N ovember 9, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age B2
A r / y ( R ENTERTAINMENT
Widespread Panic Is One
Of Most Pomising Bands
Widespread Panic members John Bell - vocals, guitar; John Hermann - keyboards, vocals; Michael
Houser - guitar, vocals; Todd Nance - drums; Domingo S. Ortiz - percussion, vocals; and Dave
Schools - bass, vocals.
Dan Fachnlc Jazz
Whitney
Houston To
At The Old Church
Perforin In
South Africa
M usic superstar W hitney
Houston will celebrate a newly
unified South Africa in a series of
performances, including a concert
televised from Johannesburg by
Home Box Office.
The concert will be held Sat
urday at Ellis Park, a soccer stadi
um, before an anticipated crowd
of70,000. Houston also plans con
certs in the South African cities of
Durban and Capetown.
“This concert is very special
forme," said Houston. “In 1988,1
sang in honor of Nelson Mandela,
prison inmate. In November, I sing
in honor ofNelson Mandela, elect
ed president of a free and unified
South Africa."
HBOchairman Michael Fuchs
said the television network, which
made a move on Nelson Mandela
seven years ago, is excited to be
involved the historic celebration
of freedom and unity.
The HBO televised concert,
entitled "Whitney, the Concert For
a New South Africa,” will feature
a mix of the superstar’s classic hits
featured in her current sell-out tour,
as well as new material. All money
raised by the event will go to sup
port South African children’s char
ities.
Guitarist Dan Faehnle’s strength
is versatility and he brings 20 years
of refining his musical craft through
rock and roll, top-40, county, big
band and his forte, jazz, as the Dan
Faehnle Quartet continues the Sun
day Jazz at The Old Church concert
series Nov. 6th.
Faehnle recently relocated from
Ohio and in just a short time has
earned critical accolades in Down-
beatmagazine, Jazztimes, Willamette
Week’s jazz column, various New
York publications and the Orego
nian.
His latest recording effort is on
Dick Berk's “East Coast Stroll,” re
corded in New York at Rudy
VanGelder’s studio, with John Hicks,
Ray Drummond and Jay Collins.
Faehnle also has appeared at the
Mt. Hood Festival of Jazz, with the
Oregon Pops Symphony and at sev
eral other jazz festivals.
The concert is a benefit for the
new-piano fund at the Old Church,
where the concert hall is a favorite of
musicians in the Portland area. Doors
open at 1 p.m. andjazz starts at2p.m.
Food, wine and beer are available
from Briggs & Crampton Catering.
Admission is $8. available from
FASTIXX and at the Old Church.
Seating is non-reserved.
The series concludes Nov. 13
with the Nola Jean Bogle Trio with
Leroy Vinnegar, Ron Steen and Geoff
Lee.
***Thou Shalt Not Miss Sun
day Jazz***
r
& MORE
Oregon Ballet Theatre is offer
ing a free, week-long curriculum cen
tered around the all-new $ 1.2 million
production of The Nutcracker, which
premiered last December. Joanne
Rosevear o f Portsmouth Elementary
is presenting the new Nutcracker
curriculum to her classroom.
The goal of the curriculum is
two-fold: to encourage the develop
ment, knowledge and appreciation
Pho
'R
A Lifetime Of Memories
Duane Lewis, President
2808 NE Marlin Luther King Blvd.
Portland. Oregon 9721 I
Call 503/2X4-8268
ADVERTISE IN
(ÏÏhe ^lortlattò
call (503) 288-0033
Complete Decorating Service
For AU Occasions And Events
MB
- WEDDINGS - GRAND OPENINGS - CORPORATE -
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ALSO: BALLOON BANQUETS AND DELIVERY,
BALLOONS A VAILABLE IN LA TEX & MYLAR
OPEN: MON THRU SAT; 10AM - 6PM
(503)331-1101
D on't Die For Love
Are you an African-American woman
who is or has been abused by your
intimate partner?
Does your significant other push or punch you?
Call you names, keep you away from friends &
family or sexually abuse you?
Come To The African-American Battered W omen’s Support Group
starting Monday, Nov. 28, and continuing mondays 7 p.m - 9 p.m. The
group is free Free child care is provided Confidentiality is assured. For
information call: Albina Ministerial Alliances at 285-0493 or Bradley-
Angle House at 232-7805/281-3540. Bradley-Angle and the Albina
Ministerial Alliance do not discriminate on the basis of race, class, sexual
preference or religion.
■. 3fl 12 • .
*
carefully.
“That’s how we develop a lot of
our songs,” said Schools. "We play
them in concert before we record
them - a baptism by fire. We hammer
them into shape live so we’re all-the-
more prepared to go into the studio
and record them rather than waste
time coming up with arrangements
while we’re recording. It’s fun, too -
- we can try out different approaches
to see how they work and get the
audience reaction.”
The band returned to its home
turf of Athens, Georgia to record
AIN TLIFE GRAND, reuniting with
producer John Keane, who worked
on Panic’s debut, SPACE WRAN
GLER.
“W e knew we could be at our
best close to hom e,” said John
Bell. “John K eane’s direction was
la r g e ly r e s p o n s ib le fo r th e
a lb u m ’s sound. He used varied
guitar tones, varied sounds through
the songs to create different textures
from song to song. W e’ve grown up
with John so w e’re very comfortable
with him. It’s still very much a party
kind of atmosphere with him in the
studio.justcom eandsitin. He added
asteel guitar onto’ Ain’tLife Grand
which really adds an element to the
song.”
“It was such a great combination
of events and elem ents,” added
Schools. "In the past when we'd record
it was an eight-week chunk of not
touring and not being at home. By
recording in Athens we were able to
sleep in our own beds a, night, party
with friends, eat at our favorite restau
rants. I l was a healthy feeling that
translated into the recording.”
The developing vision of the
band’s songwriting is what ultimately
stamps AIN’T LIFE GRAND as a
classic album.
Oregon Ballef Theatre’ s Nutcracker Coming To A School Near You
(¡D h se ru c r
BALLOONS GALORE
Over the past eight years, Wide
spread Panic has developed from
one of the most promising new Ameri
can rock bands into one of the
country’s greatest live bands, as any
one who caught them on the 1992 or
1993 HORDE tour can attest.
With those credentials as a live
band firmly secured. Widespread
Panic has gone on to record a defini
tive studio album, A IN 'T LIFE
GRAND.
"I think we’ve really accom
plished something with AIN’T LIFE
GRAND,” said Dave Schools of the
band's fourth album. "It’s probably
gonna be hard to top this one.”
AlN'TLIFEGRANDcombines
the most fully-realized songwriting
of Panic’s history with the trademark
improvisations fans have come to
cherish over the years. Most of the
songs on the album will be familiar to
those who’ve studied the live shows
Music
Millennium
32nd & E.
Burnside
231-8926
23rd & NW
Johnson
248-0163
of literature, art and music found in
this beloved cultural holiday event
and to educate students about the
political process.
The first part o f the lesson
includes telling the classic story,
playing the riveting music and
displaying the im aginative cos
tum es and re n d e rin g s o f The
N utcracker. The program is o f
value to schools because it offers
an o p p o rtu n ity to educate c h il
dren with m aterials such as: a
tim eline, a lesson outline, a s to
ry te lle r’s story, a m usical tape,
h isto rical inform ation, co lo r co s
tu m e s re n d e r in g s , c o lo r set
sketches and a new sletter.
Being a political year, it comes
to no surprise that the Nutcracker
and the Rat king are throwing their
hats in the political ring by challeng-
ing one another for the position of
Magistrate of Magic. The second
part o f the political curriculum in
cludes: political process information.
Nutcracker and Rat King outlines to
color, poster requirements, ballots,
bumper stickers and buttons. Teach
ers will explain the current political
campaign, and encourage students to
design posters for the political candi
date of their choice.