Petaluma Argus-Courier from Petaluma, California • 16

6 PETALUMA ARGUS-COURIER, Petaluma CA, Friday, November 3, 1995 Arts Entertainmen anii 'Echoes of Africa' rich with music, dance and stories Gala fall concert by Casa choirs The Casa Grande High School choirs present "Cabaret 1995 100 Years of Broadway," Nov. i j) 17, 18 and 19 at the Petaluma Community Center, 320 N. McDowell Blvd. At a glance What: "Echoes of Africa," a program of music, dance and stories celebrating the African-folk origins of America's popular music and dance. When: 8 p.m.

today. Where: Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Admission: Tickets are $16.50 for adults, $7.50 for students. Call the LBC Box Office at 546-3600 or BASS outlets. Friday and Saturday perfor mances begin at 7 p.m.

Ticket prices are $12 adults, $10 seniors and students. Sunday's performance is a An evening rich with music, dance and stories that have their roots in true American history will be featured as the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts and the National Council for the Traditional Arts present "Echoes of Africa" tonight "Echoes of Africa" offers a glimpse of some of the African-folk origins of America's popular music and dance. Songs, rhythms and stories kept on the Georgia Sea Islands and older Piedmont blues from the Virginia Tidewater are juxtaposed with kora (harp) music, drumming and solo vocals from West Africa, and modern tap, a 20th century popular dance form that evolved from the African juba dance that slaves brought to this hemisphere. La Vaughn Robinson presents tap as an art form grounded in community tradition and honed by generations of tap masters, combining dazzling performance with absorbing narration. John Cephas and Phil Wiggins have traveled the world performing Piedmont blues, the oldest blues form derived from the black string bands of Colonial America.

cabaret-style gala with desserts and champagne. The evening's guest performers are from the San Francisco road show produc tion of "The Phantom of the Opera," Lisa Vroman (Christine Daae) and Joseph Dellger (Mon sieur Andre). Seatings are at Frankie and Doug Quimby are The Georgia Sea Islanders and perform songs, games, dances and stories handed down for more than two centuries in the island communities off the coast of Georgia. Djimo Kouyate is a griot oral historian originally from Senegal, West Africa who is a master performer on the kora and will serve as host of the program. Blues artists John Cephas and Phil Wiggins will perform tonight in Santa Rosa.

Rick RelnhanJ tables of 10 and 12. Tickets are $35. For tickets, call 1 (800) 966-5179, ext. 114. Tickets also are available at the Petaluma Music Center, 245 N.

McDowell Petaluma High stages 'The Little Prince' Blvd. Salsa dancing exhibition slated Production of beloved children's classic opens Thursday night Local salsa dancers Garry and Isabel will perform a Latin dance exhibition at 7:45 p.m. By KATIE WATTS Monday at the Petaluma Com-munity Center, 320 N. McDowell Blvd. The presentation is a preview for a six-week dance class that begins Nov.

13 at the community Patt Dombroski. Joe Ferraro is the student assistant director. "We've never really done a children's play," says director Patt Dombroski. "It's been a lot of fun, but it's also hard work." She says that because this is a children's play, two Sunday matinees have been added. These performances include special after-play audience talks with the actors.

"This is a very cherished story," notes Dombroski. Adults and children can enjoy the play equally, but on very different levels, she feels, adding, "It has some real gems about what is life if you're (too busy) running around all the time." Performance dates are Nov. 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18 and 19. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7 p.m., Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes before curtain time.

Tickets are $4 for students, children and seniors, and $5.50 for adults. Argus-Courier Staff Petaluma High School's Drama Club brings Antoine de Saint-Ex-upery's classic children's fantasy "The Little Prince" to life Nov. 9 to 19 at the high school, 201 Fair St. Eleven students, some of them adept at quick changes, will perform the 20 roles, including four adults (nicknamed "grups" in the script). They are: Angela Berliner (the Snake and the Geographer), Helena Bigall (the Lamplighter), John Browning (the Pilot), Shannon DeJong (the Little Prince), Mick Gadeberg (a Businessman and a Grup), Jessamyn Harris (the Railway Switchperson), Tal Kopstein (the Fox and a Conceited Person), Emily Lauer (the Queen), Jessica Miller (the Flower, a Rose and a Grup), Alison Osborn (a Tippler, a Rose and a Grup) and Jessica Perry (the Merchant, a Rose and a Grup).

The production is directed by center. For details, call 762-5683. Movie night benefits PEF Mark your calendar to go to the movies for a good cause Thursday, Nov. 9. The Petaluma Educational Foundation will receive 50 percent of Thursday's proceeds from the Washington Square Cinema 5.

What's playing? Audiences can choose among "The Big Green," "Powder," "Fair Game," Gold Diggers," and "Babe." There is no increase in ticket prices. The Petaluma Educational Foundation is a non-profit community organization that secures and distributes contributions for Petaluma area schools. Petaluma High School drama students Emilv Lauer fas the oueerri anrf Sh3nnnnVinnn (as the pri nee) rehearse for the upcoming production of "The Little Prince." The Rentals rocks the Phoenix, releases new CD One of the more eclectic rock bands of the current moment, The Rentals, is going to be at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma on Glenn Rubenstein Sunday night To most this mav Of knows that you're friends with then you're friends with me. If you're down with then you're down with Each of the songs has its own unique flavor and lyrical styling, but the common thread between the songs seems to be the subject matter of relationships and human seem out of context, a band that currently has a hit single on MTV and Live 105 with "Friends of coming to the Phoenix? Soundcheck Don be so shocked. The Phoenix Theater has hosted a variety of bigger acts over the nast Spoon player performs at SSU Artis the Spoonman (spoon player extraordinaire) will demonstrate his wacky talent in a free noon show Nov.

7 in front of Sonoma State University's Student Union, 1801 East Cotati Rohnert Park. Artis also performs Nov. 8 at Cotau's Inn of the Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Highway. Tickets are $4 students, $5 general, and available at the door. Classical concert for Face to Face A Coffee Concert of classical few years (including Green Dav.

Metallica, Ice-T, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rancid, and most recent ly, aublime) and this performance by The Rentals just marks the start of a return to that era. The Rentals, for those who IHHhP don't know, are a "new wave" rock band led by Matt Sharp (the bass player for "Weezer." who is Matt Sharp and Cherielynn Westrich of The Rentals. They'll perform Sunday night at the Phoenix Theater. The Rentals lead vocalist) and fea tures rat Wilson (the drummer for and Petra Haden (the violin player from "that Anyone who has seen their video interaction. Album high points include "Waiting," "Move On," and "Naive," but overall, this is an album to own amidst the current slew of "things that sound like everything else" in the current music marketplace.

Overall: A Me And Mark "Eponymous" (Pariah Records). If you haven't heard anything about Me and Mark yet, chances are that you will soon. The Santa Rosa four-piece band that is beyond description (although their sound is a noisy melodic rock) has been turning up everywhere as of late playing locally and this tape marks their first official release of songs (it is available at the Music Coop in Petaluma and the Last Record Store in Santa Rosa). From the catchy bass riff of the opening song "Don't Have A Clue" to the last wail of lead singer Dustin Heald on "Bruise," it is hard to imagine a stronger group of songs that is this untenable and unique at the same time. With both lyrical and musical strength behind them and a good pop sensibility, Me and Mark's five-song cassette is a strong contender for the best local release of this year and ranks up there with some of the better major label releases we've seen in some time every song on the cassette is memorable.

Overall: A Also coming to the Phoenix on Nov. 18 is Ash, the Irish pop-punk trio that currently has three singles in rotation on Live 105 with "Kung Fu," "Jack Names The Planets," and "Girl From Mars." Ash will headline a bill that includes European rockers China Drum (who have a new CD coming out next month), Santa Rosa "punk noir gangstas" The Invalids, and well-adjusted rockers from Novate, Stone Merlin. The ticket price on this show is $6 as well and tickets will be available the door on the night of the show. New Releases This Month: The Rentals "Return Of The Rentals" (MaverickReprise). From the start of the first song, "The Love I'm Searching For," it becomes apparent that while The Rentals have a great pop sound, they cannot be referred to as a "Weezer side project." Sure, two of the members of Weezer are in the band (bass player Matt Sharp and drummer Pat Wilson), but the band also features four other musicians and unique co-lead vocals shared by Sharp and Cherielynn Westrich.

To top it all off, the album makes great use of an underrated instrument, the rnoog synthesizer. The end result is a record that is very pop-like, but also very unique. The 10 songs on this album are incredibly catchy. Anyone who has heard the first single, "Friends vocal and chamber music will be held at 3 p.m. Nov.

12 at the Veterans Hall in Guerneville as a benefit for Face to Face, the Russian River Jewish community and the River Choir. The $14 admission includes hors d'oeuvres, pastries and specialty coffees and teas. Music of Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Purcell, Dvorak and Mozart will be performed by Thelma Dare Ahner, Beth Freeman, Sherri Guinn, Sheldon Murphy, Joy Willow, Diane Comstock, Sonia Tubridy, Peter Wehausen and Nicholas Xenelis. For reservations, call 887-7215. Do you have news to share about the local arts scene? Please send press releases to Arts Scene, Petaluma Living, 830 Petaluma Blvd.

North, Petaluma 94952, or fax 765-1707. Smashing Pumpkins "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" (Virgin). Unless you are the world's biggest Smashing Pumpkins fan, it is hard not to be overwhelmed by this two-CD set Granted, the majority of the songs on the double-album are good and listenable, but toward the end of this two-hour opus it begins to seem a bit repetitive and things start to wear a little thin. The double-album's CDs are broken up in clever titles that separate the moods of each disc "Dawn To Dusk" and "Twilight To Starlight." It would be hard to argue which disc is stronger in terms of material, but each has its own feel with neither quite being "the melodic-pop disc" or "the dark moody" disc. From the lyrical get-go it becomes apparent that lead singer Billy Corgan has a lot on his mind when it comes to writing songs.

His lyrical content covers a lot of ground, from the loss of time in "1979" to the ultimate emptiness in "Zero" (which contains some pretty heavy subject matter if you can listen to it with a straight face). Musically, however, this album is solid, with songs that encompass strong melodies and listenable soundscapes. From the album's first single "Bullet With Butterfly Wings," many would be expecting this album to be a bit darker than the Pumpkins multi-platinum "Siamese Dream," but don't let the angst fool you this album has its share of beauufully-warped songs. It isn't perfect, but therels something strong here. Overall: Glenn Rubenstein is a Petaluma resident and a nationally recognized video game authority.

His Soundcheck column appears the first Friday of every month. or heard their song knows that their music is a lot of fun and has an almost bouncy quality. Opening for The Rentals on Sunday will be Fig Dish (who has a hit on their hand with their driving rock song and the local Petaluma rock and rap group Skillit (whom you may remember from their public access TV show "Snap Overall this looks to be the show to see this month. The show takes place at 7 jn. Sunday at the Phoenix with tickets priced at $6 (currently available in advance at the Music Coop in Petaluma, or at the door).

The show will be over by 10 p.m. (keeping in mind it is a Sunday night). For more info on The Rentals, check this month's review section listed below..