'Your looks are becomming a problem!'

I vaguely remember that line. wasn't it during their dispute over the t-shirts & their public image?

I'll take a guess & say the singer was ovbiously very image-conscious because he was so egocentric. Their looks mattered as much to him as their music, evidently. he thot of himself as the front man, altho Russell was the real talent, & he was always jealous of that. (kinda like Bonjovi)

I came here to ask the exact same question.

Sorry to say this, but I don't think it has been answered in this thread.

Does he look too good and attract too much attention from women? Does he not look good enough to be part of the band?

Neither was apparent to me.

No woman will ever be truly satisfied, because no man will ever have a chocolate penis that ejaculates money.

Wow, no one came close to answering the question.

I think he just said it out of anger:

Jeff: You want to pretend this isn't going
to be a very big band. Well it is. You
call yourself a leader of this band, but
your direction allowed the t-shirt, when
you allowed Dick to manage us, 'cause
he's your friend... don't you see? The
t-shirt is everything.

Russel: Is it my turn? Because I think we
should, for once, say what we really
mean.

Jeff: Oh, this is the part where you quit -

Russel: (stiffening)
Right. I'm so predictable.

Jeff: Deal with it! And let me just say
what nobody Else wants to say

Russel: What?

Jeff: Your looks have become a problem!

I thought that was a pretty good scene

Both Russell and Jeff are egomaniacal in their own way. Jeff, obviously, was the definition of a man with "lead singer disease" ...the flamboyant, in-your-face, needs-to-be-the-center-of-attention guy. I suspect if we knew Jeff's backstory, we would learn that he had this personality since he was a child and just naturally gravitated to being a lead singer since it allowed him to keep on being the center of attention.

Russell, on the other hand, was just as full of himself, but in a quieter, more passive-aggressive way. He didn't necessarily overtly seek attention like Jeff, but he liked it just as much. He definitely liked being a guy people just seemed to like and gravitate toward and he was happy to take full advantage of it whenever it was convenient, no matter what it did to others.

While the band was up and coming, each were getting what they deemed to be "their fair share" of attention. Jeff was the frontman so the spotlights were on him, which, again, is exactly what he wanted and needed. Russell was, by all accounts a brilliant guitarist, and, while he didn't need the overt attention that Jeff did, he did LOVE the adulation. He loved that Penny swooned over him. He loved that a Rolling Stone reporter would follow him around and, with some gentle prodding, would probably right a puff piece about the greatness of his band and his own guitar work.

Jeff's problem at this point was that, as the band was breaking big, it was becoming apparent that, even though he was front and center and definitely "deserved" to be the face of the band, everybody including the press, the record label, the hottest groupies, and even Rolling Stone magazine was gravitating toward Russell. Worst of all, Russell in his quiet, understated way was (in Jeff's mind) egging it on and loving every minute of it. Since (again, in Jeff's paranoid mind), it couldn't be talent or a better personality, it had to be the fact that Russell was a better looking guy, thus "your looks are becoming a problem!!" They were only becoming a problem to Jeff... although in fairness, this blow up (and obviously several later events) eventually did wake Russell up to the fact that he was using people and treating them badly in the process.

It is important to note that the rest of the band. while (as we later learned) they clearly had their own issues, were completely content to be the rhythm section and get the leftovers (in terms of money, chicks and fame). The war of egos was between Jeff and Russell alone.

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What was happening was the record company management were using Russell's looks to try and sell the band as a product with him as the front man over the band as a whole. Like putting Russell in the front on album cover, promotional materials and T-shirts. Like the shirts that caused this incident, where Russell was in front and in focus and the rest of the band wasn't. Obviously this pissed the rest of the band off.

This is a draw on what was done with the Doors.

The recording company executives were focusing on Jim Morrison. They started presenting the band as Jim Morrison & The Doors. They'd do album covers and promotional materials where Morrison was in front and physically bigger than the rest of the band. Managers were always trying to get Morrison to dump the rest of the guys and go solo.

In that case, they totally picked the wrong guy to pitch the idea to. Morrison had absolutely no interest in doing this, even though he *was* essentially carrying the rest of the band on his coattails in the image department. That wasn't entirely true when it came to the Doors' music obviously. But that wasn't immediately apparent.

The thing was, Morrison was deeply ambivalent and uncomfortable about being a rock star in the first place. He was using and abusing drugs and alcohol to be able to go out and do it. They brought out unpleasant and self destructive aspects of his psyche and personality.

We all know what THAT eventually caused.

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