traveling light

Something GOOD That Came Out of the Mickey Mouse Club...

Does anyone remember the Disney channel back in the early-mid 90's - back when it was still a pay channel? I was a faithful fan of the weekday afternoon lineup, particularly the 4-5:00 time-slots - at 4:00 it was Kids Incorporated, followed by the "New Mickey Mouse Club" at 4:30. As we all know, several infamous "talents" emerged from the new "MMC" (as those close to the show called it) and found successful, and surprisingly lasting careers as pop-stars - Britney, Justin, Christina, even N'Sync's JC. (Well, maybe "lasting" is a bit of a strong word for some of their careers...)

However, there was one lesser known cast member from that show whose talent I much, much, MUCH prefer. No, I'm not talking about The Party. :) Some of you may remember who I'm talking about as fellow MMC star Keri Russell's ("Felicity's") former boyfriend and co-star of the short lived TV drama "Malibu Shores". That's right, folks: Tony Lucca. If you have not heard his music, it is well worth checking out, and I'm actually completely serious! He's a singer/songwriter/guitarist with sort of a folk-meets-blues sound, and boy can he sing. He's based in LA and, as an independent artist, doesn't do a whole lot of touring, but he made a rare appearance in the Twin Cities at the Varsity Theater on Sunday night (a very cool little venue, by the way!). Mark has liked his music for a long time now, so we went to check out the show, and it was well worth it! He is excellent live. So I've been listening to (and liking) lots of his stuff ever since, and we also just got his brand new CD, which is fantastic as well. Great sound. He also stayed on stage and played in the band for the artist playing after him on Sunday, Joe Firstman (also known as Carson Daly's band leader). Unfortunately, while that band was PHENOMENAL and Joe Firstman's got a great voice, he's a sleaze, as reflected in his lyrics and stage demeanor. So we took off. :) HOWEVER - it was lots of fun to finally see Tony Lucca live! Good stuff.

So, yes Virginia, something good can come out of the Mickey Mouse Club after all!

posted by Nikki @ 8:10 AM