Rock out for cancer research
Tonight, give a couple dollars to charity and hear some great music in
the process. University Students Against Cancer, WCBN and Soundstage
are holding a benefit bash tonight at Rick's. Teen Beat recording artists
Versus are headlining with their catchy pop; Naming Mary and Glider
open the show. Tickets are only $5 and the whole thing starts at 9:00
p.m. Proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

Page 5
Tuesday,
March 21. 1995

Guzzard's gonzo punk goes for the gut
gutL

F

Qy Ted Watts
Daily Weekend Editor
Guzzard. Roll the word around in
your mouth like gravel-style Listerine.
Butdon'tbothergoing to adictionary to
delve the linguistic depths of this word.
"We came up with the name
Guzzard and itjust doesn't mean any-
thing, besides us," said Guzzard singer
UZZARD
with Caverina
Where: Blind Pig
When: Tonight at 9:30 p.m.
Tickets: $5 for those 18 and over'
Call 996-8555 for more.
information.
{=d guitarist Tom Beeman. "People
"ould always ask us what it meant, so
we just made up this story that a
Guzzard is a fish but with a giant maw
as big as a city bus, and so there's just
a kind of fish thing with the band."
Guzzard is one of those loud rock-
ing bands from these United States
signed to the noisy Amphetamine
Reptile label. Their second album,
"Quick, Fast, In a Hurry," was re-


leased in the past several weeks and
the band is touring to spread their
lightning-fast music far and wide.
"(Our influences are) things that
go fast. And musically, D.P. (David
Paul, bass) likes earlier punk rock
stuff. A lot of Dischord stuff. Pete
(Beeman, drums) and I don't really
listen to thatmuch," explains Beeman.
It is easy to accept this, considering
the rapid-fire aspect of the band's
music. The song "Super Sonic En-
emy of Evil" seems to sum up this
concept in its title alone. The lyrics hit
hard with the beats, as the lines "I
know what you wanna be/Fly just like
a super hero/Super sonic enemy of
evil" attest to in their close shadow-
ing of the music's rhythm. As for
punk, "My House" sounds almost like
a Rancid song would if anyone in that
band had an education over the 11th
grade level instead of sixth grade.
When asked to characterize the band
members in terms of action figures,
Beemanresponded "(I'm) Evel Knievel,
D.P. would be a Mr. T doll and Pete
would be Ken." Strong pillars of the
temple of testosterone all, and thus well-
suited to the fast and heady music of
Guzzard. These toys would definitely

have swivel arm rockin' grips.
Guzzard's first album, "Get A
Witness," was an interesting collec-
tion of songs, probably best repre-
sented by the track "Last." With its
repetitive but catchy riffs, the song
has been known to activate the energy
of rooms of people. But Beeman is
less than happy with the first album.
"Our first record sounds weird. Just
doesn't sound real. Lots of effects on
shit that didn't need to be there ... I
like how (the new album) turned out.
Sounds really live, really basic ...
We're getting more to the point with
whatever riffs." Not that playing with
effects made the music sound bad, but
hey, whatever makes the talent happy.
"Quick, Fast, In a Hurry" defi-
nitely boasts a more stripped-down
sound. The track "Hiro" was even
stripped of its vocal track. The instru-
mental is dedicated to Guzzard's big-
gest Japanese fan, so maybe the lack
of a voice is to help transcend that
pesky language barrier, but it's hard
to say. Beeman's attitude towards lyr-
ics might prove more insightful: "It's
good to write fun stuff that doesn't
mean anything. It doesn't take as much
of the thought process."

Guzzard are patiently waiting for their own set of rock 'n' roll action figures.

The band is returning to Ann Ar-
bor tonight relatively soon after their
last appearance in town, opening for
Babes in Toyland. "It was really
packed that night," Beeman remi-

nisced."I rememberstepping on some
guy's camera case and thinking I was
going to get beat up. I couldn't see
where I was stepping but I knew I was
stepping on something. Yelled at me

(in high whining voice) 'You're step-
ping on $500 of camera equipment!'
Then he checked it out and it was
OK." Whew. And don't beat on them
tonight, either, when you see them.

r



Oasis have the whole world at their feet ... make that they have the whole water tower behind their heads.
asis will defiitely 'Live ForeVer'

You should
By Eugene Bowen
Daily Arts Writer
Plays come a dime a dozen on this
campus. Even good plays are fairly
numerous. But, every now and then,
if you wait long and patiently enough,
along will come a cast of characters
whose acting will cause emotions to
rise to new levels. Such was the case
with the long-winded and truthfully
entitled production, "Our Young
Black Men Are Dying And Nobody
Seems To Care," presented by Living
the Dream, Inc. on Sunday.
Consisting of only three actors and
fewer props (three stools) than even the
skimpiest "Our Town" production, this
performance didn't have the "play" feel
about it. The event which lay in store
was a great deal more than a play - it
was a hard-nosed dive into one of the
most gruesome and disheartening truths
plaguing the Black community today
- too many of our young, Black men
are dying, and too few of us seem to care
about it.
"Yes, this play will be entertain-
ing," said actor R. Lawrence Jenkins,
"but none of this stuff is fictional. It will
make you chuckle, but please take all
this to heart."
Jenkins, along with fellow actors Noel
Rogers and D. "Jeffro"Johnson, began. "I
am dead," he said. The trio then began to
rattle offa variety of causes from AIDS to
homicide, from drunk drivers to heroin
overdoses. But, it was Jenkins who drew
out the emotional response saying, "I am
dead. You don't care. You just sit there
shaking your head."
"I use drugs," Jenkins said in a later
segment, "Crack Attack." "I was walk-
ing on air ... until I fell. I fell from my
job. I fell from my money. I fell from
my family. I fell from me. I was ad-
dicted," he said. "No, I was a dickhead.
I killed for(crack). I killed, betrayed my
mother, I died to walk on air."
The segment that followed, featur-
ing Johnson as a dope dealer robbing a
group of people, was a powerful re-
minder of who these young, Black evil-
doers really are. "I am their (drug ad-
dicts') Messiah," he said. "I am the one
who they pray to for peace - pieces of
the rock, that is."
But, Johnson didn't just play the
part of a drug dealer / robber. He was
much, much more. "I was a fetus that
received no prenatal care. I was born
into hopelessness. I was the 'C' in WIC.

I didn't get a chance at the 'American
Dream.' I went to school and was put
into 'special education' where you
didn't teach me anything. You spent
more time talking about me than talk-
ing to me. You never see me as a
person, only as a con. Do you think I
was born robbing and geeking? I was
a child with dreams. You told me to get
ajob, then everything would be all right.
But, you wouldn'tgive me adecent job."
Our Young
Black Men Are
Dying And Nobody
Seems To Care
Power Centerfor the
Performing Arts
March 19, 1995
"You beat me with your hands,
your words and your laws," Johnson
continued. "But now, I will beat you. I
will terrorize you one by one. But, you
don't care, until it is you. Now do you
know who I am? I am your neighbor,
I am your friend." "He is too many
young, Black men," Jenkins ended.
Even on the issues of religious
figures, the actors where more than
ready to lend theirrespective two cents.
"Jesus was a Black man," said the
actors in unison, "because he, too,
wasn't trusted, he, too, wasn't re-
spected, he, too, wasn't accepted -
until after he was dead."
The feelings generated by the three

talented gentlemen upon the stage was
oneofrighteousanger- an angerat the
European society for continuing to per-
petuate conditions, ripe with hatreds
and stereotypes, which make the mas-
sive killing off of young, Black men
possible and an anger at the Black com-
munity for often sitting idly by, uncar-
ing, while the men of the race continue
todie unnecessarily. "Ourcomplacence
is our death," Jenkins said.
Much of the play centered about
seeking answers to hypothetical ques-
tionsthat were all tooreal apartof many
Black men's lives. "Why Blacks? Why
me?," Jenkins asked. "Why does my
Blackness have to keep me from ...
peace of mind?" "He was dead," Rogers
and Johnson commented to the audi-
ence, "because you didn't care."
We'd rather just move to the sub-
urbs and pretend that a problem doesn't
really exist. But, there was reality, and
the cast members wouldn't allow us to
forget that. "Somewhere this very mo-
ment, a mother sits wringing her hands
praying that God will spare her son,"
Johnson said. "Somewhere, a mother
stands in a morgue identifying the body
that was once her son ..."
The most impressive part of the play
occurred during its finale. Earlier, the cast
had asked the members of the audience to
write in one of three folders the names of
any young Black men they knew whohad
died. At theplay'send, each membertook
a folder and began reading names simul-
taneously from those folders.
Butthese weren'tjust faceless names.
These were once-living Black babies,
See MEN, page 8

care about 'Black Men'

By Tom Erlewine
Daily Arts Editor
Fans started hanging around St.
Andrew's Hall around 4:30 p.m., hop-
ing to catch a glimpse of Oasis as they
started their soundcheck. Granted, there
weren't that many fans, but it was an
indication of how popular the English
quintet has grown in America their De-
oit show this past November.
In Britain, the band are genuine
superstars: "Definitely Maybe" is the
fastest-selling debut album of all-time,
their concerts are instant sell-outs and
Oasis
St. Andrew's Hall
March 16, 1995
their singles stay on the charts for
months. Many critics and insiders
have called the band Brit rock's last
great hope - if Oasis couldn't make
it in America, no English band could.
Surprisingly, Oasis are making it
in America. The gorgeous "Live For-
ever" has been a staple of MTV's
Ouzz Bin for the last month, as well as
hitting#2on Billboard's Modern Rock
charts and quickly climbing the Al-
bum Rock charts. "Definitely Maybe"
has hit #72 on the album charts and is
reported to hit #50 this week. The
band is selling out 1,000 seat clubs
across the country. There's no ques-
tion that the band is definitely hot.
And the band knows it. Each mem-
prof Oasis entered St. Andrew's sepa-
rately, occasionally in the company of a
personal escort. Each member signed
autographs and posed for pictures; in

the case of lead guitarist and songwriter
Noel Gallagher,it wascompletely word-
less. However, after years of anti-rock
stars ruling the charts, the star trip of
Oasis is refreshing.
Unlike many other British bands,
Oasis is also prepared to work for
their American success. "You can't
expect to come over here and start
playing to 3,000 people," said guitar-
ist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs. Never-
theless, Oasis are becoming famous
in America. "People recognize you in
airports," said bassist Paul McGuigan,
"but not as much as somewhere like
Japan, where it is a bit like a mob. You
get chased on the street."
Oasis isn't on that level in America
yet, but on the basis of their Thursday
concert, the band is well on its way to
becoming superstars. "Definitely
Maybe" proved that the band had
great songs but the concert proved
why they are great.
Mostofthecriticisms leveled against
Oasis stem from the fact that they are
rock classicists - all of their songs
follow time-honored pop traditions,
incorporating elements of the Beatles,
Kinks, Stones, T. Rex, Sex Pistols, the
Jam and the Stone Roses. Instead of
limiting the band's musical capabili-
ties, it expands both their creative po-
tential and their commercial appeal -
not only do they appeal to indie fans,
they appeal to 40 year-old Beatle nuts.
That widespread appeal was evi-
dent at the sold-out show at St.
Andrew's. Older fans packed the bal-
cony as younger fans formed amosh pit
that did not let up throughout the entire
show. In fact, the pit was more visually
stimulating than the band. Throughout
the entire show, the band rarely moved;

when Noel Gallagher ran off stage to
"take a piss," the band sat down and
waited wordlessly until the guitarist
returned a couple of minutes later. In
other words, it was a standard Oasis
show. However, anyone that attended
the November concert could tell that
the band was more comfortable this
time through. Noel, in particular, made
awkward jokes during the show, in-
cluding playing the opening riff of
"Cigarrettes and Alcohol" then sud-
denly stopping, saying "suckers."
Visually, Oasis may have not
amounted to much, but musically they
were overpowering. Riff-rockers like
"Shakermaker" exploded on stage,
eclipsing the recorded version. When
they closed with a roaring version of
"I Am the Walrus," it wasn't merely
an act of homage, it was a reminder
that the next great British band had
finally arrived.
At the end of the show, vocalist
Liam Gallagher promised that Oasis
would be back this year. With shows as
exhilarating this, a new album due at the
end of the summer and "Definitely
Maybe" rising up the charts, it wouldn't
be surprising that when Oasis return,
they'll be playing stadiums. They're
genuine rock 'n' roll stars.

N.

ENERGY
CONSERVATION FAIR
March 23, 1995
Michigan Union Ballroom
8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Energy Conservation tips and ideas for your business, home,
and office. Free raffle withlots of energy awareness prizes!!
Information and displays provided by:
Advance Transformer Co.
Detroit Edison Company
Ford
Grainger
IBM
Lightolier & Solar Car Team (UM)
"Living Lightly Workshops"
Madison Electric Company
Motorola Ballasts
Osram/Sylvania
Precision Airflow/Phoenix Controls
Thermal-Netics/Reliance Electric
City of Ann Arbor
Enact
General Electric
Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (UM)
Landis and Gyr Powers
Lutron Lighting Controls
Michcon
Nichols Arboretum
Philins

We've taken
RECYCLING out
to the Diag!1
, eb QI.






i