Rock Star: Supernova ~ Week 6 Performances

The elegant Brooke Burke kicked off the evening, wearing her version of the basic black dress – Yowzah!

Some of the week’s backstory – Magni’s wife and baby arrived in LA, and Magni is filled with wonder and pride for his son. It was quite lovely to see, actually. Zayra was shown preparing for her next performance, choosing her wardrobe. She says that she dresses for herself. “I want to wow myself”, she says. So of course we can’t wait to see what she’ll be wearing tonight!

The next part of the behind the scenes videotape showed The Rockers in song selection. Dilana, wearing granny glasses, is looking through the songs, and finds that The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” comes attached with Gilby Clark playing guitar. Dilana asks the other Rockers if they want the song. Considering that she is even nice enough to ask them says a lot about her, but NO ONE RESPONDED! People just looked around, mumbled under their breath, and said nothing. Dilana asks not once, but TWICE more if anyone wanted the song. No one said anything, and all I could think was, “ARE YOU GUYS TAKING CRAZY PILLS???” Or maybe, I’m the crazy one?

Ok, maybe I AM crazy, but didn’t Jason just tell them last week that they all should be JUMPING at the chance to play with the band? So what, Patrice played with Tommy Lee last week, KILLED the song, and still got put into Bottom Three. So what? She got to play with Tommy Lee. She had the world’s eye on her performance. She had the moment to show Supernova that she had the balls to be thier frontperson. She won them over because she had the guts to take it, and go for it. That attitude is what Supernova wants. If you don’t give them that, they won’t give you the gig. Period.

Regardless of what they’ll say publicly, I’m sure that Dave Navarro and the members of Supernova already have opinions, if not personal favorites. Plus, the audience may vote on the individual performances, but Supernova (the all-star band, not my new CD) has the final decision. They can review the Rockers’ behind-the-scenes videotape, and decide to themselves if they want to be bothered with a Rocker. Like Santa Claus, Tommy, Gilby, and Jason can see if the Rockers are being naughty and nice, and you BETTER believe that crap like wussing out (I’m sorry – that’s what it is) will be hard to forget. I could probably go on about this, but I’ll never get to bed. Suffice it to say, Dilana’s doing The Who tune with Gilby. WUSSES!!!!

Ahem…As a sidenote, it was also cool to notice the cool uses of technology in the show. Dilana was shown downloading her tune to her Comcast phone, and then we watched a little video note from Gilby to Dilana, saying that he was looking forward to playing the tune with her. That’s pretty cool. Did you also see that commercial for the “chocolate” phone that also plays music? I’m not promoting any products on this blog for general consumption (except for my new Supernova CD, of course), but I was digging that phone.

So we’re back at present day after watching the Rockers wuss out, and Dave was pissed that no one but Dilana wanted the song with Gilby. “If it were up to me, Dilana would win this right now!” Don’t let those tattoos fool you. Remember, Dave is also the executive producer of Rock Star. He has a stake in this show being successful, and he has every right to be pissed. So he reams out the Rockers before Dilana opens up the night.

Dilana – Won’t Get Fooled Again

Gilby starts the song on semi-dark stage with cool tone, and then Dilana’s voice (and the stagelights) explode in brightness for the verse. Did anyone notice the “Gilby Cam” (that’s what I’m calling it!) attached to Gilby’s guitar? The little camera taped what you’d see Gilby playing if you were sitting on his guitar frets – kinda cool! Nice touch, Mark Burnett Productions! We can give you some love too for your work.

Dilana wore her red and black streaked hair in dreadlock extensions, and kept her outfit rocker simple with vintage t-shirt and red leather pants. Of course, Dilana sounded great, and Gilby even joined her on the mic for harmonies (Note to Gilby: you were a little pitchy yourself, Sweetheart, but we love you anyway!)

I love Dilana’s swagger, her voice, her presence, her energy – her whole package. I was actually unimpressed with the song itself – it doesn’t do much for me, personally (I know, who cares;-), but Dilana can make anything work.

Dave: “That didn’t look like an audition. That was a rock show!” Then he reamed the Rockers out even more: “If it didn’t already suck to follow Dilana, now you have to follow Dilana with Gilby.” He asked Dilana what it was like to play with Gilby. “I wanted to be able to look back, and say that I played with Gilby Clarke,” she said.

Gilby just beamed: “Dilana, you’re a star! I have no doubt that a woman can front our band.”

[Carla’s note: A Star, hmmm? Like a Supernova, maybe???]

Jason even called Dilana’s performance one of the “15 Killer Supernova Moments”

You know what I’m thinking, but I’m not gonna say it…

Jill Gioia – Mother Mother

I forgot all about this song! Anyone remember the violinist/guitarist chick rocker Tracy Bonham who came out with this song a few years back? Tracy is this petite thing, but she could roar, and this song was her breakthrough hit. People often wondered if she was related to the legendary Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham (she’s not).  I made yet another delay on tonight’s blog to find Tracy’s CD, which was actually in the stack of used CDs that I’m currently selling on Amazon.com (check Amazon if you don’t believe me). “Mother Mother” turned out to be the only song on the CD that I liked.

Of course, this was back in the day when you had to buy a whole CD to wade through the filler to get to the good songs. I hope the major labels have learned something from the whole Napster/MP3/filesharing experience. If a music fan is going to plunk down anywhere from $8-16 bucks of their hard-earned money to buy a CD, he or she wants to enjoy more than just one song.

So back to Jill. I thought this song was an awesome choice for her. She gets to use the lower tones, yet she can also give it that rock growl that she’s so good at. Her eyes were smoky and mysterisous, to match her black outfit. Jill was also working a new version of THE HAIR: straight, but with black and red streaks in her blond hair. She seemed to enjoy throwing her hair around tonight, which seemed a little contrived, but since she’s so cute, I’ll overlook it.

She finished the song by jumping into the audience pit, and playing to the camera as she ended the song. At first, I think everyone wondered if she was going to do a stage dive, but we didn’t exactly expect it either. However, her move worked for me.

Tommy jumped right in: That was one of the best performances I’ve seen you do. Well done!”

Jason: “You have great energy and great presence, but your vocals may have suffered. Pay attention to that.” Good old Jason Newsted. We can always count on Uncle Jason being a stickler for musicianship and technique. I’m not mad at that. As he’s said himself, he’s played with one of rock’s best vocalists (and musicians). If Jason wants to preach about musicianship, LISTEN.

Ryan Star – Paint It Black

Brooke introduces Ryan by saying he’s in the studio somewhere. The studio is dark except for mini-spotlights scanning the audience. Looking like a boxer heading toward the ring, Ryan is wearing all black, including a hood with spiky black hair. Since it’s dark, you can only see this black spiky silhouette on his head. At the top of the vocal, he pulls off his hood, displaying that his eyes are painted black, like, with eye shadow.

Okay…You want my truth? I feel like this is an awesome, awesome experience for Ryan Star. He is incredibly smart, talented, and creative, and is squeezing every single drop out this opportunity to blossom as a musician (well, except for playing with Gilby, but…), and he’s pulling out all the stops. I have to admire that. I sometimes wonder if was a Rocker contestant filling the slot of “incredibly gifted, but not the best fit” person would also be me. Ryan has tons, tons, TONS going for him. But watch the boys in the band. Don’t listen to them. Watch…

Dave liked that Ryan was keeping things interesting.

Tommy: “That was interesting!”

Gilby: “Don’t know what you’ve been doing, but you’ve been killing your vocals lately!”

Tommy: “I know what happned! He got laid!”

Makes me wonder… Is it true, Ryan? Inquiring minds want to know…

Storm Large – We are the Champions

The song starts with the focus on her lush vocals. She has a great “chest” voice. For your non-singers, the “chest voice represents the range of your voice that you sing full voice “from your chest”. Her tone is strong and clear and robust. I could listen all night. Her arrangement shortened the song, and before the audience could jump to what they expected next, she directed the audience to sing what she needed them to sing. She soloed over the audience and House Band, and sang her ass off. What’s not to like? Dilana was bowing to Storm from the Rocker Box, which is also very cool to see. I love to see the Rockers support each other. The music biz can be cutthroat enough, you know?

Dave: “Freddy Mercury is one of the all-time greatest singers. It’s difficult to sing. But your range and power were great!”

Jason: The Maestro enjoyed Storm’s arrangement. “The middle part was incredible!”

Tommy: He loved her vulnerable side like everyone else, but added sadly, “I hope you still wanted to rock out.”

And Storm quipped with the quickness, “I’ll spank the crap out of you again, don’t you worry!” which was loved by all, but especially so by Ms. Large, who laughed at her own spontaneous comeback.

Gee, I’d really hate to be in Supernova (the band, not my new CD) and have to choose from this batch of Rockers. I am LOVING the flavor!!

Zayra – All the Young Dudes

Who cares about the song, right? What you really want me to tell you is, “What is Zayra wearing tonight?!” Okay, I’ll tell you. Zayra was decked out in a gold lame unitard (one piece closelikethistoherskin outfit), black platform heels, black top hat, and long eyelashes. Tonight, Zayra brought the theatre to the stage. I feel like she (or the producers) have decided to focus on her strengths, and her outfits are definitely part her “A game”.

Zayra looks great. Her Bjork-like singing style is gorgeous. But I didn’t understand one word that she sang. “All the Young Dudes” has such busy lyrics that proper articulation is a must. The original singer is British, and sings it clear as a bell. Zayra still has heart, but I’m not seeing change in this area. I could be wrong, but I think this might hurt her more than anything else. But then again, I never believed that Zayra needed Supernova to be a star. She knows what she wants, and she’s self-directed. Regardless of the vote, or comments from Dave and Supernova, she’s going to do her thing.

My prediction is that she’s going to have records in English and Spanish, and become a force to be reckoned with. Who knows? Supernova (the band, not my new CD) can open for Zayra when she headlines in her hometown. Their comments now?

Gilby: “If this was Rock Star: Planet Pluto, you’d win by a long shot.” He was digging her showmanship, but her performance still left him wanting.

Tommy: “It’s great to have confidence. It’s good to believe that you’re the bomb!” I thought he was going to say more, but he let the comment hang. Dave signaled for applause, and we moved on.

Josh – Interstate Love Pilots

In the middle of Brooke’s intro, Tommy Lee cut in, and announced that he wanted to play drums in Josh’s set. Tommy came onstage, and the House Band’s rock quotient went up. It seemed like the rock vibe drowned out Josh’s soulful vocal stylings. Josh played guitar. He flubbed top of the second verse also, and I wondered if Tommy’s surprise participation threw him a bit. Nothing obvious, I just wondered about that. He presented a confident front, so I’m only speculating.

Dave: “You were good, but I don’t know how good is good enough.”

Tommy: “I wish you weren’t on guitar. You have such a cool vibe, cool rhythm.”

Gilby: “This is a dong I’ve been waiting to hear you do. I hadn’t heard you do a rock song before. You sounded great.”

Jason: The Maestro had to hit his message home to the Rockers, “See? You have to be ready. you don’t know who’s going to come up and play behind you.”

Rockers, heed The Maestro’s warning…

Magni – The Dolphin’s Cry

For Magni’s song, his son in the sudience wore special headphones to protect his baby ears – so cute!! But smart! The kid has years yet to lose his hearing at loud rock concerts like the rest of us.

Where DO babies shop for stereo headphones anyway? And WHO makes baby-sized headphones?

And what did I think of Magni’s performance tonight?

Wow. Magni has a great voice. How did I not hear it before? I’ll venture to guess. Having his son present seems to strip the veneer from Magni’s surface, and I am loving his vulnerability. Magni played solo guitar and sang his heart out.

Magni, thank you for your performance tonight. Simply gorgeous.

When asked how he felt to perform with his son in the audience, Magni responded, “It saved my life. Thank you!”

Gilby: “You have inspired everybody. Good job.”

Patrice Pike – Instant Karma

Great voice. Great energy. Great song. But I just don’t know. Something was missing for me, but I can’t articulate what it is. If Patrice’s performance tonight was the only time you saw her, and you had to make a decision based on it, what would you do?

Dave: “Thought it was terrific.”

Gilby: Repeated that he “didn’t agree with you being in last week’s Bottom Three”

Tommy: “Well done, baby!”

Lukas – Creep

Before I start, let me repeat how weird it is for me to see this year’s Rockers doing songs from last year’s Rock Star: INXS. Marty Casey killed this song in last year’s show, and it would be nice to let that performance stand before pulling the song out again.

Note to Mark Burnett and Company: The band Supernova wants the Rockers to change things up. Well, the fans want YOU to change up the music choices. I’ve heard that there may be issues clearing songs to be used, and I say it’s all BS. One of my old gigs was clearing music for use in TV and film at EMI Music Publishing, and trust me, there are TONS of rock songs in the UNIVERSE that are available to be used on TV. There is no reason to repeat songs from last season. At the very least, if Radiohead will let you use “Creep”, they have other songs in their catalog worth using in this show.

But having said all of that, Lukas won us all back on his team, thanks to tonight’s performance. It was nice to see Lukas be vulnerable, and to hear these poignant lyrics so clearly:

“But I’m a creep

I’m a weirdo

What the hell am I doin’ here?

I don’t belong here”

These are deep and dark lyrics that beg to be heard, and gosh darn it, Lukas delivered them home. When he went to his “head voice”, also known as “falsetto”, his vocals weren’t totally supported for about two bars of music, but then the song climaxed, and yes, he killed that, so who cares? And he does his herky jerky attitude dance, and boom, Lukas is back in business.

Tommy: To the audience: “Can I get a hell, yeah?!” then turning back to Lukas, “I’ve always liked the way you sing, but tonight I got goosebumps!”

Gilby: “A good performance is when you don’t know what’s coming next,” and Gilby liked that about Lukas.

Jason: “This is the firt time that I’ve heard you really use your instrument. Keep going in that direction.”

Toby – Burning Down the House

This was a great arrangement of the song: funky, vibe-y, and sexy, like Toby himself. He wore a shirt jacket and nice shirt with jeans and what looked like sneakers. I would have loved for him to wear a whole suit, a la Robert Palmer, just to bring a little more theater to the stage. Toby sounded great, of course, and mid-song a darkly hooded and unobtrusive Zayra delivered to Toby a megaphone draped with the Australia flag. He then sang into the meagphone, and for the end of the song, let the thing squeal in the ending.

Dave: “Great vocals, great performance, but you had me til the megaphone. You don’t need props. you have the chops.”

Toby responded that he used the megaphone to change things up, and he wanted to give them something different.

Jason: “I don’t mind the props.”

Gilby: “It’s good to see you change it up because you want it.”

And that was the end of tonight’s Rock Star: Supernova. I noticed tonight that the House Band has been getting to take a bow at the end of the show. I don’t remember if that’s a new thing or not, but it’s definitely good business. Rumor has it that this season’s Rock Star reality show was originally going to be a search for a lead singer for the House Band. But alas, big name rockers like Tommy Lee wanted to participate, so the House Band is still the House Band for now. But we love them!!!

The Bottom Three from the first five minutes of voting:
Jill
Zayra
Patrice

One Response to “Rock Star: Supernova ~ Week 6 Performances”

1. Shalonda Adalja Says:
   March 14th, 2010 at 1:22 pm

   Very good post very useful blog. I should get back to this particular website later to read some of other stories. Appreciate it!

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