Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
“We played hundreds of weddings before, but to be a part of the wedding of a couple of music legends [Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton] was truly special,” said Dallas String Quartet violist Ion Zanca. “You feel like every note that you play is heard by people who truly know music.”
The No Doubt and Blink-182 rock show had it all: great music, good cartwheels and a pair of shirtless and mohawked drummers. Playing to a near-capacity crowd on Sunday at the Tweeter Center, neither band seemed bothered by the heat and humidity as the musicians ripped through sets that have been played before, but still managed to come across as fresh, brash and vibrant.
To watch No Doubt on stage, you’d never guess the musicians have ever had anything but happiness in their careers. Some bands are good at faking a good show, but few exude the kind of carefree, childlike joy that makes a show so much fun. Friday night at the Allstate Arena, the California band, fronted by Gwen Stefani, performed just shy of two hours, kicking off the show with “Hella Good.”
If you have MTV, try to catch the exclusive airing of Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” video. The fully animated clip was drawn by Magnus Carlson, whose animated “Robin” series is a favorite in Great Britain. The band is briefly depicted in a bar at the end of the 6-1/2-minute video, but the music and the stark images are the stars.
“I think that the whole Bush-copying-Nirvana (thing) is totally full of – – – -,” said Chicago-based producer Steve Albini, who recorded Bush’s latest double-platinum album, “Razorblade Suitcase.”
Gwen Stefani first started wearing bindis on her forehead as a teenager when she and No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal began dating. Since the band’s success, the blond singer has been repeatedly asked whether she’s Hindu.
Rock’s prettiest couple has split up. No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani and Bush’s Gavin Rossdale – the Gwyneth and Brad of the music world – have ended their 10-month relationship. But they’re still good enough friends to exchange little presents. During a recent visit to Chicago, Stefani wore a black sweater with black and white striped sleeves – exactly the kind that Rossdale favors. “Oh, it’s funny that you mention that,” Stefani said. “It was a gift from Gavin.”
“I’m not a male,” Gwen Stefani said. You wouldn’t think that the willowy blonde would have to state the obvious. But as the frontwoman for No Doubt, which has the No. 1 album in America, she has grown used to speculation and innuendo. But even Stefani was surprised at the latest rumor being spread about her on the Internet: that she has too little body fat to be a woman and therefore must be a transsexual. “I have to work out all the time ’cause if I don’t I’d get really chubby,” said Stefani, 26. She tried to punctuate this point by scrunching up her black sweater – a present from Gavin Rossdale of Bush – and pinching her stomach “fat.” Her fingers had little to grasp.