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Checking Out a Musical
Peepshow in Texas
By
Ben Fong-Torres
AsianConnections
is proud to present the adventures of Ben Fong-Torres, our Renaissance
man: author, broadcaster, and former senior editor and writer at
Rolling Stone Magazine. This guy's our hero!
Ben
was a featured character in "Almost Famous," the Oscar and Golden
Globe-winning film by Cameron Crowe.
- AC Team
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"Japan Night" made the cover of�well, no, not Rolling
Stone, but the "XL Extra," the daily Austin American-Statesman's
South by Southwest Music Festival supplement.
But if I were Lolita No. 18, the act featured in the cover
photo, I wouldn't complain. After all, there were almost a thousand
bands in Austin for the four-day, seemingly 24/7 round of concerts,
showcases, parties and panels, and to get more than a listing and
a thumbnail sketch in either the A-S or the alt-weekly, the
Chronicle (which had its own daily SXSW tabloid) was to get
an A+.
Another band from Japan got raves from the Austin daily: Mummy the
Peepshow, an all-women ensemble, played on the first night of the
festival�not the best slot�but got noticed, anyway. Said the American-Statesman's
correspondent Anna Giuliani: "Mummy the Peepshow were charming but
avoided being too sweet by moving from pretty, melodic harmonies into
chugging rock�and back again�Concertgoers took quite a liking to the
girls and a considerable number lined up to meet the band and buy
T-shirts at the end of the show. Discovering bands that you would
never heave heard of otherwise�like Mummy the Peepshow�is what makes
all the hassles of SXSW worthwhile."
So, what was I doing there? The organizers invited me to
sit on a panel called "War Stories," with a half-dozen other rock
journalists (including Ann Powers of the New York Times,
and fabled author and Stones biographer Stanley Booth) to talk about
interviewing rock stars over the years. Also, my company, myplay.com,
was a big part of the conference. We helped produce one of the SXSW's
hottest tickets�the party at Las Manitas, anchored by Rick Trevino
and Joe Ely, with surprise guests including Steve Earle and two
of Los Lobos (or "Dos Lobos," as I like to think of them); Paula
Batson, the inspiration for the Las Manitas bash, moderated a panel
on artists' Web sites that starred ex-Byrd Roger McGuinn, and our
founder, Doug Camplejohn, sat on a panel featuring what one SXSW
attendee called (to McGuinn's delight) "dot-communists."
As for my own panel: You know that with a half-dozen rock
writers, you're bound to get a few good stories. In fact, the daily
paper, which covered only a couple of panels while giving most of
its space to photos and articles about the stars (including, if
you MUST know, Patti Smith, Neil Young, Cypress Hill, and Shelby
Lynne, whose blend of rootsy country, soul, and casual glamour made
her the buzz act of the festival), ran a big item about my session.
It went exactly like this:
At the Thursday afternoon (March 16) rock critic panel "War
Stories: Writing About Music Then & Now," Jaan Uhelszki reminisced
about a nightmarish 1970s interview with Jimmy Page. While Uhelszki
tried to pepper the Led Zeppelin ax-slinger with questions, Page
simply refused to acknowledge her presence, meeting every query
with silence. Finally, Uhelszki realized that she was supposed to
address each of her questions to the publicist, who would then relay
them to His Pageness.
"What do you think of the new album?" Uhelszki asked the
flack.
"She wants to know what you think of the new album," the
flack asked Page, and so it went for the duration of the interview.
"I should have strangled him," Uhelszki said.
"Actually," said old-line Rolling Stone writer Ben Fong-Torres,
"you should have strangled the publicist, and then SHE should have
strangled Jimmy Page."
Panel moderator Evan Smith laughed so hard, no one could
hear his cell phone ring.
*
* *
Pretty cool, huh? Except, what's this "old-line" bidness?
I thought that's what you tried out with women at bars.
Not that I ever tried lines on women. I was always too shy,
and had to make do with things like mummy peepshows.
-------------------------------
Ben Fong-Torres, long-time writer and editor at Rolling Stone
magazine, is the author of four books, including his memoirs, The
Rice Room: Growing Up Chinese-American, and his latest, Not Fade
Away: A Backstage Pass to 20 Years of Rock & Roll. He is Editorial
Director of myplay.com, an Internet music site that offers free
Web space, where users can grab, store, mix, play, and share music
of all kinds.
Click
to Ben
Fong-Torres Articles Index
Visit Ben's official site: www.BenFongTorres.com
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