Loud and proud

>> American Hi-fi's Stacy Jones is a rock geek

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

"We're not exactly reinventing rock 'n' roll, and that's cool, we're not trying to," says American Hi-fi singer Stacy Jones. "I'm just a fan of big guitar pop-rock and I wanted to bring in all the bands that influenced me, like Cheap Trick, My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, the Beatles, the Foo Fighters, and I think we kinda did that." There's nothing complex or sarcastic about American Hi-fi, from their utterly straightforward band name to the good-time rock sound of their Bob-Rock-produced, eponymous debut. Formerly a drummer for Letters to Cleo and Veruca Salt, singer Stacy Jones and friends Jaime Arentzen, Drew Parsons and Brian Nolan decided last year to scrap their Kiss-cover jamming and form a band, with Jones trading in his sticks for a mic and guitar. The Mirror spoke to Jones about heavy metal, playing the music industry, and Veruca Salt's underwear.



Mirror: Your video spoofs the cult short film, Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Was that you as a kid?

Stacy Jones: Totally. As a teenager I got into Moetley Cruee and Ratt and all that stuff, so I was a total metalhead for a while. I had the jean jacket with lots of rock-band patches on it, I had a mullet for sure, I wore jeans with wrestling shoes to school. Wasn't real popular with the ladies, but I hung out with kids who smoked, so I was cool.

M: What's the most important lesson you learned from being in established bands?

SJ: I've learned to not try to control every single aspect of the band. We fell victim to that in both the bands I was in. Once you put a record out, the record company is gonna do their thing and you just kinda have to go with it. We work really hard to get the best for the band, but there have also been times where we just kinda kick back and go, "Okay, that's fine," and that keeps the vibe better, you know?

M: You've worked almost exclusively with female bands and singers up until now--what's the biggest difference with an all-male band?

SJ: It's a lot different. I'll tell you one thing, our tour bus is a lot cleaner. There's not shit everywhere, like make-up and 50 pairs of shoes. In Veruca Salt, Nina and Louise would have underwear hanging from the light fixtures, seriously.

With Static in Stereo at Cabaret, Wednesday, May 30, 9pm, $10