Abe Vigoda vs. Abe Vigoda (and other band/actor showdowns)

According to a story told by Abe Vigoda guitarist-singer Michael Vidal, there was a time when someone was looking to get in touch with Abe Vigoda (the band) and somehow ended up speaking to the publicity reps for Abe Vigoda (the man) instead. The reverse occurred in another scenario: A guy saw Abe Vigoda’s name on a bill and became all excited to see the aging actor do some comedy. He was disappointed, of course, when the night’s festivities actually involved the intrepid indie rock outfit from L.A. that took its name from the actor. Despite the confusion that is the occasional byproduct of naming bands after actors, the trend has survived over the years. In light of Abe Vigoda (the band) playing with Wild Nothing at Hi-Dive tonight, Feb. 24, The A.V. Club dug into five examples of acts that plundered their names from thespians wholesale—and figured out which member of each pair is ultimately cooler.

Abe Vigoda
The actor: For a man who has an entire website dedicated to keeping track of whether he still registers a pulse, Vigoda is a spry 89 years young. After appearing in the first two Godfather flicks and being a regular on Barney Miller, the affable actor-comedian’s name became associated with folks repeatedly reporting him as deceased when he wasn’t actually dead. Since his first false death was reported in the early ’80s, Vigoda’s spent years mining that characterization of him as a feeble, bewildered old man via sundry Late Night With Conan O’Brien skits and a 2010 Super Bowl ad where he got the tar tackled out of him. Fun fact: His 90th birthday falls on the same date that the band sharing his name will be in Denver.

The band: Juan Velasquez and Michael Vidal, the primary cogs in Abe Vigoda, devised their group’s name during an AIM chat just because it sounded funny. Although the questions it has received about its name probably tally into the hundreds, the band has a lot more going for it than an amusing handle. Last year’s Crush showed the group members’ growth from chaotic “tropical-punk” players to musicians skilled at making nuanced, gray sounds shaded by goth and new wave. In contemporary indie rock, Abe Vigoda’s creative future is one of the most thrilling things on the horizon.

Who’s cooler? While Abe Sr. made good with his small role in The Godfather and was an adorably uncool presence in those Late Night sketches, the younger Vigoda shows a kind of promise that constitutes long-term worth. The band’s made good so far and time is on its side, even if the actor is probably going to pull off an upset by surviving them.

Charles Bronson
The actor: Before Chuck Norris was the go-to meme for all that is unfuckwithable, there was Mr. Bronson, Lord Of Ass-kicking, King Of Semi-Justified Violence. Bronson’s most famous for partaking in the revenge fantasies of the Death Wish series, but his filmography was impressively vast by the time of his 2003 death: He was in Once Upon A Time In The West, The Dirty Dozen, The Magnificent Seven, and he worked alongside Elvis in Kid Galahad. Plus, he shot Morpheus through a jukebox in Death Wish II, which is a rare accomplishment.

The band: The field of competition might be limited, but Charles Bronson is a legitimate contender for the definitive powerviolence band. The Illinois outfit was loud and irrepressibly chaotic—a fucked-up Molotov cocktail of hardcore punk that was light on melody and heavy on rattling thrash metal-style riffs. The band was pretty damn far from being anything resembling attractive, and that ugliness was all for the better when it came to youthful lash-outs.

Who’s cooler? If they were still around, even the group would likely tell you that the victory goes to their namesake. The man’s sobering, dark charisma cannot be denied. He was one of those fellows who could look so miserable and beaten by the world as to inspire a measure of sympathy when he goes on a righteous murder spree in Death Wish. The group’s adoration for the actor went past moniker alone, as they outright plundered his image for T-shirts, hoodies, and the cover of its 120-song compilation, Complete Discocrappy.

River Phoenix
The actor: As the elder sibling of the Phoenix acting clan, River appeared in Stand By Me, Sneakers, and Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, but he’ll be most remembered for playing a downtrodden, gay hustler in My Own Private Idaho. The 23-year-old’s career ended prematurely when he died of a drug overdose in October 1993. His story is one of those immensely sobering sagas of young actors getting overindulgent and then plummeting in Hollywood. Similar circumstances have hit Brad Renfro and Edward Furlong, and there are shades of the Phoenix story in the Lindsay Lohan drama today.
 

The band: Before Fenix TX gained a decent measure of fame as Fenix TX, the Houston pop-punk outfit was known as Riverfenix—a name that doubled as the title of its 1997 debut. A cease and desist order from Phoenix’s estate forced the name change, but the pop-punk outfit still managed to do well with the reinvention, peaking with 2001’s Lechuza. The group disbanded in 2002 and reunited three years later without causing much of a stir in the process. While the group never did much to differentiate itself from the early ’00s Drive-Thru scene, the sweet hooks behind tracks like “Phoebe Cates” and “Threesome” packed a punch.

Who’s cooler? Even with his limited filmography, the original wins out here. If he was around today, River Phoenix might be standing in a place similar to Christian Bale, another former child actor—and knowing that the possibility of that happening was totally squashed is a downer in itself.

Kane Hodder
The man: The imposing California-born actor-stuntman has dozens and dozens of movies to his name, but really, pop culture’s only going to remember him for his portrayal of Jason in Friday The 13th VII through X. His ensuing career hasn’t included many other memorable roles. (His non-horror credits include Demolition Man, Se7en, Monster, and the 2000 version of Gone In 60 Seconds). Nowadays, you can find Hodder at horror and comic conventions when he’s appearing in slasher fare like the Hatchet series.

The band: After forming in 2002, Kane Hodder didn’t go too far—a real bummer considering that the band’s off-kilter, screamo-tinged post-hardcore was rich with potential. The Bremerton, Washington-based band teetered between melody and power, filling songs with cryptic, violent lyrics, obscure movie references for titles, and vocalist Andrew Moore’s effete falsetto/bloodthirsty growl. After signing to Fueled By Ramen Records in 2005, the band had a disappointing stint and broke up in 2009.

Who’s cooler? The band totally takes this one. Kane Hodder was the indirect progeny of Pacific Northwestern maniacs like The Murder City Devils and The Blood Brothers, and even with its limited discography, The Pleasure To Remain So Heartless is an underappreciated firecracker of a debut.

Alan Alda
The actor: The mega-success of M*A*S*H aside, Alan Alda’s career has been largely relegated to small parts in big things and big parts in small things. Alda has seen parts all over the map—TV shows like ER and The West Wing, and movies such as Canadian Bacon and The Aviator—but his insightful views on religion and charity work have gone far toward fleshing out his public persona.

The band: Denver’s own Alan Alda makes crackling indie rock/post-punk, working with the precision of a strange machine while maintaining enough raw energy to stay human. Last fall, the three-piece—made up of guitarist Luke Goodhue, bassist Chris White, and drummer Matt Grizzell—released their sophomore EP. (This being the era of the Internet and all, every band name has already been invented, which explains the existence of Alanalda, a folky act from Kilkenny, Ireland.)

Who’s cooler? Sincere apologies, Hawkeye, but the local band has more verve than its typically white-bread namesake, even if none of those musicians have appeared on 30 Rock.