Friday, January 14, 2005
In Memorium:
Danny Sugarman
by Carolyn M. Tellers
beacon assistant
On Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005, Danny
Sugarman died at the age of 50 from lung
cancer. He was the long time co-man
ager of The Doors, as well as a success
ful writer. In his autobiography,
“Wunderland Avenue,” he described his
rise from The Doors fan club manager
and friend to the group’s manager. He
also told of his life and death struggle
with drugs, and how he overcame them.
Sugarman also co-wrote the best selling
biography about Jim Morrison, “No One
Here Gets Out Alive.”
Jeff Jampol, Danny Sugarman’s busi
ness partner and friend, agreed to a brief
interview with me via phone on Wednes
day. There were some questions he
wouldn’t answer, but here is what he
shared.
Beacon: “What do you think Danny
would say was his greatest achieve-
ment?”
Jampol: “Probably living 50 years.
And continuing the Doors legacy for the
generations to come.”
Beacon: “You have mentioned how
much of an inspiration that Danny
Sugarman was to you. What advice
would you have for college students?”
Jampol: “...He was an awe-inspiring
mentor, a cherished, loving advisor and
a living, breathing example of honesty,
giving, service and, above all. grace and
dignity... [He taught me) about life,
spirit, and how to be a better human be
ing...”
Beacon: “Is there anything else you
would like to share?”
Jampol: “I’m going to mourn him ter-
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ST (JDENT LIFE
Danny Sugarman, author and co-manager
of The Doors, recently passed away after
suffering from lung cancer.
ribly, but I have the... duty of keeping
his light and his legacy alive, through the
music of The Doors, the words and po
etry of Jim Morrison and the principles
Danny instilled in me. I’ll consider my
self doubly blessed if I can pass on to
others even a sliver of what I received
so freely from him. I miss him so much
already.”
Beacon: “Are there any plans for The
Doors to visit Erie, Pa. and/or the sur-
rounding area?”
Jampol: “Not at this time."
Beacon: “Finally, what is your favorite
Doors song?'
Jampol: “...’The End’”
For more information about Danny
Sugarman and/or The Doors, visit their
website at http://www.thedoors.com
Music and Film
Povertyneck Hillbillies
fiddle up some fun
by Annie Sevin
staff writer
Povertyneck Hillbillies will be per
forming at Bruno’s on Monday at
8:00 p.m. The Hillbillies are a coun
try-rock band that hails from South
western Pa, Fayette County. The
band consists of seven members:
Chris “Abby” Abbondanza (acoustic
guitar, lead vocals), Bob “Crafty”
Crafton (steel, lead guitar), Dave
Cramer (keyboard, vocals), David
Guthrie (lead guitar), Chris Higbee
(fiddle, guitar, vocals, mandolin,
banjo), Ryan Lucotch (Drums) and
Jeff Voleck (bass, accordion, vocals,
lead guitar).
The Hillbillies began as a group in
2000; they started out playing as
part-time musicians in small clubs
and fairs in Pennsylvania. In four
years, they have grown to a seven
man band of full-time musicians with
their own tour bus, a debut album
(“Hillbilly State of Mind”), several
singles being played on Pennsylva
nia country music stations, and a sec
ond album in the works.
The much-in-demand hit singles
are from “Hillbilly State of Mind,”
and include, “Mr. Right Now,” “Born
to Be Free” and the title track, “Hill
billy State of Mind.”
Cramer says, “Ninety-nine percent
of the album is original.” The Hill
billies have two covers on the album:
Lionel Richie’s “Stuck on You” and
Tonic’s “If You Could Only See.”
Bob Corbin, part of the duo Corbin
and Hanner, has helped The Hillbil
lies on the path of success by being
their producer, acting manager and
at times their songwriter. Corbin has
worked with and written for such art
ists as Hank Williams Jr., Kenny
Rogers and Alabama (“Can’t Keep a
Good Man Down”). Cramer says,
“Corbin is the best thing to happen
to us... we’re very fortunate to have
him.”
The Hillbillies have performed
with some of Country’s top perform
ers, including Charlie Daniels Band,
Vince Gill, Lonestar, Reba Mclntrye
and Lee Ann Womack. The Hillbil
lies have also played in Erie at the
Country Fest with Gary Allan and
Rascal Flats. According to John
Hayes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Staff
Writer, “They’re the region’s high
est paid regularly performing coun
try band, and one of the top grossing
bands in general in southwestern
Pennsylvania.”
According to their website
) The Hill
(WWW.
billies have a number of noteworthy
achievements including selling more
than 8,000 copies of “Hillbilly State
of Mind” in less than eight months;
performing in front of a record crowd
of 3,000 at the Fayette County Fair
grounds; they were the first local
country act to sell out the 1,000-seat
Pepsi Cola Roadhouse in
‘White Noise’ is not
Keaton at his best
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Deborah Kara Unger plays a victim of the mean spirits in Universal Pictures’ new film, “White
Noise.”
by Daniel J. Stasiewski
editor in chief
The morbid video recording in “The Ring”
wasn’t terrifying, so it’s no surprise television static
isn’t jump-out-of-your-seats frightening. Out of
focus TV screens are hardly the only unexciting
parts of the insipid supernatural thriller “White
Noise.” The story is dull and overlong. The act
ing is uninspired. All this for a conclusion that is
as titillating as the “Amen” at the end of a prayer.
Instead of taking more challenging film work,
Michael Keaton has gone the route of Robert
DeNiro and Michael Douglas. Keaton here stars
in a paycheck thriller (“Godsend” and “Don’t Say
A Word” for example) about the successful archi
tect Jonathon Rivers whose second wife goes
missing just after she tells him she’s pregnant. Her
body is found weeks later, but not before Rivers
has a peculiar encounter with Raymond Price (lan
McNeice) who heard the voice of Mrs. Rivers
from, of all places, the other side.
Of course, Rivers is reluctant to believe the man.
The reluctance is needed so the audience can watch
Keaton cry with his back to the camera. No act
ing is involved, but it is a feeble stab at rousing
some good old-fashioned empathy. After some
unaffecting shots of Rivers in despair, his dead
wife eventually contacts him on his cell phone.
(Can you here her now?). Rivers is sad, and his
recent cell phone experience sends him running
for the guy who is contacted by dead people.
Price is obsessed with Electronic Voice Phe
nomenon (the ability to conveniently pickup the
voices of the dead in consumer electronics). His
house is full of recording equipment that captures
every EVP experience. Sometimes the messages
The Behrend Beacon | 7
Burgettstown, Fa; and they were the
first country act to perform in the fi
nals of the Graffiti Rock Challenge
in Pittsburgh in 2003.
The Graffiti Rock Challenge was
“probably the turning point in the de
cision to become an original band,”
said Cramer. They competed against
about 160 other rock bands to get
into the Challenge and wound up in
the top five for the finals. They fin
ished in slh5 lh place, and were left with
a set of original music.
After the Challenge they realized
they could break away from the
cover country band genre and play a
lot more of their own creations.
Cramer says that now they “defi
nitely aren’t your mama’s good ol’
country band.”
“Our shows are not a spectator
sport... we don’t stand up there and
sing music, we’ll entertain you,”
Cramer commented. He says most
people are thrown off by the band’s
name and expect to see another coun
try/bluegrass ensemble and instead
they get a band that is on the very
edge of mainstream country music.
Ray Balogna, owner of the Pepsi
Cola Roadhouse says, “The
Povertyneck Hillbillies are great
‘live’ performers. The band is a char
ismatic blend of musician with its
own distinct sounds and style that
has created a diverse fan bass. They
have a real passion for their songs.”
he hears aren’t as nice as the ones River’s dead wife is
sending. Price and Rivers don’t pay attention to the abu
sive warnings from bad spirits, and their EVP adven
tures take a turn for the worse.
I tried to convince myself that the film’s slow start,
usually considered character development, is important.
What disappoints more than the laughable thrills is the
time the filmmakers spend trying to convince the audi
ence to empathize with Rivers, when it just won’t hap
pen.
Every unnatural tear from Keaton forces the audi
ence to step further and further away from his charac
ter. Keaton’s impotent performance lacks the power and
aptitude to even be considered melodramatic. It’s a per
formance that makes his comedic work in “Multiplic
ity” look like a career best.
Keaton’s work, however, is no more than what is re
quired in a paint-by-numbers thriller. The film does try
to break out of that mold, it seems, using Keaton and
inanimate object early on as failed attempts to create
Hitchcock like suspense. Once the dead people are
thrown into the picture, all hell breaks loose, and the
film quickly becomes a “The Ring” wannabe. The plot
contrivances are only outnumbered by the missed op
portunities for legitimate thrills.
The film was released on Jan. 7, at the end of the
holiday season. Thankfully the release means that there
are better movies out there. “White Noise” isn’t any
thing exceptional, and its release during the January
dumping ground is no surprise. The wisest thing to do
when something like “White Noise” comes out is to
see the popular December flicks that are still in the
aters. True, you’ll miss out on Michael Keaton, but you
can watch him in something, anything better on your
own TV thanks to crystal clear DVD video-with no smtir
to speak of.