jaideip Avau v
m.
Mardi Gras — only in New Orleans
A look at the celebration in New Orleans and some
tips catching Mardi Gras beads. 6
features
Anew chapter in her life.
Alison Leland is the first black woman appointed to Texas
A&M Board of Regents. 3
Happy Valentine’s Day.
The origins of kissing, hot dates for tonight and a skeptics
view. 4
reviews
Texas bands strike it big with album releases. 11
film
‘Hamlet’
Film adaptation of literary classic is entertaining for all.
10
“L.A. Story’
Plot provides superficial laughs. 10
LIFE #
! migizii
editor
Kristin North
associate editor
Cindy McMillian
art director
Phelan M. Ebenhack
feature writers
Yvonne Salce
Terri Welch
reviewers
John Mabry
Rob Newberry
Julia Spencer
contributing writers
Donna Banse
Pamela Lee
Brian Paradis
Kevin Robinson
Lisa Young
photographer
SdndraN. Robbins
Life Style is a weekly publication of The Texas A&M Battalion. The publisher and edi
tors are not responsible for unsolicited material. For advertising information please
call (409) 845-2696. For editorial information please call (409) 845-3313.
February 14,1991
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Texas bands score witb recordings
By Rob Newberry
The Road Kings
Runnin'Hot
Roots Records
Formerly from College Station, now
based in Houston, the Road Kings
have developed a style riding the
fence between blues-rock and country
in that gray area of rockabilly. But this
release is definitely not shady; for a
new band’s first recording, this is ex
tremely solid.
Singer-guitarist Jesse Dayton fronts
the band with bluesy guitar licks and
twangy vocals. Filling out the hip-hop
rhythms are Brian Lux on bass (usually
upright) and Eric Tucker on drums.
The threesome is as tight on tape as
they are playing live.
The only disappointment with the
release is the brevity. Six songs, in
cluding “Shotgun Wedding Blues,”
"Lust is a Terminal Thang” and my
fave “Walk On By,” make up the re
cording, but that’s a very.small sam
pling of what these guys have in their
pockets. I wouldn't have objected to
even having a cover song or two on
the collection; the Road Kings can
play the hell out of Buddy Holly and
Jerry Lee Lewis tunes.
Look for the Road Kings playing
around town for music that pleases
both country and rock fans. And if
you’re as impressed as I was, grab a
copy of the tape.
Josh Alan
Famous and Poor
Four Dots Records
A regular on the Dallas Deep Eilum
music scene, Josh Alan satisfies fans
of his incredibly innovative guitar style
with his first release. Alan has played
at the Front Porch Cafe a couple of
times, and is scheduled to play later in
the semester for those of us who enjoy
watching as well as listening to his
style.
Alan’s tape includes several instru
mental songs that capitalize on his
guitar work, and opens with “Josh’s
Breakdown,” a jazzy, bluesy number
he normally kicks off his live set with.
The release also includes his cover of
Hendrix’s “Stone Free,” a favorite with
Alan’s live crowds, recorded with a
band on the tape.
Alan’s lyrics are nearly as captivat
ing as the guitar work itself. The title
track and "Greyhound” both poke fun
using Alan’s subtle dark humor. Much
of the other work is bluesy and raw,
with some songs he recorded on a
little Teac tape player in the kitchen of
his Dallas home.
The guitar work on Alan’s release is
the most impressive I've ever seen,
with quick changes between slide,
jazz, blues and rhythm. The lyrics
aren’t shabby, either, so fans of this
best-kept secret will want to pick up
on Famous and Poor.
This is the first
of a two-part
review of recent
releases by
Texas bands.
LARD-alternative music with sense of humor
By Brian Paradis
LARD
The Last Temptation of Reid
Alternative Tentacles Records
LARD is about as close as industrial
hard-core music has come to a super
group. The band is headed up vocally
by Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys,
along with Alien Jourgensen (guitars,
prog.) and Paul Barker (bass, prog.)
both from Ministry, Revolting Cocks
and Skinny Puppy. The cast is
rounded out by Jeff Ward on drums,
also from the Revolting Cocks. It’s am
azing that with this compilation of
higher-profile industrial artists, LARD
is still more or less relegated to the
underground stereotype. They re
leased their latest album The Last
Temptation of Reid on Alternative Ten
tacles Records—Biafra’s own label.
It is clear that Reid, the band’s first
full-length release, is more than just an
outletting of their collective social
conscience. This album is meant to
serve as a kick in the butt (or a boot to
the head — whatever it takes) to all the
blissfully ignorant who close their eyes
and ears to the realities of the world
around them. As Biafra aptly put it in a
song on the LARD's first album,
"When people are asleep, we must all
become alarm clocks.”
Upon listening to the album, it is im
mediately apparent that Biafra intends
to wake up the sleeping with his
shocking lyrics and shouting cartoon
like voice that DK fans are so familiar
with.-It is also clear, in noting the pro
duction, that Biafra’s vocals are meant
to dominate, while the instrumentation
isdeemphasized.
The opening track “Forkboy” de
nounces the evils of ultra-capitalism
and those who choose to be the tools
of it. It’s a tune I strongly recommend
to certain graft-ridden politicians and
alumni that inevitably come to mind.
The next song “Pineapple Face’’ is a
satirical look at the U.S./Panama crisis
as if through the eyes of that poorly
complexioned dictator himself, Man
uel Noriega. “When the mouse that
roared / Bites the elephant that feeds /
Ringmaster cracks / 20,000 whips.”
The needling of U.S. foreign policy
continues. “Cartoon boogeymen to
keep the people scared /1 believe ev
ery word ’cos the truth is too weird /
Who framed Roger Rabbit? / Who
framed Khaddafi then blew up his
kid?”
The most hilarious track on Reid,
“Mate Spawn & Die,” is up there with
Frank Zappa’s “Broken Hearts are for
Assholes” as one of the great anti-ro
mance anthems of all time. In a world
of Hollywood-glam-bands, soap opera
lust-affairs, and all other portrayals of
love dripping with cheese,, “Mate
Spawn & Die” lends a refreshing alter
native. “In one corner of the ring / That
cherished myth / Falling in love mag
ically solves / Every problem you’ve
ever had / In the other corner / Spoon-
size shredded dreams."
“Drug Raid at 4 a.m." is a humor
ous, yet frighteningly realistic, staging
of a typical DEA break-in style drug
bust. After thoroughly raping the sus
pects’ rights, the officer exits saying,
“Sorry, wrong house.”
"Bozo Skeleton" is the song in
which Lard unleashes its ultimate
theme: “If every fool wore a crown, we
should all be king.” This song, and the
whole album, is filled with references
to censorship (specifically the PMRC),
a subject that Biafra feels strongly
about. He even tours and lectures on
the subject, which is exceptional con
sidering the fact that LARD doesn’t
even tour as a band.
In covering “They’re Coming to
Take Me Away," Biafra parodies his
own paranoia concerning his history
of being targeted by censors. He spe
cializes in poking fun at others, but is
quick to note: "My license to make fun
of everyone / Comes from knowing I’m
the biggest joke of all.”
If you’ve noticed that I haven't men
tioned much about the music instru-
mentally, that’s because there isn’t
much to say. If you’re a fan of Jour
gensen and Barker through their work
in Ministry, Skinny Puppy and Revolt
ing Cocks, then you could find your
self dissapointed with this album mu
sically. LARD is clearly a vehicle for
Biafra to showcase lyrically. While
there is some interesting guitar work
in “M S & D" and "I am Your Clock,” a
nearly 15 minute epic cursing socie
ty’s stifling of creativity, it doesn’t
quite hold up to most of Jourgensen’s
prior work.
In comparison with their first re
lease, the three-track Power of LARD
EP, I found Jeff Ward’s drumming
lacking in imagination and diversity.
But I must consider that when ex
pected to keep up with the creativity
of men with names like "Jello” and “A-
lien” not much can be expected from
a “Jeff.”
Nevertheless, what you have with
LARD is some straight-forward
punk/thrash music simplistically back
ing the vocals of a man named after a
popular brand of gelatin. And if you
take the time to listen and to read the
lyrics, what you have with The Last
Temptation of Reid is an album with as
much biting humor as Zappa’s Sheik
Yerbouti. If you’re a fan of alternative
music with a sense of humor, LARD is
for you. If not... forget I mentioned it.
page 11
Life Style magazine