ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512150049
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON
CAPETOWN BOUND: SOUTH AFRICA IS NEXT STOP
It sounded like a dream gig - too good to be true, really, for a band like
Radar Rose, which is accustomed to long weekends crammed into a van hustling
for low-paying club jobs.
Five weeks in Capetown, South Africa, with basically all expenses paid. Air
fare, a house to live in when they get there, a car to drive, $500 a week for
food, and a cook who comes in every morning to fix breakfast.
Plus, they get paid for playing music at night.
The man behind it was supposed to be Ronald Quibell, the president of Quibell
Corp., the bottled water company headquartered in Roanoke.
At first, Jane Gabrielle of Radar Rose was skeptical. Why would the head of a
bottling company be booking bands to play South Africa? But she called Quibell
headquarters and talked to Liz King, who is Quibell's administrative
assistant.
King told her the gig was legitimate.
It seems that Quibell, who is from South Africa and splits his time between
South Africa and Roanoke, was involved in the entertainment business before he
got into the water business. He's still involved, in fact.
He recently bought an old theater in Capetown and renovated it into a
nightclub called the Three Arts Entertainment Center, King said. Starting in
January, he will be bringing over American bands to play at the venue, most of
them small club bands like Radar Rose.
Quibell saw Radar Rose perform at Confeddy's in Roanoke, then met the band at
Montano's to discuss an offer. Apparently, Quibell liked what he saw.
The band is booked to play at the renovated theater for five weeks in February
and March, with all the perks that had sounded too good to be true. They will
play six nights a week, and they are adding a saxophone player, Don Clifton of
the Roanoke group Random Acts of Sax, for the trip. They hope eventually to
bring him into the group permanently.
Several other Roanoke bands also are booked in Capetown, including the
Afterburners, who will be performing there at the same time as Radar Rose.
King said there is a chance that some of the groups will be asked to later
tour South Africa.
``I think it's great for Roanoke, for the bands here,'' she said. ``It makes
them a little bit more talked about, more on the map.''
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
by CNB