The Blue Jackets at Maxwell's
Featuring an interview with actor/guitarist Ed Burns
Joe Concha  Adrian
Granier, Jared Leto, Dennis Quaid, Keanu Reeves, Kevin Bacon, and Ed Burns. All actors
that have enjoyed A-list success on the big screen, and all trying to live out every guy's
true high school dream: To be a rock star.
The venerable Maxwell's on 11th and Washington in Hoboken draws
bands big and small almost every evening. So while looking on the Maxwell's website in
early December, it wasn't much of a surprise to see The Blue Jackets and its lead
guitarist, Ed Burns (The Brothers McMullen, She's the One, Saving Private Ryan,
Confidence) on the docket for a show on a Friday night in late December.
My experience at Maxwell's in reviewing Adrian Granier's (Vincent
Chase of Entourage) band--The Honey Brothers--led me to believe that landing an interview
with Burns and his bandmates wouldn't be a difficult task. The 30-year-old
bar/restaurant/auditorium doesn't have a backstage or VIP lounge, thereby forcing band
members to mingle with the crowd at the back or front bars. Upon stumbling on to Burns in
the bathroom when I first arrived to relieve myself of the two beers that I consumed at
Goldhawk, it was quickly apparent that landing a sit-down discussion wouldn't be a
problem.
The 39-year-old Irishman comes across exactly as he is portrayed in
most of his films: Down-to-earth, affable and devoid of the usual self-importance that
some actors tend to accumulate after reading too many of their press clippings (such as
Alyssa Milano at The Madison a few nights later that needed to be escorted by bouncers
through the empty restaurant area every time she needed to go outside to smoke).
Burns asked that I watch and listen to his band in their first visit
to New Jersey first before we spoke. Given that his supermodel wife, Kristy Turlington,
was in attendance that was an easy request to handle. From there, the Blue Jackets, like
The Honey Brothers, were a pleasant surprise. After all, my first experiences hearing an
actor attempt the jump from speaking to song was Eddie Murphy's dreadful My Girl Likes to
Party All the Time and Don Johnson's equally horrific Heartbeat, so it's understandable
that my expectations in such situations had been permanently lowered.
When describing the sound of the Blue Jackets, it's simply a
throwback to 70s punk rock...a combination of The Kinks and The Ramones. Unlike most bands
that Hobokenites see on a regular basis at the Jersey Shore or Hoboken's Whiskey Bar or
O'Donohughes, the Jackets don't do covers but instead offer their own material (the type
of upbeat sound that you could envision singing along to in a convertible riding down the
Parkway) such as Four Cheers, Typical and Who Needs a DJ? (To sample
these tunes, continue reading until the bottom of this page where they can be heard by
going to their linked MySpace page or look for them on iTunes)
The performance also featured the "Jack-etts" doing backup
vocals in the form of the aforementioned Turlington and three of the other band members'
girlfriends/wives. For the packed house at Maxwell's with flash bulbs flashing early and
often, the site of Burns and Turlington on stage should have been enough for some to say
they got their money's worth, but thanks to the spirited vocals of the Jackets' PT Walkley
and the crisp sound of his supporting cast, the two celebrities became a complimentary
side dish...which is normally the way it works for the lead singer of a rock band.
Walkley's story is one that comes out of a Hollywood script in terms
of the opportunity that walked into his world one quiet afternoon back in 2002.
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Lead Singer: PT Walkley |
"I was working in a guitar store down on Ludlow Street
about five years ago and Eddie (Burns) came in one day, and we kind of became fast
friends," explains Walkley, who looks like a stunt double for a young Paul McCartney.
"We were both obsessed with guitar playing, so I slid him a few songs that ended
really working for his movies (The Groomsman, Purple Violets). We kind of hit it off and
it snowballed. Now I do movies...the "Priceless" commercials for Mastercard.
It's special and amazing. I finally was able to quit my day job."
While Burns met Walkley randomly, the roots of the band
come from his teen years on Long Island.
"The bass player and I went to Union High School and
(the Blue Jackets) was the school's mascot. It's actually a nickname for guys who served
in the Navy."
The interview is interrupted by a guy who claims he knows
Burns' uncle (this turns out to be true). He's a little buzzed, but Burns speaks with him
for ten minutes without hesitation. I ask him if random people approaching him while out
to dinner or walking down the street ever becomes annoying.
"I've never given it any thought," he
shutters."It's no different than hanging out in a bar, meeting people you grew up
with, a friend of the family...It's not like I'm ever swarmed by people, so the
conversation always stays in a respectful, safe place."
While acting allows for retakes and post-production
editing, performing in front of a crowd on a live stage offers no such luxury. Does Burns
ever get sweaty palms when performing with the band given the fact that he only took up
playing guitar seriously six years ago?
"It's more fun, more nerve racking, more exciting than
any day I've ever had on the set," he chuckles. "The thing that I love about it
is, when I'm an actor or directing one of my films, the spotlight is on me. But in this
band, I'm the fourth most important guy. It reminds me of 14 years of playing competitive
sports. I played hoops, soccer...where I was never really the star but just another player
on the team. The camaraderie that comes with playing sports is what I get out of this
experience. The great thing about this band--unlike my movie career which is all about
being successful--that this is only about hanging out with a great bunch of guys, laughing
your ass off and having fun."
Burns recently started a comic book collection (titled
"Dock Walloper") and is slated to be in two movies early this year (27 Dresses
with Katherine Heigl and One Missed Call with Shannyn Sossaman). And the band will be
playing venues such as Bowery Ballroom (February 23) and Wednesday at the Square in New
Orleans. By juggling three careers at once, as well as a family (he and Turlington had
their second child in '06), I wonder aloud when he'll take a step back and be satisfied
with all he has accomplished before the age of 40.
"I don't know that I've ever been that guy who is
satisfied," Burns replies quickly. "The good fortune that came to me
post-Brothers McMullen opened up a thousand different doors. My whole approach has been to
keep working."
"I've had movies that have been successful and I've
had movies that have been complete bombs," he continues."I've gotten great
reviews and I've gotten shit reviews. I've gone from the glory days of Saving Private Ryan
to the dismal depths of a Sound of Thunder. The thing that I've always done is to expose
myself to interesting people...get turned on my new artists and constantly try to keep
learning. The Blue Jackets is another chapter in pushing creative buttons and forcing
myself into uncomfortable situations. Staying in your comfort zone offers no growth."
While playing in a band is a thrilling experience, Burns
reveals that writing will always be his greatest passion: "I went to school to be a
novelist and then stumbled on to screenwriting...it will always be my one true love. They
can take everything else way, but if I can still sit down and write screenplays, I'd be a
happy guy."
So will the Blue Jackets be returning to Hoboken anytime
soon?
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The crowd
liked what they heard at Maxwell's |
"Love Hoboken," he says as a friend nearby
giggles and says, "You didn't even know where it was before tonight," to which
Burns laughs and retorts, "I knew it was on the other side of the river and it was
right through the Holland Tunnel. I think we'll be back here (at Maxwell's) in March.
Playing Manhattan is tough because you have to do the whole New York thing. Our whole goal
is to keep that bridge and tunnel thing alive."
When your band is named after members of the Navy, getting
back across the Hudson shouldn't be a problem.
Joe Concha is Realhoboken.com's Senior Writer and has never
picked up a musical instrument in his life. Email questions or comments to
joeconcha@yahoo.com. And to learn more about the Blue Jackets, visit www.thebluejackets.com or their MySpace page at
http://www.myspace.com/thebluejackets
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