TRUE COLOUR: Living Colour frontman Corey Glover says the band has matured since its hit "Glamour Boys." Living Colour Thursday, Sept. 13 Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg $17 advance; $20 door Local group Soulsystem opens

Living's Will

By Scott Harrell

Living Colour was scheduled to fly out of New York on Wednesday. As of Tuesday, the show had not been cancelled. For information, call 727-896-1244 It's been 13 years since the monstrously groovy intro riff to "Cult of Personality" pummeled its way into drive-time America's collective psyche, shattering preconceptions, inspiring rampant shotgun-seat headbanging and generally revealing the radio metal of the time as the tired, insubstantial crotch-celebration it was. Along with Faith No More, Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour served as a pivotal fulcrum between the cock-rock '80s and the alt-rock '90s. They heralded the arrival of new sounds and ideas to the mainstream, while softening up the beachhead for the landing of three unkempt punk-rock kids from the Pacific Northwest. And, like "Epic" or "Suck My Kiss," "Cult of Personality" is one of the few pre-Nirvana gems still in regular airplay rotation that continues to sound ahead of its time more than a decade later.

With commercial success and across-the-board critical acclaim come certain obvious pressures; being tagged as the brightest ray of hope for rock's future probably doesn't do anything to lighten that load. Add to these responsibilities that fact that many saw Living Colour as the spearhead of a new black rock movement, catalyzing the rise of artists from King's X to 24-7 Spyz, and you've got one hell of a perceived burden. When, after seven years and three consistently excellent full-lengths, the band decided to officially call it quits in 1995, most folks assumed they'd tired of operating under such conditions.

"That's not really why," says vocalist Corey Glover, "although it was always there. Just as much as there was pressure (from the industry) for us to continue, but not expand. And for the same reason ... people would pin their hopes to us, while we pinned our hopes to each other. That's probably the reason why the band broke up -- because we all had expectations of each other, and the musical climate, that oftentimes were not met."

After a five-year separation packed with various projects (the most recent including guitarist Vernon Reid's live collaborations with Mos Def and drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish's contributions to David Garza's wonderful new soul-rock album, Overdub) the quartet reconvened for some jamming. The time apart brought a new perspective, along with the realization that their mutual admiration, the factor that brought them together in the first place, had only deepened with age.

"What we really had to do was rediscover our love for each other -- that we ultimately do, and we took advantage of that," Glover says. "We discovered that our appreciation for each other was really the motivating force for us to do this in any way, shape or form."

The rehearsals culminated in an unannounced, but predictably packed, reunion show at the so-legendary-it's-become-sort-of-nauseating CBGB's, where the foursome initially performed its first gigs as Living Colour. Astounded by the response and understandably jazzed at the prospect of re-examining their singularly explosive and eclectic group dynamic, the band quickly booked a short European tour where, again, they were amazed at the reaction.

"We feel like we're doing this for ourselves, but in the back of our minds, we're trying to figure out, 'Is this relevant? Do people care? Will people like us again?' Those are powerful considerations," says Glover.

Apprehensions assuaged, the band is currently nipple-deep in its first American jaunt in nearly seven years. While their recent practices have yielded a wealth of new material and ideas, much of which the singer promises will be showcased onstage, the group isn't yet promoting a new release. Glover indicates that some preliminary recording has been done, and that at this point a new Living Colour disc is imminent. But for the time being, they're too enthralled with the manic, spontaneous interaction that comes from playing live to worry about settling into the studio for a serious, regimented session:

"We've been fiddling about, and we may be doing some more in the days and weeks to come. But I think right now, we want to concentrate on playing. We may go out and do some full-fledged recording later in the year. But we'd want to make a record that really says what we want it to say, and hopefully whatever it is that we say is relevant."

When asked to compare the new stuff to Living Colour's previous work, Glover demurs; after all, it would be tough enough reconciling various cuts from Vivid, Time's Up and Stain with one another. The outfit's only formula consists of smelting original sounds, disparate influences and soulful emotion into songs they all deem worthy, a modus operandi that has always wrought compelling, if wildly wide-ranging, results. He does, however, name-check Radiohead and At The Drive-In as personal favorites, a reminder that Living Colour has always thrown forward-thinking electronic elements into the fray, and quite possibly a hint at new directions.

"We've always had our share of electronic and pre-recorded stuff happening," he says. "I think the way the technology works at this point, it's a lot easier to do that and make it feel a lot more organic."

Glover goes on to admit that while pleasing longtime fans is definitely a consideration, the members give first priority to satisfying themselves in their expression. They're not the same four men who recorded "Glamour Boys," and the new music will almost certainly reflect that fact.

"It's a different time now," Glover says. "We've grown since 1993, you know? A lot has happened; a lot of water has passed under this bridge since then. And we have to reflect that, reflect those sorts of ideas. We've held onto a lot of things, and expanded and expounded upon those things, but for the most part, we have to deal with where we are right now.

"There's always the specter of our past hanging over us, and people's expectations are based on that. Their understanding of us is based on that. But we really want to try to make the most sense out of doing this -- what's the most emotionally and musically satisfying for us."

This year thus far has seen a glut of older -- and far less influential or talented -- groups than Living Colour taking to the road in an effort to cash in on a little retro novelty. These aging hair-metal bands, Old Wavers and one-hit wonders have about them a whiff of desperation. They're dragging their bloated or desiccated carcasses across the country only because they need the money, or crave a humorless parody of the spotlight.

It seems just as obvious that Living Colour, taking to the road with enthusiasm, substance and credibility rather than a half-assed product to flog, are doing it simply because they want to, because it feels good. Of course, some will typecast them as just another old-school band taking one last shot at reliving past glories in the name of a house payment. According to Glover, such assumptions are irrelevant.

"We're not doing this because of how the musical landscape is (right now)," he says. "We're doing it because we can, because it feels good to do it right now. There was no real impetus -- we really just wanted to find out if there was any interest in anybody hearing from us. And we've been relieved and surprised. We just want to seize the moment, and say what we have to say within the confines of this particular configuration of people."

09.13.01

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