Friday February 27,1998
Entertainment
8A
Local bands work hard to schedule gigs
By Chris Horton
By Chris Horton
chorton@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
For students who practice their guitars, horns or didgeridoos in a friend's basement, playing where the general public can swill beer and freak out to their musical stylings is not always easy.
Almost everyone who creates music wants to be heard. This typically requires either releasing recordings or performing before a live audience.
Tom Humphrey, Lawrence senior and host of KJHK's local music show, "Plow the Fields," said bands could receive exposure several ways.
"There's Open Mike night at the Bottleneck on Mondays, which anyone can play, or you can also make a tape and drop it by KJKH. Humphrey said. "I play several tapes a week, and the Bottleneck contacts me when it needs suggestions for local bands to open a show."
Playing parties was a good way for a band to develop a following sizable
enough to receive attention from area music venues, he said.
Humphrey said once a band managed to get a performance at an area club, it was the band's duty to promote the show.
"Bands get shows not necessarily by how terrific they are but by how well they promote their shows," he said. "If you want people to come to a show, you have to promote it."
Mike Angletti, Lawrence senior and guitarist/vocalist for band The Believe It Or Nots! , said any band that wanted to play more than one show had to promote themselves. Angletti said trying to get opening slots for touring bands' performances and establishing contacts with local promoters and radio stations made it easier to get live exposure.
"We always hung fliers and called up KJHK to make sure we were on the concert calendar," Angeletti said. "Also, just trying to get word of mouth advertising is very helpful."
Chapel Hill, N.C., band Super-
chunk, which played Feb. 18 at the Bottle
"Bands get shows not necessarily by how terrific they are but by how well they promote their shows. If you want people to come to a show, you have to promote it."
Tom Humphrey
Lawrence Senior and host of KJHK" s "Plow the Fields"
neck, is an example of successful self-promotion.
Laura Ballance, Superchunk bassist,
said the band signed a contract with New York's Matador Records in the late '80s.
But Ballance said she decided releasing Superchunk's albums without the aid of an outside source was a better option.
Mac McCaughan, Superchunk guitarist/vocalist, and Ballance founded Merge Records in the summer of 1989. The label financed early releases with loans from friends including soon-to-be Superchunk guitarist Jim Wilbur, Ballance said.
Merge has released eight Superchunk albums and has also released albums by other bands including Squirrel Nut Zippers, Spent and the Lawrence band Butterlovr.
Beside running Merge, Ballance and McCaughan have created cover art for Superchunk releases. Jon Wurster, Superchunk drummer, designs shirts and other merchandise.
McCaughan said running a record label helped Superchunk sell albums but it wasn't the best way to move merchandise.
"Seeing a band play live is what makes people buy records," he said.
The band delegates some touring responsibilities, but retains responsibility for other activities. McCaughan said.
"We never let people drink our beer," he said.
The dance group Tap Dogs will appear at the Lied Center this weekend and at the Kansas Union today. Reserve seating is $32 for the general public and $22 for students. The matinee is $16 and $11. For tickets, call 843-ARTS. Contributed photo
Dogs' show on tap at Lied
Australian troupe known for rowdy hard work ethic
By Marcelo Vilela
mvilela@kansan.com
Kansan staff reporter
When Dein Parry was a mechanic in Australia trying to devise a name for his tap-dance group, somebody told him his dancers danced like dogs, which in Aussie vernacular means "hard workers."
These dedicated tappers, the Tap Dogs, will be performing at the Lied Center at 8 tonight, 5 and 9 p.m. tomorrow and 2 p.m. Sunday
Tickets for the show cost $22 for general public and $22 for students. Tickets for the matinee performance are $16 and $11.
The Tap Dogs will be in the lobby of the Kansas Union at noon today to entertain passersby for 20 minutes. The event is free.
The six group members will sign autographs, take pictures and select an honorary tap dog among the crowd.
"We'll do a little bit of the show, then we'll get the people to dance with us," said Tim Varney, one of the dancers in the company.
"If somebody ever approaches us, there's always a possibility for an audition." Varney said.
He defined the Tap Dogs' performance as a high-energy, 75-minute tap show.
"We dance in a construction site and tap on different surfaces like different types of wood and metal," Varney said. "It's just six construction workers dancing in a typical, everyday environment."
As the show develops, the soundtrack ranges from heavy -metal
guitars to drums and soft-beat sequences.
To endure 75 minutes on stage without an intermission, the dancers start by rehearsing eight hours a day, six days a week. Later, the rehearsal routine becomes lighter, and they rehearse once a week to fine-tune the acts.
Wearing taps on their work boots and performing with power tools, the six dancers deliver a testosterone-filled routine directed by Nigel Triffitt and choreographed by Perry.
The company first performed in Sydney, Australia, in 1995. Since then, they have toured England and Australia twice. They opened in New York in 1997. There are four Tap Dogs companies touring the world.
Perry created the group with friends in Australia. The dancers came from jobs such as a truck driver, plumber, ballet dancer and security guard.
Freddy Jones Band rocks Granada, U.S.
Fourth album tour leads group through Lawrence, Chicago
By Sindy Greenfield Special to the Kansan
Having a No. 1 hit is difficult in the music industry, as 36-year old guitarist and vocalist Rob Bonaccorsi of the Chicago-based Freddy Jones Band well knows.
Although the band began seven years ago, they started touring in 1993 after their second album, Waiting For The Night, was released. The band now is touring with Sister Hazel, and performed Tuesday at the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St.
Before touring for its newly released fourth album, Lucid, the band had sold more than 400,000 albums. Yet the music industry still is a struggle.
"You are at the whim and will of the business side and the listeners' side, which is sort of manipulated by the business side from being played on the radio." Bonaccorsi said.
Sister Hazel's largest audience is in the Southeast, but the Freddy Jones Band is successful in the Chicago and Seattle areas. Because of this scattered success, the bands decided to tour together in order to promote one another. Promotion also is one of the reasons the band enjoyed their performances at the 1993 and 1994 H.O.R.D.E. Festivals.
Despite the benefits of touring with other bands, the Freddy Jones Band enjoys its performances at smaller venues.
"At H.O.R.D.E., the focus is this festival kind of atmosphere. You have a limited time to play," Bonaccorsi said. "When we did an Aragon show or the Riviera, we were headlining. We got to play for as long as we wanted."
"The exposure from H.O.R.D.E. is great," Boccarios said. "Hanging out with all the other bands, and being exposed to all that, it really promotes a cohesiveness amongst bands."
Fans appreciate the dedication. "I love coming to see them, because they have so much variety in their show," said Michel Hoffberg, Deerfield, Ill., sophomore.
Not only Chicagoans enjoy the Freddy Jones Band.
"While they were playing, you
"The exposure from
The exposure from H.O.R.D.E. is great. Hanging out with all the other bands, and being exposed to all that, it really promotes a cohesiveness amongst bands."
Rob Bonaccorsi Lead vocalist Freddy Jones Band
could see how much they love their music," said Christy Griffith, Lewisville, Texas, sophomore. "It makes me respect and value them that much more."
"In a Daydream," from the band's Waiting For The Night album, was a top-10 hit. The band continues to tour and promote Lucid, but will return to Chicago soon.
1940's era swings into local clubs
By Tamara Miller
tmiller@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Some may say music is the universal language that connects the most unlikely groups of people.
Stewart Colgate, co-owner of the Hi-Jinx lounge, said a common thread that joins the uncommon can be found in swing music.
"It's for everybody." he said.
"You go to a swing show, and you get your hippies, your ska boys and your punks."
Paul Bishman, Bottleneck employee, said the reappearance of the swine era has attracted a large, diverse crowd of college students to many local businesses that feature swing music, such as The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St.; Milton's, 920 Massachusetts St.; and the Hi-Jinx lounge, 1117 Massachusetts St.
The Bottleneck's Sunday night Swing Set has brought in crowds of almost 400 people. Bishman said.
"Swing music is pretty much a universal style of music," he said. "It's kind of a melting pot."
Bishman said swing dancing offered college students something different to do. The attraction toward dressing up and going out gave the trend a unique appeal.
Amy Brewer, Lawrence junior, said she liked the music and the clothes associated with swing dancing, and swing dancing appealed to everyone.
"It seems like it's transcended a lot of the cliques," she said. "A lot of my friends that I wouldn't consider trendy are hoppin' on over to the Bottleneck on Sunday nights."
Colgate said the trend accompanied the resurgence of martinis, cigars and quality cigarettes. Swing dancing and the swing era attracted students who were looking for something fun, yet glamorous, he said.
"It's a form of dance that involves two people," he said. "There is an intimacy about it."
But it has always been popular on the East and West coasts, Colgate said.
"It's been brought here through the media, and through other people bringing it here," he said. "Now the youth are picking it up."
Aaron Strelow, instructor for Liberty Dance, 2 East Seventh St., said he had noticed a large increase in the number of people signing up for swing dancing classes.
"It's probably due to the recent movies that have dealt with that particular era," he said. "I get a lot of college students, even high school students."
Bishman said the trend caught on when the movie *Swieneres* came out.
But Kristi Yascott, Liberty Hall video employee, said the movie had little to do with swing dancing. Instead, the trend has made the movie more popular, she said.
"Swing dancing has helped expand it into the social mainstream," she said.
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