Albuquerque Journal du lieu suivant : Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 65

Friday, July 4, 1997 ve ft E13 Local standouts feel momentum building for jump into big time flflZG lie brink Mm. DM Dl i .6 On the verge of a major recording label deal, local alternative country band hazeldine is left to wait and wonder about its musical future. by Kevin Hopper Of THl JOURNAL hen, how soon, and VV how big?" wonders a whispery Shawn Hazeldine CD-release party WHEN: Saturday WHERE: Dingo Bar HOW MUCH: $5 it is a sidebar to an article titled "The Roots of Rock," that briefly mentions the group and pegs them as "down-home purists" regarding their place in the freshly spawned world of alternative country. In actuality, the members of Hazeldine aren't so much purists as they are just plain ol' pure. Combining the storytelling attributes of Appalachian folk, the simplicity of classic country, the dynamism of pop music, the do-it-yourself attitude of punk rock and the intimacy of listening to your grandfather play the banjo on the front porch, they have created an infinitely pure and unadorned form of music that really can't be compared to anyone, yet generally lies in the country-western ballpark.

Which is most likely the reason that the major labels are swirling about. Hazeldine, in town briefly for the release party of its debut CD, "How Bees Fly," at the Dingo Bar on Saturday, is gearing up for another tour that will take them through the Eastern half of the states and then back to Europe. Only this time, they will venture outside the Americana-friendly buffer zone of Germany (where they recently played a half a dozen gigs to thousands of surprisingly rabid, "autogram'-seeking fans) and into less-familiar territory. Something they will have to get used to as the bidding labels weed themselves out, and bigger and better things begin to happen. As for the band members' continuing to live in Albuquerque as their rock star status continues to rise, the responses vary.

Almost all of the members hail from the South. "Albuquerque is kind of a boon for us," said Barton, her fingers sticky from the wings, when asked if she planned on moving soon. "I think that people see that as an advantage to this band, because we're out of the mainstream alternative country music loop. "We're off on our own, doing our own thing with these influences that nobody else has because we're out in the middle of the desert. We're really isolated, and I think that people see that as an advantage." "The reason that we all moved here," adds Tkach (the quiet one), "ultimately is that we all love it here we thought it was beautiful.

And that hasn't changed." When? How soon? How big? Questions that will be answered soon enough. Perhaps too soon for those in town that have yet to see a Hazeldine performance in which intimacy plays an integral part. The question then, may be "where?" As in, where has the intimacy gone? Barton out loud. Barton, guitaristvocalist of country-inspired Albuquerque foursome Hazeldine, pondered these questions and others recently on the eve of the band's first European tour. Over drinks and spicy buffalo, wings at a local watering hole, Barton, bassist Anne Tkach and co-vocalistguitarist Tonya Lamm shared what it feels like to be on the verge.

On the verge of a major-recording deal, rock stardom and the ability to one day be able to quit their day jobs. "We were official rock stars by the end of that tour," Barton jokes about the band's recent billing on the "No Depression Tour," a four-band tour sponsored by the trade magazine of the same name, which featured some of the most-talked-about bands in the alternative country genre. "We were absolute rock stars by the end of that tour," remphasizes a facetious Lamm. "And well never go back" It's easy for Hazeldine, which also includes drummer Jeffrey Richards, to joke about becoming famous. At this point the band, currently signed to the German independent label Glitterhouse, is playing the waiting game.

As they wait, they muse on what their futures hold. "Everything is really incredibly horrible or incredibly great," says Lamm about the band's current spot on the musical map. "It's very manic. We're all poor as church mice, but we're getting to spend five days at somebody else's expense in LA It's kind of a weird dichotomy." Earner Lamm, whose vintage tortoise-shell eyeglasses make her easy to spot in a crowd, came strolling up to the interview with a then-current issue of Newsweek magazine. In.