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BIRDSONGS
Continued from Page 7
for the Arts, which they are supposed to
use to become more creative. They are
exploring the use of MIDI (Musical Instru
ment Digital Interface) to integrate visuals
(i.e lights) into their music so certain visu
al effects will be signaled depending on
what is being played
Die group maintains a strong allegiance
to its roots of being a versatile band that
straddles the boundaries between the aca
demic and popular music worlds. They
have one foot firmly planted in the con
cert hall and the other one in the c lub
scene
IJndgmn and Rick Scott, who both play
synthesizers and percussion, say they are
the only two remaining founding mem
hers of the band. The two other original
members went their own ways and were
replaced by Michael Hierylo on guiiar and
percussion and Ken l-'ield. Ken is the sax
man and seems to have a habit of show
ing up late to the groups' rendezvous
Mike refers to Eric and Rick as the
"founders,'- and to Ken and himself os the
"foundlings." In their other lives. Mike
teaches music; theory and MIDI at the
Northeast School of Broadcast, and Ken
works at a high-tech firm.
When asked who makes the deci
sions in the band all three say.
"It’s a democracy " But clearly
I.indgren is the leader and has the best
sense of whore the hand is going.
"The floor is open for comments." he
says, adding that everyone has a say in
what the band does. One of the two oth
er members at the table complains that
Lindgran won’t call the compositions they
ploy "tunes."
1 ask Lindgren if the band s songs aren 1
"tunes," then what are they. He says "they
are etudes and opuses" and throws around
some more of those high-sounding foreign
musical tenns I never quite learned when
I took music appreciation class.
While all the hand members have side
projects they are working on. Lindgren
appears to bo the most musically produc
tive He has a small recording studio in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, whore he has
worked on and helped produce the albums
of many locally popular bands I fe co-pro
duced and co-wrote an album with Willie
"Loco" Alexander, an old-timer in the
Boston metropolitan music scene, who
was lift'd by foe Perry of Aerosmith as
one of his favorite musicians
* indgron also started his own label
! called Arl Arf records. Recently, he
&»put out a collection of rare? lOfiOs
garage band singles rutiled Tlw Scotty Sto
ry. which he says is named after a pro
ducer in the mid-west who re< ordud a lot
of great but unrecognized stuff Lindgren
believes the tuts were "the only time good
music was being made."
In regard to the Birdsongs’ music, it is
an eclectic mix of many styles and tradi
tions. and is mostly played on synthesiz
ers. The varying backgrounds that the
musicians bring to the music for example,
Bierylo brings a world-beat influence. The
tasteful addition of many percussion
instruments, including a paint tan and the
hubcap from a Mercury Cougar, give the
group its idiosyncratic sound. The low
toch use of primitive percussion is offset
by the high-tech use of the latest in sam
pling technology.
Through the use of intricate shifts in
structure and complex rhythm and time
changes, the Birdsongs' music captures
the anxieties and tensions of modern life.
And it does so in a way that leaves the lis
tener better off for having engaged in it.
unlike some modem music Though many
of their songs are complex and intellec
tually stimulating, the members of the
Birdsongs can get playful, too
Known for its covers of the Rocky and
Bull winkle theme song and the
Simpsons' therne song, the group
tries to have fun with its music while still
remaining professional
The group has a humorous side that
comes from its sense of the ironies of life
in the 20th century. They express it
through their music and their occasional
comments onstage. The band does not use
any lyrics, the songs are strictly instru
mental.
The Birdsongs' put out their lost album
011992 CjkWea Pywclostics The album
is not too much of a departure lor the
group except for the fac t that it marks gui
tarist Martin Swope's last involvement.
The band plays some songs from it and
some from their older material at its shows,
of which they do about 20 or 30 a year,
Lindgren said. When it hits the road, the
hand usually takes short lours through dif
ferent regions of the country. For exam
ple. every year it spends 12 days going
through cities of the South.
After their performances in Fmgenc and
then Portland, they are heading to Hawaii
where they will be artists-in-residence at
a place called the Kalani Honua retreat
where they will put on workshops for high
school students.
"They will be putting us up for a week."
said Lindgren, who is looking forward to
the trip. "Wo will also do a couple of
shows in Oahu.”
Auer everyone finishes eating, and I
get tired of asking questions, we
leave the bakery and head for the
"club." asLindgren calls it. It is around
8 p.m.. which means it's time for the band
to set up and run a sound chock.
1 tell Scott and Blerylo where John Hen
ry’s is located, and they take the von over.
Lindgren rides with mo. When we get
to the bar 1 help the guys unload. They
hove plenty of time and use it make sun*
all their gear is in place and ready to go
later Scott shows me his octapad and the
Apple computer the band uses to make
unusual sounds. I bang on the octapad,
look at Lindgren's keyboard and sampler
and am pretty impressed h\ the whole
configuration on stage.
The Iwnd members meet and biter find
out that although John Henry is not one of
the owners of tie* bar. for some strange ma
son that I don't fully comprehend, the
place is named after him.
There were a bunch of people that
appeared to only is* interested in hear
ing one of the rock hands that are a
staple of the place
Others were devoted Birdsongs fans.
One guy said he saw the band one time in
Illinois and really enjoyed it. The band
members played three full sets, mingling
with the audience in between them. They
responded to requests for their ever-pop
ular cover of the Rocky and Bullwlnkle
song. The song was a real crowd-ploaser.
I wonder if John Henry's was really the
right venue for the Birdsongs. The liar is
known to book more of the loud rock acts.
John Henry's said the bar was trying to
branch out and get more diverse acts
CINEMA
Continued from Page 5
the two justices anti sharps her ideas with
her professor/boyfriend played by Sain
Shepard
Shepard's character passes the theory,
known as "The Belli an Brief," on to a friend
who works for the FBI. and before long, the
brief has tx-en widely but not publicly —
distributed
After that, people start netting killed, It
seems that this amateur detective has come
up with a theory that not only eluded all the
offit lal authorities in America, but also hap
pens to tie right on the money
Once these killings t auso her to fear for
her life (which doesn't take long), Shaw
enlists the help of Cray Grantham (played
by Den/el Washington), an investigative
reporter for the fit titious Washington Hrr
aid. who helps her to bring her story to light
before tlie lights go out for both of them
Although it includes two of Hollywood's
most bankable stars. Julia Konerts and lien*
zel Washington. The Pelican Briefs cast ris
ns above tin* rest more because of its bit
players than because of its two leads Turn
ing in es[H*i Kills satisls ing performances are
John l.ithgow (hoot loose. The Philadelphia
Experiment. Horn anil the Hendersons) as
Granthams veteran news editor, and Robert
Culp (best known for tlie TV series The
Greatest American Hero) us the president of
the United States.
Once again, i haven't read the novel by
John Grisham on which this movie was
based. I have been told that it's a thrilling
read Hut even if the film is not as good as
the book, it still provides a nicely tuned sto
ry that doesn't leave os many loose ends as
other novel-to-screenplay adaptations I have
seen lately (Jurassic Park, for instance). Cred
it for that accomplishment should probably
go to Alan J. Pakula, who not only wrote the
screenplay, but also directed and produced
the film.
The Pelican Brief is a fairly exciting film,
but it unfortunately locks the non-stop dan
ger quality of the very best thrillers. Some
times you're worried about Shaw and
Grantham, but not all the time. It's not a con
stant cdge-of-vour-seat experience, but it
does have its moments.
PHILADELPHIA
Continued from Page 5
into (In* lift* of a gay man whose sexuality
lakes a hack seat to his professional life. Yet
the lat k of acceptance of his sexuality by peo
ple around him destroy that professional life,
so he must fight for the right to be judged
on merit and not sexuality
The countercultural SV.v Is takes a more
probing look into the sexuality ol gay men.
and leav es the disr ussion of rights to Philadel
phia. It's a deeper look into what it means to
lie ga>. and all the different types of men who
are The film does not apologize for it's bla
tant sexuality, nor does it gloss over the sex
ual with the political. As one interviewee
said, sex is political "
Where Philadelphia ends, Sex Is begins. It
is not enough in this day and age to assert that
hv law, gavs and people with AIDS have
rights, which is what Philadelphia says. To
say that gay sexuality and eroticism is valid,
and then to show the audience how is a
stronger statement, one that people getting
over the remnants of their own homopho
bia may not be able to handle yet.
It couldn't Ire anything but educational to
see both.
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