I’ve been told I have great legs, a nice ass and beautiful hair.
I have been relatively blessed as far as my looks are concerned, thank you baby cheesus. But let me ask you a question by way of this story…

Recently I got asked by a fellow musician to do a video interview.
Cool I think, I can use all the promo I can get.
But wait, hold on there Ms. Giant Ego, he wants me to interview his band. Hu?

I ask him “Why me”? He says, after some uncomfortable pauses, it’s “..because you’re a, a ham, ya know like onstage”. A ham, me… really?
Now for those of you who don’t know I often refer to myself as a reluctant performer, because how else can a poet really get their stuff read I ask you?
Seriously, the bliss of songwriting far out weighs the spotlight for this kid.
But after about a year of crying post gig this Monster has created a Doctor Frankenstein. Which is my way of saying I quite dig it now. But I digress….

So I go to do the interview, and I have to be honest I am a little resistant and rather bitchy when I arrive. But a few minutes in darned if I don’t start feeling sorry for my fellow artists once the camera is on.
To keep with my Frankenstein  metaphor, they seem about as uncomfortable as a creature poked with torches and pitchforks.
And after a few questions, a few cheesy shots of me holding their new CD like a toothpaste model (which they agreed not to use…yes that’s how vain I am) I again ask …”Uh why me”?

With a chagrined look I hear “Well, I didn’t want to say, but it’s because of your looks.” to which I responded “I know THAT!” But that’s it? I was the costume?
A human form of prestidigitation? A little sexual misdirection? Old as the hills and all the advertising companies who place billboards on them?
(See Bill Hicks for thoughts on the profession of advertising.)

So I’ve taken the long way to talk about Theatre, Costume, Drama, and Spectacle.

From the master of visual reinvention, David Bowie (I heart) to the curious stylings of Lady Gaga I wonder how much of that does an audience want from a musician?
Or better yet how much of that do you need to be successful today?

Last year we did a Halloween gig where I dressed up as The Diva of the Dead where my band allowed me to paint them up like ghouls. After the show we were overwhelmed with responses that I can only attribute to the costumes because well, we did look great!

But should an artist cultivate a style, a theme, or a character? Again, is it a requirement in order to stand out in the throngs of torn jeans and band t-shirts?
I suspect genre is a factor here ’cause I don’t see too many Americana, or Jazz groups sporting tutu’s and face paint.
But then again, consider the amazingly talented and lovely Lynda Kay, whose hair is the height of show grabbing glitz!

And while I’m comfortable with my Elizabeth Montgomery Bewitched cartoon look, I wonder am I destined to return to the Diva of The Dead?