1992_05 The Daily Collegian May 1992

              Mayl,1992
ArtSpeak
Soup Dragons
stay true to roots
By Doug McLeod
Artspeak Staff
The latest release, Hot-
wired L from the Scottish
band the Soup Dragons,
musically doesn't advance
Itself much past the
group's second release of
two years ago, Lovegod.
But what the third al¬
bum from vocalist/
guitarist Sean Dickson,
guitarist Jim McCullogh,
bassist Sushi 1 Dade and
drummer Paul Quinn
does accomplish is to es¬
tablish the cult following
of the band.
Part of the second
United Kingdom invasion
of the WS^s, the Soup
Dragons are by far the
least known of many
"popular" Scottish/Irish/
English bands that.have
hit it big. —
Bands such as U2, the
Hothouse Flowers, Jesus
Jones and EMF have all
accomplished wider com¬
mercial success, but the
Soup Dragons are one of
the few who have stayed
true to their musical roots.
The Soup Dragons
were formed in Glasgow
Scotland in 1985 and
toiled in their native
country for two years
before hitting it big in the
U.K. with their first single,
the independently re¬
leased "Whole Wide
World".
Their success garnered
them a recording contract
with Sire Records, but
after recording an EP of
their independently re¬
corded singles entitled
Hang Ten and their well- *
received debut LP in 1987,
This Is Our Art, the band
left Sire for more creative
control over their music.
What followed was
the breakthrough released
that made the Soup
Dragons a cult hit; the. •
album Lovegod and the hit
alternative singles "I'm
Free" and "Mother Uni¬
verse", which propelled
the album to gold status
in Billboard Magazine.
Hotwired, the follow-
up to Lovegod, further
illustrates the Soup Drag¬
ons' penchant for writing
interesting, if not catchy
music.
The 12-song album is
mote reminiscent of the
Clash rather than the
over-produced sound of
Jesus Jones and more
directly, EMF.
Singles such as "Pleas¬
ure" and "Running Wild"
expose the listener to a
surprisingly bluesy side to
the Soup Dragons, while
maintaining a "modern
rock" feel about them.
The almost psyche¬
delic sound of the aptly
titled singles "Getting
Down" and "Dream On"
immediately reminds one
of Jimi Hendrix.     \
The hauntingly vast
sound of the ne w a ge-ish
"Forever Yesterday", com¬
plete with the old Star
Trek sound effects (which
work surprisingly well),
makes the album Hotwired
an experience that any
alternative music fan
should not miss.
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'Rock the Vote' features local talent
By Manny?ernandez
Artspeak Staff
The Neanderthals, The
Crucified, The Miss Alans
and Various Blends will
be among the many local
bands who will perform at
a voter-awareness concert
Sunday at F.P.O.A. Park.
Rock The Vote, a na¬
tional youth political
awareness organization, is
sponsoring the festival,
which features eight
bands, information and
voter registration booths,
and speakers representing
the Libertarian Party and
Jerry Brown." j
Julieanne Rhodes,
central valley coordinator
for Rock The Vote,.said
she hopes to get the 18-30
year old age group regis¬
tered to vote.'
"We want them to
make good, informed
choices," she said. "The
Age of Apathy has^to
end."
Rhodes said the best
way to get the attention of
young people is through
music.
/  Sunday's concert will
./also feature Don Mayhew,
the Fresno Bee's pop
music critic, in a dunk
tank.
All money raised from
the Mayhew Dunk will go
to the American Cancer
Society.
The $2 tickets for the
concert aie available at
Ragin' Records, Club
Fred, Wavelengths and
Rainbow Sound.
- Other performers
include Cryin' Out Loud,
Glen Delpit and The Sub-
terranpans. The Coins and
Subpop Recording Artist
The Rev. Horton HeatS^
F.P.O. A Park can be
reached by traveling west
on Herndon. Numerous
signs will be posted along
the way to help concertgo-
ers find the exact location.
The concert is sched¬
uled from 12-6 p.m.
\
ELECTRA: Continued from page 1
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mother aytemnestra.
Electra is perhaps one.
of the most elaborate pro¬
ductions to be performed
in the new John Wright
Theatre to date. Compu¬
terized lighting effects
designed by Janene Pettus
simulate clouds and the
changing light oftiay,
complimenting the large,
multi-levelled set
Original music and
the action on stage is
performed by Ken Fre-
drickson.
Electra runs at the John
Wright Theatre through
May 10 with perfbrm-
ances at 2 and 8 p.m.
Audience members
should be aware that
semi-automatic weapons
will be discharged as part
of the action.
Our
BSV