Patrice Pike was not going to be intimidated byHollywood hotshot guitarist Dave Navarro.The Austin singer, who once fronted Sister 7 and currently performs as a solo artist, has been in sink-or-swim meetings with legendary label boss Clive Davis. She’s been signed to three major labels in the years since she fronted Dallas funk/jam band Little Sister as a teenager. Where her career is concerned, Pike’s not going to back down from someone whose biggest claim to fame is marrying (and recently separating from) Carmen Electra."OK, Patrice, I’m not seeing anything different and, frankly, I’m getting a little bored," Navarro told Pike on Tuesday night’s episode of "Rock Star: Supernova," which is "American Idol" with a pierced lip. Pike had just performed a version of "Remedy" by the Black Crowes."Do you do a lot of things differently when you perform, Dave?" Pike shot back. Ooh, testy. Some in the crowd gasped.But then Navarro, who’s one of the show’s executive producers as well as a co-host, put it all into perspective: "The difference is that I already have a job and I’m not auditioning."I don’t think there are too many musicians out there who wouldn’t want to perform in front of five million people a week on national TV," Pike said after surviving Week Four’s elimination, which aired Wednesday. For the first time, Pike found herself as one of the bottom three vote-getters and thus had to sing for her "Rock Star" life. And did she ever! Pike pulled out a riveting performance of Radiohead’s "My Iron Lung" that had Lee exclaiming, "That’s what I’m talking about!" In two minutes, Pike went from the bottom to the top.Still, Pike has virtually no chance of fronting the Supernova band-to-be. She’ll ride this rockin’ rollercoaster as long as she can, hopefully to the round where the contestants sing their own compositions.Tell Pike that she just doesn’t fit with this over-the-hill, bad boy rock band and she’ll disagree. "I’d love to be in this band," she said. "I’ve been chilling for two years with my solo stuff. I miss being in a rock band. I’m ready to cut loose." Expect Supernova to cut Pike loose around Week Eight.And if you think it’ll bum her out to read that, don’t worry. Pike and her fellow "Rock Star: Supernova" hopefuls are holed up like a deliberating jury, with no phones, no TV, no Internet access and no newspapers. Pike has a list of five people she can call, twice a week, for 15 minutes, on a monitored cellphone. They can’t talk about the show or any aspects of the music business. There’s no coaching in "Rock Star.""Don’t tell me anything about what’s happening on the outside world," Pike prepped a reporter on Monday, interview day, at the converted convent in the Hollywood Hills where the contestants live together. Pike has no idea that "Patrice Watch" parties have become a regular Tuesday night happening in her home town. During a recent lunch hour at Enoteca on South Congress Avenue, strangers at adjoining tables were debating Pike’s chances after overhearing a conversation. "Who’s the girl who told Tommy to Google her?" asked one diner. Told it was Storm Large, who’s got naughty pics on the Internet, the woman said, "I think she’ll go all the way. There’s chemistry with her and the band." The show’s addictive."Probably the worst thing about this experience is the isolation," said Pike, who nailed the cattle call tryout in April, then spent a long week auditioning in L.A. before making the on-air cut. She gets paid each week, but business partner Todd Young declined to say how much. Pike has had to put her solo career on hold, postponing a European tour and pushing back the release date of her new record until "Rock Star" wraps in late September. Or until she’s sent home."I really want to win this thing, and I think I’ve got a chance," she said. "I’m just so comfortable onstage. I don’t get the jitters." "Everybody gets along so well in the house," she said. "We have a lot of respect for each other, knowing just what we had to do to get here." But what about that Week 3 dustup with Jill Giola, termed a "catfight" by Tommy Lee? "They made a big deal about that on the show, but it was really nothing," Pike said. The cameras caught her and Giola in a heated moment after Pike claimed "Helter Skelter" by the Beatles as her song to perform that night. "It was just a misunderstanding. Jill wanted to do another song anyway." It was all patched up by show time, and Pike and Giola were sitting together holding hands."I have to challenge myself to pull out that over-the-top stage presence they’re looking for," she said.
Daytona Beach News Journal (Story) and Patrice Pike’s Mypace (Photo)
