Chicago has a very special place in TIM DeLAUGHTER’s heart. He’s the lead singer and brainchild of the Dallas-based POLYPHONIC SPREE — the white-robed 24-member symphonic pop group that sounds like a hodgepodge of the BEACH BOYS, FLAMING LIPS and TODD RUNDGREN’s UTOPIA, with a little gospel thrown in. The Dallas-based group has a huge following in the Big Windy, where it performed this weekend at the Park West. “Chicago was hip to us from the very beginning,” said DeLaughter (above), formerly of the band Tripping Daisy. “Thank God for Chicago!”
We wondered how the Polyphonic Spree, which includes a 10-voice choir, flautist and horn section, splits a paycheck between 24 hard-working members. “It’s not that difficult because it’s not that much money to talk about,” DeLaughter told Armour & Co. “We definitely make a compromise to do this.”
McDougal: Been there, done that
Comparisons between the documentary “The Hunting of the President” and MICHAEL MOORE’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” are inevitable. But SUSAN McDOUGAL says there’s a major difference. “`Fahrenheit’ is a point of view that takes you just as far as you can go with one emotion,” she told Armour & Co. over cocktails at 437 Rush last week. “I think `Hunting’ is more of a quiet drama that’s building on itself.”
McDougal, of course, lived part of the story filmmakers HARRY THOMASON and NICKOLAS PERRY have brought to the big screen. Based on the best-selling book, “Hunting” opened a limited run Friday at the Music Box Theatre. It chronicles what the writers perceived as a 10-year right-wing campaign to bring down PRESIDENT CLINTON. McDougal served two years in prison after refusing to cooperate with KENNETH STARR’s Whitewater investigation.
Since Clinton pardoned McDougal in 2001 (ex-husband JIM MCDOUGAL died in prison in 1998), she’s been outspoken about prison reform. She’s also somewhat of an authority on what awaits MARTHA STEWART, who was sentenced to five months in prison for lying about a personal stock sale. “I think she’s going to be strong enough to make it through,” McDougal said. “But she’ll have some bad times. I’ve seen some bad stuff in federal prison. It’s not a country club.”
Credit where credit’s due
When we caught up with rap pioneer KURTIS BLOW a few days ago, he wanted to make sure we — and everybody else — heard his feelings about the late RICK JAMES, who was a close friend of his. Blow, now 45 and the host of SIRIUS satellite radio’s daily old-school hip-hop show BackSpin, first met James in the early 1980s while the two were on tour together. The 56-year-old James died in his sleep Aug. 6. “My personal opinion of him is that he was a legend — he should be in some music hall of fame somewhere,” Blow told Armour & Co. “Yes, he had a couple of bad stints with the law. But, regardless of that, the man did much more good than bad. He should get the respect that he deserves.”
Ben to any good shows lately?
It’s good to be Ben. Not just BEN AFFLECK, who has been extended an invitation to attend the Chicago opening of “Matt & Ben,” the off-Broadway comedy about his friendship with MATT DAMON on Sunday (it happens to be Ben’s birthday). But anybody named Ben gets in for free on Sunday for either the 3 p.m. or 6 p.m. shows at the Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.
And if you happen to bump into Big Ben, don’t bring up J. LO or the confounding Boston Red Sox. Those might be touchy subjects.
SOUND BITE
That’s LARRY THE CABLE GUY explaining to Armour & Co. that the ratings success of the WB’s “Blue Collar TV” hasn’t changed him. The sketch-comedy, spawned from the “Blue Collar Comedy Tour,” features Larry (real name DAN WHITNEY), JEFF FOXWORTHY and BILL ENGVALL. Nerf bars, by the way, run along the side of a truck, below the door.
Take them out of the ballgame
The White Sox have had their share of problems lately, so this should come as no surprise: They’ve got 10,000 bobble-heads of a guy who isn’t on the team anymore. That’s what happened when ESTEBAN LOAIZA (right) was traded to the Yankees. But instead of sending the bobble-heads with Loaiza, the Sox are giving the things away Aug. 21. We offered one suggestion to Sox marketing guy BROOKS BOYER — changing it from Loaiza, who wore No. 21, to, say, JOSE VALENTIN, who wears No. 22. “But then we’d have to make Jose grow a goatee,” Boyer told us. “That seems like too much trouble.”
Not amused by mob hit
The Sons of Italy have taken on TV shows before — particularly HBO’s “The Sopranos” — for what it deems the negative portrayal of Italian-Americans. But does a reality show fit into that category? “That’s a fair question,” answered the Washington, D.C.-based organization’s spokeswoman, DONA DE SANCTIS, when Armour & Co. chatted with her last week.
The Sons of Italy’s latest gripe is with “Growing Up Gotti,” the A&E network’s reality series about VICTORIA GOTTI, daughter of notorious crime boss JOHN GOTTI, a single mom trying to raise her three sons. The show is such a hit — it was the highest rated series debut in the network’s 20-year history — that A&E already has ordered more episodes. De Sanctis isn’t happy. “Only a small percentage of Italian-Americans are like John Gotti and his ilk,” she told us. “That’s why we take aim at A&E — they are part of the problem. We either get Tony Soprano or Joey from `Friends.’ “
BOB DeBITETTO, head of programming for A&E, tells Armour & Co. the criticism isn’t warranted. “One thing I want to make sure I make clear is the show does not glorify mob life,” DeBitetto, who happens to be Italian-American, told us. “The family dynamic is the core of the show and that’s what makes it work.”
De Sanctis said the Sons of Italy will continue prodding A&E as long as the show is on (even though Victoria Gotti’s mom told them to let it rest). “It’s not really about `Growing up Gotti,'” she said. “It’s about the imbalance in programming.”
