To Us, It Just Sounds Like A Bunch Of Racket
Sure, you can be one of the world’s top tennis players, or a hunky heartthrob actor. But to be really cool, you gotta be a rock and roll star.
A guitar-toting John McEnroe wowed a college crowd in Leipzig, Germany, last week with his group, Package.
“I’m trying to slowly break away from tennis,” said McEnroe. “Music is so much more fun than playing tennis.”
And all along the West Coast, bass player Keanu Reeves and his “folk-trash” band Dogstar have had largely female audiences screaming and swooning.
“I think he disproved the law that no one is perfect, ‘cause he is,” said one 18-year-old fan at a sold-out show north of Los Angeles. Added another: “I don’t care what his music sounds like. I’ll learn to like it.”
Loose talk
Hootie and the Blowfish drummer Jim Sonefeld, on the quartet’s racial mix (in Rolling Stone magazine): “Everyone says we’re one black guy in an all-white band, but that’s not true - we’re actually three white guys in an all-black band.”
He always put a little spice in his Cream
Ginger Baker turns 56 today.
Way to nip those fledgling rumors in the bud
During his cyberspace chat with fans Thursday night on the Internet, Michael Jackson denied British newspaper reports that Lisa Marie Presley plans to divorce him for taking two teen-age boys on his trip to Europe. Said the gloved one: “Never believe the tabloid garbage. Don’t waste your time or money.”
He’d better be careful, or he’ll end up choking
Perhaps more importantly, Jackson discussed the current status of his companion chimpanzee, Bubbles: “Bubbles is still alive and is still my pet. He’s bigger. He eats a lot of pizza.”
Must stand for ‘Requires Emergency Medical’
R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe is resting comfortably following surgery for a hernia, the third medical malady to befall the band in the past six months. Drummer Bill Berry underwent brain surgery in March, and bassist Mike Mills had an abdominal operation in July; only guitarist Peter Buck has gone unscathed.
At least she didn’t let it disrupt her routine
Hole’s Courtney Love told the Los Angeles Times that she’s had numerous affairs, abused alcohol and drugs and attempted suicide herself since late husband Kurt Cobain killed himself two Aprils ago. “If I was at home, I’d be slamming drugs,” she said. “When we are on the road, I don’t get drugs - bad drugs, anyway.”
And at least he hasn’t let it disrupt his routine
Psychedelic ‘60s spokesman Timothy Leary, struggling with prostate cancer and senility, made an appearance at an LSD blotter-art exhibit in San Francisco. “I often don’t remember what I did two days before,” he said. “It makes life interesting.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos
The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Rick Bonino