ftfiftdftwOtft
Antonioni explosion
Accalimed Italian director Michela
cinating film that explores a murdE
of an unwitting photographer. This
today at the Michigan Theater. Th
Journeyman (
Soulful crooner sets aside
By Stephanie Jo Klein
Daily Arts Writer
Having spent the summer fight-
ing evil aliens in "Independence
Day," Harry Connick Jr. is now back
on tour, fighting for the hearts of his
human listeners.
With his new funk album, "Star
Turtle," Connick is reminding fans of his
versatility as a performer and musician,
unafraid to stray from his trademark big-band
style.
On "Star Turtle,"o
Connick chronicles the fic- P
tional exploits of a turtle
who comes from outer- Har
space in search of salvation, P
which he finds and brings
home in the form of New
Orleans funk, blues,jazz and
parade music. In a recent
telephone interview with The Michigan Daily,
Connick explained the evolution of his creative
works and how he keeps his ideas fresh.
"Star Turtle" is "just an idea I had," Connick
said. "I guess what I'm supposed to do for a
living is create things. That's one of the things
I came up with. It's just a story. It doesn't
really have any symbolism or metaphoric
value."
Even after '94 release "She," his previous
funk album, Connick's fans were still sur-
prised by the new album, which features a
wild arrangement of drums, horns, guitars
and overdubbed, whispery voices on the title
track. Despite doing all the instrumenta-
tion on the first track himself, Connick
said, the distorted, psychedelic sound
was not hard to do.
"That's just fooling around," he
said nonchalantly. "The voices are
just fun, you know, just screwing
m
Rl
ry
lay
St
around, and all the instruments....
real complicated in any of that stuff
Although most fans still yearn fo
heard on his earlier albums, like "V
"25," Connick's new funky groove is
esting change of pace.
Instead of re-adapting the beautif
the Street Where You Live," as he d
creates new and innovative sounds
two of the album's 15 tracks,
"Boozehound" Connick and his ba
and wah wah
moog and step
EVIE W distinctly jazz
Ya'll Know" a
Connick Jr. Harmony," th
ing with his Funk Band evoke the feela
tonight at 7:30 at the street parade
tate Theatre in Detroit. trombones o
Connick's sou
ivories on the1
Connick dismisses any claims th
band music on this album could be
out. "I know I didn't sell-out becaus
style," he said. "Before anybody kn
playing that kind of music. It's just p
I'm proud of it, you know. 'Cause
that's all you can ask for is to have
to do things that you're artistically
what I'm doing, you know."
His New Orleans roots are all ove
he pays special tribute to the city o
Sea." He wonders how long he coul
city, begging for someone to take
and the Mardi Gras / They betcha
shoes / And they eat their oyster
dances all night long / But he wo
Please ... somebody won't you ta
beneath the sea."
"No city has moves like N
Connick said in his strong Louisia
that the city has helped shape him
ngelo Antonioni's -Blow Up" is a fas-
er as seen through the camera lens
landmark 1966 movie is showing
e curtain rises at 5 p.m.
Wednesday
October 16, 1996
onnick gets funky
movies, aliens for major road tour
There's not anything musician that he is today. "I think had I come from
." somewhere else I would have been totally different,
r the gentle crooning you know? I'm totally indebted to growing up in New
We Are In Love" and Orleans."
nevertheless an inter- The music he heard in the alleys and clubs of the ci
while growing up also helped shape his musical sty ,
ul, but standard "On Connick said. He counts Errol Garner, Louis Armstrong,
lid on "25," Connick Miles Davis, John Coltrane, The Meters and James Brown
on "Star Turtle." On among his influences.
"Little Farley" and Having influenced women fans to swoon at his image
and combine rhythm on the silver screen, Connick enjoys occasionally cutting
guitars with a mini in on the movie business as another way to 9xercise his
ady drum beats in a creativity.
zy style. "How Do Acting and singing are drastically different, he said.
nd "Hear Me in the "On film, you're creating a personality that's never been
he MTV hit, both done before. On stage, I'm not changing my personality.
of a big New Orleans all, you know. It's just a totally different craft."
, with swaggering Connick portrayed a serial killer in "Copycat" last year,
n the former and a doomed fighter pilot in this summer's blockbuster
ilful tinkling of the "Independence Day," and is set to take on the role of a
latter. crooked car salesman in upcoming movie "Excess
at not recording big- Baggage," with Alicia Silverstone and Christopher
perceived as selling- Walken.
e I didn't change my Although he has juggled stage and screen gigs for 10
iew who I was I was years now, Connick says it is now time for him to slow
art of what I do. And down. He and super-model wife Jill Goodacre wel-
I think as an artist comed their daughter, Georgia Tatom, into their New
artistic freedom and York home in April, and the proud parents to spet
proud of, and that's time at home.
"(Being a father) will change how I tour, 'cause I don't
r his new album, and want to do this for the rest of my life, you know," he said.
n "City Beneath the "It's hard being away. I haven't been away but about two
d stay away from the weeks the whole time she's been around. But, it's no fun
him "To the Meters being away, so I would definitely like to slow down my
where you got your touring schedule."
s raw / Pork Chops in the meantime, fans will still find Connick tinkling
)n't dance for free / away at the ivories, thinking of his daughter and looking
ke me / To the city forward to recording his next album, "30," which wig
once again showcase his sweet songs now tinged with t
ew Orleans does," extra spice of his funk sound. If all goes well, the
na drawl. He added Midwestern tour showcasing his interplanetary "Star
into the person and Turtle" trip should be out of this world.
ti .1
Tulip's 'Plughole' blooms again at Network
By Kristin Bartus
For the Daily
Due to popular demand, writer /
director / actor Malcolm Tulip's latest
drama, "Down the Plughole," returns to
Performance Network to explore the
depths of guilt, grief, death and life that
lay at the bottom of a bathtub.
This one-man show that deals with
the death of a child and the survival of
her father, originally ran for two weeks
at Performance Network during April of
this year. Audiences not only deemed
the drama gripping and hypnotic, but
pressured Performance Network to
bring "Down the
Plughole" back
for another run. PR
"It goes from
immediate every-
day moments to
almost poetic T m
m i r a c 1 eOct. 24-27 at
moments. For
some people it was almost one big
poem," Tulip said in a recent interview
with The Michigan ,Daily.
"Down the Plughole" explores death,
but with a slightly skewed format. "It
begins with an ending in a way. It
begins with a man coming from the
funeral of his girl. He comes back to his
house in the bathroom where his child
died and locks himself in and declares
that he is never going to leave. The rest
of the play is him having a dialogue
orr
it P4
with himself, with his present and
future to try and determine whether he
is actually going to stay in there or
whether he'll be able to leave or not,"
Tulip said.
Tulip plays John Jellicoe as a man at
the extreme of his emotions. He not
only feels grief over the death of his
child, but also a
great amount of
EVIE W guilt. This guilt
Down the stems from his
Plughole daughter's acci-
dental drowning
ow through Saturday, in the bathtub just
erformance Network. moments after his
first ever spank-
ing of her.
Although his play deals with the
painful issue of death, Tulip insists that
"Down the Plughole" is not morbid and
even includes some humorous ele-
ments. "It's not about the death. It's
about the survival afterwards," Tulip
said. "It's about finding hope, it's about
finding a way to move on. It's not about
dwelling in the event. It's about reach-
ing out forward for hand-holds."
The play's universal themes of death
and grief will eventually touch every
potential audience member if they have
not already in the past. In addition,
many of these people can also relate to
the feelings of guilt involved. "I'm sure
everyone, when someone dies, has
something that they wish they had done
- that they hadn't done," Tulip said.
Along with the emotions felt by
Jellicoe, Tulip also adds to the realistic
nature of "Down the Plughole" through
another format twist. Tulip has created
eight different possible endings to the
drama. "Even though I enjoy perform-
ing the whole thing immensely, it keeps
it alive through the evening not know-
ing exactly how it's going to end," Tulip
said. "I think by leaving it open and
keeping it wordless, it makes me more
sensitive to the particular audience that
particular evening or to John Jellicoe's
mood that particular evening."
While presenting the show in a real-
istic manner, Tulip examines how life
and death are intertwined. He critiques,
in a sense, this society's way of dealing
with death. Tulip finds that many other
cultures celebrate the passing of life.
See PLUGHOLE, Page 10
This is the Melds.
Evolutionary folk band
arrives at the new Ark
Malcolm Tulip goes down the plughole.
II
By Dave Snyder
Daily Arts Writer
Folk music is evolving, shattering
conventions while reaching a larger
audience than ever. With tired rock
retreads saturating the market, people
are turning to folk like never before,
and the genre boasts an impressive
grassroots network of rabid fans.
Key players in the folk resurgence
are The Nields, who bring their quirky,
sophisticated sound to the new Ark
tomorrow. What makes them unique in
the folk world is their rhythm section,
and their tendency to plug in and rock
out at shows.
"I think we sort of came out of the
PREVIEW
The Nields
Tomorrow at the Ark at 8 p.m
Tix are $10. Call 761-1451:-
folk scene, because at one point we were
acoustic;' founding member Nerissa
Nields explained in an interview with
The Michigan Daily. The group, whi h
was originally a trio of Nerissa, her
ter Katryna and her husband Da
formed a substantial cult following
playing rooms in the burgeoning music
See NIELDS, Page 9
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