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Judge Johnny / Buffalo News article
« on: Oct 18th, 2007, 7:05am » |
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It’s time for the Goo Goo Dolls’ lead singer to face reality – TV, that is, judging bands on a new Fox show
Judge Johnny
By Alan Pergament NEWS TV CRITIC
Updated: 10/18/07 6:48 AM
Even on one of the Goo Goo Dolls’ better days in Buffalo during the late 1980s, John Rzeznik doesn’t think the band would have lasted very long on “The Next Great American Band.”
“We’d be off the first day,” said Rzeznik, who is one of three judges on the “American Idol”-type reality show. “We were nuts. People used to see us at the Continental just to see if one of us was going to die ... It was a lot of fun and we got to grow up.”
The series, which Rzeznik considers a modern-day Battle of the Bands, premieres with a two-hour episode at 8 p.m. Friday on WUTV, the Fox affiliate.
You might think the Goo Goo Dolls’ lead singer would be the last person to become a judge on a show in which the producers of “American Idol” are trying to do to bands what they have done to solo artists. Rzeznik has often expressed disappointment at the interference that bands get from record producers and image consultants. It is one of the reasons he plans to return to live in Buffalo after the show finishes its run before Christmas.
“Dude, why do you think I’m moving back to Buffalo and building my own recording studio?” said Rzeznik, referring to the Trackmaster studio he and bassist Robbie Takac are rebuilding. “I don’t want to deal with any of that anymore. I don’t want people messing with my sound, my stuff. I want to cultivate my own sound in my own atmosphere, where the clock is not running ...”
“I don’t want to live in L.A. anymore. I just want to be at home. I want to write. I need a long, cold winter ... It will be a lot of fun.”
In a wide-ranging telephone interview from Los Angeles that also dealt with the state of the music and concert businesses, Rzeznik said he’s also had a lot of fun so far on the Fox series.
“Every week, I get to drive 10 blocks from my house, shoot a TV show. I’m getting paid pretty well and I get to sit there and go, ‘You have to work on this, you have to work on that’ ... and try to really help them. I’m not going to be the guy going, ‘You’re crap and that was the worst thing I’ve ever seen.’ I’m not going to do that because that’s pointless. It is not constructive ... It discourages them.”
He is into encouraging people, in the same way the song, “Better Days,” encouraged the Buffalo Sabres in the video that ran during last season’s playoff run. “God bless the Sabres,” said Rzeznik. “I saw it. That was crazy.”
‘Idol’ scoffer
He was initially asked to host the Fox show, but declined. “I don’t want to be a game show host,” he said. He then was convinced to be a judge, joining famed percussion/singer Sheila E. and Ian “Dicko” Dickson of “Australian Idol” in narrowing down an eclectic field of bands to 10 semifinalists before the audience votes weekly.
His initial reluctance was the result of being an “American Idol” scoffer. “Because I am a guy in a band,” explained Rzeznik. “Music people, we’re all scoffers at the whole concept. I went in and talked with [the producers], they said these bands will get a chance to play their own original music, they are actually real bands. Nobody has been put together.”
Then he found out judging wasn’t so easy.
“It was the most uncomfortable thing I ever did in my life,” he said. “It was hell telling people you’ve got to go home ... At the same time, I’ve been told to go home a million times by a million record companies. So what? You’ve got to get tough. At the same time, it’s really difficult for me to say no to somebody. Because a lot of their dreams hinge on it.
“The bands — yeah they were disappointed — but they were cool about it for the most part . . . you still got your band. You still have your gang. It is much easier to go down with everybody. That’s why I’ve never quit my band. Because if I’m going down, they’re going down with me.”
Clearly, he is not going to be anything like Simon Cowell. “I didn’t really watch enough of ‘American Idol’ to tell you who I am supposed to be. I’m going to be Rzeznik. I’m going to be as constructive as possible. I am not a music critic. I’m a guy in a band getting paid to give my opinion. But I am going to give it like a producer would give it to a band, or like an A&R [artists and repertoire] guy would give it to a band.”
He was surprised by the talent level and expects a few bands besides the winner will get contracts. “You know how they say every bad movie has a great performance in it?” said Rzeznik. “There are some really crap bands that have really amazing performers in them. For me, the chances I got to speak actually to the bands was ‘Look, you just need more time. This person is really talented. You have to pursue this.’ ”
Naturally, one of the groups auditioning was from Buffalo. “All girls,” said Rzeznik. “And the drummer was unbelievable. They got voted off even before I got a chance to vote. I got the last vote. I felt like they had to work on their singing. But they were amazing musicians.”
Trouble ahead
Of course, Rzeznik will tell you that being amazing musicians isn’t everything these days in the rapidly changing business. He said the recording contract will be just the beginning for the winner.
“Once they get the record deal, that’s when the trouble starts . . . Because they’re going to have to go out and prove themselves. They’re going to have to make a record that’s good. And then they’re going to have to go out every single night and sell it. Same as I got to do. If they don’t do that, they’re going to be a footnote.”
“You remember when a record would go gold and a band would come and play at the Aud? Do you know how hard it is to get notice as a musician now? Record companies aren’t breaking bands. They don’t develop talent anymore. This [show] is just a 21st century version of a Battle of the Bands. They come as they are. Of course, they are going to make them jump through hoops because that’s good TV. But at the end of the day, if they don’t make a visceral connection with the audience ... whether I agree with it or not — I’m not the guy giving them the record deal. In that respect, I think it is kind of a very democratic process.”
He hopes the series is good for the music business.
“I hope it finally gets a band out there that isn’t developed by a gang of creepy marketing guys or two or three guys at a record company . . . They are just finding pretty people, putting them with hotshot songwriters and then creating product and molding an image around them.”
He added that recording contracts don’t necessarily mean big money.
“Record deals are different now,” said Rzeznik. “Not only do they take your music and not pay you very well for it, they also take your publishing, merchandising, a piece of live touring income. You know how bands make money now? Playing live. That’s it. Once they get over a certain hump and get out of clubs. We don’t make any money selling records. Very little. You make money going out and touring for 18 months.”
He’s ending one of those seemingly endless tours now and preparing to return to live in Buffalo for the first time since writing “Let Love In” here about two years ago.
“I need to be in Buffalo to write,” said Rzeznik. “I can’t do it in L.A. Because what I’m made of is there. As cliched as it sounds, I’m much more comfortable in my own skin there than I am in Los Angeles. I live in L.A. Nobody cares what I do. I’m a musician. If I get drunk and fall down, it’s whatever. It’s passe. But if I am on some TV show, then all of a sudden people want to try and dig up dirt on you. I don’t live in a gated community in Beverly Hills. I live in a house on a street. I don’t want my girlfriend to be affected by it. I don’t want any of that Hollywood crap. I know I can go back to Buffalo and I’m Rzeznik.”
http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/186708.html
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