Dr. Rizzo and Mr. Pete
DOUBLE
IDENTITY
By Pamela Lee
The Battalion
W
hat has become one of A&M's newest traditions continues despite the closure of the Flying
Tomato.
Sneaky Pete, once a regular performer at the Flying Tomato, has been singing and playing the
guitar in College Station over seven years.
The tradition began at the Sunset Grill at Northgate. Sneaky Pete and the Neon Madmen played
oldies music there on the weekends in 1984.
"The Sunset Grill was a hangout for the rugby team, which scrimmaged and went there after
wards," Pete said.
The manager, who needed someone to entertain the team but didn't need an entire band, en
couraged Pete to go solo on Wednesday nights.
"Pretty soon, word got around," Pete said. "I've been at Northgate all along."
Pete said the Wednesday Night Sing Along became a tradition in its forth year, when students
who had attended as freshman continued to come hear play.
Sneaky Pete's real name is Peter Rizzo. The name Sneaky Pete came from an old high school
bowling partner.
"While we were watching bowlers, I would shift my eyes over to the bowlers," Rizzo said.
"This guy Bucky said it was a sneaky look. I would keep my head straight and not move, except
my eyes."
Rizzo said he became interested in playing the guitar "in 1958 listening to 'Johnny B. Goode' by
Chuck Berry."
"I bought a guitar from a pawn shop for $13," Rizzo said. "By 1960,1 had my first band."
Rizzo's first band, the Sequents, played instrumental in Gary, Indiana.
Two years after high school, having saved enough money, Rizzo stopped playing the guitar and attended
Indiana University . Rizzo got a B.A. in Biology there. He went on to receive a masters in Botany and a Ph.D.
from the University of Michigan and a post doctoral from Purdue in 1975.
Rizzo has been an associate professor of Biology at Texas A&M since the fall of 1975.
It wasn't until Jan. 1976 that Rizzo began performing again. "I missed it," Pete said. "I would go to a par
ty and put the guitar in the car. There was always that urge. It's not a case that there is more time."
In 1987, Rizzo wrote novelty songs for the Dr. Demento Show.
"Enthused about that kind of music, I started playing novelty and oldies," Rizzo said.
Rizzo also submitted songs to KKYS and a syndicated radio show out of Los Angeles.
"I sent a lot of them (records)," Rizzo said. "He (the radio station manager) selected 'Rhinestones and Po
HUY NGUYEN/The Battalion
Sneaky Pete, a.k.a. Dr. Pete Rizzo, performs every Wednesday night at Two Pesos
lar Bears', a polka. Most (songs) get rejected though for one reason or another."
After playing various songs, KKYS puts together the Funny Five,the top five requested songs for the
week. Rizzo's "Booger on My Beer Mug" remained in the Funny Five almost two months.
Rizzo said not too many students know about his shows, but those that find out think its great.
"Sometimes there is a predisposition against professors, that we are stuffed shirts and we have to be,"
Rizzo said. Being a performer put me closer to them.
"I usually tell my class Sneaky Pete is my twin brother ."
Rizzo said he Won't ever strictly perform because trying to make a living performing is too hard. His love
of teaching and researching have also kept him from leaving the university and performing only.
Despite the time commitment of being a professor and father, Rizzo continues to perform upstairs at Two
Pesos every Wednesday nights for $2.
Music Reviews
Smashing Pumpkins
By Kevin Robinson
The Battalion
Smashing Pumpkins
;.,orr. gish
Caroline Records
oi .noo.
Listening to "Siva" off the new album by Smashing
Pumpkins, I was hit by those same old feelings I had
when hearing Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking or
Dinosaur Jr.'s Bug for the first time. Here again is a
band that reaches their collective hand into rock stan
dards, pulls out a few select cliches, and proceeds to do
something completely their own. To make it plain, this
band rocks.
As far as I can tell, gish is the first actual album the
Pumpkins have put together, though they reportedly
have a few singles on the SubPop label. Despite its rel
ative youth, the band plays as seemlessly as if they'd
been making records for years. The music is largely
bass and percussion driven, but Smashing Pumpkins is
no funk band. The group's music sounds like an out-
branching of alternative thrash. There's the heaviness
of many of the SubPop bands like Mudhoney, a quiet
artiness at times that reminds me of Jane's Addiction.
But more than anything, the Pumpkins infuse this disc
with a kinetic sound that's all their own. If drummer
Jimmy Chamberlain and female bassist D'Arcy sound
as if they'd be more comfortable with George Clinton,
well, that's just one more dash of spice to the soup.
The first two tracks, "I am One" and "Siva," intro
duce the band's version of funky thrash. In the midst
of vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan's spiraling whine,
the sound winds into an electric groove, punctuated by
Chamberlain's drum kit and D'Arcy's throbbing bass.
Although the sound is definitely alternative to any
thing typically classified as hard rock or metal, the
band also owes just as much to vintage Led Zeppelin as
to the current alternative scene. Over the energetic
grunge of much of this material, guitarist James Iha
pulls a layer of retro guitar solos that could have come
out of any early '70s hard rock band.
Throughout the entire album, Corgan's vocals are
release rocking debut
more of a country twang, despite the band being from
Wisconsin. For those that aren't sure that this would
work with this kind of a band, just witness how well
the vocals for the Meat Puppets or Dinosaur Jr. blend .
In sharp contrast to these, the songs,"Crush," "Bury
Me" and "Windowpaine" provide a quiet atmosphere
to the album. The songs aren't really ballads, but have
sort of a quiet psychedelia against the powerful back
drop of the other tracks. However, as different as these
songs are, they still hold to the distorted guitar sound
that pervades the album. Instead of the sharp beat of
the other tracks though, these are held together by a
slow' grungy guitar and sound effects.
To close, the album takes a 180 degree turn with
"Daydream". Using a vocal by bassist D'Arcy and a
quiet acoustic guitar, the song shows that the band has
another completely different side to its sound.
If gish can be used to judge this band. Smashing
Pumpkins is a band developing a unique style out of
combinations of different genres. Give these guys some
time and see how it comes out. It could be interesting.
Snapdragons mix styles for unique sound
By Chris Eklof
The Battalion
The Snapdragons
The Snapdragons
Atlantic
Noel Rockwood, lead singer of the Snap
dragons, describes their music like this: "Take
a generous helping of the roots of rock music.
Spice it with elements of soul, country, blue-
grass and jazz. Supercharge the mix with acid
rock and metal, and you have some of the in
gredients of our sound."
My friends described it in a different man
ner. On three separate occasions, someone
walked into the room where I was listening to
the album and asked, "Is this R.E.M.?" Well,
they were right. The Snapdragons do
sound like R.E.M. on several songs.
After listening to the entire album,how'-
ever, it is obvious that the Snapdragons'
sound leaps all over the place. At times it is
deeply psychedelic, at times it is funky, and
at times it is metallic. "The Shindig Song"
best exemplifies their eclectic nature. It cov
ers a wide range of music, starting out with
a bluegrass beat, moving into a heavy metal
chorus and back again to the original blue-
grass sound.
The Snapdragons' songs generally do
not have a lot of lyrics. They sing for a cou
ple of minutes and then let their instru
ments speak for themselves. It is at this
point that the songs come alive. They com
bine catchy hooks and funk rhythms to cre
ate an unique musical blend that does not
sound like R.E.M. or anyone else. It is a
sound all their own.
Rockwood believes that his lyrics con
front important human issues like racism and
sexism, but it is hard to find any meaning in
his songs. If there is a meaning, Rockwood has
deeply hidden it under his seemingly trivial
lyrics. In "The Turning of the Centuries",
Rockwood sings, "I'll have a party in my arter
ies at the turning of the centuries. Adobe brick
huts suit me at the turning of the centuries."
Huh? What important human issue is this
song attacking? Perhaps it is a w'arning to
watch your cholesterol level or maybe it is a
crusade against wooden houses. I certainly
don't understand.
The Snapdragons is an album that covers
many musical areas. Most people can find at
least one song that appeals to their tastes. It is
an interesting and highly entertaining album
that showcases the band's wide musical range.
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