Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 21

DemocratandChronicle.com Saturday If you break your grandmothers fancy gravy boat, Replacements Ltd. can track down a match. Turn to Page 3C 111701 DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE ST I David Wilcox heAoftheday Good Wilcox hunting. North Carolina singer-songwriter David Wilcox has been making albums for more than a decade. Along the way, he's earned a reputation for his candor, storytelling flair and guitar playing.

You can hear him at 8 p.m. at Rochester Institute of Technology's Ingle Auditorium. It's located in the Student Alumni Union at Lomb Memorial Drive, Henrietta. Tickets are $18. Call 637-5246.

Weird world Hot time in the old town. The ancient Roman city of Pompeii, famed for its loose morals and fiery finale when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D., will soon be in the spotlight again. An excavated and restored "pleasure spa" with erotic frescoes will open to the public as a landmark next month. Reporters who visited the site said the frescoes depict lively activity involving numerous partners. The spa is close to the town's entrance and is expected to become a popular tourist destination.

lit start pnotograpner The owners of the Mushroom House near Powder Mills Park in Perinton are expanding it underground into a nearby hillside. (lent LB eronse ifA The original architect of the Mushroom House digs in to create a cavernous addition for his whimsical creation Master bedroom Kitchen entranceway I Patio Two bedrooms Open deck Path A Pond Skylights Livingdining room Retaining wall -j Hot tub1 Key Existing structures New addition Tunnel -X Two-car garage Waterfalls Driveway Bathroom 1 Bridge Fireplace Open deck already a striking design is emerging at 142 Park Road. I One- car garageworkshop Ceramic studio KEVIN SMITH staff artist BY STAFF WRITER STUART LOW It's a Star Trek vista in a rustic setting. Since 1970, the Mushroom House has dominated the Park Road entrance to Powder Mills Park in Perintoa Visitors often gape at its five concrete pods on 14- to 24-foot stems: They look like flying saucers but support human life in four luxurious living units and a patio. Now the Starship Mushroom is set to go boldly on a new voyage into the neighboring hill.

Its latest owners, Steve and Christine Whitman, are building a family room and arts studio in a manmade cave across from the pods. The old and new living spaces will be linked by a tunnel decorated with colorful tiles, fiber-optic lights and dramatic reliefs. Rochester artist Pepsy Kettavong is creating a sculpture on the cavern's roof that resembles freshly excavated dinosaur bones. You can't blame passersby for wondering whether they've stumbled upon a prehistoric relic or a space-age compound. "My girlfriend came by and said she didn't know whether she was in The Flintstones or The Jetsons," says Kettavong.

But for the Whitmans, it feels like home. The Mushroom House Used to belong to Steve's cousin, Marguerite Antell. He also hired the original architect, James Johnson, for the renovation. The addition won't be complete until summer. Yet The family room looks like an upscale cave with bold trimmings.

Concrete panels encircling the room will soon be enlivened with murals by Pittsford artist Annie Dunsky-Kalnitz and Antell. "I'm thinking of rolling landscapes with sky and water," says Dunsky-Kalnitz. The dome ceiling is decorated with wavelike bas-relief patterns, interrupted by two skylights and tiny spotlights. Wood frames and glass will set apart the artist's studio whose guests of honor will be Antell and Whitman's mother, painter Ruth Broadhurst. A fireplace, media center and patio hot tub also are planned.

This underground space should be easy to heat, says Johnson: "There's no heat loss except for the glass doors." The Whitmans intend to restore the interior of the Potato People Coming up Calling all potato heads. Masks, puppetry, clowning and mime blend in The Potato People. In this children's production by Canada's Theatre Beyond Words, the Potato People and the Beanstalk family try to work out a neighborly dispute. Performances begin at 1 and 3 p.m. tomorrow in the School of the Arts, 45 Prince St.

This show, hosted by Rochester Children's Theatre, costs $12, $10 for seniors and children. Call 271-7870. On TV tonight It still packs a wallop. After a blizzard of sequels, it's easy to forget how good Sylvester Stallone's original Rocky was. Stallone wrote this tale of a broken-down boxer who suddenly gets one shot at respect in a title fight.

This 1976 film co-starring Talia Shire, Carl Weathers and Burgess Meredith won the Academy Award for best picture. It's on WHEC-T (Channel 10) at 8 p.m. Turn to Page 5C for today's TV listings. HOUSE, page 6C Skylights and spotlights brighten a new room. Pop artist Shakira leaps over language barrier tempo rocker flavored with Colombian flute with a groove that's instantly catchy.

A meandering bandeneon melody porates the African-derived percussion and traditional flute of her homeland. The Spanish version of the song, "Suerte," quickly shot to No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks earlier this month. If you are a top star, one of the Derks is be Next up opens "Objection" to give it a tango flavor before kick-starting into a punkish-ska tune. With a defiant yet low-key mood, Shakira's vocals echo the Pretenders' Chris-sie Hynde.

Dance fans will immediately take to ing able to go anywhere i in search of your muse, that elusive inspiration that artists constantly Partnership offers a gift of history BY STAFF WRITER ROBIN L. FLANIGAN For the first time, the Landmark Society of Rochester and the Historical Society of Buffalo are teaming up to create a regional catalog of city-themed gifts. Dubbed the "Landmark Collection," the catalog is quadruple the size of last season's four-pager with three times as many products. Gifts include award-winning books, historical prints, holiday ornaments, ties, tea towels and music that celebrate both cities and the Erie Canal. "Most hotel gift shops and places like that have nothing that reflects the local community," says Henry McCartney, the society's president.

"Hopefully this will grab people's attention." The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society's backing means the glossy mailer will be sent to some 60,000 homes in Rochester and Buffalo. Last year, about 25,000 people were sent the Landmark Society's small brochure. Find some of the items at Parkleigh at 215 Park and at Neo at 55 Allen St. in Buffalo. The entire collection is available online at www.thelandmarkcollection.com.

For a free catalog, call 546-7106. To see the collection online, click on "Shop" at: www.thelandmarkcollection.com SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS RAMIRO BURR Singing in an unfamiliar language is tough enough for pop crossover artists. The task is even more intimidating when the singer has to write her own material. "It was difficult, especially at the beginning, to assume the challenge of making an English record for the first time," Shakira says. "Writing in English, expressing my ideas, my feelings and situations I was going through.

It was hard to do all that in a new language without sacrificing the essence of my songs, or without sacrificing my style as a songwriter." After spending 10 years, building a superstar career in Latin America, the 24-year-old Colombian singersongwriter has just released her English-language debut Laundry Service, a formidable effort to duplicate her rock success in Spanish. The album's first single, "Wherever, Whenever," is a full-throttle rocker that incor- vocals provide plenty of sparks, even in English. Expanding her audience was only natural, Shakira says. "Why would I be so selfish as to share my music with just some people when these days, you can share it with so many?" she says. "Why segregate ourselves? The world is getting smaller, and we can create new bonds.

Also, I can get people who don't speak Spanish to listen to music in Spanish." With her curly tresses, confessional songwriting style and her idiosyncratic tendency to sound out every letter in a word, Shakira has invited comparisons to Alanis Morissette. But Shakira's lyrics are less abstract and her music is generally more up-tempo. Despite her directness, she is reluctant to explain her lyrics. "These songs are very dedicated to love," she says. "It's hard to relate the stories in my songs with spoken words.

It's best for you to listen to them." For more, go to: www.shakira.com seek. Shakira "I rented a seaside house in the Bahamas," she says. "I put together a little pre-production studio there. I did the first demos there. I brought Passion for the past.

A book showcasing our region's rich history and architecture is debuting at local stores: Rochester Routes: Tours of Monroe County's Historic Places. We talk with three of the book's contributors about their favorite historic place. Tomorrow on Page 1C. Stuart Low collected items tor this column from staff and wire reports. More inside Columns 2C Comics 4C Television 5C Movies 6C the disco-like number "Ready for the Good Times," which would not sound out of place on a J.Lo album.

Other highlights include "Eyes Like Yours," an English version of Shakira's hit "Ojos Asi," from her Donde Estan los Ladrones album. The English lyrics were co-written with Gloria Estefan. The attempt was admirable, but the reworked tune doesn't have the fire and snap of the original. Driving the mix throughout is Shakira's voice, her range and control injecting a variety of emotive nuances. Her trademark yodeling and quavering in some musicians with whom I'd worked before and some who are in my band.

"Later I went to Uruguay and rented a ranch. My only neighbors were the cattle. Among that tranquility, surrounded by pasture, that's where I did the rest of my songs." The album contains nine songs in English and four in Spanish. The title track is a mid-.