A date to rock
The Indigo Girls' Amy Ray goes back to high school for Prom.

By Jimmy Draper

ONCE SHE'S ESTABLISHED herself as a figurehead of the lesbian folk scene, what's a gal gotta do to get heard by a wider rock audience? If the artist in question is Amy Ray – who, alongside Emily Saliers, is one half of Decatur, Ga.'s Indigo Girls – she simply writes some songs, invites a bunch of her rowdier musician friends to play them with her, and cranks the amps to 11. In other words, she does anything but continue the quiet, girl-with-a-guitar routine for which she's been famous since the mid-'80s.

At least that was the plan in 2001, when Ray took time off from the Indigo Girls to release her solo debut, Stag (Daemon). The result was a far cry from her duo's stripped-down songs: Enlisting help from the Butchies, Joan Jett, and onetime Breeders bassist Josephine Wiggs, among others, she offered up a collection of defiant, hard-driving anthems that wouldn't have sounded out of place in the '90s queercore movement. By the end of the album – on which she seethed, snarled, and, on the riot grrrl-style "Lucystoners," ripped rock's boys' club a new asshole – many longtime listeners and newcomers alike were shocked by how much Ray, well, rocked.

"The Indigo Girls can rock too – a lot of people just don't know that about us," Ray insists on the phone from her Georgia home, when asked about the public reception of her raucous solo work. "But, yeah, there were plenty of people who were surprised that Stag came out of me. No one who knew me was surprised by how hard it was, though. I just don't have a very good perspective on it, because it's so organic. For my own songs, I just play with the people I listen to, so it makes sense to me."

Come together

Four years later, Ray further extends her circle of collaborators with Prom (Daemon). On her second solo album, she's backed by a band that includes former Luscious Jackson drummer Kate Schellenbach, guitarist Allen Bleyle of Family Outing, and backing vocalists Danielle Howle and Michelle Malone. But just as the Butchies gave Ray's songs a dark, melodic punk makeover on Stag, Prom's rock sound is largely defined by bassist Jody Bleyle and guitarist Donna Dresch, both of legendary dyke-core act Team Dresch. Not surprisingly, the album sounds less like a solo album than like a communal effort.

"When I write Indigo Girls songs, I hear Emily's parts in my head," Ray explains. "But when I wrote these songs, I was hearing the bands I wanted to play with, like, 'Oh, this is a perfect song for Jody to play bass on.' Then I just crossed my fingers and asked them if they were interested [in actually playing]. I knew whatever they played would be appropriate because I know where they're coming from. I'm one of their fans, so I'll love whatever they do."

The collaborations resulted in an even harder and more urgent album than Stag. The songwriting is still unmistakably Ray's, but songs like "Blender," "Sober Girl," and especially the explosive "Give In" could pass for tracks off Team Dresch's Captain My Captain (Chainsaw, 1996) thanks to Dresch and Jody Bleyle's distinct playing. Elsewhere, a Southern gothic vibe creeps into "Covered for You," while a few others evoke the work of Bruce Springsteen. In fact, aside from the sole acoustic number, "Rodeo," it's hard to imagine anything on the album could ever be mistaken for an Indigo Girls song.

Burning desire

Prom is also Ray's most thematically cohesive work to date. Taking an empathetic look at the growing pains of adolescence, she's crafted a sort of musical survival guide for outcasts learning to navigate the battlefield that is high school. Throughout, Ray captures the excitement and anxiety that come from discovering your sexuality ("Rural Faggot," "Driver Education"), the burning desire to go out and finally experience the real world ("Put It Out for Good"), and the dread and loneliness many teens feel when they don't fit in ("Pennies on the Tracks.")

"Prom's framework was this idea of camaraderie and sticking together when you're having a bad time – it reminded me of being in high school, which is where that idea really cemented itself to me," she says. "During that time, you're going through puberty, gender issues, sexuality issues, and issues around whether you're a freak or a nerd or whatever. There are all these identities, and it becomes really important to have comrades who will kind of stand up for you."

If those stories sound like they're a little too teen-angsty for adults, rest assured that Ray has an impressive ability to write songs with universal appeal. So while its songs may be set in classrooms and on school buses, Prom is more than just a walk down memory lane for Ray – it's ultimately a moving testament to the importance of friends who help you find the courage to become who you are.

"The album is just all these stories about my life," she says. "It's about people I had come up with through life, or know now, who needed camaraderie – or supplied that sort of support for me." Amy Ray performs Tues/10, 8 p.m., Slim's, 333 11th St., S.F. $18-$20. (415) 255-0333.