The Slums Off Hollywood Boulevard

Book Review: Marlene Dietrich: Life and Legend by Steven Bach

2012-01-07T22:24:00.000-08:00

Steven Bach’s well-researched biography explores every lush detail of screen legend Dietrich’s life. First published by Morrow Books in 1992, University of Minnesota Press issued a reprint in March 2011.

Bach documents Dietrich’s early career in Berlin in the first part of the book. Actress Mia May reminisces about the young Dietrich, “People used to follow her through the streets of Berlin; they would laugh at her, but she fascinated them; she made them talk.” Bach reveals that Dietrich studied to be a violinist, but turned to acting after a wrist injury stunted her music career. The chapters "Home Front" and "Lili Marlene" chronicle Dietrich’s role as a tireless performer for the USO and supporter of the American war effort.

Much of the book centers around her Svengali-like relationship with director Josef von Sternberg, who cast her as Lola-Lola in Blue Angel and engineered her iconic films Morocco and Blonde Venus. Author/film executive Bach has something of an inside track on the subject, since he studied film with von Sternberg. Bach sprinkles the book with inside details about Dietrich’s love affairs with Jimmy Stewart, French actor Jean Gabin, John Wayne and other famous men. Most of these affairs took place while she was still married to her only husband, Rudolf Sieber. Dietrich remained friends with Sieber til his death, even befriending his mistress and paying many of the couple’s bills. Along the way, Bach offers more mundane, behind the facade tidbits, such as Dietrich’s insistence on a sparking clean dressing room prior to cabaret performances. She sometimes arrived early, scrubbing floors herself if they were not to her liking.

This 626-page book includes a filmography and over 100 black and white photos. While it doesn’t provide the insider view of her daughter Maria Rivas’s Marlene or mention much about her bisexuality, even film buffs and hardcore Dietrich fans will learn something new from this biography. Some readers may find the prose long-winded, but it’s a vivid read that befits Dietrich’s life.

Memories of El Duce (of the Mentors)

2012-01-02T23:17:00.000-08:00

Some rock ‘n’ roll characters are so offbeat and offensive to the mainstream mindset that they are forever destined to be cult figures. El Duce (real name Eldon Hoke) of the Mentors was such a character.

One night in 1983 I walked into the Cathay de Grande, a notorious punk rock club/dive in Hollywood. Already disoriented after downing three tequila sunrises, I see three guys in black executioners hoods walk onto the dingy stage. El Duce, the band’s drummer/lead singer, had a kit decorated with porno pics. The band played a three-chord, Spinal tap metal-punk about subjects like the 4 F Club (Find Her, Feel Her Fuck Her, Forget Her), anal sex and other misogynistic tirades. Hard to listen to, yes, but it was a shock-rock act. Was it seriously PMRC-worthy? I'm not so sure about that.

“What the hell is this?” I thought. One mohawked kid at the back of the club had his own critique “What cultural significance” he bellowed.

The next morning, I called up my friend Tony from the pay phone at Howie’s Weekly Apartments (now a Motel 6). “Tony, I said, “You’re not gonna believe what I saw at the Cathay last night.” I described the executioners’ hoods and the whole shtick.

“What a buncha fuck!” Tony responded. His curiosity was piqued and he just had to see this abomination for himself.

In Hollywood, in the 1980s and early 1990s, everybody encountered El or the Mentors. Duff McKagan, in his book “It’s So Easy and Other Lies” recalls the time Sickie Wifebeater, the Mentors’ guitarist, asked him to be the band’s new bass player. Duff declined. A wise choice.

After a few years of club-hopping around Hollywood, my friends and I knew El well enough to enlist him as comic relief in a video we made. El crushed a beer can on his head and danced around- the famous Duce dance.

On a stormy Valentine’s Day in 1986, the Mentors played a gig at Club Lingerie. I told Tony, “We’re all going to see the Mentors.” Tony responded with a bloodcurdling “NOOOOOOOOOO.” After the initial novelty wore off, this was a common reaction to seeing the Mentors stage act.

As I continued my rock ‘n’ roll travels, I met people in New Orleans and Florida who had encountered El, usually at sleazy bars. Most descriptions of El Duce contained the words “drunk” and “passed out.”

In the mid-1990s, El claimed publicly that Courtney Love had offered him money to kill Kurt Cobain and was filmed for the documentary Kurt and Courtney. A few weeks later, a train in Riverside offed him. The conspiracy theorists had a field day with that one. However, El was more than capable of walking in front of a train of his own volition.

R.I.P., El Duce.

The Mentors continue today sans El Duce.See their Facebook page here.

Church of El Duce

CD Review: The Green Lady Killers: Just Fine

2011-12-17T13:59:00.001-08:00

Green Lady Killers live at L.A.'s Redwood Bar

The Green Lady Killers, an all female trio from L.A, channel the Cramps, Joan Jett and the Breeders and wrap it their own special brand of black leather swagger. The band, originally formed in Phoenix, AZ, consists of lead vocalist/guitarist Lady Van Buren, drummer Cherrybomb and bassist/vocalist Ivy Rose. Their first full-length album, Just Fine, is now available from Rusty Knuckles Music as a CD or iTunes download.

The 12 tunes on Just Fine blast AC/DC style rock with a hint of psychobilly; fast and furious but with a sexy side. “Power” brings to mind the metal thrash of Betty Blowtorch, while the single “My .45” has a ferocity that could put many supposedly tough male bands to shame. “Another Place in Time” relates the lust and longing of a young rock femme fatale, as does the thrashy “Time Bomb.” “Dance Floor” boasts a steady groove that proves you can shake your booty and then some to hard-edged music. Singer Lady Van Buren sounds like Tanya Donnelly when she mellows a bit, like on the intro to “Linger On.” She can sing ballsy rock, but can also deliver melodic, heartfelt vocals when the lyric calls for it.

The Green Lady Killers play club gigs throughout the West Coast and Southwest Their résumé includes performances on the Shiragirl Stage at the Vans Warped Tour in 2005 and gigs with bands as diverse as Missing Persons and the Nekromantix. GLK snagged the Best Power Trio title at the 2010 L.A. Music Awards, and they showcased at SXSW with other Rusty Knuckles bands this year.

Green Lady Killers Facebook Page

Rusty Knuckles Music

You Can't Get It on DVD- FM

2011-12-09T09:55:00.001-08:00

FM is the type of movie you discover in the afterhours graveyard of a cable channel when you suffer from insomnia at 3 a.m. It’s amusing when you’re sleep-deprived, but doesn’t pack the same punch when you’re wide awake. This quirky 1978 comedy is set in the offices of fictional L.A. radio station Q-SKY. The station’s program director Jeff Dugan (played by Michael Brandon) oversees a bunch of wacky, Morning Zoo type radio personalities and battles with unhip station management.

The kooky DJ characters include Martin Mull as free-spirited DJ Eric Swan, who cavorts with groupies and suffers for his art, Eileen Brennan as Mother, the husky-voiced nighttime DJ, Cleavon Little as the hip Venus Flytrap clone, “The Prince of Darkness” and ex-footballer Alex Karras as the low-rated midday DJ. These zany personalities and their subplots, along with the ‘70s time capsule music soundtrack, give the film its appeal. Kids who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s will relate to the quirky DJs and their loyal fans. Every city had a radio station like Q-SKY in the '70s and '80s.

FM plays like the feature film version of WKRP in Cincinnati, except that clueless owner Mr. Carlson and plaid-suited Herb Tarlek have been replaced by a front office with a profits before music agenda. The film’s serious main plot is that old evergreen – big business versus creative peons. The evil owner and sales guy want the DJs to play pro-military commercials and other conservative nonsense. The DJs stage a strike/sit-in and commandeer the station, refusing to give in until the cops come to bash down the doors with a tow truck. The DJs dedication impresses the station owner, and in fairy tale fashion, all is forgiven and the DJs are allowed to run Q-SKY their way.

Unlike the film, the FM soundtrack is easily accessible through Amazon, and it mimics what was played on the more laidback FM stations of the time. The soundtrack - and the film itself- make it seem like the Stones, David Bowie and Aerosmith didn't exist in the late ‘70s, much less the Sex Pistols, the Dammed and Iggy Pop. Save for Queen’s We Will Rock You and Steely Dan’s title track, it’s all snooze-inducing mainstream rock that was even at the saturation point by the time the film was released, like the Doobie Brothers, Outlaws, Linda Ronstadt and Foreigner.

An amusing film with a lite retro look at the radio biz, FM may bring back pleasant memories of drinking Boone's Farm wine and smoking pot in the school bleachers for the 45 and over crowd. Anchor Bay released a DVD version in 2000, and it has since been discontinued. Amazon sells copies for as much as $169.00.

WLUP "The Loop" was Chicago's version of the radio station in "FM". Here is their infamous TV commercial.

Circus, Creem and Hit Parader - Three Great Rock Magazines of the '70s and '80s

2011-11-27T21:26:00.001-08:00

The first copy of Creem I ever bought, August 1973

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture," Frank Zappa once said. Or was it Martin Mull –or maybe Elvis Costello? Internet pundits have varying opinions on this matter. However, we do know that Frank told a journalist ,"Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read."

Frank’s quote may actually apply more to current Interweb music news items on Yahoo and AOL than the old-style print mags that inspired his comment. Do we really need constant blog posts about X Factor contestants and American Idol losers flubbing the National Anthem at football games? It makes me pine for the heyday of my three favorite rock magazines- Circus, Creem, and Hit Parader.

Circus

Circus combined mainstream newspaper-type journalism with behind-the-scenes interviews and reportage about rock bands. They weren’t gossipy or dirty. They gave fans straightforward news without much pontificating. The magazine was first published in 1966 under the name Hullabalo, but most people equate it with 1970s and 1980s hard rock and new wave. The weekly magazine covered everything Kiss, Aerosmith, Queen, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin oriented in the 1970s. Of course, the aforementioned bands shared column inches with any band that had a buzz at a given time. Circus didn’t discriminate based on genre. They were an equal opportunity mag. The March 16, 1978 cover featured Ted Nugent, but prominent articles on the Sex Pistols and the Ramones were also included. It wasn’t unusual to find an eclectic pop culture mish-mash edition with articles about Dan Fogelberg or Linda Ronstadt, popular comedians and TV shows (Steve Martin, Mork and Mindy, etc.) and controversial movies du jour like The China Syndrome sharing space with the obligatory Kiss article. And this mag had the best posters and full-page photos. After I finished scavenging my favorite articles for pin-ups, there was barely anything left in the mag. This explains why I don’t have any intact copies left to sell on eBay. The magazine folded in 2006 after focusing exclusively on heavy metal and hard rock since the mid-1980s.

Creem

Creem was a great magazine for suburban teens in the 1970s It looked like a music magazine, but it had a lot more than pretty pictures and music reviews. It had dirty words, sexual terms you hadn’t learned yet, semi-nudity, Lester Bangs and drug references. The music reviews read like a combo of Naked Lunch, a pulp men’s mag and Roget’s Thesaurus. You had to be intellectual and perverted to understand what was going on – a perfect combo for me. Also, what was that exactly on the June 1976 cover, hmmm? (See above pic.) I don’t think the proprietors of the local drugstore in Hometown, Ill. where I bought it even noticed it. I hardly knew what it was, but pot and peppermint schnapps was the hardest stuff for a junior high kid in the ‘burbs back then. I learned a lot from Creem, and not all of it music-related. I first discovered the existence of absinthe, cock rings and bondage gear from Creem. But I first read about the Runaways, Patti Smith, the New York Dolls and T-Rex from Creem while everyone in the neighborhood was listening to Donny and Marie. I read Pamela Des Barres’ column, Miss Eleganza, Creem Profiles, Confessions of a Film Fox and learned all about Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco. (Even at 12, I was the resident neighborhood weirdo.) I convinced my babysitter to watch the New York Dolls on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert one Friday, after reading about them in Creem. When I saw her again Monday morning, she was thoroughly befuddled by the performance. “When you said “New York Dolls”, I thought you were talking about a bunch of weird ladies.”

The first copy of Creem I ever bought in 1973 had articles about Androgeny In Rock, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Jeff Beck and plenty of pics of glam-era David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Marc Bolan and Iggy Pop. One of the first record reviews I read was by Patti Smith. I couldn’t tell you what band she reviewed, but I sure did like the way she wrote about them. A few years ago, one of my friends showed me an old stack of Creems from the ‘70s and ‘80s. I looked through ‘em, but somehow they didn’t pack the same forbidden punch as they did when I was twelve. By the late ‘70s Debbie Harry ,the Sex Pistols and the Ramones were common subjects, along with lesser-known punk bands that Circus and Hit Parader neglected. (Destroy All Monsters, the Dictators, etc.) Creem may or may not exist today. This New York Times article details the struggle to revive the magazine. Creem’s archives, however, are up and running.

Hit Parader

Hit Parader, first published in 1942, printed popular song lyrics of the day. Even when pop music styles changed to rock, punk and new wave, the mag still published lyrics. Alice Cooper lyrics were far removed from “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?”, but fans still wanted to sing along. One of the first Hit Paraders I bought –in ’74 or ’75, had a great interview with John Lennon conducted by Lisa Robinson, one of the most prolific rock scribes of the time.

The photos weren’t as glossy as the ones in Circus, but I still plastered the walls with them, especially in the early ‘80s, when the magazine’s articles seemed to get shorter-only a page or two-with short to non-existent interviews. Like Circus, Hit Parader didn’t take musical sides back then- one month Van Halen was on the cover; the next month, the Clash. It wasn’t a “punk” versus “metal” culture then. It was all good. Once the mid-1980s rolled around, the magazine changed format to heavy metal/hard rock exclusively. It’s the only one of the three mags that still exists today, with a “none more black” website design and cover stories on Slipknot and similar bands.

You Can't Get It On DVD-The Sterile Cuckoo

2011-11-17T20:31:00.001-08:00

When you hear the name “Liza Minnelli, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Cabaret, Liza with a “Z”, the original Arthur or her mother, iconic performer Judy Garland? Chances are one of her first films, The Sterile Cuckoo, won’t ring a bell. Liza received her first Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of quirky college freshman Pookie Adams in the film version of John Nichols’ novel, The Sterile Cuckoo. The 1969 film received critical raves and earned BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Minnelli in addition to the Oscar nod. A VHS version was released in 1998, but it has yet to appear on DVD or Blu-Ray.

Not many people are familiar with Liza’s pre-Cabaret film appearances. Liza played the mistress of successful writer Charlie Bubbles (played by Albert Finney) in the film of the same name. But her second film appearance in The Sterile Cuckoo proved that Liza had her famous mother’s onscreen acting chops.

First published in 1965, the novel Sterile Cuckoo dealt with the “first-love” relationship between reserved college student Jerry Payne and Pookie Adams, a quirky but troubled young woman he meets at a bus stop. The novel is narrated by Jerry’s character, but the focus is on Pookie, whose non-stop chattering and kooky demeanor hide a lonely soul.

The film version, which co-starred Wendell Burton as Jerry, was shot at Hamilton College in upstate New York in 1968. Director Alan J.Pakula produced several films, including To Kill a Mockingbird and Up the Down Staircase before serving as both director and producer for Sterile Cuckoo. Pakula would go on to direct Klute, Sophie's Choice and All the President's Men.

Intrigued by the complex character of Pookie Adams, Minnelli agreed to the role. By the time her film career began, she had already won a Tony for her role as struggling fashion designer Flora Mezaros in Flora, the Red Menace.

Liza Minnelli as Pookie Adams in The Sterile Cuckoo

The Sterile Cuckoo is first and foremost a character study. While Jerry has a fleeting relationship with his college roomies, Pookie only has disdain for the girls in her dorm, constantly referring to them as “weirdos.” Pookie’s father appears only once, when he drops her off at the bus stop at the beginning of the film. While cavorting with Jerry in a graveyard on a windy day, Pookie reveals that her mother died giving birth to her. Even as a college freshman, Pookie has no friends or relatives to help her pass the time. She’s either alone or with Jerry. During a school break, she pretends to go off to see her father, but she is actually still on campus, by herself. Still, she has a exuberant spirit about her, and this entices Jerry. He falls in love with her, despite her needy, neurotic tendencies. Pookie takes the lead when the couple first trysts in a rustic motel. Jerry’s so shy he can’t even bring himself to undress her. Later, Jerry naively responds to Pookie’s revelation that she might be pregnant and offers, rather unromantically, to marry her. In the end, Pookie’s overwhelming need for affection and assurance -and her self-absorption - drive Jerry away.

The easy-listening song Come Saturday Morning by the Sandpipers underscores several “lovers-romping in the meadows” scenes. It’s charming the first time you hear it, but after the third time those lilting vocals crop up, it’s cringe-inducing. A film of this caliber didn’t need it, and even reviewers at the time, including Roger Ebert, noted this faux pas.

The film's tale of doomed first love on a bucolic college campus compressed the novel’s storyline into a year instead of the three years covered in the book, but there’s no inkling that anything has been “left out” of the film version. Even though there are a few romantic comedy type moments (Cue Come Saturday Morning), The Sterile Cuckoo is a bittersweet account of first love. But isn’t first love always bittersweet?

As of November 2011, there’s no word on a DVD or Blu-Ray release and Amazon lists VHS copies for sale for $54 to $100.

From the Archives: CD Review: William Shatner - Has Been

2011-11-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

Has Been
William Shatner (with Ben Folds)
Shout Factory

Review first published in early 2004 on Suite101com

The Transformed Man, William Shatner's first album, was recorded in 1968 during his first tenure as Star Trek's Captain Kirk. Like the original TV series, The Transformed Man, with its kitschy covers of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", has remained a pop culture touchstone. Unfortunately, Shatner's first foray into music/spoken word has fueled many jibes from comedians and DJs over the years, while Captain Kirk is an accepted part of American, if not universal, folklore. Shatner's second album, Has Been, produced and co-authored by pianist/songwriter Ben Folds, is a bona fide CD, consisting of ten original compositions and populated with guest artists like Brad Paisley, Henry Rollins and Joe Jackson. Has Been tells the story of a man who has traveled through 73 years of ups and downs with self-deprecating clarity.

Has Been blossomed into a full-fledged project when Garson and Richard Foos, contacted Shatner and asked him to do an album for Shout Factory. Folds happened to be on the other line, and signed up as producer. Folds and Shatner first collaborated on on Folds' Fear of Pop, Volume 1. Shatner lent his spoken word soliloquy to the song In Love.

Blasting off with a cover of Pulp's "Common People", Shatner's spoken delivery lends crisp and humorous air to the original's premise. Joe Jackson's vocals interspersed with Shatner's wryly observant phrasing emphasize the lyrics about a rich girl slumming with a poor bloke It's catchy in the way that any good rock song is, and bridges the gap between novelty and a "real" rock song. "I Can't Get Behind That" is an absolutely hilarious Beatnik rant set against a wall of percussion. Layers of timbales, bongos, cymbals crash and burn as Shatner and Henry Rollins trade hilarious rants about SUV drivers on cell phone, bad English and the price of oil. Shades of a madcap version of Bill Holden in Network -- "I'm mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore."

The song "Has Been", an amusing put-down of the armchair quarterbacks who spend an inordinate amount of time criticizing famous people. Inspired after Shatner read a National Enquirer story that referred to him a "has been." But Has Been is not all guffaws and wry observations. "That's Me Trying", written by Folds and High Fidelity author Nick Hornsby, concerns an absentee father attempting to reconnect with his grown daughters. Many "confessional " songs written by younger artists come off sounding overly dramatic or downright whiny, but the personal songs on Has Been benefit from a more mature perspective. "What Have You Done?", a short song about the death of Shatner's third wife, Nerine, is almost embarrassingly painful, while "It Hasn't Happened Yet" has the quiet dignity of a prose poem. Given Shatner's curriculum vitae, Has Been is a powerful, droll, and sometimes somber retrospective of a life lived to the fullest.

The 20th Anniversary of U2’s Achtung Baby: The Songs, the Mythology and the $469 Deluxe Box Set

2011-11-03T23:06:00.000-07:00

It’s been 20 years since the release of U2’s landmark album, Achtung, Baby, and Q Magazine is commemorating the event with a tribute CD. The October 26^th edition of the UK music mag includes a bonus CD, populated with covers by Nine Inch Nails, Patti Smith, the Killers, Garbage, Depeche Mode, Snow Patrol….and U2. (It’s actually a Jacques Le Cont remix of “Even Better than the Real Thing”.)

The tribute CD starts with NIN’s version of “Zoo Station.” Sounds like a great idea, but its slow, whispered build-up doesn’t lead to the crunchy wall of sound we’ve come to expect from Trent. The Killers take a piano ballad approach to “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”, but, but it fizzles out near the end. Jack White’s take on “Love is Blindness” fares better. Its mired in intensity and the blues and drenched with pain. (Perhaps Jack is trying to atone for his ICP collaboration. )The tribute CD is a hit or miss affair, but its nice to see so many respected alt-rock artist cover U2 songs.

U2, being the money-making machine it is, offers fans many ways to celebrate this milestone, and not all of them are cheap! Bono’s net worth as of this writing, is $900 million dollars (You read that right.), including his share in Facebook. U2 is run like a corporation, not just a rock group, and ya gotta give and Bono props in that regard. Let’s be a rock star and compete with the members of the Forbes 400 at their own game.

So U2 are in the top one half of the one percent. OCCUPY DUBLIN…or the South of France. If you’re at the bottom of the 99%, you can buy an anniversary Achtung CD for $13.95. If you’re a little bit closer to the 1%, you could spring for the $469 multi-media box set. Sound preposterous? If U2 fans shell out $350 for concert tickets and $50 a year for “special access” to the U2 website, I’m sure they’ll be plenty of takers for the uber-deluxe box set. For a small fortune, you get six CDs, (with Achtung, Zooropa, and unreleased tracks), 16 art prints based on the album cover, various DVDs (including the Zoo TV concert DVD and the new documentary From the Sky Down) a hardcover book, stickers and, of course, a pair of “Fly” sunglasses. If you can devour all that without your head spinning, you need to get out of the house more.

All the songs from the Zoo TV era (including Achtung’s follow-up Zooropa), put the do-gooder anthems of Joshua Tree on the back burner. They were now replaced by European electronica, distorted guitars and raw emotion, the brazen, show-biz side of U2 had emerged.

Achtung and Zooropa turned out to be the only dark-tinged, pure alt- rock albums the band produced. Well, er, technically, I guess Popmart was alt-rock. It’s accompanying tour did turn out to be an unintended parody of the ZooTV tour. Since Bono was in character as The Fly and Mr. Macphisto he could pull off the rock star shtick. He was always a little too Catholic, married and politically earnest to emit a dark, dangerous vibe without going incognito. The Zoo TV tour ushered in a new image for the band. They were funny, dark, sexual and subtly political. Bono sang while words flashing across the TV screens did the proselytizing for him. The Zoo TV tour was technologically awesome (for the time), and dizzying in scope Zoo TV, along with the endless Guns ‘N’ Roses Illusions tour, epitomized the last great era of arena rock excess by actual rock bands. Today’s music industry foists high-tech strip shows by Britney Spears and Rhianna on kids and calls them concerts.

“One”, “Mysterious Ways and “Even Better than the Real Thing”, the albums hits, aren’t Achtung’s most ingenious tracks. Three other tracks really caught my ear. “Acrobat” veers from expressing incredible venom to a hopeful ending. "Zoo Station's" distorted electronica made me look for more of the same. But “The Fly” was my favorite song by far. Starting with Edge’s sonic blast riff, the song barrels through the senses like aural speed. It hit number 1 in the UK. The song's scenario (a crank call from Hell, according to Bono) and lyrics like “Every artist is a cannibal/ Every poet is a thief” and beat-heavy industrial rock soundscape didn’t attract the same response in the U.S., however, and it only got up to number 61 on the “Hot 100” charts.

Some albums attain perfection. Achtung Baby is one of them. You can dissect it like a novel or listen to it for enjoyment. Either way, it works. Like another masterpiece Blood on the Tracks, much of Achtung Baby was inspired by a divorce, in this case, Edge’s breakup with his first wife. If you’re in an emotional frame of mind, the lyrics will hit you like the proverbial ton of bricks. If you want to learn more about Achtung, Baby, the documentary, From the Sky Down chronicles the making of the album in Berlin, You can watch the film on Showtime if you don’t have the dosh for the uber-deluxe box set.

U2 performs "Even Better than the Real Thing" at the 1992 MTV Music Awards with Garth (Dana Carvey) assisting on drums.

Actors Wanna Sing : Hollywood Stars as Musical Artistes

2011-10-26T19:37:00.000-07:00

Some people may remember the old adage, “Actors want to sing and singers want to act.” Well, that’s certainly true today, with thespians like Jeff Bridges, Billy Bob Thornton, Taylor Momsen and Scarlett Johansson crafting highly-produced and polished albums.

In the 1960s, TV and movie stars often branched out into the music biz with mixed and often unintentionally comical results. Who could forget William Shatner’s classic interpretations of Mr. Tambourine Man and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds? During the 1970s, teen TV heartthrobs like Anson “Potsie” Williams and John “Barbarino” Travolta released solo albums to capitalize on their popularly with teenage girls. These albums are remembered now mostly as pop culture time capsules.

Today’s actors turned musicians are in it for creative expression and respect, not just kitsch value and a quick buck. Jeff Bridges performance in Crazy Heart as down-on his luck country singer Bad Blake surely inspired his second real-life turn as a country vocalist/songwriter. (His first album, Be Here Soon, was released in 2000.) The self-titled album, contains 11 original songs that evoke With longtime friend and legend T-Bone Burnett producing, Roseanne Cash helping out on vocals and a cadre of notable Nashville sidemen, Bridges’ authentic, amiable voice evokes Gordon Lightfoot crossed with a gritty, seen-it -all-but- kept-on-going Americana charm. The album shines on hopeful cuts like the Stephen Bruton penned What a Little Bit of Love Can Do.

Billy Bob Thornton began making music in junior high and played in several local bands in Texas and Arkansas before hitting in big in Hollywood as an actor/screenwriter with Sling Blade. Thornton rekindled his music career in 2001, with a solo album Private Radio. Three more solo albums followed, as well as session work on albums by Earl Scruggs and Warren Zevon. The Boxmasters, Billy Bob’s Americana /rockabilly band released their self-titled debut CD in 2008, followed by a Christmas album later that year. The rowdy two-disc set Modbilly followed in 2009

Zooey Deschanel branched out into indie music via her role in the 2007 film, The Go-Getter. After recording a cover of the Linda and Richard Thompson song, When I Get to the Border with musician M.Ward for the soundtrack, she and Ward began working together on some of her original songs. The project resulted in the duo’s ongoing indie-pop band, She and Him, has garnered positive reviews from critics for its breezy, Mamas & Papas influenced retro sound.

Former Gossip Girl Taylor Momsem set the celebrity sites ablaze with her recent revelation that she was quitting acting to devote time to her music career. While some might chalk this move up to youthful experimentation, Taylor is only 16, but her band’s music has been compared to Led Zepplin with a female singer. Taylor wails like a grunge-era Courtney Love with ‘80s Goth thrown in for good measure. She has a strong, rock ‘n’ roll voice, not a trained theatrical voice like a lot of young actors, and one could never mistake her for an actress moonlighting as a :rock star.” Pretty Reckless formed in 2009, and Interscope Records signed them in 2010. The band’s first album Light Me Up was just released, with the band playing tour dates in Australia, England, Germany and the U.S. They even played the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland this past July. Her route is similar to that of quirky actress turned hard-rocker Juliette Lewis, whose female Iggy Pop music and stage persona seemed almost a natural extension of her roles in Kalifornia and Natural Born Killers.

Boasting a marquee name can lead fans to listen, but won’t necessarily make them-or critics-approve. Anywhere I Lay My Head, Scarlett Johansson’s ambitious album of Tom Waits covers, featured guest appearances by David Bowie and members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but even musical star power and lush orchestrations couldn’t set the project on a winning course with fans, and the album faded away. Johansson’s subsequent musical project, Break Up, with indie musician Pete Yorn, fared better. Yorn enlisted Scarlett to play the modern-day Brigette Bardott to his updated version of French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, and the result is a melancholy tale of a sputtering romance told by two soon to be ex-lovers.

Of course, this is just a partial listing of recent singing actors. Minnie Driver has a country singing career; Nicole Kidman did a duet of Something Stupid with Robbie Williams, and so on and so on. Most of the celebrity albums are well-produced and have some artistic merit. Whether their musical efforts will resonate emotionally with fans as much as their dramatic performances is an open question. Fans have fond memories of the musical blips by Potsie and Barbarino, if only for the camp value Will today’s thespian musical releases be remembered by fans in a few decades-or even a few months? Only time will tell.

Milla Jovovich channels Maya Deren in the video for Gentleman Who Fell, 1994

Book Review: The Pyrotechnic Insanitarium: American Culture On The Brink by Mark Dery

2011-10-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

(The Pyrotechnic Insanitarium was published in December 1999, before 9/11, the economic meltdown, reality TV, etc. I would love to see an updated version of this book. This review was originally published on January 27, 2001.)

In his book, The Pyrotechnic Insanitarium: American Culture On The Brink (Grove Press), social critic Mark Dery, a contributor to The Village Voice, as well as numerous e-zines, deconstructs and filters the excesses of post millennial America. He explores the once seamy underbelly of media and culture that has now become mainstream. One perusal of this book, and I can hear my dearly departed grandpa say "I told ya!! World's going to hell in a handbasket!"

Dery examines the whos, whats and most importantly, the whys of America's current freak show climate. The best chapter is "The Cotton Candy Autopsy" which focuses on evil clowns, deciphering all the scary critters from Ronald Mcdonald to John Wayne Gacy, but with no mention of the "Evil Clown" CD store in Chicago, a personal favorite. Taking this way of thinking a bit further, another chapter focuses on freaks of nature as the norm, most noticeably the cornucopia of breast implants and plastic surgery as common as Clairol, and the transference of body image into something unnatural.(The porno industry would have you think there's nothing strange about a 110 pound woman with 40 FFF breasts.) The cluttering of nature by the surgeon's scalpel is further explored in a chapter about cloning and childbirth without women. Who needs to have a baby the old fashioned way. "1984" and "Brave New World" are here in starkest detail - for good or naught hasn't been determined yet. The Unabomber took umbrage at such scientific progress, though, and destroyed many innocent lives, thanks to his lack of participation in sports as a child, inability to get a girlfriend, and hatred of technology (Chapter 13).

Living freaks aren't the only ones gaining popularity-witness "Formaldehyde and the New Grotesque"(Chapter 7) introduced to the layman by the Nine Inch Nails "Closer" video. Joel - Peter Witkin and his contemporaries, most noticeably the Mutter Medical Museum and their collection of medical oddities, are part of a whole subgenre of artists re-creating and photographing malformed child skulls and conjoined twins. It's a different, artier way to capitalize on side of human nature that gawks at car wrecks.

Personally, the subdued grotesqurie ensconced in a tiny chapter about Home Shopping's Gallery of Dolls brings all this weirdness to a shuddering reality for me. I worked for a doll collector magazine a few years ago and talk about a freaky world. Like the clowns, there's a nasty underside to those sweet-faced little Angelique dollies and the blue - haired old ladies with life sized recreations of real children in their homes.
(It's no surprise Anne Rice is a big doll collector.) Hey, did you hear the one about the 60-year old doll designer hawking her creations on HSN's Gallery of Dolls with her 30-year old boy toy beside her wearing Peter Pan tights. THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

But fear not, there's a lot of sprucing up on the horizon. In our Disneyfied suburban homes (see Chapter 8, re the clean-up and packaging of everything from Times Square to suburban neighborhoods by Disney and their peers), we can indulge in all this voyeurism of the hideous & riveting in our den on Mickey Mouse Lane while our teen-age kids tattoo their ankles with the Nike corporate swoosh. Fringe elements are now mainstream, bloodsports and piercings and Satanism are featured on the Five O' Clock News. This is now a fringeless society. What's left in the underground if serial killers and psycho clowns are joke fodder for DJs in Dubuque? If there's anything that Dery's essays, read one right after the other, indicate, it's that the world in general has turned into a one big freak show, with "normalcy" being the exception. Is it really a brave new world, or merely an empty, soulless one?

The Front & Baker's Pink: Two Overlooked Bands from the '90s

2011-10-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

Back in my New York rock critic days, I received a monthly shopping bag filled with review CDs and cassettes (yes, cassettes - it was a long time ago) from my editor. I’d listen to most of ‘em once and then sell them or give them away. Occasionally, though, I’d find a gem that I’d keep and play over and over again. One such cassette was by a Kansas City quintet called The Front, who had signed to Columbia Records in 1989. I kept playing my freebie cassette over and over one night. At about one in the morning, my roommate admonished me. “What hell are you doing? You have to get up at six o clock to go to work!” Well, I was kinda sleepy in the office the next day, but it was worth it.

The Front’s self-titled album got lost in the avalanche of bands signed by the major labels at end of the hair metal craze. The band’s sound alternated between Love- era cult, blues rock and paisley revival with a dark side. Singer Michael Franano looked like Michael Hutchence or Jim Morrison, depending on your preference. And the band dressed in a style that could best be described as “hippie glam”, a refreshing change from the spandex and black leather jackets of the time. Every song on the album was a winner-there was no fluff or filler on this baby. The tour de force Violent World, the 60s retro-pop Sunshine Girl, the brooding Sin and the sensual strutting of Le Motion deserved more airplay than they got back in the day.

The band did the whole hard rock concert circuit, opening for Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, and Lenny Kravitz, and shot a few videos. Still, the Front never achieved substantial success despite having Doc McGhee of Motley Crue fame as a manager. Even glowing press from music mags couldn’t stir up widespread interest.

By 1993, the band had a new record company and a new name – Baker’s Pink. The songs on their second album had a harder, trippier edge to them, as though the sound had been fine-tuned to fit in better with the suddenly popular grunge and alt-rock movement. Still, songs like Watercolours and Burn On retained singer Franano’s signature swagger. Unfortunately, the timing was off once again, and Baker’s Pink faded into obscurity just like The Front.

Franano went on to work on music for film and TV, including Woody Allen’s Celebrity, Melrose Place and Party of Five. In 1998, he reinvented himself as Michael Moon and released a solo album. In a 2010 interview in Sugarbuzz Magazine, Michael mentioned that he is working on a new website and hopes to include live recordings from Baker’s Pink and The Front, as well as some new material, on the site.

Michaelfranano.com

Who Knows Where the Time Goes? : Frances Bean and Lourdes are All Grown Up

2011-10-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

Frances Bean Cobain as photographed by Hedi Slimane

Celebrity offspring of the digital age, like Suri Cruise and the Jolie/Pitt brood, seem destined to be photographed from cradle to grave with barely moment of privacy. But the daughters of two controversial music celebrity Moms spent their childhoods without constant pre-planned photo-ops, emerging to the world in their early teens without any of the visible emotional problems associated with famous kids. I’m referring to Lourdes “Lola” Ciccone Leon and Frances Bean Cobain.

When Lourdes was born, VH-1 played Madonna videos all day to celebrate the Material Baby’s birth. Madonna was a big deal even in 1996, having just starred in the film version of the musical Evita.. Coincidentally, Courtney portrayed Althea Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt that year. Can you imagine what would have happened if they had both received Oscar nominations? What a mess that would have been! (Madge did win the Golden Globe for Evita.) Lola posed with Madge for Vanity Fair when she was a baby, but we only saw sporadic paparazzi shots of her until recently.

Courtney also had the sense not to parade Frances for the paparazzi every two seconds. She was obviously very protective of her daughter, yet a victim of her own demons, Courtney spoke lovingly of Frances, and yet non-sequiturs surrounded many of these maternal statements.

We saw very little of Frances from the time Kurt died up until her interview with Teen Vogue in 2005 at the age of thirteen. A restraining order was issued in 2009 forbidding Courtney from having even indirect contact with Frances.

Lourdes is just fourteen, so she’s not really all grown-up yet. Lourdes doesn’t look much different than any NYC schoolgirl when not doing PR with Madge. She’s appeared in some of her Mom’s videos, and helps out with Madonna’s Material Girl clothing line for Macy’s. Lourdes blogs about fashion for the Material Girl Collection. (Please note when compiling Christmas gift lists-she does NOT like Gladiator sandals).

Material Girl clothes are cute, reasonably priced clothes for girls who want to dress like their Moms, or in some cases, Grandmas, did in the 70s and 80s!

Lourdes "Lola" Maria Ciccone Leon

Lola deals with her Mom’s need for attention admirably, taking it in stride when Madge has to show her barely-camouflaged butt for the photogs on the Red Carpet. She attends the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, aka the high school in the movie “Fame, when not playing junior fashionista. Will Lourdes strike out completely on her own once she turns 18 or stay closely under her mom’s tutelage? It’s too soon to tell.

In a way, Frances and Lourdes are following the artsy trajectories of their famous Moms. Lourdes seems to be having a blast with her Mom’s fashion line and public appearances. Frances Bean has that zig-zag approach common to many teens. She’s going to college in the East, but her home is on the West Coast. She’s dabbled in painting, modeling, singing and interned at Rolling Stone. Although she’s estranged from Courtney, Frances has remained close to her paternal grandmother and aunt.

It’ll be interesting to see if these famous offspring eventually eschew the limelight. Frances might not choose a public life, given her parents’ travails. She doesn’t seem destined for the gossipy, mainstream lifestyle her mother craved. Frances seems more suited for the occasional bohemian appearance at an art gallery or a more cerebral type of creative career. Lola may take to the celeb life; after all she was raised by the queen of self-promotion.

More Beer than Money: Zine Culture of the 1990s

2011-09-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

Shockbox, Nashua, NH. 1994

Analogue Bubblebath, Machine-Gun Weilding Zebras from Hell and Baby Sue. No, those aren’t names of trust-fund indie rock bands from Silverlake. Those creatively perverse monikers belonged to zines from the heyday of underground DIY publishing in the 1990s. Sure, people carry on the print zine tradition today despite websites, e-zines and P.OD. publishers. You can find proof through the popular We Make Zines site. But in the 1990s, print zines were the only game in town.

Before desktop publishing became the norm, putting a zine together was hard work. But there was something fulfilling about cutting and pasting crude drawings and various photos from disparate magazine and mashing them together Photocopying, stapling and snail-mailing a print zine was a ”get your hands dirty” personal thing. It had a whole gestation process. You had to grab paper, ruler, scissors, ink, colored pencils-whatever- and create your masterpiece in a very tactile way, often with friends assisting. Drunken parties often ensued. Quite different from typing solo on a computer screen, hitting “submit” and sending your poems out into the ether with hardly a breath expelled. Alas, there was money involved in assembling a print zine as well, but what dedicated, beer-guzzling ‘90s zinester had any of that? Lots of people got in trouble for using the photocopier at work to churn out copies of their zines about hairy women (this was a real zine), hairy men, communist theory or even fluffy puppies!

One notable example of someone copying zines for free was Mike Diana of Boiled Angel infamy. He was fired from his job as a school janitor when he left some of his notorious zines at work. In 1996, he was the first American zine artist to be convicted of creating and distributing obscene material. He was sentenced to community service and forbade to “draw for his personal use.” Collections of his work are now for sale (with no age-restriction) on Amazon. Time marches on. Although, from the descriptions I read in zine round-up Factsheet 5 and in some zine collections, there were homemade publications just as bad - or worse - that didn’t get popped by the authorities! Zinester Jim Goad, who published the incendiary, politically incorrect Answer Me, got in legal trouble around the same time as Diana. Zines have served as a springboard to bigger fame for some of their creators. Chip Rowe (Chip’s Closet Cleaner) eventually worked for Playboy. Lisa Carver (Suckdog), Kim Cooper (Scram) and others got book deals and went on to work in mainstream publishing and media.

Short Fuse, Santa Barbara, Ca. 1998

I used to buy all my zines from St. Mark's original location. I got lots of stuff there, including my first copy of Maximum Rock and Roll. Zines are great fun because they are obviously done for the love of it, not for money, fame or good reviews from other zinesters. The creators are free to be themselves, with no edicts from some jerk-in-chief behind a desk. If you liked collecting glass shoe figurines, there was a zine for that, if you wanted to print a poetry zine dedicated to the “f” word, or whatever, you could do that. Of course, serial killers were big news in the ‘90s, so we had zines called Bukowski and Serial Killers, Murder Can Be Fun, etc....

Some pop culture zines looked like mainstream mags, but contained zine-quality snarkiness between the covers. Lollipop, a music zine out of Boston, was all glossy and professional-looking, but its contents, even the record reviews, were offbeat in a highbrow kinda way. (Think of early Creem magazine.) Popsmear, another glossy rock mag, seemed to be a one-man operation, but it was sold on NY newsstands for awhile. Due to their idiosyncratic writing styles and subject matter, these mags had more in common with zines than other four-color magazines next to them on the newsstand.

But for all the music/ politics/nonfiction/sex zines, poetry and literature still reigned supreme in hearts and minds of zinesters. Here are some of the zines that published my poems (under the name Marianne Moro) between 1992 and 2000.

Fritz, San Francisco, 1993

Rattler

Poetry Motel

Simple Vows

Fritz

Radio Void

Flower

Lucid Moon

Shockbox

Driver’s Side Airbag

Sink Full of Dishes

Alpha Beat Soup

Bouillabaisse

Vox

Mysterious Wysteria

Brownbag Press

Dancing Rose

Areola

Short Fuse

McJob

Some of the other poets whose work seemed to be in every issue of these and/or other DIY zines were Catfish McDaris, Lyn Lifshin, Cheryl Townsend, Belinda Subraman, Oberc, Shannon Frach, Michael Estabrook, Todd Moore and Bukowski pal Gerald Locklin.

For more info on zine culture, now and then, go to Zinewiki.com

EP Review: Kate Crash: My Zombie Nation

2011-09-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Kate Crash’s colorful persona is well-known to underground Hollywood scenesters. She was pegged as one of the ten most eccentric characters in L.A.’s nightlife scene by the Weekly’s Nightranger column this February. Honing her creative vibe as a street performer in Tokyo, Crash transferred her flashy modus operandi to L.A. a few years ago. A singer/performance artist/poet and fashion designer (she has her own DIY clothing line, Crashion), Crash has played gigs at the Three of Clubs, Cheetahs and opened for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts at Taste of Newport in Newport Beach.

Crash’s latest EP, My Zombie Nation, is her first release on Joan Jett’s Blackheart label. The EP is spunky rock with just a hint of poetry. Ain’t Got Much features Kate relating some real-life tales Patti Smith style, underscored by dirty, straight-ahead guitar-slinging. The playful old-style synth motifs of Yumi and the Sound amplify the song’s playful, shout-along ambiance.

Produced by Nick Launay (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Arcade Fire), this four-song EP translates Crash’s bubbly onstage personality onto her recordings ; the tunes are all good fun, championing a blend of glitter rock and street beats. Bonus: If you get a chance, check out the video for Generation of the Bored on the Blackheart website. It’s a kinetic splash of neon poking fun at reality stars like Paris Hilton and their influence on today’s tween girls.

My Zombie Nation is available in digital download from Amazon and iTunes.

Whatever Happened to Donnie Dacus?

2011-09-11T23:11:00.000-07:00

In some ways, this is a companion piece to my article about guitarist Gary Richrath, who seemed to drop off the face of the earth after leaving REO Speedwagon in the late 1980s. Another long-haired guitarist of the late 1970s/early 1980s, Donnie Dacus, who appeared in the film version of Hair and replaced Terry Kath in Chicago for two albums, suffered the same fate. By the mid-1980s, he had dropped off the radar. Dacus’s sudden disappearance is a little perplexing, since his musical pedigree indicated he was much more than a flash-in-the pan talent. He played in several garage bands in his native Texas and later in L.A,. including the The Shux, the Yellow Payges and the psych/folk/pop band Odyssey. His big break came as a guitarist for Chris Hillman, followed by work for Crosby, Stills and Nash and co-writing credits on Stephen Stills’ Illegal Stills album.

Shortly after working with Stills, Dacus was cast as Woof in the film version of Hair and he became somewhat of a teen idol overnight, appearing on the cover of Circus Magazine in May 1979. Around the time he starred in Hair, Dacus was chosen as Terry Kath’s replacement in Chicago. The flashy, Peter Frampton-tressed Dacus didn’t fit in with the jazz-rock band’s image at all, and after Hot Streets and Chicago 13, he was dropped by the band. Drummer Danny Seraphine later noted in an interview with Review Revue that “He was let go because he really didn’t fit into the band, never did, it was a mistake in the first place. It wasn’t his fault either, he was a good guy, he just didn’t fit in with the mix. I know it really hurt him to be let go like that, believe me now I know how that feels.”

After leaving Chicago, Dacus resurfaced as the touring guitarist for Badfinger in 1982. You can read more about that at singer Reed Kailing’s website. Also, according to Kailing, Dacus played guitar during a recording session for John Lennon’s Rock ‘N’ Roll album. There’s no verification as to what track he played on or if his work was featured on the released version of the album.

But Dacus wasn’t the only Hair alumni to exit show biz shortly after the film wrapped. Cheryl Barnes, who played Hud’s nameless fiancée, sang an emotional rendition of Easy to Be Hard during a scene in Washington Square Park. Barnes, who was working as a hotel maid, earned the role after attending an open casting call for the film in New York. Prior to that, she’d performed as a singer with the band Eve’s Garden, opening for the Classics IV and other pop/rock bands. Her powerful version of Easy to Be Hard was allegedly filmed in one take. After the film’s release, Barnes sang Love and Passion on the American Gigolo soundtrack. Then she dropped out of the entertainment business, although, according to her Wikipedia page, she remained friends with Hair director Milos Forman.

Musical Guilty Pleasures – A Star Is Born Soundtrack (Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofferson)

2011-09-03T16:06:00.000-07:00

The year was 1976 - America’s Bicentennial. We had pet rocks and mood rings in the shopping mall, Charlie’s Angels on the small screen, and on the big screen at General Cinemas theater – A Star is Born, version 3, with Barbra Streisand. (Now there’s a fourth, R & B version on the table starring Beyonce slated for 2013.) The movie's soundtrack album shared time on my turntable with T-Rex, Mott the Hoople, the Sweet, the Stones and the Runaways. But then again, I'd always liked Streisand's music. Her first album is one of my favorites. Ya know, back when she wasn't so damn serious and political and she sang stuff like Come to the Supermarket in Old Peking and A Sleepin' Bee

A Star is Born, featuring Babs as up-and-coming rock (!?) singer Esther Hoffman –Howard and Kris Kristofferson as fading star John Norman Howard, hit the local mall in December 1976. Musically, it spawned the award-winning hit Evergreen and a soundtrack album filled with effortless tracks penned by Streisand and many famous songwriters of the time, including Rupert Holmes, Marilyn and Alan Bergman, Leon Russell, Donna Weiss and Paul Williams.

As well as the hit Evergreen, which turned out to be, well, evergreen, Williams penned five other songs for the soundtrack. He wrote tunes for many top pop icons in the mid-1970s, from the Carpenters to the Muppets. But MOR songwriting wasn’t his only skill. He fit right in with wackos Brett Somers and Charles Nelson-Reilly during a few guest appearances on the Match Game. For bonus hip cred points, he played Swan in Brian De Palma’s rock fantasy, Phantom of the Paradise, and he continues to act in guest TV and movie roles today.

Female empowerment seemed to be the underlying theme of Esther/Barbra’s songs. (Of course, in those days, it was called Women’s Lib.) These Women’s Lib lounge tunes are excellent as Broadway-style pop, but they're not particularly made for hitting the replay button. I Believe in Love (co-written by Kenny Loggins) has a fast, pumping rhythm, and the soulful, story-song, Queen Bee, gives examples of powerful women throughout history, courtesy of songwriter Rupert “Pina Colada” Holmes. Everything drives home the Superwoman point once again, with a quieter pace.

Kristofferson didn’t write any of the tunes he sang in the movie, and none of them are as memorable as Barbra’s. Onscreen, Kris looked good in a sleazy sort of way. “”His body!! Oh my God!!” my 16-year old girlfriends and I chorused when we first watched the film. Kris’ grizzled whisky - soaked voice on Crippled Crow is too sad (sniffle sniffle) to listen to in context of the film’s plot. The opening song by the “John Norman Howard Speedway”, Watch Closely Now, sung again by Babs at the film’s end, seemed strangely out of place even with the rock arrangement. Hellacious Acres was the keeper. The song was about an amusement park with patrons like Jack the Ripper and Lizzie Borden - (“admission's free/ you pay to get out”). Written by Kenny Ascher and Paul Williams, it's a rock song placed in a blender with a show tune. The song works, but you need a quirky palate to enjoy it

Streisand's finale, With One More Look at You/Watch Closely Now is about as dramatic as a pop song can get. The way it zooms from heartbreak to despair to self-realization to confidence that borders on hubris is quite an emotional roller coaster ride. (“When they’re breaking your back/bring the last straw to me/I turn straw into gold”) This is not background music; it’s potent stuff. I tend to listen to it now only when I’m in a bottled-up emotional state and need to vent-or for creative inspiration. Barbra could always imbue even the simplest sentiment with dramatic flair; here she embellishes already powerful lyrics with her performance.

The movie accompanying the soundtrack doesn’t hold up well at all. I fast forwarded through the film recently, only stopping at the musical numbers. This was one film where the scant storyline was merely filler for the music, not the other way around.

A few interesting side notes about the film –Streisand wanted Elvis Presley to play John Norman Howard, but Colonel Tom nixed the deal; the car John Norman totals was a Ferrari GTS/4 Daytona Spyder, one of the most revered sports cars of the 1970s, and Sammy Hagar’s pre-VH band, Montrose, warmed up the Sun Devil Stadium crowd before Kris filmed a concert scene. Unsurprisingly, discord reigned supreme on the set, as director Frank Pierson didn’t get along with either of his stars. Kristofferson later noted., “Filming with Streisand is an experience which may have cured me of the movies."

CD Mini-Review: Baby Scream: Secret Place

2011-08-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

Prolific Argentinean songwriter/guitarist Juan Pablo Mazzola and Baby Scream follow up their self-titled CD (reviewed here) with Secret Place, recently released on the Eternal Sunday label. Secret Place brims with sonic gems like Cold Weather Reggae, which channels Jamaican tempos through a Beatles-esque filter, and The Atmosphere, a wistful folk-glam tune. The single Hit and Run has a dream-like quality similar to some of John Lennon’s early solo work. It's backed with a cover of Marc Bolan’s 20^th Century Baby. Secret Place is available through iTunes and other digital music stores.

EP Review: Adam Bones: Feel for Tomorrow

2011-08-17T23:17:00.000-07:00

Adam Bones’ EP Feel for Tomorrow packs all the promise of his energetic stage shows into five tunes that will keep you shakin’ to the beat. Bones, a Chicago native who is currently based in Hollywood, infuses his songs a harder, grungier sound than many so-called “power-pop” artists. His guitar takes center stage, turning each song into a finely-crafted mix of pop hooks and memorable riffs. Feel for Tomorrow begins on a tender, melodic note and then soars into guitar-heavy rock anthem territory. I Had You packs killer guitar riffs and gritty, baritone vocals make into 3 minutes and 55 seconds of pure musical energy. The song has such an upbeat, Romantics circa 1980 feel, I just wanted it to keep going…and going and going, sort of like the Energizer bunny.

Feel for Tomorrow is authentic rock ‘n’ roll that everyone can love; it’s good solid, foot-stomping fun. Some of the songs remind me a bit of fellow Chicagoans Urge Overkill, but then there’s the bluesy, hard rock approach of How Hard I Needed You. If we still lived in the good ‘ole rock radio days, DJs would say that Bones’ music has crossover potential. He’s playing a Tuesday night residency at the Redwood Bar in downtown L.A. this month, and he’s played gigs with Sylvain Sylvain, Ari Shine, the Wellingtons and Chris Shiflett of the Foo Fighters.

You can download Feel for Tomorrow at Bandcamp

Barb Wire Dolls: Greek Punk Rockers Take L.A. By Storm

2011-08-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

Photo by Matt Wessen

Attitude is important in rock ‘n’ roll; ultimately it’s more important than fashion or technical playing ability. It’s what endears fans to their favorite bands. Barb Wire Dolls, a female-fronted punk band from Greece, have caused quite a buzz in L.A. since moving here in 2010. They've played the Punk Rock Picnic and opened for the Bouncing Souls. They've appeared on the cover of Punk Globe, and Rodney Bingenheimer has played their music on his show. That's not bad for a band that was living in a commune in Greece a year ago. The band’s ballsy performances and in-your-face marketing campaign may be a bit much for people used to mopey indie bands, but true rockers will appreciate it.

Sure, there are lots of punk females in bands now. It’s not an oddity anymore. But you’ve got to have the energy and originality to back it up if you wanna be more than a flash-in-the pan,. Lead singer Isis Queen is one half Wendy O. Williams, one half Brody Dalle and all attitude. She hasn’t brought a chainsaw on stage yet, but I wouldn’t put it past her.. She’s married to the band’s guitarist, Pyn Doll, whose screeching blast of sound propels the songs forward. But it's not all bombast. There's a sense of melody underneath it, and Queen's voice is tuneful underneath the bravado.The Barb Wire Dolls are resurrected street punk meets new-wave style. They’re fun to watch and put on quite a show. You’d have to be really out of it to nod off by the bar while this band is playing.

The Barb Wire Dolls have a early 1980s punk rock look. They remind me of the time where punk had a little fashion tune up, with girls wearing hot pink zebra-striped tops instead of ripped t-shirts, but still maintained that nasty edge. On songs like So Hot, Black and Blue and California, the band blasts no-nonsense street noise that keeps even jaded L.A. crowds hollering their approval. The Dolls played a residency at the Viper Room to enthusiastic audiences in July, bringing a bit of attitude back to the Sunset Strip. Their forthcoming 14-track CD Fuck the Pussies contains six songs produced by Bryan Carlstrom (Alice in Chains, Offspring, Social Distortion).

Barb Wire Dolls-Facebook

Amy Winehouse : After the Tabloid Headlines and Rehab Jokes Have Ended, the Music Remains

2011-08-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

I had no idea who Amy Winehouse was in 2006 when I first heard Me and Mr. Jones. I'd somehow missed all the press about her beatification as music's new "It" girl, and the song mystified me. Was this some obscure treasure by a ‘60s girl group, a quirky jazz/indie performance piece or tongue-in cheek R & B by a seasoned artist? I never would have guessed a 22-year old white girl from Southgate, London was responsible for that smoky, commanding contralto voice. Of course, if I’d listened more closely to the lyrics, which mentioned “Slick Rick” and “fuckery”, maybe the singer’s age wouldn’t have been such a surprise to me.

As I listened to more of her work-and her songs were everywhere in 2006 and 2007- the maturity and artistry of her delivery and lyrics continued to amaze me. How could a woman in her early 20s sound so genuinely, from-the-guts bluesy and world-weary on Love is a Losing Game and offer the casually ironic wit of Fuck Me Pumps, an observational song about English “footballer” groupies. The subtle delivery of Fuck Me Pumps (from Winehouse's first album, Frank) doesn’t seem like one dished out by a 20-year old. One would expect an angry, hip hop denunciation of bitches and hos from someone so young, but Winehouse’s smirky expose disses said women more effectively than any acidic diatribe ever could.

Tears Dry on Their Own is at once a recollection of a bittersweet, illicit love affair and a declaration of feminist freedom. “I cannot play myself again/ I should just be my own best friend/not fuck myself in the head with stupid men,” Winehouse declares in one verse. Valerie Simpson and Nicholas Ashford co-wrote Tears Dry on Their Own, but Winehouse owns the song with the honesty and directness of her vocals. The presentation exposes the raw complications of love and psychoanalyzes it at the same time. The song Back to Black played out like an updated version of jazz standards like Black Coffee and Cigarettes, where the screeching anguish of lost love has descended into a dull, consistent ache.

The constant barrage of photos and video clips of Ms. Winehouse over the last few years exposed her as a cracked-out, bloody mess, running barefoot and disoriented in the middle of the street, ostensibly snorting coke onstage and generally being an out-of-control rock star. At first it seemed like a bad joke. Was she portraying the Saturday Night Live character Candy Slice run amuck? After awhile, it became apparent that this was no laughing matter. Unlike other members of the 27 Club, who muddled through highs and lows for several years before succumbing to the dark side, Amy just ceased to exist as a performer and musician one day and morphed into a permanent train wreck

I’m not a doctor (and I never played on TV), but copious amounts of alcohol, crack, heroin and whatever else the girl was shooting/snorting/imbibing on a regular basis was enough to kill not just a horse, but a whole stable. The holier-than-thou notion that most people can “snap out of it” after years of intense drug and alcohol abuse is a misnomer; we’re all wired differently and most people can’t just pick themselves up and walk away after a certain point. Given the amount and longevity of Winehouse’s drug and alcohol abuse, it seemed the light at the end of the tunnel was, indeed, farther than she could navigate.

If Amy had overcome her demons, it surely would have given her a wealth of material to match or outdo Back to Black. If she sounded like a jazz singer in some smoky nightclub at 22, can you imagine what she would have created at 35 or 40? She certainly had the talent and the raw chutzpah to become the Billie Holiday of her generation. It’s too bad she left us before she had the chance to generate an extensive body of work.

The Kabbs – Skater-Friendly Garage Rock from San Diego

2011-07-17T22:15:00.000-07:00

The Kabbs, a melodic, garage rock quartet from San Diego, have just released their second EP, which is currently available for free on their Bandcamp site. The EP’s three tunes are unadorned, skater-friendly slices of power-pop with attitude. There’s even a nod to Brian Jonestown-like psychedelica thrown in here and there to keep things interesting. The band plays regularly in S.D., taking the stage at the Kensington Club, El Dorado and other local haunts. The Kabbs rock the Casbah (sorry, couldn't resist) on July 21 w/ Ty Segall and the Fourth Annual Johnny Rad Fest, with the Spits, the Stalins of Sound and several other bands the last weekend of July.

Night of the Living..Britney Spears Fans?

2011-06-27T00:06:00.000-07:00

So…last Monday when I was walking back from the Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live, I encountered literally dozens of 20something couples walking toward the Staples Center. The guys were wimpy white thug wannabes; the girls were all wearing short dresses that barely covered their privates and spiky heels so high they could barely stand up. What is this, I thought? Night of the bottle service sluts and douchebags! NO!! Night of the Living..Britney Spears fans! A few days later, I found out Britney had played the Staples Center that night and the wall of 20somethings I encountered were indeed fans on their way to her concert.

Yes, apparently, Britney’s fans, at least certain ones in L.A., have adopted a concert-going uniform. Brit’s handlers are still trotting her out there, even though the poor girl stands bewildered onstage much of the time while her dancers contort around her. Her music is simply well-produced, vacuous techno/dance trash, nothing more. Let’s face it, it’s not supposed to be intelligent or built to last. That’s beside the point. Britney is an entertainer, not a musical artiste. Her stage show, videos and persona are candy-coated soft-core porn – and in the mainstream pop world, that means $$$. I like Britney, always have – she seems like a sweet, genuine, largely clueless girl whose childhood love of singing and dancing led her into lotsa money – and lotsa trouble. She’s 29 now, and still under conservatorship by her Dad. Not a good sign. By the way, what happened to her power-hungry Mom? She seems to have completely disappeared.

Here’s Britney’s latest video –Mad Max meets Brit as futuristic, scantily clad biker girl hosting underground rave.

LAFF 2011 Film Review: Mamitas

2011-06-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

Jordin (E.J. Bonilla) and Felipa ( Veronica Diaz-Carranza) strike up a life-changing friendship in "Mamitas".

Two Latino youths from different backgrounds form a life-changing friendship in the heartfelt coming-of-age film Mamitas. Director/writer Nicholas Ozeki expanded the storyline of his well-received 2007 short film into a feature film. The full-length Mamitas debuted at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 22nd.

We’re not sure what to make of Jordin Juarez (E.J. Bonilla), a high school “playa” in Los Angeles. He's constantly in trouble in the classroom and on the playground when we first meet him. Jordin is handsome and charismatic, but has no positive outlet for his energy. When strict but well-meaning teacher Miss Ruiz (Jennifer Esposito) gets him suspended, his week off turns into a journey of self-discovery. His new friend, Felipa Talia (Veronica Diaz-Carranza), an honor student, joins him in his quest.

The film deals with several intertwining family dramas. Felipa and Jordin forge a relationship in spite of, or perhaps because of, these intrigues. Jordin accidentally discovers some long-hidden secrets about his Mom, who died in childbirth. Felipa has her own issues: her mother has mysteriously vanished from her life. Originally from New York, she lives with her aunt, uncle and boy-crazy cousin Kika (Kimberly Burke) in Echo Park. The bookish Felipa seems nerdy, but she turns out to be quite feisty and confronts Jordin after what she perceives as a diss. Mamitas concentrates on Jordin and Felipa’s budding friendship and subtle flirtations at the beginning of the film, but there’s much more to the storyline than young love.

Felipa endures heartbreak caused by her M.I.A. Mom and deals with life as an educated misfit in a world of hip-hop music, thug wannabes and short-skirted party girls. A fight with Kika is at once funny and all too true as Felipa is driven to her breaking point by her cousin’s ongoing cattiness.

Mamitas integrates the L.A. Hispanic experience into the film’s fabric instead of presenting ethnicity as the focal point. All thhe touchpoints of life for a Latino teen in L.A. are here, though - the hip-hop party, the local slut, fights on the basketball court - and the obligatory lecture by the school counselor about going to college.

The cast, a combination of veteran character actors and young novices, work together flawlessly. Alex Fernandez, as Jordin’s widower father, Alvaro, works hard to give Jordin and his brother Hector (Jesse Garcia) a good life. But dealing with his rebellious younger son isn’t easy. Alvaro and Jordin remain emotionally estranged for much of the film.

Offhand appearances by writing teacher Alexander Viera (Joaquim de Almeida ) and Jordin’s rascally but wise grandfather “Tata” (Pedro Armendáriz Jr. ), add some colorful sidenotes to Jordin’s journey. There’s a distinct likeability and ease to the performances that make viewers identify with all of Mamitas' characters, from the main characters down to the supporting cast. Mamitas portrays the lives of L.A.'s Latino families from an inside perspective, not from the typical outsiders' eyeview of drugs, gangs and other sensationalistic subjects.

LAFF 2011 Film Review: The Fatherless (Die Vaterlosen)

2011-06-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

Austrian director Marie Kreutzer's The Fatherless (Die Vaterlosen), one of the films entered in this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival’s narrative competition, explores how children raised in a totally unstructured environment can suffer as much emotional damage as children brought up in an authoritarian household. Four siblings converge on a isolated house in the Austrian countryside after the family patriarch Hans (Johannes Krisc) passes away, with only his "adopted" physician son Niki (Philipp Hochmair) present when he dies. Through flashbacks, it’s revealed that Hans was the leader of a free-love hippie commune in the 1980s and fathered children with different women. He finally settled down with Anna (Marion Mitterhammer) who lived with him until his death.

The setup seems somewhat clichéd, as one by one, the rest of Niki’s siblings arrive at the house. There’s something off about these siblings – they hardly seem to recognize each other. During the first third of the film, it’s a little difficult to determine who the characters are and their relation to each other. Are they brother and sisters, half-siblings, friends, acquaintances? It’s hard to tell. The characters themselves aren’t even sure at first, and they open up to each other bit by bit.

The central story concerns estranged sister Kyra (Andrea Wenzl), who hasn’t seen her siblings for 23 years. She bears a bitter grudge against Hans, though it’s not apparent why at first. When Mizzi (Emily Cox) meets Kyra, she is anxious to learn more about her estranged sister.

The family spends a few days together while waiting for Hans’ funeral. Leisurely dinners and wine-laced chats soon give way to long-buried memories of chaotic scenes at the communal dinner table and Hans’ selfish motives. Idealistic brother Vito (Andreas Kiendl) takes over the house-repair duties, and his attempts to rally the family together meets resistance. Meanwhile, Anna’s altruistic demeanor cracks and she spills some secrets of her own.

Kreutzer' s meticulously paced script focuses on developing the characters as individuals. Enough information is revealed to keep us hooked until the siblings unravel several childhood mysteries, including the origin of Mizzi’s neurological disorder. All the usual props-scrapbooks, diaries, letters, even cassette tapes are employed to delineate family events. They’re subtle lead-ins to exposition that springs naturally from the characters.

The Fatherless examines the social and emotional effects of a communal upbringing on children. Instead of exploring the politics of this subject, the emphasis is on how such an atmosphere affects the individual. How did the parents’ freeform, laissez faire attitude shape the children’s identity and sense of family as they grew into adults?

The ensemble cast handles the emotionally charged material with aplomb. Wenzl gives Kyra just the right mix of willfulness, anger and composure. Portraying a character with such a complex history without going “over the top” was surely a hard task, but this young actress approaches it admirably. The rural Austrian landscape is lovingly photographed, in contrast to the VHS-quality look of the 1980s commune flashbacks. The Fatherless is an impressive debut from director Kreutzer, who approaches a difficult subject with sensitivity and skill.

*The Fatherless was filmed in German with English subtitles.

LAFF 2011 Film Review: Sawdust City

2011-06-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

Bob Church (David Nordstrom) and his brother Pete (Carl McLaughlin ) bar hop in search of their estranged father wih the help of ne'er-do-well Gene (Lee Lynch)

A slowly simmering Cain/Abel feud between two brothers searching for their alcoholic father drives the narrative in the drama Sawdust City, which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival June 19th. Director/writer David Nordstrom’s first feature film channels the Midwestern ennui of Eau Claire, Wisconsin (his hometown) as ex-sailor Pete Church (Carl McLaughlin) and underemployed family man Bob Church (played by Nordstorm) bounce from bar to bar on Thanksgiving Day to find their long-lost Dad.

Nordstorm's acting credits include Little Rock, Short Form Films’ well-received tale of Japanese siblings stranded in Little Rock, Arkansas, and 2004's Trona playing “The Man” lost in the desert. His indie acting experience surely adds to his rich and complex performance as hotheaded brother Bob in Sawdust.

A radio announcer’s mellifluous voice pops up every so often as the brothers drive (and eventually walk) from bar to bar through Eau Claire’s barren streets. The announcer’s flat jokes are a perfect accompaniment to the snow-covered sidewalks, railroad crossings and clapboard houses that double as taverns. The geography of Sawdust City paints a land that is as desolate emotionally as it is physically.

The film has the potential to combine both pathos and humor, as most of the action takes place in bars. Comic relief appears in the brothers’ travels via a loquacious, money-strapped barfly named Gene (Lee Lynch), whose tales of his unseen lumberjack girlfriend provide most of the film’s chuckles.

The father in question is seen only through old photographs as Bob and Pete bicker back and forth about childhood events. As day turns into night, tensions flare between them. The combination of cold weather, too much alcohol, and exposed secrets drives Bob and Pete to their respective boiling points. A long shot of Pete walking along a snowy road near the end of the film exemplifies not only the bleak surroundings, but the stark reality of the brothers’ plight. While Bob alternates between logic and rage, younger brother Pete is an enigma for much of the film.

Well-acted and emotionally taut, Sawdust City is a compelling portrait of siblings entangled in a not-so-happy reunion. It’s an ultimately downbeat tale, to say the least, but indie film fans will admire its artistry. Sawdust City is an official selection of the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Article first published as Movie Review: Sawdust City on Blogcritics.