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Pucker Up

Chris Azzopardi

"Who doesn't want a drugged-out hippie at their show?" is how Natalia Zukerman rhetorically riffs on the creeps that sometimes make seemingly narcotic-free concerts into their own rave. The experimental musician – who's dabbled in folk, country-jazz and pop – hasn't had any run-ins yet, but she remembers an incident almost equally as awkward: a couple tongueing right in front of the stage.
"You never know what to expect!" says Zukerman from her New York home. "There aren't many jobs where every variable changes. You kind of roll with it."
She's been to The Ark in Ann Arbor for several shows – making her upcoming gig at 7:30 p.m. May 16 her second time as a headliner there – and, at the very least, there's one constant: She loves that stage. In the last few years, Zukerman has also played the Ann Arbor Folk Festival and the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival.
For this show, the singer-songwriter and nimble guitarist will debut new tracks she laid down in a Kentucky studio last month for her next album, due early next year. All the songs were cut live – or "old school," as she says – with Willy Porter, who also produced Zukerman's 2008 LP "Brand New Frame." Whereas that disc embraced change, this upcoming project, titled "Gas Station Roses," goes further: "Impermanence," Zukerman says. "A lot of the songs are very much from a personal place, but with the idea that the world is changing so rapidly. It's a wonderful opportunity to reinvent all the time."
That, she has. Genres never define Zukerman's brand of anything-goes music, but it always sounds familiar. So familiar, in fact, that one critic compared her to Amy Winehouse. Not even Zukerman knows why.
She pauses to consider the parallels, and then quips, "We like to drink a lot!"
"That person was probably just pulling shit out of their ass," she says, laughing. "Maybe it's my pop sensibility? Maybe it's the bouffant?"
Whatever it is, it's working. She'd had a cool run in the singer-songwriter realm, scoring gigs with folk fixtures like Catie Curtis, Melissa Ferrick and Janis Ian. And she'll share the stage with Zoe Lewis at her upcoming Ark gig. But before you think it's a lesbians-who-are-gay-together-play-together thing, stop: She recently opened for well-known tenor Raul Malo.

"There are certainly a lot of women-loving-women in the music world, but with people like Janis Ian and Zoe Lewis, their music transcends any kind of sexual preference. And I think mine does too."
Zukerman's been able to dodge many references to her sexuality, she says, and feels like she's better off for that. After working with Ferrick often, including on "Brand New Frame," she believes people began to see Ferrick's shows as more of a gay hangout than a venue for good music – something Zukerman would like to avoid.
"It's not a bad thing," she says, "I think that's part of what makes her so wonderful; she provides a safe space for people. But on a personal level, I saw her get frustrated with it sometimes. The audience can sometimes come and they're not coming for the music; they're coming to be around other gay people. That doesn't make you feel good about your artistry."
Zukerman's artistry extends outside of music – she's also a painter who began a mural business in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998. She does a lot of community work, and after her three-week tour wraps she'll begin a project in Queens at a non-profit health center. These side ventures cut down on tour time, but that's the point.
"I just decided that being on the road full-time wasn't making me happy," she says. "It's hard to come home because it usually takes me three days to feel like I'm not moving anymore, and then it's time to go again. My relationships were suffering with everyone."
Luckily, she can write wherever she is, even though touring and murals sometimes get in the way. She's been trying, though, to do her homework and write outside of herself. Ones that are too personal don't stick or make her too sad, she says. Oftentimes, she blames divine inspiration, thinking, "Well, it's out of my control. I'm just waiting for this beauty to appear."
Beauty that always somehow finds its way to her.

Natalia Zukerman with Zoe Lewis
7:30 p.m. May 16
The Ark
316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor
http://www.nataliazukerman.com

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