Green Bay Press-Gazette from Green Bay, Wisconsin • Page 26

D-6 LIFESTYLE Tuesday, April 27,. 1993 Green Bay Press-Gazette Z3 Firsnois up to pytstfoo 3M, Conccrt review Violent Femmes I 1 i Excellent; Good; Fain Poor 0y much a comedian as a musician, was a little "different;" his act included not only the usual synthesizers but also instruments such as the flute. The audience was more than ready for the Violent Femmes by the time the opening acts were over. Fans cheered wildly as the Femmes launched into Prove My Love. Audience enthusiasm dwindled during the next few songs, but returned as the band played Blister in the Sun.

In the midst of the songs were plenty of guitar and bass solos. Although these altered the flow of the numbers a bit, it didn't affect the crowd's overall enthusiasm much. Gano's strident vocals were right on all night, varying enough from the Femmes' recordings so that it didn't sound as if someone was playing a tape over the sound system. Ritchie followed the changes Ml Look of the crowd and fill-in drummer give twist to concert By Sarah Shellman, 17 Green Bay Flannel shirts, pierced noses, and an alternative lifestyle were the norm for the Violent Femmes' concert last week. St.

Norbert College's Schuldes Sports Center was about half-filled with mostly young adults who came to see one of the most popular undergrounds bands. The Violent Femmes Gordon Gano on vocals and guitar, Brian Ritchie on bass, and Victor DeLor-enzo on drums are Milwaukee natives who recorded their first album 11 years ago. Most of their repu- A at tation is built on live concerts and their debut album, Violent Femmes. Just hours before the St. Norbert concert, DeLorenzo announced his immediate departure from the band, citing creative differences and the desire to pursue other projects.

The Femmes got BoDeans drummer Guy Hoffmann to fill in. The opening acts were the String-beans, a popular local group, and Sigmund Snowpek III. Snowpek, as Sarah Shellman Witnessed an enthusiastic crowd even bass line. Hoffman did an excellent job filling in at the last minute, especially during the drum solo in the encore. A page by and about area young people smoothly, and added an impressive, flmmsig ms, buy it orne images of our youth aren't great An ad writer says the focus is not on the product but on buyers' individuality By Rachel Ballard, 18 Green Bay "You do not have to be your mother unless she is who you want to be.

You do not have to be your mother's mother, or even your grandmother's mother on your father's side. a 1 So begins one of Nike's latest ads. The accompanying photograph isn't a sneaker, but a 1950s mother and daughter calmly sitting on a couch. Neither is wearing Nikes. This is one of the shoe compa ny many psychological barrages filling TV screens and magazine pages across America.

Nike is not alone. It seems that companies everywhere are rushing to pin ideals to their names. Ads that used to be filled with flashy smiles and words like "incredible," "wow," and "cool," are now sporting serious black and white pictures accompanied by para You must we've gone through some goofy fads By Trina Dorner, 16 Luxemburg Can you imagine the images that will come into our kids' minds when we try to tell them about everything we wore, listened to, played with, and watched when we were growing up? You have to admit that we've gone through some pretty strange fads. Think back to elementary school. Remember those jelly bracelets that all girls seemed to be wearing? TONS! Up and down their arms! Looped around their fingers, their ankles! There seemed to be no more uses for them, but the marketers found one.

JELLYSHOES! They were the most irritating footwear to ever hit the market, causing more blisters on a person's feet than anyone thought possible. A little later on, they came up with a very interesting use for link chains. Make them out of cheap plastic put them around your neck and then try to hang as many miniature plastic toothbrushes, hair dryersj mirrors, record players, lipsticks, tapes, curling irons, and radios on it as possible! Then somewhere between elementary school and junior high they threw stonewashed and frosted denim jeans at us. Enough about what we wore, let's talk about one of the most important things to ever come out of the human head. Our hair! Now until we actually started combing and washing our hair on a regular basis voluntarily, we didn't give a rip what it looked like.

What mama said was good enough. Well, then we discovered what our hair can say about us! We moussed! We gelled! We pumped! We sprayed! And sprayed. And sprayed! We girls did what can be referred to as the half and half style. Half of our hair was teased to the sky and the other half was most likely flat against your head, creating a sort of step effect, when looked at sideways. The boys didn't miss out on the fun.

They went through sev- It seems that everywhere are rushing to pin ideals to their names. Trina Dorner Remember jelly bracelets? eral stages: spike it, shave it, slash it, and slick it. Now try to remember back, way back, to when you were a wee babe. Do you remember the toys you played with? Do the names He-Man and She-Ra ring any distant bells? How about Strawberry Shortcake? The Transformers? My Little Pony? The Smurfs? Star Wars? If anything, our kids will think we were nuts when we try to tell them about our toys! Little blue guys that run around in pants and hats fighting some guy named Gargamel and "smurfing" everything? Pastel colored animals with little designs on their butt that were supposed to be magical? The little box in the corner, remember what used to be on it every week? Different Eight is Enough; The Facts of Life; Punky Brewster; Family Ties; Growing Pains? And who can forget the beloved Cosby's, with their true to life family, always getting into trouble that anyone in America can relate to. We've seen the rise of Madonna from Like a Virgin to Sex as well as the rise of Eco-mania from simply "Give a hoot don't pollute" to "Save the whales," "Save the Rainforests" and "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle" and on and on and on and on.

What else are we yet to see that we won't want to remember? The return of bell bottoms? The Shag? The rise of a band called Openness? Ah, what the future has to offer. graph-long messages that seem to reach to the inner souls of people everywhere. However, copywriter Bill Faude of the Jacobson Rost advertising agency in Sheboygan says this is not a trend. "It's brand focus rather than product focus advertising. There is little potential for new technological advances today.

There are less and less physical differences between different brands." As it would be difficult to find another place to stick an air pocket on a sneaker, companies want to give their products personality. People aren't just wearing shoes, they're wearing shoes that reflect their individuality, their inner self. "The mass market isn't mass anymore," says Faude. "People have different interests. We're more multicultural than we've Illustration by Shaun Cherry, 19, Green Bay people to "their" brand.

A brand that separates them from others, creating a loyalty. "Nike tries to locate that brand in your mind and heart at the same time," Faude said. And it must be working. As Nike puts it, the shoe choice, the mother choice, it's all up to the individual. "Because the only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." ever been.

As an advertiser, you determine how people are different; that's your hook." So, you really aren't your mother and you don't have to wear her shoe. Perhaps it's a change with the times. Unlike the domestic 50s, cultish 60s, discoing 70s, and plastic 80s, the 90s are a decade of individuality. People are encouraged to get in touch with nature and find their place in it. Differing opinions are a plus and girls don't need hair-sprayed curls; natural and free is better.

That way no one looks the same. Or perhaps, as Faude stated, brand advertising has always been there. Maybe it just seems more common as more and more different cultural groups appear. Advertisers know where to hit, and individuality is simply the current focus, a way to pull onorano urmnat vtin IT'S NOT A JOB IT AN ADVENTURE! EIEMY QY TODAY! LOOK FOR OUR VALUABLE COUPONS IN TOMORROWS PRESS-GAZETTE STEVEN 'S-E A A SPRING COUPON UNDER SIEGE BOOK Ml- HC 3PK58 i Of a Wfl WSm M4 JSC IW i UP i HTi Kit I 4 1MMI IliJTI 0 gssH- EAST: 2450 EAST MASON WEST: 1169 LOMBARDI ACCESS 469-0603 498-3233 ILL 1.