OmnibusThursday, October 13, 19885
N ighthawks keep
By AUJSOn PIKE
Staff Writer
One of the country's most
popular rock and blues bands will
be flying in to play the ArtsCenter
Friday night
The Nighthawks. who are
Washington, D.C, natives, have
been rocking for more than a
decade. They've released 14
albums and have earned the praise
of everyone from blues fans to
blues legends including Muddy
Waters and BB. King.
Harmonica player Mark wenner,
who is known for his tattoo
covered arms, formed The Night
hawks in 1972. Aside from
(Summer Pete Ragusa and bassist
Jan ZukowsW, the band's lineup has
shifted often over the years.
Presently, the Nighthawks have
joined forces with two well-known
musicians. Former Wet Willie and
Jeff Beck vocalist Jimmy Hall has
taken over the sax and vocals, and
former D.C Dog and Sea Level
member, Jimmy Nails, is handling
the guitar. Wenner says this mus
ical union sprang from the Night
hawks' respect for Nails' and Hall's
music The Hawks were fans of
Wet Willie and stayed in touch
with Hall after they met him in
1976. Wenner has been a fan of
Nails also.
"We always thought D.C Dog
was the band that was going to
put D.C on the map for us all. it
was a pretty phenomenal band. He
(Nails) has always been a player to
my taste, and when we finally got
together to play, It was just like
what I thought it would be in my
head. It really clicked."
What the Nighthawks do best
is play a mixture of jazz, rock, blues
and country, but they never
abandon their sense of traditional
"true roots" jazz.
"I think we're moving in the
right direction with material
that's in a classic mold," wenner
By Af.?2-RE?4'EE RICE
Staff Writer
it's better than TV. much
better than studying, and con
ceivably better even than pizza
Sleep. Those elusive eight hours
that we college students never
seem to acheive. If s one of the
great underrated pleasures of
life. Unfortunately, the rest of
the world can't always be
counted on to aid our pursuit of
those precious few hours
between the sheets.
Roommates, garbage trucks
and telephones are bad, but the
real experts at sleep-deprivation
are even closer to home. You
guessed it, good old Mom and
Dad.
I worked 9 to 5 this summer,
if I wasnt up at 70 am my mom
would try several tactics Ke ; .-. :
4
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I -""nuy....i i h.
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Veteran rockers, The Nighthawks, bring their danceable sound
says. "The best compliment we've
been given by critics is that the
songs sound like B-sides of records
from 30 years ago. They're not,
but that's what wete looking to
do. we try not to be slaves to any
single style or approach, because
we like to do whatever strikes our
fancy, and we've established wide
enough boundaries to do what we
want without freaking people
out"
The Nighthawks have certainly
had time to season their musical
style. Nearly a decade ago they
spent most days on the road.
Ragusa said that for a period of
five years the band played at least
300 shows per year. "Now we've
a The Crest Light Attack:
Mom bursts through the door.
She turns on the overhead light
and says loudly, "What would you
like for breakfast?" Who even
wants breakfast? Talk about a
rude awakening.
a The Rock Star: Shrieking
sounds screaming from my radio
at very high dedbais awakening
me from the depths of dream
world. I must have died and come
back as a rock star. Fat chance
my mom has secretly turned
up the volume on my clock radio
alarm.
The weekends are just as bad.
My mom and dad daim to let me
sleep as long as I want to, but,
you know, it's funny that I NEVER
DO! Could it be because .. .
a The Great Debate begins.
There's a lot of noise in front of
my bedroom door .. .
"The windows have got to be
washed today " Mom says loudly.
"f to, no, we really need to dean
the garage before winter," Dad
says even louder.
"Maybe Arine-Renee (very
roots music fresh
mi
built up an audience such that the
last two years we've been down
to 200 nights. tVs afforded us more
time to be creative."
Zukowski said the fact that the
band still spent a lot of time
traveling was not discouraging.
"After 10 years, some things get
to be old, but you have to do
things to keep you fresh, keep you
enthused, we do that pretty well,
I think we always have new
things going on."
Because the Nighthawks' music
is similar to that of bands like
George Thorogood and the De
stroyers and The Fabulous Thun
derbirds, critics have tended to
put the Hawks in the "white blues"
loudly) can do the windows and
well do the attic," Mom shouts
into my room.
What?. Me do the windows?
I'm awake now but they'll never
know it!
now that I'm back at school I
still have problems with my
nocturnal life.
I get in bed and get comfy
under the blankets. Just as I'm
on the brink of sleep, something
always happens . . .
b Motor Mind: I start think
ing "I hope I did well on the poll
sd test . . . how am I going to
finish this paper in history in
three days . . . I wonder what
time It Is in Antarctica right now
... maybe I should buy the purple
dress instead of the blue one . . .
HELP! Anxiety attacks!
a The Garbage Collector:
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!! The garbage
truck. It's backing up to empty
the dumpster. CouJdnt they just
beep It once? NO it beeps for
a half an hour while I'm trying
to fall asleep.
Cant this wait until morning?
h -
t
rS .j - V. ,
1 I
to ArtsCenter Friday night.
category - and the band has
never been fond of this title.
Ragusa says he is proud of the
Hawks' fresh sound.
"Our first album was a stepping
stone for the future," he said. "We
became a melting pot of blues,
R&B, Memphis soul, rockabilly,
country, it's hard to pigeonhole us
as a blues band because we draw
from so many sources. The com
mon ground with us and what's
happening in contemporary radio
is rooted in the beat We're a real
dance band."
So, be sure to bring your dancing
shoes to the ArtsCenter for the
9-.30 show Friday night - the
dance floor will definitely be opea
Much later in the morning?
a The telephone. Okay. This
one is really nerve-racking.
Rrrrring . . . Rrrrring . . . Rrrring!
"Hello?"
SILENCE.
"HELLO?!!"
OIClC
What kind of idiot would have
the nerve not to say anything
(at least an apology) after get
ting me up at 2:30 in the morning!
Nice manners, dude!
This plague didn't stop even
over Fail Break. Friday morning
l was sound asleep and it hap
pened. The phone was ringing
incessantly. I finally woke up to
answer it
"Hello?"
"Did we wake you?" Dad asks.
I had to laugh. My parents were
in Germany. No joke. I hadnt
talked to them for three weeks
and then they dedde to ring me
at 8 am. on my first day of Fail
Break to see how its going.
Even halfway around the
world they still get me out of
Tbed!.
Hi r n .
I IS WIS
If
I ' f '
He's political.
He's bizarre. He's bold.
He's funny.
But what do you expect from
a pinhead?
Zippy The Pinhead.
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