LESLEY GORE: After The Party

I wrote this article in 2006. My how the years pass so quickly.  

It'’s this season'’s final episode, “Left Hand Of The Goddess” of The L Word, when Shane is confronting her father’s lack of fidelity and departure. As in many of the L Word scenes there is a background song. This one entitled, “Words Don’t Say” is being sung by Lesley Gore (“Words we don’t say/Trying to hide night after night/Drifting away”) and one of several tunes from her new CD, “Ever Since”.

In the 60’s, Gore was one of the most successful solo artists of the “Girl Group” topping charts with: “It’s My Party”, “Judy’s Turn To Cry” and “You Don’t Own Me”, a song revived by Bette Midler in the movie, “First Wives Club”.

"“You know what I’m going to say when people ask me what I'’ve been doing for 30 years? ‘Practicing’”," said the now deeper voice and out-of-the-closet performer. Yes, just in case you haven’t heard, Gore told the world that she is a lesbian and has been with a partner for over 20 years.

Maintaining a constant touring schedule across the country, Gore'’s recent gig took place at Queens Theatre In The Park in New York City, where I had the pleasure of seeing the vivacious vocalist. The 90-minute show introduced many of her new songs and brought nostalgia to anyone old enough to recall the original “Bandstand”. “Ever Since”, the title song, is made to draw us back to “It’s My Party” (“All the weight of nights and days too long to list/All the parties I'’ve been to you were missed/ I'’ve waited ever since” bring us forward into the world that she now inhabits.
“
Better Angels”, written by Blake Morgan, was featured at the close of the season premiere episode of CBS’s hit show CSI:MIAMI as Horatio Caine (played by David Caruso) is visiting a confessional booth. Blake is both her pianist and arranger as well as the producer of her new CD.
“
You Don'’t Own Me” is an even newer rendition and sung in a jazzy ballad flare. This one seemed to have an added stanza of “You don’t own me/I want somebody who will be true/You don’t own me/You don’t own me and I don’t own you.

Leslie and her brother Michael were responsible for composing “Out Here On My Own”, featured in the Oscar nominated Fame. Perhaps it might have been a reflection of her personal life change (“Sometimes I wonder where I'’ve been/Who I am do I fit in/Make believing is hard alone/Out here on my own”).

A few of her other new songs were sung, but as she promised, she ran her former hits single-fashioned and not as a medley. For those who may have forgotten, they included: “She’s A Fool”; “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows”; “That'’s the Way Boys Are”; and “Maybe I Know”.

The stage performance adds a backup vocalist, while she and Blake do the backups on the CD version. Although I enjoyed the songs, I found that the live rendition gave a much fuller sound to each of her numbers. She’s still got it even at the age of 59.

Leslie Gore'’s West Coast tour will take her into San Francisco where she will be performing at the Brava Theatre Center, on Sat., April 22 and Sun., April 23. www.brava.org
April 15, 2006 - MGW Magazine

MELISSA ETHERIDGE IS OUT THERE ROCKING ABOUT M.E.

photo by John Tsiavis.

 A musical rocking good time is expected as singer Melissa Etheridge begins her tour to debut her new album entitled “This is M.E.”  with eleven brand new songs.  At present her hit single is called “A Little Bit of Me” and it’s simply a coincidence.   I interviewed Melissa getting some inside details. 

“It’s funny, I didn’t put that together until after I was calling it ‘This Is M.E.’ {regarding the single}.  Then we decided to use the photos of my fans as the album cover.  If you look closely you can see that my portrait is a makeup of digital photos of thousands of fans.”  ‘A Little Bit of Me’, keeps repeating, “There’s a little bit of me, in a little bit of you”.  Melissa points out “There is an activist part of me that believes that we realize that our diversity and uniqueness come together in one beautiful family.”  In the case of the photo, it is also a little bit of the fans in a little bit of her.  

“I just finished my solo tour and it was a blast.  Now, I’m going out with my full band in support of this record. Actually, most of my backing band is from New York City.  Jerry ‘Wonda’ Duplessis, who has an incredible studio, Platinum Sound, in the Theatre District, was a bass player for the Fugees and having done an amazing amount of stuff.  I talked him into going on the road with me as well as doing a couple of songs for me on the record, such as Monster and Do It Again.  I kept my drummer Blair Sinta.”  The rest is Wonda’s Platinum Sound consisting of: guitarist, Brandyn Porter; Arden Altino on the keys; and backup singers Angela Hunte and Ashley Loren. “This is the first time having background singers and I’m so crazy excited about it.”

“My brand new tour is full of insanely moving music.  I will be doing ten of the eleven songs since they have gotten such great reactions from my fans saying things like ‘This could be my possibly favorite album of yours.’ These fans go back 20 years and give me confidence to perform them.”

Asking about as to whether she wrote all of the songs on the album, Melissa said that she collaborated somewhat with the musicians but wrote all of the lyrics accept for “Do It Again” and “Ain’t That Bad” co-writing with Angela Hunte, a hip-hop artist.  “’Ain’t That Bad’ is more of a hip-hop-rock tune”, Melissa remarked.  For the song “Take My Number”, the original single, she said that she was trying to think which song should first be released before the album itself.  “Feedback was that it sounded more like an older song of mine that I would have done in the 90’s.  A comfort song.  It’s a sweet song with a story that I solo with my acoustic guitar.  “It’s a grown up ‘call me, baby’ song of how we’re going to date after a divorce.”

What is behind each song that she composes?  “It starts with an inspiration whether musical or an event going on giving me that feel of ‘I want to sing about this’.  Each song on this album was driven by my own personal idea”.

“’Who Are You Waiting For’, the only ballad on the record, was written for my wife, Linda, for our wedding. I actually sang that to her during our vows.  It was a wonderful moment. She is an amazing woman and we both cried.” The lyrics seem to point to Linda’s asking who Melissa was waiting for.  They had been friends for several years prior to their marriage this year.  “I’m not going to do that song as it is intimate and this show is pushing out! I’m going to keep that song for a while.”

Melissa also commented on her health being “just fine”.  “Ten years this October of being cancer free” and feeling that her food regiment is what keeps it that way. 

Melissa Etheridge will be performing at Town Hall in Manhattan on Wednesday, November 5^th.  Check out her website: www.melissaetheridge.com

JANIS IAN IS ON TOUR!

Janis Ian, folk-rock singer who wrote her second song at the age of 13. It was controversial and a major hit, “Society’s Child” about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl's mother and frowned upon by her teachers and peers as well. In the song the girl ultimately decides to end the relationship, claiming the societal norms of the day have left her no other choice. It was the era of her friends such as Janis Joplin and Jimmy Hendrix.

In 1975 Janis won the 1975 Grammy Award for the Best Pop Vocal Performance for her hit “At Seventeen”. “To those of us who knew the pain of valentines that never came, and those whose names were never called when choosing sides for basketball. It was long ago and far away. The world was younger than today when dreams were all they gave for free to ugly duckling girls like me.” The song is just as prevalent today.

Back then the government was watching her and her family and not for anything they really did…which made for another hit called, “God and the FBI”. “Mama's making mimeos. Pete's on the stereo singing 'bout freedom, bugs in the bedroom Big investigation - danger to the nation Search and seizure, better buy a lawyer ‘We know you're a member’ ‘Saw you under cover’. ‘Are you hiding evidence?’ None of this makes any sense.”

The music industry doesn’t love her. Why? You can go to her website and download free music and lyrics. She thinks it makes for better sales. So do I.

Fans of the soap opera General Hospital may remember hearing the song, “When Angels Cry”. “Wait. Your tired arms must rest. Let this moment pass. Wait until the morning. Close your eyes and you will see who you used to be left without a warning. Who knew one so big could grow so small? Lighter than the writing on the wall.
When angels cry, can I stand by? When stones weep, can my heart sleep? Wish I'd never heard, wish I'd never heard Wish I'd never heard the power of a four letter word.” I’m sure that the four letter word is “love”.

Listening to her CD, “Best of Janis Ian” I realize that the music is not “old”, it’s not folk music like “Peter, Paul and Mary” and there’s a bit of jazz mixed in. Janis will be performing at Queens Theatre in the Park (as I am still calling it) on Saturday, April 21 for two shows.