Almost Famous

By Heidi Chapson

My first brush with a major celebrity came rather late in life. It was back in April 1997 at The Loft, in Montreal’s red light district. By then, I was all grown up and no longer the giddy teenager I once was over sexy Australian singer Michael Hutchence. He and fellow INXS band mate Tim Farriss were in town as part of their an album promo tour, doing meet ‘n’ greet session for Elegantly Wasted (their last studio album before Hutchence was found hanging in a hotel room in Sydney). At the time, I was working for a music store and we had been invited to the record launch, so naturally I had to go for old times’ sake. What is it that Dr. Phil says? An individual has five defining moments in their life? Or is it seven? Anyway, that night in April was one of mine.

I will be the first to admit to having been star-struck at times, and I still admire the occasional celebrity. I realize these people are living, breathing human beings who have simply chosen career paths that have brought them into the spotlight. Some have had the opportunity to see these people progress with their careers and witnessed the trials and tribulations that they have undergone in order to achieve the status that is now viewed by the general public. Although two of my friends are familiar voices on the radio to thousands of people across the island of Montreal, to me they are still hard-working individuals who bleed and hurt like the rest of us. To others they are voices emanating from speakers –mysterious beings about whom presumptions are made based on their voices, the content, and the delivery. Essentially, what the public sees (or hears) is only the final product. The accomplishments of celebrities are what make these people somehow superhuman. However, the important factor is how individuals gain notoriety, and through what means have they manage to gain it.

Various independent artists have come into the spotlight, but was it through their hard work and perseverance or through clever marketing strategies? What happens when an artist becomes successful? At times, fame and the rise to stardom hold a negative connotation. People equate fame with mainstream or commercial, which in turn carries the stigma of “selling out” especially when it comes to the underground followers who have supported certain artists since the beginning of their careers. What exactly constitutes fame? Does it entail household names and mass appeal or could it simply refer to recognition within a given community?

One of the artists that I contacted on my quest for the meaning of fame was …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Conrad Keely, a member of this Austin-based indie-rock group (who eventually signed to a major label), once thought that it would be anyone’s ultimate goal to be famous. He soon changed his opinion however, when a grade 9 personality test showed that he was the only one in the class who had any desire to be famous. His take on fame these days is that “fame is the extreme of recognition. Whereas those that are recognized are usually simply respected for their accomplishments, famous people are idolized and admired (or detested) for things that aren’t necessarily accomplishments — their natural beauty or what they represent symbolically to people, a cause or an ideal.” If that success “was achieved by a compromise of one’s values or convictions” then the artist would be “selling out.” “I am more likely to call someone a sell-out who has changed themselves entirely in order to be accepted or perceived differently, at the expense of those who knew them before.”

Canadian experimental poet Christian Bök has sold more than 11,000 copies of his book Eunoia. That number is astounding. Most poets are fortunate if they sell between 500-1000 copies of a book. Along with winning the prestigious Griffin prize, Bök was featured as a “‘rock star’ of Canadian poetry” ranking him number 4 in Shift Magazine’s “Top 75 People Places Things That Will Make You Happy,” and the Globe and Mail style section even went out shopping with him to see where some of his favourite spots are. Why are we so curious to delve into the personal lives of people who have achieved great success? Is it our innate curiosity peeking through wondering how they got to that point, or something more primitive that stems to the beginning of time with our worship of heroes, gods and demi-gods?

Conrad Keely suggests that “even our current celebrities have a tendency to be ascribed a prime attribute, much like a god — that of beauty, strength, wisdom, intelligence, agility, cleverness, charisma, limitless mirth, etc. And their anti-celebrity counterparts, our modern ‘villains,’ are given the negative attributes of greed, cruelty, bloodlust, stupidity, etc. So in order for society to supply this demand for celebrities, we need people who are willing to be celebrities, people who want to be famous.”

Artists who straddle that fine line between indie-culture and the mainstream must strive to obtain a certain amount of recognition for their art, while attempting to remain truthful to themselves. Ex-Torontonian garage-punk electronic queen, Peaches, went from opening for Corpusse to having her music used for Europe’s fashion industry catwalks in a matter of three years. She feels that “fame sucks, recognition is cool.” At this point in her career Peaches isn’t looking for anymore butchy grrlz or girly boys crashing the stage to worship her, lapping up anything she deigns to give them. In response to some questions I had for her, she commented, “In my case it’s already a big mindfuck about the amount of people who know about me so I don’t feel the need to attract so many more.” As for marketing oneself, she admits that it is relatively important as long as she approves of how it is being done. “It’s funny to think of the audience growing and wondering what really made it grow. Was it the marketing, the hype, or really the music? I’m not trying to put the music down, I’m just wondering how an audience really grows.” At what point would Peaches feel like she’s “selling out”? “Well to be completely honest I feel that making another record is selling out but I’m doing it.” In keeping with Trail of Dead’s definition of fame, Peaches is not one of those who covets fame, but one of those who is willing to submit to it, to be famous.

Charged live performances have brought recognition to New Jersey’s noise-making hip hop trio Dälek, who recently completed a tour in North America and Europe. Having done their time as an opening act, 2002 found Dälek achieving headliner status. According to Dälek, “I think the important thing is to play. Play anywhere and everywhere you can. That’s how you let the people know you are there. I think it’s an honest feeling as an artist to want to be recognized for the art one creates. However, wanting masses of people to be chanting your name and fainting at your very sight is a far cry off from recognition. That is wanting fame. It’s enough to be able to make the music you want to make without compromising it, and be able to make a comfortable living from it. When you are changing and compromising your art, just to keep or attract an audience (is when you are ‘selling out’).”

“Just a general lack of balls,” said Gavin McInnes on the state of Canadian magazines during an interview session with the Montreal Mirror back in December. One of the founding members of Vice Magazine, he and two other ex-Montrealers took a small local zine and turned it into not only a full-fledged magazine, but also a clothing line, a record label and the start of a film and production company. They have been accused of “selling out.” The boys are now based in New York City, able to market the age-old concept of shock value content and sell it to corporate America. They claim that the problem with Canadian magazines is a lack of entrepreneurship. “So the problem is not just content in Canadian mags, but that Canadians have an inherent fear of capitalism. They’re scared to make a buck. And they love mediocrity. They love it when you’re just doing okay, but as soon as you start doing well they freak out. Canadians don’t want to do well. We’ve been hearing of Vice selling out since we first started getting coloured pages. I think it goes back to what I was saying about this Canadian love of mediocrity and not progressing.”

Berlin-based Chicks on Speed have taken their paper dresses and electro-trash out of the independent circuit and unleashed their music and attitude on all those who were willing to ride the electro-’80s-new-wave-revival roller coaster. “We just can’t get enough recognition” is what they admit during one of their less facetious responses to my questions on the whole concept of fame. For Chicks on Speed the importance lies in capturing as many listeners as possible because music is a social thing.

In putting this article together I came to the realization that despite there being a common struggle for base recognition, not all artists who have come out of the independent gutter into the spotlight have the same values. Yes, it’s true that as artists become more successful, they inevitably have busier schedules, handlers and hanger-ons, but some have stayed true to the roots of indie culture that nurtured them and haven’t been swept up in the world of “celebrity” status. It’s refreshing to see artists like Peaches, Trail of Dead, and Dälek, etc. still have the time to answer a few questions, despite their crossover into slightly more mainstream culture.

Selling Out or Buying In?