Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Scholars and artists may argue about punk’s origin, but few will disagree that until the Sex Pistols exploded onto the music scene in 1976, not many people paid attention. “The Sex Pistols were created by Malcolm McLaren, who was in the fashion business, so a look was pushed on them more so than on the American punks,” said James Stark, author of “Punk ’77” (Stark Grafix). “That definitely made them more marketable.
God save the queen – the Sex Pistols are back. And if they’re not as lean and mean as they were 20 years ago, they don’t care. The British press gleefully speared the quartet whose name has become synonymous with punk rock, accusing the 40ish musicians of being too old and fat to be punk.
When a cocky guy like Noel Gallagher rates your band as being better than his, there might be a tendency to get a swelled head, especially since the Oasis guitarist isn’t particularly generous in his assessment of other groups. But while John Power is quick to tout the merits of his band, Cast, he’s just as swift to set the record straight with a modicum of modesty.
Visually, Dogstar is all about Keanu Reeves, but the movie star bassist takes a back seat to vocalist-guitarist-lyricist Bret Domrose on record. Live, Domrose’s vocals tend to get drowned out by Reeves and drummer Rob Mailhouse, but the mix on this record fixed that problem.
Sometimes you get so used to being uncomfortable at concerts that it’s easy to forget just how much fun a rock show can be. At Brian Setzer’s sold-out gig on Monday night at the Skyline Stage on Navy Pier, no one moshed or body surfed. The smell in the air wasn’t of pot and cigarettes, but rather a light fragrance of Bryl Creem and other hair products.
The Goo Goo Dolls skyrocketed to stardom last year on the strength of their bittersweet ballad “Name.” The difference between the Goo Goo Dolls and most rock bands, though, is that guitarist Johnny Rzeznik has a voice that’s consistently alluring live, whether he’s singing a searing rendition of the Plimsouls’ “Million Miles Away” or conveying the chaos of “Long Way Down.”
Back in the early 1980s, when he was doing the Stray Cat Strut, neither Brian Setzer nor his fans would have envisioned the tattooed, pompadoured singer playing in an orchestra. These days, the former rockabilly hep cat not only performs in one, he fronts one.
J.R. Richards quit college to be in a band. His parents weren’t disappointed. “I was a music major, and there’s not much you can do with that other than teach or conduct,” Richards said, calling from his record company’s Hollywood digs. “I couldn’t envision myself doing either.”
Jim Ellison, whose catchy melodies and girl-crazy lyrics defined the Chicago pop group Material Issue, was found dead at his Chicago home early Thursday of carbon monoxide poisoning. He was 32.
Jason Gedrick’s career is red hot. The actor who claims that girls weren’t interested in him in high school now has a file devoted to him on America Online, where cyber fans lovingly dissect the merits of his acting, hobbies and, uh, other attributes.
There is a sweetness to Tori Amos’ voice that belies the bleak elements of her songs. Her pristine vocal range, which has led to favorable comparisons with Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell and Ricki Lee Jones, is so intoxicating that at times it’s easy to forget that she’s singing songs about rape, abuse and the downfall of religious icons.
Jarvis Cocker is a tall, stick of a man who doesn’t look as if he could possibly possess the deep, rich, resonating voice he has. At Pulp’s sold-out concert Tuesday night at Metro, the gangly, twitching front man for the British sextet could’ve been a laughingstock if his strange antics were all he had to offer. But as with most great performers, he used his body to accentuate the positive, which in this case is the band’s superbly lyrical songs.
The Smashing Pumpkins have an open invitation from the producers of “The Simpsons.” Should the Chicago-based supergroup ever decide to stop the music, they are welcome to join the cartoon’s cast.
Although she was the subject of the film “Backbeat” and was engaged to a member of arguably the most famous band in rock history, Astrid Kirchherr is a relative unknown in America. But Beatles fans worldwide equate her name with the German beauty who stole Stuart Sutcliffe’s heart and who took enigmatic photos of the Fab Four when they were still a scrappy quintet.
“People are so preoccupied with the way they look, and looks are just a small aspect of any person,” Ben Chaplin, 26, said, having high tea at the Ritz-Carlton. “In my eyes, women who are smart and funny and confident have always been the most attractive ones. They just have this air about them that makes you want to be with them. I think there are plenty of women who are beautiful on the outside and lost on the inside, and their beauty ultimately isn’t nearly as interesting.”
The Jesus Lizard is about the last band anyone expected to sign to a major label. But seven years after its inception, the exhilarating hard-core alternative band has jumped to Capitol – home of the Beatles.
Writer-director David O. Russell looks a lot like Ben Stiller, who stars in Russell’s latest picture, “Flirting With Disaster.” The physical similarity hasn’t been lost on the director of the critically acclaimed “Spanking the Monkey.” “I wouldn’t say that that’s why Ben got the part,” Russell said earlier this month during a lunch interview at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel downtown. “But yes, it’s come to my attention that there is a likeness between the two of us.”
“Ed” is a cute movie about a minor league baseball player who learns about love, respect and self-confidence from his chimpanzee teammate. If you can’t get past this premise, don’t bother going to see the comedy, featuring “Friends” star Matt LeBlanc (as the pitcher, not the chimp), ’cause it doesn’t get any more real than that.
“Leaving Las Vegas” co-stars Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue each won top acting honors at the Chicago Film Critics Awards Monday night at the Park West. But best picture recognition went to Ron Howard’s “Apollo 13.” Shue made no attempts to hide her pleasure at winning and said that growing up with three brothers (including Andrew Shue of “Melrose Place”) made trophy collecting a competition in her household.
It wasn’t until recently that the five young actor/filmmakers who made the clever and hilarious “Bottle Rocket” learned that their producer, James L. Brooks, hated their first presentation to him. “I asked Jim, `So, what did you think of that reading we gave?’ ” said co-writer and co-star Owen Wilson, 27, one of three brothers involved in the project. “He said, `It was the worst one I ever heard in my whole life.’ ”