Rock and roll's longtime Bible, in case you missed its 19 August issue, comes right out and outlines the connections today between rock and porn. And the leading adult video producer is making the most of it.
And why not? It's Vivid Video stars who seem to get the most attention from the rock and roll stars, based on the aforesaid Rolling Stone article. And it isn't just getting some spicy porn women into your music videos. More and more of rock's heavy and light-heavyweight hitters are being seen with more porn women and not necessarily caring whether - or if - it's a career-killer anymore.
Rolling Stone's story, "The Rock-Porn Connection," pulls few punches in outlining where the rock stars and the porn queens meet. The list of who made which videos can be impressive - from Janine in Blink-182's "What's My Age Again," Ginger Lynn in Metallica's "Turn The Page", and a small host of Vivid Video's stars showing up for Everclear's remake of Thin Lizzy's classic "The Boys Are Back In Town" in Kiss's film Detroit Rock City.
But it also extends to socializing. As in, Marilyn Manson (who is not exactly renowned for G-rated rock and roll, and who got Vivid stars Kobe Tai and Dyanna Lauren to sing on his Mechanical Animals album) relaxing with Jenna Jameson; or, Barenaked Ladies' Ed Robertson hanging out with Vivid porn star Jenteal; or, Kid Rock dating Anal Fever star Midori.
(Sidebar: According to other reports, one reason for Ginger Lynn's return to adult video after all those years was Metallica - or, being rejected for another video with the band.)
And if you believe Rolling Stone correspondent Jancee Dunn, at least one member of Kiss (who cameos in the Everclear video) isn't shy about associating with porn stars. "The idea of life is a simple one," says bassist Gene Simmons. "Either you're going to enjoy it or you're not. Life is better with porn stars. It's as simple as that."
The stars themselves - the rock stars, that is - didn't always see it that way, necessarily. As Dyanna Lauren, who danced at the Tropicana strip club in the 1980s when members of Guns 'n' Roses and Motley Crue were regulars there, told Dunn, "A lot of us were Penthouse pets (then), so we were edgy enough to give these guys a bad-boy label but not too risque that it would ruin their careers. Now, how are hardcore bands going to fulfill that bad-boy image? They can't go back to regular little strippers - everybody does that."
And the union goes in other ways too, Dunn reports, noting that at least two record-industry executives - David Schlesinger, formerly with Arista Records, and Brian Gross, formerly with Elektra Records - left the record business to work at Vivid as publicists. "As the years went on and I saw where the (record) industry was going, I just felt that people weren't having as much fun as they used to," Gross told Dunn.
So are the rock stars, according to Dunn. Backstage Sluts 2 (Zane Entertainment) features, among other things, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit and Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray sharing and bragging about their tales of groupie sex.
Vivid is so thrilled with the Rolling Stone coverage that it's sent out a glossy reproduction of the issue's cover with the article inside. "Rock and roll and porno have always had a special place in bed together," says Vivid's specialized press release. "Now, Rolling Stone has shown the world."
