Fall Music Season: A Queer Street Fair

* Sleater-Kinney @ Metro (773/549-0203) 10.10 & 11

* *Tegan & Sara @ The Vic (312/559-1212 TM) 10.15 & 16

* Future Bible Heroes @ Schuba’s (773/525-2508) 11.6 (7 & 10 PM)

* Ani DiFranco @ Chicago Theater (312/559-1212 TM) : 11.16

* Mary Gauthier @ Old Town School of Folk Music (773/728-6000) 11.29

In that fuzzy gray area between Pride Month (June) and Gay & Lesbian History Month (October), queer musicians continue to pump out some of the best music of the year. Working in a variety of genres, including country, folk, punk, comedy, spoken-word, synth-pop dance, gospel and rock, queer musicians cover all the bases, and make their music accessible to everyone. With the release of the eagerly awaited fifth Aluminum Group disc Happyness just over the horizon, the following is a round up of recent and forthcoming releases by lesbian and gay artists.

Kristian Hoffman has the coolest friends. The openly gay man who is probably best known for writing the late Klaus Nomi’s early ’80s underground hit “Total Eclipse” and for being in the band The Mumps with the late Lance Loud, has released a new album of collaborations and duets titled & (Eggbert). Fifteen of the album’s 17 eclectic pop tunes feature Hoffman & a guest performer. Highlights include vocal duets with Sparks’ Russell Mael (“Devil In My Care”), Anna Waronker (“Get It Right This Time”), Abby Travis (“God, If Any, Only Knows”), Van Dyke Parks (“Revert To Type”), Maria McKee (“Tender Even Then”), Ann Magnuson (“Sex In Heaven”), Lydia Lunch (“I Can’t Remember My Dreams”), as well as queer artists such as Rufus Wainwright (the poignant Matthew Shepard ballad “Scarecrow”), El Vez (“Madison Avenue”), and The Three O’Clock’s Michael Querico (“Just In Time”).

Stephin Merritt is so productive that he is involved with a number of different bands, the most familiar of which include Magnetic Fields (whose brilliant 1999 three-disc set 69 Love Songs really did contain 69 songs), The 6ths, The Gothic Archies and, of course, Future Bible Heroes. On FBH’s amazing second full-length studio album Eternal Youth (Instinct), Claudia Gonson, who also sings in the openly gay Merritt’s Magnetic Fields, takes the lead on all the vocal tracks. Merritt’s word play (which includes the lines “I would rather rub the hair of a bear in her lair/in the opposite direction/I would rather put the make on a rattlesnake/than be losing your affection” and “I would rather be the frog speaking Tagalog/as they start the vivisection/I would rather be the dog food in front of the dog/than be losing your affection” in the song “Losing Your Affection”) makes him something of the Stephen Sondheim of his generation. His genius is also in evidence on “Doris Daythearthstoodstill,” “From Some Dying Star,” “Kiss Me Only With Your Eyes,” “The World Is A Disco Ball,” and the fierce dance beats of “I’m A Vampire” and “Smash The Beauty Machine,” as well as the instrumental interludes between the songs.

Mohawked and muscular Nick Name is a walking wet dream. With his hard, hairy pecs and tight-fitting white hip-huggers Nick Name must have groupies waiting to satisfy his every need. On his self-titled disc (www. NickName.biz) he satisfies the listener’s needs with his rough and sexy growl on hard-rocking cuts such as “I Fucked Your Boyfriend” (with the catchy chorus “He’s my bitch/he’s my whore/he’s my slut/and begs for more/just like you did/when you did it with me”), “Who’s Your Daddy?” (to which we should all answer, “you are, Mr. Name”), and “Brainwashed” (in which he gives the finger to authority figures). Name sounds like Jello Biafra’s kid brother on ” (Let’s All) Go To Hell” and gives the impression that he can stir up a crowd on “The Normals.”

Listening to Alive & Well (Hurricane Doria), the double-disc live set by Atlanta-based queer singer/songwriter Doria Roberts, I realized that I’d never gotten her until I heard her perform “live.” Her previous studio disc, Radio Doria, had left me dry and a little unclear over what the fuss was about. However, the live renditions of songs, new and old, on Alive & Well gave me a new appreciation for Roberts songwriting skills. Her stage banter is also easy and comfortable, and reinforces her connection to her audience. However, the disc has a couple of sloppy technical transitions (from track four to five, for example)…a bit of a deterrent.

Like Doria Roberts, Wendy Bucklew is a singer/songwriter who established herself in the prolific and queer Atlanta music scene. Her latest album, her fourth, is titled After You (Motion City) and is a combination of studio tracks and live recordings. The album really kicks into high gear towards the middle, where a series of songs, including “I’m In,” “Hold That Thought,” “Spoken Hand (to heart),” and “Right Between,” give the listener an idea of Bucklew’s versatility. Her rendition of Dylan’s “Buckets Of Rain,” ranks alongside Bryan Ferry’s cover of “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” as one of the most notable Dylan interpretations of the year.

With Roberts and Bucklew as examples, the queer music is alive and well and flourishing in Atlanta, Georgia. Celebrate Hope (www.firstmcc.com), by the First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta Choir and Orchestra seeks “to serve as a resource of new music for MCC Churches and other inclusive congregations.” Under the direction of Melissa Kelly, the mixed gender choir infuses the original songs by Dave M. Lambert, Minister of Worship and Celebration, with the spirit and reverence that religious choir music deserves.

Earlier this year, I received a disc by San Francisco-based gay male singer/songwriter John Ashfield. I still listen to his disc, at least once a month, and I’m pretty certain that it will find a place on my end of the year best of list for 2002. One of the things that I found especially important about the disc is the way that it expanded on the gay male musical legacy of queer acts such as Until December (from the 1980s) and Voice Farm (from the 1990s). Interestingly, it is Alan Reade’s 4 Seasons In A Day (Pop Squared) that can be traced to both previously mentioned discs in the way that it incorporates synthesizers and dance beats. I’m not impressed with most spoken-word recordings, and Reade doesn’t do anything to change my mind. However, the songs on the disc, including “Movie Star,” “Super_Human,” and “Burning,” made me wish that Reade would just shut up and sing.

Speaking of spoken word, Alix Olson gets the prize for the best Ani DiFranco impression on her CD Built Like That (Feed The Fire). However, where DiFranco’s queer message has grown cloudier over the years, especially following her marriage to a man, Olson embraces her dyke diva identity wholeheartedly. Catie Curtis’s presence on more musically oriented tracks such as “Eve’s Mouth” and “Checking My Pulse,” elevate these songs above the breathy roar of Olson’s predictable poetry slam delivery.

Bruce Springsteen isn’t the sole proprietor of post 9/11 fury and grief. Sleater-Kinney, who have long been channeling rage into rock, come out swinging on One Beat (Kill Rock Stars), the all-female trio’s sensational return to form. Combining some of their most political and gripping lyrics (“If you think like Thomas Edison/Could you invent a word for me/Now all that’s on the surface/Are bloody arms and oil fields” from the title track) with music that is both fitting and furious. “Far Away” opens with the choked up “7:30 am nurse the baby on the couch/the the phone rings/”Turn on the T.V.”/watch the world explode in flames/and don’t leave the house,” a terrifying thought indeed, especially from the perspective of new mom Carrie Brownstein. With each progressive album, the vocals on Sleater-Kinney’s discs seem to pay subconscious homage to Lene Lovich (the presence of synths and some brass helps make my case, and besides, that’s meant to be a compliment), and you can hear that on “Oh!,” “The Remainder,” “Combat Rock,” “Hollywood Ending,” and “Sympathy.”

On her sizzling third album Filth & Fire (Signature Sounds), queer insurgent country singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier joins the ranks of reigning y’alternative divas Kelly Hogan, Neko Case and Lucinda Williams as one of the great voices of that genre. Nothing short of phenomenal, Gauthier populates her songs with unforgettable characterizations (“Burnin’ Sugar Cane,” “Merry Go Round,” “Camelot Motel,” “Christmas In Paradise”) and searing personal introspection (“Walk Through The Fire,” “A Long Way To Fall,” “Good-bye,” “The Sun Fades The Color of Everything”), while the sound of her voice offers an uneasy comfort.

Looking like the poster child for bisexuality on the cover of her new CD Lover (Sweet Pickle), Ripley Caine continues her creative evolution and remains a singer/songwriter to watch. Her dramatic, yet removed, vocals are in more lush surroundings on songs such as “Hey Mister,” “Labor Day,” and “Star,” providing them with a warm humanity. “Different” and “Over The Moon” verge on being commercial breakthroughs and both songs would sound great on the radio.

It’s nearly impossible to write about queer music without a mention of cabaret. D.C. Anderson is an award-winning cabaret performer whose fifth CD, Collected (LML Music) contains 80 percent previously released material in the form of 16 songs from two out-of-print CDs. At turns theatrical and dramatic and alternately comical and campy, the 20 songs are a mix of covers and originals. Anderson has a fondness for Cheryl Wheeler and includes four of her songs. His taste in cover material also extends to Wheeler contemporaries Patty Larkin and Christine Lavin, among others. “I Leave In Doubt” and “After The Funeral,” the Anderson originals included here exhibit his gift for ballads.

Patricia Barber, an out lesbian who is breaking ground in the world of jazz vocals and piano with the release of her new Blue Note/Premonition album of all original material titled Verse, has been making a name for herself on the music scene for a few years. Whether you are only now making Barber’s acquaintance following the release of Verse or have been away of her since her late 1980s releases, you have the opportunity to experience her mastery in a new way on the recently issued Super Audio CD Original Master Recordings of 2000’s Nightclub, 1998’s Modern Cool, and 1994’s Café Blue (all from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab/Premonition)

I had one of my first same-sex crushes when I was junior high school and I saw identical twin brothers Andrew and David Williams perform on their uncle Andy Williams’s TV show. Blonde-haired and blue-eyed, they were positively Tiger Beat dreamy. I rediscovered the musical duo in the mid-1980s with the first of the three albums they would record for Warner Brothers. At around the time of the release of their third CD, 1993’s Harmony Hotel, David came out in an interview with Steve Greenberg of The Advocate. Andy & David (Varese Sarabande), the unreleased 1974 album by The Williams Brothers is a kitschy dose of 1970s nostalgia and an indication of what the pre-Justin Timberlake music industry sounded like. There are no Williams Brothers originals, but there are plenty of cover tunes, including the brothers’ interpretations of “This Diamond Ring,” “Cathy’s Clown,” and “Hello Mary Lou,” among others.

Former Chicagoan Justin Tranter defines his musical style as “drama pop,” and such a description is fitting. On Scratch (www. justintranter.com), both his vocals and piano playing sound kind of like a cross between Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds, with a touch of Tori Amos. Theatrical and dramatic, the songs are effective in conjuring a mood that suggests inner strength that comes from having outsider status. Memorable tracks include “I Won’t Stand,” “Move Across,” “Dying To Find,” “I Will Swim Till I Fall Off,” and the heartbreak of “The Best Part.”

A trio of albums by gay vocalists represents the different directions in which the queer male music scene moves. A Totally New Sensation (PLH) by Josh Zuckerman, who sings, plays guitar and violin, and writes nifty pop tunes, has a bubbly pop-rock energy that is as refreshing as a tall glass of sparkling water on ice. With its Stevie Nicks/Belladonna album cover homage and its country-tinged pop sings (the best of which include “Tangled,” “Someone In Austin,” “True Perspective,” “Be Home Soon,” “Christine,” and “Telepathy”), Austin-based Daniel Link’s Ghost Stories (LOAM) fulfills and expands on the promise of 2000’s Out Of The Silence.

On America Is Lonely Tonight (Riotboy), prolific Jeremy Gloff bring his various influences to bare on “One Inch Deep,” “Sharks,” “Weird Addictions,” “Remembering,” “The Boy Who Could Jump Thru Stars,” “Losing Farenheit,” “Feeling of Faded,” and “Blue Champagne.”

Polari (Agitprop) by Juha brings the disparate worlds of gay life and political activity, Islam and hip-hop together in a nearly seamless and altogether remarkable way. This queer quartet whips their samples, rhymes and beats into a sit-up-and-take-notice stew that the listener will want to devour, particularly on the title track, “Melt By Your Mouth,” “I Remember,” “Iko Iko (Phalastini),” “Ballad Of The Picked Bones,” and “Billy’s Egg.” Eminem and Dr. Dre better watch their homophobic poser asses when Juha are in the house.

With a live album due out in October, Ericka (pronounced “eddie-kah”) Luckett is doing what she can to make sure that we hear her. Her most recent studio album My Little Crime (Birdfish) is contemporary folk pop at its best. Whether she’s dabbling in programming (“Room 213,” “Fatherless Father”), serenading us in Spanish and English (“Besame”), relating the blues (“Can’t keep a woman”), showing off her world music roots (“Postcard From Graceland”), or demonstrating her jazz prowess (“Lunacy”), Luckett’s only crime is that she isn’t more well-known. That could change at any moment.

Speaking of live albums, So Much Shouting/So Much Laughter (Righteous Babe) is Ani DiFranco’s second double-disc live set in five years. With her sound enhanced by a brass section and woodwinds, DiFranco picks up where she left off on Living In Clip, with live versions of songs from Little Plastic Castle, To The Teeth, Up Up Up Up Up Up, and Reckoning/Revelling, as well as older material. The ever-political DiFranco addresses Sept. 11, 2001 in the explosive spoken-word piece “Self-Evident,” putting her unique spin on the tragedy, creating an argument with which it is difficult to disagree. DiFranco, who is married but still identified herself as queer while accepting an honor from the GLAMAs in the late 1990s, is the ultimate outsider trying to change things from the inside. Is she or isn’t she? Only her dredlock-tician knows for sure.

I had been hearing a lot about Heather’s Damage before I attended one of their shows during the summer of 2002. At the end of the set, I wanted to take them aside and tell them about The Butchies, Sleater-Kinney, or even Radio Vago, because I couldn’t understand how an all-female trio could be so out of touch with the current state of music by queer women. There are glimmers of hope on Her Father’s Son (Sweet Pickle), the band’s five-song EP. “Cool As Us” has the potential to become both an anthem and HD’s theme song, if they can live up to the title, and “Little Disaster Book” belies a sense of humor. However, a five-song EP only needs one song about the boredom of “desk death,” not two (the title track and “Routine Killing”).

Other queer releases of interest include Tear Me Down (www. shelleymiller. net) by Chicago’s Shelley Miller, Robin Mink’s blues-rock style on More To Love (Singing Bug Music), the furry beats of bear dance trio Reigning Men on Family Out-ing (Woobie Bear Music), Anne E. DeChant’s live album Live! An Evening With Anne E. DeChant (Funny Man Music), the blistering punk of Fagatron’s self-titled disc (Agitprop), Steff Mahan’s Nashville state of mind on her self-titled disc (Lounge Hound), the revved up and dance-floor-ready hard rock sounds of the above-mentioned Radio Vago’s self-titled disc (www. radiovago .com), and the Mid-Atlantic harmonies of CommonbonD on their new album Chasing Solace (www. commonbondweb .com), which features guest vocals by SONiA and Zoe Lewis, to name a few.

Finally, just in time for the Lesbian and Gay History Month festivities that await us in October comes the release of Classic Judy Garland…The Capitol Years: 1955-1965 (Capitol), by one of the community’s most cherished icons. Garland, who would have been 80 last June, and has been dead for 33 years, has, by my count been the focus of three separate new compilations this year alone. The other two are Judy In Love & Alone, which combined two of Ms. Garland’s late-career albums on one CD, and The Judy Garland Show: The Show That Got Away, which contained performances from her short-lived television variety show. The double-disc Classic Judy Garland boasts two previously unreleased tracks, four songs making their appearance on CD for the first time, and more than 30 other songs, including Garland’s rendition of “Purple People Eater.” Purchase of the collection can probably be applied to the renewal of your membership in gay society.