Aging rock band recaptures past glory in talent show
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
What would be the best way to resuscitate the career of a rock band, whose life was brought to an abrupt halt with the death of their charismatic lead singer almost a decade ago, and whose last big hit was ten years before the untimely death?
In the case of the legendary Australian band of the 1980s, INXS, the answer is to launch a televised talent contest titled Rock Star: INXS, a reality TV show that has been running in the U.S. since early July.
Building on the templates of hit reality TV shows American Idol, Rock Star demonstrates the ersatz funk band's global search to find a substitute for their late lead singer Michael Hutchence who killed himself in a hotel room in 1997.
INXS' legion of cynics have called the cause of his death as "autoerotic asphyxiation".
A one-off reality show, Rock Star has its contestants showing off their singing skills every night, rehashing classic rock anthems in front of a panel of judges, members of INXS themselves, and Dave Navarro, guitarist of alt-rock band Jane's Addiction and formerly of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
As with other talent shows, the audience also gets the chance to vote competitors off, although the final say on who will take the place of Hutchence is in the hands of INXS.
The winner from the show will tour with INXS and will likely lend his or her vocals to the band's future albums.
"The best way to preserve Michael's legacy is to keep his music alive," INXS guitarist Tim Farris said on the first night of Rock Star.
Keeping the flame of Hutchence burning is one thing, but the 10-legged band also has other motivations.
"We certainly hope that Rock Star will arouse attention for INXS. This is a great vehicle for people to look at INXS' back catalog," INXS bass player Gary Beers told The Jakarta Post from his Hollywood studio on Wednesday.
With a career spanning more than 25 years, INXS has sold more than 30 million records worldwide from albums such as The Swing, Full Moon, Dirty Hearts, Elegantly Wasted and singles such as The One Thing.
In the late 80s, mainstream music journals called them, along with Guns N' Roses and U2, the biggest rock band in the world.
The advent of grunge in the early 1990s drove INXS to the sidelines and their last proper album with Hutchence doing the vocals was released to mixed reviews in 1997.
In the wake of Hutchence's demise, INXS went on with their lives as a band, writing new material, making demos and performing live with scores of singers such as Terence Trent D'Arby and Jimmy Barnes.
Beers said that it was also during this period that INXS approached Mark Burnett, producer behind The Apprentice and Survivor, to shoot another show that would expose their search for a new vocalist.
After auditioning hundreds of aspiring singers from places like London, Toronto, Sydney and Tokyo, INXS singled out 15 rock star wannabies that will appear on the show.
However, it turned out that most of contestants hailed from cities in the U.S., with the exception of Londoner and David Bowie impersonator, Mig.
"We have auditioned contestants from different races and genders in all locations but we look for the ones suitable for our band. And they (the fifteen contestants) are the best," INXS drummer Jon Farris told the Post.
A Jakarta-based TV station, the local partner of Mark Burnett Productions, has been hyping that lead singer of local band Gigi, Armand Maulana, would join the contest in Hollywood. Armand left the country in early July, but thus far he has not appeared in any Rock Star episodes.
"We auditioned Armand and did a jam with him. We also hung out with him and he is a good singer," Beers said, without elaborating on what Armand really did in the contest.
Despite the band's intention of finding a replacement for Hutchence, none of the 15 contestants sounded or looked like the deceased singer.
Mohawked Nevada native Ty, for instance, makes a good impersonation of Living Color's lead singer Corey Glover, while female contestant Deanna is a perfect incarnation of 1970s blues singer Janis Joplin.
"We want the contestants to stand their ground. We weren't trying to find a duplicate of Michael. Michael will always be Michael," Beers said.