Salon.com > Lisa Crovo

Dead soul games

Thu, 03 Oct 1996 11:59:00 +0000

in Colma, the dead are turning over in their graves. The living in this municipality just south of San Francisco -- famous for having more dead bodies than live residents -- are fighting over a measure to allow legalized gambling in the midst of the eternally at rest.

Rene Medina, who operates gambling bus tours out of San Francisco, wants to open a 60-table Lucky Chances card club on the corner of Hillside and Serramonte boulevards, directly across the street from the Serbian Cemetery. Plans also include an entertainment stage, 24-hour restaurant, coffee shop and lounge.

This doesn't sit well with cemetery owners, particularly John Kruljac, part owner of the Serbian Cemetery -- who describes Medina and his lawyer, Michael Franchetti, as "the best-paid, greased-down, sleazy liars" who "bamboozled" the "not-so-bright voters of Colma" into signing the town's own death warrant.

Kruljac is referring to the defeat last May of Measure B, which would have banned legalized gambling in this land of the dead. If all goes according to plan, the card club, one of the largest in northern California, could be up and running by next spring.

The Concert for the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame

Mon, 02 Sep 1996 19:00:00 +0000

N o one has figured out why they chose Cleveland, but nonetheless, that's where the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Museum opened its doors last September, with a seven-hour concert that revealed just how integrated American music has become in the second half of this century. With performances ranging from The Killer himself, Jerry Lee Lewis, to Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, Chairman of the Bored Iggy Pop and pseudo grunge-rockers Soul Asylum, the concert was a reminder that if R&B did indeed have a baby named Rock 'n' Roll, then we mustn't forget his granddaddy was the Blues, his step-sister Soul, his bad-ass brother Funk, his outlaw cousin Country/Western and his rebel son Punk. And the whole family made it to this reunion.

On the rich, eclectic and thoroughly enjoyable double CD package that Columbia Records has put together to commemorate the event, some of the sweetest moments belong to rock's extended family. You can almost see The Rev. Al Green dropping to his knees during his inspired rendition of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," and his version of "Tired of Being Alone" is wrenchingly sublime. Soul also has its say with Sam Moore's jazzed-up version of "Hold On, I'm Coming," Aretha rocking out on "I Can't Turn You Loose" and The Godfather, James Brown, giving his blessing with "This is a Man's World."

Tipper Gore turns down the volume

Wed, 21 Aug 1996 12:15:00 +0000

Tipper Gore, the onetime "Second Lady of Vice," appeared Tuesday night at San Francisco's Herbst Theater before a rapt audience of over 400. But if any of those in attendance expected any Judas Priest albums to be burned onstage, they were in for a disappointment.

Fresh from a Southern California taping for the Jay Leno Show, Gore, an accomplished photographer, was in town to promote her book, "Picture This: A Visual Diary," a collection spanning nearly 20 years. Interviewed onstage by Scott Shafer, onetime press secretary to former S.F. mayor Art Agnos, Gore took a few questions from the audience and showed slides from her book.

Smartly dressed in a gray pinstriped ensemble, Gore, who just turned 46 (she shared candles on Monday with President Bill) plays the part of political wife to perfection. She has ironed out every trace of a southern drawl, but without sacrificing any of that down-home country goodness. And she's slick enough to handle provocative questions: When asked if Al Gore has designs on the presidency in 2000, she craftily evaded any revelations by telling Shafer that she "can't think beyond November."