10A
Friday, February 10, 1995
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KU Weekend
A nationally known member of the Bahai religion has ...
... a locke on art
By Jake Arnold Kansan staff writer
Unlike Europeans, Native Americans have no art for art's sake. Instead,art is an expression of tradition and
function Students can view the Native American art of Kevin Locke at 8 p.m. tonight in the auditorium of Haskell Indian Nations University.
Locke, whose Lakota name is Teokya Inajin, is a graduate of Haskell who is being brought back by the Lawrence Báhá'i community to show his work.
Báhá'i is a world religion that
Artist Kevin Locke, storyteller, flutist and hoop dancer, will be performing tonight at Haskell Indian Nations University.
moss people in mon beliefs and prophecies of many religions. One of its prophecies say that if Native Americans are educated to the unity of mankind, they will illuminate the world.
Locke, who plays the flute, tells stories and performs a traditional hoop dance, sees his program as not only a tradition.
"One of my main goals is to create a positive awareness of the oneness of humankind," Locke said. "I incorporate spiritual ideals that are nondenominational specific; that are universal values. Truth, religion, reality is all from one source."
The hoop dance especially conveys this theme.
The traditional hoop dance uses 28 hoops about shoulder width with four colors — black, red, yellow and white —
"I am a lot stronger and flexible.I'm going to hoop until I droop."
representing the four seasons, four winds and four races of humankind. Whirling the hoops over his body, he uses them to tell stories and create images of flowers, butterflies, eagles, the sun and stars.
Locke says the hoop represents harmony, balance, infinity, peace and life itself.
Locke's storytelling and flute-play
Kevin Locke Native American artist
ing may be what has reached people the most. He has made 10 solo albums featuring either his stories or his flute and has added his talents to several other albums. His most recent album is "Keepers of the Dream."
A Lakota flute consists of seven notes — four represent directions, one for Earth, one for the heavens. The seventh represents where the six come together in the human heart. The flute is fashioned from soft cedar wood to the dimensions of its user. The flute's length comes
from a measurement taken from length between the maker's elbow and their longest fingertip. The bottom hole is one hand's breadth from the bottom of the instrument. Each hole is a thumb width apart.
Locke's stories emphasize the common bonds between Lakota tales and the myths and beliefs from many other cultures. He intersperse his stories with his quiet wit. No two programs are identical.
Locke has performed in more than 60 countries and all across the United States. He performs the show in Lakota, English or no language at all.
"It is all things to all people," Locke said. "I tailor the show to the audience, and it lasts how ever much time they give me."
Despite the tradition in Locke's art, there is still room for
"You have a role to promote and maintain basic parameters," Locke said. "I try to keep true to the original form, but I add what I can."
there is a small room for personal interpretation.
Mike Wolke. Locke's agent, says there is quite a demand and an appreciation for what Locke does.
"He won the National Heritage Award, the highest award from the
National Endowment of the Arts," Wolke said. "They only give about 12 a year for all folk art."
Wolke said Locke's weekend was pretty packed. Today he will be performing for several Kansas City schools, tomorrow night he travels to the University of Missouri and Sunday he will be in St. Louis.
Wolke said Locke normally makes about $2,000 a show, plus expenses, but he is doing the Haskell show for free because it is his old alma mater.
The Báha'i Community also had an interest in bringing Locke here because he is Báha'i.
"In October, we learned he would be here in February," said Marilyn Ray, a KU Baha'i Club supporter. "We approached Haskell because he was a prominent alumni. We are very excited."
The Báhá'i community is paying for Locke's airfare from his home in South Dakota.
"I've gotten a lot better. I'm in a lot better shape, and I am a lot stronger and flexible," Locke said. "I'm going to hoop until I droop."
Locke has been doing this for 15 years. At 41, he feels he is just getting started.
Locke performs on his flute. The seven notes of the flute are symbolic.
Deadeve Dick doesn't rise to the occasion
By Ian Ritter
Kansan staff writer
Deadeye Dick, a trio from New Orleans, sounds like the type of music you used to hear on your mom's car stereo while taking a trip to the dentist.
You quite possibly could be exposed to the spreading, bubonic-
The song you've already probably heard is called "New Age Girl," which somehow got on the soundtrack to the movie "Dumb And Dumber."
Look out—the '80s are back. You quite possibly could be.
Their new 11-track CD, "A Different Story," on Ichiban Records, is typical sterile, mindless '80s pop with a touch of the ever-so-hip '90s apathetic lyrics.
Their music can be summed up in one word: bouncy.
Traces of unfeeling blues riffs are provided by guitarist and singer Caleb V. Gullotte, and bassist Mark Miller attempts to be funky with his crisp tone and ever-so-overdone popping.
The vocals sound like a cross between a game show host and a tippless night-club singer in the bowels of an Atlantic City casino.
1
Lyrically, themes of discontent and awkward-sounding profoundness give the CD a taste of our overdone Generation X apathy. "Sentimental Crap" is a song that explores an idea of low self-worth, but the lyrics seem to be thrown in from a 10-cent romance novel: "I watch you dress with studied grace / I wonder who you wish you were. It's in your eyes it's in your face / I'd really like to
I won't even mention the drums except to say that they aren't worthy of mentioning.
sleep with her." What?
Something that I really have trouble understanding is the tone of the CD. It has kind of a schizophrenic feel. While the lyrics are down in the dumps about how badly life sucks, the music is relatively "happy" sounding.
sounding.
I must be honest. I just don't like this genre of slop. However, the danger of a negative review is that some might be dissuaded from buying something they might possibly mesh with incredibly (God forbid).
Alison Hunter, disc jockey at KLZR 105.9 shared a similar viewpoint.
She said the fact that the song was featured in "Dumb and Dumber" was appropriate and that people rarely called in with requests from the CD.
"We don't even have it in rotation," she said. "The music staff here didn't think it was good enough."
Bottleneck
Deadeye Dick was in town, and I wanted to see these guys for myself, thinking, "Hell, they might not be too bad. Plenty of bands who can't accomplish crap in the studio still put on a good show."
Last Thursday, I strolled over to the
My shred of hope was in vain
But let's not be too mean. Plenty of people were getting sweaty, dancing on the floor and seemingly enjoying the music.
Even though the people I talked to generally weren't into it ("Trust me—they suck, big and bad" and "It's like Toad the Wet Blossom, you know"), the place was crowded, and the drunkenness level was relatively high.
Hell, maybe I'm wrong and crazy and just as apathetic as Guillette's lyrics, but they'll always reign as Deadeye Dork in my mind.
Collegiate clothes horses?
See a professor with clothes pizzazz? The Karsan would like to know. We're taking nominations for the beat dressed instructors.Call us at 864-4810 with your vote.
Events
Tonight
Punkinhead, 10 p.m. $4, at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St.
Darrell Lea with Megan Hurt, p.9, m., no cover charge, at Full Moon Cafe, 803 Massachusetts St.
Matt "Guitar" Murphy,
30 p.m. 8, $8 at The Grand
Emporium, 3832 Main,
Kansas City, Mo.
Terra Plane, 10 p.m., cover charge, at Mulligan's, 1016 Massachusetts St.
Habitat Homefest '95 with KU Jazz Ensemble, 8.1, Kim Forehand, Patty McGrew, Alfred Packer Mem. Strings and Blue & Shirley Barrand, 7:30 p.m., $10 donation, at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St.
Curtis Lee Band, 9:30 p.m.
$3, at Cadillac Ranch, 2515
W. 6th St.
Tomorrow
Fast Johnny Rictor, 9:30 p.m., $2, at Johnnie's Tavern 401 N. 2nd St.
- Stick with Means To An End, 10 p.m., $6, at The Bottleneck.
Lip Snacking Kitty
Lunch, 9 p.m., no cover
charge, at Full Moon Cafe
Douglas County AIDS Project Valentine Dance with The Kelley Hunt Band, 9 p.m., $7.50, at Liberty Hall.
BluesHead Beggars, 10 p.m., cover charge, at Mulligan's.
Fast Johnny Rictor, 9:30 p.m., $2, at Johnnie's Tavern
Sunday
Matt "Guitar" Murphy, 9:30 p.m., $8, at The Grand Emporium.
Stick, 10 p.m., $6, at The Bottleneck.
John McCutcheon, 3 p.m.
$8-$12, at Liberty Hall.
Martin Zellar, 9:30 p.m. cover charge, at The Grand Emporium.
Monday
Nick Lowe with Martin Zoeller and Jim Lauderdale, 10 p.m., $8, at The Bottleneck.
Acid Jazz, 10 p.m., cover charge, at Mulligan's.
Lazy, with Frog Pond and Bubble Boys, 9:30 p.m., $3, at The Grand Emporium.
Tuesday
Magnapop with Throne-
berry and Bubble Boys, 10
p.m., $6, at The Bottleneck
Tom Krause, 7 p.m., no cover charge, at Full Moon Cafe.
The Cats, 10 p.m., cover charge, at Mulligan's.
Tiny Tim, 8 p.m., $10, at The Grand Emporium.
Wednesday
The Jayhawks with The Shivers and Starkweathers, 10 p.m., $8, at The Bottleneck.
String Daddy with Easy Reader, 5 p.m., no cover charge, at Full Moon Cafe.
Open Mic Night, 10 p.m., no cover charge, at Mulligan's.
New Riddim, 9:30 p.m., $5 at The Grand Emporium.
Thursday
Bad Manners with Ultra Blidet, 10 p.m., $8, at The Bottleneck.
Tim Cross with Ben Graham, 8 p.m., no cover charge, at Full Moon Cafe.
Lee McBee with Marvin Hunt. 10 p.m., cover charge at Mulligan's.