Joan Wasser (a.k.a. Joan As Police Woman) is ready to handcuff your ears with her unique soulful sound. Her history alone makes her worth listening to. Working with such creative artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Scissor Sisters and Antony and the Johnsons in the past has brought her much-deserved attention. Her new album, The Deep Field, dropped earlier in the month with Joan playing at Schubas April 24.
Windy City Times: Hello, Joan. So let's go over your history. You were born in Maine?
Joan Wasser: Yes I was, but only spent about three weeks there. I grew up about an hour north of New York City, in a town called Norwalk, Conn.
Windy City Times: You studied music early on?
Joan Wasser: They offered violin in third grade. You could rent one for $10 a year because it was public school, hooray! I liked it and kept doing it even when I was an early teenager and got into punk rock. I had a short platinum mohawk. I would go see a lot of heavy-metal bands. I went to college to study it classically. It was there that I began joining bands and touring, much to my parent's dismay I took time off from college. I was with a band for many years called the Dambuilders. We were from Boston. This was the early '90s, where the major labels were picking up all the arty rock bands. We released a bunch of records on Elektra.
Windy City Times: Elektra was huge back in the day.
Joan Wasser: They were fantastic. They were so supportive in a thriving music industry at that point. When that band broke up I began to play the guitar. I realized there was no way to write songs on the violin. Singing was something that made me very uncomfortable. I was insecure and it was way too revealing. I joined to members of Jeff Buckley's band. He passed away in 1997 and he was my boyfriend. To gain solace from each other we made a band together. It was the first time that I was writing music and singing.
Windy City Times: That must have been difficult.
Joan Wasser: It had its joy and its horror. It was a great learning experience. In the meantime I joined Antony and the Johnsons' band. That was a real sense of warmth and comfort for me. I began to breathe again. I played solo for a while; then I asked Ben Perowsky, who is a drummer from New York City, to play with me as a duo. I made an EP and then Rufus Wainwright asked me to join his band, tour with him and open the shows. I jumped at that opportunity.
Windy City Times: Of course!
Joan Wasser: It was awesome. Then I made my first record Real Life in 2006. Since then I have been exclusively doing my own projects. I have been touring nonstop. I made a second record called to Survive and then a covers record. Here I am, I have released this third album. This one went immediately well for me in the UK so I spent a lot of time there up until now. That is the not-so-short story…
Windy City Times: [Laughs] How did you start calling yourself a Police Woman?
Joan Wasser: I had been playing shows at the beginning. Because I had only been known as a violin player people thought I was only doing solo violin shows. I wanted a name that represented the music that I composed and sang. One day I was wearing a ridiculous polyester pantsuit and my friend Ruben said, "Joan, you are channeling Angie from Police Woman!"
Windy City Times: The cop show from the '70s?
Joan Wasser: Yes, with Angie Dickenson. A lot of people don't remember that show.
Windy City Times: Well, I do. She is still alive somewhere.
Joan Wasser: Oh, she sure is!
Windy City Times: I bet she still looks good.
Joan Wasser: I bet she does. She is a badass.
Windy City Times: When did you live with Del from Scissor Sisters?
Joan Wasser: I lived in the same apartment from 1995 to 2009. There were a lot of people in and out of that house but somewhere before the Scissor Sisters he moved in to my place. In that time he did a lot of practicing the guitar, joined the Scissor Sisters and then went on from there. He's a fabulous man.
Windy City Times: He did some interesting solo stuff last time I talked to him.
Joan Wasser: Yeah, I played on that one. It was great.
Windy City Times: You are a very New York artist.
Joan Wasser: I live in New York. It is place to be, no offense to Chicago; it is awesome there, too. For me, New York is my place. I grew up near here. It is the magnet for me.
Windy City Times: I read that Stevie Wonder is your favorite.
Joan Wasser: He is one of them. He is like a god.
Windy City Times: Is he still touring?
Joan Wasser: He played within the last year in Europe.
Windy City Times: Have you played at Schubas before?
Joan Wasser: I have many times with other bands and this band. I am looking forward to it.
Don't miss the police raid at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, on Sunday, April 24. Speed over to www.joanaspolicewoman.com for more of Joan As Police Woman.
