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Friday, August 23, 1985
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By MARK DAVIS
Staff Writer
It was the '60s all over again.
For three and one-half hours
Tuesday night in the Granville
Towers cafeteria, The Spongetones
turned the clock back for a crowd
of hundreds. For that one night,
President Reagan, Madonna, and
the rest of the 'SOs ceased to exist;
it was a return to the days of love,
peace and Woodstock.
The show kicked off at 9:30 p.m.
as the four-man band from Charlotte
hit the stage with two-fisted, old-time
rock 'n' roll by past heavyweights
such as Cream, Blind Faith and
Deep Purple. Using a two-guitar
attack aided by occasional key
boards, the Spongetones blazed their
way through dozens of '60s classics
ranging from ferocious Jimi Hendrix
tunes to standard Beatles sing
alongs. The band demonstrated
tremendous diversity, exhibiting
perfect harmony in the Beach Boys'
"Surfin' U.S.A." then laying down
ferocious guitar riffs for such songs
as the Beatles' "Day Tripper.''
The Sponetones are Jamie Hoover
and Patrick Walters on guitars, Greg
Jameson on bass and Rob Thome
on the drums. Hoover and Walters
double as lead vocalists with James
singing occasionally and manning
. the keyboards. While most young
bands can faithfully reproduce the
music of only one group, the Spon
getones have the uncanny ability of
mimicking the sounds of virtually
every group in their repertoire.
Hoover and Walters are adept at
doing, among others, great imita
tions of John Lennon, Paul McCart
ney, Davy Jones and Jim Morrison.
James' keyboards lend a dramatic
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Dick Anderson
music
presence that provides a perfect
counterpoint to the guitars and
brings certain songs most notably
a rousing eight-minute version of
"Light My Fire" to life. Hoover
and Walters share the rhythm and
lead chores, while drummer Thome
provides a solid framework that
gives the band its tight, close-knit
sound.
The majority of the songs the
Spongetones played Tuesday night
were crowd-pleasers from the Beatles
and the Monkees. Among the most
memorable Beatles tunes were "Hard
Day's Night," "Come Together,"
"Penny Lane" and "Revolution."
"I'm a Believer" and "Last Train to
Clarksville" stood out in the Mon
kees set. Also featured was material
from the Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix,
the Turtles and the Doors, to name
a few.
The band performed only one
Rolling Stones song, a thundering
version of "Paint It Black" that
boasted some excellent drumming by
Thome and a brilliant impersona
tion of the sitar part by Hoover.
But don't think the Spongetones
talents are confined to reproducing
the music of more famous acts.
Interspersed between the '60s classics
were original works from the band's
two previous albums as well as
several tracks from their upcoming
album.
A large part of the band's appeal
derives from its energetic stage
See SPONGETONES page 6
The Carolina Union Film Committee's
fall schedule boasts 87 diverse films,
among them director Milos Forman's
Hair (top), shown Thursday night in the
Union Auditorium, and Francis Ford
Coppola's The Cotton Club (bottom),
to be presented Oct. 25. Big names,
recent releases and innovative festival
choices distinguish this semester's
screenings, most of which are free to
students who present a valid ID.
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Ths Spongetones perform Tuesday night in SranviUa Towers: Resurrecting '60s rock
By DEANNA RUDDOCK
Staff Writer
Arranging a fall film schedule that
attracts all students was the main aim
of the 1985 Carolina Union Film
Committee, and the diverse collection
of films the committee compiled for
showings this semester promises some
thing for everyone:
Eighty seven movies ranging from
Shadow of Doubt, considered by many
to be Alfred Hitchcock's best American
work, to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, in
which Marilyn Monroe sings her classic
song Diamonds Are A Girl's Best
Friend, and even to the most popular
hit of last year, Beverly Hills Cop, will
be shown in the Student Union this
semester. Hair kicked it all off last night
at 7 and 9:30 p.ra
Robin Whiteside, a senior from
Asheville and the chairperson of the film
committee, said that this year's film
schedule includes not only more movies
but also films of a higher quality than
previous years' schedules. Along with
special events such as film festivals, a
sci fi night and a My Screwball
Comedy Night, this semester's agenda
boasts four of the five motion pictures
nominated last year for the Best Picture
Academy Award: Amadeus, which won
the Oscar; Places in the Heart, which
earned Sally Field the Best Actress
honors; The Killing Fields; and A
Soldier's Story. i
"We tried to reach out into the
mainstream without cutting our con
science to fit into the film fashion,"
Whiteside said. "You can't please all of
the people all of the time, but we tried."
The differing themes for the festivals
within the fall schedule exemplify the
committee's desire to reach everyone.
"Film festivals usually concentrate on
a specific director or actor, but who
cares?" Whiteside said. "Anyone can do
that. We wanted to go more with a
strong theme. Our film festivals go in
all directions, and that is what makes
them good."
,Fsreigners. on. America, which, will,
begin Sept. 7 as the first film festival
of the fall, includes five movies by
directors who either resided in or
migrated to America. The film commit
tee chose this theme because it felt that
these directors Alfred Hitchcock,
Milos Forman, Michael Curtiz, Dou
glas Sirk and Jean Renoir provide
an interesting perspective.
"The backbone of Hollywood is
foreigners coming to America to direct
their films," Whiteside said. ""Foreigners
on America contains films about
Americans in America, yet the mind
behind these films is foreign."
. On a completely different note,
Popcorn Venus, the season's second
film festival, which will begin in
October, focuses on the glamorous sex
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goddesses who were the first big female
stars in the film world. Whiteside said
that the idea for this theme came from
film critic Molly Haskell's book From
Reverence to Rape, which traced the
rise of women in the film industry.
"Because of the Jane Fonda image
most actresses have today, people tend
to forget the glamorous stars such as
Marilyn Monroe," Whiteside said.
"Still, these glamorous women had
something more than just their looks.
There was something special about
them. These were the people who built
the Hollywood empire."
- The theme for the Angry Young Men
festival, the third and final one of the
season, came from a big movement in
Great Britain during the late 1950s and
early '60s that stressed the working-class
man. Whiteside said this movement was
very important because some of the
greatest stars in Hollywood came from
it. Stars represented in the festival's
films include Albert Finney and
Richard Harris.
Other features that may make this
semester's film schedule appeal to more
people are special Sunday matinees and
weekend, midnight movies, both of
which will be shown at discount prices
of $ 1 . S unday night and weeknight films
are, as they have been in past years,
free with the showing of a student ID.
Whiteside said, that charging one
dollar for the matinee and midnight
movies may actually, promote them
more than if admission were free. "My
theory is if you give something to people
, for free, they tend to take it for granted,"
Whiteside said. "If you charge them a
buck, they think they are getting a
bargain."
The Admission Night price is up 50
cents from last year's. Whiteside said
the increase was because of the economy
and the committee's scheduling of more
films, many of which are recent and still
commanding high rental prices.
To add even more to the already
packed schedule, Whiteside said the
committee was trying to get people such
- as Pauline -Kael, the -esteemed - and
outspoken film critic for the New
Yorker, to speak at the Union. There
would be no admission charge for these
speeches.
In line with its commitment to bring
films to as many students as possible,
the committee wants to show some of
the films at the South Campus Union.
Whiteside said that showing films there
might help blend the North and South
campuses together and draw more
people to the Union itself.
Most films at the Student Union will
be shown twice nightly, usually at 7 and
9:30 p.m. Tickets to Admission Night,
matinee and midnight features can be
purchased at the Union desk. The film
schedule ends Dec. 1 1 with the Disney
classic Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
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'n roll
DTHJonathan Serenius
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