SBiARTS
Cljarlotte ^osit
THURSDAY, May 29, 1997
NTERTAINMENT
Crouch
returns with
Pray CD
by Winfred B. Cross
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Andre Crouch
Pray
Scott V. Smith and
Andre Crouch,
producers
QwestAVamer Bros.
Records
☆☆☆ 1/2
Before Kirk Franklin was
raising eyebrows with “Stomp,”
Andre Crouch had church folks
making the same complaints.
“That ain’t gospel!” “Sounds
like jazz to me.” “You can’t sing
those blues in church.”
. Crouch was always good at
combining traditional gospel
sounds with the music of the
^ay. He still is. Pray is in the
ijein of his best albums like
jhis Is Another Day and No
Time To Lose. It bridges the
gap between r&b and gospel in
file way that most should find
spiritually fulfilling as well as
ear pleasing.
^ The opening song is classic
Crouch. The melody bounces
along as the background
singers soar jubilantly on the
chorus. Crouch’s voice is at its
raspy best on “Distraction,” a
duet with his twin sister
Sandra. “He Does All Things
Well” is as grounded in r&b
star Brandy’s “Baby” as it is in
the Bible. A trio of sisters
named Kimberly, Kandy and
Krystal Johnson give the song
^ ‘90s soulful edge. “Just A
Matter of Time” could be con
sidered “I’ll Be Thinking of You,
Part ir - same lilting melody,
same memorable lyrics.
Crouch sings more on this CD
than he has on the last couple
of releases. He still has his all-
star backups - Alfie Silas,
Kristie Murden, Tata Vega,
The Waters and McCrarys. And
he’s writing songs that reach
back to his heyday as a lyricist.
You could call it more of the
same, and that means you
would have to call it good.
Norman Connors
ETisy Living
Norman Connors, pro
ducer
MoJazz/Motown
Records
☆☆☆
When percussionist
Norman Connors opened his
latest CD titled Easy Living
I with “One For Mr. C,” I got the
I impression it was going to be
\ spectacular. The deep, rich
I cords of the piano combined
' with Najee’s sexy sax pulled me
j in immediately.
I Alas, the CD is only good.
I There is a lot to like, especially
1 the tranquil “Saturday
I Afternoon” and the flowing
I “River Nile.” But there is a lot
j of stuff that’s just so-so. “Every
I time I Fall In Love,”
I “Remember When” and “The
] Day We Said I Do” all seem a
I hit lackluster when compared
I to the great stuff.
' Nojnatter. Great and so-so
' eqlf^good and that’s about all
I you can ask for these days.
See SOUNDS on page 6B
SummerFest moves to Blockbuster venue
By Winfied B. Cross
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
WPEG FM 98 will move its
annual SummerFest concert
from downtown Memorial
Stadium to the smaller
Blockbuster Pavilion near the
UNC Charlotte area.
Robb Ferguson, marketing
director for WPEG, said the
move should prove to be a good
one.
“We were trying to expand to
another area,” Ferguson said.
“We already have a relation
ship with the folks at
Blockbuster. 'This is a way of
enhancing that relationship.”
This will be the third
SummerFest. The first two
held in Memorial Stadium
drew nearly 50,000 patrons.
The stadium holds about
25,000. Blockbuster Pavilion,
located on Highway 29 near
the Caharrus Comity Une, has
about 14,000 seats and a
grassy area which holds more
than 5,000.
“It’s a smaller venue, but it’s
still going to (have) a low, low
ticket price,” Ferguson said.
“We’re still in deliberation on
prices. We’re looking at adding
a children’s area. And the local
vendors will still be present.”
Although smaller, the
Pavilion is better suited for a
concert. That’s what it was
built for. Its summer concert
series have drawn such artists
as Whitney Houston, R. Kelly,
Ray Charles, Natalie Cole and
George Clinton.
“If we look at it realistically,
the stage is there, the lights
are there emd the sound sys
tem. It’s geared to having a
full-scale production,”
Ferguson said. “It’s already
perfectly outfitted for what we
want to do.”
'The new location may prove
to be a logistical problem for
some of WPEG’s listeners.
Memorial Stadium’s downtown
location is centrally located.
The Pavilion is on the fringe of
the coimty. Ferguson said the
station is looking into an agree
ment with the Charlotte
'Transit Authority to establish a
shuttle bus system.
Ferguson is tight-lipped on
who will perform at
SummerFest. “I wish I could
tell you,” he said. “But it’s
going to be the best we’ve had
so far. People can be prepared
for some real excitement.”
Breakfast Brothas B.J. Murphy (left) and Keith Richards (no longer a part of the duo) host the
first SummerFest in 1995 at Memorial Stadium. (File photo)
The first SummerFest was
held in 1995. About 24 acts per
formed, which included Jody
Watley and MC Hammer. The
1996 show featured rappers
Outkast, D.J. Kool and about
18 other acts.
Ferguson said this year’s
show will feature about 16
acts, which the station will
begin announcing in June. The
station will do ticket giveaways
and on-air promotions. Local
Chevrolet dealers will offer dis
count coupons. 'Tickets will be
available at all 'TicketMaster
locations and both Willies
Records Tapes & CDs locations.'
“Willies is going to be our one-
stop SummerFest location,”
Ferguson said. “You will be
able to purchase SummerFest
towels and other items. This is
really going to be a big event.”
New book chronicles the street code for respect
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA - As a
University of Chicago graduate
student in the early 1970s,
Elijah Anderson spent three
years on one street comer, talk
ing to the young black men who
hung out there, finding out
about their lives. From that
came a book, “A Place on the
Comer.”
A quarter-centuiy later, the
Ivy League sociologist is wrap
ping up his latest study of
black inner-city life — this one
on a “code of the streets” that
Anderson says drives much of
the violence over jackets,
sneakers and girlfriends.
The code centers on the dan
gerous business of getting and
maintaining “respect,” or
“props,” in communities where
people feel they must fend for
themselves because the larger
society has abandoned them.
“A lot of them don’t like liv
ing by this code but, in a way,
if you’re living in this commu
nity, you don’t really have a
choice,” Anderson said. “With
respect you can be left alone.
Not only can you feel good
about yourself, it’s useful to
get people to give you some
space.”
'The ethnographer ventured
from his comfortable office at
the University of
Pennsylvania to Philadelphia’s
most blighted neighborhoods.
“I visited jails. I visited tav
erns. I visited schools, play
grounds, car washes, conve
nience stores, street corners,
housing projects, and I got to
know people in various com
munities,” said Anderson, who
is 52 and black.
He foimd a stmcture to the
neighborhoods, where people
define themselves as “decent”
- those who accept main
stream values and focus on
church, school and work — or
“street” - crack-addicted moth
ers or dmg dealers whose lives
are marked by violence and
disarray.
“Most people are decent and
trying to be,” he said.
Decent and street people
alike, feeling they have been
left without police protection,
municipal services and jobs,
follow the code. The decent
youths must sometimes mimic
street behavior for their own
s£ifety.
“'There’s not a whole lot of
faith that one’s concerns will
be met,” Anderson said. “It
means that people are more
into taking matters into their
own hands.”
Middle-class, decent families
learn how to switch to street
code, becoming loud and bois
terous and staring people
down if necessary.
Those without respect, who
don’t dress and carry them
selves the right way, risk
harassment or violence. People
feel they must let others know
they will answer insults and.
physical attacks.
Children who run home from .
a fight might hear: “Don’t you
come in here crying about he
beat you up. I didn’t raise no
punk. You get back out there
and whup his ass.” 'The par
ents are trying to toughen
their youngsters for survival,
Anderson said.
'The code can be subtle but;
always involves showing
See BOOK on Page 6B
Cosby shooting theory offered
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - TTie son of
comedian Bill Cosby may have
been killed while offering a
cigarette to someone. Time
magazine reported this week.
Crime-scene photographs
shown to magazine staffers
shov/ed Ennis Cosby clutching
a pack of cigarettes.
'That, along with the point-
blank nature of the fatal gun
shot wound, support the con
jectured scenario, the maga
zine said in its June 2 issue,
citing forensics experts.
Time did not publish the
crime scene photos in the
issue, which hits U.S. news
stands Monday.
Ennis Cosby, 27, was found
dead beside his father’s con
vertible Jan. 16 along a dark
road where he apparently had
stopped to change a tire. 'The
elder Cosby is one of the most
popular comedians in the
United States and is best
known for his routines about
fatherhood.
'Time magazine also reported
that Cosby may have been hit
or kicked in the mouth after
his heart stopped beating,
since he suffered a split lip but
the lip was virtually
unswollen.
'Trauma inflicted after the
heart has stopped will not
cause typical swelling and dis
coloration.
Telephone messages seeking
comment from the Los Angeles
County District Attorney’s
office and defendant Mikail
Markhasev’s public defender,
Henry Hall, were not immedi
ately returned Sunday.
Attorneys in the case are
bound by a gag order.
'The photos also show gun
powder residue on the left side
of Cosby’s face, suggesting the
killer was within 4 feet of
Cosby, Time said.
The photos show Cosby’s
right hand clutching a pack of
Natural American Spirit ciga
rettes, the magazine said. The
'Time story did not say what, if
any, further evidence supports
the cigarette offering theory.
The New York Daily News
reported in January that
Cosby apparently had a pack
of cigarettes in his hand when
'*he died.
Markhasev, 18, has pleaded
innocent. He was arrested in
March after an acquaintance
implicated him in the killing
and attempted robbery.
Police were led to a wooded
area where a knit cap smd gun
were found.
But there were no finger
prints on the gun, 'Time report
ed.
‘Lost’ sets records
By Michelle Dearmond
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES - 'The cunning skills of the Caped Crusader
and secret agents and even the high-tech powers of space
aliens were no match for the brute force ot dinnsaurs.
Steven Spielberg’s giant lizards crushed opening weekend
box office records as “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” made
$90.2 million over the Memorial Day holiday period.
'That total would beat the “Mission: Impossible” opening
four-day take of $56.8 million last year, according to prelimi
nary figures released Sunday.
'The “Jurassic Park” sequel was on track to defeat the five-day
opening of $85 million set by “Independence Day” in July and
the three-day opening of “Batman Forever” in 1996 of $52.8
million.
Tlie estimated Friday-through-Sunday figure for “'The Lost
World: Jurassic Park” was $69.1 million. “Jurassic Park”
grossed $47.1 million in its three-day opening in 1993.
Tlie holiday weekend estimate is based on projected total
sales from Friday through Monday and does not include the
gross from previews. Total cumulative sales through Monday
were estimated to reach $88.1 million for “The Lost World:
Jurassic Park.”
It could have passed the $100 million mark as early as
'Tuesday.
'The sequel, about a man (Jeff Goldblum) who tries to rescue
his naturalist girlfriend (Julianne Moore) from a dinosaur-
infested island, benefited from recent ticket price hikes to as ’
high as $9 in New York and the widest release ever to 3,281
See MOVIES Page 6B
Same old, same old for ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ co-star?
By Dinah Wisenberg
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES - Former
“DifTrent Strokes” child star
'Ibdd Bridges pleaded innocent
to several misdemeanor
charges stemming from a dis
pute that allegedly escalated
into the ramming of a friend’s
car.
Defense attorney Richard J.
Beada entered the pleas
Monday to one count each of
reckless driving, malicious
vandalism of an automobile
and battery. Bridges, now 31,
wasn’t in court.
Municipal Court
Commissioner Joseph S.
Biderman set trial for Jime 23.
Bridges was arrested Jan. 19
after an acquaintance, Michael
Hill, accused him of deliberate
ly ramming his car following
an argument in Marina del
Rey.
Investigators said Hill got in
his car and drove away.
Bridges allegedly followed him
and rammed his car in Culver
City and again in the West Los
Angeles area. Officer Don Cox
said at the time.
“As a result of that collision,
he hit a couple of parked cars,”
Cox said.
Bridges, who played Willis on
the 1978-86 NBC-'TV sitcom,
has been arrested several
times before.
He was arrested in 1993 after
police allegedly found metham-
phetamine and a handgun in a
car he was driving. He was
charged with possessing and
transporting a controlled sub
stance while carrying a
firearm.
Earlier that year, he arrested
for stabbing a tenant for drugs,
but authorities declined to
press charges, saying Bridges
acted in self-defense.
In 1990, Bridges was acquit-'
ted of assault with a deadly
weapon in the near fatal shoot-;
ing of a narcotics dealer in a
Los Angeles drug den. Bridges
was earlier acquitted o^
attempted murder in the case, j
Bridges testified in his
November 1989 trial that he
became depressed and turned
to drugs after the situation
comedy was canceled in 1986.