10A The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 2, 2000
ARTS
On the cover of
"Rolling Stone":
Writers turned stars
A2 jazz Dancers felt *
The Baltimore Sun
Back in 1972, the group Dr. Hook
spoke for countless musicians when it
sang about what a thrill it would be "to
see my smiling face/On the cover of the
Rolling Stone."
But there were also those whose
dream was to see the story they wrote
on the cover of Rolling Stone. These
were kids who read Rolling Stone in
high school and college, who used its
profiles and reviews to stoke their own
knowledge and enthusiasm, and who
revered the writers almost as much as
they did the stars.
It's not the most common rock 'n'
roll dream, but it's the one at the heart
of director Cameron Crowe's new film,
"Almost Famous." Largely based on his
own, experiences as a teen-age writer
for America's most famous music mag-
azine, the film not only shows what it
was like to be behind the scenes in the
age of Fleetwood Mac and Led Zep-
pelin, but offers a hard look at the diffi-
culties involved in walking the line
between fandom and journalism.
The fact that the film's central char-
acter, like Crowe himself, entered this
world at the tender age of 15 may make
the world of "Almost Famous" seem
slightly fantastic. After all, most writers
who do get published in Rolling Stone
don't start until they're well into their
20s.
So what's it like to see your name as
a byline in Rolling Stone?
"When my first piece ran, I thought I
was famous," said Anthony DeCurtis, a
Cameron Crowe, above with Jimmy Page, was first published in "RS" at the age of 15.
the heat or
By Charity Atchison
For the Daly
The eight-member Ann Arbor Jazz
Dance Theater premiered two of their
latest works in a showcase last Friday at
the Mendelssohn Theater.f
"Life After" was by far the most 1
enjoyable piece of the evening. Carry-t
ing a tranquil feeling, "Life After"
evolved from peacefulness into happi-1
ness. The solo, performed by Leanne
Supernaw, was enjoyable. Supernaw ;
gave the illusion of being in flight, and
her movements mimicked those of a 1
Rolling Stone contributing editor who .
had his first byline in the magazine in
1980.
"I really thought that everybody who
wrote for Rolling Stone was famous,
and that people would be stopping me
on the street" he said. "I mean, it made
no sense - I don't know how they
were even supposed to know who I
was. But that's what it felt like, it was
like I'd made it.
"But that certainly proved not to be
the case for some time."
When DeCurtis started writing for
the magazine, he was 29 and living in
Atlanta. At the time, the B-52's were
one of the hottest new acts in the coun-
try, and the quintet - which originally
hailed from Athens, Ga. - was about
to give its first concert in Georgia in
over a year.
Thinking the event newsworthy,
DeCurtis pitched the idea in a letter to
then--Rolling Stone editor Jim Henke.
"One afternoon, the phone rang,"
recalled DeCurtis. "It was Jim Henke.
He says, 'Look, I have no idea who you
are or what your work is like. But why
don't you go review the show ? And if
it's good, we'll run it.' So that was how I
got my first assignment."
Not only did the piece run, but
DeCurtis quickly scored several more
assignments. "This created this very
false sense of confidence on my part"
he said. "I thought, 'Well, gee, this is
kind of easy.' And I was quickly dis-
abused of that notion. I was assigned a
piece on the Athens scene, which was
the first long piece I wrote."
Although the editors said they liked
the story, it never ran. "I essentially
didn't hear from them after that for
another two or three years," DeCurtis
said.
Eventually, though, his persistence
paid off: After a couple years of free-
lancing, he was hired by the magazine
in 1986 and was a senior editor when
he left in 1995.
Not every writer sees making it
into the pages of Rolling Stone as a
ticket to stardom, but nearly all see
it as a turning point in their careers.
Elysa Gardner, currently a music
and theater critic at USA Today,
says that when she first saw her
byline in Rolling Stone in 1991, she
simply sat and stared at the page in
disbelief.
"I was incredulous," she said. "I
had grown up reading the magazine.
It was, to me, unbelievable that I
would have my name in there."
Jazz Dance
Theater
Mendelssohn Theater
Sept. 29, 2000
both arabesque and
swan.
The choreogra-
phy, directed by
Adam and Lisa
Darby Clark,
seemed at its best
during this solo.
Supernaw uti-
lized the entire
stage, and
demonstrated
aspects of her
technical train-
ing. Supernaw's
strength was the
line of her leg in
attitude while the
I
iFriday
whole. The opening piece "Parting of
Ways"reflected a very somber tone.
Michael Marchand had a stage chem-
istry with the other dancers, which he
showed off in "Parting of Ways" and
"Let it Speak." In "Parting of Ways," he
seemed a focal character in the plot. At
the end of the piece when all of the
other dancers shun Darby Clark, he
appeared as if he would console her, but
left her too, as did the group.
"Parting of Ways" seem'ed to exhibit
an inner conflict between Marchand
and Darby Clark from his entrance.
During the first section of the piece,
Darby Clark sat center stage and stared
into the audience. This sequence
seemed to be the riskiest of the night.
After that, the choreography all became
the same.
The ensemble also demonstrated its
ability to work as a group. However, as
the program continued, the dancers did
not appear to be enjoying their work.
"Feel the Heat," for example, had
choreography that spoke with the
music; however, it was disappointing
that more of the dancers failed to
become enthralled in the piece. The
music and choreography meant to pro-
duce a very sexual vibe, but the dancers
seemed to skirt around the interpreta-
tion of the music.
The final piece of the performance,
"In Retrospect," had a jazz feel to it. All
of the members of the cast finally
danced this piece and made it clear that
they enjoyed what they were doing.
burned to death.
The author is defined as an adult by
his close childhood relationships with
his older siblings and his troubled
relationship with his younger ones.
Dolan's need to reconcile and come to
terms with his estrangement from his
brother is the impetus for the narra-
tion of the book; the reader senses
that the writing of this book was
cathartic and part of a long and diffi-
cult healing process.
J.D. Dolan is a man who began
working in his profession, writing,
relatively late in life. He did not
receive an expensive education or
extensive training. He is a man who
simply has a knack for writing things
beautifully and with honesty.
"Phoenix: A Brother's Life" is a
memorable piece of work, and it
could serve as a model for dealing
with the death of a loved one grace-
fully. It will provide the reader with
an insight into an all-Amnerican fami-
ly and the relationship of two brothers
who loved very much, but sadly, got
burned.
Clarks utilized both poses frequently in
this solo.
The Clark's choreography was very
suited to the talents of his dancers. Jazz
Dance Theater had wonderful turns in
unison and beautiful extensions as a
I
University of Michigan Business School's
Dean B. Joseph Mhite
invites you to attend the...
Dean's Speaker Series
PRESENTED BY...
Harvey Golub
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
PHOENIX
Continued from Page 9A
town in which John dies, and Dolan
notes the inherent irony of that fact.
John's death represents new beginnings,
as well; the day of John's funeral is the
same day that Dolan first becomes a
published writer. As his brother's life is
ending, a significant new chapter in
Dolan's life is beginning.
The reader learns early in the story
that at the time of John's accident,
Dolan and his brother have not spoken
in five years. Dolan himself is not sure
of why this is so, but his unresolved
feelings of anger and hurt, as well as
the knowledge that these feelings will
likely remain unresolved, are a major
part of the story.
One soon discovers that Dolan's
brother was in a horrible accident and is
suffering from severe burns on 90 per-
cent of his body. A large portion of the
book is set while Dolan is keeping vigil
with his family on the burn unit of the
hospital. Here, too, Dolan's brother rep-
resents a phoenix; John is literally
Tuesday, October 3, 2000
4:30 PM
HALE AUDITORIUM
on Tappan & Hill
L/
Q & A & Reception to follow
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