Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 13

Punk Rock Popularity Grows With Grossness V7 ill n. -VS. it will garner more publicity than their music. And they have succeeded in getting press and television coverage and their activities have thus gained a sort of left-handed "respectability" as a rock idiom. Had the media ignored such "artists" as Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols no doubt the movement would have grossed itself out of business.

worldwide implications. And perhaps that is one of the reasons for the media blitz of the fad. But other bizarre musical activities that originated in England in the post-Beatles era did not receive such coverage. And that it is because they supposedly didn't have sociological overtones. The Punk Rock movement, however, is being trumpeted by the press as a sort of death rattle of a crumbling British empire an outgrowth of the disillusionment of the unemployed young who have no where to go out down.

But the movement is not necessarily a sociological one but an extension of a trend toward outrageousness that has been growing like a malignant tumor for years. Shock sells. The Punk Rockers realize that their gross behavior By MIKE KALINA Pot-oicti Pop-Muilc bittt They revel in revulsion and have created a name for themselves by taking bad taste to new depths. And in the process, Britain's Punk Rockers have been given so much publicity that they may well end up retching all the way to the bank. Since there has been no real trend on the pop-music scene in many years, the media have been quick to document the bizarre activities of the Punk Rockers, who spit and vomit on the stage-and sometimes on their fans-destroy their instruments and promote sadism and violence.

Since the Beatles started in England and changed the face of pop music, many journalists look upon music movements in that country as having on the SECOND SECTION t- AW a kVtZ 43 of Teens' Ties With Parents Drag The Ilaimmes a U.S. Punk Hock group have a single out that has made it to the nation's Top IOO chart, thanks in part to the national publicity given to the Punk Hock inovcntrnl, which originated in England. The Hanones' single is a tender little ditty called "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker." from the top of his head. They still remember him in England as "God hell of fire." Ever since Brown's flames died out, there have been hordes of performers who have been nearly as weird as the Punk Rockers. People like: Alice Cooper, who sent himself to the guillotine at the end of his act, who pretended to disembowel a chicken on stage and who wore stage makeup that looked as though it were applied by a makeup man on LSD.

Iggy Stooge (now called Iggy Pop), who first exploited the art of onstage masochism and who would roll in cut glass across the stage until he bled over everyone in the front row. Lou Reed, who made himself up similar to the way Punk Rockers do and who delved not only into masochism but also sadism, homosexuality and the world of the heroin addict (in fact, one of Reed's biggest hits was a tune called "Heroin." Reed has played Pittsburgh many times, as has Cooper. Frank Zappa, who mutilated dolls on stage and wnose main claim to fame was his bizarre stage antics. Zappa also is a perennial Pittsburgh favorite. In the early 1970s, there were a number of groups that donned gay apparel in an out-of-the-closet movement that was popular for at least two years.

The New York Dolls was one Route By DR. GEORGE GALLUP PRINCETON, N.J. With much attention in recent years focusing on the breakdown of the family unit a development which some social observers blame for many of society's ills the latest Gallup Youth Survey brings to light these key findings regarding parent-child relations: Although 56 per cent of teen-agers say they get on "very well" with their parents, as many as four in 10 (43 per cent) say only fairly well" or "not at all well' Both boys and girls are more likely to say they get on better with their mother than with their father. Girls are somewhat more inclined than are boys to say they have a better relationship with their mom than their dad, again contrary to a popular notion. The age of teen-agers, male or female, does not appear to be a factor in how well they get on with their parents or whether they get on better with their mother or their father.

An indication of the tension existing in certain households is seen in additional survey findings which show that among the teen-agers who say they get along only fairly well with their parents, one in seven has run away from home. Among those who say they don't, get along at all well with their the proportion who have run away isi nearly tnree times as high. The perceived authoritarian character of one's father was a factor in the; responses of those who said they get oni better with their mother. Further indication of the rocky relations that exist between some parents and children is found in the responses such act and the five-man group appeared at the Nixon Theater several years ago in high heels, lipstick and female attire and were cheered on by a packed house that was high on everything from grass to cough syrup. In fact, the audience was more bizarre-looking than the Dolls and looked for all the world like the cast of Marat Sade.

But all of these acts never received the concentrated notoriety as the Punk Rockers. Why? Because their activities were not linked with a sociological phenomenon. Not so with the Punk Rockers. Their antics are considered symptomatic of hard times in England and that is news. Even the promoters of the Punk Rock acts and their managers are grabbing onto this tie-in because of its publicity value.

Bernard Rhodes, who manages a group called Clash, put it this way: There is no way Britain can take a turn for the better and that's the information we are passing on, in everything we do clothing, concert backdrops and attitudes." Britain may be in financial trouble but Rhodes isn't anymore. So the Punk Rockers rock on and the more value the English pound loses, the more popular the groups become, because pop music echoes life. Or does it echo greed? 88, Finleyville. 7 Miles South of South Open Monday Thru Fridoy 10 to what's happening "What's Up Tiger Lily featuring Woody Allen will be presented Friday and Saturday at 205 Oakland Ave. The 1966 movie, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Film-Makers, will be shown at 8 and 10 p.m.

both days, with a midnight showing Friday. Admission is $1.50. Victor Erice's "The Spirit Of the Beehive" will be presented at the Carnegie Institute Lecture Hall, 4400 Forbes Oakland, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday July 24. Admission is $1.

A musical benefit featuring the female vocalist "Honeytree" is scheduled for Saturday, July 30, from 3 to 8 30 p.m. The benefit will be held near Exit 5, Pennsylvania Turnpike in Rural Ridge, and is being sponsored by Teen Challenge of Western Pennsylvania, a Christian residential drug rehabilitation program. Tickets for the festival are and are on sale at local religious book stores and can be purchased at the entrance. i i For more information and a map, call 265-4100. Pork Phone 563-3398 or 348-7123 9, Saturday 5:30 scene MONDAY, JULY 18, 1)77 of teen-agers who say they got along poorlv with their parents.

Here is a sample: "They're too possessive and overtjearing and put restrictions on me as though I were a child They're always comparing the "old days to today that things were harder then, and that we should be satisfied with what we have today "My mother tends to treat me as if I were younger than I really am. She also tends to make decisions for me They don't want to allow me to have private thoughts. They ask too many Questions about my private affairs. If tnere is something they need to know, they should have enough faith in me that I will tell them They underestimate me and have a basic lack of trust in me They are much too overprotective They don't trust me enough They're too grouchy, get excited too quickly Overprotective, narrow-minded, overly critical "My parents remember their teen-age years with respect to the times they lived in, and sometimes live in the past They are always comparing today with when they were kids. They don't understand times are constantly changing, but I guess I will say the same to my kids But for Lise, Fran and several other students, working at the West Mifflin amusement park is a unique experience.

"I like working here because it's outside and you get to know the people you work with real well," said Lise, who manages a crew of five on Noah's Ark. She also helps direct the not so courageous patrons through the ark's dark and scary corridors. Clad in a dark blue pants outfit, sneakers and carrying a flashlight, she is a smiling, friendly figure among the startling monsters and sound effects throughout the ark. 14 Tsar" I Hi T1 1 me runx Kocners popularity in England has spurred some offshoots in the United States and a Punk Rock movement is beginning to take hold over here. One such ITS.

group is the Ramones, whose new single "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" has been heralded by one U.S. rock magazine as "An A.M. anthem." Will the Punk Rockers play Pittsburgh? Local promoters say they have no plans as yet to book the groups here but indicated if the movement gathers force we may well see Johnny Rotten and his Sex Pistols playing a date here. Rock promoters are not in the business of judging taste but in the business of making money. As one put it a while back: I'd book Hitler, if he were still around." Rather than being something completely new, Punk Rock in one form or another has been around for years.

When Elvis Presley burst on the music scene with the face of a hubcap thief and swiveled his way into the hearts of millions, he was considered a "punk" by adults but a superstar by his fans. Presley received bad press and more than one minister added to Presley's box-office draw by calling him "the devil himself." When Presley's star began to rise, other singers such as Gene Vincent-managed to capture a segment of his audience by trying to out-grease, out-moan and out-swivel rock's first king. Time eroded Presley's shock value and he became almost establishment by the early 1960s. Then the Beatles came along with a wholesome blend of faces and harmonies. Rather than compete with the group's sound, acts like the Rolling Stones and the Animals made names for themselves by being the antithesis of the Beatles' image.

The Stones and the Animals came on scruffy and surly and were the Punk Rockers of their day. Another group, the Who, followed the Stones' lead with an anti-establishment image coupled with something more unpredictable stage manners. Many of the reports on the Punk Rock scene deal with the musicians' destroying their instruments on stage. But in a small club in London some 13 years ago, the Who's Peter Townshend rammed his guitar into an amplifier unit, splitting the instrument in two. The group became a media star overnight as a result.

(He did the same thing at the famed Woodstock concert). But in 1968, Punk Rock's real precursor (no pun intended) was Arthur Brown, a Yorkshire, England, native who was so far ahead of his time with his outrageousness that he dropped out of sight at the height of his ooscurity. But he was able to influence a number of performers who were later to make ineir mars on me music scene wun theatricseincluding Alice Cooper. Brown used to appear in phosphorescent robes, his face painted with white and black stripes and while in the midst of a song, flames would shoot "Sometimes the kids would cry and scream and wouldn't walk through the ark with their parents, but we'd walk with them and they'd get quiet," she said of some of her experiences. Lise is a senior at Grove City College and enjoying her fourth summer at Kennywood.

It's an experience, it really is, working with the crew everyday. It's a nice job and a nice break from school." Fran, a graduate this year of St. Thomas High School in Braddock and in his first summer at the park, is one of many parking attendants. He hopes to use his earnings toward his education when he enters Duquesne University this year. "I needed the money for college and that's why I came out here.

If I find something better paying next summer, I might work but this job would be the top of my list because of the fringe benefits. You make a lot of friends out here and I didn't expect that when I came." Fran, as most of the students, makes $2.35 an hour plus a I5c bonus each hour, payable at the end of the summer. He also enjoys his job because of the friendly visitors to the park. "It's real easy to get along out of 100 people are nice and talk to you. They'll stop and start a conversation.

That's nice because sometimes it really gets lonely out here." Barb Balas, an 18-year-old graduate of McKeesport High this year, is in her third summer at Kennywood. She will begin her freshman year at Penn State University later this year. The North Braddock resident is manager of the sweeperettes, a 16-girl crew dressed in denim shorts and red and white pin striped blouses. Standing over six-feet tall, she is an imposing figure while performing her managerial duties and keeping an eve on the crew." But she occasionally picks up a broom and dust pan and joins her crew in keeping the park clean. And in spite of the "how's the weather up there" comments about her height, the pretty blonde enjoys the outdoors and meeting people.

"I wouldn't work in a department store or somewhere you'd have to sit down," she said. "You meet a lot of people and you make a lot of friends out here. I'd keep coming back even if some place did offer me more money. Ann Hughes, Kennywood publicity director, said about 600 of the 800 park employes are high school or college students. "Most of them are working so they can pay for their tuition," she said.

"We've put a lot of kids through college. At the end of the year, we nave a banquet and entertainment for them. It's like graduation." urniiur Mi Kenny wood: A Path Toward College Education for Many begins today! a premier showing and sale -of newest fashions and decorating ideas for your home at storewide savings of 10 to 30 "Who' who" of the furniture world The names you look for and respect me most; Thomas-' ville. Franklin, Bennington Pine, Kling, Selig, Karasfon, Hooker, Stearns Foster, tone, Stratolounger and! many, many morel Our staff of professional decorators it ready with a world of fresh new ideas for your home whether it's an accent piece, furnishing a room or your entire no charge of course! A big beautiful tore juit minute away! less ttian 15 minutes from South Park, less than 20 minutes from Ml. Lebanon, Whitehall or Bethel Park.

North, East, South, West; it's on easy drive to the area's most complete home furnishings tenterl Plenty of Parking! Score of decorated room settings Trulfy a "showcase" of decorating ideas for you home gallery-after-gallery of contemporary, traditional, Early American furnishings, accent pieces and accessories that reflect you lifestyle. 'ft fy-tiX 'Xt-A '-sf I 4 iV It I -'7 By MARVIN GOODWIN Post-Gazette Staff Writer For 21-year-old Lise Steimer of "Vest Mifflin, it's a great way of getting fc know people. For 18-year-old Fran Fabyanic, it represents a path toward a college education. Lise and Fran are student employes at Kennywood Park, working six days a week during the long, hot summer, while a mixture of grown-ups and kids take thrilling rides, picnic and pull out all stops for a fun-filled day. Perhaps working at Kennywood while up to 25.000 visitors daily enjoy themselves is an unbearable thought for most people.

it' "principality collection" 5-Pc. Masterpiece in fine oak solids and veneers August highlight! $999 Reg. $1,466 Gracious styling from the renaissance period with handsome deep moldings and executed in a magnificent hand padded distressed tawny color that distinguishes the Thomasville Trademark for quality and craftsmanship. 78" Triple Dresser, Twin Mirrors, Door Chest, Full or Queen Size Headboard. Reg.

$171 Night Stand $119.90 Post-Gaiette Photo bv JAMES KLINGENSMITH One of the sweeperettes, a I6-memher crew that keeps Kennvmmd takes time out to greet pouiig visitors to the amusement yark. Charge Kovr Purchase on Master Charge, BankAmericard or Revolving Charge Plan. m.M MJaaUa.