Hard Rock’s Living Colour Is Black

Conjure up the image of a hard-rock band and what do you see? A mane of long hair, black leather, spandex and pointed boots, right?

Wrong. At least when it comes to Epic Records’ new hard-rockers Living Colour, who wear baggy pantaloons, braided Gumby ‘dos, studded waiters’ jackets and high-top sneakers!

But what makes Living Colour unique isn’t their threads, but their color. The new hard-rock quartet is black, a hue rarely associated with hard rock or heavy metal.

How rigid is rock’s notorious airwave apartheid? Epic Records is in the midst of finding out. The CBS-distributed label has put its ample promotional muscle behind the New York-based band, led by guitarist Vernon Reid, which is trying to do what no black musicians have done since the days of Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix--break rock’s color barrier.

Many black artists have successfully “crossed over” from the R&B; charts to the Hot 100. But album-rock radio, the key steppingstone for young rock bands, has so far turned a deaf ear on the Bus Boys and other past black rock outfits.

It’s far too early to tell whether Living Colour’s debut album will make much of a dent in the charts. It took CBS nearly six months to break Terence Trent D’Arby--and that was after he’d been a huge hit in England.

So far, MTV has added the band’s video (though in relatively light rotation), the New York press has lavished praise on its hometown band and a small number of album-rock stations--roughly 20, including KLOS-FM--have added “Middle Man,” a key track from “Vivid,” the band’s new album.

But key Epic execs say Living Colour’s biggest problem isn’t that the group is black, but that it’s new-- which makes it a commodity almost impossible to break on today’s oldies-crazed radio stations.

“The record doesn’t slot into any obvious categories, so it’s no secret that it’s going to take a lot of work,” explained Dan Beck, Epic’s vice president of product development. “But we’re not discouraged by the numbers so far. After all, this is how the Clash got started too.

“We have a strong base in college radio, the band has a solid press following and they’re so exciting live that we already have them out on the road (with a Roxy date June 7). We’re trying to reach fans who like bands with a fresh attitude, bands like Midnight Oil.

“And I think those same steps that Midnight Oil took along the way to success are open to the group too. They’re provocative, play music that’s smart and accessible and we think after a lot of hard work that they could be stars.”

Still, Epic isn’t taking too many chances. The label hasn’t promoted the band in the heavy-metal press, fearing it might “narrow” the group’s appeal, and it has no plans to release a single “until the group gets more momentum going.”

This cautious approach may eventually pay off, but it hasn’t won the band any kudos from hard-core rock fans, especially the kind who loyally listen to KNAC-FM, radio home for local head-bangers. “Vernon Reid is a great guitar player,” said KNAC program director Tom Marshall. “But the album just falls into too many gray areas for us to play it. It’s interesting, but it’s not straight-ahead enough for our sound. We don’t play Bob Seger or Bryan Adams for the same reason--they just don’t appeal to our core audience.”

Marshall insisted that skin color is not an issue, noting that KNAC played records by black guitarist Tony McAlpine and metal band King’s X, which has a black lead singer.

The Epic brass agree. “The real issue is getting radio to play new music,” Beck argued. “When I went to see the band at the Bottom Line recently, the cab driver was playing one of these classic-rock stations. So I asked him if he ever listened to any new music. And he was almost offended. He said, ‘No way!’

“And that’s the stumbling block that we’ve got to get past if we’re going to get bands like Living Colour back on the radio.”