10A- The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 4, 1999
Ex-Slayer drummer Lombardo goes classic with Vivaldi project.
By Adlin Rosli
Daily Arts Writer
Experimentation with classical
music rarely takes the classical
genre of music into any ground-
-breaking realms. Most experimenta-
tions with classical music usually
yield only traditional classical
pieces put to a dance drum beat
resulting in bland elevator muzak
:rather than anything musically inter-
psting.
Not so is the case when reputed
writer and conductor Lorenzo
Arruga decided to bring his personal
touch to seven Vivaldi numbers.
He chose to bring the world of
classical music on a head on colli-
sion with metal by way of inviting
Grip Inc.'s drummer and percussion
legend extrodinaire, Dave Lombardo
(who was also Slayer's original
dyurnmer). What resulted was
Vivaldi: "The Meeting," a recording
where traditional classical music is
backed by aggressive metal drum-
rming.
Lombardo explained that the
experience working with Arruga on
,the seven Vivaldi pieces was an
experience unlike any other. "Arruga
wanted to keep the musical spirit for
the project as pure as possible, so in
wanting to" maintain that purity he
told me to make sure I did not
Calibur'
packs
fighting
Punch
Soul Calibur
Namco
Dreamcast
In the smorgasbord of fighting games
competing for your video game dollar,
Spo1 Calibur is both easy to learn and
be utiful to watch.
The biggest launch title 3D fighter for
the Sega Dreamcast, Soul Calibur has
been nicely ported from its original
.standup version, made more expansive
,instead of being merely arcade perfect.
Most fighters are somewhat limited
in scope; they tend towards three modes;
.arcade, versus and survival. Here there
are also mission battles where there are
specific tasks you need to perform or
specific obstacles to overcome while
fighting and staying alive. Some mis-
sions involve green, gassy rats biting
your feet, some involve a strong wind
blowing you over the side of the ring
fnd some just involve you needing to
feat five enemies with no regenera-
of your energy.
"'Sounds simple enough. But to
advance to more and more of the disc,
you must use your winnings from these
expose myself to any of Vivaldi's
music prior to our meeting," he said.
"Me and the other musicians were
all brought to this recording studio
outside of Milan, Italy. In trying to
keep the experience as authentic as
Arruga could, they didn't have
records or anything back during
Vivaldi's time after all so if you
wanted to hear something you had to
be where the musicians were, none
of the musicians involved heard the
pieces of music until we got to the
place."
The drummer found it challenging
yet rewarding to play along to classi-
cal music. As Arruga wanted to
bring the power of metal's double
pedal drumming to the table,
Lombardo brought his full set to the
recording session.
Although it may seem difficult to
bring Lombardo's drumming to
complement the pieces, the drum-
mer found ways to develop percus-
sion parts to the songs.
. "We had two female vocalist,
flutes, harpsichords, organs, key-
boards and my drums. Out of all
those instruments the only ones with
any attack were the drums and the
harpsichord. With all the other
instruments playing along in one
piece it was not easy to follow the
pieces," Lombardo said.
"I then decided to follow the oboe
and make notes to the changes in the
pieces based on what the oboe was
doing. The method was similar as to
the relationship between a drum and
a bass is in a rock band," he
explained.
What came out at the end of the
whole project was something that
Lombardo himself did not expect.
"When I got my copy of the ses-
sion I was just blown away with the
emotional sweep and music itself. It
was just very expressive and had a
lot of feeling in it," Lombardo
remarked.
The pleasant surprise to the end
result was also shared by
Lombardo's friends and fans as
Lombardo mentioned, "They were
both telling me how surprised they
were with it. Some of the fans told
me how they thought it was one of
the weirdest things they have heard.
Overall, I was really pleased with
being involved in the project."
One cannot help but wonder what
Lombardo found so appealing about
being involved in Arruga's Vivaldi
project in the first place. Lombardo
explained that his involvement was
purely for the love of music.
"I don't like labels. It restricts
who you can be as a musician and I
wanted to go beyond the labels I may
Hoch helps Detroit kids
By Nka,... nowadays, how he would deal with gangs and the oti
:' ;
I
battles to buy art cards which will
unlock more missions. These cards will
also give you secret options and more
cards to buy.
The disc is a visual cornucopia, full of
rich colors and visual effects. The stages
have intricate and dimensional back-
grounds, but it's mostly for show as they
don't really effect gameplay. It's like a
big lawn; it's useless, but people think it
looks nice. And quite honestly, that's
what draws people towards more and
more advanced video game systems.
The fighter characters both look nice
and affect gameplay. There are a lot of
polygons in them, evidenced by events
ACA - 'k 1 - I
as varied from the movements. in their
faces when they are taunting their foes
in Japanese to flipping backwards and
kicking then in the teeth. Each fighter
has at least one weapon, ranging from a
staff to various types of enchanted
swords, as well as at least two outfits.
Basic strong moves are not difficult to
get down initially, greatly adding to the
addictiveness of the game. And there are
plenty of complicated combinations to
sate anal retentive fighting enthusiasts.
Soul Calibur has lots of possibilities
and can play to a wide audience. What
more could you want?
- Ted Watts
I
The UM School of Music
1
1999 HALLOWEEN CONCERTS
Sunday, October 31 at Hill Auditorium
4:30 PM & 8:00 PM
I Number your preferences (from 1 to 6) so if your first choice is unavailable, we can fill
your order with your next choice. If you do NOT indicate any other choices, your check
will be returned to you if your first choice is not available. All ticket requests will be filled in order
of receipt. Limit 10 tickets per order. Note: There is NO elevator in Hill Auditorium.
2 Make your check payable to the University of Michigan. One check or money order per
order, please. Sorry, no credit card orders.
3 Include a self-addressed STAMPED envelope so we can mail your tickets to you. If both
concerts are sold out, we will use the envelope to return your check to you.
4 Mail your order form, payment, and self-addressed stamped envelope to: Halloween
Tickets, League Ticket Office, 911 N. University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1265. ONLY
mail orders will be accepted.
5 Please allow TWO WEEKS to process your order.
B In-person sales for any remaining tickets will begin on Monday, October 25 at 10 AM at
the League Ticket Office. Orders will not be accepted by phone.
7 All tickets are reserved seating. No one will be admitted without a ticket, including all
children, regardless of age!
1999 Halloween Concerts Mail Order Form
Mail Orders will be accepted October 4 through October 15!
a
IA
N-
Phone
1
L 11V1
IN
Nail
1114
LIMIT 10 TICKETS PER ORDER FORM!
PERFORMANCE LOCATION number in order of preference # TICKETS $ TOTAL
SUNDAY Main Floor @ $8.00
MAATINELAN miorpfn T T
1...