25 years down the road: "Roadie" revisited
Was it really 25 years ago when I begged my mother to drive me and my Meadowbrook pal Amy Wood all the way over to some skanky-ass discount cinema in Euless so we could see this piece of celluloid rock and roll trash? Sure, I was on a mission, being a big Blondie fan and all, but like my obsession with what it would take to be a Creem Dreem and the murder of Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten that same summer, this left its mark. I just watched it on Encore for the first time since then and realized, I haven't grown up one fucking bit.
This low-budget Alan Rudolph masterpiece was filmed right here in Texas, in and around the Austin area and at many recognizable locations, like the hilly streets around the Capitol and the vast prairies of Central Texas. Back at 11, though, I was probably too impatient and immature to appreciate that because all I cared about was the bit where Blondie came on. They didn't disappoint, either, tearing through "Ring of Fire" on some outdoor stage with this realistically-rendered refinery backdrop. For a 11-year-old demon child of rock and roll, this was powerful stuff, especially in that ambiguous post-Eat to the Beat, pre-Autoamerican era. It definitely gave me hope in a rather bleak time of my life, not to mention fodder for my dreams of running off to a desert island with Clem Burke, who's only one of the best and most under-rated goddamned drummers in the world, right up there with Max Roach, Buddy Rich, Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, John Maher, and Dave Grohl.
But I digress. Pop tart dreams aside, "Roadie" is the story of the lovable Travis W. Redfish - played to the hilt by Dallas' very own Meat Loaf, whose amazing career is pretty much book-ended by such brilliant roles as Eddie in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and Bob with the Bitch-Tits in "Fight Club." Here, his Redfish's own career path takes him from the Shiner Beer truck delivery guy who lives in an old farmhouse with his father (played with crusty flair by Art Carney) to the world's greatest roadie practically overnight.
His rise to fame is purely accidental, of course - he sees the girl of his dreams - Lola Bouilliabaise, played by the sparkly, dimpled Kaki Hunter - in the back of Hank Williams Jr.'s broken-down Winnebago with all the band's equipment. They've got to get to Austin for the show that night so it's up to Redfish to fix the camper and get them to their gig a couple hours. Naturally, he saves the evening, and everyone's treated to Hank Williams, Jr. and Roy Orbison's duet of "The Eyes of Texas," and later, solo Bocephus on "Family Tradition." After Redfish catches the eye of concert promoter Mohammed Johnson - played by Soul Train's Don Cornelius, I shit you not - he's kidnapped and flown to California, for his next big gig. To his delight, he's found his niche, celebrating with wild-child flourish.
On the road, Lola and Redfish bat eyes and trade affectionate platitudes, but jealousy rears its ugly head when Lola tells Redfish that she's working her way toward New York so she can hook up with Alice Cooper, because she wants him to be her first lover. And here you have your dramatic conflict.
This flick is definitely Oscar-challenged, so highbrow film-snob twats should steer clear. But if you're in it for the music luminaries and cheese factor, go for it. Soundtrack picks include "Dance This Mess Around" by the B-52's, "Hot Damn, I'm a One-Woman Man" by Jerry Lee Lewis, "That Old Loving You Feeling Again" by Roy Orbison and Emmylou Harris, and the Cheap Trick song, "Everything Works if You Let It," which basically serves as the film's theme song. Along with the Orbison-Williams duet and Blondie performance, there's also a cameo by Asleep at the Wheel, and of course, Lola gets to meet Alice Cooper at the end. He comes across as the dream guy you'd want to take home to mother, even with the makeup and the snake. When he finds out Redfish's true identity, he asks him to come along on the next tour, but Redfish has to get back home to Texas for his sister's wedding to his best friend. I won't spoil the ending, but it's a sweet little movie. Blondie and Alice Cooper fans should take note, especially the party scene where Clem Burke and Jimmy Destri of Blondie get into it with a troupe of midgets and Chris Stein runs around the room with a video camera, reminiscent of that scene in the Velvet Underground's 1966 performance at the New York Society for Clinical Psychiatry dinner at the Delmonico Hotel, where Barbara Rubin and Jonas Mekas filmed the audience's horrified and stunned reactions to the music, peppered with questions like, "Is his penis big enough?" and "What does her vagina feel like?" Was Alan Rudolph inspired by that, perhaps??? I can only hope.
Meanwhile, I'll leave you with my own personal Alice Cooper soundtrack, songs any rock and roll bad boy or girl would be remiss not to have on CD or in their iPod. Happy listening and Viva Vincent Furnier!!!
"Mary Ann" - from Billion Dollar Babies
"Long Way to Go" - from Love It To Death
"Big Apple Dreamin'" - from Muscle of Love
"Shoe Salesman" - from Easy Action
"Titanic Overture" - from Pretties For You
"Blue Turk" - from School's Out
This low-budget Alan Rudolph masterpiece was filmed right here in Texas, in and around the Austin area and at many recognizable locations, like the hilly streets around the Capitol and the vast prairies of Central Texas. Back at 11, though, I was probably too impatient and immature to appreciate that because all I cared about was the bit where Blondie came on. They didn't disappoint, either, tearing through "Ring of Fire" on some outdoor stage with this realistically-rendered refinery backdrop. For a 11-year-old demon child of rock and roll, this was powerful stuff, especially in that ambiguous post-Eat to the Beat, pre-Autoamerican era. It definitely gave me hope in a rather bleak time of my life, not to mention fodder for my dreams of running off to a desert island with Clem Burke, who's only one of the best and most under-rated goddamned drummers in the world, right up there with Max Roach, Buddy Rich, Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, John Maher, and Dave Grohl.
But I digress. Pop tart dreams aside, "Roadie" is the story of the lovable Travis W. Redfish - played to the hilt by Dallas' very own Meat Loaf, whose amazing career is pretty much book-ended by such brilliant roles as Eddie in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and Bob with the Bitch-Tits in "Fight Club." Here, his Redfish's own career path takes him from the Shiner Beer truck delivery guy who lives in an old farmhouse with his father (played with crusty flair by Art Carney) to the world's greatest roadie practically overnight.
His rise to fame is purely accidental, of course - he sees the girl of his dreams - Lola Bouilliabaise, played by the sparkly, dimpled Kaki Hunter - in the back of Hank Williams Jr.'s broken-down Winnebago with all the band's equipment. They've got to get to Austin for the show that night so it's up to Redfish to fix the camper and get them to their gig a couple hours. Naturally, he saves the evening, and everyone's treated to Hank Williams, Jr. and Roy Orbison's duet of "The Eyes of Texas," and later, solo Bocephus on "Family Tradition." After Redfish catches the eye of concert promoter Mohammed Johnson - played by Soul Train's Don Cornelius, I shit you not - he's kidnapped and flown to California, for his next big gig. To his delight, he's found his niche, celebrating with wild-child flourish.
On the road, Lola and Redfish bat eyes and trade affectionate platitudes, but jealousy rears its ugly head when Lola tells Redfish that she's working her way toward New York so she can hook up with Alice Cooper, because she wants him to be her first lover. And here you have your dramatic conflict.
This flick is definitely Oscar-challenged, so highbrow film-snob twats should steer clear. But if you're in it for the music luminaries and cheese factor, go for it. Soundtrack picks include "Dance This Mess Around" by the B-52's, "Hot Damn, I'm a One-Woman Man" by Jerry Lee Lewis, "That Old Loving You Feeling Again" by Roy Orbison and Emmylou Harris, and the Cheap Trick song, "Everything Works if You Let It," which basically serves as the film's theme song. Along with the Orbison-Williams duet and Blondie performance, there's also a cameo by Asleep at the Wheel, and of course, Lola gets to meet Alice Cooper at the end. He comes across as the dream guy you'd want to take home to mother, even with the makeup and the snake. When he finds out Redfish's true identity, he asks him to come along on the next tour, but Redfish has to get back home to Texas for his sister's wedding to his best friend. I won't spoil the ending, but it's a sweet little movie. Blondie and Alice Cooper fans should take note, especially the party scene where Clem Burke and Jimmy Destri of Blondie get into it with a troupe of midgets and Chris Stein runs around the room with a video camera, reminiscent of that scene in the Velvet Underground's 1966 performance at the New York Society for Clinical Psychiatry dinner at the Delmonico Hotel, where Barbara Rubin and Jonas Mekas filmed the audience's horrified and stunned reactions to the music, peppered with questions like, "Is his penis big enough?" and "What does her vagina feel like?" Was Alan Rudolph inspired by that, perhaps??? I can only hope.
Meanwhile, I'll leave you with my own personal Alice Cooper soundtrack, songs any rock and roll bad boy or girl would be remiss not to have on CD or in their iPod. Happy listening and Viva Vincent Furnier!!!
"Mary Ann" - from Billion Dollar Babies
"Long Way to Go" - from Love It To Death
"Big Apple Dreamin'" - from Muscle of Love
"Shoe Salesman" - from Easy Action
"Titanic Overture" - from Pretties For You
"Blue Turk" - from School's Out
posted by No, You Can't Watch at 1:07 AM
3 Comments:
Dang, I KNEW I should have gone to that Addison film fest with ya!
Dude. How did I miss this gem? Never mind that, how did you trip on this movie at *eleven*??? I was still in love with Peter Criss, and hadn't even moved on to the Cars!
Ah, Amy Wood...deep trip into the past.
Keep up the reviews, you totally kick ass at 'em!
Clinkies
T.
Thanks, y'all!!!
Tif, I was a total geek at 11. The first ad I ever saw for "Roadie" was on the very back page of Creem or Circus - can't remember which one, but that's where I first read anything about it. I'm sure my mother was thrilled.
Yup, Amy Wood. Definitely takes you back, doesn't it? I wonder what she's up to these days? Hopefully she's still doing her thing!
Also, y'all, I can't believe I forgot to add Budgie to my list of favorite drummers! Big, big thanks go to my dearest Danny for pointing this out to me, and for also being the one to turn me on to all those songs on my Alice Cooper hit parade. Danny, you picked up where Jamie and Angie left off, and took it even further. Bless you.
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