OCTOBER OI, IPRS

The Fox, the

Leppard,

by Natalie Siemens and
Jennifer Dewar

I, Natalie, confess, I am
obsessed with 99.3 THE FOX. I
listen to CFOX night and day. I often
find myself laughing, and even
snorting aloud at the weirdos who
call themselves DJ’s, the people who
call in to these DJ’s, and the
conversations that follow. But
obsession and persistence pay off -
I won DEF LEPPARD tickets for
myself and three of my privileged
friends. And Jen, my cohort in life
and in writing, is one of those
privileged friends.

We had been calling the
station faithfully whenever they
played the roar (the sound of the
leopard) trying desperately to be
caller No. 9. Because this was a
special concert, the only way to
acquire tickets was to be the lucky
caller. Embarrassingly enough, we
became a little crazed over this
contest: we wouldn’t leave for class
until they played the roar, we stayed
up late at night praying to be the
lucky No. 9, and even listened while
in the shower with a phone (and
towel) within reach. Well, it paid off
- we won! And it was amazing!

Def Leppard was slated to
play a 45 minute acoustical set
Monday night at Vancouver’s
Commodore Ballroom on Granville
Street, after playing Monday
morning in Tangiers, Africa, and
Monday afternoon in London,
England in an attempt to get into the
Guinness Book of World Records.
The category? Three concerts on
three continents in 24 hours. They
succeeded.

amad Us!

The doors were scheduled to
open at 8:00pm. After arriving at ten
past eight, and waiting till 9:45
outside in the cold, our shivering
quartet (and 499 other ticket winners
plus three friends each) were
allowed into the warmth and the
twinkling stars of the Commodore.
Def Leppard kicked off with a rather
rowdy song for an acoustic set, and
kept the pace up the whole way
through. They played a good mixture
of slow and fast, original hits and
other artists work, and a few new
songs. The crowd responded to the
not-so-acoustic-sounding set, and
moshed on the springboard floor so
hard that no effort was required to
rock to the beat.

After an hour and 15 minutes
of continual hits, Def Leppard left
the stage with a jetlagged “Thank-
you, g-night.” The crowd refused to
let them get off so easy, and stomped
and screamed until Def Leppard
reappeared for another historical
event - an acoustic encore. The band
was more than happy to oblige the
almost hysterical fans. All in all, Def
Leppard puts on a good show, with
no frills attached - no reverb pedals,
no electronic harmonizers, and no
synthetic sound effects. This band is
authentic right down to the core, and
knows how to involve the crowd
with its easy-going, solid sound.

Def Leppard’s greatest hits
album that includes hits from 1980
to 1995, entitled Vault, will be
available November | in all music
stores. If you’re a fan like we are,
keep your eyes peeled for the new
studio album release due out in
spring, Slang.

TUESDAYS

mio:

BILLIARDS

WITH STUDENT ID

O.Zone Billiards

and Cappuccino Bar

5820 SE Marine Drive

Located in lower level of Marine Cold Beer and Wine Store

 

Pred Hersch anal Sci

Clayton at the Glass Slippe:
Saturday, October 14, 1995.

by Ron Kearse

Not a better venue could have
been chosen for this evening of
romantic jazz. The small and intimate
Glass Slipper Cabaret was filled with
just over one hundred people and, for
the most part, the audience was well
dressed (thank God I wore a shirt and
tie) and very polite. Exactly the type
of audience that one would want for
this type of concert.

When introduced, Fred and
Jay made their way to the stage from
the back of the hall, announced this
was only the second gig they have
played together, then proceeded to
perform some fine music. Fred’s piano
playing has never sounded better. I
watched with a sense of awe, Fred play
the entire concert with his eyes closed,
demonstrating to me that he truly does
not play music; he feels it.

This was the first time I had
ever heard Jay Clayton sing. The only
way I can descibe her voice is like a

butterfly: lilting, floating, and a real joy
to experience.

Although the first set of the
performance was excellent, it was their
second set that proved to be most
interesting. Fred began by playing three
solo numbers. The tune that got the most
positive, and loudest response, was his
version of Thelonius Monk’s ‘In Walked
Bud.” His sensitivity and creative genius
make Fred the best interpreter of Monk’s
tunes I’ve ever heard.

Right after this, Jay did
somthing rather clever. She had a type
of “voice synthesiser,” into which she
vocalized small sequences of notes. The
synthesiser sampled these small
sequences then started to play them in a
loop. The result was an incredible music
bed which was made right in front of us.
She sang and spoke over top of this
“bed” to create a well crafted piece
called “Sometimes.” The likes of Laurie
Anderson and Jane Siberry had better

sleep with one eye open. Jay Clay
has shown she can easily rival anyth
that they can create.

They performed the rest
their set superbly, and encored
show with a blues tune Jay had writt
She told the audience this was her f
attempt at writing blues. I hope :
continues to write such incredible tu
because she shows a real aptitude
this type of style.

Both Jay and Fred ming
with the audience during the break 4
after the show. This gave the audier
a chance to respond in a personal w
to them. It was a real treat talking
them face to face, an opportunity tl
one doesn’t often get at concerts.

As I left the hall that eveni:
I felt as if I had been deeply touch
This event was more than a ja
concert, it was a unique, perso
experience. I look forward to both
these fine artists returning to our ci!

Interwue with Sky Is Blue

Where have all the bassists’ gone?

On a cold, blustery summers

, Other Press reporter Kem Lizee

ot together, in a sma

cafe om the corner of Here and Thar, (right down the street from the Starbuck's on Robsoi

with Kem Lizee, guitarist Jor Sky is
him, I mean, he looked normal enough... The

lattes. Yummy.

Tell me the origins of ‘Sky is Blue’.

Well, we all started out as zygotes,
after our father’s sperm had fertilized our
mother’s egg. I believe during the
mitosis of our first cells our mothers
were listening to some Zeppelin (is
king), and Black Sabbath, this would
explain our musical style.

Seriously though, Fraser Secret
(lead guitarist) and Colin Ritchie
(drummer) are the founders of the band.
They learned to play their instruments
at a young age, met and became friends
in school, and decided to form a band.

When they began getting semi-
serious about playing (and hoping to
meet mass chicks, I mean “many fine
girls”) they came begging and pleading
to me to enter their collective, because
they lacked creativity and wanted
absolutely no 80’s feel. They also needed
an attractive, muscular, outgoing, babe
magnet. Here I am, Kem Lizee.

No, really serious now, the band
originated with Fraser and Colin. In 92,
I joined the band as a rhythm guitarist,
but was soon demoted (or promoted,
depending on your point of view) to bass
player. All I had was an acoustic guitar
and a bunch of three-chord songs. After
jamming together for about a year, I
decided to show them some music I had
been working on with the guitar. They
liked it! So I was immediately promoted
(or demoted, depending on your point
of view) to rhythm guitar.

After jamming together for about
six months without a bass player or a
singer we decided that we wanted to go
further as a band, so we searched, first
for a bass player. That’s where Martin
Ayerest, our bass player, comes in. I met
Marty in a music class I was taking here
at DC. After conversing with him a few
times, the topic of band and bass player
came up, Marty wanted in. To this day
he continues to rip out the bass rifs.

After many futile attempts to gain
status as both rhythm guitarist and singer
for the (still unnamed) band, and not
wanting to continue being the object of
ridicule and insult added to the increased

We.

enthusiasm of the entire band to go to
the next level, we searched for a singer.
That’s just what we got, and more, with
the Ontario native, Glenn Garinther.

We had placed an ad in The
Georgia
Straight
that read
“‘Altemative/
Grunge/
Crap band
seeks
singer...”
Glenn was
the first
one to
rehearse
with us.
He
knocked
the band’s
socks off
with his
version of
Oh
Canada,
which got
him on the
team. ae
Voila, Guitarist Kem Lizee
Sky is Blue
(formerly Beautiful Losers).

Is there anything behind your
name, does it have some meaning?

Yes. We wanted to say - in as few
words as possible - “Look, the sky is
blue, sometimes things, problems, have
simple solutions; sometimes our big
questions that we think have no answers
have answers; and truth to life and things
in life are not hard to find, they’re as
obvious as the sky is blue.”

My understanding is there are
some ‘opposing forces’ in your band, a
‘yin-yang’ if you will, is this true?

Yes, there is something like that.
Glenn and myself tend to have a more
optimistic and positive perspective on
things in general, and the other guys,
Colin, Fraser, and Martin tend to be more
pessimistic and cynical. These ‘forces’
do not really effect the friendships

fc hankered down

  

vit had a chat -panderers peered queerty (

to cherry ple and moch

between all of us though, but «
occasion, there are the heated argumen
that arise due to differing opinions.

One last question, what kind
musical feel does the band have? an
what is yoi
opinion on ti
types of mus
today?

Our mus
has a wide array
styles; we’ve g
Led Zeppel
emotion wi
Soundgarde
charm, al
alternative/pui
with Tragical
Hip melody. Tt
has to do with t
kinds of music tl
both Fraser ai
myself listen tc
we are the ma
composers- al
what our gene
attitude is. Fras
listens to a lot
Smashin
Pumpkin
Soundgarden, a
Tea Party, to name a few. He’s goi
through sort of a rebellious and ang
stage right now due to pressures in li
so his music tends to be heavy y
harmonious (Soundgarden/Tea Party).
on the other hand, am a great admirer
contemporary/mellow/alternative mus
this would be Sarah McLachlan, Oas
etc., but do admit to being a big Zeppe
fan, and I am now getting into Tea Pai
(Zeppelin a la mode).

To answer your second questic
I hate grunge, I hate grunge, I haai
grunge!! I do, however, enjoy the mo
of the music and the feel, but in no w
do I ascribe to any kind of subculti
surrounding this music, or any proble1
that the lyrics may be describing. I te
to hear a lot of self-deprecating, cynic
and narcissistic lyrics in this mu:
which I despise.

ee

Trent Ernst photo