(antiMusic) American Idol want to extend their cheesy music empire to include bands and Fox readily agreed so on October 19th the network will premier 'The Next Great American Band' which will be similar to the Idol's karaoke flagship except they'll have actual bands compete to the top prize. It wouldn't be an Idol project without their "judges" and for some reason producers of the program think that people two decades past their last hit make good judges for future stars. With that in mind, the new Paula Abdul role will be filed by Prince protege Sheila E, who last had a hit before most Idol contestants were born. They actually managed to snag a lot higher profile musician this time around. Instead of the one time Journey bassplayer hardly anyone had heard of before, Goo Goo Dolls Johnny Rzeznik will fill the Randy Jackson slot with the record mogul judge spot popularized by Simon Cowell going to Aussie record man Ian "Dicko" Dickson. Let's hope he lives up to his nickname and slams emo bands that try out.
The good news in all of this is that Ryan Seacrest will not be hosting, producers brought in a host from one of their other franchises to fill that spot so Dominic Bowden of New Zealand Idol fame will front the program.
Goo Goo Dolls started out as an underground band on the heavier side of music until their ballad "Name" caught on in a big way in the early 90s and moved them to the lighter side of rock as the decade's answer to the soft-hard rock likes of Bon Jovi.
Sheila E is best known for her supporting role with Prince and her last solo hit was in 1985. However, over the years she has used her drumming chops to back up such stars as Ringo Starr, Herbie Hancock, Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross.
Dicko made a name for himself at Creation Records handing artists like Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Oasis before jumping over to majors with Sony and working with popular Aussie band Midnight Oil and Where is He Now rapper LL Cool J.
