Letters

Let's talk about rock 'n' roll
I am in total agreement with Robert Cox's letter in the November 25 issue regarding how "out of touch" the Dallas Observer is with the local music scene.

Robert Wilonsky should take a little trip up to the north part of Dallas and visit rock 'n' roll-heavy metal clubs such as The Rage or the Basement or Dallas City Limits and see what other people besides Trees and Club Dada goers are listening to.

There are some local praiseworthy musicians in this area of music with kick-ass tunes and stage presence: StepChild (a finalist in the Observer Music Awards this year), The Andy Timmons Band, Naked Truth, Digg Dawg, Outcast...their fans know what I'm talking about (and there are plenty of us).

Come on, Street Beat, be different! Let's talk about rock 'n'roll!
Sandy Stephens
Dallas

Editor's note: Robert Wilonsky's October 13 Street Beat column profiled guitar hero Andy Timmons.

I am writing in response to Robert Wilonsky's review of the Caffiends ["Dis and demos," December 8]. I feel that his opinion shows no imagination and that it was just plain rude. I think that the Caffiends are a great band. They definitely have the potential to become the next "Butthole Surfers," or something to that effect. They put on a great show and are exceptional musicians. It is about time somebody put a little twist into the Dallas music scene. Maybe if Mr. Wilonsky crawled out from under his "Toadie" rock and took notice of some real bands in Dallas, his opinion would be a little more respected.

Laurie Coleman
Dallas

While I appreciate Robert Wilonsky's hilarious and biting sarcasm more often than not, I must object to his remarks regarding Jimmy Page and Robert Plant using colostomy bags ["They write the songs," October 13]. Their televised reunion for fans like myself is a long-awaited event which will no doubt be remembered and enjoyed long after cynical reviews are recycled into paper cups and gum wrappers. I would invite Mr. Wilonsky to attempt some serious songwriting (he is, in my opinion, a gifted writer) and see if the public reacts in a wildly supportive manner for, say, 25 years.

Bucks Burnett
Dallas

Typical crappy reaction
Sounds to me like The New Bohemians got a typical crappy reaction from a typical Deep Ellum audience ["Beating time," December 1]. Unlike other parts of the city. I see this response over and over down there to all kinds of bands who deserve better support from a crowd who's too cool to show appreciation. It's as if somebody hit them in the head with a pipe and they forgot why they were there; or maybe somebody should.

Lincoln Apeland
Dallas

Worker training in Dallas
Molly Ivins raised an important issue--worker training ["Left to right," December 8]. She left out the very successful programs already in place here in Dallas--the two-year community colleges. While Molly states that the industries should run the programs themselves, they have been actively involved with advanced technical training with donations of money, computers, advisors, and even instructors.

Richland College in North Dallas offers associate degree programs in robotics and manufacturing technology. Richland has an actual "factory of the future," complete with robots, computers, and automated control. Mountain View College in southern Dallas also offers degree programs in electronics and automated manufacturing. Many Dallas companies, both large and small, depend on the highly educated technicians graduating from the Dallas community colleges.

While much of the public has put all its faith in big-name, four-year universities, experts in the Labor and Commerce departments say that more than 85 percent of the careers of the future will be for specialized technical graduates of two-year community colleges.

As Fortune magazine states, community colleges are putting America ahead of the rest of the world.

Glen Spielbauer
Dallas