The Galleon - Portsmouth's Official Student Newspaper

4/5]

Despite the cheesy title, “I’m in a Rock ‘n’ Roll Band!” oozed casual intellectual cool, exploring the roles of different musicians in rock bands. Featuring interviews from rock legends and great archive footage, the first show of the series concentrated on the lead singer. A journey into LSD (no, not the drug – Lead Singer’s Syndrome) reaffirmed what we already know; the lead singer of a band needs bucket loads of ego, a handful of arrogance, and the swagger of Jagger.

It was enlightening to compare the ego-centric singers with those who would shy away from their own fame – i.e.  Kurt Cobain. Cobain was described as “sharing his soul” with the audience, not needing to throw himself or put on a theatrics performance a-la-Alice Cooper. Cobain was subverting what the frontman is renowned for, and interviews with Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl gave some real heart to Kurt’s story.

Another aspect of the show I particularly enjoyed was the comic-esque animations, reminiscent of Linkin Park’s “Breaking the Habit” video – but perhaps a bit brighter. Creating caricatures of our favourite rock heroes  was an interesting juxtaposition to the all-too-human flaws discussed in the interviews.  “I’m in a Rock ‘n’ Roll Band!” is a brilliantly structured and informative show, which provides the ins and outs of being a singer in a successful rock band.

A great background soundtrack mixes old and new, although as a whole the show definitely concentrates on former, perhaps to appeal to the middle aged audience who are sitting at home on a Saturday night, whilst the younger fans are out on the lash.