Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2004)
October 15.2QQ4 • J l l S t O U t 53 MUSIC Think twice Mixed drink Queer sisters are doin’ it for themselves Swizzle Chicks: One part lesbian, three-part harmony by C or i T aratoot by can’t tell the difference between Tegan and Sara. (To be clear, I know that Tegan is the twin with the mullet and the chin piercing. I just can’t definitively tell which songs are hers when the headphones are on.) So when the Canadian duo come to town next month, I’ll be looking to see how well I know the Quin sisters. Likely, not so much. T hat’s because even the most enthusiastic and well-informed fan doesn’t get a glimpse of either girl behind her public mask. Blame it on fame combined with youth, or the perpetual inside joke perpetrated by precocious identical twins; they seem uncomfortable letting fans get too close. It might just be a healthy reaction for 23-year-olds in the white-hot spotlight. In a Just Out interview last year, Tegan couldn’t hide how much fame was freaking her out. In between manic A.D.D. outbursts and sandpaper-dVy sarcasm, she talked about the risks o f being yourself, on stage and in the press. (Both sisters are queer and out.) “Yeah, we’re real on stage,” Tegan said. “It’s rare, and it’s also dangerous. We’re at a place...where there’s all this pressure to give MORE. Be more professional. Don’t talk so much. Add a keyboardist.” After extensive touring on their second record, If It Was You, opening for a weird col lection of headliners (including Ryan Adams and Ben Folds) and watching their futures expand by the day, Tegan and Sara disappeared I for a bit. Their return, So Jealous, picks up right where they left off. Infectious and tight three-minute pop songs. Fuzzy, distorted, warm electric guitars. A n obvious bent for 1980s FM radio singles (e.g., The Cars, Devo, The Outfield, Pat Benatar). Smart and subtle production from John Collins and David Carswell (New Pomographers). One new addition: Matt Sharp (Weezer, The Rentals) makes a guest appearance on keyboards and strings. So Jealous documents the twins’ next step away from lesbionic acoustifolk, moving closer toward the hot sun of rock ’n’ roll. It’s thor oughly enjoyable stuff, consistent with their last recording effort. But have hope for the future, for the day when Tegan and Sara grow thicker skin and venture out beyond the sweet-and-sour pop for mula, letting us in a little bit, so that we can see more o f ourselves in their reflection. in M e g D aly est of show biz spots, Las Vegas. Torres and Rambo both lived there as children, and Kahlen toured there professionally in a show band. The Swizzle Chicks bill themselves as “three- part harmony wiih a twist." But they aren’t referring to being two straight girls and a lesbian. “Our music is definitely unique,” says Tor res, the resident lesbian. “We’re kind of a cross between The Andrews Sisters and The B-52’s.” Torres says the trfo share “a love of collabo ration.... You can’t sing three-part without being heavy collaborators.” Collaboration comes in handy in Tones’ day job, too. A self-employed fund-raiser and event planner, she says her vocation is all about “working with a group of people... to cre ate a vision, make it come to life and inspire people to donate to it.” The former New Thought minister says Kahlen and Rambo are two of her closest friends. “What’s remarkable about us is that in eight years we have never had a significant fight or disagreement,” she says. “It’s the best of what one would hope friendship would be...we get along and respect and support one another.” « Or, to channel Cole Porter, “I get a kick out of you.” |T1 t’s Cocktail Nation meets West Coast opti mism on the Swizzle Chicks’ new CD, Shakin , blot Stirred. I This trio of thirtysomething female singers have been big-band-ing it up around town for four years, singing at festivals and cor porate functions. Their new C D features all orig inal songs with a quirky take on the jazz stan dards template. Tunes like “Alien Love Song” show off the group’s playful sense of humor. Portlanders Stephanie Torres, Beth Kahlen and Carrie Rambo began singing together eight years ago. “ It took a while to find a style that really fit for us,” Torres says. They were no strangers to performing— Kahlen had appeared in commercials, Torres had acted for years in the Portland Women’s Theater Company, and Rambo had sung with Portland Opera Chorus. That’s not all they have in common. Each has a special place in her heart for that swanki TEGAN AND S a r a open for queer musician Melissa Ferrick 8 p.m. Nov. 4 at Aladdin Theater, 3017 S .E . Milwaukee Ave. Tickets are $13.50-$15 from the box office or Ticketmaster. From left, Swizzle Chicks Beth Kahlen, Stephanie Torres and Carrie Ram bo toast their new disc Oct. 18. Above: Tegan (left) and Sara pay homage to 1980s FM pop music on their latest, So Jealous. S wizzle C hicks will hold a C D release party 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Blue Monk, 3341 S.E . Belmont St. Admission is $5. CELEBRATION NOUnUSNOI) SATURDAY Novi 8PM ROSE CITY GAY FREEDOM BAND PERFORMS A POST-ELECTION CONCERT With Master of Ceremonies Representative Jackie Dingfelder, Democratic Whip D-Portland AT THE HISTORIE H ollywood T heater 4122 NE S andy B lvd SPONSOR TICKETS $12, $8 students/seniors available at Music Millennium 3158 E Burnside * 801 NW 23rd -W -m R E S T R IC T E D U N D E R 17 R E Q U IR E S A C C O M P A N Y IN G P A R E N T O R A D U L T G U A R D IA N T e a m A m e ric a .c o m Copyright * 7004 hy Paramount Pirltif«** AH Pujhn Reserved IMAGES full-service printing G R A P H IC C R U D E & S E X U A L H U M O R V IO L E N T & S T R O N G L A N G U A G E A LL IN V O L V IN G P U P P E T S Rose City Gay Freedom Band 503 790-2170 www.rcgfb.org F o r r a t in g r e a s o n s , g o to w w w . f ilm r a t in g s . c o r r 1 NOW PLAYING R fG A i C M * « « flfO A i C M F M A S BROADWAY METRO 4 mom * n * * hoo w CINEMA 09 STADIUM 11 IN K» PANCANdO ê*3' M M L V C M E U A Û OOM W O! 'AMMNOC rV5 1503105301100 1 anm m HILLTOP 9 NEOM ONfMAS non « X I tANO ANÛO «3 Yf CASCADE STADIUM 16 CITY CENTER STADIUM 12 n r » - AN G A/tfjO M 3 C M ) FANOANOO t « f C OTURV THEATRES 2BX* CENTURY EASTPORT 19 PKMLCat U O Y D CENTER 10 « 9 'ANOMtfiC 03rt N O N O N EM A5, fcfrQM Q M H N At DIVISION STREET STADIUM 13 MOVIES ON TV STADIUM 19 W MMCMNOn # v e N O N Q NEM AS (seat r 75-oooo f Of G At C W O A A S EVERGREEN PARKWAY STADIUM 13 C XN fU At im FAM OAM UO r » 3 can*« OAK OROVE8 ano HHbiwno *» i VANCOUVER PLAZA 10 W » ‘-MOANOC M33 RCOM.C BVFSrCMTT 5 «ont W CttM QC M3» N O N 3 N f«A 6 N O N C JN R 4A 8 STARK STREET STADIUM 10 WILSONVELI STADIUM 9 MOU FANDANGO IV 4 WOB f V O A N T K SHEPWOOO STADIUM 10 NON CMtMM HOARD 11 «0 01 FANDANGO« eau. TNMrwo* çm oÊtcrm fw-temom s
