September 15, 2006

The Spin I’m In: A Rock ‘n Roll Creation

Hollywood doesn’t make good rock movies. They always get it wrong. The actors somehow aren’t quite right and the direction seems completely foreign. The final result equals C-O-R-N-Y.

I recently watched This Is Spinal Tap for about the twentieth time. This is the one film that got it so dead on that I’m still dying to know where the comics got some of their fly on the wall information.

When I first saw the movie I thought it was a funny mockumentary about a faux metal band. Years later as my own band’s career was unfolding I realized how painfully- hilariously accurate it was. Even the deli tray. I’ve met my own real life Bobby Fleckmans and Sir Eaton Hoggs. At times I’ve behaved like the temperamental Nigel, the bullshit spiritualist David, and the "lukewarm" Derek.

So much of that movie came true to life; the fighting, the boyfriends, even getting lost on the way to the stage. In England once, we were scheduled to appear in a shopping mall without our knowledge (our own version of the military base in the film). Nightmare.

Every musician in the biz that I know is aware that This Is Spinal Tap rings so true that it can cause tinnitus…of the heart.

I’ll be playing the Viper Room in LA., this Saturday the 16th with my band and James Hall. Come get your rock on.

www.donitasparks.com

I’d love to hear The Spin You’re In in the comments section.