Rock Star: INXS - The Canadian Connection
By Gisele Williams
(Suzie,
Jessica, Tara and Deanna (front l. to r.) out on the
town)
Rock band, INXS identified fifteen of the most talented
unsigned rockers in the world and invited them to a
marathon audition last summer for the job of lead
singer for their band. Of those 15 rockers, four
were Canadian.
J.D. Fortune (Jason Bennison), we know, grabbed the
brass ring and is now preparing to front INXS on their
world tour this January! The other three
Canadian rockers, all women, may not have won the
ultimate prize but their talents spoke for themselves.
Tara Slone was the first Canadian to leave the
Rock Star stage but not until others had already been eliminated.
Suzie McNeil, the self-professed 'Queen of the Bottom
Three', carries the distinction of being the final
female standing in the competition while Deanna
Johnston's unique style and voice carried her well
throughout the competition, finishing seventh.
I was thrilled to interview these three
amazing women recently about their experiences in the
mansion and on the show.
Tara's
diversity and musical skills were very apparent as she
went from one style to another to another week after
week. Although
she would prefer not to second-guess her performances
stating, "That would be a good way to develop
post-traumatic stress disorder!" this
Montreal-born resident of
Toronto
shared her feelings about the Rock Star experience.
"I became more confident that my own
particular style is who I am and there is never any
need to be anything else.
This applies to performing as well as my
personal confidence."
Dave Navarro's opinion aside,
Tara's
personal favourite performance was 'Suffragette
City'
where she, "Thought
I killed that one".
The growth experience of these rockers is a shared one.
Both Deanna and Suzie agree with
Tara's
assessment of the impact this process has made upon
them. Suzie
admits, "I always knew that I was good at
singing/performing but now that fact has been
confirmed by the rest of the…well…world I
guess!" Although
she regrets not having, "More tunnel
vision as to what would win [INXS] over
specifically."
Deanna openly shared that, "Personally and
spiritually, every weakness and insecurity was
challenged every day!!!
As a performer and artist, the show was
validation. Struggling
in the music industry for several years, there is
consistent disappointment and being told 'no' can
really affect your confidence and belief in yourself.
Being on Rock Star, in front of millions of
people, validated what I've always believed about
myself, but many times forgot.
That I am talented and have something great and
unique to offer as an artist."
Now splitting 'home' between
Toronto
and
Los Angeles
,
Suzie's personal favourite performance was 'Start Me
Up' where she earned the encore that week and a visit
from her boyfriend.
"It was the first time on the show",
she admitted, "that I kind of threw the
competition part to the wind and just decided to have
fun singing again, which is what I love."
Deanna's personal best is not a surprise.
"'My Truth' because it was very important
to me that this reality TV show be about original
material and this was my chance to perform and write a
song in front of millions of people!!!"
Her wish is that during her performances she,
"Could have been more in the moment and actually
remembered it!! Some
performances just flew by too quickly.
But I stayed true to myself and showed the
world who I truly am as a person and an artist, and
that's the most important thing."
Life at the mansion was certainly interesting!
Tara
confirmed that "Mystery elves" did the
cooking and the cleaning while the rockers worked on
their clinics, performances and party skills.
Deanna, who is a native of Kingston, Ontario
but currently hangs her hat in L.A., admitted that she
missed much of the partying as she was, "Asleep
in my room half the time… but J.D was definitely
someone who I enjoyed to watch most when he was
partying, he was very funny!!!"
While Suzie still has trouble with birthday
cakes thanks to J.D.,
Tara
remembers a certain "wine-induced" crazy
evening where, "I ended up on the dining room
table with a lemon in my mouth at one point pretending
to be a stuck pig!"
Of the famous party attendees, Deanna remembers
Seth Green, Hank Azaria and Ray Liota as being the
nicest!
But was the aired show 'real'?
"T.V. is edited and perception is all
about context" was
Tara's
take on the show.
And although they all agree that it had been
all very 'real' to them, Deanna shared, "It's
like taking pieces of the bible and making it say what
you want it to say, not taking it in full
context". Having
said that however, Suzie confirmed that, "It
seems now like everyone has a pretty good idea of who
we all are and what we represent."
I asked each rocker to share their thoughts about MiG
and perhaps a story of a memorable moment with him.
While Tara made a, "Real heart
connection" with MiG, preferring to keep her most
memorable moment with him private, the first thing
that comes to mind when she thinks of him is,
"Sweetness".
For Suzie it was two things,
"'International Sensation' and 'the nicest guy on
the planet'."
Deanna, however, just couldn't keep it to one
or two thoughts. "Several
come to mind - beauty inside and out, peace, God, love
and of course talent…"
Deanna's most moving memory of MiG was, "When we
recorded a very simple, yet hauntingly beautiful
version of 'No One Sees Me Like You Do'.
[It] felt like it was coming straight from
heaven. MiG
and I layed it in one take.
The very next day I was told 'You're not right
for our band'. I
felt so blessed to have had that recording experience
with him."
Suzie's story, not surprising, is on the lighter side.
"There was a morning when all of us were
VERY hung over after a mansion party the night before.
I ran into one of the crew on the way to the
bathroom and she said, 'Everyone's sleeping in
different rooms, and I think MiG is naked!!'
I passed MiG [room] on the way to the bathroom
and then when I got there, for some reason, I really
wanted to know. I
tip-toed back to his bed, went to lift up his sheets
and right away he opened his eyes and caught me!
It was hilarious, we both howled.
I never saw anything, but turns out he was
naked after all. Way
to go MiG!" How
that crewmember knew in the first place what kind of
jammies MiG was wearing, or in this case not wearing,
is the question that comes to my mind!
So what are the rockers up to
now? Each
of these remarkable women is busy working on their
craft. Specifically,
Tara
is, "Finishing up [her] solo album and making
plans for its release" while Suzie is writing,
performing, making appearances and plans to enjoy the
holidays. Deanna
is crazy with writing, recording, rehearsals and,
"Of course I'm back to doing laundry and having
to cook, hee,hee, yuck!!!"
She will be performing this holiday season at the Brew Pub in the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas December 29th through January 1st!
To keep up with the careers of these incredibly
talented women, check out their websites at:
http://www.deannajohnston.net/;
http://www.suziemcneil.ca/;
http://taraslone.com/
for Deanna, Suzie and
Tara, respectively or check
out the links section of our site.
A final thought
from Suzie on Team MiG: "He's the greatest... I'm glad he has your
support."
A closing message from Deanna:
"I'd just like to say to the fans out
there, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you, so, so much
for your support and please don't forget about us.
We're all very busy recording music for you, so
hang in there, and when it's out there, please buy it
and don't burn it for your friends, very bad!!!
We need you!!!!!"
Deanna, there's no
way we will forget any of you.
You each gave us everything you had.
You shared your talent with the world and
entertained us for weeks on end!
The Summer of 2005 was quite an experience!
A special thank you to these extraordinary
women for taking time from their busy lives to talk
with Team MiG!
Sarah’s
Story
By
Stacy Swim
Sarah
Eldridge met MiG on her sister Jessica’s birthday,
March
18, 1999
.
It was Jessica’s wish to see “Rent” the
musical, because she was a huge fan of Christine Anu
who was starring as Mimi. [Christine Anu is a
household Australian name known for her singing,
dancing, and acting.] Halfway through the show, her
sister pointed at MiG and said, “That guy there
looks familiar,” and Sarah agreed.
Sarah absolutely loved the show, and Jessica
was desperate to meet Christine.
So after the show they went to the stage door,
and it was quiet because the show had been open a day.
MiG was the first person to walk out and her
sister said, “Oh my God, you’re that guy from
‘The Ferals’!”
He laughed,
looked at her and said, “Oh my God, it’s
you! Haha,
I get that a lot.
Can you tell?”
MiG signed their programs, chatted with them,
and asked them why they came to see the show.
MiG, Sarah, and Jessica said goodbye, and he
hoped they’d be back at the show soon.
Three
weeks later, Sarah was back and went to the stage door
to find MiG. They
had a great chat about the show, and how she didn’t
like his character in “The Ferals” but that he was
nothing like his character.
They laughed and parted ways again.
A few more times she would see him at the stage
door until MiG’s final night of the show before he
left to do “Fame” the musical in Sydney.
They had another lovely chat;
he gave her a hug goodbye, his email address,
and asked her to please come see “Fame.”
They kept in touch through email and ICQ. [This
was like Yahoo or MSN Messenger, but before those were
created.]
It
was the opening night of “Fame,” and Sarah had
sent MiG flowers.
The next day she received a phone call from MiG.
They talked,
and she told him she was traveling to
Sydney
so
she would see him again.
That trip to
Sydney
firmed a friendship with MiG as they shared stories
and swapped numbers.
Since that time, they’ve slowly but surely
built a stable friendship.
Sarah was able to travel around
Australia
to
support him by going to various shows, and while doing
that she had the opportunity to meet his soon-to-be
wife Simone.
Once
MiG and Simone moved to
London
,
Sarah was able to travel there and catch up with MiG
during his first week of
“We Will Rock You.”
While living in
London
, MiG
and Simone were really touched by the number of
homeless people. Since Sarah is the daughter of
Salvation Army officers and works for the Salvation
Army herself, they knew there was something they could
do. Sarah
was (and still is) running a
Melbourne
drop in center for people in the day and a
street outreach during the night where she trains
groups of homeless young people in Welfare
Work. During
another trip to see her parents in
London
,
Sarah and her parents met up with MiG for drinks, and
MiG asked what he could to help.
Sarah’s mum suggested singing at a concert
for the Salvation Army, and he agreed.
So in December 2004, MiG sang at the Royal
Albert Hall with The Salvation Army London Youth Choir
as back up.
Sarah
and MiG have had “many good times together as
friends and shared our ups and downs.
He’s a great friend to have as he is willing
to pick up your friendship just where it left off.
He’s proud of me, and I’m oh so proud of
him. No
matter what happens, I’m sure MiG will be in my life
forever, in different ways.
Mainly, he helps me strive to be a better
person. He
impacts the lives of his friends more than I could
explain. He
teaches other musicians how to truly appreciate their
fans, and he treats his friends with the love and
respect they deserve.
He is hilariously funny... can be a bit
naughty, but mainly is just an honestly wonderful
person. I
love him so much, with all of my heart, and am so glad
that both he and Simmy are together, and I have the
honor of knowing them.”
It's
About Time! by Gisele Williams
All
this time, all this effort and all this teamwork
without ever having really met!!!!!
Despite fighting a terrible sinus infection and killer
headache,
Nancy
was able to rectify that situation.
She and Laura (and Cengiz) were finally able to give each
other a real MiGGy hug as they shared lunch together
in
Missouri this past Thanksgiving weekend! Feel better soon
Nancy. Congratulations to both of you!
Glendale
Gathering by Stacy Swim
(Michaela, Stacy, Donna, and Lot with Beverly taking the picture.)
Five Southern California Team MiG members met up
for dinner at Don Cuco Mexican restaurant on Friday
night, November 18th.
Of course we talked about MiG, MiG , MiG, and
MiG some more! We
did chat about what other music we like, actors we
admire, and our families.
But the main topic of conversation was MiG!
We talked about our “MiGsession”
progression, dissected every performance of
“Rockstar: INXS,” and MiG’s beautiful soul.
It was a fun night, and I can’t wait to do it
again!
Stacy
Swim - Co-Editor
Did that help? If not, we’ll try to recommend a good therapist for you. (psssst: you have some great questions. Look for them in upcoming newsletters)!!!!!
