 CAESER PINK MAKES TWO AREA APPEARANCES - by Jennifer Danner - May 1995 The State College-based band is staging its event, a mix of choreography, original music, poetry, and wide-screen video imagery, tomorrow at Pandemonium in Shermans Dale and Tuesday at Gullifty's in Lower Allen Twp. The band's video clips are not X-rated, said vocalist Caeser Pink, who prefers to be known by his stage name. "One time we did show something sexual, but it was abstract," he said during a phone interview from State College. Among its dozens of clips, one has footage from a National Geographic program where turtles, lizards, and other reptiles are shown engaging in sex. The band incorporates clips such as one showing classic film stars kissing for a comedic effect. "I don't really go for shock value just for its own value," said Pink. He sees a point to alarming to encourage people to think for themselves. "Sometimes you make them step back and question their own values,"said Pink. The band's footage, much of it compiled by college film students, has never been rated by an outside source. An audience at Stoney's Posthouse in State College recently enjoyed the event. "The whole show is out of the ordinary, but I didn't see anything that would offend," said Stoney's owner Carl Easterling. He added, "As far as Frank Zappa supporting free speech, they're right in there with him." Easterling regularly books musicians ranging from heavy metal to rock and folk. He plans to have Caeser Pink back for a repeat engagement. The band's other upcoming local appearances are Thursday at Cafe 210 in State College, and Feb 4. at the HUB Ballroom on the campus of Penn State University. "Things up here are really starting to take off," said Pink. Its audience sometimes does the same. At a recent show at a bar in Happy Valley, Pink said some members of the audience were undressing, while others engaged in heavy petting on the dance floor. "I got the feeling there are a lot of people out there waiting for the chance to be less inhibited," said Pink. The exhibitionism sometimes occurs when a member of the band wields a camera on the audience. Caeser Pink's band members range in age from 22 to 32, and six were film students at Penn State. All are graduates of the university, according to Pink, who was a former drummer for the punk rock band Friction. Friction had a cut from its release "Primitive Touch" aired on Radio Moscow and made its TV debut on "The Joe Franklin Show"in 1987. Pink's male bassist Ron Aurand occasionally sports a short skirt, and other costumes in the show support its original music which combines elements of funk, alternative, hip hop, reggae and beat poetry. While songs run the gamut from pop to ballads, Pink said audiences become riveted by those tunes with sensual undertones. "It takes control,"said Pink. The band, formed a year ago, will be touring the East Coast until August, when it plans to migrate to Manhattan. |