Newspaper Page Text
i
i
■ ST. PATRICK S DAY
6 • The Red and Black • Tuesday, March 6, 1990
A&E
Internationally renowned Irish performers, Flonnuala Monks, Ve
ronica Thomas and the Balladeer group Shamrog will be In Bra-
selton, Ga. for a St. Patty's Day celebration at the Chateau Elan
Winery. For more Information call (404) 867-8200.
■BOOK REVIEW
APPLY TODAY
TRAVEL
RELATED
SERVICES
1-800-942-AMEX
NORTHWEST
AIRLINES
Food For Feet debut too diverse
Food For Feet: Features two members of the more successful group, Oingo Boingo
New book is primer for rock & roll
By RACHEL CURRY
Contributing Writer
The Los Angeles band Food For
Feet consists of two members of
Oingo Boingo and a childhood
friend of theirs. And that’s all their
six song EP, “Food For Feet” is,
childsplay.
John Avila and Johnny "Vatos”
Hernandez had some time off from
their more successful venture,
Oingo Boingo, so they decided to
concentrate on Food For Feet, a
band they organized almost a de
cade ago with guitarist Michael
Tovar. Avila plays bass and sings,
and Hernandez plays drums.
Unfortunately, their debut effort
doesn’t quite hit the mark. The
songs are too diverse. It sounds as
if you’re listening to two different j
bands on the same record.
"Food For Feet" starts out with
two hard-hitting dance tunes,
"Rhythm” and "Faith, Hope.”
These tracks are very impressive.
They are fun to listen to and quite
imaginative. It goes down hill from
there.
The band delves into salsa-like
rhythms (and weak vocals) that
are consistent with their East L.A.
roots (the salsa rhythms, not the
weak vocals), but not with the pro
gressive style present on the rest of
the EP.
They also do a cover of the
Champ’s “Tequila,” that Pee Wee
Herman wouldn’t have anything to
do with.
The only saving grace in the
Latin-funk phase of the record is a
melancholy song called “Retire.”
This tune, written by Avila, tells
the story of a desperate farmer
trapped in his occupation by family
tradition.
On the whole, this effort bv Food
For Feet is not great, but they do
hove promise. Keep an eye out for
future releases by these guys. They
might get better.
confidentially.
191 EAST BROAD ST.
Suite 203 • Downtown
353-8500
•If you ire already a student American liaptess Cardmcmbcr and have a question about this program,please send your written question, a copy of vour student ID and class schedule to American Express. PO Box 35029.
Attn Student Marketing Greensboro, N< 27425 Fare ts for roundtnp travel on Northwest Airlines Tickets must be purchased within 24 hours after making reservations Fares are nonrefundable and no itinerary changes
may be made after purchase Scats at this fare are limited and may not be available when you call Travel must originate by certificate expiration date and be completed within 60 days of that date Travel may not be available
between cities to which Northwest does noi have published roulings City fuel surcharges not included in fare from Boston ($2 50), Chicago ($500), Denver ($2 00) and Florida cities ($2 00) Certain blackout dates and
other restrictions may apply For complete offer details, call I 800 942 AMEX. ©1990 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc
By JEFF RUTHERFORD
Entertainment Writer
A book review of “The Pied Pipers
of Rock V Roll" by Wes Smith.
Published in hardback for $16.95
by Longstreet Press.
Wes Smith, feature writer for
the Chicago Tribune, haa written
a primer for Rock ’n’ Roll 101.
‘The Pied Pipers of Rock ’n’
Roll,” is a mixture of history and
anecdotes concerning the early
days of rock ’n’ roll disc jockeys.
Smith covers it all from the the
rumours of payola, that wrecked
many careers including Alan
“Moondog” Freed’s, to the border
radio exploits of Wolfman Jack in
the 60s.
The book is divided up into six
long chapters that examine the
mtyor participants in the early
days of rock ’n’ roll.
The payola scandal that rocked
the nation and led to a U.S. Con
gressional investigative subcom
mittee is covered in the aptly
titled chapter “Booze, Broads,
and Bribes.” Smith’s extensive
research is apparent as he relates
various anecdotes about the
scandal.
Smith’s book captures the cul
tural explosion that rocked the
United States throughout the 50s
and 60s. The chapter “Hittin’ and
Gittin’,” chronicles the exploits of
the few white DJs who played
black music.
Until this time, the soothing,
comforting big band sound had
dominated the airwaves. A revo
lution began when these DJs
started playing black artists late
at night on their powerful sta
tions. Parents everywhere were
horrified when they caught
young Johnny or Susie huddled
under their covers glued to their
transistor radios. Parents were
helpless as American youths fell
under the spell of raucous rock ’n’
roll.
Among these white DJs, three
of the most powerful were sta
tioned at WLAC in Nashville.
"By day, WLAC was a mild man
nered CBS network affiliate pro
gramming affable Arthur Godfrey,
Eddy Arnold, Ma Perkins, and The
Guiding Light. Come lata evening,
however, long after Amoa 'n' Andy,
Gene Autry, and My Little Margie
had gone nightie night, WALC
dropped the country bumpkin cov-
oralle and put on Its flying cape,
tending out soulful rhythm-and-
blues on a fifty thousand watt
signal that want. In the words of
Little Richard Penniman.’WOMP-
BOMP-A-LOO-MOMP-ALOP-
-BOMP-BOMP.' ”
These three DJs, Hoss Allen,
Gene Nobles and John R. Rich-
bourg, were responsible for
starting the careers of many fa
mous rhythm-and-blues per
formers including Little Richard,
James Brown and Otis Redding.
They also provided inspiration
for many young DJs. John R. of
fered a young Wolfman Jack sev
eral helpful pointers when he
showed up one night to meet the
man he’d grown up listening to.
The chapter “Rhymers and
Rappers,” covers the careers of
the early black DJs so often over
looked by most rock ’n’ roll his
tory books. Jocko Henderson, an
immensely popular black DJ, is
credited with being the “Grandfa
ther” of rap music. He rhymed ev
erything he said on the air,
beginning his show with, “Hello,
hello. It’s time for the Jocko
show.”
The most incredulous anec
dotes in “The Pied Pipers of Rock
’n’ Roll,” concern Wolfman Jack.
The Wolfman got his start in
radio in the mid-50s, but he felt
stifled at the various stations
where he worked. There was a
beast inside of him waiting to get
out. That beast burst forth in
1960 when he literally took over
a Mexican border radio station.
He paid a local emissary $1500
and got himself appointed the
U.S. representative for the sta
tion. The first thing he did was
toss out the former owner.
"So we set up and armed every
body and put out sandbags, barbed
wire, strung lights all over the
complex. I bought a bunch of 30-
30 rifles and Smith & Wesson six
guns and even an old 60 millimeter
machine gun that wet Just for
looks man."
Wow! Rock ’n’ roll at its best.
“The Pied Pipers of Rock ’n’ Roll”
is an easily readable, colorful his
tory of the early days of rock ’n’
roll DJs.
FEMINIST
WOMEN'S
HEALTH
CENTER
Onlv for student American Express*
Apply for the American Express® Card.
Then get ready to take off. In search of
adventure, action-or just simply to escape.
American Express and Northwest
Airlines have arranged these extraordinary
travel privileges on Northwest-exclusively
for student Cardmembers:
■ CERTIFICATES VALID FOR THE PURCHASE
of two $118 roundtrip tickets to many
of the more than 180 cities in the 48 contig
uous United States served by Northwest.
Each certificate is good for a six-month
period, and they will arrive within six
weeks after you receive the Card. Current
Cardmembers will automatically receive
their $118 certificates by March 15,1990
provided they are still full time students!"
■ io% off any northwest flight—with
your own personalized discount card, valid
throughjanuary 1991 on all Northwest and
Northwest Airlink flights. (This discount
is not applicable to the $118 student
certificates and other certificates,
promotional or special status airfares.)
■ 2,500 BONUS MILES TOWARDS FREE TRAVEL—
when you enroll in Northwest’s WorldPerks®
Free Travel Program.
AND NOW BECOMING A CARDMEMBER
IS AS EASY AS A TELEPHONE CALL
Just pick up the phone, call 1-800-942-
AMEX, and talk to us. We’ll take your
application and begin to process it
immediately. (If you have your banking
information handy, like your account
number and bank address, it will help
Rle
Wes Smith: Author
Cardmembers.
speed the process.)
Keep in mind that our Automatic
Acceptance Program makes it easier for
you to become a Cardmember now, as a
student, than it will ever be again.
And remember that as a Cardmem
her you’ll enjoy all the exceptional benefits
and personal service you would expect from
American Express.
So don’t miss out on a world of great
experiences. Pick up the phone. Apply for
the Card. And start packing!
Membership Has Its Privileges•
GTM Hairdesigners
Wolf Tanning
Bed
Lowest Prices in
East Athens
Late hours available by appt.
GTM
710 Gaines School Rd.
354-1777
P'vuicu* H tX*L%
NEED CASH?
Buying all Gold A Silvar
Bullion - Class Rings
New & Used • Coins
Jewelry * Diamonds
Alps Shopping Center
546-8933
|3o«n Iron Drug Emporium kibraaaswy)
2 Bedroom
Apartment
Available!
2 Bedroom, 1 Bath,
F ireplace, Dishwasher,
Garbage Disposal,
Cable ready,
Washer/Dryer Hookups.
Duplex Community
with pool, tennis courts,
basketball courts and
laundry facility
Willow Mist
549-6363
■ ALBUM REVIEW
A NON-PROFIT CLINIC