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by Dan Hilborn

It seems that after six
months of stagnation on the
local music scene a group
of people are setting about
rectifying that situation
while probably undergoing
some severe financial hard-

ships for themselves.
The MODAMU (Modern

promotion company and
gang of people have recent-
ly been assembling a small
stable of new music bands
in an attempt to appease
the unrelenting thirst for
good local music that Van-
couver area concert-goers
seem to have.

On Feb. 19 the MODA-
MU group 54/40 headlined
a show at Oddfellows Hall
in front of about 400 enthu-
siastic onlookers. Along
with them were Empty Set
from Kelowna, and Three
Swimmers from Seattle.

One similarity between
the three bands was the
obvious influence of the
Gang of Four’s choppy guit-
ar riffs and jazzy-based
rhythms. This peculiarity
was noticable last weekend
when MODAMUsponsored
a show at the Carnegie
Centre with Nomeansno,
Junco Run, and the newest
addition to the stable, Mag-
ic Dragon. The latter of the
two shows was played to a
much smaller crowd, prob-
ably no more than 50

 

eerRle

Dance Music) record label, —

While all six bands pre-
sented had their individual-
ity (i.e. Nomeansno was
only a bass player and
drummer,- Magic Dragon
had an electronic vic'inist,
and Empty Set had a fe-
male vocalist and a drumset
with only tambourine-like
toms and huge cymbals
with a concert hall-like ring
they all seemed too much
alike.

Of the six bands Thre
Swimmers had the most
polished act (rumour has it
that they’ll be touring with
the Gang of Four this
summer), Empty Set was
the most promising (they
were like Souisxie and the
Banshees meet Gang of
Four with a bit of Joy
Division mixed in), No-
meansno was the most or-
iginal (how can you beat a
duo that’s so manic they’re
both soaked after 25 min-
utes.), and Magic Dragon
was the- most boring (I
woke up halfway through
their set and went home, to
bed).

It’s not that any of the
bands played badly (they
didn’t)but they’re the only
bands playing anymore.
MODAMU is not, however
the only group of local
musicians that are begin-
ning to ‘‘market”’ their own
modern dance music. E has
just released a European-
disco single along with their
Paul Wong-produced video,

OF Te 7

 

besides this they’ve also
released a new EP. This
band has taken a far step
from their Coincidence/Re-
action single of two or three
years ago.

Moev, ICU, and Corsage
are other new local dance
bands that are trying to

achieve popularity through

a sort of media blitz, how-
ever, to date, only the
MODAMU groups have
been getting into the actual
live performance part of the

‘show.

As far as the impartial
eye can tell, none of these
bands are making any mon-
ey from their ventures.
MODAMU has just releas-
ed an album Things Are
Still Coming Ashore featur-
ing 54/40, Junco Run and
Animal Slaves, which has
yet to sell many copies.
Moev’s EP is in uncertain
straits since their manager
(former) was arrested in the
US. Corsage has yet to
release their recordings
from their PNE sessions.

Several of the bands have
or will be releasing video-
tapes, which is an expen-
sive risk. Somewhere,
somehow these bands .are
going to come up with the
money for their splurges.

To help pay for 54/40’s
upcoming album, MODA-
MU will be presenting The
Popular Front with Redrum,
this Friday, March 5 at In
Concert in Gastown.

March 4th to March 18th 1982

 

_ “Kootenay hospitality

SC

at Totem Conference

by Tracey rayson

“Kootenay hospitality’
was certainly the order of
the day off the court in
weekend Douglas basketball
action at Castlegar. Unfor-
tunately, on the court. is
was a different matter,
as Douglas won only one
of four games played
against Selkirk College
Saints.

After an exhausting eight
and a half hour-bus ride,
both teams stepped out
onto Castlegar ground, and
allowed the clean air to
whisp up inta their nos-
frils. Clean air? Defi-
nitely not a city. The
aroma seeping from the bus
was potent enough to
create a haze over the
town, which for the most
part, was the view seen
through half open: and half

blood shot eyes. All the
players were quickly
ushered. into: --—heir

temporary home, TheMonte
Carlo Motel. Imagine,
seven separate party rooms,
all on the same floor!
But of course, management
cautioned both teams to
minimize the noise to a
dull roar.

Friday night the women
played their first. game at
6:00. Douglas came equip-
ped with only five athletes
- three players were unable
to attend. Unfortunately,
the Selkirk team had a four
player advantage as well
as a third place birth in
Totem Conference stand-

ings. Nevertheless, the

Douglas ladies _ played
with determination and
agility until the final

buzzer sounded. Although
the scoreboard displayed
defeat, the women excelled
with a positive attitude and
accomplished a fine team

 

effort. A few individuals
became prominent, anc
beamed with flying colours.
Black and blue and .
Due to a team member ob-
taining an injury, Douglas
was forced to battle the
remaining quarter with four
players. The final score
was 107-37 in favor of
Selkirk Saints, with Douglas
College’s Shanda Steeves
scoring 14 points, and
Terry Clark contributing 9.
On Saturday the Douglas
women’s team was defeated
once again, 95-28 to
Selkirk. However, Douglas
began the game with only
four players and completed
it exhausted, but satisfied.
They worked to their po-
tential under a great deal
of pressue.

In Men’s action Friday
night, Douglas edged out
Selkirk 60-59, due to the
teams’ hard efforts and
continual hussle. Both

>teams were quite evenly

matched, and a lot of

“‘Russin’’ around took place
on the court. Selkirk out
rebounded Douglas 69-54,
however Douglas attained
tight defence. Top scorer
for Douglas was Kevin
Galloway with a fine per-
mance of 27 points.
Saturday night produced a
win for the Saints 68-57
over Douglas. Although
the win for Selkirk
increased their record to a
3 win and 11 loss standing,
Douglas continues to re-
main ahead of them in
Totem Conference play.

In an effort to celebrate
the teams last road trip,
a house party was hosted
by a member of the
Selkirk men’s team.
Details remain sketchy, as
most of the _ players

memories were clouded by
a rather substantial intake

of ‘‘Kootenay good cheer’’.
59

Ww
Ke,

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