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TUNING IN A 'STRANGE FREQUENCY'
Roger Daltrey adds VH1 host to his rock 'n' roll resume

By TIMOTHY FINN - The Kansas City Star
Date: 08/17/01 22:15

He identifies himself as a "character actor" now, not just the lead singer
in one of the best rock bands ever. But it turns out Roger Daltrey has a
third title to follow his name: TV host.

Starting tonight, Daltrey will appear weekly as the host of "Strange
Frequency," the first-ever weekly dramatic series to air on VH1. The show
originally aired in January as a two-hour movie comprising four 30-minute
episodes.

Daltrey, 57, got the host gig after impressing the producers with his acting
job in the series' first episode, "Soul Man," which airs at 9 p.m.

"I was out in Los Angeles -- I'm a character actor, you know -- and I was
sent to meet a casting agent for the show," he told The Star recently.

"My agent had sent me tapes of last year's movie, and I thought, `This is
very interesting. I'd like to do this.' The next thing I knew they were
offering me an episode.

"The show is kind of a rock 'n' roll version of `Outer Limits' meets `The
Twilight Zone,' " he said. "I play two roles, and it deals with -- I don't
want to give it away. It's very different."

The network distills the episode into this story line: "Lowly guitar techie
Mitch (James Marsters of `Buffy the Vampire Slayer') gets a shot at fame and
fortune when he plays a long-lost song by Jimi Hendrix. Roger Daltrey stars
as the mysterious talent scout who gives Mitch his break."

Apparently, that's not Daltrey's only role.

"When I read the script, I thought it had the same person playing two
different parts," he said. "The producers hadn't seen it that way, but when
I rang them up and asked them, `Am I playing both parts?' they said, `We
hadn't thought of that. But why don't you go for it?'

"Awhile after we'd finished my episode, they came back to me and said,
`We've decided to add a host for the show. Would you do it for us?' "

Since his title role in Ken Russell's "Tommy" in 1975, Daltrey has appeared
in nearly a dozen movies, including a 1998 flick called "Like It Is," which
got three bones from The VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever and this
endorsement: "Appealing lead performances, but vet Daltrey steals scenes
with smarmy charm."

He hasn't exactly been putting in overtime as actor these days but, Daltrey
says, business is picking up. He has appeared in an episode of TNT's
"Witchblade" -- he played Satan disguised in a priest's frock and collar.
And earlier this year he played a small role in a small movie.

"It was this independent film called `Dot.com for Murder,' " he said. "It's
a very small part. Blink and you'll miss me. It was fun, though. It gave me
an excuse to kiss Nastassja Kinski and get paid for it. Hey, I'd do that for
free."

And what about the biggest and best-paying role in his life?

"Well, (the Who) are talking about going into the studio," he said. "A new
record would be something, wouldn't it? We certainly haven't lost our
voice."

Daltrey said he's also considering reviving the British Rock and Roll
Symphony, which brought him to Kansas City for a performance three summers
ago. The project combined a rock band, gospel choir and symphony --
including students from the Royal Academy of London and the New York Housing
Authority Choir -- performing classic rock songs.

"We're trying to get sponsorship for that and get it running as a
foundation," he said, "one that helps buy instruments for classical
musicians and gets young musicians out on the road, performing live, which
is the best way to learn about life as a professional musician."

        -Brian in Atlanta
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