A "Living Lesbian Legend" (The
Advocate) Returns
with Her First New Music in Five Years
AUSTIN, TEXAS - The Influential and adventurous musician Gretchen Phillips, announces February 4, 2009 as the national release date of her first new album in five years, I Was Just Comforting Her. Produced by Rob Halverson and Gretchen, this is, as its maker describes, "a big, thick slab of humanism." It's as pop-oriented a Gretchen Phillips album as has ever been made yet retains the thematic elements that distinguish all of this Texas Music Hall of Fame inductee's work: a call for empathy and connection amid cultural and social alienation.
This may be the theme of Gretchen's pioneering career. Though out and proud as a lesbian since her teens, as an artist Gretchen Phillips has always reached beyond her natural constituency to make music for everyone. Her seminal early 90s group Two Nice Girls was as notable for its unabashed joy in lesbianism as for its legions of non-lesbian fans. Gretchen's other bands have been similarly joyful and inclusive. Spanning folk, rock, country, gospel, punk and her own idiosyncratic take on the singer-songwriter form, Gretchen Phillips has blazed a twenty year trail of uncompromising personal artistry and openhearted musical communion.
Gretchen's first release since Togetherness, her 2003 collaboration with Dave Driver, I Was Just Comforting Her stresses that longing for communion in stronger terms than ever. Opening with "Red State/Blue State", a roiling electro-pop plea for hope and understanding, the album traverses broad sonic territory but stays rooted in a personal vision that insists on love and kindness in a divided society. The soaring country of "Honey, I Feel So Good," the coiled rock of "Burning Inside," and the effervescent pop of "Peola" and "In Case of Rapture" stand along side harder to categorize pieces like "Swimming" and "YOY?" to reveal the complex interior life of a musician at the peak of her artistry.
That artistry has taken on a new dimension in the last two years. In addition to playing concerts, Gretchen has written and performed two acclaimed one-woman shows combining stories and songs into musical memoir. The first of these, Don’t Stop Believing, premiered in 2007 at The Off Center as part of the Rude Mechanicals’ prestigious Throws Like a Girl performance series. The latest, Manlove, the saga of Gretchen’s struggles and triumphs loving the men in her life, premiered with a sold-out run at The Vortex Theater.
Gretchen considers I Was Just Comforting Her an epic saga full of individual songs, but meant to be heard in its whole sweeping scope. "It's my grand concept album, like Spirit's Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus" says Gretchen. "I love a bold statement, so I made one."
Taking her inclusive message on the road, Gretchen intends to tour behind I Was Just Comforting Her for the better part of 2009. Beginning with a west coast swing in February, plans also include trips to Canada, the midwest and the northeastern United States.
AUSTIN, TEXAS - The Influential and adventurous musician Gretchen Phillips, announces February 4, 2009 as the national release date of her first new album in five years, I Was Just Comforting Her. Produced by Rob Halverson and Gretchen, this is, as its maker describes, "a big, thick slab of humanism." It's as pop-oriented a Gretchen Phillips album as has ever been made yet retains the thematic elements that distinguish all of this Texas Music Hall of Fame inductee's work: a call for empathy and connection amid cultural and social alienation.
This may be the theme of Gretchen's pioneering career. Though out and proud as a lesbian since her teens, as an artist Gretchen Phillips has always reached beyond her natural constituency to make music for everyone. Her seminal early 90s group Two Nice Girls was as notable for its unabashed joy in lesbianism as for its legions of non-lesbian fans. Gretchen's other bands have been similarly joyful and inclusive. Spanning folk, rock, country, gospel, punk and her own idiosyncratic take on the singer-songwriter form, Gretchen Phillips has blazed a twenty year trail of uncompromising personal artistry and openhearted musical communion.
Gretchen's first release since Togetherness, her 2003 collaboration with Dave Driver, I Was Just Comforting Her stresses that longing for communion in stronger terms than ever. Opening with "Red State/Blue State", a roiling electro-pop plea for hope and understanding, the album traverses broad sonic territory but stays rooted in a personal vision that insists on love and kindness in a divided society. The soaring country of "Honey, I Feel So Good," the coiled rock of "Burning Inside," and the effervescent pop of "Peola" and "In Case of Rapture" stand along side harder to categorize pieces like "Swimming" and "YOY?" to reveal the complex interior life of a musician at the peak of her artistry.
That artistry has taken on a new dimension in the last two years. In addition to playing concerts, Gretchen has written and performed two acclaimed one-woman shows combining stories and songs into musical memoir. The first of these, Don’t Stop Believing, premiered in 2007 at The Off Center as part of the Rude Mechanicals’ prestigious Throws Like a Girl performance series. The latest, Manlove, the saga of Gretchen’s struggles and triumphs loving the men in her life, premiered with a sold-out run at The Vortex Theater.
Gretchen considers I Was Just Comforting Her an epic saga full of individual songs, but meant to be heard in its whole sweeping scope. "It's my grand concept album, like Spirit's Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus" says Gretchen. "I love a bold statement, so I made one."
Taking her inclusive message on the road, Gretchen intends to tour behind I Was Just Comforting Her for the better part of 2009. Beginning with a west coast swing in February, plans also include trips to Canada, the midwest and the northeastern United States.
Honey, I Feel So Good
Your Drinking
press
photo by J.D. Samson
Red State/Blue State
Burning Inside
hi-res 5" by 5" album cover
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