Lindsey Buckingham: TV Star

[elle]

article from a bit ago, before the series first aired -

http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/23/media/roadies-showtime/

Cameron Crowe's 'Roadies' hits flat note in Showtime debut
by Brian Lowry @blowryontv
June 23, 2016: 7:24 PM ET

Showtime's Roadies

The mere mention of Cameron Crowe doing his first TV series, "Roadies," surely caused enthusiasm among cultish devotees of "Almost Famous," the writer-director's semi-autobiographical ode to the music industry and fandom.
Still, the initial episodes of this Showtime dramedy never really find their groove, despite appearances by a number of well-known musicians. In that, the show shares a ho-hum quality with "Vinyl," which hit a different but equally deflating rut chronicling the music industry in the swinging '70s.
As with that HBO project, "Roadies'" gaudy creative auspices only magnify the disappointment. Beyond Crowe, who wrote and directed the premiere, the murderer's row of talent on the marquee includes "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams and Winnie Holzman, whose credits include the musical "Wicked" and series "My So-Called Life."

Starring Luke Wilson and Carla Gugino as tour managers whose frequent squabbling seems to hint at a more complicated relationship, "Roadies" isn't bad, exactly. But nor does it feel particularly distinctive or even remotely fresh.

RELATED: HBO cancels 'Vinyl' in about-face from earlier renewal

Indeed, the various flare-ups that occur have a too-familiar quality, and the writing a sitcom-y bent. When Gugino's Shelli meets the big boss after having walked in on Wilson's character in bed with his daughter, she awkwardly tells him the girl is "truly lovely. I saw her naked."

The characters don't really pop either -- again, in part because they feel like such obvious archetypes. That includes the gnarled old pro who has seen and done it all and the wide-eyed newbie, choosing between film school and chasing her dreams in this colorful world.

Crowe clearly possesses a terrific feel for this world's abundant quirks, as well as an inherent love for the music. And it's fun to see performers like Lindsey Buckingham do a little acting before belting out songs. (The Head & The Heart, Reignwolf, Jim James and Lucius are among others slated to appear.)

Cameron Crowe's 'Roadies' premieres on Showtime

That said, "Roadies" is so light as to feel almost wispy. And the contrast between the show and the grim, brooding drama with which it's being paired, "Ray Donovan," is about as stark a contrast in TV styles as one could imagine -- like Metallica touring with Celine Dion.

As with "Vinyl," the mix of music and drama (or here, mostly comedy) simply doesn't work as well as hoped. And despite the high notes, there are too many places where "Roadies" falls flat.

"The music is good," Shelli counsels one of her young charges. "And you meet some great people."

Judging by "Roadies'" first few sets, that is, alas, about half right.

"Roadies" premieres June 26 on Showtime.
CNNMoney (Los Angeles)
First published June 23, 2016: 5:51 PM ET

[michelej1]

Lindsey was pretty good. The funniest part was when they showed the guy hallucinating that Lindsey was in flames and he said, "You're on fire" and Lindsey said: "thank you."

When he said 'I love you as the years go by, I may say it less but I mean it more,' it reminded me of him and the Macsters and I wondered if he ever said "I love you" to them.

I mean I know he says more casually that there's a lot of love there, but I mean one to one, does he say to any of them, "I love you."

Yes, I can imagine Lindsey just walking the halls backstage gently strumming NGBA, IRL.

Michele

[elle]

Thanks #LindseyBuckingham for getting Bill out of a jam…literally. #SHORoadies pic.twitter.com/uCKkSXxqTY

— Roadies (@SHO_Roadies) July 11, 2016

[elle]

"Might have snuck out pre-show to catch brilliant Lindsey Buckingham... I mean damn!" Rick @StatonHouse @SHO_Roadies pic.twitter.com/4tiB8URmGn

— Christopher Backus (@_cbackus) July 11, 2016

All hail the great #LindseyBuckingham. Honored to have you join us last night. #StatonHouseBand pic.twitter.com/PKl7TzFPUF

— Staton-House Band (@StatonHouse) July 11, 2016

@rickinblackuk @Sethmolitoris Lindsey Buckingham on fire. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eiogc0JKlZ

— (((teeging))) (@teeging) July 11, 2016

[michelej1]

[Luke Wilson talks about you know who]

Entertainment Weekly by DANSNIERSON 6/24/2016

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/06/24...gugino-preview

Wilson, meanwhile, gushes about the time that a certain six-string slinger from Fleetwood Mac showed up on stage to film a guest spot opposite him. “When Lindsey Buckingham picked up his guitar in a scene and started playing this instrumental — he’s just one of those guys, whether it’s The Edge or Jimmy Paige, where you think, ‘There are millions of people that play the guitar, but when this one guy plays it, you know it’s him’ — it took me back to my parents and being a kid and Rumors,” says Wilson. “I thought, ‘Okay, please don’t have tears in your eyes when you’re doing a scene with Lindsey Buckingham on his first day.’ That’s the power of music.”

This summer, Roadies hauls it out front and center, through the eyes of the unsung warriors.

[elle]

http://www.sho.com/roadies/season/1/episode/3

thanks Pattie for sharing the link with more info about Lindsey's episode (episode #3, July 10). music includes what looks like those instrumentals played before LB solo and FM shows.

MUSIC FROM THIS EPISODE

Let’s Go
He’s My Brother She’s My Sister iTunes

Kick Your Game
TLC iTunes

Think About Me (Acoustic Instrumental)
Lindsey Buckingham

Pink Medicine
BearsoniTunes

Bleed To Love Her (Acoustic Instrumental)
Lindsey Buckingham

T For Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1) [1976/Live at Fox Theatre]”
Lynyrd Skynyrd iTunes

Cool Kids
Echosmith iTunes

You’re Not Good Enough
Blood Orange iTunes

Deadlock Holiday
10cc iTunes

Happy Jack
The Who iTunes

Can’t Sleep
Gary Clark Jr iTunes

Oh Atlanta (Live)
Little Feat iTunes

Bleed To Love Her
Lindsey Buckingham

Hold Me (Acoustic Instrumental)
Lindsey Buckingham

Drinkee
Sofi TukkeriTunes

Big Love
Lindsey Buckingham

I Can’t Make You Love Me
Hannah Huston iTunes

Track 11 (Acoustic Instrumental)
Lindsey Buckingham

Farewell Angelina
Jeff Buckley & Gary Lucas

Bobby
Youth Lagoon iTunes

The Letter
The Box Tops iTunes

[note how these instrumentals are not available on iTunes unlike most other music from the episode - so they are at the same time a treat since they are something not available yet, but also it looks like a missed opportunity to not have them available there when episode airs]

[michelej1]

Think About Me and Hold Me. I'm in love.

Track 11? Hmmm.

Thanks Pattie and Elle.

Michele

[wondergirl9847]

I am so looking forward to seeing this and hearing all the music! Have not had a chance to see the 1st EP yet. Anyone seen it?

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by wondergirl9847

I am so looking forward to seeing this and hearing all the music! Have not had a chance to see the 1st EP yet. Anyone seen it?

The first two episodes are up, but I just fast forwarded through them, to make sure there was no LB. Looking forward to #3.

Michele

[michelej1]

Billboard 6/24/2015 by Melinda Newman

http://www.billboard.com/author/6593

Seattle quintet The Head and the Heart appears in the debut installment, followed by Canadian one-man band Reignwolf and (in a plot twist) Lindsey Buckingham, who recorded a solo, acoustic instrumental version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Never Going Back Again” for a scene. “That has been really fun for Cameron, to work with these people and set the tone for each show,” adds Curtis.

[LB Freakazoid]

I watched the first episode.... It was .... Interesting....

It's not something that will hit you out of the box if you are not in the business.

The show seems to 'broad brush' what happens on the road. But... That's what a tv show does....

Personally, being a freelance crew person, with a different crew every week... It was interesting to see how the show is zoning in on what goes on in crews that have to gig together, do on tours... The point of the show, right? For me, personally, a week is enough for some gigs. Ha!

On a side note - the shows that I've done the same 20+ shows with the same crew... Yep, that could be a 'show' in it self... But that is not, so far in the show, what goes on. But, I'm sure it willl........ Hmmmmmmmm.

I can say that crew peeps are very protective of the gig that they are doing. There is an "outside in" thang that happens with peeps that we meet hanging out during a break with the fans of.... Whoever.....
whatever is said by a crew peep to fans, is what has been passed down.... That crew peep is just protecting thier job... So don't be pissed by what you may hear.
It's an interesting dynamic.

And I have to disclose that I'm currently pretty 'happy' after a fantabulous private party room of a HUGE racing organization.

[elle]

http://zap2it.com/2016/06/roadies-is...use-band-real/

‘Roadies’: Is the Staton-House Band real?
BY CHRIS E. HAYNER AT 08:06 PM ON JUN 26, 2016

Now that you’ve seen the series premiere of Showtime’s “Roadies,” chances are there’s a question in your mind. Is this about a real band? In the first episode, the Staton-House Band is this mysterious entity powering everything, with only a single member seen at any point in the premiere.

After all, they’re all over social media — Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts all exist for the band — they have an official website and their Capture the Flag tour even has its own hashtag (#CaptureTheFlag2016). You can see their nine album discography, including track listings, on their website and even join their mailing list.

Sadly, this is all just a very clever marketing plan on behalf of Showtime, tied to the show. While the history of the Staton-House Band has been created, the band has not. At this point you can’t find any of their music, buy their merchandise or see them on tour — because it’s all fictional.

RELATED: Why ‘Roadies’ is the perfect companion piece to ‘Almost Famous’

That’s not to say songs wont appear on iTunes at some point in the future. Ask “Empire” how lucrative it is to sell songs from within the show as a secondary revenue source.

That doesn’t mean the entire world of “Roadies” is fictional, though. While the Staton-House Band doesn’t exist, practically every other musician in their world does. In the premiere, their opening was was acclaimed rock band The Heart and the Heart.

From there on a series of musicians — both current and legendary — will be paraded through the show to pick up the musical slack. Of note is the iconic Lindsey Buckingham, who has an incredible acoustic performance in episode 3, along with some funny lines against Luke Wilson.

So never fear, while the Staton-House Band may not be real, “Roadies” will continue to be packed with fantastic music that will have you dying for more.

[michelej1]

^But is the acoustic performance on NGBA? Because gag.

I guess it will just be good to see his little face again. Michele

[elle]

Originally Posted by michelej1

^But is the acoustic performance on NGBA? Because gag.

I guess it will just be good to see his little face again. Michele

lol, i don't see NGBA listed here http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showpo...7&postcount=17 - i'm assuming it's Big Love, or maybe BTLH.

[elle]

another article comparing various music-related series and what doesn't work for them (i just realized reading these articles that Vinyl was cancelled after initially renewed for another season)

http://uproxx.com/tv/why-cant-tv-cha...drugsrockroll/

Why Is It So Hard For TV Shows About Music To Get It Right?
BY: STEVEN HYDEN 07.06.16

There’s an old axiom attributed to Frank Zappa, Elvis Costello, Steve Martin, Miles Davis and many others that’s long been a favorite of self-hating rock critics: “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” Put another way: It’s easy to sound stupid when you’re talking about music. In fact, it’s pretty much inevitable that somebody will think you’re a moron no matter what you say.

Unfortunately, this isn’t just a problem for rock critics. In fact, it’s probably worse for TV writers. From The Partridge Family to Hannah Montana, from Zack Attack to Jesse and the Rippers, capturing the essence of pop music in fictional television shows has for decades proven frustratingly elusive. All the intangibles — the bristling sound of a live concert, the aloof carriage of a pop star, the digressive arc of a passionate debate among music geeks — often feel slightly (or wildly) wrong on television shows. And yet these details are essential for verisimilitude. Unconvincing lip-syncing, pained on-stage posturing, or a reference to the wrong Iggy Pop record are as conspicuous on music TV shows as wonky-looking special effects on Game of Thrones.

The most successful pop-related show on television, Empire, has addressed this problem by bringing in ringers to help with the music (Timbaland, Jim Beanz) and, perhaps more important, utilizing a soap-opera format that gives the show an outrageously operatic emotional tenor. As silly as Empire can be, its emotional truth rings true. Empire might not closely resemble the real-life pop industry, but watching it often feels like listening to pop music. (This is also true of Nashville, recently canceled by ABC and more recently revived by the cable network CMT.)

Any successful pop artist must have an intuitive understanding of what the audience wants from the music they love, and the same goes for TV shows about pop artists. Of all the many problems with HBO’s $100-million one-season wonder Vinyl, one of the biggest flops in TV history, this issue might have been the most profound. As a 38-year-old straight white male raised on classic rock radio, I couldn’t totally hate Vinyl — I am the core demographic for subplots about contract negotiations with Led Zeppelin and jokes about England Dan and John Ford Coley. But even I couldn’t stomach the pontificating of the show’s lead character, Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale), about how rock and roll with balls and grit can make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, motherf*cker!

The premise of Vinyl — a man who does cocaine all day long and hangs with Alice Cooper is inherently important — was fatally flawed for a TV show in 2016. Whether it was due to ignorance, arrogance, or a toxic mix of both, the makers of Vinyl didn’t understand that an anachronistic character like Richie must be explained, and his supposed awesomeness contextualized, for contemporary audiences.

I wonder now if Vinyl would’ve worked better as a comedy in the mold of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story or this year’s underrated Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, both of which use parody as a trojan horse for sharp insights about the highs, lows, and middles of pop stardom. Vinyl would’ve required just a slight nudge to become a full-on farce. Think about when Richie declares in the pilot, “I had a golden ear, a silver tongue, and a pair of brass balls. But the problem became my nose and everything I put up it.” That’s funny, especially coming from a blowhard in a leisure suit. Richie could have been a rock and roll Ron Burgundy, if only Vinyl had understood its own joke.

Roadies-Feature
SHOWTIME

Like Vinyl, Roadies was seemingly designed for a person with precisely my sensibilities. Created by Cameron Crowe, former music journalist and the writer-director of Almost Famous (i.e. the Top Gun of rock criticism), Roadies stars Luke Wilson, Carla Gugino, and Imogen Poots as crew members on tour with the Staton-House Band, an arena group that resembles a cross of Kings of Leon and Stillwater, the fictional band from Almost Famous. But whereas Vinyl was set 40 years in the past, Roadies is about a troupe of true believers fighting to keep the rock dream alive in the present.

As I watched the pilot for Roadies shortly before the show’s premiere last month on Showtime, I looked for signs of promise. I cheered for Poots, a great young actress who deftly upgrades what could’ve been another of Crowe’s Manic Pixie Dream Girls to a more dignified Grounded Cynic With a Heart of Gold. And I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t get chills from a shameless episode-closing montage set to Pearl Jam’s “Given to Fly.” (Crowe is nothing if not a master of shamelessly emotional moments set to rock songs.) Plus, Luis Guzman plays a bus driver named Gooch. How could I dislike this show?

But after watching the first three episodes, Roadies left me feeling unsatisfied, as well as weirdly guilty about not liking it more. Crowe’s intentions, as always, seem noble and kind-hearted. He loves music, darn it, and he’s created characters to proselytize about it on his behalf. Roadies is the kind of show that will stop for a few minutes to dote rapturously on a performance by indie-folk group the Head and the Heart. (Through Crowe follows this up with an incongruous joke about Mumford & Sons, which is like hating on Journey because you’re an REO Speedwagon purist.)

But still, this show is so gentle and non-threatening! Criticizing Roadies is like screaming obscenities at All Songs Considered. (Each episode even has a designated “Song of the Day” that identifies the artist. Shout-out, Frightened Rabbit!) The problem with Roadies is that Crowe seems interested in little else beyond the music, including anything remotely resembling dramatic conflict or witty jokes. In the second episode, a subplot is devoted to the consternation Poots’ character feels about the band using a TelePrompTer. Perhaps aging rock stars having their lyrics fed to them is still a big deal for Crowe, but the rest of the world has moved on.

Then there’s this week’s doozy of an episode, starring Rainn Wilson as a Bob Lefsetz-like blogger who slams the Staton-House Band in his online column, and is subsequently invited to join the band on the road to shore up the bad publicity. Apparently Crowe’s background as a Rolling Stone writer didn’t inform his depiction of Wilson’s character, a typical asshole critic caricature who cackles ominously while typing mean things on his computer. (Though, in fairness, Crowe makes Lefsetz’s prose read better than it does in real life.)

Crowe himself was notoriously deferential to rock stars as a journalist. (After recently re-reading his 1976 Rolling Stone profile of David Bowie, I was surprised to not once see the word “cocaine,” in spite of Bowie’s obviously coked-out behavior.) But he could stand to be a little — well, “meaner” is the wrong word, so let’s just say that Roadies could use an infusion of reality. Part of what makes Almost Famous great is that Stillwater is clearly not intended to be a capital-G great band. The band members are petty and egotistical, and it’s implied that they won’t last beyond a few more years. To use one of Crowe’s favorite words, those shortcomings give Almost Famous authenticity. On Roadies, however, the characters aren’t afforded the space to live and breathe. It treats rock and roll like a mint condition LP collection that never gets played, only bragged about.

Sex&Drugs&RockAndRoll
FX

During its first season on FX in 2015, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll seemed like another example of a rock and roll TV show playing in the wrong key. Star and creator Denis Leary plays Johnny Rock, an over-the-hill rock star whose band the Heathens flamed out in the early ’90s. One night in a nightclub, Johnny hits on a woman young enough to be his daughter, and then discovers that she really is his long-lost daughter, Gigi (Elizabeth Gilles). She has tracked down Johnny because she wants him to reform the Heathens and help her become a pop star.

With his peacock hair and lanky frame, Leary could credibly play a rock dude playing out the string on his career. But little else about Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll made sense from a music-perspective. Why would Gigi ask her estranged rocker father of all people to be her Max Martin? How could Dave Grohl credibly claim that the Heathens — whose aesthetic is essentially “Buckcherry lite” — were an influence on Nirvana? Why does Johnny reference Greg Dulli several times per episode? (Greg Dulli is to Denis Leary what Lindsey Buckingham is to Cameron Crowe.) Plus, the dialogue could be very clunky. (My favorite, courtesy of Joan Jett’s memorable cameo: “The whole music scene is talking about you and I had to come down myself to see what all the noise is about.”)

But Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll grew on me by the end of season one, in part because it didn’t take itself all that seriously. Instead, it just felt like a good hang — I grew to like the characters, particularly Flash (John Corbett), the Slash to Johnny’s Axl, and Ava (Elaine Hendrix), Johnny’s girlfriend and a former Bon Jovi groupie. Now in its second season, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll remains solidly low-stakes summer viewing, though now with an unexpectedly progressive streak that balances out the consistently crass humor. (Hello, semen-in-hair jokes, we’ve missed you since There’s Something About Mary 18 years ago.) In the first five episodes of season two, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll evolves from a show about Johnny trying to get his groove back to an endearing story about Gigi and Ava’s mother-daughter relationship, and the ways they influence each other to take control of their lives. As Ava’s career starts to take off in a surprising direction, Johnny is forced to confront middle-aged obsolescence, the biggest modern-day rock problem of all.

Presenting a world where women can exist outside of the lives of their boyfriends and bandmates seems a lot better, and truer, than this kind of show is normally capable of. It’s certainly leagues beyond the caveman gender dynamics of Vinyl, which romanticizes an era best left in the rearview. And no matter its occasional clumsiness — did I mention the semen in hair joke? — Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll at least has perspective on what a band like the Heathens signifies in 2016: Not a whole lot, but that’s okay, because it’s only rock and roll.