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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1997)
‘Tubthumper’ thumps out commercial sound By Les Zaczek Freelance reporter Chumbawamba is a) an exotic dance, b) a new candy bar or c) a tongue twister. Actually, it’s none other than a British ex punk band with a dance record whose new single is climbing up the charts and which recently found itself at number one on the Billboard Hits of the World, beat ing out the likes of Will Smith and Mariah Carey. The title track single seems to have all that’s needed these days to sell millions — a good beat, a chorus that's catchier than hell and humorous lyrics: “he drinks a whiskey drink, he drinks a vod ka drink, he drinks a lager drink, he drinks a cider drink...” The party is definitely on for Chum bawamba and their listeners. Chumbawamba sounds a lot like the early ’90s Manchester dance bands such as EMF and Primal Scream, with a little less guitar and more emphasis on electronic instruments, funky drum loops, jazzy trumpet inter ludes and soulful female vocals. What sets this band apart front others like them is their luscious past. Springing up front the British squatter-punk scene in the early ’80s, Chumbawamba was intent on defying the main stream. A self-released single on their own label Agit-Pop quickly flew to the top of the indepen CO REVIEW ICHUMBAWAMBA »>»W'I'|IMIIIIII|.|IIIIIIII|||I||,||, . ■ Tubthumper Chumbawamba ■ TYPE: dance music ■ PUBLISHED BY: Universal Records ■ RATING: dent charts. Soon enough, the band recorded a full-length record in support of “Live-Aid,” and "Never Mind the Ballots,” a response to the U.K. elections in 1987. Just when the band was being discovered for their melodic punk rock with strong political iyrics, they changed their style to put out “English Rebel Songs,” an a capella folk album. Not sur prisingly, many of their fans did n’t appreciate this sudden musi cal turn. But to these purveyors of anar chism, consistency didn’t matter much, so in 1990 they took yet another direction and released “Slap,” a dance record that seemed to fit well with the changing British scene. Seven years later, Chum bawamba is back to claim their piece of the pie in the world of commercial dance music. Who knows? Maybe they just got sick of their day jobs, living in bro ken-down buildings and playing for a bunch of punks who don't have enough cash to buy their records. The problem with this album is that the band seems to have for gotten what they set out to do in music in the first place. If their ha tred for authority and convention is really sincere, then it would be nice to know why this record sounds so damn commercial. Don’t get me wrong — there are some good ideas floating around on “Tubthumper. ” “The Good Ship Lifestyle" has an in teresting song structure and a dri ving rock-out chorus that brings back Chumbawamba’s punk roots. There are also some strong po litical sentiments in the lyrics, which are rarely present in dance music these days. A good exam ple is in “Smalltown,” a slower track with a jazzy feel: “This is Tearoom England. They’ll kick your face in so politely. This is tearoom England, they’ll kick in your face so nicely...” Check out "One by One,” an all-out blue-collar anthem. "Pon tius Pilate came to our town. Up to the dockyards to see the pick et line. We asked him to help, but he just turned around. He’s the leader of the union now ... He washed his hands, and he dreams of his reward. A seat in the House of Lords.” "Mary Mary" is a techno mas terpiece with a catchy trumpet riff and some driving bass that’s bound to get the laziest ravers off their butts. In fact, almost every track on this album sticks in your head like a Pepsi commercial. The pro duction is slick, the beats are good and you can dance to it. If this is what you are going for. then “Tubthumper” is worth owning. It’s bound to keep the party going, and you may find yourself humming the melodies many mornings after. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of revolutionary musical ideas that set Chumbawamba apart from most of their "one-hit won der” peers. This band is definite ly good at what they do, it's just that what they are doing is not all that exciting. Judging from their interesting history and an even more fascinating name, we should expect a lot more. Gerlinger gets jazzed for concert combos The Jazz Cafe in the Gerlinger Hall lounge will offer smooth sounds in a mellow atmosphere By Thomas Valinoti Freelance Reporter Imagine reclining on a cozy sofa and sipping espresso, while relaxing to mellow jazz tunes. Beginning tonight, The Jazz Cafe will provide students with the opportunity to do exactly that. The cafe will open its doors at 8 p.m. in the Gerlinger Hall Alumni Lounge. This will be the first in a series of such events produced by the EMU Cultural Forum. Special guest artist Rob Scheps will play saxophone with University Assistant Professor Gary Versace, bassist Dan Schulte and drum mer Alan Jones. Two combo groups from the University’s School of Music jazz program are also sched uled to perform. Their performance will fea ture botli music by familiar jazz composers and a variety of original material and arrangements. Scheps, whose musical tour has taken him all over the world, is no stranger to the jazz are na. The Eugene native has traveled far and wide to continue his jazz career. Scheps grew up in New York, where he studied jazz at the New England Conservatory. For six years he performed around the Boston area. From there he moved to New York to continue his career. He has performed on Broadway and with the New York City Opera. Scheps also made his mark on the other side of the world when he traveled to Tokyo, Japan. There he performed at the Blue Note Club with renown cometist Terumasa Hino. He ap peared on Hino’s album “Bluestruck.” On top of this, Scheps has performed with George Russell’s Living Time Orchestra since 1987 as a featured tenor saxophone soloist. He often leads his own groups and is a member of the Bob Moses group and a faculty member at Mamies College of Music. The Jazz cafe was created about two years ago to provide a local University venue with a typical jazz club setting. Cafe performances fea ture local artists and University students, with occasional special guests. The cafe was originally held in Beall Concert Hall, but the hall did not possess the attributes of a true jazz venue, and the cafe was relocated to Gerlinger Alumni Lounge. The lounge is complete with couches, fire places and antique furniture. It meets the needs of the cafe that Beall Concert 1 lall could not. As an added bonus, espresso and light snacks are also available at the cafe. With the smooth sounds and a mellow atmosphere, the lounge is the perfetf spot for a bit of jazz. Admission to cafe is $3 for students and $5 for general admission. The EMU Cultural Fo rum promises to bring more events of a similar nature this year, as well more nights of the cafe. For more information, call Gus Baum at 346 0634. # Recycling ikatee— GOLF CLUB (fotj at CU "?M4t College Students -*18.00 Exp 10-31-97 1-800-452-6376 '0UR,W0R5t niGHtBIARf is BACK.! ouR.ticRft win Grf you in, its VP to YOW to GEt YOURSELF OVt. DDSI1D01II IDlIttOI lit! All ADWlt. HO CHilD VHDUU Viu II ADIlttlD. Place: lAnt County FAfucRpvnDS (i*k» bviloirc) DAtEs: OcTobea,23-25. 30. 31. aiid novtmBtR.I tluiEs: 7:00 pm -10:00 pm 7:00 pm -11:00 pm on s*tvm>«Y. Octo»i«.2S 7:00 pm - miDnlGHt on HALLOUiEEn Cost: 15.00 At tHE dooa. $4.00 uiItH a coupon r*f)m PABjIcIPAtlriG tACO BELL RXSfAVILAnTS PHonE: 341-6200 roRjnroRjBAtlon THANKS TO 0051 SPONSORS... @ *1D!% SuOfc em.m hi»s_ O ©a Discount Coupon $i.oo off ADmission n©T VALID WITH AriY OTHER OFFER Opens Oct. 24 Book, Music and Lyrics by , Richard O’Brien A Directed by J(>e Zingll' Late-Nites - Oct. 24,25,31 A Nov. 1, 7,8,14 4c 15 at 11:30 pm SPECIAL HALLOWEEN SHOWSIII Fri. A Sat. at 8 pm, Oct 31 A Nov. 1, 1997 Get Your Ticket* Early! 'Playing to Sell-Out Audiences!! Kun extended!! Call for Added Dates in Nov. Oregon's Premiere } hvTai^,: t Oct. 24 & 25 Production ✓ of I Oct. 24 & 25 1997 Get your tickets early! For Tickets & Information Call 683-4368 Scandals I COVER CHARGE | | with this coupon | Saturday only. Vafid at 10:45 p.ro. Expires Oct 25,1997 ■ mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mM 2222 Centennial Blvd. • Eugene • 343-4734 fricfoc/s: Time to Jam and Groove!
