the celebrity motorcade by chris arduser

The early days of Hollywood were an important period in American history, and Arduser has done them justice with his fascinating album.

-- Ian White / americanwired.com / june 1 2006

Performed, written and produced entirely by the pyschodots drummer/vocalist, Motorcade is a "concept record" revolving around characters from old Hollywood. Arduser gets into the head of comedian Fatty Arbuckle on "Roscoe," painting the tragic figure sympathetically as a victim of circumstance ("They called you Fatty/'Cause that's all they could see"), while "Remember Irving Thalberg" remembers the sacrifices of the unsung movie maven who revolutionized the role of "producer" in film. The thematic thread that runs throughout is fascinating and works incredibly well, but it wouldn't hold up without Arduser's tremendous songwriting. It never feels like he's forcing the theme into the songs (or vice versa), as "Thalberg" and cuts like "Disneywhore" and "At the Factory" are each strong enough to stand apart from the rest of the album. Other highlights include the early Who Pop of "She Might Try" and the wispy, fluid "Erich Von Stroheim." Brilliant stuff. Come for the stories, stay for the sounds. - mike breen / citybeat / may 4 2005

Arduser spins CD saluting early days of film

It's not just a CD, but a sort of filmography - in this case a salute to "the

silents" and Hollywood's groundbreaking directors and actors, especially those

under-appreciated or simply beaten down by the system.

The unusual, but wonderfully written and compelling concept album, "The

Celebrity Motorcade," is the work of veteran Cincinnati musician Chris Arduser

(The Bears, psychodots, Bluebirds, Graveblankets).

"I was slowly amassing tunes about the early filmmakers because I'm fascinated

by the '20s," Arduser said. "The silent cinema gets short shrift. It's summed

up in the image of Charlie Chaplin when there was so much else going on. I find

it endlessly fascinating. It was an out-of-control time."

Movie buffs will delight in Arduser's songs about such pioneers as Erich Von

Stronheim, Irving Thalberg, John Garfield and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, as the

CD concludes with a contemporary take on Hollywood art with "Disneywhore."

They are mostly bittersweet songs couched in Arduser's buoyant pop melodies. It

is, dare we say, a pop album that is actually educational with his take on

early Hollywood and celebrity.

The opening title cut sets the overall theme as Arduser explores that age-old

relationship between art and having to work within the system.

"I wanted to write songs that explore notions of fame and celebrity. So many of

us chase after it, myself at one point," Arduser said, remembering he had a

Nashville publishing and recording deal in the late '90s with mixed results.

rick bird / cincinnati post / may 5 2005

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