The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 5, 1999 - 9 Vormer'Pet' dancer creates 'Pajama Party Los Angeles Times To know what Katie Puckrik wants, you must know this about the former Pet Shop Boys dancer: She will tell another straight woman, "You're sexy!" and mean it. Her voice will pitch from Scarlett O'Hara bossy to Barry White sultry in a business meeting. She is an ex-BBC star who did- n't hesitate "one jot" when a start-up cable TV net- work she had never heard of asked her to move to Los Angeles from London, her home of 16 years a city in which she was recognized at every turn. (She wasn't hard to miss, with fire engine- red hair, a tailored men's jacket in lime green and canary yellow trousers). What the 37-year-old Virginia native wants is to entertain, to express her inner chick self, to hang out with the girls. What she wants to do now is to play the way she has always played - and do it on her upcoming TV show, "Pajama Party," for the upstart company, Oxygen Media. "Pajama Party" is scheduled to debut in 'bruary with the launch of the new cable network Oxygen. The network's brain trust includes former Nickelodeon guru Geraldine Laybourne, the prin- cipals of Carsey-Werner (producers of "Roseanne" and "3rd Rock From the Sun") and Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Entertainment Group. In July, Puckrik arrived from London alone, without her boyfriend, a freelance journalist, who will join her soon. In Los Angeles, she's staying with friends, looking for a place to live, tooling around in her Volkswagen bug, trying to find a ga class . Not to mention trying to piece togeth- a show from scratch. "To begin with, it's terrifying, and then ulti- mately, of course, it's empowering," Puckrik said. She cupped her hands to the heavens. "The big guns are there going, 'Fly free, little bird!' So they trust me. So it's up to me to do a fantastic job. I'm very much aware that this is one of the handful of original shows that's starting up the network." In England, she hosted a live comedy show for the BBC from 1995 to 1996, and earlier this year, *formed with a cast that included Kate Winslet and Cate Blanchett in "The Vagina Monologues," a stage production calling for an end to sexual vio- lence. Also, Puckrik had hosted "Pajama Party" for one season in 1996. Most recently, she had been on a book tour, promoting her memoir "Shooting From the Lip" ), and auditioning for Broadway musicals in London. Puckrik, who owned a flat in London, had been thinking about moving back to the United States at some point. She was visiting her family in Virginia en Oxygen executives tracked her down. Everything that I do has some aspect of the cel- ebration of being female. I'm just one of those Miniseries fails to 'Rock' ~ :. yf: y. K1 v ,*Y ."{^" a a <, '' ac..: .: , ; '' s xt w x ':'x;. ., r .: ?fR ro ., ,u ,", , ..4 r N ' '' F" y i:..: 5 , , By Jewel Gopwanl Daily Arts Writer The uninhibited spirit of rock 'n' roll was scheduled to hit the small screen Sunday and again on Wednesday in the form of a four- hour CBS mini-series called "Shake Rattle & Roll." Rumors of Blink 182 and Dicky Barrett cameos peaked the interest of many who consider themselves connoisseurs of the rock 'n' roll genre. But that wild carefree aura of rock 'n' roll has been thoroughly trashed and broken down to a moronic easy listening muzak depiction of the times. Instead of offering a version of the '54s that would somewhat realisti- cally depict the era's exciting history, "Shake Rattle & Roll" is a boring F hake cliche-ridden account of two Shake Rattle teenagers trying & Roll to make a future in a changing music industry. Cas The series Nov. 7 & 10 at 9 p.m. opens in a high school in the small town of Swanson Mo., where Brad Hawkins plays Katie Puckrik's talk show will debut on the new Oxygen cable network in February. women that just looooves being a girl. I like to get dolled up and put on some lipstick and fluff my hair up. I also like being appreciated for any wit or intelligence that may or not pass through my lips" She is used to spinning from one life to another. Her father, a U.S. Air Force colonel who worked. for the diplomatic corps, and her stay-at-home mom moved their four kids around the world to countries including Russia and Germany. Puckrik, the youngest child, was a cutup in a family of cutups. As a kid, she took ballet classes and later modern dance. In 1983, she moved to London to follow a boyfriend. The relationship ended, but her career as a singer and dancer took off, leading to a stint in 1991 with the British dance-pop group the Pet Shop Boys. After the concert tour, she beat out 5,000 people for a job hosting what became a cult TV show, "The Word." Other'TV and radio pro- grams followed, but Puckrik had an idea for her own show. "Pajama Party." "Some of the most fun I've ever had in my life," she said, "is insalubrious get-togethers with my girlfriends; no boys around. It gets a little too frisky for words." The Oxygen scouts went after Puckrik after see- ing her work by happenstance. It didn't matter that Puckrik hadn't heard of the network; it was enough for her to hear the names of the players. Puckrik sent them tapes of "Pajama Party." which she had developed and hosted for an independent TV station in England. Now, Puckrik and Todd Yasui, her co-executive producer, are interviewing potential writers and sidekicks, and drawing up celebrity guest lists. A pilot is expected to be shot soon. For now, Puckrik and Yasui spend their days in motor-mouthed banter, cooking up segments for the show. "Pajama Party" will be part of a high-stakes lineup of original programming aimed at women. A total of four shows, including one hosted by Candice Bergen, will be based in Los Angeles. New York-based Oxygen is drawing some of the most powerful women in the entertainment indus- try, who are gambling that their online and cable TV network will emerge as a contender in the crowded multimedia scene. Oxygen will vie for territory dominated by Lifetime Television, the cable channel for women, which has 74 million subscribers. (Oxygen expects to reach 8 million to 10 million subscribers by its launch date, a spokeswoman said). Her show will celebrate the post-'90s girliness within, the un-P.C. notion that girls can be girls in a boyish sort of way (Example: Puckrik eats doughnuts without guilt). "So things are funny and intriguing and kind of anti-Martha Stewart," Puckrik said, whose on- camera look will be un-Martha Stewart-like - with sheer, lacy lingerie swooping way past her pink-sequined dog collar. On a bachelorette-pad set. the audience of women will be asked to bring their own pajamas. The audi- ence will sprawl on couches and poofy pillows. The show will reflect a let-it-all-hang-out chat fest, with the audience and celebrity guests joining in on talk, games and activities. Meanwhile, a sidekick will troll Los Angeles with a camera crew in search of high jinks. Puckrik's comic sensibility fits into the com- pany's efforts to beckon "the modern woman," Oxygen executives said. "If anybody is an Oxygen girl, Katie is an Oxygen girl," said Oxygen partner Caryn Mandabach, president of Carsey-Werner. "We knew instantly she was the right person for us. She's really, really smart, but she's really, really funny ... ("Pajama Party") has a sense of fun, a sense of play, a sense of what it really means to be a girl." or 'Roll' Industry issues of stardom, sell- ing out, violence and sleeping with your manager's wife find their way into the series. All the while Manager Morris Gunn (James Coburn) pushes the band to towards stardom and makes the groups insides more rotten then they were to begin with. The mini series doesn't even offer much when it comes to the history of rock 'n' roll. They cover the basics: Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, B.B. King and Bill Haley all influence The Heartaches in their quest for mainstream success. Perhaps Blink 182's Tom delonge and Mark Hoppus, making a short cameo appearance, are the most interesting part of the series. Identified in the credits as "Surfer Singer #1" and "Surfer Singer #2" this is the duo's stellar acting debut. But oddly enough, the men of Blink don't get a record deal from our female lead when she makes a name for herself as a label big wig. A few other familiar characters include Danner's parents, "Picket Fences"' Kathy Baker and "Major Dad's" Gerald McRaney . At the tail end of the mini series, CBS offering the viewer a music video of none other than the tune "Shake Rattle & Roll," by the coolest cat on the show, the Mighty Mighty Bosstone's own Dicky Barrett. Aside from the blatant contempt for historical accuracy and the cheese soaked acting, the worst part the whole thing is CD CBS is selling along with the mini-series. At S16.98 (plus S4.95) in shipping and han- dling) the CD features songs from the era the show attempts to depict, covered by Blink 182, Bob Dylan and Carole King. All those rock 'n' roll fans who are not interested in being offended at CBS's misuse of the term and the image of rock 'n' roll should tune out of CBS for this one. covering that he Tyler Hart, a young rebel dis- cares more about making music than having keeping his popular girlfriend. Bonnie Sommerville plays Lyne Danner, the cute air force brat who turns Hart, the leader of his own band, the "Country Shepherds," on to "colored music." That happens to be the area in which Tyler capital- izes. Tyler and friends end up start- ing their own band, "The Heartaches," which eventually kicks Danner, its life-force out, to keep the label happy. Lesh, Trucks enthrall crowd, Dylan drags By Mike Spahn Daily Arts Writer In a musical environment filled with ies thirsting for improvisation and ins, two time-tested musicians took to the stage at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. And while Bob Dylan's name undoubtedly drew Phil Lesh & Bob Dylan p Breslin Center Nov. 2, 1999 many of the 10,000 fans at the Breslin Center, it was Phil Lesh and his sup- porting cast who stole the show. Sauntering out onto the stage - lights on, guitars in hand, wearing jeans and T-shirts - Phil Lesh and Friends appeared almost akin to a high school garage band, not a group headlining a tour Incident's Michael Kang, brought with him a formidable guitar duo: Warren Haynes, the former Alman Brothers Band member now playing with Government Mule, and a lanky, young- looking kid who appeared to be reading music on stage before the show started. But any questions about who that kid with the blond hair was were answered from the first note sounded on his Gibson guitar - Derek Trucks, the 20 year-old phenom who himself toured with the Allman Brothers Band for the first time this summer and has been wowing audiences since he first took the stage at age 12, hooked up with Lesh for only his second show of the tour. From the first chords of the Dead clas- sic "Terrapin Station," Trucks stole the show from musicians decades his elder. Playing songs made farrous by the leg- endary Jerry Garcia, Trucks never backed down, even though it was appar- ent that he had little time to prepare for the show. The 30-minute long rendition of Terrapin slipped in and out of psyche- delic interludes, all coordinated by Lesh, whose voice has imp oved since Dead fans would sarcastically call for him to sing during shows. But this crowd fel no sarcasm, danc- ing through the entire set and screaming out classic lines from the Dead songs. Haynes seemed happy to support Trucks for much of the show, but he, too, showed spectacular ability during "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys," which he led not only with searing guitar solos, but also his soulful voice that lent power to the Traffic classic. The band moved back to Dead songs after the Traffic interlude, jamming Cumberland Blues -- a song that includ- ed solos from Trucks and Haynes that nearly tore the roof off of Breslin - and China Doll, a ballad sung aptly by Lesh. The band closed it's 90 minute set with a funky, solo-filled "Midnight Hour." As the buzz from the Lesh show died, Dylan took the stage with his four-piece band clad in cowboy gear. The band began the show with a high- energy acoustic set, topped off with a reworked version of "Tangled Up in Blue" that had the crowd cheering for more. But the band slowly slipped into what seemed to be a pre-canned routine: there was little spontaneity, the set was obvi- ously decided well in advance of the show and Dylan classics appeared forced and boring. New arrangements lost the flare of "Like a Rolling Stone" and the intimacy of "Just Like a Woman." When the crowd appeared ready to give up, Dylan did provide some hope with a rousing version "Highway 61 Revisited" that for a brief moment re- energized the crowd, but a five-song encore (highlighted, much to the crowd's delight, with "Rainy Day Woman" and an acoustic "Blowin' in the Wind") did not build on that momentum. Throughout the show Dylan seemed interested, but not energized or com- pelling, and the results were easily seen in a crowd that had refused to sit at all during the Lesh set, but stood only spo- radically for Dylan. --- "Would you marry this man for 100 million?" How 'bout a free T-shirt instead? Stop by the Arts office . today to get shirts, baseball fi hats and other fun goodies ::.....featuring "The Bachelor." Supplies are limited so hurry up. The University of Michigan SCHOOL OF MUSIC SYMPHONY BAND Friday, November 5, 8:00pm Hill Auditorium H. Robert Reynolds, Conductor Kevin Geraldi, Guest Conductor * Canzon septimi toni No. 2, Gabrieli e Overture for Winds, op. 24, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy e George Washington Bridge, Schuman "'Report, Lubos Fiser " Der Traum des Oenghus, op. 31a, Rolf Rudin * English Folk Song Suite, Ralph Vaughan Williams GUEST RECITAL: with one of music's foremost song writ- 'esh, the former Grateful Dead bassist who has been traveling the West Coast playing with musicians including Phish's Trey Anastasio and String Cheese PRAMITA MALLIK, SIN( Friday, November 5, 8:00pm Britton Recital Hall, E.V. Moore Sponsored by the Center for Soutl is a renowed singer from Calcuttz domain of Rabindrasangeet. She drum accompaniment. FACULTY RECITAL: ERLING BLONDAL °BEN( MONIUM . . . Asian' whois dies, Pramita Mallik eading star in the armonium with DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS WANTED WE'RE LOOKING FOR AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO WANT TO TAKE LOTS OF P CTURES! ! $25 FOR EVERY PHOTO THAT IS ACCEPTED AND OTHER GREAT INCENTIVES SDIGITAL CAMERA PROVIDED FOR NON-OWNERS FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT ANNA AT (734) 395-9905 OR VIA EMAIL TO ANNA(dOLIGHTSURF.COM.I 3 EDWARD PARM WORKS BY JOHANN Sunday, November 7, Britton Recital Hall, I * Sonata No.lin G M * Sonata No. 3 in-g m 'SSON, CELLO IARPSICHORD BACH SEBASTIA 8:O0pm .V. Moor D Major VOCAL AR Monday, Nover Britton Recital T A r 8, 6:3ppm I, E.V. Moo re UNIVERSITY PHILH Monday, November 8, 8:00F Hill Auditorium Rossen Milanov, conductor. * A Midsummer Night's-Drea Featuring: NortlvilleHigh A.n nfln MI.,nnA NTarnr~ .j AR ORCHESTRA m (complete), Mendelssohn A Schoo Women's Chorus I