2D - New Student Edition -The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 6, 2000
DEMF
Continued from Page 1D
recruits such as Hawtin and Stacey
Pullen, who would later follow in
the footsteps of the first wave of
Detroit techno innovators.
After the quick demise of The
Music Institute and the mass exodus
of Detroit's most talented techno
artists for Europe, a vacuum existed
within the city's tiny electronic
music scene. It was at this time that
a second wave of individuals
stepped up and re-ignited the city's
scene.
Radio DJs such as Alan Oldham
and Claude Young invaded the air-
ways and began introducing Detroit
to the latest techno sounds. Record
labels such as Underground Resis-
tance, Plus 8 and Carl Craig's Planet
E began crafting a new, diverse style
of techno influenced by their forefa-
thers. To top things off, Hawtin and
System began throwing all-night
techno parties in ghetto warehouse
spaces such as the infamous Packard
Plant, where many people first dis-
covered the recreational wonderland
of electronic music culture.
For the rest of the '90s, Detroit's
scene changed slowly but continued
to grow one person at a time. An
increasing number of DJs and pro-
ducers entered the scene with new
sounds and renewed enthusiasm.
The occasional rave parties became
a weekly ritual for many who sought
the unknown, while a club scene
began to sprout up for those who
sought a sense of security and safe-
ty.
It's now 2000, and Detroit's scene
has emerged from the shadowy
domain of a myth. In addition to the
unprecedented success of the
DEMF, there are other
reasons to get excit-
ed about the
nearby Detroit
scene. For
starters, IN4
though q.
m any m ay
d is pu t e .,
this point,
no city in ;
A m ericea <r
calls itself
h home to as <
many amazing
DJs as Detroit.
Names such as
Derrick Plaslaiko and'
Carlos Souffront may not
carry much equity at the moment,
but there is little denying the fact
that these up-and-coming DJs could
put many of the world's superstar
DJs to shame.
In addition, a club scene has
begun to blossom in the city, slowly
replacing the continually disinte-
grating rave scene. Motor still reigns
as the city's most likely club to see
the best DJs, but many members of
the scene have abandoned the club
as increasing numbers of non-loyal
thrill seekers come see what all the
hype is about. New clubs such as
Tonic, Platinum and Science have
entered the electronic music scene,
each offering a different
atmosphere and cul-
tur.
F in a 11y, a
recent spurt of
high-quality
techno on
user-friend-
ly CD for-
mat has
arisen from
Detroit's
once exclu-
sively vinyl
' m e n t a I i t y.
Within the
past year, Rolan-
do's "Aztec Mix,"
Hawtin's "Decks,
EFX and 909," Detroit
Grand Pubahs' "Sandwiches" and
Dan Bell's "The Button-Down Mind
of Daniel Bell" have each won
acclaim. If that isn't enough, new
CDs by Carl Craig, DJ Assault and
a re-issued collection of Plus 8's
classics promise to keep Detroit's
burgeoning scene in the spotlight.
Local, campus theater
featurei
By Jenni Glenn
Weekend, Etc. Editor
New students tend to be aware of the
University's academic and athletic repu-
tation, but they don't always see the
range of cultural opportunities available
until they arrive. In the last year alone,
students have had the opportunity to see
performances such as Shakespeare's
"The Tempest," the Buena Vista Social
Club and the New York City Opera
National Company's "Barber of Seville"
on campus. This year's selection aims to
be bigger and better.
One of the primary sponsors of cam-
pus events, University Productions, is
the organization behind the musical the-
ater, drama and dance department
shows. University Productions offers
two shows a month during most of the
school year. This year's schedule
includes Arthur Miller's "A View from
the Bridge," George and Ira Gershwin's
"Of Thee I Sing" and Harper Lee's "To
Kill a Mockingbird." Students can pur-
chase tickets to these events forjust S7.
Another sponsor, University Musical
exciting
Society, brings outside acts to Ann
Arbor stages such as the Power Center,
Hill Auditorium and the Mendelssohn
Theater. This year's performances will
feature violinist itzhak Perlman, Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater, the
Royal Shakespeare Company and the
Buena Vista Social Club-sponsored
Omara Portuondo.
The cultural atmosphere also includes
productions by student-run groups,
which allow anyone to get involved
behind the scenes or onstage. MUS-
KET, for example, puts on two musical
theater shows at the Power Center each
year. Rude Mechanicals produces two
or three dramatic performances at
Mendelssohn Theater each year, includ-
ing one Shakespeare show. RC Players,
another theater troupe, is based in the
residential college in East Quad.
Students can bring their own vision of
a show to life on a small scale through
Basement Arts. The organization offers
those with an idea for a performance a
S100 budget and a weekend at the
Arena Theater in the basement of the
Frieze Building. Many directing. stu-
shows
dents take advantage of this opportunity,
but it is open to anyone. The cozy Arena
Theater provides the perfect venue to
push the boundaries of performance art.
Artists performing at North Cam
Media Union incorporate multimedia
into their work for this purpose. The
Media Union often houses independent
productions by students or special mul-
timedia presentations.
In addition, Ann Arbor offers a vari-
ety of theater groups. Performance Net-
work and the Purple Rose Theater
Company both produce shows in the
downtown area. Students, frequently
appear in the casts of these productions.
The University of Michigan Gilbert 0
Sullivan Society also involves coopera-
tion between members of the communi-
ty and students. The theater troupe
performs two Gilbert and Sullivan
shows each year.
The variety of theater groups allows
many people to get involved and offers
different types of shows for audience
members. The selection and quality
ensures that theater will continue tol
a place of importance in campus life.
/ 2'.i rty Strut
Vie
Ann Arbor's Alternative Video Store
CD SHOPS
Continued from Page ID
Ann Arbor's most critically
acclaimed record store has long
been School Kids Records, now
known as School Kids in Exile.
Located underneath Bivouac on
State Street, the independent record
RECORD
STORES
Borders Books & Music:
612ELiherty,66 -7100
DiscountRecords:
300 S. Stne,665.3679
Encore Recall:
417E. LOrty, 66246776
ffs Records:
617rPackard, 663-3441
The Record Exchange:
11103 S.University, 997'9211
Schoolkids in Exile:
332 S. State, 663.7248
SKR?
523E.LhbIbt,827-2340
Waoo
336S. State, 761-686
store has been located in Ann
Arbor for almost 30 years, and has
been mentioned in such music pub-
lications as Billboard and We Mag-
azine.
To foster sales from such an
unlikely location, School Kids in
Exile often sells albums at or below
cost, and relies on word of mouth
and support from local artists to
bring in new customers.
The store also does a fair amount
of business over the internet, sell-
ing albums from its personal web-
site, wwiIi.schoolkids.ccoml.
Although the store currently only
stocks around 2,000 titles at any.
given time, including a very limited
number of used products, founder
and manager Steve Bergman is con-
fident that he can have nearly any
requested album in his store within
two days. School Kids in Exile also
has access to many local releases
that larger corporate stores tend to
overlook.
SKR Records is another of Ann
Arbor's prominent retail music out-
lets.
Divided into three separate stores
highlighting different genres of
music, SKR offers a wide variety of
choices for the music shopper.
Between the Blues & Jazz, Clas-
sical, and Pop & Rock stores, SKR
has around 30,000 new and used
titles on compact disc. The store
also offers a selection of dance
albums on vinyl, but does not gen-
erally carry cassettes or other
records in stock.
Among the record stores that
deal heavily in used records, none
can boast the selection of Encore
Records, located at the intersection
of Thompson and E. Liberty.
Claiming a whopping 100,000 used
compact discs and nearly 50,000
used records on vinyl, Encore will
buy any used album that comes
their way, provided they don't
already have it in stock.
Encore's selection of music
ranges from popular to marchinu.
band to accordion, and many '
their albums are out of print in
United States. Encore generally
pays about S4.50 cash for, any
album they have a need for, more in
trade value, and their used discs
sell for around S8. The store
doesn't even bother with new
albums, but if you're looking to
unload some CDs you don't listen
to anymore, or want to find
older album without paying spe
order prices, Encore is the place to
look.
The Record Exchange, located on
S. University, is another store that
focuses on used records, with about
50 percent of their business coming
from used record purchases and
sales.
With CD prices starting at S.50
for used merchandise, the Record
Exchange caters to both new
used music shoppers.
Voted the top used record store
by Daily readers in this year's Best
of Ann Arbor Weekend edition, the
Record Exchange also carries
posters, t-shirts and other music
collectibles, as well videos, DVDs
and game system equipment.
I International
*Hong Kong Action
*New Releases
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U PPLI ES
WCBN radio uses mostly students to staff its freeform radio shows. ,
Michigan Book & Supply
is Ann Ar1.or's complete soirce
for the best in art supplies and
materials.
*Paint, ink and pigments
*Mediums and varnishes
* Brushes and canvas
*Drawing supplies
*Drafting equipment
*Ceramic supplies
*Easels and paint boxes
* Printmaking sup lies
IAP Qpclprf in nart 1 c r
r
per.
;+
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WCBN
Continued from Page 1D
"I found that Ann Arbor, even for
a really liberal campus did not have
a source for a lot of music that peo-
ple really like there's not even a
Grateful Dead hour on any of the
local stations. Although there is a lot
of great music played, there really is
no place to find music from people
like the Dead, Phish or the String
Cheese Incident." Goodman said. "I
realized that it would be great if I
could share that with listeners while
also helping to round out the sta-
tion."
This desire to share different
musical tastes and styles is what
makes WCBN the eclectic mix that
it is today. Referred to as innovative
and creative by Tausig, the station
prides itself on diversity.
"We really give students the
opportunity they can't find at other
campus radio stations," said Farr.
"We don't give them a list of 50
songs they have to choose from, we
give them a library of 50,000 records
and CD's and ask them to brin their
WCBN relies on volunteers to k
the station running.
Although there is no paycheck for
working at WCBN, Tausig explained
that once people start working for
the station, they realize how unique
it is and feel willing to work largely
out of a sense of pride.
This pride also comes from the
high esteem given to the station by
those inside the music industry.
"We are a very respected station in
the college music industry, but
don't get recognized very open
said Farr. "The college music trade
journals, like CMJ, more heavily
weight our play lists ... putting a
band's record as our number one will
almost guarantee a top twenty spot,
even if nobody else mentions them."
The fact that the station is well-
respected should not discourage.stu-
dents from becoming involv ,
though. Tausig said that the sta
ecstatic to have new members and
encouraged everyone with an interest
to try to get involved.
The commitment to retaining a
broad range of non-radio music on
the station leaves the student awith
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