ROCKIN’ DROLL
Leary's washed- up rocker takes center stage in new FX comedy
When we do these gigs, Joan [ Jett] is f-- king hilarious. Saying stuff out of the side of her mouth. I fell in love with her.”
— Denis Leary
After seven seasons of playing volatile firefighter tommy Gavin on FX’s “Rescue
Me,” Denis Leary couldn’t have asked for a better co omeback than his new series
“Sex & S Drugs& Rock& Roll.”
It’s a sitcom about a sad group ofo burned- out rockers calledthe Heathens who disbanded in 1992, the same day their one- and- only album dropped— thanks to the self- destructive-behavior of lead singer Johnny rock ( Leary).
the Heathens get a second shot at fame when Johnny’s illegitimate daughter, Gigi ( elizabeth Gillies), surfaces with the idea of recording her dad’s most famous song, “Animal.” faced with the reality of career oblivion, Johnny decides to take Gigi, who’s a better singer than he ever was, up on her offer— and to get his old band back together.
Leary, 57, came up with the idea from touring with his own comedy band during the run of “rescue Me” and listening to the guys bitch about drum solos and riders in the contract. “I thought of how many arguments happen in a band. I started putting it together,” he says.
But something told him that the idea wouldn’t float without an idea ofwhat themusic was going to sound like. He made a demo tape for the executives at FX. “I knewthe pilot would have two songs, one from back in the day. then one that was modern, but I wanted to do “Animal” and “Sex& drugs& rock& roll.” One of the first things [ FX exec John Landgraf] saidwas he totally got the sound.”
finding Gillies had its own comedic elements, since Leary is a hard- sell. “to ask a 21- year- old to sing, be beautiful and be comedic, wewere having a problem,” he says. When his producing partner Jim Serpico recommended auditioning Gillies, a former tween star of the Nickelodeon show “Victorious,” Leary got his nose out of joint. “I said, ‘ Dude, I’m not doing it.’ After he heard her sing, he changed his tune. “Whenwe did some improvisation, Iwould throw things at her and shewould throw them right back. Inmy head I knew this was the chick.”
the rest of the Heathens are played by familiar faces. Comedy Central fixture robert Kelly plays drummer Hector “Bam Bam” Jimenez. John Ales (“Burn
Notice”) is the bass player Sonny “rehab” Silversteen. real- life musician— and former “Sex and
the City” star John Corbett— is theflash, the lead guitaristwhose wife Johnny slept with the day before the band broke up.
“I wrote the part for him, knowing he could play and sing,” Leary says. “He told me, ‘ Dude, I’ve been waiting for a script like this.’”
With all the “dudes” and chicks” getting tossed around, the guys on “Sex& Drugs& rock& roll” certainly have the rock- star lingo down. But theywere all shown how itwas really done when Joan Jett made a guest appearance.
Leary first met the rock and roll Hall-of- famer while performing at an annual charity function sponsored by Michael J. fox, with whom Jett co- starred in the 1997movie “Light of Day.”
“When we do those gigs, Joan is f-- king hilarious. Saying stuff out of the side of her mouth. I just fell in love with her,” he says. “I said to her, ‘ I got an idea. I want you to come on, as a great example for the daughter character. So she comes to the set and she takes over. Her first take is perfect. She brings swag bags that say Blackhearts on them. there are 500 extras taking pics all day long. then she asked me, ‘ When do I come back?’”
for a would-be rock star, there’s no higher compliment.