By GORDON GOBLE
Vancouver lay
drowning amidst a
seventy-two hour
deluge. The evening
was cold and wet as I
made Wy way ‘ ne
scheduled ap-
pointment. Once
having reached. my
destination, I listened
carefully for a sign of
life, Somehow audible
through the whistling
wind and pounding rain
was a familiar sound. I
opened the unlatched
door and proceeded up
the stairs before me.

Doug. Tomkin, 23, looked

quite .relaxed. behind his .

Pearl ‘drum kit., As he

nonchalantly leaned against.

.

the wall behind him, [had a

wef

chance to gather in the full
scene around me. Brad
Hamblet, 18, sat humbly in a
far corner, adding raunchy
‘lead guitar fills where
needed, while Brett
Lawrence, 19, was perched
‘on his bass guitar case,
nonchalantly fingering his
nstrumeént,

“Starry Eyes”, a new ent
_on the city’s Top Twenty pop
charts, is being introduced
into the band’s repertoire,
and it’s Joe Staples’ turn to
learn.

*The introductory chording
prdcedure does not sound
correct, and it is the twenty-
five year old's job as the
rhythm guitarist (and lead
vocalist) to perfect them.

I'm sitting in on one more
rehearsal of ‘The Act’ and,
oblivious ta the inclement
weather, they are one of
multitudinous rock and roll

‘N

bands trying to. crack the
barrier between stardom and
oblivion.

‘The Act’ had a modest
introduction to the world of *
rock and roll five years ago.
At that time they were under
a different handle, ‘Midnight

Oe AD , Q
most of the band’s career
until just two months ago,
when their former manager
suggested the name change.

In the beginning Midnight
City scraped by, playing
occasional dates for slight
financial reward. They had
no sound co-ordinator at
that time, as the band barely
had the moncy to cover costs
of their minimal equipment.
And of course, all tran-
sportation, stage assembly
and dismantling were
handled solely by band
members.

So it continued for several
years. A 45 rpm single was

aes Bi
oe

OS

recorded by the band but has
never been heavily
publicized. The Act has not

yet leaned towards a career’ —

in vinyl. Says braintrust
Staples, “We're working too.
hard at perfecting cover
versions of what we consider
to be “in” material.”

Everything pieces
together. The Act are not
innovators... yet. The Top

Twenty of the AM radio. |

charts combine with a large
selection of carly Beatles
tunes, Grafitti, and just a
sprinkling of “chance”
songs, which are usually
personal favourites.

Tho band's nametag itself
has been converted to blend
in with the popular “New
Wave” movement. (New
Wave is a sort of simplistic
rock and roll revival that

CONTINUED ON PAGEC2. “"

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