The Tubes |
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Sat. November 13.1999 3:01 AM EST |
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The Tubes' Roger Steenby Frank Tortorici |
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Roger Steen hooked up with the other Tubes in San Francisco. ( ) |
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Guitarist Roger Steen was a member of theatrical rockers the Tubes from the early '70s until their split in 1986. The Tubes regrouped in the '90s and Steen is still touring with them. Steen was born Nov. 13, 1949, in Pipestone, Minn. After
Steen joined them, and they began calling themselves the Tubes. New members also included drummer Prairie Prince, keyboardist Michael Cotten and singer Fee Waybill, a former roadie. The Tubes began recording for A&M Records and issued their critically lauded eponymous debut, produced by Al Kooper, in 1975. It featured such tracks as "Up From the Deep," "Mondo Bondage," "Boy Crazy" and "White Punks on Dope." The latter was a heavy-metal parody that became a radio favorite. Waybill sang the tune in the persona of Quay Lewd, his spoof of British hard-rock singers. As the decade progressed, the Tubes issued Young and Rich (1976), Now (1977), What Do You Want From Live? (1978) and the Todd Rundgren–produced Remote Control (1979). The Tubes earned more attention from their live act than for their albums. Their shows were heavy on glitter, the use of electrical appliances, fog machines and sexual innuendo. During the recording of the Tubes' live album, Waybill broke his leg onstage while acting out his punk character Johnny Bugger. While Waybill was recuperating, interest in the band began to slip. Dropped by their label, the Tubes signed with Capitol and issued The Completion Backward Principle (1981). It spawned the radio hits "Talk to You Later" and "Don't Want to Wait Anymore," becoming the band's first top-40 LP. In 1983 the Tubes hit the U.S. top 10 with "She's a Beauty" (RealAudio excerpt) from Outside/Inside. The song's provocative carnival video became a hit on MTV. But after the commercial failure of Love Bomb (1986), the Tubes disbanded. Seven years later, Steen, Waybill, Anderson, Prince and new keyboardist Gary Cambra toured as the Tubes in the United States and Europe. They issued Genius of America, featuring such cuts as "Arms of the Enemy," "Fishhouse" and "Fastest Gun Alive." The Tubes, including Steen, are touring the U.S. this year. Other birthdays on Saturday: John Hammond Jr., 56; Bill Gibson (Huey Lewis and the News), 48; Andrew Ranken (Pogues), 46; Aldo Nova, 43; and Walter Kibby (Fishbone), 35. |
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