The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 21

I The Post 1 11 '-1 -w mi i. -jB-lJijj- BB Singer, Band Are Mellow, Eateries Beaneries Hot Dogs Not Free, But Close Sophisticated By Bob Brink Staff ttritir "And now, from high atop the Bridge Hotel overlooking beautiful Boca Raton, we bring you the music of the Harry Manian Quartet, featuring Faith Baron." That's the way they used to introduce live radio broadcasts of some of the big bands that played in leading hotels back in the late 1930s and early '40s. Only the names and the place are different. The' music is much the same today at this particular hotel as it was then at posh New York hotels. This one-horn group doesn't have the big sound of tne multihorn big bands, but many of the tunes are the same, as is the style.

In fact, most lounges couldn't afford a big band, and combos like this one were the rule in those days. Today they're the exception, though they've made something of a comeback. Until a few years ago they scarcely existed. After a season of playing six nights a week in the hotel's 11th-floor restaurant and lounge, the five-piece group now plays only on Fridays and Saturdays along with pianist Bobby Farin, who Ml Faith Baron By Rosa Tusa Fowl Editor "There's no such thing as a free lunch, but at W.C. Frank it's close." So boasts the new Lake Worth restaurant which glorifies the hot dog, and offers America's most popular sausage at prices almost anyone can afford.

The all-meat W.C. Frank is only 38 cents and comes with relish and fresh cut onions and the usual mustard and catsup, if desired. The Swift product composed of beef and pork (no fillers) is made especially for the franchise restaurants. It truly is a good hot dog, although I was not too impressed with the bun. If you order it to go and want the relish the bun gets a bit soggy enroute.

But for 38 cents, what's a soggy bun? You can always skip the relish. You can get the foot-long frank for 79 cents which is equivalent to two sausages. The Polish frank with a bit more spice is 79 cents. The W.C. Frank answer to McDonald's Quarter-Pounder burger is a quarter-pounder all beef sausage which brings 99 cents.

of melted chese, chili, kraut, dill slices and jalapeno peppers cost 18 cents extra. A whole kosher dill is 59 cents. Soft drinks and iced tea are priced at 39 cents, 45 cents and 55 cents, or you can buy the beverages by the quart for 79 cents. Milk costs 39 cents. For on-the-side snacks the na-cho melt and nacho pie are generous offerings of taco chips topped with melted cheddar, onions, chili and jalapeno peppers.

Borden's ice cream goes into the soda freeze or shake (89 cents). Cones and sundaes bring from 28 cents to 99 cents. Two Pepperidge Farm cookies cost 59 cents. That's it. The restaurant seats about 80 if you want to eat in.

Your costs may go up if you bring the kids because one area is devoted to about 20 video games including Ms. Pac-Man, Baby Pac-Man and Centipede. Tokens are given out with some purchases such as the quarter-pounder and nacho pie. There are about 300 W.C. Frank restaurants scattered throughout the western states.

Howard Hanson, a Blair, Omaha, banker, has the Florida franchise. There is a W.C. Frank in Wilton Manors and another in Stuart in the Cove Plaza. Another restaurant is scheduled to open in Fort Pierce in a couple of months, according to Pat Woodruff, who manages the Lake Worth W.C. Frank.

The name Frank was picked because some believe hot dogs were first made in Frankfurt on Main, Germany, thus the name frankfurter. Others maintain that the honor belongs to the City of Wien (Vienna) in Austria, hence the name wiener. It is generally agreed that the Wienerwurst or frankfurter without bun made its American debut in 1871 at Coney Island. An immigrant German butcher, Charles Feltmann, introduced the product called a "dachshund sausage," named after the long-bodied German breed of dog. The sausage didn't get the bun until the St.

Louis Exposition of 1904. Credit for this goes to An-Turn to FRANKS, B3 4 Staff Phot by Sttphn Crowltv still entertains the other four nights. The all-acoustic quartet, smooth and finely honed, plays society music in the first set. But except for the tenor saxophonist its function the rest of the evening is largely as a backup for the excellent vocals of Faith Baron. Though she is only 29, Miss Baron sings like a seasoned professional.

She has a mellow voice with a nice vibrato most effective in songs like What I Did for Love. Her style is on the subtle side, naturally restrained, so that Cabaret comes off just right. Worn-out society songs such as Hello Dolly, whose mindless bounce could jeopardize the appetite of someone who's heard it too many times, is given a cool, understated swing. In all her songs Just in Time, Tangerine, I've Got You Under My Skin that sophisticated swing is heard and felt in the emphasis she puts on the right notes. Probably her best number on this evening was a blues Get the Blues Since I Fell for You which she sang alternatingly soft and wrenching.

Harrison Levy accompanies her on tenor saxophone and fills in with subdued solos in the first half of the evening, playing a lot of unvarying quarter notes. That's not for lack of agility on the horn, but because folks are still dining. As the evening wears on he gradually stretches out and plays some clean, swinging jazz. The band began playing at the hotel in February 1982 as a quartet, though drummer Richie Franks and bassist Bob Mortenson became members recently. Manian a fine singer himself, as he demonstrated on Leroy Brown handled the vocals and the piano chores.

Miss Baron joined the band six months ago, fitting into the scene perfectly. Beginning her career at age 16, she worked in the leading hotels of South Florida and, for the most part, in New York at the Concord, Grossinger's, the Pines often as the featured member of a show group. She also has worked in South America and Europe. Between sets by the five-member group, Bobby (Shades) Farin does some solo piano work, his style accented by a lot of short, very fast flourishes. Two highlights were Dark Eyes and a fast blues number in which Manian joined him, playing chords with the right hand.

Farin, who plays strictly by ear, has performed at the hotel since its opening six years ago. He came to this area from New York, where he spent most of his time playing in the hotels at KennedyInternational Airport. In 1953 he was a winner on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts television show which he said "was not an amateur show. You had to be in the union, and you had to be recommended and pass three auditions." Manian had his own trio in Miami for 15 years, playing at the Fontainebleau, the Diplomat, the Doral and Miami Lakes Country Club. The group plays from 8 p.m.

to about 1:30 on the two weekend nights. Dinner prices are high in the elegant restaurant and there is an additional $2.50 cover charge. But there is no cover in the lounge to the side of the band; mixed drinks are $2.75. The restaurant and lounge will close for the summer in rtii'l- or late June. The hotel is reached via Palmetto I'ark Boulevard to Ocean Boulevard, then south until a bridge is crossed.

The Bridge Hotel is to the right. Curator Mark Sonntag designed the Superstar show at the Science Museum and Planetarium Stargazer's Universe Is Only 15 Demma says, accidentally altering the grand scheme of things, then, thank goodness, making the necessary corrections. Sometimes Demma runs the program Fri day evenings. Now there's a new show on called Superstar which is all about me sun where it came from, where it is now and where it's going. Where it's going is up in smoke.

But not for a while. The sun's been here 5 billion years and we've got another 5 billion, By Rick Aekermann Staff Wrlttr Fifteen-year-old Kenneth Demma, who knows his way around the heavens, is going up for his restricted driver license. "I think if I can handle the universe, I ought to be able to handle a car," the youngest planetarium operator now working at the Science Museum and Planetarium of Palm Beach County says. Demma's out for a little test drive around the heavenly vault. It's dark in here, except for the lights from the control panel which produce a corona around Demma.

Demma has an outward appearance similar to the planet Corduroy but there's some intense activity going on in there. Demma is still forming. In order to set things up you figure out what month you're in (easy for most of us), then Demma says in the dark, "you bring your sun up, and you turn on your planets." Which he does. "Here you got your daily motion," Demma says. You've also got your twilight, your stars, your annual motion, your moon phasing, your latitude motions (which determine "where on earth you are," Demma says), your inferior planets and your superior planets and all the rest of what it takes to make the world go around.

The passenger seats in here recline way back, making it easy to watch. It's easy to lose yourself. "Uh, we're missing Alpha Centari," Demma says. Actually it's not. It's hiding behind a special effect.

On top of having the universe in here, the place is full of special effects. You know, like making the sun expand and explode, things like that. Demma, who goes to Forest Hill High School, turns on the Grand Pointer, then hot dogs around the sky, pointing things out. according to Demma. The planetarium offers shows daily at 3 p.m.

The Friday show starts at 7 p.m., lasts about 45 minutes, and then a lot of people head up to the observatory, open from 8 to 10 p.m weather permitting. Kight now hat urn's looking really quite nice, according to curator Mark Sonntag, who's a lot older than Demma. He also runs the planetarium. Demma says Sonntag designed the super Turn to STARS, B3 Infectious Calypso Music Beckons During 'Goombay Sunday' A i iv -if t.K in 1970 for the distinct purpose of pushing island music. All but one of his band members also hail from Nassau.

His band includes Carl (Flash) Rogers, the former lead singer of Romie Butler and the Ramblers, the strongest calypso group in Nassau. It is Flash who wrote and peformed Shargo on Colebrook's new album. Also featured on the album and a sometime performer with the group is Tony Cezaire, one of three pan (steel drum) tuners in South Florida. Cezaire and Colebrook wrote and recorded the instrumental El Fueago Barka, a showcase piece for the steel drum. The song is about revolution and love, Colebrook said.

David Johns also plays steel drum, lead and bass guitar with the group. Doug Shawe, the only American in the band, is an orchestra in himself, playing bass and lead guitar, organ and piano, steel drums and alto saxophone. He also arranges music for the band and does its promoting. "The big mistake most people make is thinking we are reggae," Colebrook said. "We are not.

We are calypso and there's a big difference." Calypso music, Colebrook said, began as a way of communicating back in the days of slavery. The people would sing to one another in the fields, using various rhythms to convey their messages and feelings. What began as an African chant became calypso with the addition of a Cuban influence. Trinidad is recognized as the birthplace of calypso. It wasn't until the 1940s that steel drums became a part of calypso music and gave it its distinctive sound.

Colebrook also appears at La Notte restuarant and club at 2280 N. Federal Highway in Boynton Beach Wednesday-Saturday from noon-5 p.m. and on Sundays until 3:30 when he leaves for his show at the Banana Boat. There is no cover charge for Goombay Sunday at the Banana Boat. Just come earlyjQ Banana Boat Feature Draws Early Crowds By Shari Spires Staff Wrlttr Shargo isn't a word in the sense of having a written definition.

Yet in the context of Shargo, a Calypso number from Alfred Obadiah Colebrook's newest album Calpyso (Still Alive And Well), it has something to say. The meaning is found in the very feel of the word, the way it wells up from the throat and rolls off the tongue. In repetition it becomes a phrase that creates a mood. "Come on," it says. "Get involved." It's a call that's hard to resist, judging by the packed crowds at the Banana Boat in Boynton Beach where Colebrook plays each Sunday from 4 p.m.

until 9 p.m. By 3 p.m. the parking lot is full; by 3:30 p.m. there's not a parking space left within walking distance of the lakeside establishment. Inside there's a sea of heads and a forest of jutting elbows.

Trays of tropical drinks float overhead as if by magic. Indeed, a waitress must possess some sort of wizardry to wind her way unscathed through the festivities that occur each Sunday at the Boat. Colebrook and his band, Accents 1 and 2, call the occasion "Goombay Sunday." "That means summer festival, but we have it all year long," Colebrook said. "We've been playing there for four years and the crowd has always been like that. The people really do love getting involved with the music." The Boynton club, with it's tropical decor complete with rain forest effect, is the perfect spot for an entertainer such as Cplebrook.

The Nassau-bom musician came to South Florida Staff photo by jonn Coity From left, Doug Shawe, David Johns, Carl (Flash) Rogers, Alfred Obadiah Colebroo.