The Chatterbox

TV? Rockstars?

It just occurred to me that I've never written anything here about my TV viewing habits. There's a good reason for that really. Even though there's a (small) TV on in my office pretty much constantly, I don't really watch all that my normal TV. 9 times out of 10 if I'm actually watching TV it's on Comedy Central, PBS or some type of sports programming.

That said, I'm wondering if anybody else got wrapped up in the whole Rock Star : INXS series?

I came into it a bit late --week 5 or 6 I think-- and even then rarely caught the original broadcast on CBS. My weekday evenings just get far too busy! I did usually catch it on VH1 during the replays each week though.

All I can say about Rock Star was that it was a really engaging series for those of us who are into music, especially rock music. There were some really amazing performances.

The premise of the show was that it was a competition to choose the new lead singer of INXS, which had the misfortune of losing their original lead singer Michael Hutchence. The winner would record the lead vocals for the next INXS album (the songs are already written) and then front them in a world tour that begins next year.

My opinion is that INXS probably chose the right person for their band in J.D. He fits their look quite well. Better than the other finalists.

That said, I have a feeling that Marty Casey is going to end up being the most successful of the group when we look back in hindsight a couple of years from now. Marty has the look, definitely has the voice and really pours himself into each song. By far the best performer at this stage of the game and he seems to take well to instruction.

What convinced me of this?

Well, two things really. First was his performance of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here which you can see/hear from this page on MSN. (Note: You can see all of the performances there from every week in case you missed any or all.)

Those who know me well know that I'm a huge Floyd fan. I've seen them several times live back when they were really Floyd (read: Before Roger Waters left) and also seen many bands try to cover them since then. Marty's rendition was simply hauntingly good! It ranks right up there with PF back in the old days.

Though I may be biased because of my love of Pink, the two times Marty performed this particular song were the two best of the entire competition. FWIW, I didn't care for J.D.'s rendition of PF's Money in Week 10. He seemed to just be singing the song, but there was no Soul. It's a pet peeve of mine, having a musical background myself. No matter what you're playing/singing, you can do everything technically correct and still suck eggs.

Also FWIW, in my opinion the second best performance of the series was Suzie singing Bohemian Rhapsody in week 8. Not so much because of the vocals --there were a couple of places I cringed-- but because it was a very ambitious song for her to choose and the performance itself was quite good. Suzie was well into it, and it was easy to tell.

Which I guess goes to prove the point I sort of made above. You can also mess up little things (not much though) and pull off a fantastic live performance if you pour all of your emotion, heart and soul into it.

But back to Marty before I wander too far off the subject.

The second thing that convinced me that Marty is going to make it BIG were comments made after he'd lost.

First, INXS said they wanted to enter into negotiations with Marty to be the opening act for them when they start touring in January 2006. I sort of hope he does and sort of hope he doesn't. I think it might help him in some ways, but might stunt his growth in another. If Marty does open for INXS, I really don't expect it to last long. He's ready to headline.

The second, and more important thing that convinced me was a comment made by Dave Navarro of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction fame. To paraphrase, Dave told Marty exactly what I was thinking, that he was going to be friggin' huge and that he (Dave) wanted to play guitar on Marty's first album.

I have a feeling the assistance will go much farther than simply playing guitar.

Marty, (in case he ever reads this) you've got an enormous advantage in Dave's wisdom and support. More than any experienced performer could ever hope for, let alone someone new to the biz. Coupled with your massive talent and obvious passion, it's a Can't Miss formula.

Please do not waste the opportunity to take advantage of Dave's graciousness my friend.