DeGeneres comes in from the
L.A. heat for a Cold reunion
Dec 19, 1986 By Vincent Fumar - Times- Picayune
Though it may seem like only yesterday to some, it was actually five years ago that the Cold was on top of the local club scene, drawing standing-room-only crowds and always on the verge of national attention.
Those five years must constitute a safe distance for the members of the group, four of whom will take part in the first official Cold reunion performance Saturday night at Jimmy's, playing under the name Four Cold Cats.
Three of the four - guitarists Kevin Radecker and Bert Smith, and drummer Chris Luckette - still reside in New Orleans. Bassist Vance DeGeneres and singer Barbara Menendez now live in Los Angeles. DeGeneres is making the trip back for the reunion.Always in demand during a brief but flamboyant career, the Cold seemed to play almost every night. But it wasn't so.
"I guess the most we ever played was five or six times a week," DeGeneres said over the phone from Los Angeles the other day. "We didn't really have to overdo it like a lot of bands that played six or seven times a week. But every gig counted, as opposed to overdoing it and burning ourselves out quickly. Even though it seems like we played constantly, it wasn't as much as a lot of bands. Bands like the Topcats would play at least six nights a week."
How will the band's succinct 1960s-pop-style music sound after such a period of inactivity? According to DeGeneres, it won't be a problem.
"Kevin sent me a tape with the old stuff on it," he said. "I'll go over it, and we'll probably have three rehearsals. They'll know their end and I'll remember mine. We've done that stuff so much... I always liked "Thanks a Lot", "Come on Over", "Three Chord City", and "Hawaii 5-O."
DeGeneres has been in Los Angeles ever since leaving his last New Orleans band, the Petries (his final performance with that group included an unofficial Cold reunion.) He is now associated with former Go-Go's drummer Gina Schock, as a bassist and songwriter. Schock's new band takes its name from a famous old New Orleans television show, by way of an old Mac Rebennack record.
"For the past 9 months, I've been partners with Gina Schock, whose new band is called House of Schock," DeGeneres said. "Do you remember the old Mac Rebennack record, 'Morgus the Magnificent'? It goes 'We don't go out to roll and rock, we get our kicks from the House of Schock.' That's where the name comes from. A friend of mine sent me a tape of the record, and we're going to use it to open some of our shows."
According to DeGeneres, House of Schock will be managed by Miles Copeland (the managerial mastermind behind the Police and the Bangles) and should be touring soon. The group has done some recording, but DeGeneres said he can't wait for the touring.
"I miss playing so much," he said. "That's the fun of it. I enjoy writing and being in the studio. But you can't beat playing on the stage. I'm playing bass, and this time around Gina will be out in front. She's doing all the singing from behind the drums. On all the demos and on the album she plays the drums, but for the live shows we hired another drummer. He's a friend of mine from New Orleans, Stephen Fisher. He'll be playing drums for all the live shows."
DeGeneres said his activities in Los Angeles consist mostly of playing and writing, and he likes it that way. "I prefer to live out here than in New York," he said. "It's a lot easier, and its closer to the New Orleans lifestyle than New York is. You can get a lot more done. I don't go to many clubs, but every now and then I'll go to Club Lingerie or Wong's. What's big out here now is a kind of cross between heavy-metal and new-wave-type bands - similar to the New York Dolls. Long hair teased out a mile high, and lots of makeup."
He said he plans to spend his visit seeing friends, eating genuine gumbo ("as opposed to the stuff they sell you out here") and, of course, playing at the reunion. "This will be my first time back since I've been out here. I'm looking forward to it," he said. "Maybe we'll do this every Christmas for the next 25 years."
L.A. heat for a Cold reunion
Dec 19, 1986 By Vincent Fumar - Times- Picayune
Though it may seem like only yesterday to some, it was actually five years ago that the Cold was on top of the local club scene, drawing standing-room-only crowds and always on the verge of national attention.
Those five years must constitute a safe distance for the members of the group, four of whom will take part in the first official Cold reunion performance Saturday night at Jimmy's, playing under the name Four Cold Cats.
Three of the four - guitarists Kevin Radecker and Bert Smith, and drummer Chris Luckette - still reside in New Orleans. Bassist Vance DeGeneres and singer Barbara Menendez now live in Los Angeles. DeGeneres is making the trip back for the reunion.Always in demand during a brief but flamboyant career, the Cold seemed to play almost every night. But it wasn't so.
"I guess the most we ever played was five or six times a week," DeGeneres said over the phone from Los Angeles the other day. "We didn't really have to overdo it like a lot of bands that played six or seven times a week. But every gig counted, as opposed to overdoing it and burning ourselves out quickly. Even though it seems like we played constantly, it wasn't as much as a lot of bands. Bands like the Topcats would play at least six nights a week."
How will the band's succinct 1960s-pop-style music sound after such a period of inactivity? According to DeGeneres, it won't be a problem.
"Kevin sent me a tape with the old stuff on it," he said. "I'll go over it, and we'll probably have three rehearsals. They'll know their end and I'll remember mine. We've done that stuff so much... I always liked "Thanks a Lot", "Come on Over", "Three Chord City", and "Hawaii 5-O."
DeGeneres has been in Los Angeles ever since leaving his last New Orleans band, the Petries (his final performance with that group included an unofficial Cold reunion.) He is now associated with former Go-Go's drummer Gina Schock, as a bassist and songwriter. Schock's new band takes its name from a famous old New Orleans television show, by way of an old Mac Rebennack record.
"For the past 9 months, I've been partners with Gina Schock, whose new band is called House of Schock," DeGeneres said. "Do you remember the old Mac Rebennack record, 'Morgus the Magnificent'? It goes 'We don't go out to roll and rock, we get our kicks from the House of Schock.' That's where the name comes from. A friend of mine sent me a tape of the record, and we're going to use it to open some of our shows."
According to DeGeneres, House of Schock will be managed by Miles Copeland (the managerial mastermind behind the Police and the Bangles) and should be touring soon. The group has done some recording, but DeGeneres said he can't wait for the touring.
"I miss playing so much," he said. "That's the fun of it. I enjoy writing and being in the studio. But you can't beat playing on the stage. I'm playing bass, and this time around Gina will be out in front. She's doing all the singing from behind the drums. On all the demos and on the album she plays the drums, but for the live shows we hired another drummer. He's a friend of mine from New Orleans, Stephen Fisher. He'll be playing drums for all the live shows."
DeGeneres said his activities in Los Angeles consist mostly of playing and writing, and he likes it that way. "I prefer to live out here than in New York," he said. "It's a lot easier, and its closer to the New Orleans lifestyle than New York is. You can get a lot more done. I don't go to many clubs, but every now and then I'll go to Club Lingerie or Wong's. What's big out here now is a kind of cross between heavy-metal and new-wave-type bands - similar to the New York Dolls. Long hair teased out a mile high, and lots of makeup."
He said he plans to spend his visit seeing friends, eating genuine gumbo ("as opposed to the stuff they sell you out here") and, of course, playing at the reunion. "This will be my first time back since I've been out here. I'm looking forward to it," he said. "Maybe we'll do this every Christmas for the next 25 years."
