Fronting a band is good medicine for Exene Cervenka
Back in June, when Exene Cervenka announced she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, it seemed like the disease might threaten to derail one of the most vibrant and distinctive of American artists.
A multimedia whirlwind, Cervenka has made a career as a poet and spoken word performer, a visual artist, and most famously the leader of legendary L.A. punk band X and alt-country avatars the Knitters, as well as various other groups including Auntie Christ and The Original Sinners.
''When you're on the road you're in a little kind of cocoon ... and it becomes pretty magical in its own right," says Exene Cervenka, who's dealing with M.S. as she explores her many art forms.Ali Smith
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But, so far, her diagnosis hasn't slowed the 54-year-old down. "I take medicine and stuff. But it's a funny weird little disease," says Cervenka. "It doesn't really become apparent unless you're having an episode. But those are not every day. Really, it hasn't affected me at all or changed the way I do anything."
As if to underline the point, Cervenka is back on the road, touring in support of the recently released Somewhere Gone (Bloodshot) -- her first solo album since 1991. She will perform at the Hi-Tone Café in Midtown tonight, along with the Dex Romweber Duo and Richard James and the Special Riders.
The material on Somewhere Gone, a collection of stripped-down, acoustic meditations, touches on her early roots as a poet and the folksier side of her musical catalog. "They're more personal and intimate kinds of songs, emotionally," says Cervenka. "They were separate from what I would do with X. I wanted to make a record where I illustrated the words with the music."
The finely etched themes and ideas that run through Cervenka's songs -- as well as her art collages, several of which decorate the album's packaging -- come from myriad sources. "It's just about keeping your eyes open and keeping your brain open to the universe; looking on the ground for things and looking up at the sky for things at the same time," observes Cervenka.
Cervenka is currently touring with a three-piece band that includes Cindy Wasserman (vocals/ percussion), Frank Drennen (guitar/mandolin) and David Carpenter (bass/banjo). Cervenka's longtime friend and fiddler Amy Farris, whose playing colors Somewhere Gone, died suddenly shortly after the recording.
Though she's always been the center of attention, fronting a solo band has been a different experience for Cervenka. "It takes some getting used to," she says. "I'm used to that mega support system of X, with John (Doe) and Billy (Zoom) and D.J. (Bonebrake). In particular, John and I have worked together for so long we kind of rely on each other a lot emotionally onstage. There's an interplay there.
"Now, I'm doing this on my own," she adds. "But my band is really great and when you're on the road you're in a cocoon with the people you're playing with and it becomes pretty magical in its own right."
Although X and the Knitters continue to perform on occasion, nether band has released a new album in years, though talk of fresh material from both outfits has been rumored. "I'm trying to do some stuff with those bands," says Cervenka. "It's hard to move those people in a direction because everyone is so independent. It's kinda tough to herd everybody into the studio. But I'm hopeful we will soon."
In the meantime, Cervenka is going into the studio later this month to record a fast solo follow-up that she hopes to have out in August.
In between her numerous music outlets and visual arts career, it doesn't seem like anything, including her health, is going to impede Cervenka's plans. "I just keep going forward and assume every day is gonna be as good as yesterday," she says. "If it isn't, I'll deal with it as it comes. But for right now I'm doing great."
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Exene Cervenka, Dex Romweber Duo, Richard James and the Special Riders
Tonight, 9 p.m. at the Hi-Tone Café, 1913 Poplar Ave. Tickets are $10. For more information, go to hitonememphis.com or call 278-8663.
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