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age 4- l ht Portland Observer Noictnhvi 28, 1990
Hornana Observer
ENTERTAINMENT
Morgan Freeman
Hopes to Change
Attitudes With
Positive Roles
M organ Freeman
M organ Freem an, who is one o f a
handful o f black actors to be nominated
for more than one Academy Award, said
he hopes to change people’s attitudes by
m aking m ovies that “ heal” and “ mend
u s.”
“ You know , 1 have a great opportu
nity through the roles I choose to help
educate us a ll,” Freeman told PARADE
C ontributing Editor Wallace Terry, who
interview ed him.
“ I’m not a social do-gooder,” he
added, “ but 1 find m yself more and more
a cam paigner. I w ant to change people’s
attitudes. About black people. About us
as Am ericans. About America itself. I
w ant to give us a belter historical per
spective of ourselves, which will make
us get along better.”
Freeman, who was nominated for an
O scar for “ Driving Miss D aisy” and
also starred in “ G lory,” two movies
which painted sympathetic portraits of
Southern blacks, said he hopes to find
more roles such as these.
“ We never thought of this country
as belonging to us,” he said of black
Americans. “ We always thought of
ourselves as stepchildren. W e’re not
stepchildren. We belong to the Daugh
ters o f the American Revolution. The
Sons loo. All we have to do is do it. The
barriers are dow n.”
Freeman, who received his first Oscar
nomination for the movie “ Street Smart,”
with Christopher Reeve, said, “ My mother
instilled in me that I could do anything I
wanted to do. So I’ve never been afraid
to try. W hen 1 see what I want, I don ’t see
the barriers.”
Speedy
Service
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Willamette Writers
Group Sponsors
” Books for Kids”
Music Spotlight
W illamette W riter, O regon’s larg
est literary organization, is sponsoring
the Books for Kids Program for the sec
ond year. W illamette W riters believes
the gift o f reading is one of the greatest
gifts you can give a child. This C hrist
mas, we ask you to purchase a new book
or two for needy children.
The donated books will be delivered
to Toys for Tots, Shriners Hospital, and
Doern bee her C hildren’s Hospital. As an
incentive, the following bookstores have
offered discounts on children's book pur
chases: The Book Barn for Children,
4570 S.W. W atson;, Beaverton (15%
discount); Catbird Scat Book Store, 913
S.W. Broadway, Portland (15% discount);
C hildren’s Place, 1631 N.E. Broadway,
Portland (15% discount); C hild’s Play,
com er o f N.W. 23rd and Kearney, Port
land, (15% discount); G inger and Pick
les Bookstore for Children, 425 S.W.
2nd, Lake Oswego (15% discount);
Learning Palace, Canyon Place Shop
ping Ctr., Beaverton, Eastport Plaza,
Portland, and Vancouver Plaza, V an
couver (15% coupon can picked up at the
office or the D ecem ber4, monthly m eet
ing.); Powell’s Children Bookstore, 8775
S.W. Cascade Ave., Beaverton, (20%
discount); and School Daze, 6328 S.W.
M eadows Road, Lake Osw ego (20% dis
count).
To receive a discount you must
mention W illam ette W riters Books for
Kids Program at the time o f purchase.
Discounts available Friday, November
23 - Saturday, Decem ber 8, 1990.
Some stores require the purchased
books be left at the store for later pick-up
by W illamette W riters. Book gifts may
also be brought to the W illam ette W rit
e rs’ December 4th general m eeting or to
the W illam ette W riters office. Call 452-
1592 for further details. Books must be
delivered, unwrapped, no later than
D ecember 14, 1990.
bv Aaron Fentress
A fterseven year as the lead singer
for New Edition Ralph Trcsvant has
followed in the footsteps of his five
other group members and branched out.
In most cases o f Hying solo the
lead singer is usually the first to do so.
In Tresvant's case he's the last,5)ut
definitely not the least.
A lthough it's unw ise to think
Trcsvant can duplicate the success o f
former New Edition m ember Bobby
Brown's 1987 D on'tbe Cruel', it is safe
to assume that Tresvant's new CD will
be successful. If only modestly.
The strike against Tresvant will
be timing. In 1987 Bobby Brown capi
talized on fresh new song writers L.A.
Peid & Babvface and was properly
promoted. W hat came about was a
surprise num ber one record and four top
10 singles for Brown.
Although Tresvant’s CD, entitled
Ralph Tresvant, has potential to match
D on't be C ru el, the presence of new and
sim ilar album s by Bell Biv Devoe
(form crN ew Edition members), Johnny
G i 11 (anot her former Ncw Edi tion mem -
ber) and a forth coming album in early
1991 by Bobby Brown (that other former
New' Edition member) makes Tresvanf s
album simply one o f the pack. How
many New' Edi tion album scan America
take at one time ? They all essentially
sound the same.
Tresvant went the same route as
Bobby Brown and put his trust in a few
young song writers. In Tresvant's case
he picked Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis,
who produced Janet Jackson’s hit al
bums Control and Rhythm Nation, and
who along with L.A. Reid and Babyfacc
are becom ing the M cC artney and
Lennon's o f R & B. Also appearing as
song writers on the album arc indeed
L.A. Reid, Babyface (although not to
gether), Kyle W est, who writes with A1
B. Sure, and Michael Jackson, who
teams up with John Barnes on "Alright
Now".
Despite Tresvant's star studded
cast o f song writers surprisingly the
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strongest dance track is Tresvant's own
"Rated R ", which leads off the album as
sort o f a testament to the arrival of
Trcsvant as a solo artist. The 'R' stands
for Ralph as Tresvant tears off from the
beginning in a fast paced rap which
Trcsvant pulls off quite well.
D isa p p o in tin g ly , a sid e from
"Rated R " , the only other dance tracks
that stands out are "Stone Cold G entle
men" and "She's m y love th a n g ". Both
figure to be hits while "Girl I can't
control it", "Love takes time" , and
"Ordinary Guy", hold their own but
don't present anything special.
On the mellow side Tresvant's
first release as a single "Sensitivity" is
already clim bing the charts and deserv
edly so. "Sensitivity", written by Jam &
Lewis is the CD ’s best song. Trcsvant
gives his most inspired vocal perfor
mance on "Sensitivity". The songs only
w eak point is in the m iddle when
Trcsvant breaks into a rap sequence.
Lloyd's Center Lerner To Open
Lerncr/Ncw York, the largest
women’s specialty apparel business under
one name in the country, is opening its
eleventh store in Oregon, a new 11,900
square foot store at the Lloyd Center in
Portland on November 21. The an
nouncement was made by Lerner’s Presi
dent Bob Grayson.
Currently under construction, the
opening o f this store marks the begin
ning of a new era lor L em cr and its
custom ers, the president says. “ We
have upgraded the Lem er/N cw York
store’s image and m erchandise, without
ra isin g
the p ric e s ,”
ex p la in e d
G rayson,” as well as offering outstand
Best Cash P rices
You know what time it is. M.C.
H am m er-the biggest rap entertainer in
history and #1 male perform er o f 1990 if
not the d e c a d e -h as spent more time at
the top of the charts than anyone we can
remember. As H am m er’s incredible tour
continues to sizzle across the country,
this new one-hour music video captures
pum pin’ music videos from the #1 al
bum Please Hammer D on’t Hurt ’Em
(eight times platinum !) and his debut
L et’s Get Started. Il includes ‘ ‘L e t’s Get
It Started,” “ Turn This M utha O ut” ,
“ Pump It Up” , “ They Put Me In The
M ix” , “ U C an’t Touch T his” , “ Have
You Seen Her” , a new version o f “ Pray” ,
plus the documentary “ Please Hammer
Don’t Hurt Em ” . Cameos by Oaktown’s
3.5.7., Ace Juice, B. Angie B., Special
Generation, Ho-Frat-Hooo! and Soft
Touch hammer it home.
Speaking o f The Hammer, Pepsi
Cola recently signed a sponsorship agree
ment for his world tour (which hits Port
land on December 13 and 17). The tour
will begin in the U.S., and then go on to
Europe, Asia, and Australia. Pepsi and
M.C. Hammer additionally just negoti
ated an advertising contract, which should
be reflected on the airw aves soon...
RALPH T R E SV A N T
Single Parents
Hold Annual
Christmas Dance
Parents W ithout Partners invites all
single parents to enjoy the holiday sea
son festivities with us at our annual
Christm as Dance to be held at the Eagles
Lodge, 8835 SW 30th (off SW 30th &
Barbur) on Saturday, December 22nd,
from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Dance away
any holiday blues to live music by The
Classix.
For more information call 283-2138.
M.C. Hammer
Releases Video
ing service.
Featuring peach and cream decor,
marble floors, private fitting rooms, lush
seating areas and richly handpainted
w allpaper and an array o f mannequins,
the store design captures the elegance as
expressed in the great art deco stores of
the past.
The 9,500 square feet of selling
space will carry popularly-priced na
tional brand names such as Bonjour (jeans
and sportsw ear), Gloria Vanderbilt
(hosiery and lingerie), David Benjamin
(career and dressy sportswear), D.B. Sport
(casual knits and weekend wear), and
Sedu (lingerie).
■ .'A<
The rap lyrics are nothing special and
only serve to disrupt an otherwise great
song. Aside from this "Sensitivity" is
a bonafied hit that will put Tresvant on
the map quick.
O ther songs on the mellow side
include, "Do what I gotta do" , "Love
hurts". "I love you" , "Alright Now"
and "LastNight". O f the five only "Do
what I gotta do" has significant poten
tial to be a hit while the other four are
pale efforts compared to Sensitivity".
The Ralph Tresvant CD comes
with two bonus tracks that don’t appear
on the album or tape. "Alright N o w ” and
"/ love you". All told Ralph Tresvant
has 12 tracks o f which five hold their
weight. If Tresvant can fight the wave
o f New Edition spin-offs and those five
songs can become hits Ralph Tresvant
could be a big hit. Otherwise it will
simply be another album by a member
o f New Edition. Leaving Bobby Brown
as the lone super star.
Christmas Bazaar
Fights Crime
The bazaar is on December 1 at
120 N.E. Ivy from 10:00a.m. -5:00 p.m.
223 9919
Wed. Nov. 2X
LIP TO LIP
Tlmis. Nov. 29.
BROTHERS OL
THE BAL ADI
Fri. Nov. 30 &
Sal. Dec. I
CURTIS SAL«ADO
& THE STILL I IOS
Sun. Dec. 2
KBOO BENEFIT
(VARIOUS BANDS)
Mon. Dec. 3
HEART OF
DARKNESS
TUes. Dec. 4
ARNOLD
BROTHERS
"Tropical breexes
and romance"
W orld Beat Reggae House Rap Blues Soul Gospel Folk Jazz
dump
~ Jump
Music
USED
<5^
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In tro To
31 N W FIRST
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c t> s
-ft
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503/255-6722
2225 N.E. Broadway
$
/
p
1 y P,
\
Royal Esquire C om m unity Center
1625 N.E. Alberta St.
Saturday, December 1, 1990
%
9:00 p.m. Until
Members & Guests
Win A
Trip to
RENO
Includes Hotel
%
X
503-284-1828
Portland, Or. 97232
C H IN O O K SALM O N OR BROILED LOBSTER
TAILS JU M B O PRAWNS FISH & CHIPS C L A M
C H O W D ER BROILED HALIBUT CRAB STUFFED
MUSHROOM S LOBSTER THERMIDOR OR PAN
FRIED OYSTERS SAUTEED SHRIMP ROSSI OR
STEAK & LOBSTER CRAB AU GRATIN OR
FRENCH FRIED SCALLOPS STEAM CLAM S
OYSTER STEW CHICKEN STEAKS OR . .
Tickets must be paid in advance
and be picked up by December 21, 1990
Drawings
Every Hour
DJ will be featuring Top 40’s music.
‘ ' » : ■ ’ M
liZ ♦fixMAAÖ'' ' 'lÆlkÎfie» A M JA M ité*.**
Seafood Restaurant & Bar - Since 1891 --Lunch & Dinner
1035 S.W. Stark (Corner 11 th & Stark)
226-4171