By Dean Robinson (6/1/00)
Ever since Elvis Presley threatened to unify the nation with his pelvic thrusts and raucous new music, consumers of rock n' roll have grown to accept its artists as larger-than-life figures. The contemporary hero-worshipping groupies embarrassed regularly on MTV's "Fanatic" program subscribe to this notion with saliva-inducing enthusiasm. The images of early Beatlemania -- crying, screaming, fainting teenage girls on grainy newsreel -- may have marked the beginning of a revolution in rock iconology. That such public fusses have been made over pre-fabricated sensations from the Monkees to N'Sync merely proves that fans can be won over with a big deal as easily as they can with a real deal.
Maybe that's why its so cool to discover a rock n' roll act completely content with the trappings of being life-sized. The five-man band known as Phil's Family Lizard dares to be that real deal, treating nightclub audiences to their familiar brew of classic album rock and original tunes. Audiences can always expect an unpretentious concert performance from Phil's Family Lizard, as these guys seem sincerely dedicated to keeping a beer and a smoke within reach at all times.
Having formed in early 1999 as a sextet, the group remains largely intact with bassist Chilly Addams, lead vocalist/guitarist J.J. Fabini, keyboardist Kyle Haller, drummer Bryan Horrow and lead guitarist Matt McCoy. During a recent interview at Fabini's downtown home, the guys in the band proved that they like to laugh more than they like to talk.
"In our current incantation, we've been together since January of '99," says Haller. "There were six of us then, but we've got the current incantation of the band down and we're all happy with it. We've been together since then."
"You mean 'incarnation,' right?" Fabini inquires.
"Oh. An incantation is a spell, isn't it?" Haller replies.
Something about Phil's Family Lizard working a spell on Fort Wayne would make a great transitional statement here, but it wouldn't be altogether accurate. The band isn't exactly a household name yet, but the dudes are definitely on the move. Besides gigging at such venues as Legends, Henry's, Columbia Street and the Latch String, Phil's Family Lizard is currently on the bill for Might As Well's big Summer Fest at Buck Lake Ranch in Angola, Indiana on June 2 and 3. Although the band is very much looking forward to getting the job done live in the great outdoors, the enthusiasm is the same when they're playing the great indoors ä even when 'great' doesn't necessarily mean 'big.'
"The Latch is the crossroads of rock n' roll in this city," Haller states.
"That's right," McCoy affirms. "'Cause if you're on the north side of town or you live on the south side of town, there's no reason not to stop by. Or vice versa. It's on the way."
Sounds like McCoy's working part-time for Tom Raper.
"Only I'm not sure what exit it's off of," McCoy admits.
The wild ride of working-class rock n' roll hasn't caused the band to lose their sense of scale. As the super-ego to the id that is Chad Silveus on Extreme 96.3 FM's early-morning show, Fabini takes a daily trip on the show-business rollercoaster. Star status (a description Fabini staunchly refuses to acknowledge) notwithstanding, everybody in the band lugs gear.
"Not having roadies, that's the worst part," says Addams. "Tearing down at the end of the night is a pain in the butt."
"That's what they pay us for -- to move our stuff," McCoy says.
"You guys ought to get a roadie-groupie-type," I suggest.
"What are you doing Friday night?" Addams asks.
Besides looking for Friday-night roadies, Phil's Family Lizard is currently recording an album of original songs. Thanks to Horrow -- the band's resident Brainiac -- the band is getting its international swerve on with www.philsfamilylizard.com.
"If you do a search for family lizard on the web, you'll come up with pages of results," Horrow says with deadpan enthusiasm.
Yeah, that's all fine and good, but what the heck's in a name? What's with Phil's Family Lizard? Is there any real meaning here?
"When Matt and I were playing, I figured that we could be called Phil," Fabini says. "I really don't know why."
"Phil's a cool name," McCoy says. "Everybody likes Phil."
"I've always thought that there are certain names that would be really cool names for a band or a dog," Fabini says. "I think Phil is one of those names."
Okay. So why the Family lizard?
"The family is just everybody who is involved whenever we play out," Haller says. "There's always people there who are there every time -- wives, friends ä"
"You get out there and you see people you know, and you're just like 'yeah.' Those people are part of the whole thing," McCoy says.
All right, all right. So what's with the Lizard?
Without missing a beat, Addams supplies the only perfect answer.
"The lizard is just rock n' roll. Yeah."
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