The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 183

At THE PALM BEACH POST SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1989 Rock satire composer says songs need vision LAST 2 NITES! THIS WEEK-OCT. 24-29 NEXT WEEK-NOV. 1-5 IHf.AIHb In the beautiful Harbour Shops PGA Blvd Prosperity Farm Rd. (Must 21 teMiNr) live Professional Comks as soon on HBO Showlimo and Lottorman 14.95 Dinner Show 4 H0 For the exolodtnfl TRAIL ffigg 3438 LAKE WORTH RD The .38 caiber Magic And oomrty at dub favor It From Saturday Night Live and the Vatican FATHER OUIDO SARDUCCI i ICOZAIC BILL HICKS m) Scott Hardy INDIANA JONES 1 Tbt Lul Criuit SWAP SHOP Sun. 6 AM 'til ana sutan smith SALE AT TICKETMASTER 'OPEN MC EVERY TUESDAY ADVANCE TICKETS ON 4 Any Health Club i Pratt Whitney ID'S get In FREE Good For The Month of Oct.

Weeknltes Sun. Thursday Nite Giveaway 8:30 8:00 10" 15 EVERY TUESDAY OPEN MIKE NIGHT oMnformaMyJts DINNER PACKAGES AVAILABLE USE THIS AO FOR 2 FOR 1 ADMISSION TONIGHT OPEN TUESDAY-SUNDAY SHOWTIMES 8:30 10:45 PM AM RADIO yra 965-4518 OffN FVTRY NK5WT 45 Dolly Hand Cultural Arts Center ITALIANCONTINENTAL CUISINE I TKTU niMMPO "It wasn't funny. He did some bad things and he's in prison." Chapin, 36, whose parents are musicians (his father is also a TV weatherman), discovered his talent for parody fairly recently. While at a New Orleans radio station in 1985, he wrote a ditty called Ed's Rap, about former Louisiana governor Edwin W. Edwards being charged in a payola scandal.

The song and its author made the front page of the local papers. "It was just a joke, but I got a lot of encouragement and thought maybe this is an element I can give to a station that no one else has." That would also allow Chapin, who plays half a dozen instruments, to fulfill his ambition to be both a musican and "a radio guy." But what about being the guy behind the scenes? "I got used to being behind the scenes as a kid. Everybody recognized my dad. Anyway, I could never cut it as an on-air talent. I'm not consistent.

Besides, who wants to be a 40-year-old disc jockey?" That anonimity will end soon. Chapin will surface with his Rock 'N' Roll Animal Band (with Herman and McBean on vocals) Nov. 10 at the Sunrise Musical Theatre as the opening act for REO Palm Beach Community College 1 977 College Drive Phnno. Belle Glade, Florida 33430 one. 996-7529 1989 FALL SERIES til1 iuimiiv LS COCKTAILS CATERING 1L sung to the tune of Proud Mary, while Hot Suit Man is sung to the ZZ Top hit Sharp Dressed Man.

Chapin is also credited as the pro-; ducer of the compilation, which was released in memory of station disc jockey Patty Murray, who died in March in an automobile accident. All profits go to Murray's favorite charity, the Make A Wish Foundation. "Though she's only on a few cuts," Chapin says of Murray, "her influence is all over that CD. Most of (the songs) were done during the last six months of her life." The influence of Frank Zappa, Weird Al Yankovic and Spike Jones also is evident. Those are satirists Chapin admires.

Ideas also come from thing from office memos to over- heard conversations. "You've got to have a vision. iYou can't force it," Chapin says of writing process. "It can't just one-liners. It has to have a universal message.

You've got to turn people on to something in a I-fyay they've never looked at Cnapin also tries to avoid being cruel. He has a file of unfinished songs one about James Brown 0 jail. a'1' BANQUET FACILITIES Now Entering Its 10th Award Winning Season THE JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Tuesday-October 24, 1989, 8:00 p.m. $14.00 Introducing Renaissance Evenings: 9j "Enjoy a 4-course Renaissance Dinner for $22.95" MONDAY-PESCE (Seafood Specialties) TUESDAY-VITELLO (Veal Specialties) WEDNESDAY-POLLO (Chicken Specialties) THURSDAY-MANZO (Beef Specialties) In addition to our Renaissance evenings, we feature our La Capannina menu. ran Charles Ellis, Conducting "MAINE" with Patrice Munsel Thursday-November 30, 1989, 8:00 p.m.

$18.00 North End of Garden Square Shoppes Corner of Military Trail PG A Blvd. I Palm Beach Review I I I I I The Review's Highest Rating 589 Reservations: 626-4632 The Palm Beach Post 787 Convenience charges' on tickets to rise again Brasseria La Capannina RESTAURANT fif MARKETPLACE LI MCH DINMKR COCKTAILS CATERING BANQI ET FACILITIES DELI MARKET Palm Beaches' Finest ItalianContinental Cuisine National Touring Co. IVUTCIMCKEIt BALLET Friday-December 8, 1989 8:00 p.m. $12.00 Introducing Renaissance Evenings 20's Featuring West Coast Cuisine "Enjoy a 4-Course Renaissance Dinner" MONDAY PESCE (Seafood Specialties) TUESDAY VITELLO (Veal Specialties) WEDNESDAY POLLO Chicken Specialties) THURSDAY MANZO (Beef Specialties) In addition to our Renaiance nrainfi, we feature our La Capannina menu. Palm Beach Post "La Capannina Food Superior" 989 HAPPY HOUR 4:30 to 7PM MONDAY thru FRIDAY FRIDAY 2 for 1 with hors dVuvres on the Waterfront Patio wS4- fi-4rtM" Southern Ballet Theater 'Thei perform in ot axe ipontored in put bv uw Open for Lunch Dinner FREE VALET PARKING RESERVATIONS: (44)7) 655-3770 Pllll lKS POIM 777 S.ulh Flaalrr Drlvr So.

H.lrr l)n- lBeachCountv Florida National Endowment for the Arti and the lUta of Florida, Daparmant of State, Diviaion of Cultural THE BtSrOF EVT-KYTHING A Tourist development Council funded Project Affairt, and the Florida Arti Council. n. cause ticket buyers are trying to avoid convenience charges. Miami Knight Center box-office manager Dan Swartz said, "more people are coming directly to the Knight Center to buy tickets than previously." And lines have been winding out the door at the Sunrise Musical Theatre since tickets went on sale for its "The Stars Are Out At Sunrise," a three-concert series that begins Jan. 17 and features Frank Sinatra, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme and Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jr.

The theater box office, which normally charges its own $1.25 service charge for tickets to Sunrise events, has waived all service charges on the $90 series tickets. Customers may order through Ticketmaster, but only by phone. For that there is an $8.50 convenience charge per ticket and a $5 handling charge per phone order. Of the nearly 6,000 tickets sold between Oct. 13 and 17, only 20 percent were sold through Ticket-master, said Cellar Door president Ron Cohen.

Charges fluctuate Ticketmaster convenience charges fluctuate from event to event. "It has to do with the financial arrangement with the facility, whether it's a family event (which may mean multiple sales per order and a lower service charge), the size of the show and the price of the ticket," said Donna Dowles, executive director of Ticketmaster Florida. When asked about increases in 1990, she added that, "Some service charges will go up proportionately, depending on ticket prices and the type of event." If a concert is canceled or postponed, ticket refunds won't include the convenience charges. Ticket-master's position is that it did the work, so it will keep the money. Ticketmaster's philosophy doesn't wash with some people in Seattle, who filed a class-action suit last fall on behalf of 72,000 ticketholders after Ticketmaster refused to refund the convenience charge after Michael Jackson canceled three concerts at the Tacoma Dome.

The suit seeks triple damages for what the plaintiffs call unfair and deceptive business practices. Despite the controversy, Ticketmaster ticket sales haven't fallen off, Dowles said. In fact, she said, 1990 could be a banner year. There's been no "resistance to ticket prices," Dowles said. She noted that people are paying scalpers and ticket brokers five times the ticket price if they want to see a show badly enough.

"You make a product available and if it's what (people) want, they'll buy it at any price," Dowles said. "You have to remember we're here to serve the public and no one wants to price themselves out of business." 1L Unlike hot dogs and T-shirts, service charges aren't optional. In South Florida, Ticketmaster has held a monopoly on computerized ticket outlets since last December when it bought its competi- tor, BASS. Since then, what it calls "convenience charges" have increased. Rolling Stones tickets are a perfect example of consumers being nick-el-and-dimed to death.

The base price for each ticket is $28.50. Add $1 for the surcharge the City of Miami gets from every ticket sold at a city-owned venue. Ticketmaster outlets add $3.25 per ticket for the convenience of avoiding the drive to the Orange Bowl to buy tickets in advance. If you want to order tickets by phone, the charge is $4.50 per ticket. Ticketmaster has 100 phone lines into its Florida headquarters in Orlando.

Also add another $1.50 "handling charge" per phone order on top of the $4.50 charge per ticket. And remember that it's a toll call to Orlando from Palm Beach County. Without the phone bill, that's a total of $35.50 if you bought one ticket by phone, including $7 (which includes the $1 city surcharge) in added charges almost 25 percent of the ticket cost. Those who went to an outlet paid $32.75, with $4.25 in added charges, about a 15 percent increase. A year ago, con-Venience charges for a stadium I concert would have been $2.25 at outlets and $3.50 by phone.

Box-office blues i Besides the steep charges, there are other problems. Even if you bought Stones tick- ets at the Orange Bowl, you still had to pay the $3.25 service charge. That's because of semantics. The Orange Bowl is not technically a box office, but it is a Ticketmas-I ter outlet and must collect service I charges on all Orange Bowl events. I Box offices at venues such as "the Carefree Theatre and West Palm Beach Auditorium are Ticketmaster outlets but do not add I service charges for events at their lovn location, provided you pay cash.

If you want to use your pharge card, there's a $3.25 sur-; charge per ticket. Varying Ticket-; master changes are also tagged pnto prices of tickets for events at other locations throughout the state. The Orange Bowl accepts cash only for its events, and adds on the Ticketmaster surcharge anyway. "People should be able to save the service charge on tickets bought here for events here," said Max Cruz, assistant director of public facilities for Miami. "I'm meeting with Ticketmaster representatives to explore the possibility of selling tickets at a lower price," Cruz said.

Box-office sales of at least one Concert hall have increased be ORCHESTRA OF FLORIDA The exciting Palm Beach Celebrity Series features five concerts with world-renowned conductors and soloists. For as little as $8.00 a concert, you can enjoy the Philharmonic one of the South's finest. The West Palm Beach Celebrity Series is the entertainment value of the season. Subscribe to all five concerts for only $40.00. wmi win 1 hl LYNN HARRELL, Cello JAMES JUDD, Conductor WEDNESDAY, DEC.

13, 1989 MISHA DICHTER, Piano STANISLAW SKROWACZEWSKI, Conductor THURSDAY, JAN. 4, 1990 VTKTORIA MULLOVA, Violin JAMES JUDD, Conductor THURSDAY, FEB. 1, 1990 JEAN-LOUIS STEUERMAN, Piano JAMES JUDD, Conductor THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1990 JOSEPH SILVERSTEIN Violin and Conductor THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 1990 wave of Weill records WEST PALM BEACH AUDITORIUM ALL CONCERTS ORDER TODAY 659-0331 and John Mauceri conducting. Further down the pike are The Seven Deadly Sins, Mahagonny Songspiel and the first complete recording of Street Scene. Capriccio is reaching for more esoteric material.

Next in line is the rare one-act opera The Czar Has His Picture Taken, to be followed by Der Lindberghflug, Ballad of Magna Carta, Happy End and the first complete recording of Der Silbersee. Meanwhile, rock star Sting is set to open on Broadway in a new production of The Threepenny Opera. New York Times News Service Two record companies, Decca London and Capriccio, are going to be at each other's throats compet-! jng with recordings of Kurt Weill's ii)usic through 1990. XThe occasion is that next year rriarks the 90th anniversary of the composer's birth and the 40th anni- versary of his death. DeccaLondon, the larger of the two labels, is planning an all-star recording of The Threepenny Op-'.

pra, with its heralded young dis-; covery Ute Lemper as Polly, tenor Rene Kollo as Macheath, soprano rielgS Dernesch as'Mrs. Peachum Philharmonic ORCHESTRA OF FLORIDA JAMES JUDDMUSIC DIRECTOR -t M.F'"U.