Sage's New Band Carries On The Wipers' Tradition

Greg Sage, the Portland rocker who brings his new band to RKCNDY Thursday, formerly headed the Wipers, one of the forerunners of Northwest grunge. Highlights of that eclectic band's 1977-89 recording history are available on an excellent 16-song compilation, "The Best of Wipers and Greg Sage," on Restless Records. Sage, who now lives in Tempe, Ariz., has released two solo albums, also on Restless, that show he's still got the edge, although his sound is less grungy. His new band is said to carry on the Wipers' tradition of strong guitars and powerful rhythms. Show time is 9:30 p.m. and tickets are $9.

-- Nirvana's quick march to the Top Ten - the Seattle band made it to No. 9 this week - is the subject of a front-page story in this week's Billboard. The piece says success happened so fast that retailers and radio stations were unprepared for it. It points out that the "Nevermind" album hit the Top Ten in six weeks without the benefit of a Top 40 single, but with heavy MTV play of the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video. The clip is currently in the Buzz Bin, MTV's heavy-rotation category for new bands. Meanwhile, "Saturday Night Live" has asked Nirvana to be on an upcoming show. No date has been set, but it may be as soon as December. The group is currently touring Europe but will be back in the States for a short time in December, before heading off to Australia and Japan. A headlining tour of America is in the planning stages, including a show here -

it would probably have to be in the Coliseum - in March.

-- The same issue has a story on the promotion of Soundgarden's latest album, "Badmotorfinger," on A&M Records, which included sending portable cassette players with a five-song sampler to 150 record stores, and a "Meet Soundgarden" contest that could be entered through a 900 number. The next phase of the campaign is a contest on the Video Jukebox Network, with a top prize of a 1969 Firebird and a trip to New York to see Soundgarden open for Guns N' Roses on Dec. 9 and 10 at Madison Square Garden. But there's some fear the next leg of the GN'R tour may not happen. A spokesman for A&M said, "We're waiting to see if there still is a Guns N' Roses." The band is feuding and may not resume touring, which would leave Soundgarden out in the cold.

-- Ellen Degeneres, the talented comedian playing tonight and tomorrow night at the Seattle Improv, showed a new side as an actor on the now-canceled Fox Network comedy, "Open House." At home in the Hollywood Hills earlier this week - she was supervising the installation of a fish pond while we talked - she said she's up for a couple of other TV parts. "If I talk about them I feel like I'm going to jinx it," she said, but did say she's eager to do more TV work, and movies, too. Degeneres opened the Improv here about a year ago, and fell in love with the city. "I would live there," she said. "Seattle is a great city, and I'm sure people in Seattle don't want to hear that because they don't want anybody else moving there." She also said our audiences are hip. "That's something I like a lot - a thinking crowd instead of somebody who just wants the jokes handed to 'em." Degeneres' smooth comedy builds - she piles quip onto quip, then ends with a topper. You don't have to be an intellectual to appreciate her sharp material.

-- A Paula Abdul date for the Coliseum was announced Tuesday, then canceled a few hours later, with no explanation. MCA Concerts in Vancouver, B.C., said the show was set for Dec. 8 and tickets were to go on sale Saturday. Later, a representative for MCA Concerts called and said Abdul's management had canceled the date, without giving a reason. The Abdul representative told MCA the show may be rescheduled in the spring. Earlier, Abdul's record company, Virgin, said she would play here Dec. 22, but offered no details.

-- Five comedians have emerged out of the first round of preliminaries in the 1991 Seattle Stand-Up Comedy Competition. Advancing to the semifinals are Kermit Apio, Howie Kirsten, Darryl Lenox, Dean Oleson and Mike Wally Walter. Five more winners will be selected this weekend as the second round of preliminaries concludes with shows tonight at the Comedy Penthouse in Bellevue, tomorrow at the Olympia Concourse in Olympia and Sunday at the Elephant & Castle in Bremerton. Semifinals get under way next week, and the final is Nov. 30 at the Opera House.