Marriage adds sparkle to Remy Zero

By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
February 12, 1999

Just as the musicians in Remy Zero began building a name for their superb album “Villa Elaine,” vocalist Cinjun Tate married actress Alyssa Milano.

Suddenly, the band’s press coverage extended into gossip column items.

“I’ve always liked keeping the personal aspect of my life really private, so all this is really strange,” Tate said, phoning from outside a club in Houston. “The thing about me and Lys just happened to coincide with the timing of when the band started to get played on radio and all that.

“But you know, I focus on my own life and let the rest go away. I don’t dwell on what people say about me and her.”

Remy Zero will open for Semisonic tonight at the Vic. The group also will make an in-store appearance to promote “Villa Elaine” at 1 p.m. Saturday at Tower Records, 2301 N. Clark.

Often compared with Radiohead, U2 and Queen, Remy Zero shares the grandeur of all three groups while maintaining a baby band’s fresh-eyed exuberance. The songs are propelled by Tate’s emotional voice, especially on the band’s first single, “Prophecy,” which is featured prominently in the teen flick “She’s All That.” A haunting
number with a hypnotic guitar hook, the song is a powerful example of what the band can do in four minutes.

Milano aside, the band’s other high-powered fans include Radiohead and Daniel Lanois. And both Courtney Love and Billy Corgan proclaimed “Villa Elaine” one of the best albums of 1998.

“It’s so beautiful to have people you respect say that about your work,” Tate said. “The Radiohead guys are really good people. They’re so nice. Being in a situation where people really like what you do is a really beautiful thing. Even if you’re going through some miserable times, you can remember hearing that and you’ll feel better that you’ve affected someone who’s affected you in some way.”

Much has been made of Milano’s love for the band’s music. At Los Angeles shows, the “Charmed” star can always be found at the front of the stage, dancing and singing along. Will Tate make an appearance on her popular WB series?

“No, no, no, no, no, no!” he said with a laugh. “I shy away from that end of the camera. I’ll leave that to Lys. I have no desire to be an actor, but I would like to do music for films. That would be beautiful. Somebody just gave us a really cool script that we might score. But that’s about as close to on camera as I want to get.”