A Rose by any other name would still smell like sweet country
by John Sewell
Sure, it's great to talk about high-minded artistic goals and expression for expression's sake. But in the music biz, marketing is everything. Well, maybe not everything...
Let's face it—the more populist forms of music like pop, rock and country are not exactly founded on a rock-solid base of high artistry. (Not to say, though, that the Beatles or Merle Haggard are one iota less important than Beethoven or Stravinsky.) Musicians who are hoping to reach a widespread audience have gotta fit into some kind of niche, have cool clothes or an arresting band name, just to get noticed and get their foot in the door of the listeners' ears, so to speak. Then, and only then, they can let the music do the talking.
Veteran honky tonk diva Kristi Rose has existed on the fringe of mass success by mixing country torch music, rockabilly and a healthy dose of raw sexuality for the better part of two decades. Though Rose is not exactly a household name—not yet, anyway—she has managed to eke out a comfortable living doing exactly what she likes. And in a flash of genius, Rose has come up with a tag for her music that just might be the marketer's dream: pulp country.
"It's called pulp country because that's what it is—it's pulp country," says Rose of her music. "I'm someone who feels that [it] shouldn't really take any further explanation.
"I would say that, if you gotta have more explanation, it's an eclectic mix of gut-wrenching, noir, rock 'n' roll, torch 'n' twang country music. You can choose from any one of those and it would be right."
The pulp country tag is sometimes confusing to journalists because it is kind of a title to Rose's show, not the name of her band. "I like for it to say, 'Kristi Rose: This Is Pulp Country.' You know, because that's exactly what it is," says Rose. "But, believe me, as long as the word's getting out, we're not that adamant about how it's billed."
Rose's latest release, This Is Pulp Country (on Rose's own Pulp Country label, natch), could also be called classic country. Rose follows in the tradition of such great female belters as Patsy Cline and Peggy Lee, delivering a gutsy take on the travails of life and love that only a hard-bitten barroom survivor could dish out. Sure the music is 100 percent country, but Rose is wary of the classic country tag.
"If you say classic country, some people might have a narrow idea of what that is," says Rose. "I mean, you could say Patsy Cline was classic country or you could say that Johnny Paycheck's records with Lloyd Green are classic. And those are pretty far removed from each other as far as classic country goes, but they're still both classic country, if you will. So I think classic country might be too broad of a definition for what we're doing."
Whatever you want to call it, Rose & Co. are doing it right. Abetted by her husband, session musician/producer Fats Kaplin, and a revolving door band of ace musicians and Nashville cats, Rose is turning heads in the roots-music/ Americana scene both stateside and in Europe.
Rose is no greenhorn in the rough and tumble world of the music business. For 10 years, she led her first group, NYC's Kristi Rose and the Midnight Walkers. The Walkers had their share of success, completing several U.S. tours, umpteen European treks and releasing an album on Rounder Records. Once the Walkers had, ahem, run their course, Rose, a southerner (that pronounced southern twang is no affectation), relocated to Nashville.
In Nashville, Rose and Kaplin assembled a backing band of crack session musicians including Byron House (who has worked with Emmylou Harris and Jerry Douglas) and Kenny Vaughan (who has backed up Lucinda Williams and Knoxville's favorite son, R.B. Morris).
"Right now, we have a pretty solid lineup," says Rose of the band. "It's always myself and Fats and Jack Silverman on guitar. Sometimes going out on the road, the rhythm section varies a little bit. But we have a few guys who have worked with us a lot, and it's always one of them. We rotate a couple of other people and they're all close friends."
Sure, the band's great, but the focus is all on Rose, a voluptuous country gal whose look is reminiscent of pin-up queens like Jane Russell. The cover of This Is Pulp Country is a computer generated adaptation of an old dime novel where Rose's face is morphed onto the body of a scantily clad farmer's daughter/vixen. Rose says she loves that kind of imagery and is totally comfortable with the seductive aura she projects.
For Rose, the stage lends itself to a co-dependent, exhibitionist/voyeur relationship between the performer and the audience, which can result in some red hot, erotically charged shows. "I guess I think that the sexuality that we're putting forth and exuding—and I hope it's there—is a pretty healthy, down-to-earth form of it. Anything I do in that area comes as second nature and it's natural, not contrived. I mean, I think that's all part of going on stage and putting on something of a theatrical presentation—and that's what I want to do.
"I just love the idea of going out and people are looking at you. You know, you're standing up there on the stage and asking people to pay attention and experience what you're putting across. That's how we try to do it anyway."
August 24, 2000 * Vol. 10, No. 34
© 2000 Metro Pulse
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