12- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, July 5, 1995
Outrageous Cherry
M : sweeten the local scene
By Heather Phares
Daily Arts Editor
Let's face it, accidents happen. But
sometimes accidents can be a powerful cre-
ative force, especially when itcomes to the
ever-changing music world. Matthew
Smith, the leader of Detroit's finest pop
band, Outrageous Cherry,knows all about
the positive effects of accidents. The band
was even formed that way: "The people
involved (in the band) came together by
jamming together in basements. I was
asked to put together a tape of my songs by
the Replacements' manager, and he
wanted to hear my songs with a band. So I
put the band together for a four song tape.
Ididn't want to be the frontman for a band,
but the minute I got together with Chad
(Gilchrist, the group's bassist) and Larry
(Ray, the lead guitarist) and our original
drummer Suzanne, we just knew we were
a band. Of course, when we sent the tape in
to the guy, he hated it! But at least I was
happy with it," Smith laughed.
Outrageous Cherry also fell into their
unusual name, and like everything con-
nected with the band, it has astory attached
to it. "Actually, a friend of mine made up
thename," Smith explained laconically. "It
was from a project we were working onto-
gether that sort of fell by the wayside. Her
idea was an all-girl band that sounded like
Petula Clark, but that fell apart. What we
were doing seemed to be a continuation of
that project; even though we have this re-
ally raw approach, we want our songs to be
as catchy as Petula Clark's."
By any standards, Smith's songs are
catchy. The fuzzy pop exhibited on Outra-
geous Cherry's eponymous debut albumis
both '60s retro and'90s clever,not to men-
tion just plain fun to listen to. But Smith
doesn't stick to playing just one kind of
music; he's played with local acts as di-
verse as the country-rock group the
Volebeats and the noisy dream-pop of His
Name Is Alive's offshoot the Dirt Eaters.
How does he balance this much musical
diversity?"I've developed an acute person-
ality disorder," Smith joked. He added
Outrageous Cherry help keep the local music scene vital.
Beale Street Blues
this five-piece blues band appears at
Chris' Lounge and Grill (220
Oakwood, Detroit, between Fort and
Shaefer) on this Saturday, July 8.
Since 1993, Beale Street has been
playing a variety of blues styles like
gshicago blues, jump blues and Texas
blues. The band cites influences from
the old (B.B. King) to the new and
obscure (Lou AnneBarton). Their
straight-ahead style and insistent
groove make them an enduring and
enjoyable live band. Call 8494099
for more information.
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more seriously, "I never have felt com-
pelled to be a musician in just one band. I
get bored really easily. I've always felt
driven to play as many different types of
music as Ican."
He also likes to record as much as pos-
sible. Though his band has been touring
increasingly (including a recent gig with
Wilco) Smith said,"I like recording. Play-
ing shows is fun butI really miss working
in the studio. Given the choice between
touring and meeting all kinds of interesting
people and being in acold, dark basement
with a tape machine, Ithink I'd rather be it
the basement!"he laughed.
Keeping up with the local musicscen(
is another one of Smith's vocations an
avocations: "I think it's the most vital mu
sic scene in the world outside of Nev
Zealand," he said. "The creative people i
Detroit have found an outlet for their wo4
instead of sitting in their bedrooms an(
having nervous breakdowns. The band
just go out and make music because the}
are possessed by it." Much like Smith him
self, and that's no accident.
Jerry and the rest of the Dead take a long, strange trip to the P
By Jon Altshul The boys were clearly in top-form and mic celebration before Vince tapped out fluke, the Dead broke
For the Daily even a brief foray into the annals of Jerry the unmistakable "Foolish Heart" piano "Loser," in which Jerry del
Somewhere God was smiling kindly, balladeria (A la "Ramble on Rose") lick, driving the audience into an un- est performance of the eve
knowing that he'd scheduled the two ugli- couldn't sink the aural armada the Dead abashed frenzy. Even Jerry's complete In all, however, the nig
est days of summer to coincide perfectly were sailing. slaughtering of the first verse couldn't de- Bobby, who lead the gro
with the only indoor shows of the Grateful The Dead finished out the set with an rail the Dead. However, he more than ex- monstrous "Black Throatc
Dead'ssummertour. undanceable "Queen Jane Approxi- oneratedhimself with aheavenly solothat then a perfectly focused
And while the cold rain extinguished mately,"a fresh "Lazy River Road"and an seemed to tread somewhere between Jupi- Never Stopped" to closer
every gas grill and hack circle in the park- upbeat "Etemity," before closing with the ter andIowa. not before Phil Lesh coul
ing lot- and even raised false hopes of a ever-popular "Don't Ease MeIn." And while "Foolish Heart" may have way through Dylan's "T
"Looks Like Rain"-Dead faithful were beentheshow'shighlight,Vince's"It'sAll Blues" and Jerry could
unfazed. After all, the boys were in town tEVi E. Too Much," which followed, glowed steamrolling "Big Railroat
for a two night gig, and a real, American j equally bright, despite the crowd'sgeneral Granted, Jerry got onei
clambake was about to happen. Grateful Dead non-reaction. What came next ("Corrina," every four that he got wror
The first show kicked off smoothly The l "The Last Time") however, was merely dampening any musical co
with a rollicking "Greatest Story Ever J a2819 average. Even "Standing On the Moon," first two verses might hav
Told," followed by an equally energetic June 27 and 28,1995 one of the better recent Dead numbers, as every god-fearing Deas
"Bertha," which, despite a few lyrical mis- failed to transcend the obvious. the worse they sing, the be
cues by Jerry Garcia, established a carefree Sadly, the end of the set lacked the When it seemed that the band had ex- And play they did, disc
karma between musician and audience. vigor and playfulness of the beginning, but hausted its juju, though, Bobby tookcenter Cat" into an amorphous j
Bobby kept spirits soaring with an assertive the boys seemed to be having a great time, stage with a refreshing "Sugar Magnolia" nally catalyzed a sort of r
"Minglewood Blues," which climaxed and as the ominous sound of thunder vi- into "Sunshine Daydream"toclose the set. war, pitting Bobby and]
with two ticklish solos from Vince brated outside during set break, that Thesong blossomedintoakaleidoscopeof rhythmic interplay agai
Welnick and Bobby Weir. seemed to be all that mattered. unmitigated fun with Bobby dancing Vince's melodic bravado
A.tIrlygrtn"-ctimortlf_-senme" a1tounotne ..ageii_..e-st .,..-y..1..r-oiOA, pisying . ou, n~."t
alace
out a kille
ivered his fin
sing.
ht belongedt
up through
ed Wind" an
"The Music
ut the set, bu
id screech hi
om Thumb'
pound out
d Blues."
word right fo
rg, ultimat
alescence t
e offered. Bu
ihead knows
tter they play.
arding "Chin
am, which fi
usical tug-of-
Phil's subtle
nst Jerry an
. As Bobby'
T r 1, '
i
ST IR
A arygaing "Victim or the Crime"
opened the second set, before releasing into
a wicked, limb-shaking jam. The jam
moved from smooth blues into a cataclys-
Students:
"If your hair isn't becoming to
you, you should be
coming-10 us."
around the stage like a f5-year-old, playing
out some wholesome adolescent fantasy of
being a power trio rock star. His perfor-
mance was laughably terrific, and the audi-
ence responded appropriately. "Liberty"
encored the show, but by this time the
crowd's attention had clearly drifted.
The next evening opened with an ad-
venturous "Mississippi Half Step Uptown
Toodeloo," that once again established an
up tempo for the first set. After an aggres-
sive, feelgood "Good Morning Little
Schoolgirl" which confirmed yesterday's
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Absolom rebelled against Jerry, sJDa
Jerry seemed to tire, allowing the pro
gal son to retuin to his father in return for
rock and roll's ultimate tribute to the ar-
chetypal lost traveler finding shelter, "I
Know You Rider." As the opus played
out and the six maestros exchanged ten
der, sweat-soaked smiles between them
selves, the temporal man was allowed
one sweet, long stare into the celestial
paradise that the band had concocted.
This heaven-on-earth motif realized it-
self again in "Estimated Prophet," wl
builtitselfup perfectly soas to emphasize
the relentless anticipation of attaining sal-
vation. Yet, the set offered more than philo-
sophical andspiritualbaggage, particularly
when the group moved into a feel-good
"Uncle John's Band," which no one
seemed to remember the words to. Still.
when Bobby belted out "how does this
song go?" he flashed a quick grin at Jerry
who allowedhimselfaknowingchuckle.
As the show ended and the audie@
waspermiuedonelastglimpseoftheboys
wewerereminded-perhaps, formanyol
usforthe lasttime-oftheunmistakabk
beauty of six old geezers, warts, wrinkles
and all, who, gosh damit,just love to play
UEATHIIT5, AND UIUTTUN flATO.
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998-3480
Open Monday Through Friday 9 AM-7 PM,
Sat 10-7, Sun 10-6