So you wanna look like a rock star

Get the hair right

[11 Comment(s)]

By Kaiya Morrison

Music and fashion have always existed hand-in-hand, so much so that many major artists, such as Gwen Stefani, Boy George and Bono, have started their own clothing lines. But clothes will only go so far if you want to hit the clubs at night with a rocker look. What seals the deal is your hair.

Local musician Michael Robeau knows the importance of great hair. At night, his time is spent on the scene performing with his new band, Rhinosaur. During the day, he clocks in at The Aveda Institute of Cosmetology, located at 2834 South Sherwood Forest Boulevard.

“I used to cut my own hair in high school, and it was really fun. The only reason I didn’t pursue it was because I didn’t want my parents to think I’m gay,” Robeau said with a laugh when explaining why he decided to enroll at Aveda. “It’s a stereotype that all male stylists are gay, but we’re breaking that trend now.”

Robeau has nearly completed the Aveda program. His life as a musician, however, began long ago. Originally performing with local cover bands as a guitar player, Robeau joined Rhinosaur as their lead vocalist in summer 2007.

“This is my first time singing. I’ve done back-up singing in the past, but I’ve never gotten too much of a chance to scream, except in my car,” he jokingly said. “One day I asked [Rhinosaur] if I could give singing a try, and they said yes.”

Rhinosaur performed its last show at The Spanish Moon on Friday, Feb. 22, and, including Robeau, the band consists of members Jaques Bourdreaux (guitar), Mitch Wells (bass) and Brandon Dixon (drums).

Although Rhinosaur performs at clubs around town, Robeau said he doesn’t particularly care to be on an elevated stage. Rather, he prefers when the band performs at underground house shows.

“You have that band/audience vibe at house shows,” he explained. “There’s nothing more uncomfortable for me than having to stand on a stage and be all high-and-mighty with my feet at someone’s head.”

No matter where the band performs, Robeau’s new day job has given him a new outlook towards fashion and hairstyles.

“You don’t see a lot of product with spiked hair on guys anymore,” Robeau said when discussing current hair trends that are no longer popular. “For women, board straight hair, hair that is so straight it looks stuck to your head, is out.”

Full body hair is the key now. For women with long hair, Robeau suggests curls, or the visor bang, which are bangs cut straight across the eyebrow.

“The goal is to accentuate the best features of your face,” he added. “Look at your face and decide what you want to accentuate. If you have nice eyes, you want to have bangs that come right to the eye. If you have nice lips, you want to have layers that fall around the lips.”

Short hair, Robeau explained, is easier to work with when trying to achieve the rocker look.

“It’s easier to get punk rock with short hair,” he said. “The concave look, where your hair is shorter in the back, is really in. The Victoria Beckham look is really in. It’s long enough that you can still play with it, and give it a piecy look. Then you can blow dry it differently and give it a classy and presentable look for the day time.”

For men, Robeau said the “wet” look of gel-spiked hair is out. What’s in, rather, is the “dry” look.

“For guys, short bangs are really in,” he said. “I see a lot of the British bangs.”

For both men and women, the “dirty” look is the most popular style worn by musicians and fans of the music scene. Best way to achieve this is simple – don’t wash your hair often. But how can you pull off this look if you have a day job that doesn’t look kindly on the dirty rocker look?

“Let your hair air dry. That’s going to give it more of a greasy look, and it’s not bad for your hair, either,” Robeau suggested. “There is product you can use while your hair is damp that will give it that dirty look, too.”

Back-combing, better known as teasing, is what Robeau suggests for gaining body when trying to pull off the dirty look. Regarding product, he suggested Air Control hair spray. This product is important for the curly look, too. Also important when attempting the curly look is a proper shampoo and conditioner.

“Make sure to use a shampoo that is going to help you hold your curls,” he said. “Read the back of your bottles, or ask your stylist what the best kind is.”

Color is another important ingredient when adding spice to your hair. But again, what do you do if you can’t rock out punk-pink hair?

“Peek-a-boo highlights are a great way to add crazy color to your hair, but still be able to conceal it during the day,” Robeau suggested. “A strip of color on your bands is the best way to add color, but still keep it hidden.”

With color, Robeau said darker colors are in, and you should avoid chunky blonde highlights.

“Do not do stripper chunks,” Robeau said with a laugh. “Stripper chunks are large chunks of highlights, and they just make you look like a stripper. What you want to do is have subtle highlights in small strips throughout your hair.”

By now you should have some ideas on how to pull off a rocker hairstyle, no matter your position in life. Whatever direction you choose to take your hair, Robeau gave one bit of advice that holds more weight than any of his suggestions.

“What’s most important is to wear your hair with confidence,” he said. “If you wear your hair with confidence, you’re going to look good no mater what you do to your hair.”

For more information about Rhinosaur, visit their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/rhinosaurrumrum.

Send your comments to editor@tigerweekly.com

Originally Published: Issue 599 - March 5, 2008

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