 by TOM HALLETT
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “When punk rock came along, the one thing you were not supposed to be was musical." – Nick Lowe
SONG OF THE WEEK: “Up” – Frances Gumm
Heya, folks! Welcome to another installment of the ’Dial—your one-stop spot for reviews, rants, raves and raucous rock ’n’ roll recklessness. No rants this week, though—I’m still wading through the dozens of e-mails inspired by my recent “Bubblegum Pop” column—not to mention dealing with the ire of several dead-serious Crispin Glover and Falco fans (WHERE do these people come from?!) who’ve seen fit to target me in their ongoing battle to uphold the good names of both of those eccentric pop-art icons by barraging me with pleas to shine the spotlight on their “other stuff.”
Hey, I did say I liked Glover’s acting (a lot!), and as for Falco, well, I’m sure he’s found a nice cushy political appointment in the post-Communist German government by now, eh? Maybe even as a Kommisar? Whew. Hope I never hear him say, “Herr Hallett! Ve must zee your papers, mach schnell!!” In the meantime, this week we’ll stay here in the good ol’ U.S. of A. and pay a visit to a 10-year music biz vet/actor who once sported cute lil’ mouse ears on his cap …
 Tony
Lucca
Canyon Songs
2006
Rockridge Music
The road to fame and fortune has been a long and winding one for former Mouseketeer
Tony Lucca (he starred
in the late ’80s-’90s New Mickey Mouse Club on the Disney cable
network): He’s dabbled in acting, singing, songwriting and television
commercials. As one might imagine, kicking off an indie music career while toting
that much corporate baggage has been a bit of an uphill battle.
Sure, former members of Mickey’s brigade have successfully punched through
those barriers in the past (probably the most famous being Alanis “Isn’t
It Ironic” Morissette), but Lucca’s easy-going good looks, acting
curriculum vitae and obvious connections in “the biz” all combine
to make him a tough sell for “alt-rock” crits and trendy, collegiate
music rags.
That’s too bad, because once you shimmy past the opening cut on “Canyon
Songs” (yes, he gives Joni Mitchell big ups in his PR kit), the bubbly,
over-produced “Death of Me” (which for some unfathomable reason
is the artist’s most popular cut on such vanguards of social value as
MySpace.com),
you’ll find a sensitive, honest and supremely talented singer/songwriter/musician
lurking in the shadows.
“Darlin’ I” rings out with true, semi-frantic acoustic pickin’,
and sports spiffy, self-deprecating lines like “… and in my eyes,
you’re the only one / And if I’ve taken you for granted / Go on
take me for the fool I’ve become.” “Longing” wends its
melancholy way along on an absolutely hypnotic pedal steel run and gently strummed
acoustic, with Lucca’s honeyed pipes nearly weeping couplets like “I
sang the song that you played me / The one that made you cry / I drank the last
of the bottle / Then I sang it again …”
Probably not the type of lyrics the fine folks at Disney would stand behind,
but then the moral qualms of a company who’s busy brutally stamping out
individuality and freedom of expression worldwide aren’t at the top of
my personal list of concerns, either. Lucca’s take on corporate soul-suckers
is probably best captured on the cut “The Hustler, The Widow And The Boy
From Detroit,” wherein he proffers nuggets of blue-jean wisdom such as
“Boss turns, says son I gotta let you go / They’ve taken to out-sourcing
/ Yeah it’s fucked, but I hope you understand …”
 Other
standouts here include the rural, Jayhawks-ian bounce of “Sarah Jane,”
and the epic, doomed-romance ballad “Songbird,” which Lucca freely
admits is his personal homage to the aforementioned Ms. Mitchell and boasts
damn-the-torpedoes lines like, “You were drunk and I was crazy / Let’s
just make love and make it all right for now / Then we’ll apologize forever
and toast to something kind / Then drink ourselves right back in the ring somehow
…”
Album closer “Around The Bend” is a perfect, dusky nightcap to the
alternately joyous and devastated oeuvre Lucca presents on Canyon Songs, his
unique, heart-worn voice dripping with regret and passion—“You see,
there’s always another dream around the bend / If I can’t play for
keeps, I’ll have to play pretend / And carry on for that next dream around
the bend … you see it’s one more night / Another shot gonna make
things all right / I’ll play one more song then I’ll be feelin’
fine / Then I’ll head for the back door, knowin’ I coulda given
so much more / But there’s always next time, on up around the bend …”
A tasty, from-the-gut treat from the bowels of Hollywood—here’s
hopin’ Lucca stays grounded and honest on his way up the Stairway To The
Stars—as the old adage goes, you’ll be meetin’ us all on your
way back down, bud … smile!! Check out Tony for yourself at www.tonylucca.com.
That’s it for me this time out, gang. Tune in again next week for more
rock ’n’ roll hijinx, reviews and yer favorite rants an’ raves.
‘Til then—make yer own damn news.
If you have local music news/gigs/events/CDs you’d like to see mentioned
in this space, or you’d just like to brag about your personal ex-Mickey
Mouse Club vet, send replies to: Tmygunn77764@yahoo.com.
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