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Sound Check: May 2008

Recently I attended Uh Huh Her’s first show in their North American tour and interviewed them for AfterEllen.com. I won’t spoil the whole interview, but I will tell you that I had to ask them about something I’d read about on Tegan and Sara’s Coachella blog. The twins wrote: “A few nights ago we met Linda Perry and Clea DuVall through Leisha Hailey and Camila from Uh Huh Her and I acted like I was high on crack cocaine and have been cringing since. So thank goodness for small miracles!”

“We didn’t even think they knew who Linda was,” Leisha said, laughing. “We love those girls!” She also said Uh Huh Her is hoping to tour with Tegan and Sara sometime soon, which might be even cooler than the idea of them all hanging out with Linda Perry and Clea DuVall.

Uh Huh Her

You know who else keeps really good company? Girl in a Coma. Seriously – those ladies even have Joan Jett’s name written on their guitar cases. They’re also incredibly hardworking – when they aren’t touring with Morrissey, they are hitting up small venues on their own and also planning to play in Oklahoma City when the True Colors Tourcomes through on June 23.

When they came to Chicago’s dive bar/remodeled garage venue Ronny’s, Girl in a Coma played hard and fast to a mixed crowd of indie lesbians and gothic 20-somethings. Lesbian bassist Jenn Alva had an intense energy that was shared by vocalist and guitarist Nina Diaz, whose eyes looked so wide at times they might pop out of her head.

Several people sang along to songs from the trio’s debut album Before I’m Gone, and they debuted a new tune called “BB,” saying they hope to release a new LP in 2009. No need to rush – the ladies’ album landed on the Billboard Heatseeker’s chart at No. 23 last week and at No. 21 on iTunes.

Releases Reviewed

Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls came out publicly as a bisexual around this time last year, when her band joined the True Colors Tour. Since then, she’s played several solo shows while working on an album of her own as well as continuing to tour with the Dolls, only stopping to record another album.

I’m serious – Palmer and bandmate Brian Viglione took one day off from tour and went right into the studio to record No, Virginia. Fans will notice that the album is strangely familiar, as if it it’s the antithesis of their last album, Yes, Virginia. The album is full of B-sides, unreleased tunes and reworked tracks.

Songs like “The Kill” really highlight the Dresden Dolls’ ability to not take themselves too seriously. A band making good music and having fun while doing it – no wonder they call themselves the Dolls. Palmer plays keyboard instead of acoustic piano on No, Virginia, which actually sounds a little more appealing, and anyone who is into cabaret punk with a tinge of goth rock will find the music frighteningly fun.

Another fun record to check out is MC Flow‘s Incredible. A hip-hop “femme-c” from San Diego, Calif., Abby Schwartz is definitely good at rhyming (she manages to flow lines ending in “edible,” “incredible,” “beddable,” “sweatable” and “treadable”- wow.) But no matter how talented she may be, MC Flow knows she has two things against her: She’s white, and she’s a lesbian – not exactly MTV’s idea of a rap star.

So she takes on this idea in songs such as “Boxes and Squares” alongside other songs about gay marriage, body image issues and friendship. She’s political with a quick tongue, and it makes you want to listen to what she’s spitting.

MC Flow’s ironic, metaphorical and perfectly timed lyrics are the main event on Incredible, as the beats and choruses can be boring and lackluster, especially on otherwise great tunes like “Carousel,” about Flow helping a friend through rehab and recovery from drugs and a suicide attempt. It’s these kind of words and calls to action that the gay youth is likely to listen to, so I hope her words come true when she tells haters, “Tell me who’ll be laughing last when this track’s playing every station.” Never say never!

Someone who might have a better chance at becoming mainstream is lesbian pop singer Lori Michaels. The New York singer calls herself The Dyke Diva, and her background tracks are a little more radio-ready on Living My Life Out Loud.

Half of her songs are club-esque jams that call out to straight girls (“Girl Thing,” which at least has a rap interlude from Feloni). There’s also a bizarre song called “Meet Me at the Partay” which has a flamboyant man calling out “Ow!” and “Hey ho, ho hay! Everybody knows you’re gay!” Michaels sings the chorus robotically: “Meet me at the partay, meet me at the partay.” Sounds like a great time.

The slow jams are what save Living My Life Out Loud from being a total train wreck. If she stuck with her sincere-sounding love songs where she sings lines such as, “My brand new life, and those blue blue eyes, maybe this time this love will finally be my someone right,” she might find a little more success. Or maybe I’m wrong, and most people won’t think ending a song with a whisper of, “You know, not too many guys can say they do the things we do” is totally ridiculous and cheesy. Who cares if it’s true?

Lori Michaels

Photo credit: Mark Weiss

News and Notes

Tegan and Sara recently released the Live Session EP on iTunes. It includes four acoustic tracks from The Con and one from So Jealous. It was recorded in San Francisco on the last day of their previous tour and obviously recorded just so that I have to write about them in Sound Check every month.

After decades of being a rock icon, Joan Jett is releasing a greatest hits album and DVD this September. She’ll be touring with her band, the Blackhearts, this summer.

Hip-hop duo Team Gina is featured in the new video for trans rapper Athens Boys Choir‘s song, “Fagette.” The video is directed by Portland filmmaker Ali Cotterill, who has also done videos for Scream Club and Nicky Click.

Team Gina

Panda and Angel (a Seattle indie band with an out front woman, Carrie Murphy) are working on a new album, but their song “Dangerous” from their 2006 debut will be on the Real World episode airing May 7.

Beth Ditto was recently interviewed by the Onion and said the Gossip is working on a new album, and that they don’t take themselves too seriously. “[Being gay is] just such a part of who we are as a band,” she said. “If you want to look at it like that, all music is pretty f—ing gay. [Laughs.] I mean especially dance music or punk music, it’s all so gay.”

Nashville singer/songwriter Jen Foster has introduced a video for her single, “Closer to Nowhere.” The song recently won first place in the Triple A category in the International Songwriting Competition which was judged by veterans such as Amy Ray and Loretta Lynn.

Los Angeles band Her Girl Friday have announced they are on an indefinite hiatus. They played their last show on April 26.

Yo Majesty‘s Shunda K is looking for after-show gigs to play while on tour. Anyone who wants to host a hot hip-hop after party should hit her up on MySpace.

Sia‘s new video for “The Girl You Lost” shows the Aussie singer playing many different roles. Her sense of humor shows through an otherwise serious song. My favorite Sia would have to be the tap-dancing soccer mom.

Sia in “The Girl You Lost”

Kim Ann Foxman, the lesbian singer of new DFA-signed band Hercules and Love Affair, was recently profiled on the New York Times style blog. Her singing on tunes like “Athene” are making the album a disco-punk hit on the internet.

MondoHomo South has announced the lineup for the mid-June music festival. Performers include The Dead Betties, 8 Inch Betsy and Nicky Click.

Musician and producer Meghan Toohey plays guitar on the new Weepies album Hideway. She’s also been putting up vlogs of her recent travels and one from earlier this month includes fellow lesbian musician, Rachel Cantu.

Lastly, if you’re in New York on May 10 at noon, I’ll be moderating at music panel at Q-Me Con, (Ripley Grier Studios, 520 Eighth Ave.). It’s called “Make an Impact (and a Living) through Music,” and the panelists are hip-hop maven Hanifah Walidah, Riot Grrrl Ink label owner Gina Marmone, and Breaking Records’ Bernadette O’Reilly.

On tour: Girl in a Coma, Joan Jett, Tegan and Sara, An Horse, Scream Club, Ferron, Bitch, New Bloods, Yo Majesty, Chris Pureka, Jen Foster

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