Rockin’ in the New Year
As a pre-teen, Charlie Sexton studied guitar with the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. Now 23, the former solo artist is teamed up with two members of Vaughan’s band Double Trouble, as well as another Vaughan pupil.
Year: 1991
Hark! Arc Angels flying in for New Year’s Eve show
“I wave a banner for Charlie (Sexton),” David Bowie said, calling from Liverpool, England. “I like him a lot. He’s a good kid and very talented. Yes, he’s very pretty, but he didn’t need to be oversold. (MCA) saw him as a one-man Duran Duran, which was a big mistake. Charlie’s a blues boy and that’s where he really shines. Arc Angels probably is the best thing for him at this point in his career.”
Canada’s goofy Kids in the Hall are back on HBO
“I crush your head. I crush your head. You’re a flathead!” So cries the Head Crusher, a Brylcreemed loser in plaid pants and thick glasses who whiles away his days air-pinching victims’ heads between his thumb and forefinger.
Tin Machine gives its singer power to be Simply Bowie
It has been a long time since David Bowie has felt this good about himself. The former David Robert Jones, Ziggy Stardust and Thin White Duke has carved out a new musical niche without creating a new persona to play it out. Bowie is in Liverpool, England, on this day, congenially promoting his group, Tin Machine. He’s newly engaged to the model Iman, and sips on a cup of hot tea, his substance of choice these days. Mentally scanning his flamboyant 25-year career, he comes to the conclusion that his life, as that of most musicians, would make a boring film.
Woody Harrelson promises: `I can sing’
In Hollywood, where every other person claims to be an actor, singer, model or screenwriter, actor Woody Harrelson doesn’t raise too many eyebrows when he jams with his group Manly Moondog and the Three Kool Kats. But when the “Cheers” star takes his 10-piece band out on the road, he attracts a crowd that’s made up of music lovers as well as a strong contingent of curiosity seekers who want to know if “the boy can really sing.”
Gurus find followers for their wild pop
You wouldn’t think that a name like the Hoodoo Gurus would need dressing up. But when the Australian rock band formed 10 years ago, they billed themselves as Le Hoodoo Gurus.
Material Issue succeeds with the basics
When Jim Ellison lived at home in west suburban Addison, his parents got used to waking up and finding teenage girls parked in front of their home, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Material Issue singer. When he was on the road touring, Ellison’s mom would walk past his bedroom and hear giggling fans leaving vaguely obscene messages on his answering machine.
Big Audio Dynamite II detonates a powerful performance
“If I had my time again, I would do it all the same,” Mick Jones sang Saturday night at the Riviera. But with his superb band, Big Audio Dynamite II, Jones made it clear he had no interest in repeating anything musically. B.A.D. II’s guitar-heavy sound was augmented by a disc jockey and pre-recorded tapes that spit out hip-hop samples and keyboard tracks.
Jesus Jones gives style to substance
For all that’s been said about its innovative use of sampling, Jesus Jones ultimately is a taut rock ‘n’ roll band that gives concertgoers something worthwhile to look at, as well as listen to. Returning to Chicago for a sold-out gig Friday night at the Aragon Ballroom, the British group performed a confident, polished set that showed how much it matured musically since first touring the U.S. a year ago.
It’s not same old song in hands of Jesus Jones
With Jesus Jones, what you hear isn’t always what you get. Spearheaded by songwriter-vocalist Mike Edwards, Jesus Jones is a band that uses sampling as an art form rather than an easy way out. The sound snippets Edwards selects to sample are rarely left in their original state. Rather, he creates new sounds by elongating sighs, changing pitches and distorting voices.