22 - North Shore News — Friday, June 23. 2000 Cole uses voice Ii Fram Page drumming, and she wakes up in the middle of the night wondenng if it’s time to get up and practise. Clearly this is more than a phase, more than 2 hobby, “There's a punty about what J do with the drums. [ love singing but it’s wrought with pressure. [fl sucked forever at drumming, no one would care but me.” She gleefully recounts how she bought a new drum dur- ing her recent crip to Japan and played it all the way home on the plane, much to the cha- grin of the surrounding pas- sengers, So will Holly Cole be the next Phit Collins, belting out lead vocals from behind a gar- gantuan kit? “Well, 'm nor going to go bald. No, PE don’t want to be my own drummer. Singing is my first love.” Lucky us. Holly Cole grew up in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick — “Nor exactly 2 hotbed of jazz,” notes Cole — listening to traditional tolk, county and Celtic music and playing piano under the tute- Jage of her classically trained parents, Jazz was like an epiphany Cole had, at the ten- der age of 15. “The improvisation was very exciting. And in jazz, there was a very strong female connection: that was what I needed to hear at 15.” Cole lists Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Anita O"Day as some of the power- ful female voices she discov- ered carly on. “Jazz had all the complexi- ty harmonically that classical music had, as well as an inti- macy that classical music did- n’r have, It had the range of emotion, the drama, It was classical music for people who are BAD,” Cole says, empha- sizing that last word. Was being bad important? “Sure. It still is. Pm still a rebellious teenager in my mind.” Maybe that’s why Cole continues to challenge the sta- tus quo, why she feels the need to interpret Songs, to dis- sect them. She won't sing songs straight-ahead, and dis- misses the notion that songs are “meant” to be sung a cer- tain way. “I've always felt like I] need to reinvent songs. I’ve always felt the need for subtext, the need to challenge precon- ceived potions, others’ and my own, of what songs are about,” says Cole. She docs plenty ot Pthat on her newest CD Romantically Heipless, an eclectic mix of Tin Pan Alley classics and newer compositions, Cole puts 4 tresh spin-on Sinatra and Cole Porter sandards, no mean feat in this market of would-be Billies and Ellas. If your musical memory doesn’t go back that far just listen to her rendition of Dedicated to the One | Lave, popularized by the Mamay and the Papas, Cole has taken a song about devotion and fidelity and melded and nvist- ed it into something sinister, a song worthy of inclusion on a David Lynch movie sound- track. There are other surprises. A new spin on Paul Simon's One Trick Pony tor one. There's the humourous tide track, written by band- mate David Piltch (pianist Aaron Davis rounds out the original trio), Or If Be Here, which is surprisingly reminis- cent of that late ‘80s Scottish band, Fairground Attraction. For Romantically Helpless, Cole teamed up with Grammy award-winning producer Steve Ferrera, a hugely satisfying pannenhip tor Cole. “By the end of the record, the nwo of us were like an old married couple, finishing each other's sentences. He had 2 great respect for the Ivnes, which is 50 per cent of the art form. As opposed to most producer, who focus only on the music.7 The art of lye writing. insists Cole, has been fost ina generation focused on the singer/somovrifer dynamic. The overall result is mediocre songs and Ives. “lve never been interested in nostalgia; F don’t want to relive another dime period ... But enjoy singing songs from when the craft of songwriting and lyrie-writing, was high.” What sets Cole apart from other modem jazz singers is her ability to let go and let her voice be the instrument, like the saxophone she played before she moved on to singing, finding no female role models in the instrumentation department. The result is a Betty Carter-style intimate WIN A COPY SF HOLLY COLE'S ROMANTICALLY HELPLESS CD Holly Cole's new album Aomantically Helpless is het most impressive achievement so tar, representing a singer at the absolute pinnacle of her art. Working with Grammy Award- winning producer Steve Ferrera the CD marries Tin Pan Alley classics such as “Come Fly with Ne" and “Don't Fence Me In” with contemporary gems from writers like Randy Newman, Paul Simon and members of the Holly Cole band. To win a copy of Romanticsily Helpless tell us what musical instrument Helly has taken up as a hobby. Send your entries to Holly Cote Contest, North Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, BC V7M 2Hé4. Attn: John Goodman. You can tax entries to 985-2104 or e-mail to . Deadline tor the contest is Wednesday, June 28, 5 p.m. Winners, chesen in a random draw, will be telcphoned. CEs courtesy Universal Music. ROWING PROGRAMS Beginner through Advanced Adult Recreation & Competitive New for 2000 Women’s Only Rowfit & Teen Programs relationship with the song. The music she’s listening to in her down time coulda’r be further from Betty Carter, hawever: Chartic Pride, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Tanya Tucker. “Pmona ‘complete coun: try bent. But old country, not new country, which | find kind of clinical,” savs Cole. Cole has a new band on the side that specializes in its onwn brand of country. The philosophy behind Half faw (named after Cole’s dog): “Evervone in the band has to excel as a musician, but ne one can play the instrument they're good at. Everyone comes in with musicality, but no one’s good at what they do yet.” No egos, no paid employ ment on the honzon. For now, Cole is happy just to be singing and playing the drums. “Most people go through ike an instrument | their fives looking for some: thing they love, crave... Pve been sv Blessed to have a career at what} love the most. And now Pee found some- thing else that f feed just as passionate about, Artistically Pve found two things that | just cherish.” — For tickets to jazs festival shows call the Jazz Hotline at 872-5200 or charge by phone 280-S444, ‘North Vancouver Parade Information North & West Vancouver Park Event Information. identify Landmarks To Win Familiy Tickets on The Royal Hudsor Watch for it Friday, June 30 in the