Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 71

Karen Valentine leads dull cast in 6 Our Time9 otcrtaionient tVAj Page E9 Friday, July 26, 1985 Section DQ Austin American-Statesman Night life Arts Know what, Vern? Ernest P. hits big screen with 'Dr. Otto' 1 I nest P. and the camera. In the KVUE commercials, he has an unseen buddy named Vera who bears the brunt of Ernest's hilarious tirades.

The character has become a hit with both children and adults. He's a goober, but he's fun. Varney, who lives on a farm in Tennessee, was in Austin Thursday to promote the film. He made an appearance on KVUE's Good Morning Austin and greeted fans at the Northcross Six theaters, where Dr. Otto is playing.

Varney has been doing the character for four years and admits to having developed a dual personality because of him. "Every time I put on this cap my voice changes and my face turns to latex," he said in an interview Thursday morning. The rubbery face and good-old-boy twang are part of an art that Varney has polished since childhood. "My mom noticed that when I watched television I would mimic the characters. Later I did school plays and worked In professional theater in the summers.

I finally went on to New York, but I did stand-up comedy because there weren't a lot of plays." He eventually found his way to weekly television, making regular appearances in such series as The Pink Submarine and The Rousters. Television proved to be less lucrative than he imagined, and he never got a chance to be his own boss. Films are where he wants to be, though he admits making them isn't what he thought "It's not as easy as it looks," he said as he removed the famed cap. revealing a full head of slightly grayed hair. "I thought it was going to be like the Ernest commercials you know, 30 seconds here and there but it wasn't" Looking back on his four years as Ernest Varney is grateful for the exposure and "a pretty good living," but hints that the life of a te'vision celebrity has its price.

"Exposure at all costs is not necessarily good," he said. "Ev-er-y-body knows who you are!" He was asked if Ernest would offer his own unvarnished opinion of Dr. Otto and the Riddle ot the Gloom Beam. Said JimErnest in the familiar drawl: "It's stupendous, wonderful, huge, and big. And it might even be nominated for an enema!" We know what you mean.

(-'" it Ernest P. Worrell's alter ego, actor Jim Varney, plays five different parts in Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam. Night life is a guide to a variety of music available tonight, Saturday, and Sunday in Austin. Unsquare jazz It's a good weekend for jazz fans as Symphony Square presents two nights of quality music.

Jazz vocalist Tina Marsh's activities with the Creative Opportunity Orchestra frequently overshadow her solo work but this weekend she'll be front and center with her group Ahora! backing her. Marsh's stratospheric scatting and liquid lyricism make her singing consistently exciting, whether it's on adventurous originals or classic standards. Tomas Ramirez, Austin's Jazz-manian Devil and dean of jazz saxophone, also gets a chance to exhibit his musical wares In the outdoor venue. Ramirez and band, quite possibly Austin's all-time favorite jazz group, pump out muscular funk with lots of rhythmic hooks and consistently strong solos. It's still jazz, however, something Ramirez drives home with a vengeance every time he takes a solo.

Marsh performs at 8:30 tonight at Symphony Square. Admission is $3. Ramirez performs at 8:30 Saturday night at Symphony Square. Admission is $4. From Oregon to Austin Ralph Towner's passionate, yet peaceful, music was a major part of the Paul Winter Consort and Oregon, two groups that pioneered the world folkjazz fusion.

Although best known for his virtuoso acoustic 12-string guitar work, he's also a master multi-instrumentalist: playing piano, synthesizer, and occasional cornet With literally dozens of excellent albums' worth of material to choose from, Towner's program is sure to be eclectic, Intriguing, and musically satisfying. At 9 Sunday night at the Continental Club. Cover Is $12. Country crazies Sammy Allred, radio raconteur, sage of South Austin, and general all around good old boy, leads the Geezinslaw Brothers back into action this weekend. The Geezinslaws brand of country music is of the mutant variety.

You can even dance to it, if you can keep from laughing too hard at the lyrics. Rumors of a guest spot by the Uranium Savages are to be believed. At 9:30 tonight at Soap Creek. Cover is $4. Satirical savagery The Uranium Savages, specialists in radioactive musical satire, celebrate a decade of dementia this weekend with a gala 1 0th year homecoming.

It's not supposed to be a barbecue but any and every sacred cow that wanders into range undoubtedly will be roasted to an ember. And don't be surprised if you see someone that looks like a Geezinslaw who couldn't find the door out the night before. At 9:30 Saturday night at Soap Creek. Tickets are $4 advance, $5 at the door. Lampoon's Vacation' trips Unfunny, predictable movie misses the boat I Jt If LUix Here's my autograph, Vern.

Whatdya mean, what 'Cause I'm a movie star, Vern! Don't you know what a picture show is? You better go see 'Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom or I'm gonna stop otter in' you my tree advice, knowbatlmean? By Patrick Taggart American-Statesman Staff Which raises the question, is the world ready for Ernest P. Worrell in a feature film? Well, it had better be, because our blue-vested, baseball cap-wearing friend is in the movies for real. Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam will never be mistaken for Ordinary People or the latest Bond adventure, but it is an actual movie, with Ernest P's alter ego, actor Jim Varney, playing five different parts.

Ernest P. even has a cameo. Television viewers in the area know Varney through his commercials for Channel 24 news. What they may not know is that Varney makes similar commercials in 70 other television markets nationwide, and has become one of the hottest successes in television advertising. The commercials are all similar In style and there are only two stars: Er But the so-so script is fairly brilliant next to the direction.

Watching the gags in this movie is like watching a bunch of guys move furniture. When the Frenchman steals the Griswald's video camera, we know he's going to do it minutes before it happens, just as we know that dog Is going to jump off the Eiffel Tower a long time before the actual leap. (The dog survives, proving, if nothing else, that the filmmakers have some taste.) Chase and D'Angelo are okay, but Eric Idle steals the show as a luckless Briton who crosses the Griswalds paths one too many times. The same could be said for the audience. National Lampoon 's European Vacation, rated PG-13 tor nudity, profanity; at the Arbor, Capital Plaza, Lakehills.

1 A Festival attraction Aug. 7. The music lineup is skewed heavily toward country performers, since three of the nine festival nights are country nights, a holdover from the days when Austin was the "progressive country" music capital. "Country was traditionally big in Austin, but it's gone kind of soft But when it (the festival) was originally set up, that's the way it ended up being," she said. "A lot of the major (country) performers are doing fairs up north, so Texas is unappealing to them," said Saxon, "so you have to work with who's available." Even i vi harmony By Patrick Taggart American-Statesman Staff You will curse yourself for laughing on the few occasions when laughter is possible during National Lampoon's European Vacation.

The new film Is easily twice as dumb as the one that inspired it National Lampoon's Vacation, and the gags can be seen from clear across the English Channel. Next to this, Harold Ra-mis first movie was a cerebral experience. The action begins with our sappy nuclear family, the Clark W. Gris-walds, winning the jackpot on a television game show called Pig in a Poke. Their prize is a European vacation for the whole family, a family whose personnel has changed since the Griswald's Chevy Chase, right, leads the Griswalds in another adventure, this time to Europe in National Lampoon's European Vacation.

Aqua Fest volunteers aim at musical Review American tour. Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo are back as the parents, but Anthony Michael Hall has been replaced by Jason Lively as Rusty, and Dana Hill (the oldest daughter in Shoot the Moon) appears as daughter Audrey. John Hughes, writer of the first Vacation as well as the Infinitely superior Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, co-wrote the script with Robert Klane. It's not bad screenplay. Like I say, there are times when you laugh even if you feel irresponsible doing so.

But European Vacation will never be accused of being a sly or clever movie. i Chaka Khan is the main Aqua what The whole board changes every year, so you never know what's going to happen." This year, Saxon and her committee which she described as "people who just like music" immediately took a crash course in the music business by contacting managers and booking agents, haunting some local clubs and KTXZ-AM Austin On the Air live radio show, watching MTV, talking to radio station employees and Dean Justice, director of the Erwin Center, and kicking around band names. Puppets, Pigs, and Doctors Living with the critical description of "the Grateful Dead of hard core" probably isn't easy for the Meat Puppets, but the Arizona rock trio is too busy making music to worry about it This weekend it is back in Austin, to be joined by Bay of Pigs and local faves Doctors Mob for a triple-bill rock shootout At 10 Saturday night at Liberty Lunch. Cover is $4. By John T.

Davis American-Statesman Staff When Austin Aqua Festival music fans turn out on Auditorium Shores next week to enjoy the likes of Chaka Khan, Little Joe la Fa-milia, and Tanya Tucker, they will be seeing the fruits of a nine-month labor by a corps of festival volunteers who organize the event's musical entertainment According to Brenda Saxon, a five-year Aquafest veteran who is this year's vice-commodore in charge of entertainment booking, the 90 or so bands performing at Aquafest are selected by her and a committee of 10 volunteers. Saxon, like most of her volunteers, doesn't deal with the music industry on a regular basis. "I'm just a real good organizer," she said. Since each year's commodore (this year it's Mike Nixon) has the ability to select a new staff, there Is little transfer of accumulated experience from year to year, apart from the presence of Jack Macy, the vice-commodore in charge of managing all fest nights. Macy, who has been with the festival 14 years, said the entertainment committee's criteria for selecting musicians Is "who we can afford, who's available and who will best serve, from our opinion, all the people of Austin." "In November," said Saxon, "the new commodore decides who's going to be on the board of directors and who's going to be in charge of Complf chdul, D12 so, the country nights remain the best-attended festival nights, which has led to repeat bookings of performers like the Gatlin Brothers, Tanya Tucker, Bobby Bare, and Eddy Raven.

"We did a lot of research," said Saxon, who concentrated on booking the Feature Stage (the biggest stage where the most popular acts perform each night). Her last acquisition for the Feature Stage was soulfunk singer Chaka Khan, whose appearance on Rock Night Aug. 7, was finally confirmed in June. Khan might have been chosen for Black Night (Aug. 4), but Saxon said, "She's a cross-over act and we felt like she would be better on Rock Night when we hope for a big cross-over crowd." Khan, who was riding a hit single, Feel For You, last fall, has since slipped off the charts, and Mtume, who is headlining on Black Night has not appeared on the record charts for three years, according to an employee at Waterloo Records.

But a limited budget (about $200,000 for all the musical acts this year) made it difficult for Saxon to recruit the big headline acts she might have wanted. "It just comes down to a matter of who's available at the price you can afford. You look at a Huey Lewis and the News playing for $150,000 a night and that's just totally out of the question. It's one of those things," Saxon said, "It's a risky business. Rock Night was the hardest one to book." Although festival officials say they are trying to get away from the strict ethnicity of the various fest nights, that is not the reason that Ernie Sky and the K-Tels, a local soul band, is headlining on Czech Night this year, and Johnny Dee and the Rocket 88's, a band which plays '50s hits, is headlining German Night "We had a problem booking ethnic bands for those nights have to deal with the limitations of those nights," Saxon said.

"They're traditionally lower-attendance nights, so to keep the attendance higher, I decided to go with a strong local band. We try to book as many local bands as we can." The El Campo Melody Boys, a Czech-oriented band, will share the stage with the K-Tels). Ernie Gammage (a.k.a. Ernie Sky), a member of the Music Advisory Board and chairman of the board of the Texas Music Association, said dealing with new faces every year can be a problem for musicians. "They (the volunteers) are well-meaning, but it's like going to camp for them," he said.

"There are always ways to improve anything," Macy said. Plans to consider changing the Aqua Festival concert format (how many country, rock, and ethnic nights, for example) are on hold until the festival moves to a new permanent facility on Lake Long in 1986 or 1987. Two-bass hit While others are thinking about baseball, Mark Williams and Steve Bernal are tuning their basses. The two are teaming up for a concert of "solo and not so low bass clef instruments," including electric and acoustic bass, cello, mandocello, guitar, baritone bass, and percussion. All matter of music will be pro- duced; some jazz, some not some not yet categorized.

At 8 Sunday night at Hyde Park Showplace. Admission is $4. Michael Point'.