(une 6.2003
ophie B. Hawkins, who first gained
national attention in 1992 with her
Top 5 hit “Damn I W ish 1 Was Your
Lover,” is embarking on a new tour that
has her dropping in to headline Portland
Pride 2003.
During a lovely phone interview, the singer
says she’s looking forward to the Portland gig
and that she has even thought about moving
to the Rose City. “I’ve found a lot of spirit and
energy in Portland,” she says. “It is actually
very healing. T h a t’s how I remember feeling
every time— very, very healed.”
Hawkins has played Pride festivals before
hut admits she hasn’t played enough of them.
She identifies as “omnisexual,” saying the term
fits her because she is always growing and
changing. “I don’t fall in love with someone’s
gender. 1 fall in love with their soul. I know
that the meaningful connection is the soulful
connection, and th at’s where the intimacy is.”
She won’t even discuss w hether her life
partner is female or male. “I would never say
I’m a heterosexual. I would not mind saying
I’m lesbian, but it wouldn’t be accurate. It’s not
inclusive enough for me.”
T he native New Yorker splits her time
between the Big Apple and Venice, Calif. She
likes Venice because she can walk everywhere
and he outdtxirs with her animals, and it
reminds her of an East Coast town. “I’ve really
thrived here— creatively as a musician, and
also my mind has opened up a lot.”
Hawkins says much of her personal growth
has come from not being able to connect well
with people in California. “I don’t really under
stand a lot of the mind-sets, so I tend to he very
alone. It’s like being in the desert alone for me,
and that’s been a really good spiritual sojourn.”
awkins’ musical journey started at age 14
when she began studying African drum
ming. Her parents didn’t understand her
love (if music or recognize her talent. She
ended up moving out of the house.
“It was good, and it was also sad in many
ways,” she says. “I had to cut off really early
from my family in order to pursue music.”
She played the dm ms in various New York
City hands, hut what she really wanted to do
was write songs, so she taught herself the piano
and started writing, compiling a 50-song demo
tape at a friend’s studio. Later, while working as
a coat check girl, she got the demo in the
hands of the right person and ended up signing
with Columbia Records.
Her dehut album, Tongues and Tails, featur
ing “Damn I Wish I Was Your Diver,” went
gold, earning the self-made musician a G ram
my nom ination for Best New Artist. T he 1994
sophomore release, Whaler, also went gold, and
rksh o p
M aloy's
Declaration ot Independence
Sophie B. Hawkins’ rocky road to gold
by
J a m ie B o ly a r d
ith a new album ready to go, Hawkins
is in th e process o f deciding th e best
way to release it— either ind ep en d en t
ly on Trumpet Swan or in conjunction with
an o th er label like w ith Timbre. She says a
decision like th at depends on how coura
geous you are. “If you can be totally brave
and totally energetic, you can get out there
with not that much money and really build
and build and build."
Hawkins says the as-yet-untitled fourth
album, due out early next year, is soulful and
full of joy. “I came through a lot of darkness on
the album Timbre. T hen I came to a trem en
dous amount of self-appreciation and apprecia
tion of everything around me, and it really
shows in the new record.”
Hawkins has been rehearsing constantly
with the two other musicians she’ll be taking
on the road, preferring to play with a smaller
band. “It’s actually very powerful,” she says.
“I’ve spent the last three years touring with this
size band, and the feedback has been so much
better than I’ve ever had. It’s really raw. Wait
’til you see it!” J H
W
She can lay me down anytime— Sophie B. Hawkins pbys Portland Pride 2003
the track “As I Lay Me D iw n ” became one of
the longest-running singles in the history of
any Billbrxird chart.
In 1999 Hawkins’ third album, Timbre, was
released, although not without a fight. She had
recorded the proposed single “Dise Your Way”
on the banjo, but Columbia wanted to remix
the song using guitars. Hawkins stood firm.
Columbia halted the release. Artist and label
were at a standstill.
W hile making a promotional appearance at
a Tampa, Fla., radio station, Hawkins talked
about the problem. They played “Dise Your
Way,” and fans began requesting the song and
e-mailing her their support. Hawkins received
thousands of e-mails that she was able to
present to record execs. T he banjo stayed, and
the album was finally released,-marking the
end of the singer’s relationship with Columbia.
“I saw the times changing, and I left,” she
says. “1 left—I didn’t get dropped. I didn’t have
to sue...! walked away very cleanly.... I got my
independence without having to be tom apart.”
A year later she started her own label,
Trumpet Swan Records, with Gigi Gaston, who
directed The Cream Will Rise, a Hawkins docu
mentary. T he label rereleased Timbre in con
junction with Rykodisc. “Finding Gigi in my
life as a business partner was so important to
my making the transition from someone who
was bound to be swallowed up by the system. It
was definitely going in that direction.”
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Doing what is right for her has often left
Hawkins without much of a support system.
“Every time a woman steps up and does some
thing positive for herself, there will be so many
people trying to tear her apart,” she asserts.
For instance, after a decade-long music
career and two gold records, her parents still
think she’s joking. “I think they’re ashamed of
me, to be honest with you. I don’t think they
appreciate me, and I think th at’s why it’s hard
to appreciate myself.. .one of my big battles is
believing in myself. I think a lot of us have
that. If (we] don’t get that right support, we
spend our whole lives believing that we don’t
deserve it. T h a t’s why Gigi was so important
when she believed in me."
The relationship is mutually beneficial—
Hawkins gives Gaston the gift of her sincere
love for music, noting her business partner
“learned about managing from someone who
really loves what they do. I’m not a diva. I
absolutely love writing music. I love playing it. I
love the entrepreneurial side of it. I like getting
out there and seeing how far I can go. It was
really good for her to learn the music business
through me because when she started to see it
through other people, she got very depressed."
Tue. - Fri. 10:00am - 5:30pm, Sat 1 1 :00am - S OCom or by appointment
Voice: 503-223-4720, Fax: 503-223-31o9 E mail: shan'I'teteporf.com
S ophie B. H awkins (and company) headlines
Portland Pride 2003 at 4:30 p.m . June 15 on the
Unity Stage.
JAMIE B olyard is a Portland free-lance writer and
Sophie B. Hawkins fan. She can be reached at
latlemac2@earthlmk net.