Roger interview in Cleveland Plain Dealer

["Jeff House" <whocasa@hotmail.com>]

Some interesting Who bits in here.

from 
http://www.cleveland.com/tv/plaindealer/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/entertainment/9981270353262588.xml

Who singer hosts rock-flavored sci-fi/horror series

08/18/01

John Soeder
Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic

"Strange Frequency" is a rock 'n' roll update of "The Twilight Zone," with 
Rod Serling's role filled by singer Roger Daltrey of The Who.

The new sci-fi/horror series premieres at 10 tonight on VH1.

"It's twisted reality, grounded in music," Daltrey said during a phone 
interview.

"Strange Frequency" is a spinoff of a made-for-television movie that aired 
in January on VH1. The anthology-style series is the first weekly dramatic 
program from the cable network famous for its "Behind the Music" 
documentaries.

Eight fresh half-hour episodes have been shot for "Strange Frequency." Four 
vignettes from the original film will be broadcast separately to flesh out 
the first season.

As host of the series, the dapper Daltrey, 57, briefly introduces each 
supernatural story.

He also plays a couple of characters in tonight's debut episode, titled 
"Soul Man."

It involves a guitar roadie who becomes the next Jimi Hendrix overnight - 
thanks to dealings with two mysterious figures, both portrayed by a certain 
real-life rock 'n' roll hall of famer.

"I fulfill my part of the bargain," Daltrey said. "I don't want to give too 
much away."

The familiar plot puts a new twist on the legend of Robert Johnson, the 
gifted bluesman who paid a steep price at the crossroads for his talent - or 
so the story goes.

"Strange Frequency" taps into rock 'n' roll mythology, said Dan Merchant, 
creator and executive producer of the series.

"We start with a musical element as the touchstone for every story," 
Merchant said. "We get into some black comedy. . . . Occasionally, we also 
sneak in a little morality tale."

Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach is cast as the Grim Reaper in an 
coming episode titled (what else?) "Don't Fear the Reaper." It's about a 
death-obsessed Goth-rock singer.

"Daydream Believer" stars Ally Sheedy as a mother who has frightening 
visions of a rock star's final performance. In "A Change Will Do You Good," 
Ileanna Douglas plays a doctor who runs an unsettlingly successful drug 
rehabilitation center.

Sense a pattern yet? Yes, the episodes take their titles from popular songs, 
although there are no Who tunes among them.

"They're not spooky enough," Daltrey said.

The microphone-swinging rocker has moonlighted as an actor since the 1970s. 
No stranger to sci-fi/horror roles, he has appeared on the TV series "Witch- 
blade," "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" and "Highlander," as 
well as in the film "Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula."

"It's just the way the jobs fall, really," said Daltrey. "I've done an awful 
lot of other work, too. I'm a working character actor. It just so happens . 
. . there have been a lot of characters in a sci-fi vein."

Fans who are hoping for a new Who album will have to stay tuned.

"We're going into the studio in October," he said. "It's not down to me. 
It's down to Mr. Towns- hend. He keeps changing his mind."

Daltrey has penned a handful of tunes for the project. But Pete Townshend, 
the band's guitarist and chief songwriter, is struggling to come up with new 
material appropriate for The Who.

"He's worried about it," said Daltrey. "I keep saying to him, Pete, stop 
trying to write Who songs. Just write songs.' That's all he used to do in 
the past. When The Who played them, they became Who songs. . . . I know when 
he does write something, it will be pretty spectacular."

Creative setbacks aside, The Who's arena-packing reunion tour last year 
bodes well for the future of the group.

"Everybody had a great time," Daltrey said. "The camaraderie in the band was 
back. It felt like we were back in the '70s, our heyday. We're not going 
away this time."




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