Entertainment
Page 6 University Daily Kansan, September 19, 1980
TOP: He's called Ranking Roger—no doubt not the name his mother gave him—and he can sing and dance up a reggae wave storm as a lead singer of the English Beat.
LEFT? "His his band number."
ABOVE? If nothing else, the Beat certainly has the oldest member of any pop band today. They call him Saxo. His age is unknown, but most estimate he's in his 50s. A Jamaican by birth, he's a cobbler by trade. "He's," said bassist David Steel, "an amazing saxophon player."
Ska seeks foothold in uninitiated U.S.
In England, there is no seating at most shows the English Beat and the other so-called ska band.
By BLAKE GUMPRECHT Staff Writer
Simply, most everyone dances.
Indeed, it's hard to keep yourself from dancing to the upbeat rhythms. The Beat, for instance, fuses English new wave, Jamaican reggae and basic pop. The reaction is lively, quick, fun and energetic.
That's why last Friday night seemed so strange.
The Beat, whose debut album soared to number one on the English charts a few weeks back, were into their third song and the small Uptown Theatre dance floor was still deserted.
it's the fourth date of the band's first U.S. tour—they're currently opening for the Pretenders—and the crowd was typical. One couple finally moved onto the stage and followed. And before long a dozen or so couples were bounding around in front of the stage.
BUT STILL, all the crowd sat comfortably at tables, drinking beer or sipping mixed drinks. It was the same scene two nights earlier in Chicago. Beat members said.
"I's almost frightening." Beat guitarist David Wakeling said after the band's set, as the bass from the opening of the Pretenders show run winding up on its way in, used to having anyone sitting down at our girls.
Added lead singer Ranking Roger. "This is no mess to me. We're used to having 2,000 people."
America's reaction to the Beat, the band members admitted, has taken a little getting used to. Like two weeks ago, during their first concert in 1985, they presented the Pretenders at the Music Hall in Cleveland.
"The security people wouldn't even let 'em," said Beat keyboardist Dave Blockhead through a thick Birchham accent. "They've always got to stay aware of safety, or fire codes. I think it's analling.
One nanced the entire show. Not to the Beat.
Not to the Pretenders.
"American audiences—it's like they're watching television. They just sit there, arms folded. Occasionally, they'll turn to their neighbor, or nod. I feel sorry for them."
A COPY OF the Oct. 2 Rolling Stone—Robert Redford on the cover—sat on an empty chair in the Beat's fourth floor dressing room. The magazine was opened to the Top 100 album
"I don't think you'll find us on there," Brennan said to a member of the band's crew who bestowed it on her.
He was right. The band's first album, "I Just Can't Stop It," has sold only 2,000 copies in this
country, according to Sire Records. In fact, it's hard to even find the album here.
Here they're unknown.
in england, meanwhile, the album has sold nearly 150,000 copies and continues to sit high in the charts. Last month, the Best was featured on The New York Express, England's largest music weekly.
"You know, one of the members of our road crew said we ought to put a sign up on stage during our gigs." Blockhead said. "All the time we're coming up and asking him, Who are these guys?"
But the Beat (officially the English Beat in the U.S. because of a band of the same name in California) is only one of a half-dozen or so bands that have been given the ska label. In fact, they're late-comers to the ska revival that first hit 18 months ago.
THE SPECIALS, Madness, Selecter, UB40,
the Members, likewise struggled to
reach the country.
Madness "One Step Beyond" has sold five times as well in England as it has in the United States.
Similarly, the debat by the Specials and Selecter's "Too Much Pressure" have been three times as successful elsewhere. UB40 and the Members are virtually unknown here.
"The half of it is America's reluctance to have anything to do with reggae." Wakeling said, in between bites of a post-concert snack. "Bob Marley is hugely everywhere else."
The differences don't end there, though. In fact, the latest Top 30 album charts from England and the United States show only four albums in common.
"Europe, England and Japan always seem to be contemporary with each other musically," Wakeling said. "But in America, they can be up to four years behind and be very comfortable with the new wave of music, but the new wave was going to last. As far as I'm concerned, new wave started six years ago."
"Plus the whole attitude is more complacent here. They have enough money to sit back and say ' entertain me.' it isn't that way in England. Everyone has cars here, for instance. But I'm 24 and I've never driven a car. There just isn't the raw edge here."
But a second wave of ska is coming.
Both the Specials and Madness are expected to release their second album within a month, Madness with "Absolutely" and the Specials with "Nightshade." The Selector's next album is due in January.
The Beat will be in North America when the wave hits. They'll tour with the Pretenders until Sept. 28, before joining Talking Heads for several shows. Then they'll play solo dates on the radio in Canada. Whether the second wave will even make a ripple here is anyone's guess though.
Dave Blockhead, for one, is skeptical.
"I don't think ska or reggae will ever catch on here," he said. "I don't know why, I can't explain it, but that's just how I feel."
Spare Time
TODAY
MUSIC: Limousine, 9 p.m. at the Lawrence Opera House
Myth, 8.45 p.m. at the Pladium
Art Museum, G Lewis West
Archival Goodwin, sculpture, and Bhaki Zikl,
weaving, at the Lawrence Arts Center
Colette Bangert, painting, and Vernon Brejcha,
sculpture, at Kellas/TEF gallery
"From Drawing to Sculpture: The Creative Process,
and "The Americana Collection," at the
Helen Foresman Spencer Museum of Art
MOVIES: Rich Kids, 3:30 and 9:30 p.m. at the
Pedora, 7 a.m. at the Union
2001: A Space Odyssey, midnight at the
2001: A Space Odyssey, midnight at the Union
SATURDAY
MUSIC: Riverrock, 9 p.m. at the Lawrence Open House
M.H. 8:45 p.m. at the Platium
Spencer, 9 p.m. at G.P. Loyd's West
Jim Stringer, 9 p.m. at Paul Gray's Jazz Center
THEATRE: "The Sword and the Stone," presented by the Seem to Be-Players, 1:30 p.m. at the Lawrence Arts Center
MOVIES: Same listing as Friday
SUNDAY
MOVIES: The Ruling Class, 7:30 p.m. at the union
TUESDAY
MUSIC: Linda Maxey, marimba, Visiting Artists Series, 8 p.m. at Swarthout Reception Hall MOVIES: Lawrence of Arabia, 7:30 p.m. at the Union
MONDAY
WEDNESDAY
MUSIC: Lynch and McBee, 9 p.m. at the Law-
rence Opera House
Ruby Star, 9 p.m. at g.C. Loyd's West
MOVIES: Women in Love, 7.30 p.m. at the Union
THURSDAY
THEATRE: "The Silver Whistle," presented by the Lawrence Community Theatre, 8 p.m. at
100 E. 7th Street.
MOVIES: Sambiznaga, 7:30 p.m. at the Union
Artisans resurrect Renaissance
By VANESSA HERRON Staff Reporter
Two pages bowed low in deference and offered their cold drinks to quench their royal thirst.
A small girl in a flowing dress edged closer to the couple, then paused.
The sound of a madrigal hung in the air.
*The King Henry VIII* she asked.
the sound of a mad bagel ring in the air.
"Are you King Henry VIII?" she asked.
"If you say so, that's who I am," he said.
"Are you King Henry III, who site asked
If you say so, that's who I am," he said.
At the four-year annual Kansas City Renaissance is what it seems to be and everything is like.
"My responsibilities as king are to be benevolent, to make people feel comfortable and to be regular. We also play a king at last weekend." Also plays a king at a Kansas City dinner theater two nights a week.
Actually, the wooded glen was on the Agricultural Hall of Fame grounds, near Bonner Springs. The dammel was a Kansas City sixth-grader and was a former teacher of dialects from Tennessee.
Woolam was among 250 players who were hired to perform at the festival last week and for the next five weekends. There also were four assistant coaches, minstrels, comedians and would-be comedians.
WOOLAM SAID he was afraid of being tweacost.
"I think my days of kinging will soon be over," he said in his Tennessee draw.
However, until the festival ends, Oct. 19,
he had to cancel his wedding. He adjusted his
wife and shipped back in June.
On one outdoor stage, a man juggled and joked his way through a 16th century vauldeau act.
"Someone tell me when you were born and I tell you something about yourself," he said.
"Fifty-four," he said, "you're a big mouth who tries to stand out in cuids."
AROUND THE CORNER, corner tellers and read palms and an acting troupe dragged volunteers from the audience to perform in plays, including "A Christmas Carol" and a
After the show, the young actors recited a hat and passed a hat through the randomly thinned audience.
AT THE OTHER end of the six-acre grounds, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Fulcher cat in a patch of shade and also tried to rest. The Fulchers had left their Fort Scott school at 6:30 a.m. so their
daughter Alana would be on time for her first performance with a festival dance troupe.
Until the festival ends, the family will make about four trips to the Kansas City area every week. Someday, Alana wants to be a dancer on Broadway, Mrs. Fulcher explained.
Mr. Pulcher lay down on a hay bale with one foot trailing in the dust. He said he wouldn't complain about the trips. "I'm not supposed to use bad language," he said. "No, really, I don't mind the driving—what else is there besides your kids?"
After Alana had danced, a few spectators gathered to watch the dapped birds of prey in the falconer's ring while others wandered toward the booth boots.
In other booths, about 100 craftsmans from 11 states sold their wares. Pottery, hand-woven shawls, garlands of flowers, paintings and milleageggs were all ready for the taking—for a prick.
ALONG THE straw-covered walkway, dishes from several different countries were sold, including baklava from Greece, Scotch whiskey and cured meats, quiche and sarmagnets called pizza-on-a-stick.
"Ye Olde Master Charge and Visa accepted," a wooden sign read.
At the Renaissance festival, prices were decidedly higher than those of the 16th century.
Hand-painted Ukrainian eggs cost from $5 to $10 and square egg cost from $7 to $12. The garlandin and the roses are aged about $8.
THE FESTIVAL iS a benefit, however, for the Kansas City Art Institute, and profits from garland sales go to Children's Mercy Hospital, Parks and Co. the firm that promotes the festival.
As he spoke, two knights were engaged in a mortal-mortal-combat in an arena 15 feet away.
"Dow, they look just like Luke Skywalker and Dov, they murmured a woman in the audience.
The knights in question were members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group founded in 1927.
IN OCTOBER, when the festival ends, the knights will sheath their swords, the artisans will dismantle their boots and the acting troupes will move on to the next fair. Parks said the haystrew grounds would be raked and returned to order.
The Renaissance Festival will run for the next five weekends. Ticket prices are: advance, $25; regular admission, $40; children (5-12) $1.50; and adult gate admission ($5.75. Children under five are admitted free.)
ROBERT POOLER/Pearson stuff
A beilegued knight takes a breather before the next grueling walk in the Renaissance Festival.
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