The Michigan Daily - Friday, December 4, 1998 - 9
'Pretty fly' guys to fly tonight
Museum houses Worcester
1
By Amy Barber
Daily Arts Writer
"Our singer gets decapitated - no, scalped, by a sev-
ered hand."
Such is the fate ofThe Offspring's Dexter Holland in the
soon-to-be-released film "Idle Hands," as described by
lead guitarist Noodles.
Working on the film has been one of many projects
keeping The Offspring busy throughout past months. Also
included in the band's list of things to do has been the pro-
duction of its most recent album, "Americana," and the
launching of a tour.
As for the film, the guys play a small part in which they
don't have to do much acting, portraying a band perform-
ing live at a dance.
"We did the movie just for fun," said Noodles. "It's kind
of a shellac, horror, comedy film that doesn't take itself
very seriously. It makes fun of that whole genre"
More important, The Offspring
just put out a new record, which has
already begun receiving significant
attention with the release of "Pretty
The Fly (For a White Guy)," which has
spring been :ncluded in the regular rotation
St. Andrew's Hall, of radio stations throughout the
Detroit country.
Tonight at 8 p.m. The most striking aspect of the
new al um is the band's punk cover
of the classic "Feelings," the last
song anyone would have ever
expected The Offspring to play.
"The song was our singer's idea,"
said Noodles. "He just had the song
stuck in his head one day and
thought it was a really cheesy song
that needed to be made fun of. No one expected it - not
from a band like The Offspring. I'm looking forward to
doing that one live."
"Feelings" is not the only surprise on "Americana." The
band mixed up its style on a few other songs as well.
"We always have a Middle Eastern flavor on at least one
or two songs," said Noodles. "We really tried to capitalize
on that this time. And 'Why Don't You Get a Job' is almost
a Caribbean acoustic song with a lot of percussion."
The decision to title the new album "Americana" seems
ironic at first, giventhe definition people generally associ-
ate with the word. By using this title, The Offspring
attempts to change people's definitions of Americana.
"When people talk about Americana, they refer to real-
ly quaint examples of American culture," said Noodles,
"like Norman Rockwell paintings, kid on a swing kind of
thing. For us there's a hell of a lot more to American cul-
ture. Every song is a different example of American cul-
ture."
The making of the record went smoothly, despite the
fact that the punk world has accused The Offspring of sell-
ing out from the minute the band signed on with Columbia
Records. The guys aren't phased much by negative criti-
cism in this regard, but they certainly hear their share of
name-calling even today.
"A lot of other bands call us sell-outs," said Noodles.
"But it doesn't really bother us. At Columbia, things are
great."
Although the band takes criticism from other bands with
a grain of salt, The Offspring never would have formed
without the influences of other groups.
"A lot of California groups got us interested in playing
music ourselves," said Noodles. "Bands like Social
Distortion and The Dead Kennedys"
When the band finally did get together, one of its
biggest difficulties was coming up with a name.
"We fought for a couple weeks about our name," said
Noodles. "Our old drummer came up with the name. We
all had these weird ideas that none of us could agree on
and The Offspring was the only name that none of us
hated."
More than a decade and five albums later, Dexter,
Noodles, Greg and Ron are back on tour, playing shows
across the country to promote their new album. But this
time around may not be The Offspring's most memorable
trip to Michigan.
"Our biggest headlining show ever in the U.S. was at
Cobo Hall,"said Noodles. "It was right after Smash. Right
after we went on, we called Fletcher from Pennywise and
left a message that said, 'this is what 12,000 people sound
like, cheering for your band."'
Although The Offspring just started its current tour, the
guys already have future recording plans.
"We just finished recording," said Noodles, "and
Dexter's already like, 'you know, we should make
another record.' So there will definitely be more
Offspring records in the future,"
By Anna Kovaluzi
Fine & Perforning Arts Editor
Drawing has been used in many
ways, including its function as a
preparatory method and later, asa form
of artistic expression. "Master
Drawings from the Worcester Art
Museum" exhibits 100 drawings from .
the 1300s to the present, by artists of
many nationalities. Although drawing is
flat and arguably not a very dynamic
medium, the artistic and chronological
range of the exhibit and its inclusion of
colorful drawings make it a rare jewel.
The centennial year of the
Worcester Art Museum prompted this
exhibition, including a catalogue by
David Acton, curator of the exhibit
and a University Alumnus. The muse-
um owns more than 1,500 drawings,
and it was therefore appropriate to
celebrate this medium.
Drawing has been a collected form
of art for many centuries. Artists such
as Peter Paul Rubens used it to hone
their abilities. One of Rubens' many
drawings, "Council of the Gods"
(1601) exhibits his use of drawing as a
learning tool,
since he actually
copied Raphael's
Villa Farnesina
Master Drawings frescoes in this
Art Museum work. These
drawings were
University then collected by
Museum of Art other artists to
learn from the
masters.
Within a num-
ber of categories,
such as artistic
training and
experience, por-
traits, windscapes and nudes, the orga-
nizers of the exhibit demonstrated
their disposition toward diversity. This
aspect does not only lend much need-
ed visual variation, but also asks one to
"The Death of John the Baptist" (1640) by the Circle of Rembrandt, is on display.
ponder, what do LAiszl6 Moholy Nagy
and Jaques-Louis David have in com-
mon? In fact, these two artists are dis-
played within the exploratory draw-
ings category, and while "Untitled"
and "Apollo with a Cithara,"
,Hungarian and French and 1938 and
1874 seem far removed, there is at
least one aspect which is similar.
Exhibits, on occasion, tend to
become boring when they remain in a
particular, well-defined field. While
drawing unites this exhibit, the inclu-
sion of Diego Rivera, Vincent van
Gogh and George Bellows diversify it.
Pop Art artist Tom Wesselmann
showed a particularly interesting way
of drawing in "Study for the Great
American Nude #59" (1965). He used
a bit of line, a bit of color but mostly
empty space to define a nude female.
His drawing alludes to the commer-
cial and comics world. Another high-
light came by Jean Auguste
Dominique Ingres' study for a later
portrait. Ingres' famous argument for
the importance of line as opposed to
color becomes sublimated here.
While the features of the woman are
incredibly sharp and delineated, her
overall perfection, especially the
points of light in her eyes, makes one
focus less on the debate, and more on
Ingres' subtle talent.
Master Drawings allows one to
view many aspects of drawing.
Arguably, these drawings seem to
show artistic expression more than
just static mediums of preparation.
The range of styles, artists, colors and
techniques makes the exhibition an
enjoyable experience, and it subcon-
sciously becomes a lesson in the pro-
fessional life of an artist.
I
Yretender' stars discuss charact
By Jie Un
Daily Arts Writer
Since "The Pretender" premiered tw
it's been a hit on Saturday nights. This i
easy task to accomplish, especially sin
nights aren't exactly must see TV nig
not on college campuses). But the intri
ing the multi-faceted genius, Jarod is
ever as "The Pretender" enters its third
Every week, J
evil by undoing
injustice in theN
Miss Parker (And
The hotly pursuing Jar
Pretender ing to bring him t
Centre. For those+
NBC haven't really kept
Tomorrow at 9p.m. the recent developn
show, here's a qt
Toward the end of
season, we fount
Jarod's biologic
worked for The
may have murd
Parker's mother. In
finale, Sydney (Patrick Bauchau), Jarod
The Centre, planted a bomb in The Ce
beginning of this season, the repercus:
bomb left Sydney blind and Jarod
insane. In the premiere episode, he was
to the loony bin, but now he's back to hi
playing the savior. But this season, Jar
PSYCHO
Continued from Page 8
charismatic character in "Swingers"
and "Clay Pigeons," he has yet to
demonstrate that he can handle psy-
chopathology quietly. What made
Perkin's performance so disturbing is
that he was so unusually normal. Sure,
he seemed like a peeping Tom, but he
s a lonely mama's boy.
But the success or failure of this
film sits on Van Sant's shoulders. Van
Sant is a hit or miss director, with
such stunners as "Drug Store
Cowboy" and such vile filth as "Even
Cowgirls Get the Blues." But the
question is, do people really want him
to make a good movie? Van Sant
could end up doing a tremendous job
(however unlikely that is), and still
ed up getting panned just for doing
o years ago,
sn't such an
ce Saturday
hts (at least
igue involv-
hotter than
season.
arod battles
some grave
world, with
rea Parker)
od and try-
back to The
of you who
up with all
nents on the
nick recap.
the second
d out that
al father
Centre and
ered Miss
the season
's teacher at
ntre. At the
sions of the
temporarily
committed
s old tricks,
od is trying
to discover his father's identity. With startling reve-
lations such as Miss Parker's missing sibling being
another Pretender, Mr. Lyle - the guy with the
missing thumb (Jamie Denton) - there are bound
to be many new surprises in store as this season
continues.
In a recent telephone interview with The
Michigan Daily, the stars of the show Michael T.
Weiss (Jarod), Parker (Miss Parker), Patrick
Bauchau (Sydney) and the two executive producers,
Steven Long Mitchell and Craig W. Van Sickle
talked about their show. Discussing their inspiration
for the show, the producers explained their frustra-
tion "with criminals getting off the hook on techni-
calities and the way justice was getting dispensed.
Most people's reaction is 'How sad,' and then they
turn the page. We thought it would be interesting if
they had a hero who didn't turn the page," Long
said.
Their purpose was to "create a hero that would
extract emotional justice, an eye for an eye." They
certainly have that hero in Jarod.
Weiss has come a long way from his earlier days
as Michael Horton on the soap opera "Days of Our
Lives." As a chameleon-like hero who avenges the
wrongs for those who cannot fight for themselves,
he brings a great deal of depth and dimension to the
role of Jarod. In one minute, Jarod is going under-
cover as a police officer, and the next, he is a child,
sprawled on the floor with 50 different kinds of Pez
dispensers. His ability to play such diverse charac-
ters is what makes the show worth watching. That
er adaptation
and the fact that he is not too bad looking.
Viewers tune in week after week to discover
which role Jarod a.k.a. the Pretender will assume
next. So far, Jarod has been a forest ranger, a fash-
ion photographer, a security guard, a race car driver,
a U.S. Marshall, a male escort and the list just goes
on and on. His most embarrassing role, according
to the star himself, will be later this season when he
takes his turn as a male stripper.
"What I like best about Jarod is the versatility of
his character," Weiss said.
He admitted to the difficulty of keeping Jarod
"innocent." What he loves best about coming to
work is that "everyone gets to be creative and do
something different every week"
The actors and producers also revealed some
upcoming plot descriptions. Some future personas
for Jarod will be an ex-con, an alarm dealer and a
pool hustler. Jarod will have more romances this
season, and even Miss Parker will get a love inter-
est for the first time. Parker described her role as
the "toughest man on television." Hopefully, her
romance will not soften her image.
Then there is always the possibility of Jarod and
Miss Parker getting together.
Things change in "The Pretender" even faster
than Jarod than does. Part of the fun is guessing
what will happen next to Jarod and the rest of the
gang at The Centre. As long as the intrigue keeps
coming and Jarod pretends to be something akin to
a male escort or stripper once a season, "The
Pretender" is likely to rule on Saturday nights.
$25 million, "Psycho" will probably
struggle to make its money back. No place fun to shop in town?
Although the film might do solid Shop online at
opening weekend business based on
fans of the Hitchcock movie seeing
the Van Sant version to criticize it and
curiosity seekers, a second weekend is
unlikely. Not only does "Psycho" have , " -
strong competition this weekend from
the family oriented "A Bug's Life"
and "Rugrats," it also has competition
in the adult market from "Enemy ofb
the State." And even if it does over- * as * as * en es *
come this week's competition, it will " faux fur purses evening gloves
almost certainly photon torpedoed
next weekend with the release of "Star This Venitian scoundrel swindles his acquaintances
Trek: Insurrection?' Either way, it
stands no chance of not getting lost in out of their money, jewels and wives!
the Christmas movie shuffle.
Gone from the Van Sant version is
the surprise, shock and thrill that
accompanied the original. But never-
theless, the spectacle is still there. All
that's left to say about this movie is
chance of satisfying in the end.
a comedy by!
Ben Jonson_. .
directed by
A i John Neville-
Andrews
....--MR3H'ETE D POOLDec. 3J-5 at 8PM
S U TO Pa SONSDec. 6 at 2 PM
R - EPower Center
Tickets $18 & $14
Students $7 with ID
League Ticket Office
m of TheareandnDrUM School of Music it! 734-764-0450
4A ACIYBEC, L320Dept. of Theatre and Drama Charge t 3-6-40
The University of Michigan
School of Music
Friday, December 4
Opera Workshop
Joshua Major, director
* an evening of staged opera arias
McIntosh Theatre, E. V. Moore Bldg., 7p.m.
Saturday, December 5
Contemporary Directions Ensemble
James R. Tapia, director
" music by prize-winning composers
Rackham Auditorium, 8 p.m.
Sunday, December 6
Michigan Chamber Players
Deborah Chodacki and Fred Ormand, clarinet
Richard Beene, bassoon
Paul Kantor, violin
Hong-Mei Xiao and Yizhak Schotten, viola
Anthony Elliott, cello; Stuart Sankey, bass
Logan Skelton, piano
" Glinka: Trio Pathetique
* Prokofiev: Quintet, Op. 39
* Brahms: String Sextet, Op. 36
Britton Recital Hall, E.V. Moore Bldg., 4p.m.
Percussion Ensemble "Hands-On" Percussion Petting Zoo
McIntosh Theatre, E.V. Moore Bldg., 3 p.m.
Percussion Ensemble
* music by Cage, Methany, Campbell, Cahn
" music from Cuba and Trinidad/Tobago
McIntosh Theatre, E. V. Moore Bldg., 4p.m.
Monday, December 7
Power Repertory Showings
Betty Pease Studio Theatre, Dance Bldg., 4:15 p.m.
Composers Forum
Britton Recital Hall, E.V. Moore Bldg., 8 p.m.
University Choir
Sandra Snow, conductor
' music by Morrison, Derr, Argento, Byrd, Willan
Hill Auditorium, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, December 8
Comp Showings & Congolese Dance
Betty Pease Studio Theatre, Dance Bldg., 2:30p.m.
Wednesday, December 9
University Chamber Choir and Orchestras
Theodore Morrison and Kenneth Kiesler, conductors
Rebekah Nye, soprano; Dana Pauls, mezzo-soprano
Michael Gallant, tenor; Woodrow Bynum, baritone
" Beethoven: Mass in C Major
" R. Strauss: Metamorphosen
" R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks
Hill Auditorium, 8 p.m.
Thursday, December 10
Comp Showings
Betty Pease Studio Theatre, Dance Bldg., 2:30 p.m.
Dance & Related Arts Performance
Betty Pease Studio Theatre, Dance Bldg., 8 p.m.
[Admission $5 at door one hour prior to performance]
Events are free, no tickets required and are wheelchair
accessible unless otherwise specified. The E.V. Moore Bldg.js
located at 1100 Baits Drive, North Campus. Formore information
phone (734) 764-0594 Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
' "