Smith gets Wicked in heavy rock band

TOM CONWAY
Tribune Correspondent



The uninitiated Sevendust fan going to see their favorite band at
Club Fever on Friday night may experience a "Hey, the singer looks
like ... no, it couldn't be" moment when opening band Wicked Wisdom
performs.

It is, however, true: Actress Jada Pinkett Smith fronts Wicked
Wisdom.

Smith, more famous for her roles in "Collateral," "Ali" and the last
two "Matrix" movies, said in a recent telephone interview that she
enjoys the reaction she gets from people who are not aware that she
is the lead singer for a heavy rock band.

"The cool thing about it is that not everybody knows," she said. "I
just don't think people are used to seeing me like that, and they
would just never expect me to be there."

Rather than do the vanity pop projects that most actors do when they
attempt to enter the music business, Smith knew that she wanted to
play the kind of music that she loved.

"I've always been a lover of heavy music," she said. "Always. I grew
up with it, and it's something that I have always wanted the
opportunity to do. I have always loved the expression and freedom of
it."

About four years ago, Smith decided that she wanted to form a band
and asked a friend, Pocket Honore, to help. He became the music
director and lead guitarist for Wicked Wisdom.

"He and I were pretty much on the same page where we wanted to take
this band musically," Smith said. "Then, we hooked up with a young
cat named Cameron ('Young Beige' Graves), who plays guitar and keys,
and he helped us solidify the sound that we looked for. Then we got
Fish, who brought just a whole new dynamic to the band." Rio
Lawrence plays bass for the band.

Phillip "Fish" Fisher, the founding drummer for the seminal ska-punk-
funk-rock group Fishbone, compared his time with Fishbone to this
current project.

"I have had a beautiful life in music to have played so much good
underground music, and to help it to rise to the top," he said. "It
is nice to start with a new band and do that journey again."

Fish said "it's all good" that the focus of the band is on Smith
because of her celebrity.

"I don't feel like it is overshadowing the band," he said. "Of
course, she's a big celebrity, so it makes a difference. But,
whatever pre-conceived notions people have to her already-existing
image are being shattered, and something else is being introduced by
people hearing the music, and especially by them seeing it live."

Smith said that she is aware that the novelty of her singing in a
hard rock band may bring people to the shows, but she will need to
back it up with something substantial for it to last.

"People really come out to have a good time and hear good music,"
she said. "If you can show them a good time, and give them good
music, then that is all they care about. To be honest with you, the
real deal is that most guys think that girls can't rock and roll,
and, on top of that, a black chick. So once I get up there and do my
thing, it rarely is an issue. You've just got to show and prove."

"Bleed All Over Me," the first single off of the band's self-titled
debut CD, due out Feb. 21, shows a side of Smith that is not
apparent from her movies or talk show appearances.

"It's just another aspect of myself that is not always so PC
(politically correct)," Smith said. "It is just that other side of
myself. The reason why I really love this music is just basically
that I can say what I want, do what I want, and it doesn't matter."

Will Smith, Jada's husband, is a hip hop artist -- and the star of
such movies as "The Men in Black," "Independence Day" and "I Robot" -
- who is routinely criticized for not being hard or "gangsta" enough
in his music.

"He gets criticism for being too clean and I'm getting criticized
for wanting to be a little ugly," Smith said. "He loves it. He came
out on our sets with me for most of our tour, and it really opened
his eyes to a lot of things, a lot of new musical ideas. It really
sparked him creatively."

Does that mean we will hear less "getting jiggy with it" and more
headbanging on the next Will Smith record?

"Yeah, I think you will," Smith said. "It's not what I'm doing, but
it definitely has an influence on some of his musical ideas. Just
using more loud instruments, and it's going to be an interesting
project for him."

For More Information on Jada, Please visit:

www.thejadapages.com