.....
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Reading rainbow
"Public Art in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County" is a new black-and-
white collection of all the cool art waiting to be discovered in our own
sleepy town. Published through the Alexa .Lee Gallery (found in the
Nickels Arcade), "Public Art" is a good look at things you might have
seen but not really noticed before. Authors Martha Keller and Michael
Curtis will be signing books at Borders tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. It's free.
Page 5
Wednesday,
March 15.1995
-MR h1 .1{1
Cop Shoot Cop hit first and second bass
p
By Ted Watts
aily Weekend Editor
The red on the phone isn't blood,
but it is on account of Cop Shoot Cop.
Low-end bassist Natz has called dur-
ing dinner and caused some barbecue
sauce to coat my phone. "I've been
designated the band's fuck-up. Iguess
every bass player is. I'm the guy who
didn't go to art school."
Natz shouldn't be so hard on
himself. His outfit is one of the best
bands out of New York, or any-
Where, for that matter. Cop Shoot
Cop's music is built on a strong
rhythmic foundation. This is not an
unexpected thing when a band has
two basses, a drummer and a sam-
pIer.
"The band was formed around
1988," explained Natz. "Phil
(Puleo), the drummer, and Tod (A.,
singer and high-end bassist) started
a band called Dig That Hole. They
went through a series of guitar play-
ers before they found an old friend
named Dave Ouimet that played
samples. They put their first record
out with that three-piece lineup.
Shortly thereafter (Cripple) Jim and
I joined the band. I was originally
asked to sing for the band but didn't
like how that turned out. I was sleep-
ing down in the rehearsal space and
would just bang on the sink along
with Phil playing on drums. Even-
tually Ijust started on bass and since
Tod played a lot of high-end har-
monics and squealed on the neck
with the mic stand. And my pound-
ing on the low-end bass seemed to
work out in a good combination.
We took it from there."
Their sound has evolved from a
more noisy, experimental form on ear-
lier releases to the heavy driving sound
found on their newest CD, "Release."
"I think it's more of a straight-up rock
record, more in line with what the band
sounds like live ... We wanted to keep
it a double nickel on the dime, meat and
potatoes thing," said Natz.
Has this difference increased the
band's popularity? "In combination
with touring. We do spend about nine
months out of the year on the road.
We just got back from Europe a little
before Christmas and there was a no-
ticeable improvement after having
played these places a couple of times.
More people turning out each time."
Cop Shoot Cop has had varied
live experience in Detroit, however.
When they were at St. Andrew's 20
some months ago, the crowd really
enjoyed them. But their appearance
last October was less well received.
"I thought while we were playing
that they (the audience) were saving
up their enthusiasm for Girls Against
Boys (who were headlining)," said
Natz. Fair enough. But it was just
the same thing when they were play-
ing. People had cement in their shoes
the entire night. It was strange be-
cause Girls Against Boys were just
fuckin' kickin' it and the crowd was
just standing there. There must have
been some very good quaalude goin'
around that night. That would ac-
count for it."
With the single "Any Day Now,"
Timbuk 3
A Hundred Lovers
Windham Hill Records
Ah, those aptly named "one hit
wonders." What ever happens to them
anyway? For example, we all remem-
ber the song, "The Future's So Bright,
I Gotta Wear Shades" by Timbuk 3.
Who could forget momentous lyrics
such as, "...fifty thou a year will buy
a lotta beer..."? After that classic,
Timbuk 3 apparently dropped off the
face of the earth, leaving no forward-
ing address. Who would have thunk
that they'd show up again? But, they
are back in full force again, and even
with a new record to prove it.
Timbuk 3's latest venture is a mix
the next crowd will hopefully be
better. Unfortunately, MTV only
played the video for the song once,
at the very end of 120 Minutes.
Nevertheless, the song has been
getting some airplay in Europe. The
CD issued for it has some fine B-
sides, including the Natz-penned
"Queen of Shinbone Alley," a driv-
ing piece of dark howling. "That
song was written by myself and my
girlfriend. I think she writes really
well. Just bits of letters she had
written and fragments from that and
we strung them together. But it was
kind of an unfinished song. I wanted
to provide a lot of background noise
to it. I was going to the studio trying
out sounds like the inside of the
piano strings and dragging bits of
metal around and settled on a couple
of things. I looked over across the
plexiglass at Dave Sardy (producer
of "Release" and frontman of the
band Barkmarket) in the sound booth
and said 'OK, I know what I'm go-
ing to do.' And he was just laugh-
ing. 'What's so funny?' 'It's done.'
He'd been recording the entire time.
And it was great."
Cop Shoot Cop are certainly an arresting group. With two bassistsll '
So CSC is definitely on their way up
the music ladder. But what about their
pets? "Actually, I just acquired a cat
two days before we went on tour. I was
working at my house and saw a kid
across the street dumping it out of a
cardboard box so I retrieved it. Now I
have a cat." But does it go on tour with
them? "No." Jump on the bandwagon
before you're left behind, too.
* 'The Robbers' steal
the show refreshingly
By Jenn McKee
For the Daily
In "The Robbers'
Nightmare"'s program, an 18th-
century Japanese haiku claims
The Robbers'
Nightmare
Performance Network
March 9, 1995
When: Thursdays through Saturdays
at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m.
"Judging by pictures / Hell looks
more interesting / Than the other
place." This is obviously not a
new idea, but "The Robbers'
Nightmare" is an intriguing ven-
ture into a darker world.
The core of the play is the
action. The physical movement
,of the two actors and the musical
*accompaniment account for al-
most every moment of the pro-
duction.
The premise has two robbers
individually robbing the same
place. They struggle, and both
get shot. They're both dead at the
end of the first scene.
The rest of the play portrays
the robbers trapped together and
how their behavior toward one
another changes, harking back to
Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit" -
though very different in its ap-
proach.
"Nightmare" is, perhaps ap-
propriately, very dark. Though
there are some humorous mo-
ments, the general mood is men-
acing and heavy, giving it the
feeling of a beat play.
Robber #1 (Malcolm Tulip,
who also wrote and directed
"Nightmare") is the bossy, more
clever, dominant character. Rob-
ber #2 (Eric Black) is the inno-
cent but clumsy victim, trying to
rationalize the situation yet do-
ing everything Robber #1 de-
mands. Though the characters ap-
pear opposites, Robber #1's de-
meanor softens toward the end
land Robber #2 stands up for him-
self a little more, thereby blur-
ring their differences and making
the divergence of their personali-
ties apparent. They will be with
each other forever, and with this
realization, they meet somewhere
in the middle.
"They no longer have anything
to steal except for each other's
dignity, sense of reality, and feel-
ings," explained Tulip. "The last
few plays that I have written, I
find I'm spending more time
showing how people can some-
times get trapped in their day-to-
day activities."
The musicians - Frank Pahl
of the music group Only A Mother,
and Naomi Okuyama - comple-
mented the actors' movement
well, the music commenting and
greatly enhancing the mood. They
were just as important to the pro-
duction as the characters were
themselves.
"Nightmare" is refreshingly
original and quirky, but at the same
time, it is too long. The full title
of the play ends with "A Drama in
One Big Act," and after 90 min-
utes of watching this play, I have
to say that it was indeed "big." I
was engaged initially, but it would
have been rendered much more
powerful if it ran about an hour in
length. The play is such a black
comedy that I wanted to escape
after the first 60 minutes and en-
ter the brighter, real world for
some kind of respite.
Tulip intended just that kind of
reaction. "I'd like (the audience)
to feel that their lives are better
than these two characters," he ex-
plained. "That things could be
worse. Death is something we
should feel on a daily basis -not
that we should walk around think-
ing about death all the time, but
that we should live more fully
given the knowledge of the inevi-
table."
Both Tulip and Black did a fine
job; as abstract as the piece is,
they were engaging as a kind of
George and Lenny pair of rob-
bers. Tulip's background lies
mainly in physical comedy, which
was made obvious by his deft yet
realistic tossing of his own body
- and Black's - around the stage.
"The Robbers' Nightmare" is
an interesting and meritorious
jaunt, though unpleasant and dis-
turbing to experience. I realize
Tulip's intentions, but in the end
it is driven home a little too
harshly.
of classic folksy melodies and good
ol' American rock. Combine this with
socially concious lyrics and you've
got "A Hundred Lovers," an album
that might just make this '80s band
into a two-plus hit wonder.
Pat McDonald and Barbara K.,
reunited once again, face head on the
dilemmas of today's society. Hitting
tough issues such as homosexual
rights and conservative oppression,
Timbuk 3 deals with these problems
in the best way possible...making them
into music that people can relate to.
With lyrics like, "Standards of de-
cency, condoms for HIV, but what
will protect us from prejudice and
bigotry?" and "You never pray for
peace, you pray for victory. You never
pray for love, you pray for abstinence,"
Timbuk 3 presents powerful mes-
sages, even for the tone-deaf. Even
better, their songs are good. Adding
in some exotic drums and horns over
the top makes songs like "Just Wanna
Funk With You Mind" shine, and the
use of a harmonica in the title song
makes the record positively glow. For
anyone who's looking for a good
change from the norm, stick with
Timbuk 3. These one hit wonders just
might have another surprise in store.
- Lise Harwin
Ugly Americans
Ugly Americans
W.A.R.?
The cover looks like a weird kind
of cowboy techno-industrial deal.
Don't be fooled! Ugly Americans are
a bad Black Crowes meet White Trash
party-sounding group.
Some songs, like "Candyman" and
"Nothing to Lose", have some neat
organ parts in them which sound kind
of like the organ on the Pizzicato Five
song "Twiggy."
That's the only good thing about
this music. The guitar is real twang
funked-out and the vocals are real
clich6d. The rhythm is fine but it's
covered with the crappy vocals and
guitar, so it's lost and doesn't matter.
This album was recorded live over
two nights. You can hardly blame the
record company; no one should be
forced to pay for studio time for this
group. Their label should drop the
band but then rehire organist Corey
Mauser and have him record a solo
album. Organs are the instruments of
the future!
-- Ted Watts
Ellis Paul
Stories
Black Wolf
It is not that surprising that Ellis
Paul holds a degree in English, as his
songs tend toward the overly verbose.
That is part of his charm, however.
That, and his ability to meld his vi-
gnettes onto sharp and poignant melo-
dies.
Paul's latest release, "Stories," is
another fine collection of tales by this
Boston singer-songwriter, approach-
ing poppier territory than his debut
but never straying far from the solid
ground of his acoustic guitar and high,
plaintive voice. When the melody and
lyrics click, as on "King of Seventh
Avenue" and "3,000 Miles," Paul
stands out a head above most in his
field. Even seemingly awkward lines
like "She's a poem by Ferlinghetti /
See RECORDS, page 8
Let us
ship your .
male parts!
(oh yeah, and everything else too!)
Considering their lack of shades, Timbuk 3's future is no longer so bright.
Teworld's lre tudn
at dyoth trae rgnzto
STUDENTR STATRVEL
n
F NANA TIONAL NATALK S.HOW.
Are you upset because
your boyfriend's parents
keep interfering in your
relationship?
I.
$10.500 - 18.000
.
UI -- C7 _