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Page 14 -The Michigan Daily -Sunday, August 5, 1984
Asleep at the Wheel is really wide awake
By Joseph Kraus
I N ADDITION TO being one of the hazards of
late-night automobile travel, Asleep at the Wheel
is one of the best purveyors of that strange musical
hybrid known as western swing.
Led by Ray Benson, the band has enjoyed success
in different types of media, but have remained truest
to their honky-tonk roots.
Formed in the early '70s, the band released its first
album, Comin' Right At Ya, on United Artists.
Eleven years and an almost uncountable number of
personnel changes later, they've put out a total of
eight records on four different major labels.
Critically they've done well having been nominated
for Grammies as best country instrumental band of
the year each year between 1975 and 1978, as well as
winning one for their instrumental number, "One
O'Clock Jump" in '78.
"Country", however, is a term that must grate at
them a bit.
Western swing, as it is known, is a genre that had
all but died from inattention until Asleep got hold of
it. It was born of a marriage of big band swing styles
with western country/bluegrass.
While Duke Ellington and his ilk ruled the contem-
porary music scene, western swing was right behind,
playing to large houses all across the country and
producing its own bevy of stars. But with the decline
of big bands, performers like Bob Wills, Spade
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Cooley, and Tennessee Ernie Ford became in-
creasingly obscure.
Asleep sparked a renaissance of sorts when they
began playing western swing, and inspired others
like Merle Haggard and Commander Cody to become
interested in the lost genre as well. Over a full decade
later, though, it seems apparent that they have
stuck most closely to the traditional sound.
Benson is the band's leader both in title and
execution. In spite of frequent personnel changes, he
has managed to keep an air of consistency to the band
without letting their sound grow old. Also, standing
over six feet tall with long red hair, he can't help but
dominate the stage.
Other members of the band include Tom Anastasio
on bass, Paul Anastasio on fiddle, "Boogie-woogie
Bob" Evans on piano, Wally "Gums" Murphy on
pedal steel guitar, and Chris O'Connell as second
vocalist.
With its variety of instruments, Asleep has
managed some unique sounds. They have written
music for four movie soundtracks: Wanda Nevada,
Roadie, Willie and Phil, and Liars Moon, and are
working on yet another album (with Willie Nelson co-
producing), but they are, and probably always will be
most comfortable on the stage.
Asleep at the Wheel makes its second Ann Arbor
stop in as many years tonight at Rick's.
Tickets are $8.50 and available at Rick's, P.J.'s, and
Schoolkids. The show is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
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Gun Club - Gun
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Shirley Burgoyne Has All The
Qualities We Need In A Probate Judge
e Experience:
U of M, J.D. 1956
Lawyer for 28 years
* Intelligence:
Can solve complex
problems & render
firm decisions
* Maturity:
51 years old
Mother of 3
adult children
* Commitment:
To helping
families, parents
and children
By Larry Dean
T HERE IS A growing interest in
America for the study of psychic
phenomena. What with the proven box,
office pizzazz of flicks such as
Poltergeist and Ghostbusters, the con-
tinued popularity of Sidney Omarr and
Joyce Jillson's horoscopical musings,
the strange case of the Amityville haun-
ting, Uri Geller's ultimately-poo-pooed
psychokinesis, and the million other
unsung incidents of ghostly and/or
paranormal nature, the possibilities for
exploring the hitherto overlooked
realms of the human condition are
myriad and pulse-pounding.
One facet of this so-called "psychic
phenomenon" is deja vu, a French
phrase which, roughly translated,
means seen before. It refers to the
times we all experience when we catch
ourselves saying "Boy, I remember
being here before!" or "This is
strangely familiar!"
Ever enter a house or restaurant and
swear you've entered it before,
whereas you know-because your
"rational" side tells you-that this is
the first time you've ever been there?
Or have you met a person for the first
time, and been sure you've met him
previously, although you know you
haven't? That's deja vu.'
There'll be something of a sense of
deja vu tonight when the Gun
Club-with special guests Grief Fac-
tory-return to Ann Arbor to play at the
Blind Pig, in what is purported to be the
first in a possible rash of such gigs by
out-of-town bands to grace the all-new
illustrious Pig.
When seen before, the Gun Club
played at the late, lamented Mile High
Club, above the old Heidelburg. That
space has undergone a number of name
changes and identity crises of its own,
but essentially, the Gun Club were one
of the biggest of the biggies to have
played there.
So the Blind Pig is both going to be a
debut gig for the band, and a return
engagement. Hopefully this time, the
fire marshall won't declare the perfor-
mance area a fire hazard, and cut the
gig short, as was the case with the
Clubbing Gunners last time.
But a word on what's in store, for the
uninformed. The Gun Club is Jeffrey
Lee Pierce, the nucleus of all held near
and dear in the G.C. philosophy. Pierce
and his cohorts (a revolving-door assor-
tment of backing players) recorded a
fine first LP, Fire of Love, for Ruby
Records, former home of the Dream
Syndicate, as well. On it, Pierce went
all-out with the mutant backwoods
blues Gun Club stylistics, moaning it up
like a modern day Robert Johnson, that
old time blues man whose classic "At
the Crossroads" was the inspiration for
Keith Richards, John Mayall, and Eric
Clapton, to name buta few blues-tinged
guitar-playing heroes whose names
might ring a few ringside bells for our
reading audience. However, Pierce
went for the blues jugular via the route
of the Cramps, turning off a mile or so
after that bunch did, and with able
production by the Flesh Eaters' Chris D
to account for, too, the resulting LP was
mournfully macabre and boppy.
Next came Miami, on Chris Stein's
songwriting producer/guitarmeister
behind Blondie (. . . remember them?)
Animal Records label, wherein the
blues got mixed with the reds, mints,
beiges, and fuchsias, screaming forth a
different and decidedly more arty Gun
Club. Woah, though, just listen to
"Watermelon Man" or "John Hardy"
and know the truth! Beastly vibes.
The Death Party EP or two has lead
Pierce and tag-alongs to the recent Las
Vegas Story, for which he and the other
three gun-toting Clubbers are making
this club jaunt. If you like a lot of the
psychedelics, drone-o-mania bands
wafting from the West these days, then
the Gun Club is no doubt your duffle.
Tickets are $5 at the door. For more
information, call 996-8555; The Blind
Pig has been and probably still is
located at 2085 First Street.
There is a Growing interest in
America for the study of psychic
phenomenon. What with the proven box
office pizzazz flicks such as
See GUN, Page 14
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* VOTE*
AUGUST 7
You Can Be Confident That Shirley
Will Be An Outstanding Judge
BURGOYNE
FOR PROBATE JUDGE
Paid for by Shirley Burgoyne for Probate Judge Committee
206 Miller, Ann Arbor, M ~.
Daily Classified
Bring Results
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