Still Roaming

Kirk Baird

Friday, July 13, 2001 | 9:39 a.m.

Combining the lyrical horseplay of the Ramones with the musical sensibility of the Talking Heads, the B-52's were too punk for pop and too pop for punk.

The resulting sound is unique to the B-52s, something of which Fred Schneider remains quite proud.

One of four surviving original members of the B-52's along with Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson and Keith Strickland Schneider said that from the start the band, which performs tonight at Mandalay Bay's Beach, just did its own thing.

"We did what we did," he said in a recent phone interview from Long Island, N.Y. "Some of our songs, say 'Strobelight' and ('6060-842'), had a more punky sound that are really in your face. And other songs were more new wave and poppy. We just tried different things.

"We had a lot more of an edge in the beginning and then I think (the record label) started to get us to become more wacky, with like funny clothes and bigger hairdos. That didn't appeal to me so much, but things evolved. We went into this more synthesizer and keyboard stuff for 'Whammy!' and 'Bouncing Off the Satellites.' I just didn't want to have us labeled as a wacky camp band that dresses funny."

It may be a little too late for that.

Despite such swingin' party-'til-you-drop classics such as "Rock Lobster," "Private Idaho" and "Quiche Lorraine," the B-52's are still probably known best for their image: thrift-store attire, hairdos circa 1964 and enough kitsch to fill several John Waters movies.

But that's not necessarily the image Schneider wanted for the band.

"We had no control. Like in Europe they would just come out with teens drinking soda pop in a convertible from the '50s and then slap the title of our song on it," he said. "And that wasn't what we were.

"We like the '60s, but we weren't trying to redo them. We had images and recycled a lot of ideas. I guess we're more recyclers rather than throwbacks. We take images from every decade ... and still do."

The mixture along with the music was so odd the band was featured in the 1980 Paul Simon film "One-Trick Pony." In the movie, Simon plays a veteran rock performer trying to mount a comeback while coming to grips with his fading star power.

The B-52's essentially play themselves, a "new wave" of band that has replaced the old guard. "It's to show how times have changed and how we're the next big thing," Schneider said.

The film proved to be a critical and commercial flop, and didn't do much to bolster the B-52's' career.

But that wasn't unusual.

Formed in the mid-'70s in Athens, Ga., which would later give rise to R.E.M. among other '80s alt-rock bands, the quintet came together one October night as a means to "relieve boredom."

After finding little in the way of local support, the band started playing weekend shows in various small clubs in New York City.

The B-52's then took the hard road to success -- with little to no radio support.

"It is more gratifying because we don't have to kiss anybody's (behind) anymore," he said. "We just did it ourselves. We didn't let anybody get us down."

As word of the B-52's spread in the burgeoning days of post-punk, otherwise known as new wave, the band's fan base increased.

Just as the group began to become a household name, however, guitarist Ricky Wilson, Cindy's brother who, along with drummer Strickland, was the driving musical force of the band, died of AIDS in 1985.

A year later the B-52's released "Bouncing Off the Satellites," which had been recorded before Ricky's death.

The album continued the band's success, scoring a minor radio and MTV hit with "Song for a Future Generation." Nonetheless Ricky's death took its toll on the B-52's and the band's future was uncertain.

"We were all devastated," Schneider said. "Keith and Cindy didn't know if they wanted to continue. I just worked on other things -- like my solo stuff -- and Kate was doing her thing.

"I didn't think the band would be over, but I really didn't try to bring things back together. I figured that would have to come from Cindy and Keith if they wanted to do it. And then Keith called and Cindy called and they said they felt like they were ready to try it again."

That effort, 1989's "Cosmic Thing," proved to be the band's commercial highpoint, reaching No. 3 on the charts and selling four million copies in the process.

With Strickland leaving the skins to take over as guitarist, the album produced several singles: "Channel Z," "Deadbeat Club," "Roam" and the ubiquitous "Love Shack."

"We all worked together really hard" on "Cosmic Thing," Schnieder said. "Rather than Keith and Ricky sort of taking more control -- they would do the sort of jamming thing -- this time we had more control."

The band hit the road for an 18-month tour and at the end of all that Cindy wanted out.

"All of a sudden she just decided she was quitting," he said. "She wanted to have children ... so it was real stressful. It was a real shock."

But the other three wanted to continue, so with Cindy's blessing the B-52's kept going, releasing its last studio album, "Good Stuff," in 1992.

The record proved far-less successful than its predecessor, selling three-quarters of a million records. Although, as Schneider pointed out, "I think a lot of bands would like to sell that."

The band was officially now a trio, but when it hit the road Julee Cruise, perhaps best known for her vocal work on the "Twin Peaks" series and soundtrack, joined the B-52's as a member of the touring band.

"Julee was a fan of Cindy's and wanted to bring Cindy's harmonies to the songs so that it would sound B-52's," he said. "She didn't want to change things and was very agreeable. I still see her every now and then. She's great."

A few years later, however, Cindy rejoined the band, just in time to co-write two new songs for the band's greatest hits package, "Time Capsule: Songs for a Future Generation."

Since then there has been no new B-52's material, but Schneider seemed optimistic it would happen eventually. "Everyone lives in different places," he said. "We get together a couple of times a month. We'll see. Hopefully."

Until then, though, Schneider said he's content to enjoy the where the band is now -- musically speaking.

"We were probably pretty raggedy in the beginning for a while. Actually, we were," he said. "I listen to some to some tapes and go, 'Oh God!' Especially when I'm singing myself. Which is why now I think we're better than ever. We had powerhouse shows back then, I guess, from what I remember. But now it's really strong -- musically, vocally, visually. It's come together even better.

"Things are working better for us than they have in the past."

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