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Very Handsome

CAN'T WAIT FOR TOMORROW
'cause they get better looking every day – Handsome Boy Modeling School

By Chris Nixon
For the San Diego Union-Tribune
March 24, 2005
Prince Paul Huston and Dan "The Automator" Nakamura love the word "handsome."

Sure, they used the word a total of 36 times in a 15-minute conversation (more than twice a minute). But the two superstar producers also believe in the "concept" behind handsomeness, which they chose to share with the world in their Handsome Boy Modeling School project.

Assuming the identities of Chest Rockwell (Prince Paul) and Nathaniel Merriweather (Dan the Automator), the two producers donned fake mustaches and an ultra-suave style as a basis for the collaboration, an amalgamation of hip-hop, rock, soul and turntablism.

Based on a skit from Chris Elliot's hilarious but short-lived comedy TV series, "Get a Life," Rockwell and Merriweather focus on the good things in life: fine wine, good music and beautiful women.

"We travel a lot and we see the same faces," says Rockwell, tongue firmly planted in his cheek during a recent three-way conference call. "We travel amongst the wealthy and rich to various shows and poker events. We see the same guys and they have tons of women around them. And they have the same attributes I have.

"So, somewhere along the line, we were introduced. We realized: 'You're handsome. I'm handsome. We can't keep this to ourselves. Let's do a public service. You gotta share the love.' "

After making their marks as producers (Huston with De La Soul and Nakamura with Gorillaz and Deltron 3030), the duo first appeared on the public radar in 1999's "So ... How's Your Girl?," which featured performances by Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, El-P Grand Puba and Father Guido Sarducci. The album became an instant underground classic, mixing a campy lounge mentality with the best cutting-edge hip-hop MCs.

Packed with high-profile cameos from across the boards (John Oates to Mike Patton to RZA), the Handsome Boy Modeling School returned in 2004 with "White People." The album marked a reunion for the two after five years apart.

"The thing is, five years in time to regular people is a lot different to five years for handsome people," says Merriweather, whose repartee with Rockwell resembles a comedic tennis match. "It definitely flies. One year almost equals one hour," adds Rockwell.

"Did you catch the lecture tours we did with Tony Robbins and Deepak Chopra?" counters Merriweather.

Rockwell: "Man, you missed something that was pretty incredible and magical."

"White People" features a bevy of unlikely collaborations: former Faith No More lead singer Mike Patton with turntablist Rob Swift and indie folk singer Cat Power ("Are You Down With It"), MC Del Tha Funkee Homosapien with reggae artist Barrington Levy and Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapronos ("The World's Gone Mad"), Jack Johnson with turntablist Kid Koala ("Breakdown"), Wu-Tang's RZA with indie rockers the Mars Volta ("A Day in the Life") and jazzy pianist Jamie Cullum with John Oates ("Greatest Mistake").

So how did these two hip-hop producers muster the talents of such a varied roster?

"Man, you just have to throw the right kind of dinner parties and the right kind of people show up," says Rockwell.

Merriweather adds: "They come to us because they know we can teach them something about becoming more handsome."

After all the mixing and matching on both the albums, the real challenge comes when the Handsome Boy Modeling School hits the road. For its Tuesday Belly Up show in Solana Beach, Patton and MC Dres (formerly of Black Sheep) are confirmed. But keep your eyes open for special guests.

"Obviously, we have to make concessions, because a lot of Handsome Boy graduates are in demand," says Merriweather, who is set to release a new Gorillaz album in early summer. "We haven't tried to calculate it, but if we traveled with the whole Handsome Boy Modeling School it'd be like 70 people on the road.

"We try to bring out some of the graduates, and we have a band, and we have a whole video thing going on. Manfred Winters comes and hosts."

So how do Merriweather and Rockwell rate alter egos Prince Paul and Dan the Automator on the handsomeness scale?

Rockwell estimates: "It's a good start. They are handsome young men in their own right. But we could all use a little improvement, couldn't we?"

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.

Five Albums
that get the Handsome Boy Modeling School's seal of approval for smoothness:

"H20" by Hall & Oates( RCA, 1982)
The Skinny: This album represents the ultimate in Hall & Oates-driven neon nostalgia. Crackling with 1980s synth sounds ("Maneater," "Family Man") smoothed out by soulful ballads ("One on One"), "H20" sounds painfully soft two decades later. But, apparently it's handsome: John Oates and his mustache make a guest appearance on "White People."

"Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Soundtrack" (Polydor, 1977)
The Skinny: The apex of disco marks a turning point for dance music. Without this album, there are no clubs for DJs to develop their skills, no raves and maybe no electronica music. Love it or hate it, "Saturday Night Fever" is one of the most important albums in the second half of the 20th century. Very high on the handsome scale and fits perfectly with the kitschy Handsome Boy persona.

"Feels So Good" by Chuck Mangione (A&M Records, 1977)
The Skinny: Now doomed to dentist's office lobbies and elevators throughout the land, Chuck Mangione's flugelhorn musings and groovy 1970s funk jazz once marked the pinnacle of musicianship in popular music. If you can get past the painful associations (the aforementioned claustrophobic elevators and noisy dentist's offices), the music is quite good.

Anything by Al Green (preferably 1970s Green; his first four albums in a disc-changer will work)
The Skinny: Who is more handsome than the Rev. Al Green? Not even Nathaniel Merriweather and Chest Rockwell can match Green's smoothness. The soul singer has been schooling singles and couples on love, happiness and staying together for nearly half a century. "Love and Happiness" is one of the most handsome songs of all time.

"Trans-Europe Express" by Kraftwerk (Capitol, 1977)
The Skinny: Utterly efficient, mechanic and unsoulful (at least compared to the rest of this list), Kraftwerk created techno years before electronica and decades before a single glow stick found it's way to a club. Kraftwerk would despise the chaos of a club, opting for the sterile studio environment instead. They are handsome in a clean-cut, hair-slicked-back kind of way.

– CHRIS NIXON

Resurrected Crue

Motley Crue – yes, them – roars back to life

By Chris Nixon
For The San Diego Union-Tribune
March 17, 2005

Flashback to the mid-'80s: Heavy metal ruled the world. Glam hard-rock bands roamed the planet, partying and causing havoc with each stop of their never-ending arena tours. And millions of teenagers spent hours in front of bathroom mirrors, perfecting Billy Idol's lip-curl sneer, imitating David Lee Roth's swagger or trying to twirl drumsticks like Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee.

With crunching guitar riffs and bombastic drums, Motley Crue offered kids rebellion in the form of leather and hairspray. With charismatic frontman Vince Neil, spikey-haired bassist Nikki Sixx, brooding guitarist Mick Mars and lanky party boy Lee, the Crue forged a reputation onstage and off as beer-swilling, womanizing rock stars.

As the 1980s drew to a close and the '90s dawned, the public eye shifted to the darker grunge sound as metal grew soft. More hair bands tried to crack the Top 40 market with accessible ballads and crooning vocals. As musical genres sometimes do, metal became a parody of itself.

But Motley Crue – after surviving the '80s – continues to rock. The band recently regrouped and is in the middle of a world tour, including a stop Tuesday night at Coors Amphitheatre in Chula Vista.

Almost a quarter of a century after its inception, the Crue still earns props from metal veterans and young punks alike. So does it bother the outspoken Lee when people talk wistfully about the 1980s and Motley Crue?

"I'm cool with it: I just look at it like a big complement," says Lee from the Crue's tour bus, on the road to promote a new double-disc greatest hits album, "Red, White and Crue." "I remembered someone telling me that they saw Travis from blink-182 spinning around up-side-down on his drums, and I had done that back in '85. I just got a smile on my face. Somebody else might be upset about it, but I just feel like it's rad. It means I made – if not a permanent mark – a cool little scar on someone's musical life."

The past 25 years read like a hazy, demented soap opera for the guys in Motley Crue: Neil was charged with vehicular manslaughter in 1984 when his friend Razzle was killed in an alcohol-related crash; Sixx was pronounced dead after a Sunset Strip heroin binge in 1987; Lee's on-again, off-again romance with Pamela Anderson (throw in charges of spousal abuse). Crue's story produced the best "VH-1 Behind the Music" episode to date, required viewing for would-be rock stars oblivious to the dangers of excess.

But the music overrides all the tabloid hype, or at least enhances the legend. The band's first two albums – 1981's "Too Fast for Love" and 1983's "Shout at the Devil" – remain loud reminders of Motley Crue's mammoth rock sound. But during the 1990s, metal bands fell on hard times. Grunge and introspective rock captured the public's attention.

Feeling hemmed in by the musical constraints of the band, Lee left the group in 1999 to try his hand at new styles and different roles. He explored rap-rock territory with his band Methods of Mayhem (helped out by Lil' Kim, Fred Durst, Kid Rock and Mix Master Mike) on the self-titled release in 1999. In 2002, he released the song-oriented rock album "Never a Dull Moment" under his own name.

Life on the road has changed for the guys and the drummer looks at life as a member of Motley Crue differently than when he was in 20s.

"A lot of time has passed, a lot of times you take things for granted," states Lee. "I think everybody (in the band) realizes now that what the four of us do is real special."

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.

N&D Cover: The Next Wave

The Futureheads are vocal about their approach: 'We're having loads of fun playing loud music'

By Chris Nixon
For The San Diego Union-Tribune
March 10, 2005

Little kids know it, but sometimes adults forget it: Singing is fun.

Just ask Jaff, the bassist for the Brit-rock quartet the Futureheads: "You have to really concentrate and really put some effort into the singing, and singing is great fun, you know?" said Jaff during a recent concert stop in Boston, as his band tours the States in support of its self-titled debut album. "We all sing really loud. The endorphins that it produces in your body is pretty amazing. We could have the worst audience in the world, but then they start to realize that we're having loads of fun playing loud music. It can really swing an audience for us."

And the Futureheads has been swinging audiences since its inception in November 2000. After toiling for three years in the northern English hometown of Sunderland, the Futureheads burst into public consciousness this past year with its brand of frenetic New Wave and sing-along vocal harmonies. Packed with edgy energy, the Futureheads' first full-length album features catchy vocals from all four members.

"The idea behind the singing was we thought, 'Well, we're all going to stand up there on stage, we should all play an equal role,'" said Jaff. "Someone obviously needs to sing lead vocals on every track, but everyone should have a microphone on stage. Even if you're just picking up their breathing or the screams and yelps from Dave the drummer.


"It makes all the difference," Jaff said. "There's more air moving about. People aren't just focused on Barry in the middle singing the lyrics. There's me and Ross on either side of the stage singing stereo harmonies. It's much like watching a tennis match, the crowd's heads are moving side to side following the ball."

New Wave music, king in the 1980s, has seen a revival of sorts in the past few years. Bands such as Metric, Ima Robot and the Futureheads breathe new life into the once-dead genre, reviving the spirits of the Knack and Missing Persons. But instead of synthesizer-driven hard pop, the new generation relies heavily on the traditional guitar-bass-drums setup. In the Futureheads' case, the band replaces cheesy synth parts with their voices. Among the vocal volleying and layered harmonies, the Futureheads' jagged guitars joust with crisp rhythm performances – all contained in an upbeat, accessible pop package.

One of the new disc's standout tracks is "Hounds of Love," the title track from Kate Bush's largely forgotten gem originally released in 1985. The song opens with Jaff and guitarist Ross Millard's sing-song chanting, with vocalist Barry Hyde crooning over the top while little brother Dave Hyde lays down an airtight beat.

"My dad was a massive Kate Bush fan. Whether it was because of her music or because he fancied her, I'm not really sure," said Jaff. "I think it's a pretty good reason if you ask me; she's a fox."

When the Futureheads roll into town for a show at all-ages venue the Epicentre, expect to do a little singing yourself: "We do this thing on 'Hounds of Love' now where we split the audience in half: one side sings my half and one half sings Ross' half. So you have the audience create this mass participational noise. It's good fun."

Backed by a major-label deal with Warner, these four kids in their early 20s have come a long way from Sunderland. Get to know them. They plan to be around for a bit, and deservedly so.

"We initially got label interest about two years ago," said Jaff. "Eventually, we got this deal with Warner, and it's really allowed us to spread our music worldwide. It just completely changed things for us. Because, in the beginning, you're alone, you're just a small band from Sunderland at the end of the day. And now we've released this record all over the world and we're just having a ball doing it."

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.

Focused aggression, pop melodies and other influences
DISCOGRAPHY
"The Futureheads" – 2004, Sire/Warner

LINEUP
Ross Millard – guitar, vocals

Barry Hyde – vocals, guitar

Jaff – bassist, vocals

Dave Hyde – drums


SPIN CYCLE
The Futureheads draws from many influences, but bassist Jaff lists five albums the band listened to during the recording of their debut self-titled record:

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART – "The Spotlight Kid/Clear Spot"

Warner Bros., 1972

File under: Off-kilter avant blues-rock powered by meandering marimbas, gritty guitar riffs and Beefheart's gravelly sandpaper vocals.

Sounds like: Frank Zappa meets Tom Waits

Jaff says: "I don't know if you can get it over here, but the double Captain Beefheart album is great. In the UK, you get two albums together. The vocals on that record and his approach to playing real music with real instruments is amazing. A lot of people missed the Captain Beefheart thing. The instrumentation and the arrangements on that album are mind-blowing. The grooves that the drummer and bass player lay down, me and Davey really try to emulate them."

SHELLAC – "1,000 Hurts"

Touch & Go Records, 2000

File under: Punk-tinged growling guitars and iron drums interlock with piston-like efficiency, led by soundsmith and producer extraordinaire Steve Albini (the Pixies, Nirvana, P.J. Harvey, the Breeders).

Sounds like: early "Bleach"-era Nirvana meets Sonic Youth

Jaff says: "It was a big influence: Albini's approach and his command of the audience. Barry and Ross saw them live and after that played them every day. They came back from the show and said, 'We need to be more like this.' On that record (singing): 'Kill 'em, kill 'em, kill 'em already, kill 'em." We try to use that kind of focused aggression along with pop melodies."

XTC – "Drums & Wires"

Virgin Records, 1979

File under: Exquisite harmonies and intricate pop arrangements cover lead singer Andy Partridge's lyrical neuroses like a warm comforting blanket.

Sounds like: The angry young man spiel of Joe Jackson/Elvis Costello smoothed out by – dare we say – Beatles-esque pop.

Jaff says: "I think that XTC has been an influence for us from the start. As far as the group goes, it's probably not our favorite XTC album. But I was listening to this one a lot during the recording of the album. I listened to Colin Moulding's bass lines a lot. All the jaggedy guitars and the kooky pop songs were an influence.

LED ZEPPELIN – "Houses of the Holy"

Atlantic Records, 1973

File under: The definition of bombastic rock, a glimpse of one of rock's greatest bands at the height of their creative powers.

Sounds like: No one else before or since (worth mentioning). The perfect combination of Led Zep's sweet acoustic side (see "Led Zeppelin III") and their trademark thunderous rock (see "Led Zeppelin II").

Jaff says: "I've got to mention 'Houses of the Holy' for the diversity of sounds: the acoustic sounds, the guitar sounds. Pretty much any of the first Led Zeppelin albums are untouchable, as far as I'm concerned. So I've got to mention Zeppelin. Jon Bonham is an absolutely immense drummer."

SWEEP THE LEG JOHNNY "Going Down Swinging"

Southern Records, 2002

File under: Punk kids who listen to a lot of 1970s art rock and early SST Records bands (like the Tar Babies), with angsty vocals, odd time signatures and avant-garde saxophone licks.

Sounds like: Fugazi on amphetamines

Jaff says: "Barry never had it off the entire time we were recording the album. They're like Faraquet. Have you heard Faraquet's "The View From This Tower?" The guitar sounds and the groove they get going are truly amazing. They have a lead saxophone player, need I say more?"

– CHRIS NIXON

Sage Francis: The flip-flopper

Sage Francis moves easily between spoken word and hip-hop in search of a way to come at the world 'from new angles'

By Chris Nixon
For The San Diego Union-Tribune
March 3, 2005

From the Holy Ghost preachings of Southern Baptist ministers to the beat poets' roving beatnik spirit, the spoken word benefits from the immovable force of rhythm and rhyme. So it makes sense that hip-hop and spoken-word poetry – two urban forms of verbal expression centered around beats and poetry – go hand-in-hand and artistically feed off each other.

Coffeehouses gave birth to spoken-word poetry in the 1990s, while dance parties set off the hip-hop revolution in the late 1970s. Spoken word emerged from an intellectual perspective, with a wider vocabulary and a broader range of topics. Hip-hop emerged from the dance-oriented party vibe, always maintaining the beats, the rhymes, the heartbeat.

The best hip-hop invokes the gray matter much like spoken word does, and the best poetry implies beats and rhythms. For the past decade, spoken-word poetry and hip-hop lived in two different worlds, but coexisted in the same universe.

Hip-hop MC and spoken-word artist Sage Francis tries to differentiate between the two art forms (in his own tongue-in-cheek style): "That's easy. Spoken word is spoken word. Some spoken word can have a hip-hop appeal, but it is not accompanied by music. There's all different kinds of spoken word. All different kinds of hip-hop. Wait ... this isn't easy at all."


A foot in two worlds
Despite forming two decades apart, both movements led to a form of hybrid artist: Saul Williams, muMs the Schemer and Francis to name a few. While poets like Williams and muMs occasionally venture into hip-hop territory, Francis makes his home there.

"The poetry environment allowed me to explore different subject matter and come at it from new angles," says Francis via e-mail, because he never does phone interviews ("I hate putting something to my ear in order to talk to someone who I can't see").

"It helped me develop as a writer being around different kinds of people and reading in front of new crowds," continues Francis. "Just by being heavily involved in the poetry scene, it leaked into what I talked about in my rap songs and the way I worded them."

Since he was 8 years old, Francis has been kicking rhymes and honing his skills. His words led him to the emerging slam poetry scene in the late-'90s, and he ranked among the best at the National Poetry Slam competition. Along with his two solo releases, Francis has also recorded and toured with as part of the hip-hop duo Non-Prophets and the Art Official Intelligence collective, developing fans in the underground hip-hop scene.

Living in the age of hip-hoprisy
Released in early February 2005 on Epitaph Records, Francis' latest album, "A Healthy Distrust," begins with a documentary voice-over stating: "You are listening to the heartbeat of the SAGE." Taken from a 1950s film by IBM promoting a military computer called SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment), the quote serves two purposes. First, the snippet satisfies the hip-hop standard of name dropping through spliced sound clips. More importantly – for those who understand the clip's original meaning – the quote sets the stage for Francis' highly political stance echoed throughout the album's lyrics.

In contrast to the current bling-bling rap culture, Francis marches along the thin line between spoken word and hip-hop, angrily condemning political complacency and violence.

"People should have a healthy distrust of all authority and the institutions all around them," writes Francis. "They should question why things are the way they are, who is responsible and how they fit into that puzzle. Most people have fallen right back into their comfortably uninformed seating assignment. It doesn't matter if they trust the government or not, because they are programmed to feel helpless and that makes them complacent in whatever situation they are given."

All the way live
Francis slams down his rhymes with passion and conviction, a practice that has shredded his vocal chords. During his fervent live performances, he's backed by a quintet called the Sol.iLLaquists of Sound – Tom Inhaler on guitar, DJ Divinci, MC Swamburger and vocalists Alexandra(h) and Tanya.

While explaining his reasons for not doing phone interviews, Francis says, "I have polyps on my vocal cords so I am staying away from using my voice except for when I am on stage with a mike in my hand. It's a very serious problem that I had checked a couple days ago. The doctor recommended I stop the tour. That's not an option for me. I did have to cancel a couple shows though in order to heal up a bit.

"The shows were so intense and crazy that I blew my vocal cords out," continues Francis, who performs at 'Canes in Mission Beach tomorrow. "I am currently trying to build myself back up to a good performing voice. Until then, I am all blood and guts on stage."

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.


Five with the right rhyme schemes
Hip-hop and spoken-word poetry have rubbed elbows since slam poetry burst into public consciousness in the 1990s. Sage Francis made his mark in both genres.

Here are five artists Francis cites as performers he pays attention to, either from a spoken-word background doing hip-hop or MCs that write rhymes that could be recited in coffeehouses. It is said that artists are our cultural "canaries in the coal mine," so listen up:

SAUL WILLIAMS
Background: Williams rocked the slam poetry scene with his intricate lyricism and his intense live performances as the scene gained national exposure.

Latest release: "Saul Williams" (Fader Label, 2005)

Lyrics: Nah, I wasn't raised at gunpoint and I've read too many books / To distract me from the mirror when unhappy with my looks / And I ain't got proper diction for the makings of a thug, though I grew up in the ghetto and my niggas all sold drugs / And though that may validate me for a spot on MTV or get me all the airplay that my bank account would need / I was hoping to invest in a lesson that I learned when I thought this fool would jump me just because it was my turn – from "Talk to Strangers" on "Saul Williams"


SOLE
Background: Coming straight out of Portland, Maine, MC Sole helped create one of the mainstays of the East Coast indie hip-hop, the Anticon collective.

Latest release: "Selling Live Water" (Anticon, 2003)

Lyrics: I've been doing this for too long to keep / Singing the same song / This is another one of those happy moments not made for anyone / I don't rap in bumper stickers, I'm witty with 40-liners / Every breath is a chorus, sing along if you're still breathing / I've got gods, I've got issues – from "I Don't Rap in Bumper Stickers" from "Bottle of Humans"


JARED PAUL
Background: Jared Paul is a social worker from Providence, R.I. (same hometown as Sage Francis). He is the director of the Providence Youth Slam and has been a member of the Providence Slam Team (5th at nationals in 2003) for the past four years.

Latest release: Featured on the "Sickly Business" compilation (Strange Family Records)

Lyrics: Z is not for 'Zion' or 'Zachariah,' it's for 'Zenith' / If you and I sacrifice our surplus so everyone has what they need / Then we can reach it / Now they say that at poetry slams and protests / You are preaching to the choir / And that our real goal should be to get the ideas presented in this forum to the outside world / But you are not the choir / I don't believe you are working as hard as possible / I don't see us doing everything that we can / Evolution has to move faster than this – from "For Roger"


SLUG
Background: As one half of Minneapolis-based duo Atmosphere, Slug brings hard introspective rhymes and a heady take on the world.

Latest release: "Seven's Travel's" (Epitaph, 2003)

Lyrics: In the days of kings and queens I was jester / They treat me like a god or they treat me like a leper / You see me move back and forth between both / I'm to find a balance / I'm trying to build a balance – from "Trying to Find a Balance" on "Seven's Travels"


SWAMBURGER
Background: Born Asaan Harazshi Brooks in Chicago before making Orlando, Fla., his home, Swamburger oozes smooth rhymes sans pimpin' street lingo. His words hark back to the days of A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul while his beats reside on the R&B side.

Latest release: "Roots of Kin" (Eighth Dimensions, 2003)

Lyrics: Dedicated to my mother and her mother / Daughters and sisters across the globe / I give respect in order to get respect – "Womanside" from "Roots of Kin"

– CHRIS NIXON