Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
The British rock group James understands that simplicity can be an elegantly powerful tool in concert. On its first tour of the United States, the seven-man band played an exquisitely stripped-down show in Chicago, proving that while the hype machine may be turned on full gear, the group is more than capable of living up to any hyperbole thrust upon it.
If they had to, the musicians in Teenage Fanclub could cloak many weaknesses with their sweet melodies and delicious harmonies. But when the vocals are as perfect as they were at the band’s Chicago debut Friday night at the Cabaret Metro, it really doesn’t matter how profound or inane the lyrics are. At their sold-out show, the group dished up the same savory vocals that are featured on its current LP “Bandwagonesque,” but with the added bonus of cranked-up instrumentation.
“Our producer told us that anyone can get good guitar or drum sounds, but the vocals identify you as individuals,” says Raymond McGinley, guitarist-vocalist for Scotland’s latest darlings, Teenage Fanclub. “That’s one reason why we all sing, even though I’m not particularly comfortable doing it.”
The only thing coy about Joan Jett Saturday night at the Cabaret Metro was the peekaboo lace catsuit she wore. With a guitar slung low on her hips and a sly sneer spread over her lips, Jett out-machoed the male guitarists she grew up emulating and took her fans through a gritty, 85-minute rock ‘n’ roll odyssey, where sweat and vitality were as essential to the show as a solid riff.
Joan Jett has been a part of the rock ‘n’ roll vocabulary for so long, it’s easy to forget she is just 32. She has been neither a trend-setter nor a follower in her 17-year music career. Even when critics dismissed her as a novelty, one-trick pony or, perhaps worst yet, “girl singer,” the raspy-voiced musician persevered and produced a string of anthemic records that hailed the primal joys of adolescence with rebellious vocal sneers.
Back when Ned’s Atomic Dustbin started, the five-man British group was lumped in with Jesus Jones and Pop Will Eat Itself in a genre called grebo rock. In English schoolyard lingo, “grebo” is the equivalent of “dork.” In pop jargon, it refers to a long-haired, smelly person. Either way, Ned’s considers the term appropriate.
When I first saw Tommy Conwell’s teen-idol face, I thought here was a guy who could win over the Tommy Page crowd with no problem. When I first heard him sing, I was shocked by what came out of that mouth. Make no mistake about it. Conwell is nobody’s pretty boy. He is a serious musician who happens to have a youthful, not-so-serious outlook on life.
Many musicians say they learned how to rock ‘n’ roll in their garages. But Sidewinders guitarist Rich Hopkins may be the first to have honed his guitar skills during a three-year stint with the Peace Corps.
Singer-guitarist Dave Pirner admits to playing in some pretty raunchy bands while cutting his punk-music teeth. Today, the 24-year-old musician fronts Soul Asylum, a loud, guitar-heavy group that he claimed is the most “imageless band ever.”
Back in 1982 when Chip and Tony Kinman were having critical success with their band Rank and File, the group was one of the forerunners in the return to rock’s country roots. They advertised themselves as being good ol’ boys from Austin, Texas, and Chip even spoke with a slight drawl.