OUTscene Special
Joan Wasser—lead singer and songwriter for Joan as Police Woman --is one of your favorite musicians, even if you don’t realize it yet.
Joan a prolific artist, to say the least. You've heard her--most likely many, many times. She’s been an integral part of the Scissor Sisters and Antony and the Johnsons (squeal!) since the beginning. She was dating and collaborating with Jeff Buckley when he tragically drowned in 1997, and she produced an album with his band mates after the fact. (It was sad, deep, and never released.) She’s played with Rufus Wainright, Elton John, Lou Reid, and more…her talents have lead to famous collaborations which have lead to devastating cred in the indie music universe. Her new album, “The Deep Field”, was released this month.
I’d like to know about your involvement with Antony and the Johnsons: How it began, how it ended, and what shines most in your mind about the experience.
I joined Antony’s band in 1999. In the band I played viola, wrote some string arrangements and did a little singing. But what was profound for me was the way I felt being a part of that band. When I first entered the rehearsal space and met the band, I instantly felt at home. It was such a warm and nurturing environment. And at that time of my life I was in dire need for warmth and nurturing! Antony’s voice sounded like someone crying to me. His gentleness helped bring me back to life. I made “I Am a Bird Now” with him. I watched him as he pored over each detail of making that record. It was worth it! It was also astounding watching others hear his music when we played live. I saw clearly that I was not the only one who found solace in his music and his voice. Antony is also severely funny and terribly intelligent, but that’ s probably no shocker to you.
Also quite notable, of course, was your close romantic relationship with Jeff Buckley. Can you please tell me a little bit about it: how did you meet? How long were you together? How has the experience shaped your art? Can you tell me about the album you made after his passing that you never released? Have any of the tracks/elements in that mysterious project found their way into/onto other projects? How do you feel now when you look back on the time?
I will say that it goes without saying that Jeff’s life and death had a profound influence on me. He was someone who loved life maybe more than anyone I have ever known and always put himself in the position to experience it in the fullest possible way.
A couple of the members of his band and I put a musical project together called Black Beetle after he died. It was a necessity for us to be together at this time when none of us knew how to handle his passing and wanted to make music in attempt to feel better and just basically survive. It was the first time I was playing guitar and writing songs. It was an experiment. We made a record and promptly broke up in June of 2002. We had exhausted the project and what we could do for each other. We decided that we would not release the album as we would not be touring. I went solo then, playing out live. I began recording an EP of new JAPW songs in 2003. When Rufus asked me to open for him and play in his band in February of 2004, I jumped at the chance.
Can you please touch briefly on your work with the Scissor Sisters?
I have done the strings and the string arrangement for the Scissor Sisters on all their records. I love their music and their live show. I met them through a friend and ended up recording on their first record in a leaking basement studio. At the time I was thinking, these songs are just too good and well crafted to actually make it in this industry. Like many other recording projects, I did it and promptly forgot about it. Lo and behold, that record DID get heard and was well loved. I was glad to be wrong. I am recording on some of their new stuff next week.
How is the new album indicative of your growth as an artist? How does it stand out from earlier work? I understand that it was inspired at least in part by the the vastness and mystery of a Hubble Telescope image. Can you expand on that? How is it reflected in the music on The Deep Field?
Originally I saw a the image of what Hubble named “The Deep Field” as a group of square photographs assembled in a grid to show the area that contains many young galaxies. They use this area to learn how galaxies are formed. Photos of space are just amazing; that vast blackness with the golden shapes of light. I thought it so poetic that these astronomers decided to name it The Deep Field rather than some string of numbers and letters. The fact that people continue to strive for understanding even when they are looking light years into the sky is something especially human. We do the same in the microcosm with our incomprehensibly complicated brains. This quest for understanding seems to be part of what keeps people going, never mind the actual answers if there even are answers to be found. The more time I have here on this earth, the more I realize that self-observation is the key to a higher level of contentment. This includes learning how to lessen obsessive thinking as much as possible and ultimately relinquishing control. This is what I was thinking about a lot when I was writing and creating this album, as well as how to write the best love song, of course.
The song, “The Magic”, for instance, is about how I drive myself crazy obsessing over some person or thing or event and ultimately have no control over any of it. I ask for the magic formula to release me from my obsessive thinking so that I don’t relieve the stress by doing something self-destructive. I try to do as little “thinking” as possible and do more “doing”. If this all sounds very mumbo-jumbo, I have been looking for a way to be happy for a long time and I most definitely am feeling better these days. This is what this record is about…..that and getting down.
Thank you indeed Joan!
For Tour dates, check website at joanaspolicewoman.com.
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