Many is the wretched soul who has benefited from the benevolent, well-manicured hands of the Queer Eye crew. While singer/guitarist Ari Vais (known mostly around these parts for his former work with Humbert) can appreciate a good "manscaping" body hair trim and apartment makeover as much as the next guy, he says that his time with the infamous reality show Fab Five actually led to the demise of his band The Pelicans.
"Things just sped up so much after that appearance that it really forced us to choose whether or not to pursue indie rock more tenaciously," he concludes.
Ultimately and amicably, The Pelicans packed it in, but far be it from the prolific Vais to let a minor setback like not having a band stop him from penning a fresh batch of pop songs in the months that followed. Not long after, he explains, a chance meeting with old friend/bassist Dan Haag (best known for his work with Astrojet, a solo project for Fountains of Wayne guitarist Jody Porter) followed by an introduction to longtime Haag collaborator/drummer Dave Harmon eventually led to the threesome setting up shop as The Campbell Apartment—a power trio built on the foundation of Vais' tunes and voice and neatly adorned with the "well-oiled rhythmic machine" of Haag and Harmon.
The fledging outfit will celebrate the release of its first studio effort, Insomniac's Almanac, at the Iron Horse this Saturday, June 7 with Chris Collingwood of Fountains of Wayne fame in support.
In other news, the fifth annual Django in June Gypsy Jazz festival swings into Smith College on Tuesday, June 10 and has grown—as event organizer Andrew Lawrence notes—from a half-day event at its inception to a six-day music camp format that draws participants from the continent over. For a complete list of performers, schedules, prices and more, kindly point your browser to www.djangoinjune.com.
Rounding out this week's installment is yet another in a seemingly endless string of Nightcrawler dream rock 'n' roll reunions—that of seminal San Diego-based alt/please don't call them grunge rockers Stone Temple Pilots.
The purveyors of "Plush," "Sex Type Thing" and countless other '90s staples resurfaced at the Mohegan Sun on Memorial Day to regale the sold-out crowd of 30-somethings with their unique amalgam of melodic metal and psychedelic pop flourishes.Although the current trek technically constitutes the quartet's first official live performances since 2002, singer Scott Weiland now jokingly offers up a decidedly different backstory.
"You know, we never really did break up," he explained to the masses. "We've all just been playing hide and seek."
For more than a decade, the flamboyant frontman seems to have been playing his own game of "Duck, Duck, Your Goose is Cooked" with both his personal health and law enforcement—bouncing in and out of jail and rehab as he battled addictions.
As he sauntered onto the stage for show opener "The Big Empty" in a Mexican sarape, an oversized hat, glasses and the first of several cigarettes—one couldn't help but wonder if his personal demons had again gotten the best of him. Was that half the man Weiland used to be under those layers, engaging in, as tragically so many do these days, an ill-fated attempt to mask weight loss and other effects of constant abuse?
The answer would slowly, steadily reveal itself as he systematically stripped himself of garments and stepped up his vocals and overall energy levels exponentially song after song, working up to a fevered pitch of patented fist-pumpers and engaging diversions amidst the devastating sonic tapestries woven by the battery of the Deleos and drummer Eric Kretz.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
