4TH OF JULY WITH JEFF & THE RF'S
(originally published in the Seattle Thymes, July 5, 1995. Reviewed by John Lemay, the ever so abusive columnist)
Northwest rock 'n' roll legends Jeff & the RF's returned to Seattle last night to celebrate America's birthday with a mostly older, 40ish crowd. Bandleader Jeff Fowler pounded his piano and downed cans of Dr. Pepper like they were going out of style. His instrument of choice these days is a Yamaha keyboard built into the front of a Datsun Sidewinder. At various points during the show, Jeff raced the engine of his "car/key" and flashed the headlights at the audience (only until someone shouted "turn down your high beams!").
Although Jeff is nearly 50, he still acts like a goofball. He carries a suitcase full of props including a stuffed Garfield cat and a magic 8 ball. He referred to his band mates as "a bunch of escapees from the looney bin", and called Seattle "the town that worships o.d.'ed rock stars" (an obvious reference to Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. The band then went into an abbreviated attempt at "Smells Like Teen Spirit", until lead singer Gary Becker lost his voice trying to screem like Cobain. Jeff's younger brother Alan tried to replicate Nirvana's heavy guitar sound.. Becker ripped his shirt off, much to the delight of girls in the front row, then jumped offstage into the mosh pit, where the only teens in the crowd were gathered.. While Becker surfed, guitarist Dave Park sang "Cinnamon Girl", and bassist Joe Anderson sang "Crystal Blue Persuasion". Hal Meng, keyboard player, sang "Yoga is as Yoga Does", a rare Elvis movie song, and Rob Jones, terrible drummer, did a short drum solo medley of "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover/Walk This Way/Theme from Shaft/Come Together/Gimme All Your Lovin".
Although the original RF's were once teen idols, the audience for the current band consists mostly of graying school teachers and accountants. Two Generation X-ers in the mosh pit called Jeff's band "totally killer, dude", and tried to get up onstage. Jeff poured Pepsi on the two girls.
The RF's ran through their hits for probably the billionth time - "Heidi", "Summertime Love", "Here Come the Two RF's", and the #1 million seller from 1971, "Safe from Harm". They dedicated "Party Everyday" to America on it's 219th birthday, then raised the temperature to feverish levels with "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" and "Day Tripper".
Some fan reactions: Mae, 43, of Seattle: "Jeff talks too much, but Gary Becker is a good singer". Robert, 47, of Seattle: "It's not the original band". Shellee, 36, Seattle: "You're probably thinking I had a bad time. NO!!! Jeff has a great band, it was like a time warp back to the 60's." Martha, 14, of Portland: "Jeff & the RF's are the coolest band in the world, dude."
One group of passersby said "this sucks! Long live Kurt!" They said they were headed across town to the anit-4th of July gathering, where a mass suicide was planned. When asked for comment about this, Jeff said "that's really stupid". His younger brother Alan seemed interested, though. "I'm a grungah!" Alan said. "Jeff's music is okay, but I'm more into Kurt."
THE RF'S HIGHWAY REVISITED
(reported by Shane Goins! for the Kingsport Times News, June 23, 1995)
It was a crazy night in Kingsport as the legendary band Jeff & the RF's played to a capacity crowd at the Buck Van Hess Dome. The crowd consisted mainly of fan club members, most of them screeming teenage girls.
The show started out on a sour note when bandleader Jeff Fowler announced that his brother Ron, the lead singer on all of their hit records, would not be there. The RF's then began to play "I'm a Rapper" and half the crowd, mostly the girls, began to walk out. Jeff then stopped rapping and introduced his lead singer, Gary Becker, a long haired, skinny guy in his 20's who likes to take off his shirt. Several girls in the first row fainted at the sight of Becker, and had to be carried away by the dome security. Once the crowd calmed down, the RF's then began to play all the classic songs including "Heidi", "Tales to Here", "Summertime Love", "War Games" and party favorite "Party Everyday". The highlight of the show was when Gary Becker dedicated the beautiful ballad "Safe from Harm" to his girlfriend in the audience.
The RF's played some old songs from other bands, too. A few of those were "Anyway You Want it" - Journey, "You Really Got Me" - the Kinks, "Misery" - the Beatles, "In My Room" - the Beach Boys, "Hello Mary Lou" - Ricky Nelson.
Very few of the audience members were old enough to remember when the RF's had their own music show called "Sup?". The fan club is made up of mostly teenage girls whose bedroom walls are covered with Jeff & the RF's posters. One fascinating thing about the RF's is that they look like they haven't aged a single day! Gary, of course, is only in his mid twenties, but Jeff looks like a kid, too, as does his younger brother Alan on guitar, and Hal Meng, keyboard player. Rob Jones, terrible drummer, looks like a slimmer version of Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick. l Dave Park is the only one whose age is catching up with him (he's the Neil Young look and soundalike for those of you not that familiar with Jeff & the RF's) Not a lot can be said about bassist Joe Anderson, his face is well hidden behind that beard.
The show was quoted as being "totally killer" by two girls in the front row. The whole band hung around for 90 minutes after the show signing albums covers, photos, and guitars for their fans. This only goes to show that the RF's can still entertain a crowd.
For those of you that missed the show, the RF's are going to be back in Kingsport on August 17. They'll be playing at Checker's on Stone Drive. The show is expected to sell out really fast. Tickets can be bought by calling the fan club at 1-800-JEFF-RFS. Tickets are $10 and are on sale now. A splendid time is guaranteed for all!