BY MIKEY MIGO
THE FRONT MAN CRITERIA
The front man is lead vocalist and the face of live shows, press junkets, promotional shots, and anything band related. Yet, you must have criteria when thinking about something as broad as this.
David Lee Roth Clause
To me a front man must have over the top charisma. I grew up in the 80's and hair metal was very influential to my perception of the front man. I grew out of many of the bands I appreciated at that time period, but the true great ones are timeless.
Mike Patton Clause
The music has to be timeless, impactful, and as widely loved/respected by as many people as possible. That right there cuts it down a lot. Sure I, as well as others, would say someone like Mike Patton would be a top tier front man but he doesn't cross the line into A-Lister because his music is almost cult-like. If you're a fan of Patton then you know what he's capable of, but odds are only 3 out of 10 people know who I'm talking about.
Peter Gabriel Clause
The front man has to be a front man of a band that has longevity. I mean for a vocalist to be a front man, he has to be the front of something. Peter Gabriel rocked in Genesis, but it's pretty balanced that he's known for his own stuff as much as his stuff with a band.
Alice Cooper Clause
When a front man's name is attached to the band, it disqualifies them. To me a front man should front a band rather than fronting themselves. Guys like Alice Cooper, Ozzy (outside of Black Sabbath), Marilyn Manson, David Bowie, and bands with their front's name attached are separate entities. Only the die hard fans know who the back up players are and a lot of time it's just made up of hired guns to work in the background. It's rough because you have your favorites and then when you really consider them on the all time front man list, they don't measure up. I am a huge fan of Nine Inch Nails, but it's all Trent Reznor and he doesn't have the same legacy or charisma of say a Steven Tyler. Steven Tyler, lead singer of Aerosmith has been said to be the best American front man of all time. The reasons people toss around when clarifying that claim are all completely valid, but it doesn't take away from the talent and life changing music Reznor has put out. The front man is a whole different breed. It's a title that ties together talent, likeability, over the top charisma, longevity, and representing your band.
TOP FRONT MAN OF ALL TIME
Obviously if you are reading this and I am writing this we all have a few front men in our heads. There's just certain those certain front man that everyone thinks about when the term is tossed around. It may be an all time favorite, a childhood favorite, or just one of the small hand full that are sure shot "A-Listers".
Over the past few weeks, I've been talking to friends about this topic in preparation for this column. Sitting around, on the phone, or on a road trip the discussion was always "Who do you consider an ‘A-List' Front Man?" Based on the criteria that I talked about above, we would go back and forth about front men that rocked, but maybe just weren't as impactful/exciting/in your face as the few A-List fronts.
The first batch of A-Listers would easily be considered the cream of the crop. We'd have to take all of the criteria into consideration and evaluate who you think about first when the term "A-Lister" is tossed around. You gotta go with the obvious ones like Jim Morrison, Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop, and Steven Tyler.
One of my personal picks, as well as many others I've talked to over the years, is David Lee Roth. He may be cartoony and considered cheesy, but other than the longevity issue, you can not deny the over the top charisma the guy has. Another wild card I've been tossing around is Bruce Dickenson. I've always respected Iron Maiden, but never got why they received so much acclaim. That is until I saw Iron Maiden at Ozzfest a few years ago. I don't remember much about that Ozzfest due to illegal substances, VIP bars, and a lot of wine but I remember Iron Fucking Maiden (as I now call them). Bruce Dickenson ran around the stage, entertained, amazed, and had me in full fledged metal head mode. To me he sealed the deal on making the A-List with that. But I got to thinking, how many people will acknowledge this? Just how many music fans have had that pleasure of seeing them in action? Not as many as the obvious picks, which if you think about it, REALLY makes them the obvious picks.
Then we had the cut offs; the iconic and legendary front men who are SLIGHTLY below the level of the cream of the crop. One of my favorite bands of all time is U2. Bono is probably one career highlight away from taking the A-List respectively. Then there's icons like David Byrne, Cobain, Garcia, McCartney, Lennon, Joey Ramone, Bon Scott, Axel Rose, Geddy Lee, Stevie Nicks, Deborah Harry, and others who made huge impact in the history of music. As historic and iconic their MUSIC is, they just never got on that level of the obvious A-List Front men. It doesn't take ANYTHING from their legacy and the perception is just completely my own. They've either passed before their time or just never achieved their full potential as a front man. You know these lead vocalists, love their music, and will get in fights over anyone saying negative things about them, but when you think of them do you think of their over the top charisma, stage presence, and visual attack? To me, not so much and that's what keeps them off the A-List. "B + List"? For sure.
Yet, instantly the first name everyone said was Robert Plant. Who can argue with that? The man reinvented the wheel as a front man. His passion, on stage excitement, talent, longevity, and genuine ass kicking always makes him the first name brought up. So on many levels, any other front man has to compete with Plant's level of greatness. It makes perfect sense that the modern front man seems to only be in "B-List" social class contention. When they make history, revolutionize music, and own a stage as much as Plant does then maybe, just maybe they can break the glass ceiling of their own legacy.
THE MODERN FRONT MAN
In the modern era of music we are getting the pleasure of long time iconic bands continuing to tour, reuniting, and just sticking around. Yet, there are some front men who are definite B-Listers with potential to really move their status forward.
Long time front men like James Hetfield, Billie Joe Armstrong, Anthony Kiedis, Dave Grohl, Jonathan Davis, Zack dela Rocha, Scott Weiland, Eddie Veddar, Maynard James Keenan, Thom York, and others who are capable for pushing themselves a little farther into the top tier or who are really just in the prime of their careers. To me the first five I just listed have the most potential to achieve that sooner. Then again, a hit album or huge impactful moment can come out of no where.
Then there are a few front men who are currently tearing up the radio rotation and concert sales. We have Jack White who I think has the most potential of the current group to really take off. But who else is there? Cory Taylor, Matt Bellamy, Brandon Boyd, Davey Havok, Chad Kroger, Chris Martin, Serj Tankian, Rob Zombie, and others who are out there today with an entire world of potential to achieve greatness.
With attending fifty or so concerts this past year with probably 95% of them featuring the best unsigned acts. In the Chicago and Midwest music scene there is plenty of talented bands and lead vocalists, but there's really not many "front men" in relation to the criteria. Sure there are talented lead singers, but the criteria for me following a Chicago band is talent of course, but also energy, movement, and entertainment value. I've racked my brain for a few days on this and I think Val of Fashion Bomb is the only one going out there as a legitimate front man. To me it's really one of the key ingredients of what separates Fashion Bomb from any of the other unsigned acts from the area.
It's only a matter of time before this list expands, shrinks, and some move up to a status that'll have them and their bands in the first pages of the annals of Rock History.
I'm SURE I didn't list all candidates, A-Listers, or even your favorite lead man. It's music, it's all subjective and all based on your own personal criteria, standards, and tastes.
So who do you think is the top front men of all time?
Who has potential to reach that plateau?
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