Thursday
hVlarigold offers relief
^Local good guys Marigold will join several other
bands to help benefit the Relief Nursery. PAGE 8
niewell@gladstone.uoregon.edu REBECCA NEWELL :PULSE EDITOR
Coyote Ugly* pretty beautiful
■Jerry Bruckheimer
trades in asteroids and
fighter jets for wet T
shirtsand lots of legs
By Rebecca Newell
Oregon Daily Emerald
Five gorgeous bartenders
wearing skin-tight clothing,
engaging in dancing and
wet T-shirt contests on the
bar, while ogling men hoot
and holler.
Sound like anything oth
er than a fluffy summer pic,
. destined for some financial
success with gyrations from
supermodel Tyra Banks and
the favored voice of Leann
' Rimes?
Surprisingly, it is.
“Coyote Ugly,” a story
about dreams, is a Touch
stone Pictures film pro
duced by Jerry Bruck
heimer, who brought us
“Flashdance,” “Top Gun”
and “Armageddon.”
In the tradition of his
past movies, Bruckheimer
performed a casting call
for talent that encom
passed established stars,
such as Banks and “ER”
actress Maria Bello, who
plays Lil, the owner of
Coyote Ugly, and also
reached to virtual un
knowns such as Piper Per
abo, who stars in the title
- role as Violet Sanford.
The 21-year-old New Jer
sey girl heads to New York
. to realize her dreams as a
songwriter when she’s dis
tracted by a job in the noto
rious bar Coyote Ugly.
The bartenders, known
as Coyotes, tease and tor
ment customers with their
sexy attire and antics com
plete with a “hands off’ at
titude — summed up best
by owner Lil’s policy of
“appear available but don’t
BE available.”
With a job that regularly
gets her photo in the paper
and $300 a night of tips in
her pocket, and a budding
TU. , . courtesy Touchstone Pictures
The infamous Coyote bartenders tantalize in this summer’s romantic comedy ‘Coyote Ugly.’
romance with a local cook
named Kevin O’Donnell,
played by Australia-born
Adam Garcia, Violet’s life
seems to be a dream for a
young gal, except for her
stagnant progress on her
song-writing goal.
Her biggest obstacle isn’t
even the big, mean city of
New York, but rather her
own fear of singing her
songs in front of people,
which is ironically the only
venue for getting them
heard.
Throw in the conflict that
Violet’s father, played by
John Goodman, has with
his daughter “leaving the
nest” and a little good-na
tured rivalry between the
Coyotes, and the result is a
surprisingly great summer
flick about growing up,
conquering your fears and
realizing your dreams.
A littlecheesy? In idea,
maybe. But in reality, “Coy
ote Ugly” pulls it off and
promises to join the ranks
of favorite romantic come
dies.
For old cadets, there's no blast-off here
Garner, Jones, Eastwood and Sutherland finally get to explore space.
■ ‘Space Cowboys’ brags an all-star cast, but
resembles more of a mission to the nursing home
than the moon
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
Grab the Viagra!
Make sure the false teeth
are in place!
And don’t forget to pack
extra pair's of underwear!
Because you’re going to
outer space, ol’ fogies!
Yup, John Glenn will feel
so ordinary when he goes to
see “Space Cowboys,” a
movie about four geriatric
ex-Air Force pilots from the
1950s, who get the chance
to denture — I mean, ven
ture — into the great be
yond 40 years later.
It is Clint Eastwood’s lat
est film that he has directed,
produced and starred in,
but it doesn’t have that East
wood-esque feel to it. The
70-year-old’s aura was crys
tal clear in films such as
“Unforgiven” and “A Per
fect World,” but in this one
it was about as clear as Don
ald Sutherland’s vision in
the movie.
The movie was like “Co
coon” meets “Armaged
don,” but without the corny
emotion that was desperate
ly needed in this film.
The actual plot is kind of
ridiculous, so we’ll go over
it quickly.
Four pilots in the ‘50s are
Turn to Cowboys, page 9
Zimbabwe music
heats up summer
with three-day test
■ Eugene-favoritesShumba and other African
musicians highlight the ninth annual Zimbabwean
Music Festival at the University Aug. 18 - Aug. 20
By Suzanne O’Kelley
for the Emerald
Though the word “Africa” does little to describe the vast
expanse of traditions, religions, languages and knowledge that
reside within the continent’s many nations, one side of the
multi-faceted African essence takes shape next weekend in
the form of Zimfest, the ninth annual Zimbabwean Music Fes
tival.
The three-day festival runs Aug. 18 through Aug. 20 on the
University campus. Many participants in this year’s Zimfest
are members of Eugene s Zimbabwean music community,
such as Kudana and Shumba, two professional marimba
bands.
The festival will also feature groups and individuals from
Portland, Washington, New Mexico, Colorado, California, In
diana, British Columbia and of course, Zimbabwe.
Though the Zimfest tradition is only nine years old, the mu
sic that ties the festival together has been in the United States
much longer. The birth of Zimbabwean music in the Pacific
Northwest is attributed to the late Dumisani Maraire, who
taught and performed Shona marimba music, nyunga nyunga
mbira, singing, drumming, and dance in Seattle from 1968 to
1982 and from 1986 to 1990. Maraire arranged traditional
Zimbabwean pieces for marimba ensemble and for the nyunga
nyunga mbira, and composed many more.
In 1990, Maraire earned his doctorate from the University of
Washington's music school and returned home to teach at the
University of Zimbabwe in Harare. Maraire’s legacy lives on in
the Pacific Northwest and continues to spread throughout
North America as Maraire’s students and students of his stu
dents perform and teach.
Following in Maraire’s footsteps, musicians come to Zim
fest to teach and to learn as well as to perform. The festival
hosts a multitude of workshops, beginning Friday and con
tinuing throughout the weekend. Sessions are open to every
one and range in skill level, content and length. Most work
shops cost $12 per hour. Due to space restrictions, the festival
organizers recommend pre-registration for all classes, but
many workshops are still open and available for on-site regis
tration.
Zimbabweans who will both teach and play at the festival
include visiting musicians Julia (Tsitsi) Chigamba, Musekiwa
Chingodza, Beauler Dyoko, Forward Kwenda, Cosmas Maga
ya. Sheasby Matiure and Savannah Jammin’/Decent Gang, as
well as Peter Masundire and Paul Mataruse, two U.S. resi
dents.
The Zimbabwean visitors will also give talks about their
backgrounds, Zimbabwean music theory and problems fac
ing Zimbabwe today.
“Our music is both medicine and food, as mbira has the
power to heal and to provide for people, Chingodza said.
“Mbira pleases both the living and the dead.”
Music from Zimbabwe is composed of many instruments
and techniques. Basic traditional Zimbabwean music in
cludes marimba, mbira, hosho, singing, dancing and drum
ming. Musicians have expanded the traditional style to incor
porate the guitar and other innovative instruments.
During the weekend of Zimfest, numerous musicians will
be teaching various aspects of Zimbabwean music. Workshop
levels range from introductory, for those who have never
touched an instrument, to advanced, for the most proficient
Zimbabwean music students. Workshops are offered in most
styles of music and include other aspects of Zimbabwean tra
dition, such as the Shona language and children’s games, and
several classes teach the art of making Zimbabwean instru
ments.
The Zimbabwean Music Festival takes place in a different
location each year and features different events annually. Zim
fest was last held in Eugene in 1993, and has been in Portland,
Seattle, Victoria and Port Townsend since. According to festi
val organizers, Zimfest 1999 brought together an international
community of more than 400 people to teach, attend work
shops and perform. Organized entirely by volunteers, the fes
tival is the largest annual gathering in North America for stu
dents, teachers, performers and fans of Zimbabwean music.
All afternoon concerts are free, and any available tickets to
evening shows can be purchased throughout the duration of
the festival. Most concerts take place in the EMU Ballroom or
the Outdoor stage near the south lawn of the EMU. A schedule
of events is available on-line at www.zimfest.org.