LAS VEGAS — The outrageous performer and talented front man for The Tubes, Fee Waybill, will be the host for the 14th annual Parnelli Awards Nov. 22 in Las Vegas. “I’m really looking forward to this,” says Waybill. “I was actually a roadie myself before The Tubes. I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for the people who make our shows happen.”
“We’re excited to have Fee be part of this year’s show,” says Marshall Bissett, Parnelli Board member and formerly of TMB. “I actually got to work lights for the band during the 1979-1981 period, and he was always doing the unexpected. There were dancers, and then he’d bring out a marching band, circus performers… he’s a true showman and a great guy.”
Waybill, raised in Scottsdale, AZ, moved to San Francisco with friends and was a roadie for their band for a while (“I didn’t know what the hell I was doing!” he says.) In 1973, The Tubes were formed. They recorded 10 albums from 1974 to 1985. Not content to be the typical rock band, they went out with eight dancers, seven band members and six 32-inch TV monitors. Ahead of their time, they also took a pyrotechnic advisor, a video supervisor, and two costume mistresses on the road.
Waybill co-wrote most of the band’s songs, including hits “White Punks on Dope,” “Talk to Ya Later,” and “She’s a Beauty.” When he took a break from The Tubes in 1986, he co-wrote songs for Richard Marx, Toto, Kenny Loggins and others. Since 1991, he’s won six BMI Performance Popularity Awards for his songwriting. He’s also acted in movies and on stage.
Today he still tours with the Tubes, which had sold-out shows this summer. Otherwise he’s actively writing, acting, and producing, and his book, My Whole Body Poured Out Into You: Songs and Poems was published in April. His alter ego, Quay Lewd, is quite active as well (quaylewd.com).
“Fee is an amazing addition to what will be our best Parnelli’s ever,” says Parnelli Awards executive producer and PLSN/FOH publisher Terry Lowe. “With him as host, and presenting life achievement awards to production/tour manager Benny Collins, lighting designer Howard Ungerleider and audio pioneer Bob Goldstein, this will be another sell-out show.”
This year’s Parnelli Awards will be on the third floor of the MGM Grand Convention Center. For more information and to make your reservations, go to www.parnelliawards.com.
