It’s illegal to dance in New York City bars but Cisco Adler doesn’t care. At a headlining show at tiny rock club R’n’R last fall, the bare-chested lead singer of Whitestarr shouts encouragement to college-age girls who press up against the tiny stage and they dance, despite the looming presence of a suit-clad dance bouncer in the crowd. After the show, fans crowd the stage door. Beer bottles litter a makeshift backstage room and the debris contrasts sharply with the slick interior of the underground venue. The rugged, raw rock and roll sound of Whitestarr also contrasts with their posh lifestyles as the heirs to some of the biggest names in rock history. It’s hard to talk about this band without the specters of their famous parents infiltrating the conversation. Lead singer Cisco is the son of influential producer Lou Adler (Rocky Horror Picture Show , Up in Smoke, The Mamas & The Papas). Drummer Alex has Roy Orbison, legendary songwriter (“Oh, Pretty Woman”) for a dad. Into this intimate, familial relationship with rock and roll’s past, they spit voracious party rock, anchored onstage by Adler’s refreshingly charismatic beach-bum presence and guitarist Jeremy “Rainbow” Gritter’s wailing solos. The Malibu rockers may be better known for their famous surnames, but when they show up to after midnight to play southern, glam-rock surf anthems, discerning rock fans and celebrities morph into screaming superfans.
All five members of Whitestarr hail from Malibu, California, 27 miles of coastline carved into civilization with surfing, stables and smoky sunsets. Only two roads lead to this beach town populated by families and movie stars: the lazy, sun-drenched coastal route and a dramatic, winding mountain passageway. Outsiders often feel like they’ve entered a small town. In the late 1990s the laid back attitude of the surf culture combined with the area’s relative remoteness to precipitate a new subgenre: Malibu-style rock. More Lynyrd Skynyrd than the Eagles, with a touch of Bowie, Malibu rock developed naturally at late night jam sessions and beachside taverns populated by high schoolers, local musicians, and friends. Whitestarr became the first Malibu band to consistently draw crowds outside of the tiny enclave. Perhaps as a testament to Whitestarr’s recent success outside Malibu, a slew of imitator have also left the ‘Bu to attempt success on the larger scene. For every Cisco Adler on a regional tour, there are twelve Brody Jenners competing for reality show cameos and the arms of socialites turned B-list starlets, hoping to shed fame on their bands. Most of these wannabes are best left jamming in the twilight of the Malibu Inn. Whitestarr, however, are not so easily dismissed.
The group formed in 2000 when Adler brought some songs to local band Backbone 69. The tragic death of Backbone 69 lead singer’s in a car crash led the remaining members to officially team up with Adler and call themselves Whitestarr. A deal with Atlantic Records ensued but, in a story that’s becoming all too common, both the EP and LP they recorded were shelved when the major label decided they lacked commercial potential. Court cases and rehab were next on the horizon for the rockers. Members came and left until the current lineup was set with Adler singing, Gritter on guitar, Damon Webb playing bass, and Orbison attacking the skins. The unexplainable zany dancer, a lawyer who goes by the moniker Tony Potato, attends all shows but skips practices. “We wouldn’t get anything done otherwise,” Orbison laughs.
Throughout the E! True Hollywood Story of their lives they played relentlessly, occasionally jamming alongside alongside guest musicians such as Dicky Betts of the Allman Brothers. The audacious, pumped up sets began to consistently fill some of the hottest rock venues on the Sunset Strip and, eventually, not just at Cisco’s dad’s club the Roxy. Their annual New Year’s Eve tradition of renting a warehouse and charging $100 per couple for an open bar became a legend even in the decadent LA party scene and by 2004 Whitestarr joined indie label Contango Records, determined to hit the studio again. Adler had been writing and the fans already knew most of the words to the new material.
On a quiet Fourth of July, Webb and Orbison linger in Adler’s Malibu living room, surrounded by blondes. The girls’ bored expressions switch to fierce scowls upon arrival of an unannounced female guest while the boys barely take note of another bikini-clad eighteen-year-old joining the fray. While the band readies their scintillating guitar licks and distinctly Malibu brand of rock in the vein of the Black Crows and the Rolling Stones for an upcoming tour, they find themselves acquiring more groupies than they can count. Including Paris Hilton. “I got in early,” Cisco drawled to Blender Magazine when pressed to elaborate. He has more recently been linked to teen queen Mischa Barton, a charge he does not deny. Since 2001 Whitestarr has built a fiercely devoted following playing sold out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and New York The success they’ve earned on the road is a testament to the skill and determination that underscore their pretty faces and quasi-celebrity status. With the May 16 release of their second album, Luv Machine, they hope to bring their energetic, feel-good, distinctly Californian party rock to a national level. Whether anyone will take notice and drop the credibility battles is entirely unpredicatble.
Whitestarr have struggled to escape the inevitable credibility issues that arise with any mention of their famous parents. The prefer instead prove themselves through their sound. Then again, who else but the kids of songwriting legends and influential record producers are better qualified to re-educate the masses on the nuances of vintage rock? Whitestarr’s role may lie in reinterpreting a classic style for a new generation that has had no other way to appreciate classic rock except through their parents’ spotty record collections. Their recent album shows off the impact of newest members Gritter and Webb which has led to a slight maturation of Whitestarr’s frenzied licks into a laid-back, fun blend of energetic, bluesy rock that channels the best of the Stones, T. Rex and the MC5.
The first single, “Sunshine Girl,” recalls a microphone swinging Mick Jagger amidst pounding guitars and a killer hook complemented by melodic guitars and a driving beat while “Luv Machine” is an old-fashioned crowd-pleaser with a tantalizing opening riff. The “work hard, party harder” ethic of the band shows up in the chorus of “Gimme a Light,” with a Bolan-inspired urban sneer and pulsating drums that make it impossible not to break out dancing. “Since” borders on power-ballad status; Cisco drops the sexual overtones to bare his emotional side. Who knew breaking up with Kimberly Stewart could inspire such anguish? With “Since,” Whitestarr remind their fans that even celebrity rock heirs get their heart broken. While the band has difficulty incorporating a slow jam into their booty-shaking set, the recorded version of the lighter-torch ballad “Marie” triumphs as a beautiful, wistful depiction of Adler’s tender side. While some of us relate just as well to tunes like “Sex on the Dancefloor,” it’s a relief that their newest songs have more emotional content.
Other rockers waste their time trying to up the standard for “indie.” Whitestarr capitalize on a natural inclination for decadent seventies rock as interpeted by the self-proclaimed “biggest dicks in Malibu.” Whether they manage to make it outside of LA depends more on marketing and the machine of publicity. A terrific debut album with the proper support to take advantage of an ever-growing fan base gives Whitestarr a solid jumping off point for continued success.
