music
Flat out
boogie at
the fairgrounds
Do Eugenes ns know how to rock and roll? With
the Friday night appearances of the Elvin Bishop
Group at the Lane County Fairgrounds they’ll get
a chance to prove it.
The group will perform in the Fairgrounds’
Agricultural Building at 7 and 10 p.m. that night.
There is no other way to describe Elvin Bishop
but flat out boogie! But it is a little more com
plicated than that. Their music is a soulful,
country rock boogie with a good portion of blue
thrown in to boot.
The first time I took in the Elvin Bishop Group
was a little over a year ago in the Salem Armory.
They were performing with It’s A Beautiful Day.
Elvin Bishop music was a regular at my house but
very few hcd heard of them in Salem. That
ignorance ended very soon though. Between sets
people came off the floor wiping their brows
saying, “Wow, Beautiful Day will have to be
something dse to keep up with that group. Who
were they?” (Isn’t it neat to see people get turned
on to something that you’ve been digging?)
Some months later, Elvin Bishop headlined a
show with The Sons of Champlin at the armory
turning in another fine performance and a few
weeks ago they had one heck of a gig at the
Paramount in Portland.
Their hard driving down home sound works an
audience into a complete frenzy. I mean, when
folks up front can do nothing but hop and shake
uncontrollably and chicks are on their old man’s
shoulders clapping their hands and rolling their
heads, that’s getting loose. And when things get
loose I dig it!
Personnel in the group include the gutsy, soulful
voice of organist Steve Miller (this is a different
Steve Miller), Kip Maercklein, on the bass, Bill
Meeker handling the drums, and a female named
Jo Baker, whose voice can keep up with the best.
She shares vocal duties with Miller and Bishop.
Then there’s Elvin Bishop. Man, can that dude
get down on a blues guitar. Whew! For that matter
he can play any guitar and do it fantastically. He
enjoys himself only when the audience enjoys
themselves. In concert he is able to accomplish
what few artists are able to do—establish an
almost personal relationship with the audience.
This wonderful feature is the second half of the
show. His music and his attitude enable you to
leave his concert feeling good.
The group has turned out two albums on the
Epic label, “Feel It” and “Rock My Soul.” Cuts
from these two LPs that might be done include the
theme song from their first album “Don’t Fight It
(Feel It),” “So Good,” “So Fine,” “Party Til The
Cows Come Home” (they’ll probably end the show
with a bang on this one), “Hogbottom,” and from
their second album, “Rock My Soul,” “Have A
Good Time," “Out Behind Hie Barn” and
“Stomp.”
Appearing with Elvin Bishop will be
Providence—one of only three groups on the
Threshold label, which is owned by the Moody
Blues. I’m told they are similar to the Moody
Blues but don’t utilize a synthesizer. Hmmmmm,
sounds interesting.
I might add here that Bishop jams with various
people and those who accompany him vary. On the
last album Delaney Bramlett (of Delaney and
Bonnie) got in his licks. So for myself, I’m gang to
keep this in mind when I attend as the ads out say
The Elvin Bishop Group and “friends.”
Tickets are $3 advance at the Sun Shop and
Chrystal Ship and $3.50 at the door—if any remain.
Jim Worlein
films
Frank Capra’s films and a leading authority
A student reads the handbill posted
on the wall and mutters, “World’s
leading authority my ass. If this guy’s
such hot shit why’s he coming here in
the first place?”
The question requires two answers.
First, the “guy” doesn’t have to go far
to get here, he’s a University student.
Second, he really is one of the world’s
foremost authorities in his field.
Lee Poague’s field is the study of
director Frank Capra. His involvement
with Capra isn’t based solely on
reverence for the man, expediency
enters in.
In working on his Phi), dissertation
in the English department’s film and
criticism branch, Poague wanted not
only to find a subject that interested
him, but one that would have a good
chance of being published.
“Of all the work done on movies,
there isn’t one book on Capra,” ex
plains Poague. “I figured he deserves
something done on him. Besides, he’s
good and I like him.”
“Why do I like him? That’s the same
as asking why is his work lasting, why
are we putting on a Frank Capra film
festival here this week-end and next. It
can be explained in one word. Comedy.
He uses comedy in the form it was
meant to be used, as a plot. What
happens is the comedy, not just the
minute to minute giggles.”
Poague explains the form of comedy
can be traced back to early fertility
rites. He contends sex is the basic
premise of comedy and all comical
works, whether done by Capra or not,
contains this element.
Capra adheres to this formula in
nearly all his movies. “The typical
Capra movie,” says Poague, “is the
romantic comedy, people falling in
love. Almost all of Capra’s movies end
with a marriage.”
Some of his comedies made use of
politics. Because critics considered
him just a director of comedies they felt
those inclusions were an attempt to
make a political flic. And they jumped
on him.
“That’s been a problem about
Capra,” said Poague. “The critics
didn’t fully understand what his
comedy was about. They saw his
political stuff and thought he was naive.
They thought he was making political
flics, not comedy. What he was really
doing was making comedies, good
comedies, with politics in them.
“The audiences saw them and
thought they were comedies. The
support was enormous. People laughed
when they saw something funny. They
felt good when they saw something they
were supposed fo feel good about.
“That’s the way it is today. People
see something funny and they laugh
They see something and they feel good
about it. There’s nothing ‘camp’ about
liking Capra today.”
So people like Capra, but no one has
written anything of length about his
work. Poague hopes to change this and
be the first to compile a study of
Capra’s efforts.
After completing his undergraduate
work at San Jose State, Poague came to
the University on a fellowship in
English. “I came here and was in
Victorian novel,” says Poague, “But
Bill Cadbury sparked my interest in
movies. I was in a class of his and he
was always talking about movies,
telling the class ‘You gotta see this
movie’or ‘You can’t miss this one.’ Sol
figured instead of being in drama and
knowing something about movies I’d be
in movies and know something about
drama.”
Poague’s dissertation work on Capra
began at the Library of Congress in
Washington, D C., where he spent three
months studying Capra films. He plans
to finish his research by August and
then has hopes of being published.
One aspect that bothers Poague is
that people may doubt he is all that
knowledgeable—about Capra when he
has been involved in serious work for
such a short time. “I’ve only been at it
three months, but I guess that can
qualify me as a so-called authority. I
don’t like to be called that because it
makes me sound egotistical, but the
way it is, pure and simple, is that there
are very few people into Capra
seriously and no one has written a book
about him so I guess you can call me an
authority. But that ‘world’s leading’ is
a bit much.”
The Capra festival is bong held, in
very big part, for Poague’s benefit. As
Pierre Dunn, manager of the University
Film Society, explains, “The film
society is set up to help the serious film
student. If we can get films that will
help him then we bring them to cam
pus. Of course, we try to bring good
movies, movies that will entertain the
rest of the student body because we
have to have their financial support to
continue the program.”
While more Capra films are in the
offing, another Capra festival is not
planned.
Having become an authority on
Capra films, Poague is now sensitive to
charges that cinema is, artistically, not
on a level with literature. “I don’t
agree with that at all. How can those
people account for the fact that “As
You Like It” ami Capra’s “It Happened
One Night” are the same. It has nearly
the same baas, boy meets girl and falls
in love. Film is the same as literature
in that it is a way human beings have of
expressing themselves.
“Look, if poems and novels were the
art of the 1900’s then rock and roll and
movies are the art of today.”
While Capra’s movie-making
“career” spanned 1926 through 1961 he
did come out of retirement in the 60’s.
In 1961 he made “Pocketful of
Miracles” and was, for a brief time,
engaged with a movie of the late 60’s
“Marooned” at the age of 71.
“It would really have been something
to see what Capra would have done with
a space movie like ‘Marooned’,” says
Poague. But he quit the picture when
they wouldn’t meet his budget of three
or four million dollars. Funny thing is,
it wound up costing the new producer
around eight million to put out.”
“I imagine he could have done it for
less than eight million. He was a genius
at organization. He knew a good script
and knew good people. He’d fit
somebody to the role he had in mind
and when he got that person he
wouldn’t have to act, he’d just be
himself. In Mr. Deeds Goes To Town,
Gary Cooper isn’t just an actor in a role,
he’s Mr. Deeds.”
SftWSSSSSSS
Friday and Saturday, 177
Lawrence:
8 p.m. The Strong Man — 1926
9:20 p.m. Long Pants — 1927
10:30p.m. Lost Horizon — 1937
Friday, Jan. 26 and Saturday,
Jan. 27:
■ 8 p.m. The Battle of Russia —
1943
9:45 p.m. Meet John Doe —
1941
Cost: $1.25 film society
members, $1.75 non-members, $1
individual tickets.
Tickets can be purchased at
door or at noon Jan. 18 and 19 on
EMU Terrace.
To say that someone is a world
authority on anything in just three
months is as presumptuous as thinking
all graduates of the Famous Authors
School will be Rod Sellings. For all
Poague knows there may be some dude
in Chugwater, Wyo., whose knowledge
of Frank Capra is limitless.
But Poague isn’t hiding behind his
“title.” He’ll give lectures on Capra
and his films at 6:30 each Saturday
prior to the show. He’s not worried
about any detractors, nor does he see it
as challenge to his knowledge.
“I just happen to like Capra’s work
and am doing my dissertation on him
because no one else had.” That gives
him a fair chance of having it
published. Nothing wrong with liking
that.
Jim Hunter