One of the hardest working women on the Chicago music scene ( or any music scene, for that matter ) , you will find the name Sally Timms all over the marquees of live music venues citywide. Whether she's performing on her own or making a guest appearance in any number of bands, Sally Timms is an incomparable artist, whose distinctive and dry wit is as much a part of the performance as her way with a song. On Aug. 18, Timms brings her distinctive song style to the Empty Bottle ( 1035 N. Western ) , where she will share the bill with Janet Bean and others as part of Ladyfest Midwest 2001.
Gregg Shapiro: Tell me about you came to be involved with Ladyfest Midwest.
Sally Timms: They just asked me and I said yes. Initially, it didn't seem to be anything different from a normal show. I had heard about Ladyfest in Olympia ( Washington ) , but I wasn't that familiar with how they operate.
GS: What do you think is the most important thing about an event such as Ladyfest?
ST: Well, I haven't really thought about it, but if I had to say something, it would be, thank God it's a kind of antidote to Lilith Fair. It seems to be a little more real. I like the fact that it's multimedia...that's quite interesting. It's very mixed...I like that, too. It's citywide...that's kind of nice. It'll be interesting to see who comes along to the shows. The fact that it's a festival and not in a huge field is nice too. All those things. It's kind of civilized, as it should be since it's called Ladyfest.
Sally Timms ( left ) and Rose Polenzani.
GS: What are you most looking forward to about your performance with Janet Bean and other artists at the Empty Bottle?
ST: As far as Janet Bean is concerned...not much...because we've played with each other so much that there's nothing new. We're not going to be ( laughs ) exposing sides of ourselves that we don't know about each other already. Janet and I know each other pretty well. It'll be nice to see Janet play on her own. I have never seen her do that. I'm interested in seeing the LeTigre show. I'm kind of interested in Kathleen Hannah. She seems like a little firecracker. That's somebody I've not really ever paid much attention to, because I come from a different scene. Suddenly, I've become interested in that whole area of feminist music that seems pretty good. As opposed to bad feminist music, of which there has been plenty.
GS: Speaking of good feminist music, on your album Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments, you did a cover of the song "Rock Me To Sleep," which was co-written by Jill Sobule and Richard Barone...what was it about that song that made you want to sing it?
ST: She sent me two ( songs ) . The other one wasn't appropriate for me. Jill's an interesting character, because she's very bright and she's also kind of childlike. There's something fascinating about her. The song kind of summed that up, but it also summed up the character that I was assuming for that record. I liked the fact that it was a good ending point. Also, because it was sad. I like sad songs. It's just that simple...in the sense that it seemed like an appropriate ending to an album that was fairytale-ish and lullabye-ish. It just seemed to fit. I'm not that familiar with her other stuff. I've never seen her play live.
GS: She's an amazing live performer.
ST: Yes. I've heard she's great. I like her very much. I know her and she's a very sweet person.
GS: Are you aware of the gay following you have developed via the work you've done with The Aluminum Group and The Sixths?
ST: No, but I have been aware of a gay following anyway, prior to that, because I used to sing with Marc Almond. For some reason, I appeal to gay men. I haven't noticed it particularly among gay women. I've spent most of my life with gay men and that's where I belong ( laughs ) .
GS: Welcome to gay icon-hood.
ST: I know. That's fine. I do understand why, actually. Because I'm feisty. Gay men like women with balls. Straight men generally don't. It's a natural home for all of us who have a little more than women are supposed to have.
GS: Have you begun work on your next solo album?
ST: Kind of, but only in my head and in the collection of songs. I'm doing a follow-up album for Bloodshot and then I'm doing a record for Touch And Go which has been years in the making and probably will still be years in the making. I'm supposedly going to start on both of those in the next two months.
GS: I understand that you are also contributing a compilation album.
ST: I'm doing a song for the anti-death penalty campaign. That's for the Illinois coalition for the moratorium against the death penalty. We did a gig a while ago and Jon Langford has put this together...where a load of people are recording songs to raise money for that campaign.
GS: Will it be a new song?
ST: No. We recorded stuff we've done before. The theme is death. It's not very uplifting really, when you think about it.
GS: You are known for your work in the punk, pop and country music scenes. Are there any other musical genres in which you might like to perform?
ST: Yeah, I'm open to anything actually. I think, since I seem to be slightly behind the beat, I should go for a techno record ( laughs ) . I'm kidding. I don't know. People ask me to sing on stuff and that's the nice thing. It doesn't mean that you have to follow the direction that people normally associate you with. Which is why the Aluminum Group stuff is fun. They force me to do things I would never normally do. Other people have asked me to do stuff, too, in the kind of more dance-y world, and I wouldn't normally do that myself. I like all that, but you can't spread yourself too thin on your own stuff. It gets confusing. Most of the record-buying public don't understand that. Being able to guest on other people's albums is a really good way of getting that out of my system.
Eponymous: An
Interview with
Rose Polenzani
Rose Polenzani @ Schuba's on 8.17 ( w/Tegan & Sara and Ellen Rosner ) as part of Ladyfest.
by Gregg Shapiro
Rose Polenzani's self-titled album ( Daemon ) of new material is made that much more special because she is backed up by a full band. Her previous releases were stripped-down, homegrown efforts that introduced us to a unique voice in the female troubadour world ( her song "Olga's Birthday" remains a classic to this day ) and now we get to listen to approaching maturity. As I thought would be the case, the presence of other musicians fleshes out Polenzani's songs without weighing them down, and that is to the credit of Polenzani and co-producer David Goodrich. She is still able to soar and swoop as she has on previous albums, but this time it sounds like she is taking more chances in her maneuvers. This is especially evident on "Fell," "Whatever Remains," and "Polliwog's Lament" ( on which she sounded like Jonatha Brooke ) . Longtime fans won't be disappointed in more acoustic songs such as "The Flood," "Mary Lee," and "Sacramento Avenue" ( on which she once again visits same-sex love ) , and "Thom II."
Gregg Shapiro: How did you come to be involved in Ladyfest Midwest?
Polenzani: Summer Chance is helping to coordinate the Ladyfest. I've known her for a few years. She's a friend of mine and we keep in touch through a mutual friend, as well.
GS: You've played other musical events of this type...Lilith Fair, Suffragette Sessions and Newport Folk Festival.
RP: I think the most exciting part about those festivals is what goes on behind the scenes, for me. I think this will be a different experience for all of those, because No. 1, those were on a much grander scale. And No. 2, the venue I'm going to play is Schuba's, which I've played many, many times. It's going to feel just like any other Schuba's show, except I'm really, really psyched to finally hear Tegan & Sara. I'm glad that with Ladyfest in Chicago, it seems like the venues are small and indoors. I remember that last year, when Michael from Uncommon Ground went to Montreal for Folk Alliance, he got a bunch of local venues involved in having showcases, rather than at the hotel, which people normally do. I like the idea of there being a bunch of venues in town
GS: You have a new self-titled album on which you play with a band.
RP: It was intimidating at first. Most of the people I had met at least once at Goody's ( David Goodrich ) wedding. Goody is my accompanist and co-produced the album with me. I'd met everybody at least once, except for the engineer. They've played together for years, a very long time. They all fell in the pocket with each other. When I came in, I think I was so primed and prepared in my head. These songs, most of them that were done with the band, are really old. I've been waiting and waiting to put them out, because I've been hearing them with a band. When we started cutting tracks it felt really natural.
GS: Will you be playing at Ladyfest Midwest with a full band?
RP: I can't really play with a full band. I don't have enough money to tour with a band. All those people ( in the band ) are based in Boston.
GS: How would you rate your experience as an artist on Daemon Records?
RP: Pretty great. I don't have anything to compare it to, but I do feel super artistically supported. I feel like I have complete license to evolve whatever way I want to evolve as an artist. I can't imagine anything better than that.
GS: You are also involved in another project called Voices On The Verge, with singer/songwriters Erin McKeown, Jess Klein and Beth Amsel.
RP: It's coming out Oct. 2. It's funny, because we recorded it a year and half ago and we weren't even sure it was going to come out because so much time had gone by. I think we all were nervous that we were going to finally hear the tape of the live performances and hate it. I know that the first time I listened to the album, I hated it. The second time, I loved it, and I still love it, and that's good. It's weird, because you're listening to something that can't possibly be your style all the way through, but your name is on it. I think it creates a little worry at first, but then, if I sit back and try to listen objectively, then I can see what's going on and really appreciate it. It's cool. I think Erin ( McKeown ) said this really funny thing about it. She said it's like trying on each others' clothes. I think that's really perceptive and exactly the way it feels.
