Woody Harrelson dabbles as rock singer

In the interests of my ego and your entertainment, I'm working on repurposing some of the entertainment journalism I did in the 1990s. Most of these articles were originally published in the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, and none are otherwise available in electronic form, as far as I know. Seems like fans might like a glance back at what their musical heroes were thinking back when.

This interview with Woody Harrelson originally ran in Nov. 21, 1991, when the actor was just starting to qualify for major movie roles and dabbled in a secondary role as a rock star.

Woody Harrelson has plenty going for him. Millions recognize him as Woody Boyd, the lovable but not-too-bright bartender on the hit television series "Cheers," while movie roles in "Wildcats" and "Doc Hollywood" have shown there's more to him than a cuddly nitwit.

But Woody Harrelson, the singer? All most of us have to go on is "Kelly, Kelly," the deliberately awful love song Har­relson wrote and sang several seasons ago on "Cheers." The tune was a laugh riot, but certainly no promise of a great rock talent lurking beneath the performer's bumpkin act.

So why should anyone get excited about seeing Harrelson and his band, billed as Manly Moondog and the Three Kool Kats, perform at Friday's Holiday Lights Celebration at the Embarcadero Center?

"I have no earthly idea," Harrelson says with a slight laugh, talking over the phone from Los Angeles during a break in the "Cheers" shooting schedule.

Harrelson says he recognizes his status as a TV star won't do much to sell him as a singer, but that doesn't bother him. The main idea behind his incarna­tion a's Manly Moondog is simply to have some fun pounding out blues and rocka­billy tunes.

"A lot of people ·have a fantasy about getting up and singing in front of people, and I'm no exception," he says. "But I don't have any dreams of being Springsteen or anything.

"I'm the first to admit that, technically, I'm not all that great. I just love performing. "

Harrelson says he was a closet rock 'n' roller all through college, but he never joined a band because his acting studies and roles in college productions took up too much time. Then, after hitting the big time with "Cheers," there were other considerations.

"I held back because I was fearful ofthe reaction to another TV star trying to sing," he says. "I didn't want that stigma, and I didn't want to be totally ripped apart by critics."

The turning point came one night last year when Harrelson was hanging out with some friends at a tavern near Southern Illinois University. "I got pulled up onstage and did "Jailhouse Rock," and it felt so great, I was determined to keep doing it."

It hasn t gotten any easier to be an actor trying to make it as a rock 'n' roller -- remember the critical beatings Bruce Willis and Don .Johnson took a few years ago when they tried to make it as soul singers? Harrelson says he just doesn't let it bother him now.

"I know of very few projects that are anything other than vanity projects," he says. "Anything in this business is driven by ego.

"But when you're onstage, it ei­ther works or it doesn't, regardless of the baggage you bring along with you. The audience isn't going to fake it just because they might like me on 'Cheers.' "

With the help of friends in the music business, Harrelson put to­gether a band comprising veteran musicians who have played with ev­eryone from U2 to Mel Torme.

Harrelson calls Manly Moon­dog's music "bluesabilly" - a com­bination of rhythm-and-blues and 1950s-style rockabilly. About 90 percent of the songs the band per­forms are Harrelson originals.

So far, the band has played 17 dates, including a one-night stand several months ago at San Francisco hot spot Slim's. The band gets better each time, the actor-singer says. "We're just learning to gel as a group."

One consistent challenge for Harrelson has been getting over a level of stage fright he never experienced as a Broadway actor.

"I think a lot of the fear comes from the unknown," he says, "and with a play, you've at least got the framework of the script.

"It's all a matter of trying to turn that nervousness into positive energy. I never really managed to do that when we played at Slim's, so I guess this (Friday's Embar­cadero date) is a chance to redeem myself."

Besides being a lot of fun, Har­relson says Manly Moondog has helped destroy the perception that Woody Harrelson and Woody Boyd are Interchangeable.

"I don't know if it's possible to do a character if there's not a lot of you in it, but I'm always aware I'm playing a character," he says. "Woody Boyd is not so much me that I'm not acting when I do 'Cheers.' "

"But it (typecasting) is really not the problem I thought it would be. I think that's because I've done movie roles that are completely different from Woody - and now I've got the band." .

Despite speculation this will be the last season of "Cheers," Har­relson says he's confident there's at least another year in the series, although he can't predict beyond that. That's pretty much about all the actor has to say aboutthe se­ries, too.

"I'd really rather talk about the band," he says. "That's the big thing for me now."