In answer to the question Local H poses on their latest album, P.J. Soles–he B-movie actress who starred in films such as “Halloween” and “Stripes”–is alive and well and living in California. But “Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles,” Local H’s fifth full-length album, is much more than a trip down memory lane.
Easily the Chicago duo’s most adventurous album, it rocks hard (“Money on the Dresser”), channels the Velvet Underground (“Hey, Rita”) and vilifies the endless supply of California odes (“California Songs”).
RedEye caught up with Local H frontman Scott Lucas to ask him about “Bands Reunited,” contemporary metal and California (and New York) chauvinism.
Was there one particular “California” song that put you over the edge?
It wasn’t so much one particular song.
So it’s people thinking that Los Angeles is the be-all, end-all?
“Californication” is probably the worst one. It just feels like the Mamas & the Papas basically said it all, and with Randy Newman and all that, it’s just kind of been embarrassing.
You take a potshot at New York as well.
It’s the same thing. I was watching “Sex and the City” the other night, and they had a bit before [the show started] where they were interviewing all these people and everyone would talk about how great the show was and what a landmark it was for television. And they all said how a show like that could only happen in New York. According to them, New York is the greatest city in the world and only in New York could you walk down the street and see a bunch of people that you’d wanna have sex with or run into someone that you’d probably already had sex with. It’s like what the (bleep) are you talking about? That happens in every city and probably happens more often than not in small towns.
Is “Heavy Metal Backsale” your gibe at hair metal bands that refuse to go away?
Maybe, but I kind of think a lot of bands in the ’90s and especially now are nothing more than overglorified metal bands anyway. It’s still a bunch of idiots, and they’ve just shaved their heads. They’re still dumb.
Did you see any of the “Bands Reunited” shows on VH1?
I did. I thought that a couple of them were actually pretty touching. I thought Terri Nunn [from Berlin] looked great, and I was surprised that not as many members of Frankie Goes to Hollywood were gay. I counted only two, and only one guy actually said he was gay. I would have thought the whole band was gay, which I was a little disappointed by.
You’ve done such legendary Halloween concerts at the Double Door performing as bands like AC/DC and the Doors. How long does it take for you to prepare for that show?
It depends on how many people are in the band, I guess. You start thinking about it a couple months before you’re gonna do it. Oh, who am I fooling, we start thinking about it right away.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Joe Knowles (jknowles@tribune.com)
