Corey Feldman Performs in Chicago Area – Sits Down with UnRated to Discuss His Past, Present, and Future

By: Jenafur Schlangen

Everyone knows of Corey Feldman as an iconic actor. He is known for such cult-classic and blockbuster hits, The Bad News Bears, The Goonies, The Lost Boys, Stand by Me, and many others. Then, there are those who know Corey as the notorious author of his 2013 New York Times Best Seller autobiography, Coreyography, wherein he outlined the abuse he had endured throughout his childhood, at the hands of his mother, as well as those within the entertainment industry. Still, there are some who know Corey only due to his friendship with Michael Jackson, his past struggles with drugs and alcohol (with Corey Haim, i.e. reality show, The Two Coreys), or whatever else the tabloids care to report. But, on this night (November 4, 2022), all eyes were on the music stage as Corey performed with his band at The Vixen in McHenry, a western Chicago suburb, and his fans showed up in droves.

Playing songs from his latest Billboard Top 40 album, Angelic 2 the Core, including latest single Without U, which just premiered at number 26 on Billboard’s Top 40 Adult Contemporary Chart, Corey shows off his vocal talent and his showmanship, which is completely undeniable. Also, it should be noted that there were several visuals being displayed on the screen backing the stage, most showing clips from some of Feldman’s most memorable and/or notable life moments, including video with his late best friend, Corey Haim by his side (see photo below). It became apparent that Corey not only embraces his past (struggles and all), but is proud of them, as his current path is nothing but healthy and positive, in which he expressed during our one-on-one conversation after the show.

Speaking of positivity, during our discussion after Corey’s performance (see summary below), he elaborated on his mantra: Discover, Recover, and Discard and how it relates to his single, Walk, off of his first album Love Left. He says, “It is about the process of going through a bad relationships and coming out the other side of it and finding your inner strength and knowing that you have the ability to brush yourself off and stand back up and put one foot in front of the other and march on. Okay, now that we’ve uncovered it now we have to discover what is it about that that needs to be fixed. Now that we’re in it, now that we’ve found it, how do we get into it, how do we work it, how do we fix the problem and then once we’ve dealt with it properly, accordingly, then we have to let it go. Because, the thing is, people want to hold onto shit forever and when you hold onto it forever, what is that going to do except rot you inside, right? So, we have to let it go and that’s what the process is. So, the song Walk is about getting up and walking away and knowing that you have the strength to move on.”

As mentioned above, Corey sat down with UnRated after his performance to discuss this and that…and to answer a few questions that were posed via Facebook earlier that day. Below a summary of our conversation:

UnRated: Your mantra, “Discover, recover, and discard.” Can you elaborate briefly on that as a whole and how does this relate or inspire you during your song-writing and recording process?

Corey: It’s actually, “Uncover, Discover, and Discard.” I suppose if you’re doing it in a cathartic way, it does sort of work itself into your song writing because it’s about the idea and the process of uncovering feels, dealing with those feelings going through the therapy of whatever it takes to work it out, and then letting it go and, that’s all part of the process.

UnRated: Do you battle with your past persona versus your current path?

Corey: If you look at my show, I think it’s pretty clear that I welcome all levels of it. I don’t think that I’m shying away from anything. If anything, I think it’s better to hit things head on. because if you truly are in recovery and you’ve truly dealt with your issues and your emotions and all of the things that you may have done wrong in your life, then you should be at peace with it and there shouldn’t be any reason why you should shy away from it or be afraid of people bringing it to light. So, for that purpose, I feel like, no, there’s nothing I shy away from or am afraid to touch on. In fact, I think rigorous honesty is the best policy and we should always confront the things that are controversial in our lives because if we don’t then there’s just going to linger on and there just going to come back time and time again and keep rearing their ugly head so it’s better if you just go and deal with it, address it, and move on. Again, same thing, Uncover, Discover, Discard. It’s over with.

UnRated: Where are you with Marilyn Manson now and, what exactly happened there? What it out of spite or was it just in fun?

Corey: Oh god, I don’t know if I want to talk about that [laughs]. There’s really not much to say. But, no, this was not in fun. … I think it boiled down to the fact that he idolized me and he told me that he idolized me [on several occasions throughout many years]. But, I think it was more dealing with him being a satanist and an admitted satanist, which is dealing in mockery and amusing oneself in other peoples’ misery [regardless of what they say to your face].

UnRated: What do you think of Tom Hanks and was the Burbs as much fun to make as it was to watch?

Corey: I think Tom Hanks is a very very talented actor. I haven’t seen him in [quite a few] years but, yes, it was as much fun, most definitely.

UnRated: Now onto the fun stuff: Does Vern Tessio still eat cherry flavored Pez?

Corey: Heck yes, he does! [laughs profusely]

UnRated: Pizza: New York or Chicago style?

Corey: New York, all the way. [laughs uncomfortably] I like to fold it and it’s just much better pizza to me.

UnRated: Okay, last question: What time should Adrienne Jourgensen [a super-fan of Corey and a Facebook friend of my own] need to show up for the meet ‘n greet in Seattle on November 10th?

Corey: [laughs] Um, am I am not sure right now but I can say that it depends on what day of the week the 10th falls upon. But, I look forward to seeing and meeting her!

As we wrapped up our conversation, it should be noted that while I was leaving the “green room,” there were hundreds of people in line just outside the door, patiently waiting for their meet and greet with Corey. And, although they had been waiting in that line for almost an hour, I couldn’t help but notice that all of them had smiles on their faces, seemingly light-hearted and in great moods. Honestly, this was by far, the most positively energized event experience this writer/photographer has ever experienced. So, love him or hate him, you have to give Corey Feldman some kudos for living through his struggles, accepting his decisions, owning his behavior, and marching on in a positive way…and, also for having a 100% complete lack of douche-baggery when it comes to his performance, his band, his staff, and his fans. See for yourself at a show below (extended tour dates through Christmas 2022).


Corey Feldman Website: https://coreyfeldman.net/

UPCOMING TOUR DATES:

12.01.22 BUFFALO IRON WORKS BUFFALO, NY
12.02.22 THE VAULT NEW BEDFORD, MA
12.03.22 CONVENTION ZOMBIE HIDEOUT SPRINGFIELD, MA
12.04.22 ARTIE’S FRENCHTOWN, NJ
12.06.22 GREY EAGLE ASHEVILLE, NC
12.08.22 SOCIETY GARDEN MACON, GA
12.09.22 SPINNING JENNY GREER, SC
12.10.22 ROOFTOP BAR HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC
12.11.22 TBD
12.14.22 HEAVEN AT THE MASQUERADE ATLANTA, GA
12.15.22 CLUB LA DESTIN, FL
12.16.22 SPOOKALA SPECTACULAR OCALA, FL
12.17.22 SPOOKALA SPECTACULAR OCALA, FL