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Catherine Wheel spin into the Michigan
By Use Harwin
Daily Arts Writer
Think, for a moment, of bands that are
named after torture devices. Your first
thought, after having watched Bill and
Ted's Excellent Adventure, is naturally
of Iron Maiden. After some more ponder-
ing, however, you may or may not realize
that the Catherine Wheel is also a medi-
eval torture device. And, with some more
time, you might even realize that the lead
vocalist of Catherine Wheel, Rob
Dickinson, just happens to also be the
cousinofaformermemberofIron Maiden.
Will the coincidences never cease?
Actually, they probably will. While
the band Catherine Wheel will certainly
admit to having a dark and haunting
sound, accordingtobassist Dave Hawes,
"We didn't actually know at the time
that it was a torture device. In England,
the Catherine Wheel is better known as
a firework. We found out about the
torture device at a later date. It's prob-
ably more apt though."
Consisting of Dickinson, Hawes,
guitarist Brian Futter, and drummer Neil
Sims, Catherine Wheel formed in the
seaside town of Yarmouth, England in
1990. "Rob and Brian used to be in
loads of bands together. Rob got fed up
being a drummer and took up guitar.
Then, they knew Neil and asked if he
wanted to be a drummer. They adver-
tised for a bassist. I answered the ad and
we all rehearsed together a few times
and we got along," said Hawes. And do
they still get along five years later?
"Yes, we're friends. We don't spend
time together when we're not on the
road or in the recording studio, but
CATHERINE WHEEL
Where: Michigan Theater
When Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $15 - $20 in advance at
Schoolkids' Records
Call 810-645-6666 for more
information
that's good because I couldn't bear be-
ing in a band where we all live in each
others' pockets," Hawes commented.
With Catherine Wheel's newest al-
bum, "Happy Days," the band has gar-
nered much praise, as well as many
comparisons to early Pink Floyd. "Me,
not so much, although I love Dark Side
of the Moon. The other three guys own
five or six Pink Floyd albums in their
collections," admittedthe bassist. "But,
it has to be said that we have a great
amount of respect for Pink Floyd." As
far as other influences go, according to
Hawes, there were too many to name. "I
grew up with the punk stuff in the late
'70s. Thirteen, rebelling, having green
hair. The four of us, we all love stuff
with a good vibe, whether it's punky
stuff or dance or whatever. Tthere's
always a fight on the bus over who gets
to put what in the CD player."
Catherine Wheel has recorded an al-
bum that has a distinctly different sound
than anything they have ever done.
While "Ferment" had lavish guitar bal-
lads like "Black Metallic," "Happy
Days" is jam packed with meaningful
lyrics. "It's just a fact of growing up, I
guess. Like a cheese, you mature,"
Hawes laughed. "Lyrically, we'remuch
better now. Rob's really matured in his
lyric writing and he's more constant
with what he writes about." Does this
mean that they're happy with the way
that "Happy Days" turned out, despite
its differences? To this, the bassist re-
sponded, "Absolutely. If we weren't
happy with it, it wouldn't be out!"
But, the production of an album
wouldn't be complete without, obvi-
ously, time spent in recording and mix-
ing studios. "The recording took longer
than we had anticipated. Wehadplanned
on about six weeks, which was what
'Ferment' and 'Chrome' had taken,"
said Hawes. "We recorded in a place
called Ridge Farm in a sleepy part of
England, so it was only us there." But,
Catherine Wheel, like most otherbands,
still managed to rub elbows with the
rich and famous. "We mixed the album
in L.A. and it was mixed by a guy
named Clif Norrell who did REM's
'Automatic for the People,'"'the bassist
mentioned. "Michael Stipe and Rob
went out a couple of times and Rob got
to play him some rough mixes [of
Catherine Wheel] in the car."
As mentioned before, Catherine
Wheel has a melancholy sound. This
being the case, one might wonder why
the name "Happy Days" was chosen.
"It's a bit ironic, I guess. It's the British
irony, sarcasm, humorthatwe all have,"
Hawes observed. "I guess we're ques-
tioning whether they really are happy
days. Was your childhood really
happy?" Perhaps the subtitle, "The Dark
Ride" is more appropriate, with this
phrase being a metaphor for the pas-
sage of youth. As Dave Hawes re-
marked, these themes are repeated in
the album's artwork, designedby Storm
Thorgerson, who also "did a lot of Pink
Floyd covers." Another Pink Floyd as-
sociation? "There is a definite connec-
tion between us," said Hawes.
There has been a definite upsurge
in the last year in the popularity of
British pop bands. "The popularity of
[bands like Oasis and Blur] is im-
mense, so we're happy for them."
Hawes added quickly, "But, we've
never seen ourselves as part of that
bandwagon."
When Catherine Wheel comes to
the Michigan Theater tonight, they'll
be appearing with bothJewel and
Belly. Tanya Donelly [the lead vocal-
ist for Belly] sings on "Judy Staring at
the Sun," off of "Happy Days."
"'Judy Staring at the Sun' was writ-
ten and recorded when we recorded
'Chrome.' Tanya didn't add the vo-
cals until about nine months ago just
before we finished with 'Happy Days.'
It wasn't written with a female vocal-
ist in mind, but Gil [the producer]came
up with the idea of having a female
singer and it just seemed so obvious
that the lyrics would come across bet-
ter," Hawes stated.
But how did they choose Tanya
Donelly? "Gil had produced Belly's
first album, so he knew Tanya. We
had also performed at a couple of
festivals in England with them. She
did her vocals in about five hours ...
and now we're on tour with them! It's
great!"
What will the band members be
doing in their spare time? According
to bassist Hawes, he'll be watching
I
Catherine Wheel are on their "Way Down" to the Michigan to play with Belly.
The Simpsons. That is, Homer
Simpson, not O.J.
While Catherine Wheel may have
written a song entitled "Waydown,"
don't expect them to be throwing in the
towel any time soon. Withthereleas
"Happy Days," it's clear that they'r
band on the way up, and if theylavo
already arrived, they'll be arriving v#
soon.
L--
ade'is no emerald
By Michael Zilberman
Daily Arts Writer
"Jade" is about a woman psychia-
trist (Linda Fiorentino) who is married
to a high-powered attorney (Chazz
Palminteri) and moonlights as an elite
prostitute. When one of her clients dies
a gruesome death, the detective who
takes on the case (David Caruso) just
happens tobe the attorney's best friend
- as well as the woman's ex-lover.
This is a masterpiece ofpainful con-
trivance that spends its screen life chas-
ing its own tail and promptly deterio-
rates in the last reel.
It is also an absolutely brilliant piece
of filmmaking, complete with great
camerawork, solid stunts, qualified cast
and respectable art direction.
This movie's soul is as divided as its
female protagonist's. The first "Jade"
comes courtesy of Hollywood hack
par excellence Joe Eszterhas (the writer
behind "Basic Instinct" and
"Showgirls"). The second belongs to
the director, William Friedkin ("The
French Connection").
In fact, the entire movie could be
viewed in terms of the epic struggle
between a good director and lousy
material. Eszterhas, who lately gets
paid millions for 25-word "pitches"
literally scribbled on hotel napkins,
gets more and more lackadaisical with
each new project. "Basic Instinct" at
least had a tightly-wound plot to its
credit; "Jade," from its premise-that
suggests "Belle De Jour" as rewritten
by Ed Wood - to its cumbersome
climax, is a rewrite of a lazy rewrite.
Jade
"W' Directed by William
Friedkin; with David Caruso
and Linda Fiorentino
At Showcase
t
I
Also, Eszterhas is mortally afraid of
women. Femalesin his scripts are never
more than a step away from an ice pick
or, in Jade's case, a hatchet; they kill
mainly between orgasms, for a change
ofpace. Eszterhas is visibly more com-
fortable when women short-circuit their
basic instincts on themselves (there's
an obligatory lesbian subplot in every
script).
Friedkin, on the other hand, is an
honest professional who hasn't had
much luck with scripts lately. Always
happier with action logistics than plot
intricacies, he seems perennially com-
pelled to beat himself at his own game
and outdo the scene he's most famous
for - the car chase sequence in "The
French Connection."
And believe it or not, in "Jade" he
finally does. How? Simply and inge-
niously: By slowing the chase down to
about 3 miles per hour and making the
characters drive their way through fes-
tive Chinatown crowds. The nemeses,
ten feet from each other, slowly creep
forward to the accompaniment ofcrush-
ing bones, and the resulting intensity of
the scene is nerve-racking. You emerge
from it gasping for air.
"HI, Unda, I'm hauz. Loved ya' In "Last Seduction," baby. That fence scene, ooh."
In the quieter sequences, Friedkin
also does what he can to muffle
Eszterhas's smug misogyny: In a bed-
room scene between sleazy Chazz and
bored Linda, he focuses entirely on her
face, registering every light ripple of
quiet disgust as the husband grunts away
off screen.
Fiorentino, who is on the brink of
being eternally typecast as a femme
fatale if she doesn't drop her current
schtick very soon,still manages to walk
her way through the movie with digni-
fiedrestraint. David Caruso, whose char-
acter is named David Corelli (what is
this, a sitcom?), is a very peculiar non-
star. He refreshingly lacks all the little
traits making up what is erroneously
defined as screen presence: No trade-
mark smirks. no natented gestures. And
while he was infinitely more spectacu-
lar in Barbet Schroeder's "Kiss Of
Death," his subdued efficiency here
comes through even clearer. As for
Chazz Palminteri, he apparently be-
longs to the exclusive club of thespians
born to play obnoxious lawyers (other
notable members include Stanley Tucci
and Peter Gallagher).
In the end, however, even the joint
efforts of Friedkin, his brilliant cinema-
tographer Bartkowiak ("Speed") and
his cast can't provide a proper counter-
balance to Eszterhas's self-destructing
script. The coda, very hastily and
unconvincingly executed, creates an
impression of an author genuinely ap-
palled by what he had to deal with. In
Friedkin's case, however, it seems oddly
commendable.
Samir Hamadeh and
Mark Oldman
"The Internship Bible: 1996
Edition"
The Princeton Review, Random House
This summer you won't have any
excuse for laying on the couch all day,
moaning about the lack of opportuni-
ties in your field, and you have Mark
Oldman and Samir Hamadeh to thank
for it. They are two Stanford grads, who
after four years of hunting for their own
internships, have made the job search
easier for the rest of us. The Princeton
Review now offers job hunters every-
where the results of their long and de-
liberate research: "The Internship
Bible."
"The Internship Bible" is, well, huge.
It offers a listing of over 100,000 in-
terning opportunities in over 100 fields.
It offers internship possibilities all
across the country, as well as some 400
foreign countries. It is jammed with
informative and well-researched pro-
files of available opportunities, and
bluntly tells you if you will be right in
the rat race or fetching coffee for the
boss.
"The Internship Bible," weighted
with this plethora of information is a
wise investment for any college stu-
dent. In all fields, employers simply do
not look at high GPA's and extracur-
ricular activities as the hiring criteria
these days. They want some"real world"
experience, and unless you join the
wacky cast of MTV's increasingly idi-
otic TV show, the best way to get into
the "real world" is through interning.
"The Internship Bible" makes the job
hunt a bit easier. Coupled with Oldman
and Hamadeh's "Top 100 Internships"
(1996 edition, The Princeton Review),
"The Internship Bible" saves you what
could potentially be weeks and months
ot fruitless research. Oldman a
Hamadeh, who now hold interns
seminars across the country,are cle
and justifiably the gurus of the inte
ship search.
Filled with information, "The Intei
ship Bible" actually makes you exci
about beginning your summer j
search, because it highlights some
credible opportunities that you p
ably never knew existed. After thun
ing through this book, you will ik
have the compulsive urge to writ
resume and begin your quest for
ultimate internship.
How could you not get excited a
the possibility of hanging around
set of the Letterman show, or teachi
a group of inner city youth a course t
you yourselfdesigned. How aboutwo
ing with Disney, Lucasfilm, or J
Henson Productions? Spend a sum
at "Rolling Stone" or"The New Rep
lic." Hobnob on Capitol Hill. Tra
abroad. The experiences are endk
and thanks to these new books, m
easier to find than they were in the p
The information contained in th
books is presented in a well-organi
and well-planned manner, compl
with interesting and funny side b
that not only make reading the te
valuable, but enjoyable as well.
you didn't know that MTV's Tabi
Soren once spent a summer with Pc
Jennings calling her the "girl with t
boots.")
Not only does "The Internship Bibi
hunt down the internships for you,
also is chock full of wholesome advi
that could actually help you land t
internship of your dreams. If you
coveting something other than flipp
burgers or sitting on a lifeguard st
this summer, you should start y
search now. And there's no better p
to start than "The Bible."
- Dean Bakopou
II~
.. .:.;
The one curfew you
won't wanna miss.
"1200 Curfews," the new live double album,
is over two hours of your all-time Indigo Girls
favorites, including seven never-before-released
performances. It's filled with the best songs from
their '92-'95 tours, moments backstage, classic
cover tunes and early basement recordings.
43in rWqXjsponsi~zhty: the leadershlip imperative '1akyrnq Responsi6ifity: the leadershizp imperative '7akjny iRsponsziflity the leade~rshii mperative faking-
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY:
UF(LAnf(gWIet. -. *numne
- -T
Sunfay Octo6er 29, 1995
S10:30am-6:OOpm, in the§Aichigan 'Union
Featuring the single
"Bury My Heart At
Wounded Knee."
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Li Lu
afiqhterfordemocratic reforms in China anda key
student reader in the iananmen Square student rebelfion.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
FEATURED SPEAKER
ramie Washington
speaking on:
"Leadership in a (Diverse World"
.
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