" into a 100,000
copy selling monster.
Eventually, through word of
mouth, the band's grass-roots music
began attracting national attention.
Their second major release, 1994's
"Under the Table and Dreaming," was
put out on RCA and produced by
Steve Lillywhite (U2, Talking Heads,
Rolling Stones). The album debuted
at 34 on Billboard charts and landed
the band a spot on the grass-roots,
neo-hippie band's dream tour: the
H.O.R.D.E.
THE DAVE
MATTHEWS BAND
Where: The State Theater
Tickets: $20 in advance
Doors open at 7:30 for all-ages.
"One of the highlights of my career
was playing with the Allman Brothers
this summer on the H.O.R.D.E. tour,"
Tinsley said. "It was a lot of fun. It was
a chance to take off your shoes, put on
your shorts and just jam, and playing
with some of the legends I grew up
listening to was such a thrill."
Tinsley, however, is no less im-
pressed by members of his own band.
"Two of the biggest musical influ-
ences on me are Carter (Beauford,
drums) and LeRoi (Moore, saxo-
phone). They both have so much in-
formation and musical knowledge that
just by playing with them, I've learned
more than I ever learned before that."
Perhaps due to the chemistry be-
tween its musicians, the Dave
Matthew's Band has traveled a long
way from its humble beginnings in
Charlottesville. "We decided soon
after we began playing together that
we wanted to take this music as far as
we could take it," Tinsley explained.
In fact, front man Matthews hap-
pens to be a native of South Africa.
Tinsley, however, points out that the
key word here is "happens," and no
small tinge of annoyance colors his
comments about the fact that "a white
man from South Africa is leading an
interracial band."
"Unfortunately, (the press) harps
on some of the most insignificant
things," Tinsley sighed. "Yes, obvi-
ously three of us are black, and two of
us are white, but for the five of us,
that's never been an issue until other
people started talking about it."
"The only reason we are an inter-
racial band," he added, "is because
we happen to have these colors at-
tached to us. It's not because Dave
went out and said 'I want to get three
black guys and a white guy.' He just
said 'I want to get this drummer, this
saxophone player, this violinist and
this bass player."'
All issues of color aside, one thing
the press can't deny is that Matthews
has an impressive eye for talent. His
juxtaposition ofajazzy rhythm section,
country fiddle, soprano sax and his own
acoustic guitar playing results in a sound
which is completely unlike anything
else on the modern music scene. Or
maybe it'sjust a combination of every-
thing (alternative,jazz, pop, R&B) that
when blended together becomes an en-
tirely new entity.
According to Tinsley, this "en-
tity" first took root back home in
Virginia. "There's alot of diversity in
Charlottesville's music scene," he
explained. "There's a lot of rock mu-
sicians, a lotofjazz musicians, a lot of
folk musicians, blue grass and that
kind of thing. And the cool thing is
that it's a small enough community
where all these people generally know
each other. The rock people will play
with thejazz people, and soon, which
is kind of what happened with this
band."
Typical to his small town roots,
Tinsley is down to earth about the
future of the Dave Matthews Band.
Here they are. walking down the stree
"Where do I see the band going in
the future? I don't know!" Tinsley
laughed. "People ask me that ques-
tion sometimes, but I'vejust never sat
down at any point and thought'where
et.....
are we going?"'" A.
"My main concern is just to play
and to play well," he adds. "And if I
do that, I figure it will take us to thje
right place."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
Film shows the 'Corners' of Ann Arbor .
rya. 4. -* "" * j:Sr W ,
.......................A
The Majestic Music Fest
Attention, local music fans! The Majestic Theatre is holding a benefit concert for Your Heritage House. The
Majestic Music Fest, as it's called, features local bands of different musical types. The country-pop of the
Volebeats is on the bill, as are the fuzz-noise of Slot, the rockin' Detroit Cobras, the surfy Hentchmen, the
cryptic Astro Boy, boisterous Big Block and rip-roaring Rocket 455. The noise-poppers Godzuki, The Dirt Eaters
and Outrageous Cherry (above) appear as well. By the way, Outrageous Cherry's eponymous debut on Bar None
Is quite wonderful as well. Be sure to catch the good music for a good cause. The Majestic Music Fest starts at
6:30, and tickets are $7 at the door. Call (313) 833-9700 for more details.
Concert Update
This Saturday, tickets for two big shows at the Michigan Theater - blues-rock psuedo-hippies BLUES TRAVELER
(April 2; tickets are $17.50 and $19.50) and singer/songwriter NANCI GRIFFITH (April 4; tickets are $26) - go
on sale, when TicketMaster opens at 10 a.m. And if you have any money left, tickets for British sensations
PORTISHEAD (April 27 at Industry) tickets go on sale next Saturday.
By Fred Rice
Daily Arts Writer
There are plenty of reasons to see
"The Four Corners of Nowhere."
For starters, you might have a
friend who was involved in its pro-
duction. That's right. "Four Corners"
was filmed entirely in Ann Arbor two
summers ago and some of its cast
went to school here. If for any reason
at all, you will have the pleasure of
seeing familiar faces or names in the
credits of a professional-looking 35-
mm film.
But that shouldn't be anyone's
chief motivation - see "The Four
Corners of Nowhere" because it's an
intriguing work of entertainment.
Perhaps "Four Corners" could be
best described as a road movie that
never hits the road. The basic plot has
a philosophical nomad wandering into
Ann Arbor and interacting with sev-
eral people. He ultimately has a pro-
found impact upon them. He teaches
some to respect what they have in
their lives and inspires others to make
their lives better. All in about two
hours, all in Ann Arbor.
The nomad goes by the name
Duncan, a recent college graduate who
tosses a yo-yo wherever he roams -
the pun likely intended. The ensemble
includes a frustrated DJ who gets into
some bitter fights on the air, a
songwriting waitress stuck in a bad
relationship, an hysterical perfor-
mance artist, a painter that doesn't
know how to paint and his very pa-
tient girlfriend.
In some ways, "Four Corners" is
another Generation X movie, but this
should not scare anyone off. It stands
out high above the glut angst-ridden
flicks. While films like "Slacker" and
"Dazed and Confused" drifted and
remained largely pointless, "Four
Corners" script has a driving purpose.
It's integrated. The relationships be-
tween its characters never devolve
into the post-modernistic-TV-com-
THE
FOUR CORNERS
OF NOWHERE
Where: The Michigan Theater
When: Saturday at 6:30 p.m., as
part of the Ann Arbor Film Festival
mercial-babble like those of "Reality
Bites" do.
All of the roles are played by new-
comers to the screen (some are friends
of the director) and they do an unex-
pectedly good job. Often indepen-
dent films will drag due to the inexpe-
rienced acting, but the cast of "Four
Corners" occasionally reaches the
sublime. Their quirky characters help
to create a rather bizarre interpreta-
tion of Ann Arbor.
The Ann Arbor of "Four Corners'
is not exactly Ann Arbor as most
people know it. Call it creative li-
cense. The camera eye distorts and
exaggerates the city, turning it into a
fantastic freak den. The cafe custom-
ers dressed entirely in black with black
berets, discussing French poetry, are
no longer imaginary, but very real:
And there are no longer just a few
guitar players on the diag on a sunny
afternoon -they have multiplied ten-
fold. And all of them are decked out in.
hippie regalia.
Those who are unfamiliar with
Ann Arbor won't notice the messed-
up geography in the film, like in
scene where characters wandep4-
through a downtown alley and amaz-
ingly point out Bell's Pizza - that's ,
creative license once again. It maks"
the movie all the more fun. Ann Ar-
bor, in a sense, has become one of the-
personalities of the stories. It's a magi-a;~
cal land where a group of quirky char: W
acters take their lives all too ser4.-
ously.
The movie also stands as an excel..,
lent example of creative integrity.'
Actors such as Keanu Reeves and
Steve Buscemi took an interest i'
Steve Chbosky's splendid script. Fo.
tunately, the filmmakers refused to=..
sell the script - and their souls - t
a studio by sticking with the unknow4$ .0
cast. Creative integrity had its price.a-
however.
Even though the filmmakers fin
ished editing about a year ago, they#
do not yet have a distributor.
And it's only playing at the Michi-
gan Theater for two nights. Support
the independent film struggle, and
most of all, have a good time.
Denzil
Pub
Play / Giant
The British pop band Denzil's''
latest, "Pub" is an upbeat, light and:~
fun journey through poppy acoustic-
music. The sound is nothing new,
but "Pub" fails to fall into the pits of
whiny depression that dulls many
other modern day British rock
bands' music.
Tracks like "Fat Loose Fancies
Me" sound a tad like some of th
more upbeat Smith's songs. Other
tracks like "Useless" and "Shame.
may sound a little slower, but Denzil
somehow keeps them happy and in
teresting.
Other songs like "Who Made Yoi
So Cynical About Me?" combine the..
acoustic sound with a gospel chorus
for a great track. The political "Autis-
tic" explores the group's blusey side i1
a bit more with a honky tonk har-=
monica grooving along with Denzil's
(the person) distorted vocals. He sngs.,i
"Pinning on a white rose / sticking t
the straight roads!/ can't see any fursl
See RECORDS, Page 9
S TA T ETHEA 'TRE
*n State at Liberty-Adu ts $5.00 Students D$3. .0
24 hr INFO 934-4024. Now serving Coffee, and Cappuccino
AcaemyAward Nominations
13 Academy Awards Nominations
Tom Ilanksi,
Forrest GumpA
7 Academy Award Nominations
PULP FICTION
4:30 8:00 11:00
Various Artists
If 1 Were A Carpenter
A&M Records
When the beast known as the
Tribute Album resurfaces in yet
another form, it catches the record-
buying public off guard. For how
can an entire album of covers by a
dozen or so bands possibly be con-
sistent (i.e., worth the money)? This
problem is amplified when the
tributed artist is of marginal talent,
like say, the Carpenters. Surpris-
ingly, however, "If I Were A Car-
penter" manages to rise above the
mostly dated, banal material and
the occasional talentless "inter-
preter" to provide a tribute with
more hits than misses.
The album gets off to a fine start,
beginning with American Music
Club's non-drippy rendition of
"Goodbye to Love" - an impres-
live, and listenable feat. Shonen Knife
reworks "Top of the World" into a
Japanese-pop nugget, tapping into
their punky Pollyanna-ish charm. But
the real deal is Sonic Youth's marvel-
ously, gruesomely implosive cover
of "Superstar;" with Thurston
Moore's quietly sicko / psycho vo-
cals and relatively restrained arrange-
ment, the song easily tops anything
on SY's last album. Even the Cran-
berries lay off of the treacle for just
long enough to deliver an innocent
but not-too-sweet reading of the clas-
sic "Close to You." And the almost-
always wonderful Bettie Serveert lives
up to their reputation on "For All We
Know."
However, with five consistently
good songs in a row, "If I Were A
Carpenter" makes an ungraceful
(though temporary) belly-flop right
into the dumper with the icky
Dishwalla doing a grungey version of
"It's Going to Take Some Time," and
the overly histrionic Johnette
Napolitano hurting everyone's ears
with "Hurting Each Other." And in a
classic case of wrong band, wrong
song, Babes in Toyland flounder
through a cover of "Calling Occu-
pants of Interplanetary Craft." Let's
not even think of discussing 4 Non
Blondes (R.I.P.!!!).
Fortunately, however, Cracker,
Matthew Sweet and Grant Lee Buf-
falo pull the album out of "alterna-
tive" hell with their thoughtful,
countrified Carpenters covers
("Rainy Days and Mondays," "Let
Me Be the One" and "We've Only
Just Begun" specifically). Like most
tributes, "If I Were a Carpenter" has
its crappy moments. But unlike
some, it .occasionally manages to
satisfy. What's next, a Cowsills trib-
ute?!
- Heather Phares
I 11:00 & 11:45 Friday & Saturday Only
See POND at The Blind Pig on Monday, March 6
The Practice of
Jov Before
Pond
1..
S All Van (an lFat
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