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Rocker is also writer, director of horror films, plans first album since 2006. He'll be at Civic
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
Published on Thursday, Nov 12, 2009
The folks at Live Nation have apparently fallen in love with Akron's various concert venues as they keep feeding us good shows by national acts.
Next week is going to be action packed with Live Nation shows and others including two nights of Steely Dan on Monday and Tuesday, groovy outre organ trio Medeski, Martin & Wood rocking the Kent Stage on Tuesday, sexy country singer/songwriter Gary Allan at the Akron Civic on Nov. 12 and Southern rockin' blues band Hill Country Revue at the Stage Door at the University of Akron's E.J. Thomas Hall on Nov. 20.
Next Tuesday, while some folks are grooving to the jazzy pop sounds of Steely Dan at E.J. Thomas Hall, others with a taste for the macabre and power chords will be banging their heads to the industrial-flavored hard rock of Rob Zombie at the Akron Civic Theatre.
Zombie, who has had hits with songs such as Thunder Kiss '65 and More Human Than Human and has sold more than 15 million records worldwide, is arguably better known as a director/writer of horror films.
Zombie helmed House of 1000 Corpses, its sequel, The Devil's Rejects, and both recent ''reimaginings'' of the first two Halloween films, among others.
But with those films behind him and Tyrannosaurus Rex coming sometime in the next couple of years, Zombie, who says he doesn't take vacations, has returned to music with the upcoming Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool.
The album was originally scheduled to be released on the day of the Akron show but in an unusual move, Zombie suddenly ditched Geffen, his record label of 18 years, for Roadrunner/Loud & Proud and now fans will have to wait until early next year.
Zombie, 44, is currently living the dream making music and movies and money and he said he enjoys being able to switch between the two worlds to flex his various creative muscles.
''I guess I approach them the same way you approach anything, you have a vision for what the completed project is because you literally start with nothing but an idea, and you have to somehow turn that into 12 songs and a fully packaged thing that will eventually be a big stage show,'' he said recently from Los Angeles before the start of the tour.
''Just like a movie, you have a slight idea that you have to turn into a script and then a production and then a finished movie on a screen,'' he said.
The new album is Zombie's first since 2006's Educated Horses and it is his first time since his White Zombie days that he has written and recorded an album with a band.
Zombie has said that Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is likely the last physical CD he'll release as the CD is a dying format, and as an artist who takes great care in the visual presentation of his music, he believes something is being lost.
''That's no great statement, everybody knows that,'' he said of the waning CD market. ''It's just the way it is so I don't want to cry about it but I think with so much information and so much . . . everything, I think things just become less special.
''It used to be you had your record collection, you had your favorite records that you listened to a million times. Now, I'll buy a CD, dump it into my computer, put it on my iPod and forgot I even have it because it's mixed in with another 100,000 songs.''
As digital downloads turn the record-buying/listening experience into mostly moving batches of files from one machine to another while watching last night's Gossip Girl on your computer and updating your Facebook status at the same time, for Zombie the live experience becomes more important.
''With digital downloads everything seems the same and that's why the live concert experience is still so special because there is nothing that can replace that until the day you have holograms of bands playing in your living room, that's the thing that has never changed and that's what I like about it, it's the one constant factor,'' he said.
So what can Northeast Ohio fans expect from the latest Rob Zombie live experience?
''They can expect a big giant spectacle that's gonna explode in their face.''
Stuff to see and hear
This week also has some good shows happening with the Kent Stage Folk Fest wrapping up its musical performances tonight with the neo-hippie psychedelic indie rock band Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, which released its debut full-length album in July called Up From Below.
If you enjoy the ''Summer of Love''-flavored, positive vibes of huge cultish ensembles such as the Polyphonic Spree, then this 11-piece band fronted by former Ima Robot singer Alex Ebert should make you feel like donning a white robe and spinning in circles for a while.
Tonight, the Akron Civic Theatre will host another concert in its grand lobby featuring an acoustic performance by Rachel Roberts that doubles as a benefit for the stately theater.
There will also be a tour of the theater, works available for viewing and/or purchase by visual artist Jeremy Taylor along with a complimentary pre-show wine tasting.
Also tonight at Musica will be a musical blast from the '80s when the English Beat performs. This is the U.S. version of the band featuring original lead singer Dave Wakeling (other founding member Ranking Roger fronts the U.K. version of the band with his son Ranking Junior Murphy), who will no doubt be whipping out two-tone ska revival classics such as Mirror in the Bathroom and the more pop-flavored Save it For Later and I Confess.
Opening for the English Beat will be local reggae artist/radio show host B.E. Mann, whose toasting/singing style takes a lot from slick pop-oriented English reggae bands such as Aswad, Steel Pulse and UB40, making him a perfect opener.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
Details:
What: Rob Zombie
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Akron Civic Theatre, 182 S. Main St.
Tickets: $36, $55
Information: 330-253-2488, www.akroncivic.com
What: The English Beat with B.E. Mann
When: 8 tonight
Where: Musica, 54 E. Market St., Akron
Tickets: $20
Information: 330-374-1114, http://akronmusica.com
What: Rachel Roberts featuring visual artist Jeremy Taylor
When: Doors open at 7 tonight
Where: Akron Civic Theatre, 182 S. Main St., Akron
Tickets: $25
Information: 330-253-2488, www.akroncivic.com
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, Oh
Posted 11:15 AM, 11/12/2009
I love the English Beat! Good for Akron for bringing the ska vibes...
