Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid will bring ‘Verntronics’ to the Living Room
The guitarist for the band whose enduring hit "Cult of Personality" as frequently heard at Phillies games is playing a solo show in Ardmore.
The Phillies are out of town in Atlanta this weekend, so sports fans won’t be hearing Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” blasted at Citizens Bank Park as left-handed slugger Kyle Schwarber comes to the plate.
But even without that walk-on music, there will still be opportunity to hear the far-seeing song about a charismatic leader’s ability to manipulate the masses. The song, that name drops Benito Mussolini and John F. Kennedy, won a best hard rock performance Grammy in 1990.
Vernon Reid, the Living Colour guitarist (who wrote the song), along with his bandmates Corey Glover, Muzz Skilling and Will Calhoun, is playing the Living Room & Cricket Cafe in Ardmore on Friday night.
Reid is a virtuoso guitarist, a player with a style who brings funk, rap, and free jazz into the equation. The co-founder of the Black Rock Coalition in the 1980s, he was ranked #78 on Spin’s list of the greatest guitarists of all time in 2012.
Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, which is headed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, has said of Living Colour: “When I first heard the song “Cult of Personality,” I was absolutely blown away that clearly there were other African Americans who unapologetically loved Led Zeppelin and wanted to shred.”
Living Colour’s second album, Time’s Up, released in 1990 and featured guest appearances by Mick Jagger, Queen Latifah, Little Richard, and Doug E. Fresh. It is now the subject of a new book — simply titled Time’s Up — by Kimberly Mack.
At the Living Room, Reid will be performing his “Verntronics” show, a nod to the experimental shows that King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp has performed under the banner “Frippertronics.” He’s performing solo, and will share stories and songs and tricks of the trade.
Vernon Reid “Verntronics”, Friday May 26, 8 p.m., Living Room & Cricket Cafe, 104 Cricket Ave., Ardmore. $40-$50. BYO. livingroomardmore.com.