Notes from the Parlour...
March 2005

The early part of 2/9/05 was spent brewing and straining slippery elm bark tea into small bottles. Damn it; antibiotics, swollen Eustachian tubes or not--the show must go on. I assembled my collection of menthol lozenges and beloved cough syrups. (Now, did I mention I could barely HEAR? Everything sounded as if I were beginning a descension into a miniature megaphone from about 20,000 feet.)

Nina Hagen had canceled weeks before due to her terrible flu, and I wasn't going to prolong the curse by being sick for our much-anticipated rescheduled concert together. This flu epidemic has been a relentless one! My drummer Randy Odell was in the throes of a high fever and sore throat. He did hide some cough drops onstage. At least he didn't have to think about singing. Chapman Stick player Alex Nahas was the healthy one of the bunch, exhuasted maybe, but malady-free.

So that's how it happened... I met the Punk Goddess icon in the dressing room at DNA Lounge in San Francisco as we were blowing our noses! (Not the glamorous rock-n-roll fable I would have preferred to tell you. ) She was lovely, vibrant, and as compellingly kooky as I'd imagined. And despite our illnesses, the night turned out to be incredible, quite an appreciative mob scene. Nina's voice is such an otherworldly force; I can't imagine her sounding any better! My slippery elm bark tea worked wonders, helping me along...even though I was wishing it was bourbon and honey...anything! I was officially hoarse at the night's close.

Thank you Alexis, Jamie, Barry and DNA staff for being such a pleasure to work with. And the immortal Dave Clark and Dutch for always running magical boards. You can view some of Angela Goodman's beautiful photos from the show at DNA's Gallery.

We've been slowly unveiling new songs, and already an onslaught of emails and live requests for three in particular: Torture, The Water Flows So Slow, and Room 19. I'm thrilled to see the excitement brewing for the new material. New seedlings taking root in the world. And yes, all three will be on the next CD. Never fear! We will be going into the studio later this year to begin recording.

Right now, however, I am in pre-production for a film project that will take me to New York City to shoot for much of April. I play a dangerous femme fatale named Mona in Ice Cream Ants, a surreal noir short written and directed by award-winning Brooklyn screenwriter Jeremy Carr, and produced by Marc Calamia.

Jeremy and I met last year at SlamDance, the independent fest that runs in Park City synonomous with Sundance. We both had films in the festival. Months later, an intriguing script and letter arrived in my mailbox. "The story is best described as a film-noir nightmare about one man's identity crisis and his confrontation with a sinister, seductive woman who may be responsible." Not only did Jeremy want to feature my music in Ice Cream Ants, but he said he could only picture me playing the lead. Now that was flattering! When I read the script and saw a trailer of his previous work, I was completely hooked. More news soon as the celluloid adventures unfold.

Speaking of which...this month marks the release of the New York City Horror Film Festival's Killer Shorts 2, a best-of DVD, which includes The Fine Art of Poisoning, the animated musical short I created with East Bay director Bill Domonkos. This little labor-of-love has now won prestigious awards and nominations at over 30 film festivals throughout the country! Clive Barker stated " Bill Domonkos and Jill Tracy have created a haunted netherworld that is both seductive and terrifying."

The Fine Art of Poisoning is also featured on two other Best Short Films of the Year DVD collections: Chicago International Animation Festival (The Best of Cineme 2003), and Film Festival Collection "Shorts! volume two"
Click the links to purchase online.
Those are the only places to obtain The Fine Art of Poisoning right now- (to answer many of your email inquiries. ) Bill Domonkos and I will be releasing a limited signed edition with some added bonus feautures and possibly a new work, but that won't be for a while. We have lots lurking up our sleeves and have been eager to get together on a new project. .

Now, in addition to online retailers (like CD Baby, Tower Records, and Amazon) you may also purchase Jill Tracy CDs directly through the wonderful souls at Projekt. Diabolical Streak is featured in the Dark Cabaret section of their online Lobby. For further ordering info, please visit the Merchandise page.

Check back next month for my sinister walk through old San Francisco with legendary photographer Charles Gatewood.

in the shadows,
Jill Tracy


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