Here's an excerpt from the book Whores: An Oral Biography of Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction.
Pages 49 & 50
SEAGULLS: NO SCORE
[Home Edition]
Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext) - Los Angeles, Calif.
Author: RANDY LEWIS
Date: May 24, 1986
Start Page: 2
Section: Calendar; 5; Entertainment Desk
Text Word Count: 428
Document Text
In the offbeat film "Repo Man," a character explained his aversion to cars with the observation that "the more you drive, the less intelligent you are."
An offshoot of that theory seems apropos to A Flock of Seagulls' music: The longer the group plays, the more dimwitted its songs become. At least that was the case Thursday when the flock flew in to Capistrano for a sold-out show at the Coach House.
The increasing vacuousness of the British band's songs was emphasized in a 90-minute set built around its latest "Dream Come True" album, which contains some of the most sophisticated and thought-provoking lyrics to come out of England since Herman's Hermits.
Lead singer Mike Score is an unexceptional vocalist whose personality stops at his wind-swept coiffure. It was only toward the end of the show, when he stepped on to the front-row tables and shook a few hands, that he made the remotest attempt to establish rapport with the audience.
At least the instrumental attack, propelled by Ali Score's aggressive drumming and Gary Steadnin's lively guitar work, gave these fluffy dance tunes more muscle than they received on record.
The group also was scheduled to play Friday at the Palace, and is due at Garfield's in Huntington Beach tonight and at Magic Mountain next Friday.
JIMI 'N' JACK: Local notables from such bands as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fishbone, Thelonious Monster, Talk Back and What Is This will get together Monday at the Roxy to pay tribute to Jimi Hendrix. . . . Rockabilly singer Jack Scott, whose '50s hits included "My True Love" and "Goodbye Baby," will appear tonight in an "Oldies but Goodies" show at the Long Beach Pike. LIVE ACTION: Tickets for Neil Diamond's four added Greek Theatre shows, beginning Aug. 14, go on sale Tuesday. . . . Eurythmics will be at the Greek Theatre on Aug. 4-5 and at the Pacific Amphitheatre on Aug. 9. Tickets for all shows go on sale Sunday. . . . Gladys Knight & the Pips headline the Universal Amphitheatre on July 11-12, while Ziggy Marley headlines a reggae revue there on July 18-19. Tickets are available Sunday. . . . Tickets also go on sale Sunday for INXS' Sept. 3-4 shows at the Greek. . . . Millie Jackson will be at the Beverly Theatre on June 17. . . . Let's Active and Rain Parade are due at the Palace on June 13. . . . the Cherry Bombz return to the Roxy on June 16. . . . John Anderson will be at the Crazy Horse on June 16 and the Palomino on June 21. . . . John Doe will be at McCabe's on June 8. Byline: RANDY LEWIS
POP MUSIC REVIEW TRIBUTE AT ROXY HOLDS TRUE TO HENDRIX SPIRIT
[Home Edition]
Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext) - Los Angeles, Calif.
Author: RICHARD CROMELIN
Date: May 28, 1986
Start Page: 1
Section: Calendar; 6; Entertainment Desk
Text Word Count: 508
Document Text
Things might have been a little loose and uneven at Monday's tribute to Jimi Hendrix at the Roxy, but one incident suggested that there was nothing casual about the underlying motivation.
When Fishbone's bassist Norwood Fisher broke a string during the opening bars of "My Friend," he didn't just lie back and fake his way through the tune.
Waving his arms, he finally managed to stop the music-which in this case was like stopping a train just as it was picking up steam-and as he switched basses he explained to the audience, "I've been hearing this song since I was 3, and I want to do it right."
It was a gratifying sentiment, especially coming from a fellow wearing steel-framed sunglasses and a baseball cap with a propeller on top. That dichotomy between looks and actions was a reminder that, as with Hendrix himself, the event carried the potential for crossing the line into indulgent clowning.
But for the most part, the members of the Los Angeles rock community who formed various ad hoc combinations played it pretty straight.
In the case of the big band headed by the Fishbone contingent-Fisher, guitarist Kendall Jones and singer Chris Dowd-straight is a relative term. The front line went through typical Fishbone antics, careening around and at one point flying into the crowd, in a tacit tribute to Hendrix's pioneering of rock theatrics.
And rather than attempt to emulate Hendrix's sound, the vast, picturesque ensemble was simply true to his spirit: The pounding rhythms, wriggling Ornette Coleman sax lines and soulful singing added up to an iconoclastic, adventurous, lively, wiggy display of personality and freedom. The mix of blacks and an Asian, of hippies and punkette peacocks was also a reminder of Hendrix's role in erasing cultural as well as musical boundaries.
Not everything during the evening was that inspired. Talk Back singer Kevin Williams and some of his cohorts provided a reminder that Hendrix didn't influence only great artistes but mundane bar bands as well.
Singer-guitarist Alain Johannes preceded Williams and company with a solo performance that filtered the Hendrix muse through the dense, moody style of Johannes' group What Is This. His deliberate pace and deep concentration created a sacramental tone that illuminated one more facet of the Hendrix legacy.
Hendrix died in 1970, but his influence on everything from heavy metal to neo-psychedelia to modern funk remains incalculable. The Roxy show-scheduled to conclude in the wee hours with a band led by members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who have made no secret of their devotion to Hendrix-was an instructive and intermittently thrilling acknowledgment of his legacy.
It may not be as easy to blow minds as it was in '67 when Hendrix set his guitar on fire at Monterey (a clip of that historic rock moment was one of the Hendrix visuals screened between sets), but moments during Monday's tribute came as close as you'll get these days.
