Sophie B. Hawkins said I have an "expressive face"! :-)
My friend, Cameron, forced me to meet Sophie. I'm not into meeting my idols, but I did it w/out my heart giving out! She loved how I had scribbled questions, but no answers. "How will you remember?" I told it'd come back "like a dream", but had to ask Cameron to fill me in on what I'd missed because I was focused on her. I told her I was an East Coaster, too, and had done Tori Amos in drag. She loved that I'm a cartoonist, she said she loved the idea of writing and drawing a strip, 'total control!' And being a Scorpio she loved that Cameron and I were Aquarians. I admitted I didn't dance during the concert, but sat there w/ a 'moronic smile'. She said she loved our energy and that we were like kids. (I know, I know...) :-) So, not bad for my first celebrity interview, methinks. Here's what I'm sending to the SGN:
Sophie B. Hawkins entranced Jazz Alley
By Craig Trolli with additional reporting by Cameron Rose
Sophie B. Hawkins performed April 21st at Seattle’s Jazz Alley. She brought along a drummer and a keyboardist. To say Sophie was wearing torn jeans would be an understatement; she also played barefoot. With a warm, funny presence, she joked between songs and teased the well dressed, seated audience. Lighting a corncob pipe, she did some jazz numbers, but was in a Rock n Roll mood. She played piano, guitar, banjo, finger cymbals, and strapped on a big ol’ drum that she steadied with her legs. She looked young and fit as ever, and she definitely knows how to work that beautiful mane of hair. Sophie even took off her top shirt and wrapped it around her head, writhing during “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”.
The evening was also a CD release party (they sold 50!), but Sophie played many songs from the earlier albums. She sat and played banjo for “Lose Your Way”. “As I Lay Me Down” was given new life on stage. Other songs included “California Here I Come”, “Savior Child”, “No Connection”, “Mmm My Best Friend”, “Bare the Weight of Me”, “Only Love (The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty)”, “Beautiful Girl” and “Walking on Thin Ice”.
Afterwards, she and her manager/documentarian, GiGi, were kind enough to sit for a couple questions.
*On Movies: “I love acting!” Sophie said. She’s slated to play Jessica Simpson’s mother in flashbacks in a movie to be filmed soon. She hasn’t met her fellow singer, but is sure she’s nice. She’s also slated to act in a movie about the Memphis Three. An earlier movie, Gigi explained, had been re-titled “Rip It Off” and re-cut poorly, but “Sophie’s great in it!”
*Having moved from New York to California, I wondered if the new tune “Surfer Girl” was written from experience. Sophie said she had to be honest, she hasn’t surfed yet, but is planning on trying very soon. She said she’d also written “California Here I Come” before moving there, but felt a connection.
*On being photographed by David LaChapelle: “That was great, it was my first album, he took me to his mother’s farm and just threw me into mud and water.” She mused, “he bitched at anyone (on his crew) that wanted to take a break!”
*And finally, after posing for photos (I’m happy to report her hair is soft and smells of soothing oils), I asked which of her songs she thought I should do in drag. She said, sure, I could do the young, poppy ones, but she’d rather see one of the jazzier ones, like her Nina Simone cover on the new album or “Bear the Weight of Me”. Now, to find the perfect wig!
Sophie B. Hawkins entranced Jazz Alley
By Craig Trolli with additional reporting by Cameron Rose
Sophie B. Hawkins performed April 21st at Seattle’s Jazz Alley. She brought along a drummer and a keyboardist. To say Sophie was wearing torn jeans would be an understatement; she also played barefoot. With a warm, funny presence, she joked between songs and teased the well dressed, seated audience. Lighting a corncob pipe, she did some jazz numbers, but was in a Rock n Roll mood. She played piano, guitar, banjo, finger cymbals, and strapped on a big ol’ drum that she steadied with her legs. She looked young and fit as ever, and she definitely knows how to work that beautiful mane of hair. Sophie even took off her top shirt and wrapped it around her head, writhing during “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”.
The evening was also a CD release party (they sold 50!), but Sophie played many songs from the earlier albums. She sat and played banjo for “Lose Your Way”. “As I Lay Me Down” was given new life on stage. Other songs included “California Here I Come”, “Savior Child”, “No Connection”, “Mmm My Best Friend”, “Bare the Weight of Me”, “Only Love (The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty)”, “Beautiful Girl” and “Walking on Thin Ice”.
Afterwards, she and her manager/documentarian, GiGi, were kind enough to sit for a couple questions.
*On Movies: “I love acting!” Sophie said. She’s slated to play Jessica Simpson’s mother in flashbacks in a movie to be filmed soon. She hasn’t met her fellow singer, but is sure she’s nice. She’s also slated to act in a movie about the Memphis Three. An earlier movie, Gigi explained, had been re-titled “Rip It Off” and re-cut poorly, but “Sophie’s great in it!”
*Having moved from New York to California, I wondered if the new tune “Surfer Girl” was written from experience. Sophie said she had to be honest, she hasn’t surfed yet, but is planning on trying very soon. She said she’d also written “California Here I Come” before moving there, but felt a connection.
*On being photographed by David LaChapelle: “That was great, it was my first album, he took me to his mother’s farm and just threw me into mud and water.” She mused, “he bitched at anyone (on his crew) that wanted to take a break!”
*And finally, after posing for photos (I’m happy to report her hair is soft and smells of soothing oils), I asked which of her songs she thought I should do in drag. She said, sure, I could do the young, poppy ones, but she’d rather see one of the jazzier ones, like her Nina Simone cover on the new album or “Bear the Weight of Me”. Now, to find the perfect wig!