1973-11-05; Central Michigan Life

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(Editor's note; Earlier this fait, LIFE Staff Writer
Paftie filine "inasied on down" to Nashville, Tewii. in
search 0/ performers, managers, and people behind
the scenes in the country music business for a story on
the biisiness, This is tH fourth part of her story which
wit} *»«?. continued in one additional installment,)
'    by PATTIE KLEIN
LIFE Staff Writer
Few people will venture to estimate the number
of prospective writers and performers in, Nashville at
any given time, but there must be. thousands, They
come, lured by the "great American dream" rags to
riches stories of stars like Porter Wagoner >who was
discovered singing in a meat market. Roger Miller,
who now owns the King of the Road Motor Inn was
once an elevator operator-bellhop in a Nashville hotel,
Jeannie C, Riley was a' Music Row' secretary before
being "discovered." The list gdes on and. on.
They come tQ NashVille by bus, by thumb, in
clunky old cars, live in cheap boarding houses, work
and starve and try to get a foot in the door. .Some
make'it and some don't. Most don't. As Al Pachucki,
RCA engineer for Elvis Presley says, while you may
be considered a good writer or artist in Mt, Pleasant,
Mi. or Fishawk, La., to make it in Nashville, you've got
to be more than good: you've1 got to be great. I mean,
the competition is coming out of the woodwork.
Late one afternoon, when I w.as sitting across
from the RCA building waiting tor Chet Atkins to
come out to his car (see part 1), a blond, moustached
man, probably in his late twenties, flannel shirt tied
around his waist, clutching a beaten old guitar, fresh
off the train from California, plunked down beside me.
"I've been trying to get somebody to listen to me
for three hours, maybe you'll listen," he said. "I'm no
expert," I replied, "but sure!" There on Seventeenth
Avenue South, he goes through his whole repertoire
of songs, picking and singing, oblivious to the passing
cars, hopefully searching my face for signs of approval. Now that's desperation!
Several people offered advice on breaking into
the country field. "The first thing is to go to a
reputable publisher," says Stapp, whose Tree International rights include the Roger Williams songs of
a few years back, "Bring songs, put them on tape even
if it's only with a guitar accompaniment, a band's not
necessary. We listen to the tapes to see if they have
any talent at all. If it looks good, shows any
possibility, we say 'write some more.' You can't just
come in and say, 'I wanna write,' you have to write
first," f v-
• • "We accept and listen to ail mail, and we look for
both melody and lyrics and not just 'the moon is blue'
type lyrics. If we find a guy good with melody, we try
to team him up with a good lyricist, and vice-versa.
Nothing can hold down a good song. The writer has
nothing to do with it at all. He could be four foot tall
and green, If it's a good song, it's a great song from a
Commercial standpoint," he1 says.
I look for surprising lyrics, an appealing melody,
for a song where I say, 'I wish I'd thought o^f that,'
says Atkins', "And I'm-pretty square,'So something
that appeals to me usually appeals to the public."
. "It's almost impossible to get a recording .contract unless you are a writer," says Billboard's Bill
Williams. "There's a shortage in the business of
writers. Singers are a dime a dozen."
, "The thing that most writers and artists trying to
break into, the business don't realize is that it is a
-business, it takes an organization and hard work. It
doesn't happen like a fairy tale," says Rose. "If you
are a writer, find a good publishing company, one that
believes in hard work, not luck."
"Study the field. If you're a writer, talk to other
writers. If an artist to other artists. Pick a successful
company, one that's handled by people who know the
business and will devote time and effort to exploit the
song, getting it on the turn-tables. Promotion is
important. "DJ's don't have to play every record,
every release, so the public, who's deciding about a
record doesn't get a chance to makethe decision," he
says.
(See 'You've got . . . ' page 6)
entral
Volume 55 Number 30
ichiiraii
Central Michigan University
Monday, November 5, 1973
Charter, millage, sewers
Voters determine city issues
by NANCY CLAY
LIFE Managing Editor
Mt. Pleasant voters will decide
Tuesday the outcome of three local
issues appearing on the municipal
election ballot. (See related story on
City and Charter Commission
candidates on page 10).
These questions are: should the
Mt. Pleasant City Charter be revised;
should Mt. Pleasant be allowed to
sell $3 million worth of general
obligation bonds to finance the
construction of storm sewers; and
should 7.5 mills for operation purposes of the Mt. Pleasant School
District be renewed? r
If the question concerning the
revision of the 50-year-old city
charter were passed, it would result
in the election of nine persons to
serve on a commission to review and
re-write the city charter,
A revision of the charter could
mean a different form of
representation than Mt. Pleasant
presently has (Mt. Pleasant now
elects the five city commissioners "at
large"), or it could mean a different
form of government (rather than the
commission-manager plan presently
employed by the city).-
Some city officials have expressed concern that the present
charter conflicts with some state
laws and should be updated accordingly.
Charter Commissioners agree
The 22 candidates for the nine-
member Charter Commission echo
claims of the document's age and its
being out of date. ,
If the question is passed, according to City Manager Bill
Barrons, the revised document will
be taken to' the voters for final
approval before it becomes effective.
The Charter Commission has
the right to bring the revised1 charter
back to the voters a total of three
times for approval.
Write-in votes
include name,
position desired
To vote for a write-in candidate
for any position in the Tuesday
municipal election, a voter must
*.' write the candidate's name and the
position desired by the candidate on
, the envelope provided with. the
ballot, according to City Clerk
Charles Deible.
There are two positions
available for City Commission
candidates. If a person votes for two
candidates whose names appear on
the ballot and then decides to write-
in a candidate's name, the entire City
Commission vote on that ballot will
be invalidated because he has "over
voted," Deibel said.
Write-in candidates' names, A
whether or not they are "announced"
candidates, will riot appear on the
ballot. v
S-Senate
meets tonight
The submitting of two names to
the Academic Senate liaison committee, a report on' finding, space for
a Student Senate* office plus the
decision of allocating, money for
Community Legal Aid will be among
topics discussed at the Student
Senate meeting Monday at 8:10 p.m,
in room 3D of the University Center.
"The Charter Commission, if
formed, has the authority to start
fresh. It could be more than re- v
writing the old charter; they may
prepare a completely new charter,"
said Barrons.
Storm sewer financing
The second question, concerning
the sale of general obligation bonds
to finance storm sewers in Mt.
Pleasant, is aimed at improving the
flooding conditions that occur after"'
heavy rainfalls.
If the proposal is passed, a
maximum of $3 million would be
spent to construct new storm sewers
and clean and repair old ones.
Passage of the proposal could mean a
three-mill increase' in property taxes
or $3 for each $1000 assessed value
for residents, according to Barrons.
The city would pay interest for
the bonds frpm. city street .taxes or
special assessment funds* Bjrrpni*
said.
The present storm sewers have
created some problems, said City
Engineer Robert Whitehead,
because they are relatively old and
small and unable to handle an excessive amount of water.
"Virtually every person will
benefit from the new storm sewers,"
said Whitehead. "The new system
will relieve some of the burden on
the existing system, thus greatly
reducing the chances of flooding
throughout the city."
Schools want 7.5 mills
Whether Mt. Pleasant schools
7^5 operating mills should be
renewed is the third question on the
ballot. '
The millage would De in effect
for two years if passed according to
Carlo Barberi, superintendent of
schools, and would allow the system
to "maintain their present
programming."
Barberi sees chances for the
renewal passage as good. He points
out, "There are no increases in taxes
involved with the millage renewal. It
is a renewal and., nothing more.'' ,|   ff
Th? ffiilliigpjs eqjfivftlent toppe-k •
quarter of the local financial support
for the schools.
If the millage renewal is not
passed at this time, it might be
necessary to hold a special election
with the school system bearing the
full cost of the election process.
CM LIFE PHOTO BY GARY FIGI
YOUTH DAY—Safety patrol youngsters and high school students participate in Youth Day at Finch Field
House. Representatives of CMU departments were there, talking to students about Central.
Voting habits analyzed
Are students apathetic to local concerns ?
by TERRIBURKHARDT
LIFE Investigative Editor
Whe'n the Age of Majority Bill
passed in 1971, lowering the legal
voting age to 18, there was a considerable uproar concerning the-
effects of the student vote.
Questions were raised on
whether the students would know
the issues, debates centered on
whether the student should have the
option of voting in his home town or
college town. Candidates were
warned about the powerful student
vote" and some tailored their campaigns accordingly.
After the presidential elections,
however, it was discovered .that
although students did vote, there
was not a powerful voting block after
all. To the surprise of some of the
more established members of
society, students voted the same
way everyone else did, with a
mixture of party affiliations.
William Browne, assistant
professor of political science said,
"Studies on natural elections show,
that the new student voter or the
new younger voters were mixed in
their direction of the votes.
Although there have not been many
studies done on local elections, I
think the.same thing would be true.
' There would be a mixture of votes
cast by students on local concerns."
Students don't vote blindly
■v What about the local concerns?
Superintendent of Public Schools,
Carlo Barberi has already expressed
appreciation to the student voters
and has said he has found, students
don't vote blindly as some had
thought they would. They seem, to be
aware of the issues confronting them
on the ballot.
With' the numerous candidates
oa Tuesday's ballot, few are seeking
the student vote, although all expressed an awareness of the student
concerns, v
i
Many    students    who    are
registered in Mt. Pleasant have
indicated that they don't plan on
voting in this election. Is this yet
another example of the so-called
student apathy? Apparently not, for
the drift of student reasoning seems
to be that since nothing directly is
affecting them on the ballot and
since most of the issues are long-
range and city related, it is better for
the townspeople to decide their own
future,
It is this type of ballot which
concerned many people when it was
decided to let students vote in their
college |.owns. , Because of the
transient nature of college students,
it was thought students" would vote
with little regard to the long-term
effects a particular issue might have
on a city. It was argued that since
students did not pay taxes for
schools and other concerns they
should not have a say in how the
taxpayer's' money should be spent.
Students argued that since they
were in town most of the year, and
sometimes issues directly effecting
the students appear on the ballot,
they should have a say in the matter.
The lack of student voters in
strictly local issues sometimes is
pointed to as if to say, "See, I told
you, give the students the right to
vote and they don't even exercise it."
Students vote on major issues
.Student Body President Rick
Marshall, Warren senior, said,
"Students tend to vote more on
major issues. When the offices filter
down to a local level, especially a
local level with no big offices involved, students rarely vote.
Students are no more active than
Nominees answer questions
■■■*■  • ..        .•        v
A-Senate to elect chairman
by LORETTA PIZZO
LIFE Staff Writer ■     i
Elections  for   next   year's  Academic.  Senate ,
chairman take place today along with voting f6r>a new
secretary  and   twd  hew   representatives   to"  the
Executive Board. >,
Two candidates will run for chairman, two for
secretary and four for positions on the Executive
Board, in the annual Academic Senate elections.
* Selected by the Nominating Committee ■ as
candidates - for the . chairmanship were Suzanne
Nichols, assistant professor of journalism; and'
Thomas J. Miles, assistant professor of mathematics.
Running for' secretary are Emmett Mason,
■ associate professor of industrial education and
technology; and Daniel B; Weber, associate professor
of English. Candidates for the two Executive Board ,
posts are Edwin Cohen, assistant professor of speech
and dramatic artsj Douglas Friedrich, associate
professor of psychology; Richard Marshall, Student
Government president; and John Warriner, associate
professor of chemistry.
CM LIFE briefly questioned Nichols and* Miles
separately about their candidacy.  Their  answers
follow-,
<}'. Did you in any way actively seek nomination?
Nichols: "Not at all, I was somewhat surprised
as a matter of fact, when I learned I was being considered."'
Miles! "No, I did not seek nomination."
Q. Wheat msd haw did yon decide to accept the
nomination?
Nichols: "I accepted a few hours after 1 had
been notified I was nominated. I returned John Schmidt's (chairman of nominating committeeKphone call
and said I would run."
Miles: "Well, I accepted when I was offered the
nomination. I had known the nominating committee
was at work and was told in advance I was being
.considered so I had already thought about it and was
prepared to accept."
■i
Q. If you are elected chairman, what plans, if any,
do you have for the senate?
Nichols: "I would continue the current emphasis on improving Senate's effectiveness through
better communications and a more efficient operating
structure. I think this is vital.
To do a good, job, Senate must have input from all
areas of the academic community so it can evaluate
the consequences of its actions. Correspondingly, I
think the Senate has a responsibility not to make
policy but to assist those affected to understand and
implement the policy by disseminating adequate
information."
Miles: "I would hope I could carry out ,the past
chairman's good work. I have nothing especially new
in mind."
Q. What do you see as Academic Senate's future?
Nichols:    "More and more, Senate is addressing
itself   to   fundamental'   academic    considerations.
Because of enrollment and budgetary constraints, it-is
taking a closer look'at the consequences of its actions
(See 'A-Senate ...' page 3)
any other voting public and there is
no reason why they should be. Their
concerns are at a student level and
they 'are not always aware of the
local issues."
One CMU coed said students are
aware of their issues if they want to
be. "The information is available, it
is up to the voter to find out about
the issues if they really want to. The
media covers the elections and
people are more than willing to
•furnish additional information."
Studies have shown voter
participation in local "small" issues
traditionally is less than in major
campaign battles ,and national
elections. Just because the students
do not vote at these elections does
not, mean they are unusual or
apathetic.
Whether students, vote in
Tuesday's election in force, which
may be likely because there is a-
student candidate for One of the
offices, or whether the students'
vote will play an active role With the
issues, remains to be seen.
A-Senate
meets today
Election of officers for the
coming academic year will take place
during the Academic Senate meeting
at 3:10 p.m. in Pearce 137.
Academic Senate chairman,
secretary and two executive board
», representatives are to be elected,
according to present Academic
Senate, chairman Caiman -Levich,
associate professor of physics.
Also on the agenda for today is
the President's report, -further
committee of the whole discussion of
the Teacher Preparation document,
election of'a student member to the
Liaison Committee, the School of
v Education request for a department ■
review schedule and action on the
Graduate Committee minutes of Oct,
3.
Meetings are open to the public.
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