OCR Text |
Show Page 10 Wednesday, February 23, 1977 There are few people who will argue with the statement that television, although a relatively voung media, is by far the most powerful of the mass communications. While there have been a lew attempts to satirize this giant industry, those attempts have usually been cheap shots at obviously ob-viously lame aspects of the television goliath. Most people have little knowledge of how television picks programs or the jungle in which T.V. executives are forced to live. "Network" is the first attempt to show the world behind the cameras in detail The man behind "Network" is Paddy Chafayesky, a television script writer. Chafayesky has long understood the power of the media, and has decided to pose some of the questions in a story of a fictitious fourth network that was consistently rated fourth place. When it is decided that heads must roll so that new blood can rejuvenate the network, one of the first to be given notice is the news anchorman Howard Beale. News anchormen are supposed to be rocks of granite; solid and uncrackable. The night after Beale is given his two week's notice, he quite calmly announces his televised suicide to be broadcoast in a week. Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch) becomes an overnight sensation, and his life and news programs get turned around. Chafayesky uses Beale and the executives around him to make some insightful comments about the television network system that are both amusing and frightening. The news department depar-tment soon becomes swallowed by the programing department, and the program is quickly transformed into a game show-type atmosphere. at-mosphere. In all of this no one at the network listens to the content of Howard Beale's stream-of-consciousness speeches, and he soon starts attacking at-tacking the network. Through all of this the audience starts to realize that the "madman" is saying some very logical things. Who owns the T.V. networks? What if this extremely powerful communications tool should fall into the wrong hands? When does a network cross the line of decency, and should profit be the main motivation behind the running of a T.V. network? The film is frightening not because it seems so far from reality, but because the action behind the scenes seems real. "Network" does have its failings, mainly that its target is too broad to develop the characters and situations as deeply as possible. Hence, quite often the scenes consist of speeches containing more wisdom about the television generation with little depth being added to the people whose lives are being portrayed. Perhaps Chafayesky is warning us that the people who control T.V. are that shallow. Still the film takes a shotgun blast at T.V., and it would take the average viewer several screenings to catch all the significance of the film. "Network" is not a cheap shot, however, with its target being the very heat of the television system ; the executives who run the machinery and the ratings that dictate their actions . ' Whether "Network" succeeds in alerting the nation to the frightening side of the tube or whether people regard the film as an amusing story remains to be seen. If next year's fall lineup on television includes a sitcom about a crusty but lovable T.V. executive battling the black knights of the coporate conglomerate, then we might say that "Network" has failed. Sewer... Continued from page 1 servative estimate, it would require approximately two years of additional study and re-design work to again proceed to the point where the project is at present. As a result, funds presently committed to this particular project would have to be released to other projects which are now ready to proceed. At best, funding availability for a project proposed two years from now would be uncertain, and the delay could be much longer depending on availability of grant funds. We are not aware of any new information which indicates that a new study could arrive at any different conclusion than the first one. Park City should be concerned con-cerned that their existing treatment plant is consistency consisten-cy producing an inferior juality effluent. Also, because the plant is approaching ap-proaching and, at times, ex-feeding ex-feeding its hydraulic capacity, the imposed NP-IjLS NP-IjLS Discharge Permit effluent ef-fluent limitations would be difficult to achieve in the future. In the event discharge permit conditions are violated, EPA, under Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, might prohibit any additional connections con-nections to be made to the system. The State would find itself in the position of supporting sup-porting EPA in this action as a means to limit the discharge of pollutants to the environment and to minimize the degree of health risks for the welfare of the public. It is obvious that it is vitally important that the bond election pass and the proposed project move ahead immediately. We commend you in your attempts attem-pts to provide all of the facts to the public in your series of public hearings and informational infor-mational campaign which we feel will enable the voters to make the proper decision. If you have any questions with the foregoing, or if we may be of further assistance, assistan-ce, please let us know. Very truly yours, Utah Water Pollution Committee Com-mittee Calvin K. Sudweeks Executive Secretary Let's get a k v mm more light on the subject! Hi, I'm Reddy Kilowatt, your friend at Utah Power. Each week, this column is devoted to common questions and suggestions we receive from our customers. custo-mers. You are warmly invited to participate. partici-pate. Questions and suggestions regarding electricity, your electric service, or energy conservation are welcome. r QDoes a microwave oven use less electricity than a conventional conven-tional electric oven? A There is no simple answer here. An electricity consumption comparison com-parison between the conventional and microwave ovens depends entirely on the answer to the question, "What's cooking?" Tests have shown that in cooking small to medium quantities of concentrated foods such as meats, potatoes, desserts (particularly puddings and sauces), and in heating TV dinners, the microwave oven offers the greatest savings. Yet, when cooking corn, broccoli, and similar vegetables, the conventional electric surface units are more economical. Energy-saving is greatest when using the microwave and the conventional ovens in combination, rather than one method at the exclusion exclu-sion of another. Q Where should I put my study lamp for the greatest amount of light from the least wattage? A Study lamps should be placed so as to avoid shadows and reflected re-flected glare and, normally, a 150-watt bulb is recommended for reading. On a desk, ideal placement is approximately approxi-mately 12 inches from the front of the desk, 15 inches to the right or left of center (to the left if you are right-handed, right-handed, to the right if you are left-handed), left-handed), with the bottom shade 15 inches from the desk surface. You should know, however, that the amount of light given oft by a lamp bulb is measured in lumens, not watts- Wattage is the amount of electricity the bulb uses. Reddy recommends that you look on the carton for both lumen ratings and estimated life of the bulb (in hours). Address your questions or suggestions to Reddy Kilowatt, P.O. Box 899, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. Due to space limitations, all questions and suggestions cannot be printed in this column, but each will be answered. CaIn. 7x mm MIGHT CO. MUSIC NOTES By Jay Meehan KMOR Radio They call themselves "Possum," and in fact there are a few similarities between the four Telluride, Colorado based musicians and the furry marsupial whose name they borrowed for their collective identity. Being a performing music act, they certainly are "nocturnal," and if you've ever been in their company as they were dining at the Car 19's "Caboose," you'd have to concur that they are at least relatively "omnivorous." But that's where the resemblance ends, for they certainly don't "play dead." In fact, a livlier bunch of pickers would be hard to find, as the many locals who have seen their show at the Car 19's "Side Car" can attest. They are crowd pleasers and they do it with talent, imagination, and warmth, never resorting to cheap humor or gimmicks. Their music can stand on its own, thank you. "Possum" is Nancy Hillard on fiddle, Kooster McCallister on 5-string banjo and mandolin, John (Picker) Herndon on guitar, and Kenny Mehilic on bass. The four pick their way through a wide variety of material from Hank Williams to Jerry Garcia, from Bob Wills and Bill Monroe to Mayne Smith and the "Newgrass Revival." And they do it with an exuberance that's contagious, con-tagious, demonstrating along the way that any limitations one may attach to the traditional ac-coustic ac-coustic instruments they perform with are, indeed, in-deed, passe. Organized a few years ago in Telluride, that remote jewel of southwest Colorado's San Juan Mountains, "Possum Pie," as they are also known, was originally a trio with John, Kooster, and a friend named Betty Lou who played the upright "Dog House" bass. Before that John and Kooster had been in Telluride's first band: "Fall Creek." When Betty Lou quit the group to join the Merchant Marines (Oh what Robbins, Brautigan, or Vonnegut might give for this plot), the dynamic duo "just sat around waiting for a bass player to come to town." It didn't happen. "So they came up with me," laughs Kenny. "I had never played bass before. I had sort of been playing guitar for about six years and me and this other guy had a guitar duo. I had been a devoted fan of the old "Possum Pie," and I knew all their songs." It was shortly after this that they were to meet Nancy, an addition which was to widen their musical scope even more. "I was working at a ski area (Lake Eldora, outside Nederland, Colorado in the mountains above Boulder) and I hired them kind of sight-unseen sight-unseen through a mutual friend who used to be their fiddle player. We just hit it off." And now they were four. But before the "four" could become "one" it would be necessary to homogenize the varied musical influences and backgrounds. And were they varied. John remembers: "I started playing in about '67 I guess, Bass and electric organ. This friend of mine, a folkie from the old days, turned me on to Doc Watson. That's how I got started flat-picking the guitar. Then I played in a "jug band" for a while. After that is was "Fall Creek" with Kooster. I played mandolin in that band. "John plays mandolin, Dobro, guitar, banjo and piano," offered Nancy. "But he can't play the fiddle," she snickered. Kooster came out of a more straight rock background. "I was a very minimal guitar player before I took up the banjo. I was a real heavy "Grateful Dead" freak, and it was the "Workingman's Dead" album with "Cumberland Blues" on it that got me interested in the banjo in the first place. I traded this friend of mine a guitar for his banjo and then I started taking lessons in Aspen, which is where I lived at the time, from this guy John Sommers, who plays banjo and fiddle for John Denver's band. He's the guy who wrote "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." Nancy grew up in a musical household. Her father was a contemporary of Joe Venuti, the famed jazz violinist, and played a lot of his music. (Venuti, by the way, will be performing tomorrow night at Kingsbury Hall at the University Univer-sity of Utah with the Newport Jazz Festival all-stars, all-stars, which also includes famed pianist Teddy Wilson.) "It wasn't abstract jazz or anything like that, but technically it was as hard as classical music. I studied classical violin when I was young. I made a conscious decision at about age sixteen that I didn't want to be a classical musician. I just said, 'This is no fun.' You had to practice eight hours a day all the time. And I did." Besides Venuti, she was also exposed to Stephane Grapelli, legendary jazz violinist with Django Reinhardt's Quintette, and Frenchman Jean-Luc Ponty. "You know, I can't say that any of these people were influences on me. I listened to them and I appreciated them, but I never really tried to imitate them. Actually I've listened to Vassar (Clements) more than I've listened to them; not so much out of preference, but just because it was more accessible. I had never listened to any bluegrass until I met these people (Possum). I didn't know much about (Byron) Berline or Vassar. Probably the violin player I've listened to most is the guy from "Flock," Jerry Goodman. Good-man. He was probably the first person doing anything other than classical violin that I liked." Kenny was into the rock of the '60's, but for the most part, it was a surface involvement. "The first music that I really got into, as far as being really interested in it and trying to trace it down, was jazz. Chick Corea and his "Return to Forever" album was the first time that I ever got into what was behind the music; into how difficult dif-ficult it was to do what they were doing." Although Kenny had never played bass before joining "Possum," he certainly didn't have to start from scratch. "I've been into music for a while and I was a disc jockey for three or four years and I've already been into every facet of a musical piece: the drums, the bass, the importance of the rhythm section. I knew that a bass line should be as simple as possible without being redundant, and still be solid, especially in a band with no drummer." Although this mulit-talented group draws from rock, jazz, classical, and traditional country music, there is one contemporary band that has had a lasting influence on "Possum." "The 'Newgrass Revival' gave us a new vision as to where you could take instruments and what you could do with them (musically)," Kooster explained. John elaborated on the relationship: "What really got us started with 'Newgrass Revival' was we went to the 2D Annual Nation Flat-picking Championships at Winfield, Kansas. Kan-sas. 'Newgrass' was the standard band there for a couple of years. I also got turned-on to Norman Blake, Dan Crary, and Tony Rice, who is a hot up-and-coming flat-picker who is on the new David Grisman album. And that's where we got turned on to playing something more than 'Cripple 'Crip-ple Creek' and 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown.' We've heard every bluegrass group from Bill Monroe to 'Country Gazette,' and there's no one like 'Newgrass Revival." It's their technical imagination and sheer physical ability." Imagination is also a big part of "Possum's" music as evidenced by their rather involved arrangements." John continues: "Sometimes we'll totally take the song apart. We're doing this arrangement of 'Me and My Uncle' that's got 34, 68, 54, 44, and 24 time signatures in it. We use other tunes to get out what we want to, as a start and a finish; something familiar to tie people into them, and then go from there. That's an old traditional kind of approach. A lot of times when people are revamping old-time fiddle tunes and stuff, they use the basic melody as the basis for some 'Hot Chops.' One of the tricks we learned from the 'Newgrass Revival' is to let people have something familiar to listen to to kind of key them up for something they haven't heard. That familiarity is an important thread." Whatever it is that "Possum" is doing, it sure seems to be working, as the ovations which follow almost every one of their tunes indicate. And this positive reception isn't limited to Park City or their own turf, Telluride. We've been getting real good response, generally, every place we play. Most people recognize enough familar stuff in what we're doing, like the Bob Wills tunes. And the basic Bluegrass of course they can relate to. We're continually trying to upgrade our music, and some of our new arrangements are getting rather complex. It takes a lot of time to get them down. So we're going slower. We have a repertoire reper-toire with a few songs left over every night, so we can change our sets around. So the new ones that we add have to be better than the ones they replace." "Possum." Already a damn good band, and getting better every day. Hopefully they will return often so we will have en opportunity to watch them grow; to "be carried in their pouch" as it were. |