An article about Dick and the group Suicidal Tendencieshttp://www.examiner.com/a-1079620~Suicidal_Tendencies_makes_comeback_after_TV_plug.htmlSAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - It was just one of those things that was fated, or so Mike Muir believed.
Sidelined by two back surgeries for a few years, the fully-recovered Southern Californian rocker was planning an elaborate 2008 comeback to celebrate the 25th anniversary of “Suicidal Tendencies,” his thrash-punk outfit’s eponymous Frontier debut. The festivities would include an extensive U.S. tour and festival dates in Europe. But fate itself beat him to the punch.
“Now all of a sudden we’re a red-hot band again — people are excited about Suicidal Tendencies, and that’s just great,” says Muir, 44, who’ll be testing those revival waters with a show at Slim’s on Sunday.
He has an unusual benefactor to thank for the fuss: the CBS reality show “Big Brother,” whose season this summer featured an uncompromising, mid-40-ish character named ‘Evil’ Dick Donato, who — with his blonde-bombshell daughter Danielle — not only stood up to every weaselly house guest, but eventually defeated them to win the $500,000 prize money. He did it in a punk sartorial style, wearing eyeliner, black nail polish and one of several Suicidal Tendencies work shirts he’d brought along for the 80-day ordeal.
There actually are parallels between Muir and Donato, who’ve been pals since the series ended. Donato offended a certain segment of viewers by his irascibility and outspokenness; Muir once scripted an entire album to offend (’94’s “Suicidal for Life,” which featured the ‘F’-word in several song titles), and he still warns that ST’s traditionally rowdy live act is not for the fainthearted.
“Music is not a job for us,” he sneers. “We’re going to do what we want to do, and if people like it, great. If they don’t? Even better.”
The working title for the new album is “The Year of the Psycho.”
Thanks to “Big Brother,” the photogenic Donato has been entertaining film and TV offers. Muir says he knows what his friend’s next move will be, but he’s loyal, he’s not telling. He’s content to bask in the show’s surreal afterglow.
