The Michigan Daily -Tuesday. uly 24 1984 -Page 11
'Gatemouth' Brown
takes blues and adds
swing and country
By Joseph Kraus
IT HAS BECOME an oft-chanted cry
of late that, "The blues aren't dead!
Look, this guy's only thirty and he plays
like the old-time pros." Heartening as it
certainly is that a new generation of
bluesmen are coming through (with
stars like Robert Cray and Matt Mur-
phy), let's not forget that the old-timers
are still going strong too.
Clarence Brown, "Gatemouth" to his
fans, has been playing his unique blend
of blues and big-band swing music for
over 35 years and he's still going
strong-stronger than ever, perhaps.
Long before his 1982 Grammy award,
and long before Frank Zappa called
him one of his favorite guitarists he was
already one of the stars of Texas blues.
Gatemouth began playing
professionally as a drummer in the San
Antonio area. Legend has it that one
day during a break in a show by the
great T-Bone Walker, Gatemouth
picked up Walker's guitar and played a'
set that so impressed the manager that
he gave him his own solo gig soon after.
That same manager, Don Robey,
later founded an independent label,
Peacock Records, and signed
Gatemouth as his biggest name.
Gatemouth stayed with Peacock from
1947 to 1960 when he moved to Nash-
ville. During those 13 'years he con-
sistently recorded music that was ex-
citing and innovative to the point of
being ahead of its time. In fact, Roun-
der Records recently released The
Original Peacock Recordings, a com-
pilation of those early years, to
renewed critical acclaim.
Gatemout spent the bult of the '60s
recording in Nashville, where he
became more influenced by country
music. 1971 saw him make his first
European tour, and his success over-
seas prompted many returns. He has
appeared at the Montreaux Jazz, Nice
Jazz, Berline Jazz, and Bern Jazz
Festivals several times.
Toward the end of the '70s,
Gatemouth began working with Roy
Clark of "I'm a grinnin' " fame. The par-
tnership culminated in Makin' Music,
released on MCA, along with appearan-
ces on Hee Haw and Austin City Limits.
In 1981 Gatemouth signed with Roun-
der, his current label. His first release
for them, Alright Again, won a Gram-
my for best traditional blues recording;
was voted album of the year in the
German Record Critics' Poll; and won
him instrumentalist of the year honors
from the W. C. Handy Awards.
The last couple years have seen
Gatemouth touring all over. This stop is
his first in Ann Arbor since August of
'82. He plays Wednesday and Thursday
night at Rick's, as part of the fifth an-
niversary of the American Cafe.
ANNARO
L2j NVIDALTEARES
1:00 P.M. SHOWS $2.00
- SENIORS EVERY EVEN. $3.00
FRI. " SAT. " TUES.11:45 PM SHOW
NIOVIt1 IE?
TUES. 1:00, 710,9:20 11:45 PM
WED. 1:00, 7:10, 9:20
JAMES STEWART
DORIS DAY
IN
ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S
THE MAN WHO
KNEW TOO
MUCH
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown has been strumming, swinging, and stomping
around the U.S. and Europe for over 35 years. The 1982 Grammy award win-
ner comes to Rick's on Wednesday and Thursday nights.
Dear Diary: I liked it after all
(Continuedfrom Page 10)
Fidalma, who is Geronimo's sister, is
trying to ensnare Paolino who is, of
course, already married to Carolina,
but can't find a way to tell Geronimo
because he'll get mad at Carolina but
Fidalma and Elisetta are already mad
at Carolina and they convince
Geronimo to send Carolina to a convent
but she doesn't want to go there and so
she tries to run away with Paolino but
then they're caught but then the Baron
(bless his heart) agrees to marry
Elisetta and everyone is happy in-
cluding Fidalma who really ended up
empty handed and empty hearted.
This simple, easy-to-follow plot was
made easy enough to understand
because of the singing. A typical scene
might have gone something like this:
Let's say Carolina wants to leave the
room. Well, first they sing about her
thinking about leaving the room. Then
let's say Carolina decides she does in-
deed want to leave the room. Well, they
sing about her decision. Then she starts
to go and they sing about that. Then she
opens the door and they sing about her
opening the door. Then she leaves and
they sing about her leaving. Then, if
your unlucky, she re-enters the room
because she forgot something. And then
they have to do it all over again.
All that may sound tedious, but
somehow it isn't. I think it's only
tedious when you're listening to an
opera record and you don't like opera
music. Then it's tedious. But when
you're actually at an opera, you're not
just listening, you're also watching.
And that makes it not only tolerable,
but fun.
For one thing, the singers use
exaggerated expressions and gestures.
Kind of like the silent film stars of the
1920s. That way, even if the opera is
sung in another language you can still
probably follow it.
And when you go to a comic opera
like The Secret Marriage, it's the
humor that is getting exaggerated by
the exaggerated expressions and
gestures. So somehow the lines come
off sounding twice as funny as if they
were spoken.
And there were plenty of funny lines
. . . plenty of: laughs. Geronimo, the
father, is hard of hearing. He opens the
second act with the comment, "I don't
understand it : . . All of these people
have taken to mumbling and they tell
that I'm hard of hearing."
Later, in that same act, Fidalma con-
fesses her love to Paolino.
They open with:
Fidalma: "Were you thinking of
me?"
Paolino: "I deny it."
Fidalma: "And I was thinking of you
toot!"
Clearly, Fidalma understands only
what she wants to. And so while
Geronimo may have a hearing
problem, Fidalma has a listening
problem. Just about everyone in The
Secret Marriage has a hearing or a
listening problem.
I think a lot of people have a listening
problem. Specifically, they don't listen
to opera. I know I didn't. Maybe I still
don't like to listen to it. At least not
enough to run out and buy a whole bun-
ch of opera records.
But I know I liked seeing it. And I
know I want to see more of it. And I
think a lot of people would be surprised
at how listenable it really is when its
also acted out ina visual performance.
Check the opera out this fall. It's not
expensive - some of the seats sell for
only a dollar or two more than a movie.
And the University opera program has
a good reputation. So look into it . . . I
think you'll be surprised and pleased
with the results.
I know I was.
mahttg
Classitieds
get
results!
(PG)
TUES. 1:00, 7:30, 9:40, 11:45 PM
WED. 1:00, 7:30, 9:40