Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Aug. 25, 1980, edition 1 / Page 29
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ahr 3mh aar' Mni f.lcnday, August 20, 1900 FEATURES r '. r? r , r , -t i f 7 . fe y 0f r 1' 1 n o Ey r.IAKi; MUIUIELL Stiff Writer 1 J EW wave isn't new anymore. Pogoing, thin lies, short hair, short songs and short skirts have become such a commercial success nationally, that some of the revolutionary appeal has left the music because of its own success. New wave music and fashion are becoming firmly entrenched in some segments of middle-class America. Linda Ronstadt and Billy Joel are now slickly blasting out the kind of music that once couldn't be heard on the radio, while the large record companies ere scrambling to sign myriads of groups with a "different" sound. ' Though the nebulous movement may be cging and a; J stagnating a bit, its following is bigger than ever. Local clubs in Chapel Hill have booked more new wave bands than ever in the past year, and new wave record sales have skyrocketed. But has the whole purpose of a revolutionary rock sound been lost in the recent shuffle to pogo till you -puke? Many local band members, record store employees and new wave aficionados seem a bit worried about what this year's intense popularity and media exposure have done to the music. , They say innovative music has just been haphazardly shoved into a category and mislabeled by the press so that huge record companies can make a buck. There is a scorn for the term "new wave" in music circles. . . "We don't really accept the new wave title," Butch Modern, lead singer of the punk rock-type Raleigh based band Butchwax, said recently. "To me, it's X-Tcani cultarlst Kitty Ik", sec 3 In cation been rock 'n' roil since 1955. New wave is like a package a cereal box." Once, the pride of punk rock musicians was that their music was fiercely, different and rejected by most. But since punk softened into the commercially successful New Wave, its disciples have become more and more disillusioned. "It's gotten to the point it's actually getting ridiculous," said Dave Giles, manager of Big Shot Records. "Once it gets commercial, all the bands sound alike. Who decides it anyway just some media people. We're being fooled again." Since many musicians have literally jumped on the new wave bandwagon, there is now a feeling that new wave will burn out prematurely because of an overkill.: . ' "I'm worried about its future." said Kitty Moses, bass player with the local X-Teens. "I saw a band last weekend that said they were new wave, and a month . before they vere Southern boogie. The whole thing's speading like wildfire around here. Some of it is bandwagon jumping; some of it is the real thing." Indeed, Chapel Hill night clubs have become havens for the new wave bands in the past year. Managers of both Cat's Cradle and The Station said that the new wave crowd is one of the largest and most energetic crowds they have seen in a long time. "That's the bread and butter nowadays," said Ed Hunter, manager of The Station in Carrboro. "People are listening to Elvis Costello in frat houses as well as in places that might be considered more hip. I do think it will begin to lose a portion if its audience, but it's still the most-popular in terms of attendance." ON the national pop music scene, new wave has already lost some of its appeal, according to Jeff Leonard, production coordinator for Casey Casern's "American Top 40." "There's still a market for it, but it's in a very slow period right now," Leonard said. "There are not a whole lot of new groups that are getting on the charts. Maybe new wave is fading prematurely." That may be trua in Los Angeles, but not in Chapel Hill. Local ' bands - said they . arc dedicated to plsying., music that still has some type of unique appeal and is not just run of the mill rock, or commercially polluted new wavei " "There's a lot of desire for this town to be caught up with what's happening," said Tim Rogers, an employee at Record Bar. It's amazing that a town of this size would be that caught up in new wave." Many local players scorn slick studio-produced albums and say the best new wave is now found in small clubs. "That's just orchestrated rock," Robert Bittle, X-Teens lead guitarist said of studio-produced albums that cannqt be recreated live. "It strikes me 7g e A g ' o i a as being rock 'n stale' . Local roll Muzak, and it's definitely artists said their music is as much for dancing as it is for listening, and that the beauty of the music lies in its spontaneity. "We used to practice and people would come over and dance," Moses said. "To me that's what music is for," The musicians said they draw energy and inspiration from people poi -just leaping up and down. The V. , ,4 . J e. ill w"7 dance was supposedly invented by Sex Pistols bass . player Sid Vicious, who scorned dance steps. Some dancers have also been known to slam dance at the clubs jumping up and down and running into each other. "For some it's an outlet for letting off steam," Modern of Butchwax said. "For others, it's an arty, intellectual - type thing. Still, there's a lot of people who just sit there, but we can always use a writhing mass." Bittle of the X-Teens said that making . the music danceabh was his band's main concern when it first started. Modern calls Butchwax "rock 'n' roll's last stand." He said his band refuses to dilute the harsh sound they have drawn from such bands as the Sex Pistols and Iggy and the Stodges. And Butchwax manager Gary Broyhill is skeptical and wary of the new wave label. "It's definitely spreading out and beccmins assimilated into rock music and has not got a character of its own," he said. "It's becoming mere watered down all the time. I just see it eventually becoming another product for the record companies. It's going to take another punk-type movement to raise people's heads again." , p yTODERN said big record companies have now Xvi dictated what type of new wave music they're looking for, and have stifled many groups and forced thsm to : ".go underground becauss' of . "commercialism'.; The bands-that aren't selling out 'to the corporate giants are are the only ones true to the spirit of rock and roll, he said. "This is going to make a lot of money for the corporate giants, but rock n' roll is going to remain the outlaw it's always been," he said. "Nobody hard-core Is going to make any money off rock 4n' roll." Many say new wave music has stopped evolving, because the record companies are trying to milk it for every dime it will yield in its present popular form without risking money or newer sounds. Musicians say the music industry is waiting for the next big thing to shake it up like Elvis, the Beatles and the Sex Pistols once did. But today, they say, there is no leader, no revolutionary. There is no Johnny R-Otten to shake t '''"I'llin in nun 1 1 i i CTK'Scott Charp n listeners out of their complacency with this new wave sound and keep it evolving. The Sex Pistols were known for their fights against the media in the beginning, . but later even they submitted to commercialism. Their feature film, Thz Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle premiered in London this summer, and tells how the band's manager only wanted the Pistols to "swindle their way to the top cf the rock n' roll industry." "Being a. star went to Johnny Rotten's head," Modern said. "He hated all that being used stuff, and was fighting agdnst it only tq find he was a puppet as well." - . It was a tizzi plan th:t b:..c!:flrcd. The Pi:tcls s:t the Pi:tc!s-mc!ding and labeling them. "The media was cur helper and lover and that in effect was the Sex Pistols success" a Pistols record sleeve reads. "As today to control the media is to have the power of government, God, or both. It is all that matters to explain our great rock 'n roll swindle. A true swindle of ideas that cives you back your right to decide for yourself." Though the popularity cf the music is higher than ever, there is no avoiding the question as to whether we are all being swindled by a media-created fad that has forced the rock 'n' rcll industry to stagnate just to remain lucrative. "A lot cf people just sort cf gave up the fight when the Sex Pistols went down," Modern said. "If there's no captain, how can you keep the ship afloat?' i 71 -o, (TjisQ(D) 7. $ . fh ' , ,. . I Th n fT7 t 1 t r . J ' i f ' . i - I! n p II Jin 77) 77) fW Tfi) rV i1 Vn rj U . R03 MONATII ' Staff Wriitt CI;: pel Hill is a party town through en J through. Tl.e crca is absolutely teeming with bed hot spots (bars, music clubs ar.d rerjrants) which cater to a treed nr.;.; of personal tastes and needs for diversion, stimuhtion and general frolic. Any seasoned UNC student who ccn Uers Chapel Hill merely as the he;: ? cf a fine academic institution is mi ;:u:ded. This person either is so firmly enveloped in 'heady pursuits cs to have missed mny induljencc oriented parts of any healthy d2!;:.ecncc, cr' else is just plzln i:".:r-t. r;:j r. J ... ... v. Cut safely assuming that only a ne-!ible portion of you, both freshmen 2nd returning students, fall into either of ittzz categories, what follows is a cursory survey spanning everything from the more popular and well-known vvatcrins-holcs to ;orne of the more obscure, renamed cr new nighttime establishments on the Hill. This list reflects the diverse preferences of both the student body and the community. Live entertainment There trz several outlets in the Chapel HUI-Carrbcro area for enjoying bed ttcn.t z. c.i $ rnusici0.ns from brc3i. Ner.led in the alleyway behind Dip's Ccur.try latehtn, Csfs CrzZls his y ( i i. I -- 7 P cf za everything from new wave to folk and Texas swing music, all presented in an atmosphere suited for both quiet intimacy or wild romping, depending oh the mood of the music. Owner David Robert's fondness for the unconventional has led to a unique decor and extremely broad beer selection, both cf which suit the diverse, interesting and amiable clientele. Ths Station in Carrboro (literally the old train station) with its hrh ceilings and bucolic decor hosts everything from hoedow-ns w ith the Apple Chill Clangers to re:;ae and rock n' roll. Like the Cr: th 2 r.ere on any pvea r.iC JC" rllt'. d l.e.tL.; -IT -." . ..-..- f -,.. ,.. ' t . .f t J " . : J, t tl.'J ti Her are a f; cf tr: m:-;c v .1. lr.avn b:.r$ end rc.ta.:rar'i: II ? VL:.-'? G.-;:-V cr. : . . -, .-. t . i . , - . - , . . . t fc ; . ::t t:::'Z i'l '.: ".5 t.f Tl e t .1 i l.) r: quiet flimpif inadvertently r.ight - depends cn the nature of the dis music, but the mood is usually a bit uptempo here. In tddlttcn to these 'tig guns', ether e:tal .m:-..s have live mj-.'c tut are r.ki c .a .y mu.. cm I, i ; i ,c a II--; I -:: ry, for ir.;:ar.ee, offers a .:urd-.y r.'-t "Op.n I. .Is J;r.M lie cs!)) v,:,:e tl.e C-t 0 z ;r-r-.-'iLr.s v,l;j tp can p! :y far V..i'.r frljni; cr 0 . .-.er has d:c:d;d to mushroomed into a twisted niht of intensive drinking and conversation. Other traditional places downtown include f party's and Ilarrisoa'i, both pleasant and more subdued than the Village Green; Tour Corners; Papcgayo for a modern and Latin slant; the Carolina Coffee Shop for quiet conversation; Illrpatrkk's; Ur.dai; and Troll's Ltd, which is still the same earthy place it's always been barring the addition of a new rug (no doubt it will season shortly). Purdy's membership-only club offers its patrons the opportunity to dan their 'colors end raise hell to the sounds cf o and teach music. Purdy's regulars tend to dress up for their nights of The mere adventurous may w ant to ,?ck cut CrosLs Ccmer E:ttzzt for ;rk, seafood and drinks; Tie Cste fcr 'grcssive dart throwing; or TTJi-j i:j for taccs, drinks and uptempo ;rth-mikirg. C:her rkices alert thi:.e s are Pjtwcelct Cztt; DrrjTf and Ck 1 1 C-. ' , a rt t To satisfy ycur desire f;r late-rghi r.r. I i VI i -i v ....... .1 to c- .la :.j heavy wry c.vn g:::;y ;:cn, c:n ike ;k. Ar.i it serves drirks, tao. it: til v- cn'.y ch r v, ;, I II " " i . . i - - 4 ! ft , t TC-alaVi C!J Tilts Cestaamst tr.J Calaar.) has cpened at Can Klili Uz3 in Carrboro. Th: early 2Csh-c:r.:ury deccr Saturday nights create a nostalgia atmosphere suital'e fcr a date. Fc sack's seafood restaurant tr.l oyster tar has replaced the rjuacb II sr.: : : cn Airport read. It's prckatiy the cr.ly ; restaurant fcr miles arcur.i wish .1 ; undsrgrcund tunnel hading from the I parking let to an elevator that gees up into the rrsraurant. Ti:k L"..-;st :::s;:s, II: rocs his . char; si its r:.::.e cr.ee cgain, this time ! ilv..l iv- -- - - - - . cut th same tears and beagles zi a f iune1- 'is:-.:. C r-ii:-'. : its t ::, C.T.. j a . r f ; d-ri r.' e c 1 ':li r.. :. j c i.:s t' , c: . .'ry. I; s s.i r. : v ; ;. tea. i . f - -
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Aug. 25, 1980, edition 1
29
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