SCENE & HEARD

Skirting the issue

You'd think since Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose did it, it would be passe by now. But kilts have become film's big fashion statement for men.

Liam Neeson wears one in the movie "Rob Roy," which begins playing Friday in the Milwaukee area. And Mel Gibson dons one for the upcoming swashbuckler "Braveheart."

"I didn't think I had the knees for the outfit, but my wife said I don't look horrible," Gibson says.

Cindy Pearlman

Mavericks, Tractors at fest

The Pabst Showcase, once the domain of oldies at Summerfest, appears to be expanding its commitment to country music.

The trade magazine Pollstar reports that two highly touted young country acts, the Mavericks and the Tractors, will appear at the stage this summer. The Mavericks are slated for July 2 and the Tractors are scheduled for July 7.

The Tractors' self-titled debut album still has a lot of pull. Thirty weeks after its release, it's still in the country Top 10. The Mavericks aren't doing badly themselves. Their second album, "What a Crying Shame" is at No. 15, more than a year after its release.

Selena on soundtrack

Recording artist Selena, who was murdered Friday, allegedly by a fan who was also her employee, performs on the soundtrack of "Don Juan DeMarco."

Two of her solo songs are included in the film and she performs a third with David Byrne, a founding member of the Talking Heads.

Selena, a 23-year-old singer called the Madonna of Mexico, was a Grammy Award winner in the Tejano genre of music, which is comparable to Tex-Mex. Already revered in Latin American countries, her film work would have exposed her to a larger, mainstream audience.

"Don Juan DeMarco," starring Marlon Brando and Johnny Depp, opens nationwide Friday.

Duane Dudek

Songs of the Earth

In honor of the 25th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, New Age musicians are releasing a CD of earthy music.

Chip Davis, Ottmar Liebert, Lorie Line, Craig Chaquico, Liz Story and others have contributed eco-inspired instrumental tracks to "25 for the Earth," a two-CD/cassette collection being released by the NorthSound record label in Minocqua.

The label, which has been combining music with nature and wildlife sounds since its 1990 debut with "Classical Loon," will donate 25% of profits to the non-profit preservationist Nature Conservancy.

Tina Maples

Cue tip of the day

The latest musicians to jump on the World Wide Web bandwagon are Van Halen and Guns N' Roses lead guitarist Slash, both promoting new albums and concert tours.

The Van Halen site at http://vanhalen.warnerrcrds.com/Balance is in support of the band's "Balance" CD. If you check it out, be prepared to spend a lot of time waiting, since the site contains several humongous graphics that take a while to load.

On the site: photos, comments from the band, video clips (if you have the right viewer), sound bytes and even information on Van Halen's pet charity, U.S.A. Harvest.

Slash, meanwhile, treats fans to photos of his 300-plus snakes. His SnakeCam, as the folks at Geffen Records call it, can be accessed from Geffen's home page, http://geffen.com, which also has excerpts from "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," the album by Slash's Snakepit, his "side project" band.

Los Angeles Daily News

Kathie Lee as role model?

And the award for best female celebrity role model goes to gulp! Kathie Lee Gifford?

That's what EDK Forecast, an executive newsletter that tracks women consumers' attitudes, values and lifestyles, came up with in a new poll of 500 women.

And if you find that the terminally perky Gifford is not your style, then consider the attributes of other role models in the poll. The somewhat more cerebral Jodie Foster came in second with 23%, Martha Stewart 10%, Julia Roberts 8% and Princess Di 4%.

Three percent of those polled said the person they most wanted to be like was Roseanne.

Jackie Loohauis

To give Cue editor Diane Bacha your opinions about this section, please call the Journal Sentinel PressLine at 223-2020, and press 2140. Or, write: Cue, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, P.O. Box 371, Milwaukee, WI. 53201-0371.

Copyright 1995
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