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NowOpen\\*”\\’ \I I • THE BEAN SPROUT ■ s 4 I ? A Natural Food Store With Reasonable Prices Disco still flourishes Business of music determines what's next 1 1 ll by Doug Alpern I I I I .* jfidwa Juice Bar $1.00 OFF on $10 min. purchase with this ad. J 1 -vvy Open Daily 10 • 6 pm and Thurs. till 9 1 J IS^ 5582 Main Street 633-6569J Vi 1 am in.s Hulk Grains Books Herbs, teas, coffees DISCO SUCKS! Go into \any-hard-rock-cafe\ in \any-town-USA\ and the crowds will scream the same thing But also notice the jitterbug step and the chicken trot that the patrons stomp to keep in tempo with the tunes. There's just no beat like the ' disco beat when it comes to ' real\ dancing and bringing out the strut in all of us Witness, that even the rock enthusiast who stages discotheque sit-ins and marches on Motown to protest the spreading disco fever can be charged with the crime of toe-tapping to the rhythm. More importantly, listen to the heel-clicking of the record-exec., the top banana of radio-station- disco, and the owner of the discotheque-doing the hustle all the way to the bank This relatively recent brand of manufactured music means big business bucks to the record industry, while only scratching the urface of concert profits. For any real thorough look at the disco industry, one has to travel to New York City, where it was conceived, ( ■ tructed and promoted. New York is a good indicator of changing cultural ideals, and its disco waves are no exception Discotheques flourish in New York like nowhere else With large clubs like Studio 54 and Trax charging clearly exorbitant prices, only to be mobbed at the door with patrons eager to part with their money, business from the Big Apple's social elite is booming Fashions for dance (a business in itself), carry price tags that border on the insane, and are sought by these status seekers as fast as they're stocked Since most disco bands are studio manufactured (usually spewing out hit singles, then disappearing from the limelight), they can't handle stage pressures, and their listeners don't really care to see them. Croups like Earth, Wind & Fire, Funkadelics, and the Commodores do, indeed, draw well on the road, but they're considered more a part of the soul family than disco (not to say that they won't be heard in a discotheque). Record sales account for the majority of the disco trade, and profits in this area are, ' phenomenal. Dollars flowing into companies like Casablanca and Motown have partially helped the sagging record industry from dropping out of sight. Check out the disco section of a record store sometime. You won't see many albums (that's why there aren't too many disco records on the top IP charts), or even 45's. A new breed of records, 12 inch 33-1/3 singles are the \in\ thing, and maybe the $3.98 price per single gives som6 indication of why these disco companies clean up. Playlists A key indicator of the disco trend in New York is the radio listening audience WABC, long numero uho in the all important arbitron ratings (and consistently tops in the nation) has slipped into fourth place with its TOP-40 format Now it's WKTU-FM and WBLS-FM fighting for top status WBLS, disco oriented black radio takes the cake in the most recent survey, with WKTU (also disco) close on its heels. It was previously unheard of for an FM station to be tops, but a simple walk down any street in New York reveals a large portion of listeners, boppin'-and-a-struttin' to the incredible fidelity coming out of their recently reinvented Racial connotations associated with disco are interesting Alas, ail of the groups are black (as with soul and funk), the largest discotheques cater mainly to a segregated whie crowd. Donna Summer, a black performer associated with the realm of R&B, draws largely white audiences. I, for one, am moderately into disco (I don't dance all that much, but that's no deterrent), and it seems that black performers have a patent on this type o( music. Sure, some white groups have broken through (KC, AWB), but it's a rarity. portable radios (actually, now it's portable stereos, and they almost need steel support for portability). Most disco is manufactured —constructed piece by piece in the studio It's extremely rare to find a disco band performing an album as is A lot of people are turned off by this fact, citing its lack of spontaneity and reality Others are turned off by its repetitive beat, almost carbon-copied in song after song. But its originality or ability to be performed are not aspects of this genre to be judged Disco is disco —to set the body in motion, to display the epitome of the recording/playback process —and not much else. Very little concert promotion is realized with this music type Sound quality Disco records have the finest sound quality available on disc. They exemplify the epitome of the recording industry. So what if they're manufactured on a sound board? they're primarily printed specifically to be spun on a D ) sound system. Witness for yourself a discoteque audio setup, and you'll hear the state-of-the-art. No expense in high-fidelity precision is spared Comparing a disco single heard in a disco to one heard on a car radio is like taste-testing filet mignon against a Whopper Stereo never ever sounded so fantastic. Crossover The William Morris Agency, one of, if not the largest talent agency in the country, has a musicians' division, along with its better known (heater, literary, and movie departments. This agency, centered in New York, has the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, under contract. An agency such as this has nothing to do with any of the recording or promotion of an act. The extent of its job is to set up tours, including booking auditoriums, etc. I just said that disco concerts don't account for much profit So why would this large agency tackle a disco superstar like Donna? Believe me, they don't delve into money losing ventures. Take this expertly crafted specimen of sound quality; match it with the finest sound equipment money can buy: throw in a professional D.J that knows how and when (all important) to play what; rnjx in a totally psychedelic (an archaic word, but quite appropos) light show, including strobes, crystal balls, lit dance floor, etc., and add alcohol (but of course). You get the picture —a total disco experience which can best be described as orgasmic (prepare yourself, wear rubber underwear). Disco is here to stay, for awhile at least. Its , devoted followers won't give up, and neither will its staunchest protesters. The opponents can't keep their bodies from bopping to the beat, so they try and suppress their natural rhythm by doing the schizophrenic shuffle and the spasticated samba to the Grateful Dead DISCO SUCKS SATURDAY MORNING SPECIAL 2 HOURS ONLY!! 10 AM-NOON SAT., OCT. 27 FOREIGNER! FOREIGNER head games \HEAD GAMES\ ■MB, $4.58 INCLUDCS *■ ■ ■ ■ DIRTY WHITE BOY/SEVENTEEN _ nri ILL GET EVEN WITH YOU 8.98 List OPEN 7 DAYS Limit One Per 10 AM - MIDNITE Customer Gift Certificates Available 1800 MAIN AT LAFAYETTE A source within the agency provided some insight, saying that the only acts it handles are what are known as crossover acts, Donna Summer being the best example (another it has signed is Gloria Caynor) Sure, she sells big to disco fans, but she also commands a widely dispersed audience, including'rock, easy listening, MOR (middle-of-the-road), etc. So when she decides to do a tour, she knows that there are enough fans to fill an arena for $20 and up a ticket She also has a spectacularly crafted stage show, to which few other disco acts can lay claim BUCKS!!! COME SING & RING Choir Rehearsals - Thursdays, 7i30 - 9i30 pm Bell Choir Rehearsals Thursdays, 6 pm - 7 pm Sundays, 11i45 am - 12i30 pm RUSSELL PATTERSON Minister of Music UNIVERSITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Main at Niagara Falls Bivd. 836-0280 Bom Dfsta 1504 Hertel Ave. 836-8985 Friday & Saturday SHAK1N SMITH and His Blues Band • Sunday ..JAZZ JAM , t . • ■ < Tuesday and Wednesday LADIES SPECIALS THERE’S A PLACE FOR YOU AT HILLEL! Tonite! A MIME WORKSHOP with Mimiit JOE GOLDFIELD * follwoing Shabbat Services at The Jane Keeler Room - Bliicott (Dress Comfortably) tS<^
