Rose Polenzani plays at SchubaÂ's Sept. 18, the release of her new album on Indigo Girl Amy RayÂ's Daemon Records label.
After covering a broad range of subjects ( her family, her musical influences, her love life ) in an interview with singer/songwriter Rose Polenzani last year, we were now free, in this interview, to get to the real heart of the matter. We were free to talk about her impending departure from the Chicago area ( sheÂ's moving to Santa Barbara, Calif. ) , the release of her new album Anybody ( Daemon Records ) , and what the past year ( which included gigs at the Lilith Fair and the Newport Folk Festival ) was like for this extremely important and unique new voice in the music.
Gregg Shapiro: When we spoke last summer, you were about to embark on a summer concert tour that included dates at Lilith Fair and the Suffragette Sessions. What was last summer like for you?
Rose Polenzani: It was wild. I feel like IÂ'm on a different kind of astral plane ( laughs ) . The time line, right when I was about to leave, was Lilith Fair first, then Joan Baez, then Newport Folk Festival, then two months later was Suffragette Sessions. That week really blew mind. I had some amazing experiences. The Lilith Fair was more like a voyeuristic experience, for me, just because I was dumbstruck, watching things. For instance, at the press conference, I didnÂ't expect to get asked any questions. So, every time I would be in a mode of action, answering a question, or at the finale, when everyone was onstage singing that song, I was totally out of it. I felt like a deer in headlights ( laughs ) . ... It was like automated. I just kept moving. ... ( Lilith ) was like total shock. Then Joan Baez and Newport were much easier to take and I could be much more present for them. The Joan Baez dates were considerably smaller, but they were in these beautiful New England theaters.
GS: Did you get to talk to her?
RP: At the first one, I didnÂ't get to meet her. I met her after the second show. I remember them ushering me into her room. I felt like she was the one making an entrance because sheÂ's like regal and beautiful. She opened her arms ( and said ) , "Rose." I donÂ't even remember what I said to her. She said something that blew my mind, and I canÂ't recall it verbatim, because I was blown away, but she said something like, "ItÂ's so good for my audience to hear what youÂ're doing. ItÂ's like sex for them." I grew up listening to Joan Baez thinking that she was as pristine as her voice ( laughs ) . I was totally wrong about her. You forget that she hung out with Bob Dylan for a reason. And then Newport was really fun. ItÂ's in an old fort in Rhode Island on a beach. ItÂ's literally the ruins of a square stone fortress. I took a walk through it and you can go through these ruined rooms and this gorgeous stone-work. In front of the fortress is the big stage. To the side is a smaller stage. There were 10,000 people and they were all wearing bathing suits and eating food. ... Singing in front of that crowd was amazing, especially because they were a folk crowd, so they would just listen to anything. Amy ( Ray of the Indigo Girls ) introduced me in this fabulous way that the crowd was so welcoming. It felt like they were there for me, even though IÂ'd swear 95 percent of them had never heard of me before.
GS: You mentioned Amy. Was the connection with Suffragette Sessions and her record label, Daemon, made at Newport?
RP: The connection was made afterwards. She was like, "Oh, you live in Chicago, and weÂ're coming there." I think it probably helped her put those two ideas together, having me play on the same stage as them.
GS: Of the three tours we just talked about, is there one that you would rank higher than the others?
RP: Yes. Suffragette Sessions. I swear, it totally ripped apart any fears that IÂ've ever had about being a woman musician. It was so powerful. It was cool for me to ... I mean, Kate Schellenbach, for instance ... sheÂ's a hip, cool woman, and I was in awe of her. I just remember thinking it was the coolest thing that IÂ'm experiencing this awe for a woman musician up close, and it made me feel my options, as a musician were just enormous.
GS: ItÂ's interesting you referred to Kate as a musician, as if you arenÂ't also a musician. At that point, you are among your contemporaries. If you find yourself performing on the same stage as these people, youÂ've gone to the next level.
RP: Thank you.
GS: Last summer, you were also preparing for the release of your full-length CD debut Dragersville.
RP: ThatÂ's right. Actually, it was released the week that I was doing Lilith Fair. I think I wanted for a long time, to not admit that it was like a real album. IÂ'm just starting feel like itÂ's a collection, itÂ's some kind of album, even if itÂ's not something I would consider a great piece of work. I think it was interesting to watch how it was selling. It sold pretty well. WeÂ've already sold out of that 2,000 run, but at the same time you think about things like marketing. You wonder how the packaging worked. When I put it out, I sequenced it totally randomly, and then when I put this new album ( Anybody ) , I very purposely sequenced it. I think that the difference between those two things is a major leap. The first album was interesting, although I still donÂ't feel like itÂ's not a real album.
GS: Anybody features material culled from a variety of sources. How did you go about assembling the songs and how was it different from what you did with Dragersville?
RP: One of the differences is that I did it with somebody. The songs ( on Anybody ) were compiled by Amy Ray and I. She came up with a list of her 10 favorite songs and I took nine of those and transferred one and added a hidden track. That was helpful because IÂ'd already put out something like that. To put out another compilation, I wanted some direction. When I did the order, I think it turned out to be a much more honest span of the things I do than Dragersville was, even though thereÂ's stuff from before Dragersville on this album. ThereÂ's "Look No Hands," which was done in 1995, when I was still in college.
GS: What was involved in your decision to sign to Daemon Records?
RP: For me, it wasnÂ't a big issue because I never really wanted to be totally independent. I have a good mind for business, but IÂ'm the kind of person who works really hard one day a week and then IÂ'm burnt out for the rest of the week. So, I think that I knew in the beginning that I wasnÂ't going to be able to put out that kind of effort and I wanted to move to the next level. However, and I have nothing against major labels but, I donÂ't think the climateÂ's right.
GS: Especially not in the aftermath of the music industry shake-up at the beginning of this year.
RP: I was talking to Mercury last year, and they had this really sweet A&R guy named Jim Fouratt ...
GS: Beauty Records.
RP: Yes! You know him ( laughs ) .
GS: They were supposed to put out David ClementÂ's record.
RP: Yes! Yes!
GS: You both went to the same high school ( New Trier High School in Wilmette ) . As did Liz Phair.
RP: We didnÂ't know each other then, but we met through Jim and weÂ're totally buddies. David is fabulous. Jim tried to sign me to Beauty last year, and I was like, "Man, I would love to work with you Jim. I think youÂ're great. But, I donÂ't see why youÂ'd want me to sign when you know that youÂ're company is being taken over." ... Beauty Records was his baby, and now itÂ's gone.
GS: Will any of your songs be turning up in movies or on television?
RP: I showcased through ASCAP at the Sundance Film Festival, and someone told me that they place music on things like DawsonÂ's Creek and Party Of Five, but I lost his business card. I donÂ't watch those things, but from what IÂ've seen, everybody whoÂ's made it on those have been one-hit wonders.
GS: Where do you see yourself in a musical world over-run by "Backstreet" boys and girls?
RP: ( Laughs ) I did like En Vogue, when they were around. I donÂ't really participate in that world and I donÂ't want to say anything terrible about anybody elseÂ's music, but I have noticed that their lyrics arenÂ't very interesting and I donÂ't think theyÂ're helpful in the world. ... I also think that the songwriter world, especially the independent songwriter world, at this point is so independent from that industry machine and from the machine of how to be more sexual and attractive and enticing and seductive. I see that over and over. The funny thing about having so many bands and one-hit wonders out there, is that you can actually watch them on MTV imitating each other and living out the fantasy that they wanted of being that seductive. It holds no interest for me because I donÂ't see anybodyÂ's real soul coming out of that music.
