# I f I
What’s wrong with ‘Eat it’?
By Louis Hilgartner
Staff Columnist
Within the past few weeks,
Weird Al Yankovic has shot to
intergalactic fame and fortune
with his remake of Michael
Jackson s smash hit “Beat It.
This has caused some con
sternation among the Michael
Jackson faithful and other Mu
sic Purists.
It seems that someone who
sells 60 million-jillion-thou-
sand-hundred records should
not be made fun of. Nor should
the other groups whose songs
Al has parodied.
At least that’s the opinion of
the Purists.
To these Purists, I say Bunk!’
In the first place, what is so
bloomin’ wonderful about Mi
chael Jackson, or anyone else,
for that matter? What is it that
elevates them above the rest of
the music world to the exalted
position of Those Who Will Not
Be Parodied?
Don’t tell me it’s a statistic-
like record sales or a concept
like talent. I don’t buy that.
Even Beethoven has been paro
died. I hardly think “Beat It”
can be compared to Beetho
ven’s Fifth Symphony on a
purely musical level.
So why is it that people get
bent out of shape over “Eat It?”
Don t forget, Michael Jackson
himself had to give permission
before Weird Al could record
the song.
As for the other songs redone
on the latest Weird Al album,
every one had to be OK’d by
the original group.
Men Without Hats, Survivor,
The Greg Khin Band and every
body else Al has poked fun at
have all had to give their con
sent to being ridiculed.
Which brings me to my point:
Music should be fun.
So often it’s easy to elevate
musicians to a superhuman
level. Do you remember the
“Clapton is God” craze of the
’60s? You can bet Eric won’t
ever forget.
It’s fine to admire a band or
individual artist (do I sound like
Dad?), but it’s not fine to get
carried away to the point of
hysteria. That’s when we have
little incidents like the tragic-
deaths at the Who concert in
Cincinnati or the riot at the
Texxas Jam.
When it comes to putting
things into perspective, the best
quote I’ve heard came from su-
perhuman-rock-guitar-god Ed
ward Van Halen: “When I fin-
ishedhighsch^^
Live music,
local bands
“Another Saturday and I
ain’t got nobody, I got some
money but I just got paid... ”
Well, singer/songwriter Cat
Stevens said it all in those few
words, but if you’re in that
circumstance, don’t lose all
hope.
Saturday night Fiddling
Frenehe Burke and A Little
Bit of Texas will perform at
the Lakeview Club on Tabor
Road.
Admission is $5 and free
draft beer will be served from
7 to 8 p.m.
For reservations, call 823-
0660.
Other live entertainment
can be found at Dr. Gee’s, a
5-month-old club and soon-
to-be restaurant on College
Main.
Scheduled to appear in
May are The Dishes and Da
vid Bean on May 2; Trout
Fishing in America on May 3;
Eek-A-Mouse with Jahmalla
on May 4; Rie Tangle & The
Squares on May 5; The Fab
ulous Thunderbtrds on May
7; Company C, a comedy
group, on May 8; O-Boy. an
dll-girl group on May 9; Rusty
Weir on May 10, and The
Teddv Bovs, on May 11.
Also appearing are Alan
Haynes & The Stepchildren,
on May 12; The Zealots, on
May 16; Dr. Roc-kit & The Sis
ters of Mercy, on May 17; The
Dishes, on May 18; Dana
Cooper & DC3, on May 19,
Darden Smith, on May 24;
Karen Kraft Band, on May 25;
Albatross, on May 26; Dana
Cooper, performing a solo act
May 30; and Banded Geckos,
on May 31.
Prices range from $3..50 to
$5, Willie Bennett, the man
ager and booking agent of Dr.
Gee’s, says.
The bands perform from 8
to 12 p.m. on weekdays and
from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on
weekends, he savs.
Dr. Gee’s is open every day
but Sunday. It currently
opens at 4 p.m. but Bennett
says when the restaurant
opens in about two weeks,
Dr. Gee’s will begin opening
at 11a.m.
The main thing at Dr. Gee’s
will always be the live music,
he says. “That’s what we’re
here for.”
4 At Ease, April 27
Louis
Hilgartner
guys were going ‘Which college
are you going to?’ I just went
back home and went up to my
room and wrote and played and
hoped to God I got somewhere
... I mean I got a low I.Q. If I
wasn’t playing guitar, I’d be
pumping gas.”
Other note-worthy tips:
Rod Stewart has a new album
which should be in your hot
little hands before long. Fea
tured on the album are guitar
ists Jeff Beck and B. B. King
who plays lead on a cover ver
sion of Todd Rundgren’s "Can
We Be Friends."
ZZ Top is "hard at work
writing tunes for their upcom
ing album, said their producer
Bill Ham. No release date has
been announced yet.
Alligator Records said that
Johnny Winter recently com
pleted the final mixing for his
forthcoming album Guitar
Slinger. This is Johnny’s first re
cord with Alligator, and he will
spend part of the summer tour
ing Europe.
The International Sanlucar
Guitar Course is being held in
Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain
this August. Guitarist Manolo
Sanlucar will be teaching inter
mediate guitarists flamenco
technique and culture. This
could be a great way to spend
part of your summer vacation.
It makes no difference what
particular style you play now,
or even if you speak Spanish.
All styles are welcome and
translators will be provided. If
you are interested, you can ei
ther contact me here at The Bat
talion or Irene Kessel, 32 Arca
dia Rd., Natick, MA 01760,
(617)653-4609.
‘Dishes’ to play at
By Lauri Reese
Senior Staff Writer
The Dishes, a rock band
from Houston, is teaming up
with David Bean, also from
Houston, for a series of shows
around Texas, and Dr. G’s in
College Station will be one of
their stopping places.
The Dishes, made up of
Jimmy Raycraft, guitar and vo
cals; Barbara Donaho, key
boards and vocals; Dickie Ma
lone, bass; and Pete Falcone,
drums, will bring their bizarre
yet classic ’60s music and their
upbeat, catchy originals to the
nightclub Wednesday, May 2.
The Dishes play anything
from the Beatles to Devo to old
television themes to instrumen
tal rock n’ roll.
Their originals include
“Beep Beep,” “Girls With Glass
es,” by Raycraft, and “No Mat
ter What You Do,” by Malone.
The band has been described
as a staggering array of trash-
rock, recycled psychedelia,
golden oldies, near-misses and
never-wases, filtered through
an accessible yet warped sensibi
lity.
It made its debut in Hunt
sville last June, soon thereafter
played its first Houston gig at
Corky’s and began making its
way around the local circuit.
An instant hit, The Dishes
have opened for recording art
ists such as Joe “King” Carrasco
and Cheap Trick and have re
leased one single, “Beep
Beep/Things Are Stressful,” on
Drive Thru Records.
They currently are working
on a new six-song EP to be re
leased in the summer.
The show will feature the
band backing up singer/songw
riter David Bean for a set of his
original material. As former
leader of the new wave combo
The Judy’s, Bean has opened
for numerous bands, including
the B-52’s and Talking Heads.
Bean, 22, released a seven-
song mini-LP last year entitled
“Modomusic,” and will be fea
tured on an upcoming compila
tion album of Texas artists to
tbe released by Elektra/Asylum
Records.
Bean is know for incorporat
ing outlandish props like porta
ble television sets, blenders and
palm trees in his act.
The Dishes and special guest
David Bean will perform at Dr.
G’s, 410 College Main, Wednes
day, May 2. For more informa
tion, call 846-1812.
If you ever wanted to learn
how to build your own guitars
or other musical instruments,
The Guild of American Lu
thiers will host its Ninth An
nual Convention/Exibition Of
Handmade Musical Instru
ments’ at Guilford College in
Greensboro N.C. The conven
tion, which lasts from August 2-
5, will cover such topics as con
struction of carved-top instru
ments, repair, restoration, fin
ishing, lute construction, pearl-
inlay techniques and drafting.
For info concerning exhibits,
lodging and schedules contact
David and Peggy Sheppard, 708
S. Elam Ave., Greensboro,
N.C. 27403, (919)274-2395.
CONCERTS:
Molly Hatchet ... Sat., April
28 ... at Gilley’s in Pasadena. Be
a part of music history in the
making as rock n roll comes to
Gilley’s. Oh well, at least it’s
Southern Rock.
Thomas Dolby ... Fri., May 4
... at the Opry House in Austin.
First he was blinded by science,
now he’s hyperactve — what
next?
Johnny Rodriguez ... Fri.
May 4 ... at Gilley’s.
Kool & the Gang ... Sun.,
May 6 ... at the Frank Erwin
Center in Austin.
Dr. G’s
Live!
David Bean and The
Dishes will be perform
ing at Dr. G’s on Wednes
day, May 2.