Post by Diva on Mar 15, 2006 15:52:02 GMT -5
'Rock Star' hopefuls flock to Toronto
By BILL HARRIS -- Toronto Sun
Rock Star hopeful Luca Caracciolo tunes up before his try out at the Horseshoe Tavern yesterday. (Dave Abel, Sun)
It won't be Van Halen as a unit, but some members of Van Halen still could be part of it.
It sounds like the Queen connection is a no-go, though.
The Rock Star TV series, which made Canadian J.D. Fortune a star and re-energized Aussie rockers INXS last year, held auditions for Season Two yesterday at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
Rather than going with a veteran band that needs a singer, a new "supergroup" has been put together this time around featuring members of at least two pre-existing bands. All that's needed is a vocalist, and that's why the lineup to get into the Horseshoe yesterday went around the block.
"Combined, the people in this new band have sold 250 million records worldwide," Rock Star executive producer David Goffin said yesterday, between the wails of would-be crooners. Confirmation of who's in the band -- save the singer, of course -- is expected as early as today or tomorrow.
"I think it's going to blow people away," Goffin added. "It's not the Beatles, but it's pretty darn good."
Can you give us a hint? What nationality?
Goffin paused. "North American," he said.
No Brits, huh? Bye bye, Queen.
In the past few months, speculation circled around Van Halen and Queen with regard to the Rock Star franchise. But those waters were muddied when Queen embarked on a tour with former Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers on vocals, and it was confirmed that Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony is going on tour with Sammy Hagar this summer.
But now the Rock Star speculation is starting to make sense. With a supergroup approach, it could be, say, Eddie Van Halen on guitar and Alex Van Halen on drums.
And Goffin did say "North American," so maybe there's a Canadian in there. Who was the bassist for Glass Tiger again?
Interestingly, Rock Star executives did not formulate this supergroup. "They've actually done it themselves," Goffin said. "They contacted the show. They sort of said, 'We need a singer and our Rolodex is pretty small, but TV's Rolodex is big.' "
It remains to be seen whether the supergroup concept will catch on as well as the INXS concept. Then again, Rock Star: INXS was more popular in Canada than it was in the United States, so there's no telling what the presence of an American guitar god like Eddie Van Halen might do for U.S. ratings.
Rock Star is a TV show at heart, but for the candidates at the Horseshoe yesterday it strictly was about music.
"I lined up at 7 a.m.," said Joy Thompson, a 27-year-old from Toronto who sang a rendition of Hello by Oasis. "I love singing and I like the idea of Rock Star because it's raw."
Dan Hunter, a 28-year-old from Brantford, grabbed the mike and announced, "I'm the first person who's going to sing AC/DC without music." He then concluded an a cappella version of Thunderstruck by saying, "I almost can hear the guitar."
Goffin said he can tell pretty quickly who's going to get a call-back and who isn't.
"The first five seconds you put down to nervousness, but after that it becomes clear," Goffin said. "Like the poor guy up there now (who shall remain nameless for publication purposes). He's just singing through his nose and I easily could fix it. But I don't have time to fix it."
Rock Star is scheduled to run from July through September on CBS and Global.
By BILL HARRIS -- Toronto Sun
Rock Star hopeful Luca Caracciolo tunes up before his try out at the Horseshoe Tavern yesterday. (Dave Abel, Sun)
It won't be Van Halen as a unit, but some members of Van Halen still could be part of it.
It sounds like the Queen connection is a no-go, though.
The Rock Star TV series, which made Canadian J.D. Fortune a star and re-energized Aussie rockers INXS last year, held auditions for Season Two yesterday at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
Rather than going with a veteran band that needs a singer, a new "supergroup" has been put together this time around featuring members of at least two pre-existing bands. All that's needed is a vocalist, and that's why the lineup to get into the Horseshoe yesterday went around the block.
"Combined, the people in this new band have sold 250 million records worldwide," Rock Star executive producer David Goffin said yesterday, between the wails of would-be crooners. Confirmation of who's in the band -- save the singer, of course -- is expected as early as today or tomorrow.
"I think it's going to blow people away," Goffin added. "It's not the Beatles, but it's pretty darn good."
Can you give us a hint? What nationality?
Goffin paused. "North American," he said.
No Brits, huh? Bye bye, Queen.
In the past few months, speculation circled around Van Halen and Queen with regard to the Rock Star franchise. But those waters were muddied when Queen embarked on a tour with former Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers on vocals, and it was confirmed that Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony is going on tour with Sammy Hagar this summer.
But now the Rock Star speculation is starting to make sense. With a supergroup approach, it could be, say, Eddie Van Halen on guitar and Alex Van Halen on drums.
And Goffin did say "North American," so maybe there's a Canadian in there. Who was the bassist for Glass Tiger again?
Interestingly, Rock Star executives did not formulate this supergroup. "They've actually done it themselves," Goffin said. "They contacted the show. They sort of said, 'We need a singer and our Rolodex is pretty small, but TV's Rolodex is big.' "
It remains to be seen whether the supergroup concept will catch on as well as the INXS concept. Then again, Rock Star: INXS was more popular in Canada than it was in the United States, so there's no telling what the presence of an American guitar god like Eddie Van Halen might do for U.S. ratings.
Rock Star is a TV show at heart, but for the candidates at the Horseshoe yesterday it strictly was about music.
"I lined up at 7 a.m.," said Joy Thompson, a 27-year-old from Toronto who sang a rendition of Hello by Oasis. "I love singing and I like the idea of Rock Star because it's raw."
Dan Hunter, a 28-year-old from Brantford, grabbed the mike and announced, "I'm the first person who's going to sing AC/DC without music." He then concluded an a cappella version of Thunderstruck by saying, "I almost can hear the guitar."
Goffin said he can tell pretty quickly who's going to get a call-back and who isn't.
"The first five seconds you put down to nervousness, but after that it becomes clear," Goffin said. "Like the poor guy up there now (who shall remain nameless for publication purposes). He's just singing through his nose and I easily could fix it. But I don't have time to fix it."
Rock Star is scheduled to run from July through September on CBS and Global.
Well maybe... May the best man, oops I meant to say person win.
