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Because he used to be a Marine, Fun Lovin' Criminals singer/guitarist Huey (like his bandmates, he goes by his first name only) remains unimpressed by the so-called rigors of life in a rock & roll band. It's not all that amazing to him that the Jan. 26 release of the trio's second record, 100% Colombian, will cap an almost uninterrupted twenty-one months of touring and recording. And now comes word that their dogged itinerary will continue until the millennium -- at least.
"We don't need time off," Huey says. "This is what we've always
wanted to do, and it's not like we're working that hard. We're in a
band. It's not like we've gotta get up early or something. I've
been in the Marines, and that was stressful. I don't think you know
what stressful is until you're a Marine."
Although the parallels might not be immediately evident, Huey sees
similarities between life in a rock band and life in the armed
forces. "It's the same in some ways -- you hurry up and wait a lot
of the time, and that's kind of like the Marine Corps motto," says
Huey. "So is 'Kill, Kill, Kill,' but never mind that."
Almost prohibitively famous in Europe, the New York-based Criminals
are trying hard to break big in the States, where major success has
thus far eluded them, although no one is sure exactly why. Their
good-natured, street-edged blend of rock and hip-hop has already
drawn the attention of Garbage, who will reportedly be remixing the
Criminals' upcoming single, "Korean Bodega," while the Criminals
try their hand at remixing an upcoming Garbage track.
"If anybody would have told me that I'd be where I am today, that
all this [would be happening], I wouldn't have believed it," says
Huey. "I would've thought they were crazy." The Criminals --
rounded out by Fast on keyboards and Steve on drums -- were living
together in New York, making home tapes and occasionally
rehearsing, when a friendship with a party promoter at the famed
New York City club Limelight led to a birthday party gig there,
and, six shows later, a record deal.
The band's first full-length record, the 1996 release Come Find
Yourself, sold a million copies around the world, and meant
that Huey had to shelve his dreams of becoming a fireman for good
("I figured it would be a good way of getting kicks without
breaking the law," he says). The Criminals, who regard their career
thus far as one big, nice accident, are a rarity among Nineties
rock & roll bands: they have a sense of humor, and they seem
happy to be here.
100% Colombian contains cheery odes to, among other
things, Huey's dog ("Sugar") and supermodels ("Big Night Out,"
which contains the soon-to-be-immortal line, "Can't you see, can't
you see?/There's a supermodel on my D"). It's now left to the rest
of the world to catch on, and Huey is confident they will. He
figures that the Criminals' stage show, a riotous, audience
participation-heavy extravaganza, will eventually win everyone
over.
"Our concerts are sort of like variety shows, they're not really
[that vigorous]," says Huey. "I got bad knees, so I can't jump
around much, anyways. I've usually got about five good minutes up
there, and then I'm done."
ALLISON STEWART
(December 16, 1998)