Kristin Hersh
by John Noyd
July 2003
Kristin Hersh
When songs come to Kristin Hersh she has found it best not to ignore them. Fronting rafter-cracking banshee rockers the Throwing Muses, she depended on her muse to provide the band songs. So, even though she made the band a “non-functioning entity” seven years ago, when some songs came to Kristin she couldn’t get a handle on, she packed off the solo demos along with a batch of homemade cookies affectionately known as the Devil’s Feedbag, to Muse bassist Bernard Georges. His solution was obvious. These were band tunes. Thus was born the temporarily reformed Throwing Muses. Uncannily, it came back as it always should have been. The record was recorded quickly over three weekends while they were still learning their parts. Kristin says the nervous energy had them all on fire and new classics like, “Mercury,” and, “Pandora’s Box,” show her point. The sessions were planned around the band member’s schedules instead of intruding on pre-existing routines. Kristin says the main reason she broke up the band was because she couldn’t ask her friends to go through the rigors of holding it all together. They were no longer teenagers and everyone was looking to settling down. Laying roots didn’t dull them at all and the self-titled release shows them as sharp-tongued and quick-witted as ever. Although they hadn’t recorded as a band Kristin, Bernard and drummer Dave Narciszo never lost touched and devised a way to play through an annual get together known as the Gut Pageant where it’s the fans who traveled to meet and greet the band. But it wasn’t until last year that Kristin saw a business loophole to let them record again. Hiring them as a backing band. From the record came a short European tour, then select dates on the East and West Coast. Finally, in their last performance before they go back on standby, they hit Chicago on August 9th at Chicago’s Abbey Pub. Rocking out live obviously appeals to Kristin, who recently put together another powerhouse trio called 50’ Wave for a round of fall touring. For more details check out www.throwingmusic.com.
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