And he wears it well: Rock-star style goes on sale

By Carol Beggy & Mark Sanahan, Globe Staff  |  August 9, 2007

Even if he weren't instantly recognizable, Joey Kramer would have been hard to miss at the opening of the new Hard Rock Cafe Boston. The Aerosmith drummer showed up in a sleeveless leopard-print shirt, jeans, and a pair of bright red shoes -- or were they sneakers? -- with dangling silver buckles. "You like them?" he asked, relaxing in the club's VIP lounge. "I bought them in Russia." Kramer's style is on sale now at Technical, a Newbury Street store he's just opened with John Nichols. Located between Exeter and Fairfield streets, the shop's stocked with a wide -- and weird -- range of streetwear, from hats and hoodies to sneakers and skateboard accessories. (Nichols, a friend of Kramer's son Jesse, opened the first Technical in Norwell a few years ago.) "It's clean, crisp, artist-inspired stuff," said Kramer. Not merely an investor, the drummer, who lives in Marshfield, said he'll occasionally be in the store. But of course, Kramer's keeping his day job. He said Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and the rest of the band begin working on a new record in October, recording it in their South Shore studio. "We've never sounded better," Kramer said. "It's a little spooky, actually."

How do you succeed in the movie business? If you're the Mass. Film Office, you schmooze. State film czar Nick Paleologos and his henchmen wined and dined two dozen moviemakers during a visit to LA this week. The film folks rented two suites at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, and made their pitch that Massachusetts would be a great Hollywood back lot. "It was extremely successful, couldn't have been better," said Rich Krezwick of the Massachusetts Sports & Entertainment Commission. The mission, which had been planned since May, was the first since the passage of a tax-incentive law aimed at attracting film and TV projects to the state. Krezwick wouldn't say what the trip cost, but it wasn't cheap. The movie execs were all picked up in Town Cars and driven two hours to the Red Sox/Angels game. . . . Meanwhile, "Bachelor No. 2" is about to start shooting in Boston and word is Alec Baldwin has joined a cast that already includes Kate Hudson and Arlington's own Dane Cook.

Believe it or not, none of Robert B. Parker's books have made it to the big screen. There have been 17 television movies and two series, but no feature-length films. Until now. It's looking likelier than ever that the Cambridge writer's Western, "Appaloosa," will begin shooting this fall with a couple of A-list actors and Ed Harris directing. "Harris is an unusual guy," Parker told us this week. "I've been messing around in the film business since 1982, and he's the first guy I've met who's done everything he said he'd do." "Appaloosa" centers on two Old West lawmen -- Harris and Viggo Mortensen -- and an attractive widow played by Renee Zellweger. (Diane Lane was originally cast as Ms. French, but the actress had a conflict.) Harris isn't only acting and directing, he also co-wrote the script, which Parker likes quite a bit. "It's splendid," he said. "I would not have made a change." Parker said his involvement in the picture has been limited: He and his wife, Joan, had dinner with Harris when the actor was here shooting "Gone, Baby, Gone," and Parker's son, Dan, may have a role in the film. "The process is the process," he said. "People ask why I sell the rights to Hollywood, and I say, 'For the money.' What other reasons are there?"

Proving once more that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Joe Perry's sons, Tony and Adrian, are hitting the road with their rock band. The Tab -- Tony on guitar, Adrian on bass and vocals, and Ben Tileston on drums -- is making its LA debut. The power trio, who recently opened for J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr., plays the Echo tonight and the Troubadour Tuesday.

It was like old times the other day when Peter Palandjian played in the USTA National Father-Daughter Tennis Championships at Longwood. Thanks largely to his 16-year-old daughter, Manon, the developer, who used to play tennis professionally, finished 5th overall.

Already on tap to perform Sept. 8 at the Regattabar, singer-actress Betty Buckley is now planning to arrive a day early to lead a seminar for the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. The Tony Award winner is perhaps best known for singing "Memory" in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats," but to readers of a certain age, she'll always be the stepmom from "Eight is Enough."

In advance of Sunday's Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire International Speedway, NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon stopped by F1 Boston in Braintree yesterday. Ever the competitor, Gordon got behind the wheel of one of the karts and raced members of the media. Guess who won?

'I enjoy shopping, but I hate trying on clothes.' Beyoncé, the new star of the Emporio Armani Diamonds fragrance ad campaign.

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