Written by:
Diane Anderson-Minshall
Photographer:
Courtesy Jamie Anderson
When I was a wee thing coming out in the — gasp! — ’80s, I discovered the world of women’s music. Lesbian musicians and comics would perform at concerts and sell their own cassette tapes (CDs came much later) afterward at little tables, or sometimes out of the trunk of their car. Back then, Olivia was a record label that boasted the top women musicians (read: lesbian), a roster that included Meg Christian and Cris Williamson. Other artists came along later, like comic gem Jamie Anderson, who began touring nationally in 1987 in order to earn enough gas money to get to a women’s music festival (and has been collecting tiny motel soaps ever since). Nowadays, dykes are more likely to treat women’s music lovers like me like dinosaurs, but honestly, some of these not-quite spring chickens are still making some of the best music out there.
Jamie Anderson
http://www.jamieanderson.com
Politically astute, sexy and fun almost 20 years after her debut, Jamie Anderson still has it. Her voice is compared to Shawn Colvin and her humor to Suzanne Westenhoefer; some of her earliest tracks — “Wedding Song,” “Wynonna Why Not?” and “Straight Girl Blues” — should be in some sort of lesbian hall of fame. She’s performed at festivals and prides around the globe, her music has been featured on Dr. Demento (can Britney say that?) and she’s got seven albums under her belt, including her newest release, A Promise of Light. When Anderson is not touring, she teaches songwriting at Duke and at July’s Women in Harmony Music Camp (http://www.mountaincenters.org), a camp for women of all musical abilities. Anderson — along with Phyllis Free, Mary Hocks and Elaine Townsend — will be teaching guitar, harmony singing, songwriting, mandolin, drumming and belly dancing.
With all that teaching, do students get crushes on the songstress?
“It’s hard to tell if queer students have a crush on me, since no one has said so, and I tend to be dense about that kind of stuff,” Anderson admits. “I’m not even sure which ones are lesbians unless I know them personally or see them at an event outside of classes.” After 20 years, she does have groupies (“I do have a few who linger at the CD table or send me cards and gifts on my birthday”). Count us among them.
Tret Fure
http://www.tretfure.com
One of the most prolific artists in the contemporary singer-songwriter arena, Fure began touring at 19 (in the early ’70s), when women weren’t welcome in most areas of music. Her debut album came out two years later (with Bonnie Raitt lending a hand), and within months Fure was working with some of the biggest bands of the era: Yes, Poco and the J Geils Band (long before “My Baby Is a Centerfold”). Now the writer, producer, engineer, vocalist and instrumentalist has released her 11th album, a bluesy, folky, Latin hybrid called Anytime Anywhere. That’s not all: She and partner Jane Weldon own a retail store in Madison, Wisconsin, produce the Tomboy Girl Festival and have published a cookbook, Tret’s Kitchen. Someone wants to be in the kitchen with Tret.
Deidre McCalla
http://www.deidremccalla.com
At a Deidre McCalla concert 15 years ago, I met my wife. I mostly ignored her because I was hoping to find a way into McCalla’s pants instead. After a rousing audience-participation version of one of McCalla’s hungry, heartfelt songs (with a chorus of “All Days All Ways We Celebrate” that still rings in my ears on happy days) I forgot all about sex and got caught up in the spirit of this modern-day troubadour. McCalla, who released her first album, Fur Coats and Blue Jeans, when she was 19 and a student at Vassar College, has released five albums, including her new release, Playing for Keeps, the first on her own MaidenRock label. An African-American lesbian feminist and now a single mom, McCalla still offers music that traverses the inner and outer landscapes of our lives in a way no one else does.
Lucie Blue Tremblay
http://www.luciebluetremblay.com
This French-Canadian songstress has shared the stage with everyone from Jane Siberry to Pete Seeger, but she’s still one of indie music’s best-kept secrets. With numerous albums under her belt, including her first four recordings, which she re-released on her own label with pianist friend Daniel Loyer, Tremblay has gained enough lesbian fans to fill stadiums, in part because of her ability to combine politics and love songs without missing a beat. Her new CD, It’s Got to Be About Love, celebrates the courage of LGBT people and their allies to live by example. The CD insert tells us all we need to know about Tremblay: It’s actually a wedding album of Tremblay’s lesbian and gay fans at the altar and at home.
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