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NEWS : STORIES
Remember when you went away to college for the first time, then came home for the holidays and your best friend had transformed from a geek to a Goth? He was the same guy down deep, but on the outside he seemed way different. Fans of
"I don't think we've ever been happy-go-lucky," said singer-guitarist Alex Greenwald of his band's demeanor. "The Guest was recorded in the winter, so we needed some sunlight to turn the frown upside down. On this one we realized whatever face we have is fine, be it frown, smile, or grimace." The Los Angeles-based band crank up the angst on songs such as "After Hours," and "Jabberjaw," both written by Greenwald in the early morning hours after depressing nights out on the town. Harmonies are still important on the new disc, but as "Big Brat" indicates, they are now slathered in a Strokes-like patina of twitchy guitar and deadpan vocals. Speaking of slathered, the video for the song is a nod to Night of the Living Dead, combining a documentary making-of piece directed by Spike Jonze with a zombie creepfest featuring makeup from Tony Gardner ("Thriller"). The change comes at an interesting time for the group, which formed in 1994 when the guys were teenagers. As they explore rock's seedier side, one of their shiniest, happiest songs, The Guest's "California," is getting massive exposure as the theme song to Fox’s soap opera smash The O.C. That's not the only change, though. After forming the group with his childhood best friend Greenwald, drummer Jason Schwartzman ("Rushmore") jumped ship midway through the sessions to pursue acting full time. A little change will do you good and the 23-year-old Greenwald was happy to tell VH1 about his obsession with teen soap operas, Alan Thicke, zombie movies and how to avoid getting bitch-slapped in one of his songs. VH1: Whose idea was it to let The O.C. use "California?" Alex Greenwald: The writers of the show were big fans and we got a copy of the pilot that reminded me of the 90210 teen soaps that I lived by when I was 13. Besides, the girls are kind of hot. The fifth or sixth song I learned on the guitar was the 90210 theme song. [Sings] “da nuh nuh nuh, da nuh nuh nuh.” VH1: Where's the strangest thing that's happened to you since the show started? AG: I get calls from my mom saying, “I was watching the Billboard Awards and I heard your song when the kids from that show came out to give an award.” My mom doesn't really watch TV and she instilled that in me. But she did hear from her friends and called up and said, “Are you on some show?” VH1: Did you ever imagine the show would be such a hit? AG: No, actually I believe it needed our song to become a hit. VH1: Would it bug you if that was your lasting legacy? AG: It would bug me a bit if that's all my creative life's work would have amounted to. But that won't happen. VH1: What's your favorite cheesy TV theme song? AG: The Diff'rent Strokes theme, which is actually a beautiful song written by Alan Thicke. There are a number of songs he's written that molded me into the songwriter I am today. VH1: How did you hook up with makeup master Tony Gardner for the "Big Brat" video? AG: Spike Jonze was in Three Kings, which Tony did the make-up for. Spike gets shot in the movie and they he had to be in make-up for hours getting this body cast made so he and Tony became close. Spike just called him and said, “You want to come to this house and show these boys how to put make-up on?” VH1: Why were you obsessed with doing a zombie movie? AG: I've loved the zombie genre for a long time. Any movie with the word “Dead” in it is on my list. I've always wanted the opportunity to dress my friends up as the undead and put scars and blood on all of my band buddies. VH1: Did you ask him about Michael Jackson? Any scoop? AG: After the long day of shooting we were all tired and we had to finish a few shots, but all the zombie extras were burnt. Tony jumped in and said, “Everybody, we're going to do the ‘Thriller’ dance!” He showed us the first 30 seconds of the moves, which he remembered almost exactly. He kept jostling his mind and he'd say things like, “Do a neck twist, then turn around and kick out your right leg.” It was one o'clock in the morning and all of us had given up on being human beings at that point, so being dressed up like the undead made it better. VH1: What kinds of movies do you guys watch on the road? AG: I got big into this Francois Truffaut box set, so there's a lot of French new wave movies on the bus. But we also watch a lot of Family Guy on DVD, which is as base as we get. It's either high falutin' or low falutin'. The only music I was listening to on our last tour was Lightning Bolt, which is this loud celebratory hardcore. It's a two-piece from Rhode Island and they know how to make the loudest sounds possible. I recommend Wonderful Rainbow. VH1: You guys toured for almost two years on the last album. Do you remember a high point and a low point? AG: The first ten months of the tour was an extended summer camp. Tons of new experiences, new friends, sleeping away from home. The last six months was getting used to it. We weren't tired of it, but we missed our friends and our souls were exhausted. It's not really something you can complain about, if you do, you're a pussy whiner. It's like a sailor's life, going from port to port. There was a time a few years ago when the van broke down and it was freezing cold. We were in the Midwest, ran out of gas and were nowhere near a gas station. We couldn't even keep the heat on. It took two hours for the tow truck to arrive, and I swear our guitarist Jacques, who has so little body fat to begin with, was getting frostbite. I thought we were going to have to cut our tour manager open and pack Jacques in his fat like that Taun-Taun in Empire Strikes Back. VH1: "After Hours" kind of explodes the myth of rock stars getting into any place they want, doesn't it? AG: It's just lonely. A lot of emphasis gets placed on nightlife for people my age and how successful you are with the opposite sex. That song comes from failing miserably at all those things. There was a bar I didn't get into and the worst part was it wasn't a velvet rope thing, they just saw me and I didn't fit in. I felt like I was back in high school. It wasn't even a cool bar. I'm a human being, don't tell me I can't go into a place! Then, there was this girl who was wearing a suit of glowing white light as far as I'm concerned and, as she was leaving, I'm sure she saw me not being able to get in. It was indicative of not being accepted and feeling sad and lonely late at night. I went home and instead of pouting about it I put it into a song. VH1: How do you know you've been on the road too long? Greenwald: When you just look over to the band member to your right or left and you look at each other and say, “I f*cking hate your guts.” Then you hug.
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