 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Detour"A departure from the ordinary (PGN) July 14-20, 2000 Doing it HerselfMusician Robin Renee does it her way
By Kevin Riordan PGN Contributing Writer Robin Renee"self-described bisexual activist, poet, and singer-songwriter"isn,t afraid to embrace a label or two, or even a few. "As long as labels are used to communicate, not to pigeonhole, said the 33-year-old southern New Jersey resident, whose ambitious new record, "In Progress, features 13 of her original, passionate, thoroughly uncategorizable songs. "I,m a black woman who sings rock with an acoustic guitar, Renee explained over lunch at Olga,s Diner on Route 70 in Marlton, NJ. "I,m very identified with the l/g/b/t community. But everything about me informs my work. Music business types have told Renee they don,t know how to market her. She,s been advised to create some sort of image, to grab a gimmick, to "fit some category, in her words, or risk not being heard at all. But having made the complex, deeply personal record she set out to make, Renee is interested in communication, certainly not pigeonholes. So she,s marketing herself. Renee is performing live, including recent gigs at New Jersey coffeehouses and an appearance at the "Indiegrrl Showcase in Manhattan. She,s on the Internet (www.robinrenee.com), and has done radio, including "Q-Zine on WXPN-FM 88.5. She,s doing whatever it takes to propel "In Progress, her first full-length, studio recording, onto as many CD players as possible. Which is why she,s in a corner booth at Olga,s at high noon on a billowingly hot day recently, chatting with a journalist over a plate of broccoli and mashed potatoes"she,s been a vegetarian for nearly 20 years"her press kit at the ready. "It takes a lot of perseverance to keep going with music, said Renee, a stylishly down-to earth woman with intense eyes and a ready smile. "It can seem discouraging. You can feel like you,re running in place. It,s important to keep that vision of where you want to go. "In Progress is the product of her distinctive vision. It,s a hard-edged yet sensitive record, featuring everything from tasteful strings by the Rittenhouse String Quartet to white-hot guitar by Mike Carlino. There are folkie songs and soulful ballads, punk-ish rockers and New Wave-y tunes, all of them expertly produced by Jayar, who has worked with Chaka Khan and George Benson. And the lyrics"about identity, spirituality, and the primal need to create, to love, to be free"reflect Renee,s poetic side.
Children children children
All the children sing I was hanging with the jump rope girls
In the Pennsylvania spring
My eyes were sacred when the mirror was new
Watching you play dress-up like the little girls do --from "I Don,t Wear Sweaters Rene began writing as a 7-year old in Waterford Township, Camden County, where she still lives. She grew up in what she describes as a family with a "complex history, as well as an appreciation for music. Hew mother played Bob Dylan and R&B. Her father [is] a jazz enthusiast. She took piano lessons, taught herself to play guitar, and was in her first band, The Half Mann Band, at age 10. But Renee became much more serious about music while attending Rutgers University. She performed with a world-beat band, Spy Gods, and later as frontwoman for a pop band, The Only Ones [sic]. She performed solo in the New York City metropolitan area. She also became active in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community. She,s a regional organizer for BiNet USA (www.binetusa.org), and an events planner for BiZone (www.bizone.org), a New Jersey-based organization for bisexuals and their friends. And she has kept on writing poetry, as well as lyrics:
I,m waiting here breaking my vows to myself But I,m never alone on this passionate shelf
Well I might be an artist"I might be a star But I,m catching my breath in the butterfly jar --from "Butterfly Jar Recently, Renee, whose mother died two years ago, has found what she describes as a spiritual direction. "Spirituality is very important to me, " she said. "I feel clearer, and more centered. It,s helping my work. I,ve never felt so much that I,m on a positive path, toward growing. Speaking of progress, among her favorite tunes on the disc is the rock-solid opener, "Empire, which she describes as a "song of observation about building things up that can tear us down. And "I Don,t Wear Sweaters, a song about growing up and doing "things you wouldn,t consider doing earlier in life, as she puts it. There are a number of other strong songs as well, including the roaring rock of "Spiritual Ink and Silent Partner ("you could smoke away your artist,s mind), as well as the pensive prettiness of "The Beginning. "In Progress took five months to make. Finishing it last April "was a strange feeling, Renee said. "It was so much of a concentrated effort for so long, there was a kind of weird void. But not for long, however. "I,ve got all kinds of new songs in my head, she said with a laugh, "that are wanting to get out. "In Progress is available on the Internet at www.CDBaby.com and www.robinrenee.com.
Kevin Riordan is a New Jersey-based journalist.
|