What does it mean to be a rock star in 2010?  I remember growing up in the 1990’s when there were plenty of persons that I considered synonymous with rock star, like Chris Cornell, Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain, and even Rivers Cuomo to name a few.  Thinking back on the 1980’s it even seemed clearer.  Axl Rose, Bono, Michael Jackson, Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Idol – the list goes on-and-on.  But today the pond has become murkier, and instead of hearing about rock stars, I am instead bombarded with the catch-all “celebrity” category, which can include people as diverse as Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, Justin Timberlake, Jay Z, Kobe Bryant, Barack Obama, Kate Gosselin, and …Bono!

Incidentally, I received an email last week about a band that played the Triple Rock on Monday night called 100 Monkeys.  This is Jackson Rathbone’s band from the Twilight movies.  Despite Keanu Reeves proving (in most people’s minds) that most celebrity actors should stick to what they know, folks are still trying to pull off a transition from film to concert stage.  Are you an actor or a rock star Jackson Rathbone?  Oh, I forgot, you’re a celebrity, and hence, both of these things!  Doesn’t anyone want to just be a movie star anymore?

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“Movie Star” by: Lily Liver

Classic rock star lore would dictate that to be a rock star one must involve ones self in a myriad of excessive activities such as rampant sex, lots of alcohol, lots of drugs, lots of parties, and lots of other behaviors that I’m completely oblivious of, but would welcome any enlightenment on in the comment section.  But we’re past these expectations for rock stars, right?  After all, in addition to actors, it seems everyone else wants to be a rock star these days too, and how many people can actually live up to the above expectations?

Slash says "Yes, you too can rock like me... but say no to drugs."

I find myself lost when trying to think of the embodiment of a rock star in 2010 (Jack White, maybe?), yet I feel as if I see rock stars here in the Cities all the time.  Who are these people?  Where do they make public appearances?  How can they be recognized for their rock starness?  I was at Ground Zero nightclub on February 12 for a show by three local bands: Avenpitch, Thought Thieves, and Pop Inc, and for some reason I left that evening just thinking about rock star and what it entails.  There was something rock star about those artists, but what was it?  In what ways did they define rock star?

Like all things cultural, the manifestation of rock star is contextual.  If a person doesn’t find themselves in the right setting, and if their mind isn’t in the right place, then never will a rock star be seen.  As far as setting is concerned, I’m really only talking about live venues here, not magazine fold-outs, television, movies, or other places rock stars might be identified.  And as far as venues are concerned, not all stages or venues are created equal, and some seem more conducive to rock star sightings than others.  Ground Zero boasts a very large stage with an equally robust lighting system.  No doubt this helps artists project rock starness if used properly.  Yet even the most grandiose of stage set-ups can’t impress rock starkness upon an artist.  Something needs to be done on the artist’s end to project this image, and here comes in the flexible definition of rock star that makes the most sense in my mind.

Rock Star – a musical artist who performs live shows in ways unexpected, unprecedented, or inordinate in the mind of the onlooker.

Does this sound too technical?  Well, what do you expect; it’s coming from yours truly.   This definition includes a lot of important points though.  For instance, it dictates that the individual must be a musical artist and not simply a celebrity.  It also emphasizes that the rock star persona is best displayed during a live show and not in other places like magazines, newspapers, movies, etc.  Additionally, this definition attributes an equally important role in rock star identification to the onlooker, reminding us that rock stars only exist in our heads as a concept.  No musician can wake up one day and decide that they’re a rock star and expect to simply be identified as one.  A musician must convince others they are a rock star – somewhat like a cult leader convinces his or her followers that they’re some sort of corporeal manifestation of a higher being!  This analogy shouldn’t be lost on anyone.

The only remaining matter with this definition, then, is figuring out what constitutes an “unexpected, unprecedented, or inordinate” way of performing a live show, and thankfully, this is something that is observable!

As a case study, consider that show at Ground Zero a few weeks back that I attended.  Without going into too much detail, I can cite one thing that each band / artist did that was unexpected, unprecedented, or inordinate.  In one form or another, all these bands / artists did something to overcome what I consider one of the great fallacies in modern pop music philosophy – that is, “it’s all about the music.”  It’s always more than just about the music!

Avenpitch and Todd Millenacker’s use of the whole space

How many shows have you attended where a band or artist has taken the stage, performed their song(s), and done little else?  Have you ever wished to God that the lead singer would do something a little crazy?  Maybe sing directly to you in the front row instead of the invisible man at the back of the room?  Well, Todd Millenacker of Avenpitch did just that, and it was unexpected.  Concert attendees were having a tough time moving from the bar area to the floor in front of the stage, apparently just too involved in their personal conversations to be bothered by that “gorilla in the room” band on stage.  Instead of showing any sense of self-consciousness about the crowd basically, well, ignoring him, Todd Millenacker dropped his guitar during instrumental portions of the Avenpitch set, jumped to the concert floor, began dancing wildly, and engaging concert goers directly, sometimes as close as twelve inches from their nearest body part!  He would then leap back onto the stage, run across it, and strike poses on platforms stage left.  When was the last time an artist came directly at you at a concert, invaded your personal space, and outwardly coaxed you into dancing with him?  Seriously, that’s unexpected (perhaps inordinate too), but it was altogether hilarious and memorable at the same time.  Heaven forbid artists demand our attention!

Thought Thieves and provocative dance accessories

The Thought Thieves approach to creating a rock star experience involved one of the oldest tricks in the book – the use of accessories.  This form of rock star exhibitionism has existed for as long as the rock star has, and its use ranges from intentional (Scott Weiland and the megaphone) to the unintentional (Alice Cooper and the chicken).  The Thought Thieves chose to use provocative dancers as their accessories.  To be clear, I don’t mean to objectify the female dancers by referring to them as accessories (they were both very beautiful people), but really, their purpose for dancing on either end of the stage alongside the band was for objective purposes!  We all know scantily clad women dancing provocatively attracts attention, and we all know that when confronted by a such a woman we aren’t drawn to think “hmmm… what the hell is she doing there”?  We all know exactly why those women were there – rock stars have traditionally been surrounded by beautiful women.  It’s part of the image, and the Thought Thieves use of provocative dancers served to remind me that, indeed, there was something rock star about them.  (Note: localized overuse of a particular accessory will diminish its effectiveness over time, and though the thought of scantily clad female dancers at every rock show in town sounds appealing, it would in fact constitute an egregious offense against the current high status of the scantily clad female dancer.  Support the careers of local scantily clad female dancers – use sparingly.)

Pop Inc and well-planned choreography

There is something to be said for the spontaneity of a live show, yet there is also something to be said about the well-laid plans of a live show.  Nothing says to an onlooker “I’m here to entertain you, damnit” quite like preplanned theatrics do.  I always appreciate a band with a plan, and Pop Inc had a plan.  The band’s two front people (Brooke Aldridge and Neil Schultz) performed coordinated dance moves throughout their entire set.  To be clear, again, these weren’t the kind of dance moves Kevin Bacon showcased in Footloose (who could sing while doing that!?), but they were performed well in unison and always on cue.  Pop Inc are true show people, and they’re an excellent example of a group that performs beyond the music.  In a city that boasts numerous bands that perform their stage sets with a statuesque fervor, Pop Inc deserves a round of applause for their nearly unprecedented choreographic approach.  Theatrics and choreography have a place in rock ‘n roll, just look at Spinal Tap!

As final thoughts and questions, how do you define rock star?  What things have you seen musical artists do that made you think “wow, that person is a rock star”?  Are there rock star behaviors that you wish musical artists did more often in the Twin Cities?

We should all be students of David Bowie, Shakespeare, and Betty White (just for fun).

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posted March 3rd, 2010 at 9:23 am Uncategorized Avenpitch, Pop Inc., Thought Thieves