THE PILOT, Page 2
Ope,
ra
What’s classical, entertaining, culturally stimulating,
and intellectually enlightening? You guessed it! The opera!
To maintain its standard of cultural refinement, Gardner-
Webb College is holding an opera workshop production on
February 16 and 17, at 8:00 p.m. in Hamrick Auditorium.
The operas presented will be “The Maid As Mistress” by
Pergolesi, and “The Old Maid And The Thief” by Menotti.
They will be directed by Mrs. Patricia Harrelson. “The
Maid As Mistress” will star Lisa Foster, David Hutchins,
and Barry Green, with Debbie Sells and Mary Ruth Zanon
as accompanists. “The Old Maid And The Thief” will fea
ture Melinda German, Crystal Justice, Dwight Loomis,
Camilla Loomis alternating with Donna Parris, and will be
accompanied by Dr. George Cribb. These operas will also
be presented in a number of public schools of Rutherford
and Cleveland County for the fifth and sixth grades. There
is no admission charge, so come on out and enjoy an
evening of classical entertainment.
GENE COTTON
Meet A Softer Side
Of Rock And Roll
Concerts on a college campus are not that uncommon.
However, a performance given recently by Gene Cotton
merits not only an uncommon rating, but one of pure en
joyment. The two hour nonstop concert was a delightful
blend of music and childhood anecdotes, subtly sprinkled
with a certain amount of Cotton philosophy.
His studies of political science at Ohio State have contri
buted to the political overtones in many of Cotton’s lyrics.
As a matter of fact, much of his earlier work contains bla
tant social commentaries. The change to a more subtle ap
proach was due, not because people weren’t interested or
involved in politics (Cotton’s opinion, not mine), but be
cause people aren’t as fanatical about it. When asked
whether it bothered him that most listeners don’t under
stand the full meaning of a song, he replied, “You can’t
build an entire format as a musician on political satires.
Depressing people doesn’t work. So you say what you want
to say between the lines and hopefully, the few people it
would have mattered to anyway if you said it outright, will
pick up on it and those who don’t, don’t.”
Cotton has some pretty strong views on religion, too.
“I’m tired of being ripped off by religion, ya know?” It is
refreshing to be reassured that a man who has made his
way into the top ten male performers according to Bill
board has maintained a clear perspective on his Ufe. “There
are some things really meaningful to me in Christianity
that I can’t really identify with the majority of what the
Church represents today. Which is not to say that all
churches are out there to get you ...”
The core of Cotton’s philosophy is simple. He is hesitant
to label people and stresses an importance for people to
concern themselves more with being what they claim to be
than trying to convince everyone else of who they are.
Among the most important criteria for a performance for
Cotton is recognizing a necessity for interaction between
artist and audience. For this reason he prefers small col
leges, “when there are over 3500 people you get out of
touch, they can’t see you or your facial expressions and
those things are important to me.”
Although two songs recorded by Cotton became hits
with other artists, he holds no bitterness. “The song and
the music are important, not who does it. If you end up
playing some little part that’s meaningful, then it’s worth
while.” It may sound a bit altruistic, but after talking with
Gene Cotton for any length of time, his honest and open
character somehow makes one believe him.
Describing his music as the “softer side of rock and
roll,” Cotton judges a performance from the viewpoint that
“it’s as important that somebody goes away thinking
something as it is that they had a good time.” His imme
diate gSals include finishing an album and improving him
self as a writer, recorder, and performer. “Hopefully in all
of that some of it is constructive, some of it is a conscious
raising experience for people.”
Doug James
On January 16th, Gard
ner-Webb students fresh
from the Christmas break
were privileged to hear the
guitar artistry of 25 year
old Doug James from Char
lotte. Mr. James presented
an evening of fine classical
guitar in Dover Chapel
which featured selections
from such composers as Al-
beniz, Bach, Tarrega, Villa-
Lobos, and Rodrigo.
Doug’s interest in music
surfaced at the age of ten.
He played clarinet and
saxophone for several years
until the age of thirteen,
when he found his true love
in the guitar. Off and on,
Doug has played the guitar
for twelve years, receiving
mostly private instruction.
Probably the single most
important individual in
Doug’s instructional years
was Jesus Silva, who is pre
sently at the N.C. School of
the Arts.
Doug is presently en
gaged in private instruction
himself with about 25 stu
dents. Bruce Queen, a GWC
student, is presently receiv
ing lessons from Mr. James
every two weeks.
Doug named Beethoven,
Bach, Albinez, and Crumb
as his favorite composers
and named Segovia, John
Williams, and Leo Brouwer
as direct influences on his
musical career. Mr.
Brouwer is a Cuban artist
whom Doug was able to see
recently in Canada. Doug
spoke of Brouwer as the
“ideal musician” and said
that Brouwer is known
chiefly among musicians.
When asked about his
plans for the near future,
Mr. James responded that
such knowledge is “so un
predictable” and that he
prefers to live “one day at a
time.” Academically, Mr.
James will receive his
undergraduate degree from
UNC-C in May, and he men
tioned plans to pursue grad
uate and masters degrees a
little later on.
Music
Rod is no fool. He knows how to sell albums. Take the
cover of his latest album. Blondes Have More Fun, for
example. Two shapely females in skin tight outfits being
clutched by a not-so-bashful Mr. Stewart. Take the lyrics
for another example. We have songs about sex, loose
women, sleeping around, and many similarly enlightening
subjects. What about the music you say? Well, if you are
looking for freshness and creativity, forget it. It is the typi
cal Stewart offering of rock and ballad with a little disco
on the side.
Before this buming-in-effigy gets any hotter let me say
this, there are a few successful moments contained. One
such track is the hit single “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” Good
Stewart vocal, nice horn section, well-recorded string syn
thesizer, and the disco beat make this a good, danceable
track. The ballad, “Scarred and Scared,” works nicely as
the album closer and the title track is another successful
working of the old Chuck Berry formula.
My complaint is this: ever since Mr. Stewart planted him
self in the USA he has been coasting on the success of his
first few albums. Sometimes it takes a few flops to wake the
sleepy artist up. Maybe the next album wUl be the one.
Are you a McCartney admirer who perhaps missed four of
his hit singles because they never showed up on the next
album? Well if you are. Wings Greatest will be of interest to
you since it contains “Hi Hi Hi,” “MuU of Kintyre,”
“Junior’s Farm,” and “Live and Let Die.” Unfortunately in
the process of selecting the tracks for this anthology,
McCartney or Capitol Records neglected to choose anything
from the Venus and Mars LP. Despite this oversight. Wings
Greatest contains several gems representing McCartney’s
career since the demise of the Beatles.
Interested in something different? You might want to
take a chance on the latest LP from Weather Report entitled
Mr. Gone. It used to be easy to classify music, but no more.
Musical styles are merging together quickly and this album
is one example. A few of the influences would have to
include contemporary, rock and electronic styles, traditional
jazz, disco, African and South American drum thyrhms and
chants, and many other harder to pinpoint influences. Josef
Zawinul’s production and keyboards dominate throughout
the album giving clarity and punch to each track. There are
many lovely melodies and funky rhythms to enjoy on this
highly listenable album.
If traditional jazz and blues are more your speed, then
search for a copy of Mary Lou Williams’ latest called My
Mama Pinned A Rose On Me. Williams is currently the
artist in residence at Duke University, but her career
stretches back several decades as the informative liner
notes indicate. With Butch Williams on string bass and
Cynthia Tyson on vocals, Williams expands her keyboard
compositions and improvisations in a tightly controlled dis
play of control and feeling. This is WDliams’ first effort for
the prestigious Pablo label and hopefully not her last.
Words cannot do her justice; give it a listening and be pre
pared for a lovely experience.
Films
If you have not been to see Superman yet, you are pro
bably in the minority. It is a fun movie that comes very
close to a parody of the superhero myth. Watch Clark Kent
and Jimmie Olsen in particular for a sample of this near
parody. I cannot understand the overlong prelude to
Krypton’s explosion unless it is simply a vehicle for Marlon
Brando or the spectacular effects of transporting Krypton’s
criminals to another dimension. Good fun and escape.
Tolkein fans will come away with mixed feelings after
. . . I . viewing the current attempt to cinematically capture Frodo
IvldrgdrSt JdCkSOn and the inhabitants of Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings.
The film’s techniques of using animation and real actors is
interesting, to say the least. The plot, however, is a bit ob
scure sometimes etnd it wiU help if you have read the trilogy
beforehand. It is NOT the entire story of the trilogy, so do
not be disappointed at the film’s ending. A sequel is sure to
follow.
This story is dedicated to
all those poor unfortunates
who have yet to complete
their P.E. requirements. It’s
about a mother of two who
decided to go back to school
and in her final semester had
to have a P.E. course to
graduate.
Now let’s keep in mind
how many of us feel about
those muscle straining two
hours a week we spent ful
filling those requirements. I
suppose Physical Education
majors may not understand
the torture some of the rest
of us felt just trying to get
around that track a mini
mum number of times before
time was up.
Perhaps for those still fac
ing some hours in P.E. this
will serve as encouragement.
Not only is Margaret Jack
son taking P.E. after 16
years of marriage and rais
ing a family, she’s taking
gymnastics. She comments,
“I hurt.”
The Pilot
Editor Kay Ford
Sports Editor Max Pettyjohn
Layout Managers Lynne Becker,
Karen Jones, Randy Waters
Staff Debbie Drayer,
Teresa Stewart, Tommy Watts
Contributors Henry Price,
David Seagroves, Bob Wrenn
Photographers . Tim Ameen, Phil Potter, Mike Gurley
Advisor William B. Stowe
Published by students of Gardner-Webb College,
Boiling Springs, North Carolina 28017. The office of
the PILOT is located in the Charles I. Dover Student
Center, Room 112.
The opinions expressed in this student newspaper do
not necessarily represent the views of the GWC
faculty, administration, or student body. Responsible
comments to issues presented in the PILOT are pos
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