The Scarlet it lilac-Livy. ttt, mil—page it

 

‘All I can give you is the truth’

Hunter Thompson explores the American Dream

by Joli Elbauni and
Chris Parslow

“Imagine waking up every
morning tor five years and seeing
yoursell in a comic strip . . . it
makes it hard to lead a normal
life."

A vocal throng at almost 2000
people was well primed tor what
was to come. After a halfrhour
delay, repeated introductions and
lwtl standing ovations iiaoul Duke

momma; ‘

climbed onto the stage brandishing
a fifth of Wild Turkey and mut-
tering something about a hotel bar.

HUNTER s. Thompson, gonzo
journalist, author of three books
and head of the National Affairs
desk at Rolling Stone, conducted a
twoandahalt hour question and
answer session in the lMU
ballroom in Iowa City last Wed-
nesday.

Thompson discussed his per»
ceptions or politics, the economy
and life today in general. ”I think
we're all doomed. Anyway, I think
you're all doomed i might sur-
vive."

GONZO [S DEAD! Citing the
recent Farber case in the Supreme
Court which would lorce reporters

to reveal their sources Thompson
stated, “What would happen to me
it 1 had to disclose my notes? 1
always work with criminals,
whether they’re presidential
candidates or Hell's Angels

“Nixon has lert us one pus-tilled
legacy which is called the Supreme
Court. Nixon had six years. he'll
fuck us up tor 60.“

DR. THOMPSON conceded that
Nixon was the main inspiration for
his ulllque style of journalism. He

said one of the high points or his life
was standing on the White House
lawn Watching “Richard Nixon
being led out in a thorazlne stupor
and put on the plane.” Thompson
was standing at the end of the red
carpet futilely trying to get Nixon's
attention. “I stayed up all night to
make sure the bastard left town.”

But Thompson admitted that
political reporting was less
rewarding without having Nixon to
kick around. “I miss Nixon. I
ﬁgure as long as Richard Nixon is
alive and running for office, then
my work is not done."

TlIE DOCTOR SPIT some of his
venom at the state of the American
economy. “America is like prewar
Germany in the thirties. I have no

hopeatall for theU 5 economy. , ,
we'll all be workingror the Japs

I think we've blown Whatever
really tine possibility we had as a
country," His advice' “Buy Swiss
francs, coins with no dates and
votes.”

Thompson discussed his 1569 bid
for sheriff in his hometown of
Aspen, Colorado. As a member of
the “Aspen Freak Power
Uprisnlg,” llis platform advocated
tearing up the town's streets and
replacing them with sod and
running real estate developers out
of the area. “I had to tell (the
votersl we would be eating
mcscaline in the sheriff's office on
slow nights," He was narrowly
defeated. The sheriff, who
currently lives around the corner
from him, is still wary of Thompr
son's presence.

STARTING AS a sports writer in
Florida, where he reportedly wrote
different Versions of the same
event for competing newspapers.
the Doctor has recently been
covering the career of Muhammed
All for Rolling Stone. in Zaire, he
scalped his tickets
at the stadium and spent
the day sunning on a chaise lounge
in the middle of the hotel swim-
ming pool into which he had floated
two pounds or African weed.

At the recent bout in the
Superdome. which he was sup-
posed to cover with George
Plimpton. Thompson wandered
through the streeB of New Orleans
with a head full of acid. Arriving at
the stadium too late to meet
Plimpton, he ended up in the
distant upper rnws where the light
“looked like two b-b's on the end of
my thumbnail.”

WHEN ASKED lIiS opinion on
the recent conviction of Keith
Richards of the Stones, Thompson
said, “If you come into Toronto and
take up so roomsithree iloors at a
hoteliwith a big cloud of smack
coming down the hallway, and you
run off with the prime minister's
witeiyou have to have
magnesium balls to do that. . ,and
to get a oneryear suspended sens
tence? l have to salute that,

“I've done massive amounts of
drugs [or 20 years, and I must say I
think it's been beneficial. . we all
have our paths in life." The author
of Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas
said he still telt uneasy in the
gambling capitol. By the way, the
hitchhiker incident was the only
part of the saga he made up. when
asked the whereabous of Doctor
Gonzo, the Samoan lawyer,
Thompson replied he was sure he

Fresh Fish Special is a good catch

by Pico Brown

Fresh Fish Special: Robert
Gordon with Link Wray. Produced
by Richard Gotterhrer and Link
Wray for Private Stock Records.
Ltd.

Although Fresh Fish Special is
not strictly a new release tit has
been on the market since July). it
deserves recognition as an
unyielding and gutsy reminder or
the music which is the root of must
oi the poprock noise of today.

it is too easy to say that the
music here is "‘so’s” music. True,
most at the songs are blues-
oriented and the lyrics are akin to
the Elvis-Jerry Lee Lewis-Buddy
Holly genre but this is simply a
base from which Gordon and Wray
Expand It is serious rock and roll.
but not without some fun. There is
considerable musicianship, but
that is not the main point,

Robert Gordon is amazing. His
local range,

power‘ and his.
unintentional resemblance to some,

bygone white R&E singers leave
him perfect for the brand of music
he sings. Listen to his version of
“Fire." one of Bruce Springsteen’s
most approachable songs. and you
wonder if even Springsteen could
reflect the sweet intensity of his
lyrics as well as Robert Gordon
does. And on “Twenty Flight
Rock” (an old Elvis hit) he
chortles and stammers with the
greatest oi rhythmic ease. His
voice is thrust torward by a
churning rhythm section and Link
Wray's blitzkrieg guitar work.

AS A MATTER of fact, Wray's
guitar could probably be the most
marketable hook on the album, if
the listening public would
recognize sincere talent rather
than amphetamine and stacks of
Marshall amps, llis reeling for
blues rock and roll is unparalleled
and he screams With an urgency
rarely felt these days a .

virtuosity is hidden behind his
belief in the music he playsilisten
to his cutting solo on “The Way I
Walk" and you‘ll get the idea. Both
of these dudes are no youngsteis;
they know all too well what their
music is about.

FRESH FISII SPECIAL is
slightly weaker than Gordon and
Wray's previous album, which
includes such delicious rock and
roll delights as “My Gal is Red
Hot” and “Flying Saucers Rock
and Roll.” but it Still retains the
sound ot original rock and roll~
clean. driving and earnest. The
production is utterly remarkable»
it emphasizes each part oi the
basic instrumentation and makes
its simplicity sound more lavish
than it is.

Swhottom line—check this one
out. It Will be a while before I go so
crackers over a rock and roll

, release again, for whatever that's

,An immaculatestudiu virtuoso .

he is not, yet his considerable.

was dead.

THOMPSON, WHO IS otten
credl|ed with chronicling the end of
the sixties and the beginning of the
seventies, stated he thought the
sixties were an illusion. but
“illusions are important
sometimes.” And since 1968 “I
miss the feeling of bexng right."

Dr Thompson, an and video
cassette freak, said television is
”entertaining. . it‘s important to
get into 'rv . . I look to the day
when one wall oI our bedroom will
be a giant TV screen . . . and we

HST on .

e D

. All.
do the last Splnks light Ali was 1

piece ill meat,"

“disco is like herpes."

addict") whom Thompson hopes
will star with Dan Ackroyd in an
upcoming movtc version of Fear
and Loathing ill Las Vegas.

TIIE LECTURE WAS the
culmination of a three-year effort
by the University of Iowa Lecture
Committee. Thompson says he
hates writing and work in general
but he lectures twice a month for
“cocaine money."

His original contract called for
$3500 plus expenses. two six packs
of Harp ate, a turkey club sand-
wich, a salad and beer. He even

crazy enough to lose the title towin it hack a fourth time."

ikei "a butcher working on a

.. uros: “I'd like to he approached by iiitelligeni lite from outer

space

. Idnll'l lncel much lnlelllgelll life here."

7 IIIIH: “Humphrey dldn't know the truth from a dead rat,”
,, Vietnam War' “The best marijuana crimes from Laos
should never have lost that place."

>- Drugs.
—- The ‘80
lelethr The Lord" . . . what Lt
. The Economy “Run "

You are what you eat.’

won‘t have arms and legs."

WHILE PUFFING A joint, the
doctor discussed his current plans
which include either a book on gun
running or a screenplay about dope
smuggling. “What I do next is a
matter of |he next ten minutes. . . I
look two weeks ahead,"

Recently he has entertained
John Belushi (“a serious drug

Clark and
still have

(continued from page 1)

express high hopes tor the dorm,
and so far are reasonably pleased.
“The worksmanship is nice,” says
Dave Blatt, “I don’t have any
complaints about it," However, he
adds, “There is a lot of noise and
the walls don‘t seem to stop any of
it.”

Monica Shilling expressed
dissatisfaction with bathroom floor
plans. Each bathroom has dit-
terent iixtures, she explains. Some
bathrooms have a bath while
others don't, and there is an
unequal number at sinks. These
inequalities have caused problems
in deciding which bathrooms
should be male and which should
be female.

DEAN OF STUDENTS Jim
Tederman explains that to meet
mechanical and plumbing
requirements the bathrooms were
positioned one on top or the other.
This created architectural
problems which made equipment
inequalities inevitable. he claims,

Many or the James residents are
displeased that, unlike Clark,

 

‘I see destruction and chaos.”

ild‘?"

tually agreed to come tor $2500 and
no expenses. Thompson has been
known to make prodigious use at
an expense account.

When asked why he was there
Thompson retorted, “Why are you
here? . . . I'm getting paid . , .
anybody who gets stooo an huur Io
jabber like this has got to have
survived something."

James

W068

James does not have any room
sinks Sheryl Eberle or James pit
complains about the raulty
showers and cockroaches she has
encountered since the dorm
renovation.

DIRECTOR OF HOUSING Susie
Wiltpenn and Tederman point out
that costs and room tloor plans
prevented the installation of room
sinks and closet doors in James.
other problems mentioned by
students, such as laulty showers
and insects, can be taken care of by
Boa, Wittpenn reels,

Wittpenn explains that there are
some other differences between
the building materials in Clark and
James. The walls in Clark are
plasterboard, which is why they
dent easily. The walls in James
consist oi the original plaster
recovered and painted, Wittpenn
feels the Walls in James should
prove stronger and more durable.

Wittpenn and Tederman are
planning a meeting with the
residents of James in which they
hope to work out any problems that
arise.

Peter Young

Guitarist and
Vocalist Will
Entertain

Fri. and Sam—Nov. l0 8. It
At The longhorn 9 p.ni,.t mm.

Fine Food—cocktail

s—rriendiy Service '

 

