GAY PEOPLE'S Chronicle CHRONICLE

MARCH 19, 1999

Evenings Out

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Sleate a hot music

Janet Weiss, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker

MARINACHAVEZ

R-KINNEY

THE HOT ROCÍ

by Harriet L. Schwartz

Cleveland-While confidence is typically a main ingredient of a Sleater-Kinney performance, drummer Janet Weiss admits that the band's current tour got off to a bit of an uneven start.

"It had a few rough edges," she says describing a February gig the band played before setting off on its first tour of the year. "I'm sure people picked up on it. You're very exposed on stage, there's not much you can hide."

Weiss added though that "sometimes a show that's a little sloppy can be a little more personable to an audience. I saw a lot of people smiling. When I go to a show and when I see a band unselfconsciously mess up it's endearing and I feel like I saw a special thing. I might have seen them play better, but this was the most interesting show-seeing them a bit more vulnerable, I think."

The lone straight girl in the band that includes Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker, two out queer grrls who founded the band in Olympia, Washington in 1994, Weiss replaced previous drummer Lora Macfarlane in 1996. With Weiss behind the skins, the band released Dig Me Out in 1997 on the Kill Rock Stars label. The band toured extensively through Europe and the U.S. that year and into 1998, playing to sold-out audiences everywhere.

Currently on the road in support of their most recent release The Hot Rock, SleaterKinney will likely hit its stride quickly.

Weiss for one, thrives on live performance. "It feels like a constant flow of energy between us," she says. "Carrie [Brownstein] and I have more eye contact

and are more connected as far as the details of the songs. Corin [Tucker] usually has her eyes closed and is involved in her singing she's just a force over on her side of the stage. Carrie and I are sometimes reacting to that. It's a delicate flow that happens between the three of us. It feels like it just moves a lot and is very, very dynamic."

While most rock bands rely on at least four members to crank out the sound, SleaterKinney is among the few that get the job done with three people. While Weiss sits behind the drum set, Tucker and Brownstein both handle guitar and vocals.

"We find it an advantageous line-up for the kind of music we make," Weiss says. "It's sparse when you want it to be and it's complex when you need it to be. It allows me a lot of room to work with rhythm. There's a lot more freedom when there's only two melodic instruments, not three, because with three, things really need to be nailed down and there's more space being taken up. I like that there can be thick parts and thin parts and wiry parts and lush parts too."

Sleater-Kinney's new album The Hot Rock marks a continued evolution in the band's sound. Working with producer Roger Moutenot for the first time, Sleater-Kinney faced a new challenge in the studio. Moutonot, a Nashville producer known for his work with Yo La Tengo, was more directive in the studio than Sleater-Kinney's previous producers, leading to a more stressful recording process. Ultimately though, Weiss says the struggle led to a stronger album.

"I think it's more textured, more graceful and more introspective" in the new album, Weiss says. "I'm really happy with how the sound turned out and how the album works

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as a journey. Each song has a separate distinct personality and leads you into the next song, and then to the next song. The mood changes as the album progresses which is something that I like in records."

Weiss says that "Don't Talk Like" and "Get Up" were her favorite songs on the album, initially. However as the band tours, Weiss's favor turns to the songs she loves to play live. " 'God is a Number' is very dynamic and there's this moment where the whole thing kind of blows wide open which is fun," she says. " "The End of You' has that big snare roll, so it's my moment in the spotlight."

Given the demands of recording The Hot Rock, Weiss waited a while before listening to the final product. Touring with her other band in Europe, Weiss grabbed her disc player and headphones and went for a walk

one day, listening to the new Sleater-Kinney album. She said she was immediately pleased and noted that the order of the songs serves the entire project well. "Sometimes there is a natural order for a record-you just have to find it," Weiss says. “This one is put together how it should be-it turned out exactly as it was meant to.”

While The Hot Rock was just released last month, Sleater-Kinney will soon begin working on new material.

"We just hope to have some new songs by summer," Weiss says. "And we'll travel the world and try to reach some new people."

Sleater-Kinney will be appearing March 25 in Cleveland at the Grog Shop on Coventry.

Harriet L. Schwartz is a Chronicle contributing writer living in Pittsburgh.