Hace un par de días varios medios publicaron que Lee Aaron
la que fue "reina" del heavy metal canadiense volvía a su faceta rockera. La
cantante que en los últimos años ha centrado su carrera en el jazz se ha
mostrado sorprendida sobre este anuncio y teme que algunos de sus antiguos
seguidores se sientan decepcionados.
En una carta dirigida a los medios de comunicación Aaron explica
su postura ante estos rumores y muchas otras cosas interesantes os dejo el
texto original en inglés para los poliglotas:
"Over the years I've learned that no matter what genre
of music I play, I invariably come under some sort of assault from fans and/or
media.
"When I was seven months pregnant with our daughter - and had established
some credibility in the jazz scene - a Toronto writer with
Now magazine
viciously attacked me after my show there, saying that she liked it better when
I was a 'rock slut.' Yes, dear readers, she was a woman. Talking about a
pregnant woman. A grown up, married, pregnant woman, singing jazz and carrying
around an extra 40lbs. Maybe I'm just over sensitive, but...ouch.
"In the meantime, I received hundreds and hundreds of letters and emails
from old and new fans who loved the new direction. But, there was also the
scathing few; the disgruntled rock fans - angry fans - demanding I play my rock
hits again.
"Some people tend to get fixated on one image or era of your career - one
that's more about their own personal nostalgia - and hold fast to that. Like,
forever.
"For instance, one time a few fans actually wrote into my website
complaining that I was more blonde. I can't imagine any other job where you're
not permitted to change your clothes or hair. Okay; maybe if you worked at
Disneyland
and had to dress up like Peter Pan every day. But unless you dig
wearing green tights and flying around in a jock harness, I'm guessing they
have a fairly high turnover rate with those kinds of positions.
"But not, apparently, in rock 'n' roll. No way, man. Curse
Ozzy if
he ever lost the leather pants and skull rings or revealed he was a big
K.D.
LANG fan. That would be, well, so gay. I wonder if he secretly gripes every
night about having to wear those god-awful leather pants? They're sweaty and
uncomfortable. Give the guy a break.
"A couple of summers ago - pregnant again, this time with our second child
- I played a festival in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I was promoting
'Beautiful
Things', my 11th disc, so it was a jazz-style show, and the promoter of the
big summer rock festival happened to be in the audience. He loved the
performance, and wanted to book us for the next summers' rock festival there,
sharing the stage with Heart. He felt that if I added a few of my rock hits
into my current show, it would work for the festival.
"The more I mulled over the idea, the more it began to look like an
opportunity. An opportunity to expose a broader audience to what I was doing
now without completely renouncing the old
Lee Aaron they love. Plus, I
was a huge
HEART fan in high school and was pretty excited about getting
the chance to meet the Wilson sisters. Who wouldn't be?
"So, I accepted the festival offer, along with a few others, and set about
putting together a whole new show. And people really dug it. That's it, nothing
more, nothing less.
"Nevertheless, the power of the media is still crushing.
"A friend just forwarded me a news item (from [Monday, February 18]), stating that 'The
Metal Queen will Rock Again!' And yet, there are no quotes to be found in the
actual article from me promising a full-on 'metal' extravaganza or anything
close to that. I'm afraid those fans will be sorely disappointed. No fire and
brimstone. No fog machine or flash pots. One angry letter writer complained
that my jazz cred was out the window. Funny thing is, my entire band are all
very credible jazz players (my pianist's latest recordings are up for a Juno
and three national Jazz awards), who just happen to love rock 'n' roll too, and
are having a blast rehearsing the show right now.
"I'm sick and tired of defending my credibility to either camp. Get over
yourselves, folks. I certainly have. Life's too short and it's not that
precious. Music is supposed to be fun. And it's not my job to keep you all
happy. Get in line behind my two and three year old. Take a pill or something.
Move out of your mother's house. Trust me; it messes with your perspective.
"The current show is an overview of my illustrious career thus far. I can
promise - unless you're the Jazz Police, who never liked me anyway - that the
show is entertaining and very musical. With a twist or two one might not
expect. I like to think that people enjoy being pleasantly surprised.
"Last week, on Valentine's Night I was performing at the Bearfoot Bistro,
an exclusive spot in Whistler, B.C. that I play occasionally. It's one of the
most expensive dining establishments in the world; bottles of wine range
between $200 and $20,000. Little dishes of sorbet are served between courses,
and stinky, expensive and rare cheese samplings are available for about $10 per
ounce. Quite an experience to be there and see the type of clientele it caters
to. Accordingly, they have an amazing entertainment budget and hire me to sing
from my jazz book for special events. Wrapping up the romance with
Ella
Fitzgerald's
'Someone to Watch Over Me', this well-dressed,
evidently wealthy gentleman - dining with what I assumed to be his wife, I
might add - walks up to the piano, discretely puts a little piece of paper on
the lid and whispers; 'This is for you,
Lee.' I open it.
"He's drawn a little love heart and inside written 'Metal Queen.....'
"Yes, you're only young once. But you can be immature forever."
Sleaze Roxx, Blabbermouth
