Dr. Love penetrates tape release scene
By Rob Newberry
Dr. Love and the Erogenous Zones
Dr. Love and the Erogenous Zones
Local act Dr. Love and the Eroge
nous Zones penetrate the tape re
lease scene with their self-titled demo
tape. The foursome has been a com
edy hit in the local scene with their
raunch-rock songs dealing totally (ex
plicitly?) with sex.
For the most part, the tape is just a
sampling of songs from their laugh-
riot live sets. The release was re
corded in the studio, so the feel of the
drunken performances isn’t quite
there. But Dr. Love's lyrics are cleverly
funny, and for laughs, the tape holds
its own.
Musically, the Zones leave a few
things to be desired. Heavy on mostly
distorted guitar from Guido and Dr.
Love’s own uneven voice, the mix also
sports a lot of fake drums and synths.
But the music's second-rate quality
doesn’t keep me from laughing out
loud when I listen to the tape.
Better tunes on the release, as in
their live shows, are "The Thrust" and
"Hefty, Hefty, Hefty.” The latter half of
"Inflatable Woman” is the climax of the
album — when Dr. Love says his girl
never has a headache, it’s a hoot.
The whole album is a hoot, really.
page 10
Don’t look for any outstanding music,
but the laughs are there if you want
’em.
Retarted Elf
RESPEC
One of the movers on the crowded
Texas funk scene, Austin's Retarted
Elf throws four tracks onto their demo
tape, RESPEC. Though short, the tape
will leave listeners wanting to hear
more of the band’s very dancy funk,
which I suppose is what the band had
in mind.
Heavily influenced by rap, frontmen
Wubba Dis and Twink rhythmically
rhyme on top of the Hell Horns Dave
Savage and Ricky Dis. Wonderbred's
wah-wah pedal on his guitar stands
out, too.
The Elf’s live set includes dancers,
so obviously that part of the show can’t
be captured on tape. But for the most
part, the rest of the energy in their set
survives intact.
Bouffant Jellyfish
Six Month Shelf Life
Though just past the six-month
deadline, the hottest funk act in Texas,
Bouffant Jellyfish, still gets play on my
tape deck with their second release.
Capitalizing on the guys’ rocking mix
of funk and metal, Six Month Shelf Life
shows a strong band with a strong re
cording.
Opening with the blaster "Go and
Tell Your Mother,” Bouffant takes off
with plenty of umph, and doesn’t quit.
“War Peace Guilt Fuck,” “Whatever”
and “Meat and Power" finish out the
list of hard-driving bashes, and the hu
morous rap-metal "Coach” makes my
list of faves in Texas music.
Recorded last June before singer
George Mack replaced David Mcln-
tire, the tape is not exactly what you’ll
see at a live Bouffant show — no tape
could capture the energy of their live
set. But the release shows a band that
can bring it together in the studio as
tightly as they do on stage.
Dream Horse
Primitive Dreams
Horseplay Records
Rounding out the local music re
leases is the acoustic guitar duet of
Stacy Leider and Cristy Claxton, better
known as Dream Horse, and their de
but cassette Primitive Dreams.
It's impossible to not make the com
parison to the Indigo Girls, so I won’t
try to avoid it. The tunes on Dream
Horse’s cassette are blends of acous
tic rhythm guitar and harmonies be
tween Leider and Claxton that are so
similar to the live sound produced by
the Georgia duet it’s unreal.
The one thing that saves the music
from being too much like the Indigos
is Claxton's added harmonica parts.
While “Mind of the Madness” sounds
like either band could have done it,
the harmonica on “I'll Give You More”
makes it sound much more original.
Musically, Dream Horse is solid.
The acoustic melodies are pleasant,
and the vocal harmonies come across
strong. Lyrically, the songs are folky
and poppy, from the protest style of
“Mind of the Madness” to relationship
songs like “Don’t Say You Love Me.”
Religious influences are present, too
—- Leider’s version of “Jesus Loves
the Little Children” (my favorite track
off the cassette) opens the release,
and their arrangement of “Humble
Thyself" closes it.
Fans of the Indigos’ style will find a
lot they like here, and so will others
who enjoy good harmonies set
against acoustic guitar. But if you al
ready know you’re not a fan of folky
music, I wouldn’t mess with this one.
February 21,1991
L
The beauty of autumn
in Tuscany, as well as
the ever-changing
light and colors of
Venice, inspired Dr.
Edwin Hoag's series
of watercolors, ink
and ink and wash
drawings.
MNMMMMMft
Charles Smith, a second year medical stu
dent from Dickonson, looks at one of the
quilts made by Mary Jane Hoag on display
of the Inn U Pox/nnlHc Rnilfiinn
Stay in Italy inspires local artists
By Julia Spencer
Sporting a denim vest quilted by his
wife, Mary Jane, Texas A&M land
scape architecture associate profes
sor Dr. Edwin Hoag chatted Friday
about the inspirations for the couple’s
artwork, currently on display in the
lobby of the Joe H. Reynolds Medical
Building.
Hoag said their 25th wedding anni
versary prompted him and his wife to
spend four months at Castiglion Fio-
rentino, Italy, as part of the College of
Architecture’s Study Abroad Program.
Thefe, the beauty of autumn in Tus
cany especially, as well as the ever-
changing light and colors of Venice,
inspired his series of watercolors, ink
and ink and wash drawings.
An ink drawing of the church near
the study center, the Chiesa Della
Collegiata, being sold as a limited edi
tion print, was originally going to be a
"protest” work. Hoag said he wanted
to color all the buildings in the drawing
except the new facade of the church,
because he objected to its clashing
style, but the print turned out so well in
black and white, he decided to leave it
that way and abandon the protest.
An ink drawing delicately washed in
Life Style magazine
dusty green, brown and terra cotta de
picts one of the many steep, narrow
streets of the town. A watercolor
shows the town fortress, much under
seige by the Florentines and the Pi
sans in the days when Italy was made
up of warring city-states. Hoag said
that soldiers and families would take
refuge in the immense tower, which
along with the Gastello Montecchio,
seen in the background, is currently
being restored by A&M architecture
students.
Other works, rendered with a mar
velous eye for detail, depict different
views of the church, which was a wel
come landmark for students returning
from field trips. An abandoned villa, a
farm courtyard with a massive wooden
cart and tiny white chickens, and a
sunrise complete with a rooster
pheasant peeking out from behind a
tree, are likewise given perceptive,
detailed watercolor treatments.
A series of watercolors done in
Venice masterfully captures the fickle
moods of that magical city. Two of its
most famous churches, San Marco
and Santa Maria Della Salute, are por
trayed at night and in the fog, respec
tively. A palace designed by Pietro
Lombardo, the Palazzo Dario, was the
subject of another watercolor which
more than overcame the "challenge"
of setting down the elusive Venetian
colors before the light changed. As
the artist pointed out, with watercolor,
"once it’s down, it's down.”
Mary Jane Hoag, already an ac
complished quitter, found her Italian
inspiration in the marble patterns on
the floors and walls of churches, her
husband said. Interested in the pres
ervation of quilting as an art form, she
was fascinated to discover that many
popular geometrig designs used in
quilting today could be found in
churches dating back to the 12th cen
tury.
One wall hanging in the exhibit, an
Amish design of a house done in pri
mary colors, she has titled “Rosetta
House," because it was instrumental
in explaining to Italians unfamiliar with
her craft what kinds of fabrics and
materials she needed and for what
purpose. Once supplied with the help
of this "codebreaker,” she went to
work on a quilted hanging no bigger
than most of the watercolors, but
made up of 952 individual pieces,
one-inch triangles in green, red and
white, the colors of the Italian flag.
This staggering task should change
the minds of people who think quilting
is not an art requiring considerable tal
ent and skill.
A brown and white star design on
another quilt was inspired by patterns
in Santa Maria Novello and in the
Duomo in Siena. Teal, mustard and
terra cotta colors in another design,
based on patterns from the church of
St. Francis in Assissi, evoke the
unique hues of the Italian landscape.
The showpiece of Mary Jane’s collec
tion is a quilted jacket and matching
tie featuring a beautiful and costly
printed fabric from Italy's Lake Como
region. She stitched around the or
chids in the pattern to make them
stand out. Hoag says to watch for him
and his wife wearing the jacket and tie
at an upcoming OPAS performance.
Hoaq, who was previously a profes
sor at Oklahoma State University, has
been at A&M for 11 years. He is rep
resented locally by the Local Color
Gallery. The A&M exhibit runs through
February, and a reception for the art
ists will be held at the College of Medi
cine Wednesday from 3-6 p.m.
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