Music Makers
Alison Sudol walks softly and carries a big mic. Plus, Juliette Lewis releases new album
By Ingrid Randoja
Alison Sudol’s soft-spoken manner blankets a burning ambition. The leader of the band A Fine Frenzy has finished her sophomore CD, Bomb in a Birdcage (available September 8th), acted on TV and written a children’s fantasy novel.
Not bad for a 24-year-old.
Let’s begin with the new album, which builds on her successful debut CD, One Cell in the Sea. It contains Sudol’s trademark lyrical songs, but also edgier tunes that prove she isn’t as vulnerable as she appears.
“I wanted to ‘rock out’ more,” admits Sudol over a coffee at EMI’s Toronto office. “I focused on making music that would bring joy to me and I wanted to have a bit more fun and not take things so seriously.”
The self-described “geek” grew up in L.A., where she graduated high school at age 16 and started her first band at 18. As the daughter of two drama teachers, Sudol grew up around acting and decided to push through her shyness to guest star in an episode of CSI: New York.
“So many people are painfully shy, and I’ve grown out of it a little bit, but yeah, it’s scary, but it’s also fun.” And as for the children’s book she squeezed into her schedule. “I’ve finished the first one and I’m writing the second one,” she says. “It’s about having a story to tell, and once that story needs to be told it doesn’t care if you’re tired or not.”
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Singers On Screen
Mary J. Blige (pictured left) joins R&B legend Gladys Knight in Tyler Perry’s newest chick flick, I Can Do Bad All By Myself.
Blige and Knight play the best friends of the film’s heroine, April
(Taraji P. Henson), a hard-living nightclub singer who’s saddled with
raising her delinquent niece and two nephews.
You Gotta Hear This
Actor
Juliette Lewis oozed a rocker-chick vibe even before she formed her
first band back in 2002. In the seven years since, Lewis has evolved
into a hard-ass, Janis Joplin-esque singer who knows how to purr,
scream and sell a song. Her new album, Terra Incognita (available September 1st), showcases a rock babe who’s just hitting her prime.
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Out this month
September 1
The Used - Artwork
The Black Crowes - Before the Frost...
September 8
Boys Like Girls - Love Drunk
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson - Break Up
September 11
Jay-Z - Blueprint 3
September 22
David Gray - Draw the Line
Owen - New Leaves
September 28
Madonna - Celebration