Aug. 7, 2002
	Windy City Radio Stage 2002
All publications Front Page Nightspots Blacklines En La Vida Out! Resource Guide Current WCT Issue	By Gregg Shapiro   It's hard not to boast or feel a sense of pride in looking at the line-up of performers for the Windy City Radio Stage (Belmont & Halsted) at the 2002 Northalsted Market Days street festival, but I'll try. Over the past few years, I have worked closely with Julie Mosier to ensure that music lovers have something special to listen to while they eat corn on a stick, hook up with friends, eat spiced nuts, buy T-shirts, drink beer, buy sunglasses, enter drawings to win things, buy artwork, and, of course, cruise heavily.
	This year's line-up is no exception. Of the almost two dozen acts scheduled to perform on the Windy City Radio Stage, at least half of them are based in Chicago. A few of them are making their return to the stage, at Belmont and Halsted. The remaining artists are coming to perform at Northalsted Market Days from all across the country, as well as from the U.K. Saturday's performance schedule begins at noon with a performance by Jen Porter. This amazing vocalist sings regularly at both Gentry and Girlbar. Jen just recently played the very large Girl Scout Convention in Washington, D.C., where she shared the bill with Michelle Shocked, among others. Openly gay singer/songwriter Moses Valdez is on stage at 12:40. Moses made his festival debut to great acclaim at the Edgewater Days street fair in 2001. Since then he has become a regular performer at Scott Free's queer music series Grinder, and also played at the 2nd annual Queer Is Folk Festival in June of 2002. The female energy returns with Stewed Tomatoes at 1:20 p.m. This hard-rocking lesbian trio consistently places high on the MP3.com Web site. Stewed Tomatoes was also nominated for a GLAMA (Gay and Lesbian American Music Award) a few years ago. Openly gay singer/songwriter and Chicago resident, Dylan Rice, a frequent performer at Scott Free's queer music series Grinder, takes the stage at 2:10 p.m. Chuck Panozzo (of Styx fame) has touted Rice as a major up and coming artist in an article written by Panozzo for national gay and lesbian magazine The Advocate. Rice is often compared to Chris Isaak for his similar vocals and sexy stage moves. Chicago-native Ellen Rosner, who has received airplay on legendary Chicago radio station WXRT, performs at 2:50 p.m. Like Stewed Tomatoes, Rosner was also a GLAMA nominee, for her album The Perfect Malcontent. Rosner, who released her second album Count To Three, has had the honor of opening for Joan Armatrading at House of Blues, Peter Himmelman at Park West and Nelly Furtado at Schuba's. New Yorker Rachael Sage is the first of the out-of-town performers to play the Windy City Radio Stage, at 3:20 p.m I had the pleasure of attending Rachael's early summer gig at Uncommon Ground, and having done so, I can understand why she has been honored as the Grand Prize Winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Competition in 2001, was a finalist in the Coca Cola New Music Awards in 2001, and a Top 5 Indie Solo Artists of 2001 on Femmusic.com. Sage was featured on MTV's Rock the Vote Campaign in 1996, has toured with Ani DiFranco, performed at Lilith Fair, and won the prestigious ASCAP Pop Songwriting Contest twice. Performing with her full band at 4 p.m., Patty Elvis is consistently one of the largest draws every year at Northalsted Market Days. She has performed all over the world as "The King" and we are thrilled to have her gracing our stage once again. Performing at 5:20 p.m. is Lisa Sanders, who comes to Northalsted Market Days from San Diego via Philadelphia. Sanders is a true rock performer with a whole lot of attitude, who played Lilith Fair in 1999. A recipient of a multitude of honors, Sanders won Best Acoustic Performer two years at the San Diego Music Awards and was named Best Acoustic Performer by the San Diego Reader. Sanders has teamed up with Bernie Taupin (Elton John's one-time songwriting partner) to write songs and has played with B. B. King, Sophie B. Hawkins, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Stevie Nicks and Sting. Los Angeles-based Sean Wiggins hits the stage at 6 p.m. Wiggins's music has been featured on MTV's Undressed series, and she had a song featured in the critically acclaimed independent film, God, Sex and Apple Pie. She has also released a couple of discs. You may not recognize her name, but once you hear Patrice Pike, starting at 7:10, you will surely recognize the Austin-resident as the former front-woman of the hard rocking Arista Records band Sister Seven. Pike has played with Dave Matthews Band, Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant and Allman Brothers, to mention a few. About Pike, Rolling Stone said, "She's Tina Turner, Bessie Smith, Janis Joplin, and Robert Plant all rolled up into a tiny but explosive package." Pike sang the National Anthem at the JFK Memorial in Dallas and for the homecoming event for Lance Armstrong after his Tour de France victory. British singer Billie Myers is probably best known for her chart-topping ballad, "Kiss the Rain," which was also remixed into a huge dance-club hit. Myers, who performs at 8:20 p.m., has played Lilith Fair, and has opened for Bob Dylan and Savage Garden. Myers, who has been compared to Joan Armatrading and Tracy Chapman, has also appeared on The Tonight Show and the Rosie O'Donnell Show. Closing out Saturday night, with a set beginning at 9:30, is Chicagoan Emilie Autumn. A classically trained violinist from age 4, this singer/songwriter recently opened for another Chicago favorite, Liquid Soul. Make sure that you finish with your Sunday brunch in enough time to make it to the Windy City Radio Stage at Belmont and Halsted to hear Boston singer Kate Schutt, who has performed her rockin' tunes around Chicago numerous times during the past year, from Girlbar to Frontrunners' Proud to Run and the High Risk Gallery. She starts at noon Sunday. Like Moses, Jennifer Marks also performed at Edgewater Days during the summer of 2001. Hailing from New York, Marks, who performs at 1 p.m., has been compared to Fiona Apple and Aimee Mann, and her music has charted No. 1 on college radio stations across the country. She is the first-place winner of the USA Songwriting Competition, as well as being the second overall grand prize winner of the above mentioned national contest. Marks was also a semi-finalist in the 2000 Independent Music Awards and won "Song of the Week" honor on Women of MP3. At 2 p.m., hometown girl Valerie James returns to the stage where all her fans have come out in droves to see her perform in the past. Currently living and writing songs in San Diego, James is a blast of dynamite on stage, where she will be singing crowd favorites and debuting new originals at this year's Market Days. Chicago-based The Locals, fronted by the irresistible Yvonne Doll, are a jam band with something extra. Their queer edge sets them apart from the competition, and you can hear them perform at 3 p.m. Recently featured in national gay magazine The Advocate, Minneapolis-based funk-rock band Iffy released their delicious disc Biota Bondo in 2001. Iffy will assist you in getting your groove on at 4 p.m. Prior to co-founding Iffy, openly gay band member Tom Merkl was a member of Nova Mob, fronted by ex-Husker Du member Grant Hart. Originally from Boston, New York-resident Edie Carey will sing for you at 5 p.m. Carey, a GLAMA-nominated folk and pop artist has played with Patty Larkin, Melissa Ferrick (you can hear her singing on Ferrick's newest album Listen Hard), Sandra Bernhard, and Sonia of Disappear Fear, among others. She performed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and was on Ed McMahon's Next Big Star TV Show, also in 2002. Among her other honors, Carey was a semi-finalist at the Independent Music Awards and played at Entertainment Weekly's Music Event, both in 2001. Whatever you do, make sure you are at the Windy City Radio Stage at 6:15 p.m. to witness Matt Zarley's Market Days debut. The openly gay performer was named by People Magazine as one of the 50 Hottest and Available Bachelors in 2002. Zarley appeared on the TV show Fame, and at age 17 was the youngest dancer ever to be cast in Cats. Other stage work includes title rolls on Broadway in Chorus Line, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Who's Tommy. Zarley has also appeared on TV in Disney's Geppetto with Drew Carey, Cinderella with Whitney Houston, Annie with Kathy Bates as well as on the Tonight Show, Rosie and the Drew Carey Show. Zarley has sung with Reba McEntire, Robin S., Sheena Easton, Brandy, Vanessa Williams, and Usher, and is currently performing in Las Vegas with Chaka Kahn in Signed, Sealed and Delivered, which features the music of Stevie Wonder. At 7:10 p.m., the vocal group Live From New York will perform. Comprised of singers and songwriters Andrew Kerr, Anne Heaton and Teddy Goldstein, their set promises to be memorable. Currently residing in Chicago, Andrew Kerr did a 2002 summer tour with Dar Williams, Melissa Ferrick and Shawn Colvin. He is a 2001 winner of USA Songwriting Competition and five-time best performer winner of the Northern California Songwriters Association. Kerr was also a semi-finalist for Survivor Africa 2001. Many Chicagoans will recognize Anne Heaton's name, as she once lived and performed in Chicago. Now living in New York, Heaton has shared the stage with Melissa Ferrick, Jonatha Brooke and many others. A finalist in the Lilith Fair On-Line Competition, Heaton has been called a female Ray Charles, and has also been compared to Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan. Also living in New York, Teddy Goldstein has played with Catie Curtis, Marshall Crenshaw and Willie Porter. Goldstein recently got one of his songs in a kids movie called, Hershel Hopper which stars Jason Priestly. A finalist in the National Troubadour Songwriting competition for 2000 and 2001, Goldstein was selected as one of 12 finalists to perform in The Telluride (Colorado) Bluegrass Festival. Openly gay, Jeff Award-winning composer John Kamys debuted his hot new punk band Super 8 Cum Shot at a Windy City Radio showcase at Nevin's Live earlier this year, and the response was, well, orgasmic. Returning to Chicago after a couple of months on the road, Super 8 Cum Shot's 8:15 performance will more than likely rock your world. Chicago's very own Mabel Mabel returns to the Belmont and Halsted stage at Northalsted Market Days to close out the weekend for the second year in a row, performing at 9 p.m Winners of a Rolling Stone and Jim Beam Band of the Week honor in 2001, this seven-piece band, with its two compelling female leads (including Katrina Lenk, the lower left photo on this week's cover), is the perfect ending to a very exciting weekend. ... Contributing: Julie Mosier, Kathleen Ulm     By Gregg Shapiro   After making a smashing impression on Chicago street festival-goers in 2001, as a performer at Edgewater Days, Edie Carey is coming back to town to perform on the Windy City Radio Stage (Belmont and Halsted) Aug. 11, as part of Northalsted Market Days. If you like what you hear, Live From New York, the vocal group with which Carey performs (also performing on the Windy City Radio Stage Aug. 11) will be returning to Chicago in February of 2003 to perform at Schuba's. Gregg Shapiro: For those who are unfamiliar with you, let's begin with a little bit of personal history. Edie Carey: I grew up in Boston. I went to college in New York City, starting in '92. I've always been interested in music, but that's kind of where I got my main interest. I used to go to a venue on campus (at Columbia) called Postcrypt, and I saw Ani DiFranco and Ellis Paul and Dar Williams, and I was like, "Oh, my God! I want to do that." That's what got me started, or at least interested, and then I started writing songs my sophomore year in college. I wrote (songs) and attempted to perform towards the end of my college career and then started playing out slowly after college, and kept going ever since. GS: It's interesting that you are from Boston, where there is such a fertile live music scene, that you had to go all the way to New York to become a singer and songwriter. EC: (laughs) I know! People say that all the time. It seems like when you are from somewhere, all you want to do is get away from there when you're 18 years old. I had no idea about the music scene at all when I was in high school. I lived in the suburbs and didn't have my (driver's) license until after everybody else did. By the time I got my license, it was time for me to go live in New York and ride subways. I was completely clueless about what there was in the Boston music scene, which makes me sad. I wish I had known a lot earlier because I would have been hanging out in Harvard Square, listening to people play on the street and going to Club Passim, but I had just had no idea. Sometimes you have to leave to rediscover your own city. I love Boston. My father and my family are still there. I do play there all the time. I do consider myself from both places, even though my apartment is officially here (in NYC). I don't know how much you have to live in an apartment to actually feel like you live somewhere (laughs). These days I'm only here two or three days a month. It's a great music scene up there (in Boston). It's really nice down here, too. You have a lot more freedom to experiment musically. Boston is such a small scene, everybody knows everybody else. I like the anonymity of New York. There are little pockets of different scenes where you don't have to know absolutely everybody, which is nice. You can try new things out, and still feel safe doing so. GS: The Falling Places, your debut album, was a folk-oriented disc, while the follow-up, Call Me Home, had more of a pop vibe. You are scheduled to begin recording a new disc in September, and I was wondering in which musical direction that disc will take you. EC: That's a good question. I'm using a producer who I've never worked with before. I think every producer brings a different vibe. My first producer, on The Falling Place, was my drummer Chris Benelli who came from a folkier singer/songwriter vibe, whereas Tom Cangemi, my second producer, is now writing songs for Mandy Moore and Britney Spears. Faced with a producer like that, I tended to be much more folky, so we'd meet in the middle. Evan Brubaker, a singer/songwriter turned producer from Seattle, is producing the next record. He's a really neat mix of the singer/songwriter tradition, but also loves a good pop song. That's where I come from, so I think we might find a little more a middle ground. Maybe some songs not quite as big, but a cleaner more organic sound with some good hooks and a nice medium in there. It's hard to tell until you get into the studio. I just went to Salt Lake City and worked on some stuff with him and I think it's going to be a new and interesting different sound, so I'm excited. GS: So are we. You had a wonderful assortment of guest musicians on Call Me Home, including Cliff Eberhardt, Trina Hamlin, T-Bone Wolk and Shawn Pelton. Are you planning to have guest artists on your disc from Seattle, where there is also an active music scene? EC: Yes, I think so. Two of my favorite songwriters in the world are Holly Figueroa, who started the Indiegrrl organization, and her friend Kym Tuvim, I think I'll definitely have them both be on the record if they are willing to come in and sit in. Kim is a really great pianist, and I'd like to have a lot more piano and strings on this record. There are so many good songwriters out there. Also, Jonathan Kingham, whose an incredible writer. Evan knows a host of people, so I'll probably discover a lot of new people that I don't even know are out there. I've toured out there a fair amount, by myself or with friends from the East Coast, so I'm psyched to mine the area and see what's lying in between the cracks out there. I think there's a lot of good stuff to find. GS: I read on your Web site that you are also preparing to release a live album. EC: We don't have an exact release date. We just sent it in to be duplicated. It's a little love letter to my fans who have been so supportive (of me), over the past couple of years doing this weird job. People who listen to this kind of music either love records that are produced and have lots of instrumentation on them or they love albums that are just vocal and guitar, and that's why they love live music. I wanted to do something like that without sitting in the studio by myself with my guitar. I thought it would be a lot more exciting if there was the implied energy of an audience in the background. We aren't doing a huge release for it. My guess is that it will be available by the end of August. Hopefully, it will hold people over, not that they're chomping at the bit or anything, but I haven't put out a record in two years and I was really excited to put something out that was different from what I'd been doing. GS: Where was it recorded? EC: It was recorded in eight or nine different venues in New England. A couple are from Club Passim (Cambridge, Mass.) and the Iron Horse (Northampton, Mass.). One is from the Burlington (Vt.) Coffeehouse and Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. Really random spots where we happened to capture good moments. We even put some of my stupid banter in there because it wouldn't be a live show without me having verbal diarrhea. GS: I'm glad that you mentioned your stage patter. You are almost as renowned for the humor in your live sets as you are for your wonderful singing and songwriting. EC: I think it's incredibly important (to have the humor). I think when I first started talking to my audiences, it was a way to calm myself down on stage, when I was nervous when I was first doing it. I've been singing in front of people since I was pretty small, but there was always a safety net, like a band behind me or people singing with me. Then, to all of a sudden be up there playing my guitar … I was literally afraid that I wouldn't remember how to play certain chords. Because I started playing (guitar) so late, I didn't feel like a guitar player. When I started playing out, it had only been about two and a half years since I picked up the guitar. I was so nervous and I think I started talking (during the set) because I felt that if I could make them (the audience) laugh and put them at ease, then maybe I could turn around and pretend that I'm actually at ease when I was really freaking out. It became something that I did on a regular basis. I'm sure that there are people who are like, "Shut up and play a song." It's kind of what seems to work. There are so many reasons why I love this kind of work, but I think that the main reason is that when you go to see a singer/ songwriter, there's not a big façade. You get not only the stories from the songs, but you also get the stupid little anecdotes that make them human beings. GS: I think people appreciate that connection. EC: I think there are some shows where I think, "Oh God, I talked too much." So then I won't talk that much at the next show. People are like, "What's wrong with you? We came to hear you talk. We don't want to hear your songs." It's definitely an important part of the show for me. Also, I love being able to connect with people. That's why I love this job. It means so much when people are yelling things out or responding to some story or joke. I think that's a special way to make people want to come back. Yes, they're coming to hear the songs, but the songs don't change that much. If you make the show different every time, then they'll come to hear new stories or new things that are going on. GS: It doesn't feel scripted. EC: Yeah, yeah. If I'm on my way to a show, and I'm like, "Oh, I've got to tell this story," and I try to tell it, it's never funny and it never comes across. If I try to plan it in any way, it comes out sounding totally wrong. I just try to be as natural as possible, which can mean embarrassing moments, but they're worth it, I think. GS: You provide background vocals on the songs "Fighting Chance" and "Selfish Side" on Melissa Ferrick's latest album Listen Hard. How did you come to work with her? EC: About two years ago, she was testing out the CD Baby (Web) site, to see how well it worked and how fast their service was, because she wanted to potentially put her records for sale up there. She typed in something like, "sounds like Patty Griffin," and I came up. She bought my CD and Sam Shaber's CD. I saw that she bought my record...CD Baby lets you know. I was like, "Why did Melissa Ferrick buy my CD?" Normally, I e-mail a thank you to people, but I was on tour and didn't have a chance to. She called me about a month later and said, "This is Melissa Ferrick. I don't know if you're familiar with my work, you're probably not. I bought your CD and I really like it, and maybe you want to come play some shows with me." I was like, "Oh, my God." Freaking out. I didn't know her music that well. I'd seen her live a couple of times. I really admired and what she had done. She seemed like such a cool person. We became good friends through that and then I started singing back-up with her when she was on tour if I was nearby. We started doing shows together and have become really good friends. It was so random, the way that we met, but I guess some things happen for a reason. She's been so supportive and awesome. Her fans are pretty extraordinary and I feel lucky that any of them come to see me (laughs), because they are so loyal. GS: Speaking of performing, you performed in Chicago last summer at Edgewater Days...was that your first time performing in Chicago? EC: I had probably done two or three shows at Uncommon Ground. Chicago has been a really nice city. Some cities, you go and plant seeds and you come back and the same 15 people come to see you. You never know who's going to show up. Chicago's been really amazing in that people keep coming back and multiplying. It seems to be a fertile ground for music. Now, I'm so psyched to come back and do more. GS: There are poet references in your work...your song "Accidental Poet," your music publishing company is "Accidental Poet Productions" and there are "Be a poet" T-shirts available on your Web site. EC: (laughs) It's really funny, because I so don't consider myself a poet. In fact, "Accidental Poet" was written about somebody else who is poetic, not me. People ask, "Are you the Accidental Poet?" I say, "No, I'm not (laughs). Her name's Alexa." When we were submitting names for my publishing company, it was the only one that hadn't been taken yet. I like it. I like the idea of an "accidental poet," because I think the best creative things happen when you make mistakes. Half of my favorite parts of songs that I've written, the parts that make me feel something, some weird chord change or strange word, that ignite something in me, usually happened completely by accident. Not that I'm accidentally a genius, what I mean is that I make a lot of mistakes, but sometimes those mistakes, in context, lead you to a place you'd never expect to go, creatively or otherwise. Also, "be a poet" comes from a new song called "Compromise," which is about putting yourself out there and sucking it up and not worrying about what people think. Just live your life the way you want to live it. It ties into a lot of things. It's funny because I don't know anything about poetry. My stepmom is a poet, she's amazing. I couldn't write a poem to save my life if it wasn't set to music. I like the idea of poets, I wish that I were one.
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