The Bitch is back

Special is the couple who can live and work together. The lack of privacy and personal space isn't always healthy, and at times it can be hellacious. And so it is that after nearly a decade of living, working, traveling and making music together we accept the news of the separation of Bitch and Animal with a certain learned understanding.
"After eight or nine years in a band together we were like, 'Let's get away from each other for a while,'" said the lovely Bitch, who arrives in Ann Arbor for a solo show at The Ark on April 1. "Basically me and Animal just wanted to explore our other possibilities."
A Troy native, Bitch has always personified a plethora of possibilities. A poet, performance artist, singer, songwriter and self-taught instrumentalist (electric violin, bass and ukulele), it's when she weaves these elements together with her unique commentary on the human condition that Bitch becomes more than just a stage act and transforms herself into a channel of prophets past, sharing with her followers a sublime vision of the perfection of peace. Of course, this particular channel wears slinky sleeveless shirts, sports multicolored dreadlocks and often delivers her sermons via songs called "Best Cock on the Block" and "Sparkly Queen Areola."
But don't let the bravado fool you. This Bitch is vulnerable, too; particularly now on the road as a solo act after all those years as a duo.
"It's different," she said. "I'm not alone because I have other people now with me but just being without Animal É it's like we basically started this whole crazy thing together. I hadn't done that, as far as being a musician on stage, without her ever. It's always a mixed bag for me. Some nights I totally miss her and other nights I feel like this whole other side of me is opening up, just doing something different and something new."
Different, of course, is good; and on her own, Bitch is exploring new possibilities both for herself and her show.
"I'm moving into an electronic realm, which maybe at this Michigan show won't totally be evident," she said. "But that's kind of where my brain is these days, trying to add some electronic elements to the live show."
If that's where her brain is, Bitch's heart is with another. Yes, she might be a solo act on stage, but off the road she's a duo once again, in love with a beautiful if anonymous woman. But fear not, she went to work on her new album before love landed on her doorstep. So the sounds of heartbreak, which often make for the best music, will be heard on her forthcoming project.
"That's sometimes what I worry about," said Bitch. "Like, is this too good to be true and will I still be able to make good art? A lot of the songs I wrote like two years ago now and definitely I'd say there are five songs there that are about these other people that kind of broke my heart in a way, and that kind of really feeds me poetically. I get to, like, spew in a way."
Bitch will be spewing a bunch of new thoughts all over her fans in the fall when her latest album, "Almost to the Water," is released. But fear not, you don't have to wait till then. Bitch will sing plenty of tunes from the new album at her Ark show.
"The project has definitely been a whole metamorphosis for me," said Bitch. "I started it when I was still touring with Animal but we knew that we were going to take a break. A lot of it is a reflection on the last year of my life and just being on the road. I was definitely struck with inspiration when I was traveling in Eastern Europe. It was an experience for me being away from capitalism. It was so deep for me. I just felt free in this way and able to envision a world where those ties aren't binding us anymore. It kind of paralleled everything that I was feeling in my professional life."
But she isn't bound anymore. Bitch has been, well, unleashed.
"I'm really excited about moving into these new realms in my life," she said. "Culturally I think we're so ready for change in so many ways and I just think now is the time. Now is really the time for us all to act out of complete and utter love."