Other Arts & Review Firehouse a Refreshin With bands such as Guns N’ oses, Metallica, Def Leppard and Bryan Adams topping the music harts, busting record sales across e country, and swapping headlines adaily basis, bands like Firehouse eceive little or no attention at all. irehousessecondalbum inasmany ears called Hold Your Fire was eleased in 1991 and shows great potential for the new, upand coming band out of South Carolina, USA. eir first self titled debut album did ell in the United States, and now ith Hold Your Fire breaking into the anadian markets, the band should be well received and finally gain that oughtafter recognition thatall bands iesire. old Your Fire Epic Records eviewed by Gord Belec Firehouse is definitely not the kind of music tobe playedata bashin’ metal , but its also something eard of ata techno-pop niteclub. f you must puta label on their style, ts hard rock with a commercial avour. Theband showsconsiderable }—__) Ya & 2 Oe a mA with 5a i ONE NIGHT ONLY gs = . ¢ 2 AB 6 oD _ an 870 GRANVILLE MALL + 681-7838 1 Val leart of Downtow! FEATURING BOB MOULD FORMERLY OF HUSKER DU promise, which is reflected in their talent. Axe man Bill Leverty boasts crunching guitar riffs and strong solo efforts. Bill’s creativity cannot be questioned as he offers his listener a refreshing change from the average guitar work that so many guitarists play. Firehouse is Fresher Than November Rain nothing fascinating, but does play a = and integral part in the bands sound and style- the musicianship is there, butcreativity lacks. Fellowskin basher (drums), Michael Foster doesn’t miss a beat and shows his talent on tracks such as ‘Hold Your Fire’ and ‘Reach for the Sky.’ Vocals and keyboards are CJ Snares responsibility, and his vocals are nothing to laugh at. CJ’s vocal range is better than average and he can hit particularly high octaves without | —, Air Conditioned R ouver © Fully Guests THROWING MUSES & THE BOO RADLEYS WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 18 poors 8:00pm presents AND THE LEGENDARY HEARTS FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20 - poors 8:30PM whFok presents co-gultarist of The Rolling Stones RONNIE WOooD with special guests IMMACULATE FOOLS TUESDAY NOVEMBER 24 .- poors 8:00pm Presents FRE/CAPITOL Recording Artists SALAS a adi Ucia Mes ar elon cs THE HARD ROCK MINERS FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27 Doors 8:30pm CANADA'S auld ee a8 ay tO) OLIN IC) PN aia BS) From Senegal, West Africa with Special Guests SUPERSUCKERS & EUGENIUS |'§ SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29 « Doors 8:00pm eiee Province & /Z°73 PRESENT BLUE RODEO itcitiwaiins SPECIAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT ¢ THE ORPHEUM ° TUES. DEC. 1 The NN gla FRIDAY DECEMB @. YOUSSOU N'DOUR and THE SUPER STARS BAND from Dakar SUNDAY NOVEMBER 28 Doors 8:30pm ONE NITE ONLY MUDHONEY vr Ea SPECIAL GUESTS e DOORS 8:30 lickets: At all TICKETMASTER locations. _ all Eaton’s and Infocenters in Major Malls, é Lower Mainland suey” Charge By Phone: 280-4444 the Other Press squealing or cracking his voice. Firehouse has a single on the charts called ‘When I Look Into Your Eyes’ thatcanbe boughtatany decent record store. The song is your basic 1 love you, I need you, I miss you’ ballad, butits a catchy tune with neat keyboard progressions. The heaviest a ct de So what have the Bon Jovi boys been up to for the past four years? Kickin’ back and coming to terms with life and love, that’s what. Bon Jovi’s fifthalbum, Keep the Faith, is slotted for release in Canada November 3, 1992. The first single released from thealbum, called ‘Keep the Faith,’ has received substantial radio play and has already graced recordchartsacross thecountry. Long gone is the commercial sound of Slippery When Wet as Keep the Faith enters unchartered territory with a new sound, new message and a new Bon Jovi is Back songonthealbum called our Fire’ would definitely be on the charts if not so controversial, but that’s for you to check out. After hearing ‘November Rain’ (G’N’R) for the thousandth time, throwing Firehouse into the stereo provided me a refreshing escape outlook for the 90's. BON JOVI KEEP THE FAITH polygram/mercury records reviewed by Gord Belec The album is hot as Bon Jovi gets back to basics and uncovers the grass roots style of writing. The message is quite clear with tracks such as ‘Keep the Faith’ and ‘11 Believe’ which focus on believing in yourself to get through the ever changing dynamics of the 90’s. If ever analbum was to touch the lives Khan's Not Hopeless Brenda Khan is a part of the new folk movement which is rising up all over North America. Brenda Khan Epiphany in Brooklyn Sony Music reviewed by Roar Jorgenson Twoprominentmembers of this movement are Tracy Cha and Suzanne Vega, who have opened the doors for many younger female, folk artists. Brenda Khan is one of these younger female artists whohave had an open door to walk through and that’s a good thing for her, because she can hardly reach the door knob. Epiphany In Brooklyn, is Ms. Khan’s second album. While I have not heard her first album, I hope itis better than this one. Epiphany is not something to be proud of, itis for the Khan's voice sounds quite a bit like Edie Brickell’s, only it is more irritating.Someperformerscan’tsing well, but their voices have a certain, interesting character. Ms. Khan’s voice is not the most atrocious voice out there, butitis notalways pleasant to listen to. Songs like “I don’t Sleep I Drink Coffee Instead”, and “Mint Juleps And Needles” demonstrate this very well, while songs like “Madagascar” and “Losing Time” show that she is capable of fairly good singing and vocalization. Her song writing is not very interesting. Suzanne Vega is able to paint clear coherent pictures with her songs, she creates interesting imagery. Tracy Chapman is able to write about certain concepts and social concerns without getting preachy; Chapman has something tosay and shecommunicates it well. Khan's song writing, for the most part, is better than youraverage pop artist, but she still fails to create effective imagery or to, at times, communicate her ideas clearly. My favourite songs over all are “Sleepwalking” and “Mojave Winters”. She can barely reach the door knob. In Brooklyn, 1 don’t think Brenda Khan is hopeless. I believe she has the potential to become a better performer witha strongand unique presence. Hopefully things willhave improved by the time she goes into the studio to record her next album ind Keeping the Faith Flame from the hyped-out-to-the-max bands such as the gunners. Overall; Firehouseisa band towatchoutforin the 90’s, and with continued success (and allot of luck), should top the charts, break record sales, and swap headlines with the big boys of rock n’ roll. Check it out, its worth the listen. of everyday people and portray a positive message to the masses, Jovi’s Keep the Faith can and will do it. Bon Jovi's blues influences shine through with tracks such as ‘A Little Bit of Soul’ and ‘I'll Sleep When I’m Dead.’ Their firstever ten-minuteepic, ‘Dry County,’ gives an incredible . account of the struggle people had in the boom/bust years of smalltown, USA. There are, of course, ballads on the album, such as ‘Bed of Roses,’ which will probably be a single, and youcanbank onitbeing aninstant hit. PEMD ion Sani i You can bet on a hit. Vancouver at Little Mountain Sound Studios with our own Bob Rock producing and mixing. It was Bruce Fairbairn whobrought us the Slippery When Wet and New Jersey albums, but a conflict in scheduling uncovered Mr. Rock, and with the band taking on a different outlook, the change was welcomed by Bon Jovi. The boys have a full fledged world tour to back the album, starting January 13, 1993, in Pensicola, Florida. The music is incredible, the message is positive and their outlook is new. Keep the Faith will possibly go downasthebest Bon Jovialbum ever. Expect to see them on the charts for a long time tocome. Bon Jovihas not let us down... they continue to keep the faith. Bon Joviin the 90's: Itssomething new! Its hot, so GET IT! Vancouver Look Out! Lookout Vancouver!!! Coast 1040 brings youPolygram recording artists, Soup Dragons, to promote theband’s most recent release, Hotwired. This well known Scottish group will undoubtedly perform an irresistible buzz mix of _ psychedelic instrumentals, simplistic, yet ever strong lyricsdouand eclectic dance grooves. Soup Dragons November 29, 1992 86 St. Music Hall preview by Tara Meiklejohn Youdiehard Soupsupportersand curious semi-pop fans are in for a big time treat. Soup Dragonsappearat86 Street Music Hall on Sunday Nov. 29. Tix. $22.00 at Ticketmaster, Track and Zulu Records. Doors open at 8:00pm. See ya there!!!