November 15th, 1994
ENTERTAINMENT Exploring-ism s with NOFX B y Ericka F u c h s
Consumerism, reverse racism and classism constitute some o f the more serious topics hit upon when the Tribune talked to the head of Fat W reck C hords and N O FX b a ssist/v o c a list/so n g w r ite r Fat Mike. Fat M ike is join ed by three others in the ranks o f this fine punk rock en sem b le. H is com rades include guitarist and ex-juvi Eric M elv in , m otor-cross racer Erik Ghent on drums and newcomer El Hefe. El Hefe has added to the band, am ong other th in gs, imitations of well-known car toon characters (like those of Speedy Gonzalez) at the end of NOFX’s latest release Punk in D ru b lic . A pparently, El H efe’s past in cartoons and such things have rem ained w ith him . He a lso p layed Miguel in the Bad New Bears, but som eh ow ended up in Juvenile Hall, where he met Erik Ghent. W hen the T r ib u n e begged Fat Mike for an amus ing story, he h esitated and then went on with three short a n ecd o tes. “O n ce in Frankfurt, a fem inist group P u n k beat us up; Eric Melvin once got arrested in Wyoming for sleep ing w ith a fifteen year-old; our drummer slipped on a piece o f shit in Italy and sprained h is n eck .” Apparently, he has already told too many music stories before. In addition, Fat M ike talked about being skater boys who con verted to b ein g sn ow b oard ers because “skating hurts too much”. Fat M ike liv e s in San Francisco, where he was recently recording with his other band, Good Riddance. The rest o f NOFX are
from Hollywood meaning that they don’t see each other much except “to go on tour and stuff.” Speaking o f touring, NOFX have ju st returned from Japan, which is “more fun than Europe, Europe is just like the U.S., but they speak different. In Japan, every thing’s different.” Trying to provoke some more serious conversation, the Tribune probed into their lyrics. For exam ple, “Henry Ford tradition preys on” from their song “Dig” led to a discussion on our “consum erism society”.
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the w ork w eek to about 2 5 -2 8 hours, and to d ecrease salaries accordingly because “we don’t need that much to live. W e’re lucky to play in a punk band and work about an hour and a half a night for about half the year.” When asked if his song “Don’t Call Me W hite” is about reverse racism, he responded, “Basically, I’m tired of all these correct terms you’re supposed to be calling peo ple now.” Fat Mike also coined the term “classism” to explain his views on racism. “I don’t believe in racism
raw k-H arleys a n d b a n d gren a d es Fat Mike explained the song’s intentions. “When the auto industry started up, that’s when prohibition started up, ‘cuz they didn’t want any of their workers drinking after work,” he said. “Their whole work eth ic w as ‘straight a h ea d ’ and ‘work all day’.” Fat Mike ties this into con su m erism b eca u se he b elieves that as a society w e are told when we need and therefore “work harder to buy these things that we don’t need.” Fat Mike suggests decreasing
G am blin’ with By R ichard B itar_________________________
By literally rocking the boat, the West Island Lyric Theatre opened its rendition of one o f Broadway’s most famous musicals, G u y s a n d D o lls . T h is b rain ch ild o f Broadway composer Frank Loesser swept up the theatre’s Tony Awards in two sepa rate occasions — first when it opened in the early ‘50s, and later on in 1992, when it was revived on Broadway. Set in New York City in the ‘40s, this musical tells the story o f Nathan Detroit, a gambler who keeps trying to set up a game o f craps that never seems to happen; and of Miss Adelaide, his fiancée of fourteen years, who keeps nagging him to get married. It also tells the story o f Sarah Brown, the Salvation Army saint who, against all of her values, falls in love with the gambler, Sky Masterson. At a glance, you w ouldn’t know that the Lyric Theatre is an amateur theatre com pany. First o f all, the cast o f this show is superb. Steven D e Melo, a recent graduate from D aw son C o lleg e, p lays the role o f Nathan Detroit. He literally moves the audi-
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very much,” he said. “Don’t believe it exists as much a people think it does. I think people hate each other for reasons other than colour. I think people hate each other for class reasons. Rich people don’t like poor people. Middle class peo ple don’t like poor people. It’s clas sism, not racism.” You can w itness the N O F X ’s hard core stage antics at Spectrum on November 15th, along with punk rockers Face to Face and Trigger Happy.
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ence with his excellent performance of this role. The roles o f Miss Adelaide and Sarah Brown are played by Julia Mackiewicz and Jane Hackett, resp ectively. Their strong voices and great acting make them perfect for these roles. Denis Malo portrays the role of the gambler Sky Masterson, stopping the show with his rendition o f “Luck be a Lady T o n ig h t” . P a rticu la rly n o tew o rth y is M ich ael S m o la sh , p la y in g the ro le o f N icely-N icely Johnson. Another thing that sets apart this $100,000 amateur production is its excellent use o f scenery and lighting. T h is m u sica l sh o w c a se s a lo t o f Montreal and McGill talent (five of the cast members are McGill graduates, and one of them, Elizabeth Valentina, is currently pur suing a joint honours program in Film and Communication and Philosophy). The theatre is really small, and the seat ing is by general admission, so if you get there early enough, you are almost guaran teed a good seat. But if you can’t, the view is very good from practically anywhere. This is definitely a must-see musical, and at a maximum o f $25.50 per ticket, it is much See G uys and D olls Page 14
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By Ioyce Lau __________________________________________________________
This week, the English department presents John W ebster’s The D uchess o fM a lfi as adapted by Denis Salter. This Elizabethan drama tells the tale of a young widowed duchess (Vanya Rose) and the unfortunate ends which befall all about her, a tragedy which stems from the antics of her two power-hungry brothers. The duchess’s twin brother Ferdinand (Robin Finlay Copp) and their older brother, the Cardinal (James McGowan) attempt to prevent the duchess’s remarriage to Antonio, who once served as her steward (Harry Case). Brotherly protectiveness quickly sours into acute physical and psy chological abuses which initially take the form o f stalking, death threats and imprisonment. Watching the duchess bear the unrelenting wave of mental tortures increasingly leads the audience to believe that the brothers are less motivated by their proposed attempt to “preserve the family name”. They are more likely moved by their own egotistic self-righteous ness, their inherent sexism, offensive need for revenge, and coveting of the beautiful family their sister had built for herself. The two twins both teeter towards an impending madness. The duchess’s slow progression to insanity is more believable than her brother’s-for it acts as an immediate reaction to mental torture from which she recovers. On the other hand, Ferdinand’s violent fall is more im m ediate and extrem e. The manner o f the tw in s’ falls to in sa n ity and the co n seq u en t slaughter-fest are refreshingly unexpected, though justifiable through plot and thematic pro gressions which later carry the play into the duchess’s conclud ing hold on to dignity. U nder the d ire ctio n o f R a ch el D ito r, th is student troupe presents an exceptionally tight and smoothly run produc tion. The monochromatic and shadow y set, haunting m usic and strong b old co stu m in g mark a simplified and stylised modernism o f ancient theatre, althou gh the a cto r s’ p erfor mances are sometimes marked R om eo a n d Ju lliet they are n o t by an archaic artificiality and ceremony. Because o f a reworking of the script, and carefully executed on-stage subtlety, this remake rarely steps over the into the overproduced tendencies which so often plague dramas where modem techniques are imposed onto a more ancient form. The Duchess o fM a lfi plays M oyse H all in the Arts Building this week Novem ber 16-19 (W ednesday through Saturday) at 8 p.m. Tickets are $6 fo r students. F or more information, call 398-6070.
More than church music By Ioyce Lau ______________
The 175-strong McGill Choral Society, in accordance with the MCS Chamber Choir, are slated to perform an intriguingly diverse set this Sunday afternoon under the inspiring baton o f Mary Jane Puiu. Classical music has always been about rewriting and reworking history; and these last cou p le o f years have found cla ssica l works infiltrating a more pop-based audience with the re-releases o f works like Gregorian chants and Carmina Burana. Accordingly, the MCS’s headlining piece will be British com poser John Rutter’s Gloria, a fine example of the ever-growing genre o f contemporary com positions written in a classical style with all of the hindsight o f a com poser liv in g in the twentieth century. Gregorian chants comprise the medieval text from which Rutter creates his loosely symphonic three movements for choir and brass choir. The rest o f the program w ill include Heinrich Schütz’s Cantate Domino for choir and brass quintet, as well as a series of folk son gs w hich w ill in clu d e M cG ill ly ricist Leonard C o h e n ’s “S on g o f B ern ad ette” .
Cohen’s piece will be sung by a soloist, tenor Peter Campbell. The select MCS Chamber Choir will also showcase some o f their own works. Remembering the MCS’s performance of H andel’s M essia h last year, MCS concert m anager, Sarah M cM illan exp ressed her anticipation about their chance to once again play in the Église Erskine et Américaine, “the acoustics should be quite nice. It’s a beautiful church.” The MCS is a non-audition ensem ble which w elcom es not only M cGill students, but also staff and faculty members and nonMcGill students as well. Says M cM illan, “It’s not very intense like some other groups on campus. We basi cally go because we enjoy being there.” This happy bunch hit off its first big con cert o f the season, which prom ises to be a beautiful way to spend this Sunday afternoon. The M CS perform at the É glise Erskine et Américain (corner Sherbrooke and Avenue du Musée, across fro m M usée des Beaux A rts) this Sunday, Novem ber 20 a t 3p.m. There’s a suggested donation o f $7, or $5 fo r students. W heelchair accessible.