B l u e P a r a d e - A S a r a h S l e a n F a n s i t e
|
By Rachel Ong
Witnessing the poise of a classically trained pianist, you'd never guess that there was more than one voice floating around in Sarah Slean's head. The first hint is perhaps found on her website, as eyes curiously maneuver to the space between "press" and "contests" simply entitled "Cookie." Clicking to reveal more, you find a brief explanation of Cookie The Crime Photographer followed by an alternate Slean bio in Cookie's own words.
"Cookie's a fairly recent character. I have an old Minolta X5-70 and it takes gorgeous pictures and that's where she came from," she explains. "I consider photography very similar to my profession - we both watch for a living and distill and collect aftermath. It's 'crime' because that's where the interesting stuff of life reaches a fever pitch."
And Cookie's not the only personality who joins Slean onstage. When prodded for a little more info into the strange dimensions of her brain, she admits to channeling a second presence.
"Another alter ego is Emily, she's from France from the turn of the century. She drinks too much and works in a hat shop, an ex-patriot. I read this book called Good Morning Midnight (by Jean Rhys) about a woman who sounded a lot like that and who felt eerily familiar," she pauses briefly, trance-like and then adds, "Emily sings a lot of the songs on my record like 'Book Smart, Street Stupid'."
Slean's love of literature led to a short story course at U of T which also served as a long-deserved hiatus from work, "At one point, the music industry turned into my whole life and I felt trapped and claustrophobic. I just needed to know there was another reality, that not everybody goes to see bands and gets pissed."
Rejuvenated from her break and set to lure us into her world, Slean discloses that she's entertaining the idea of playing host to a young, bored aristocrat. Her inspiration: Yet another artist whose trippy nature often manifested itself in his work.
"I saw this photo of T.S. Eliot when he was a boy � he was in a little suit with a bow-tie and he just looked so constricted. It was a tragic photo. I still think about it, the image hasn't left me yet."
Slean, Cookie, Emily, T.S. Eliot and a four-piece band?
"I don't know that Cookie and Emily would have any patience for him," she laughs. "I'm attracted to these types because growing up, I was also a duel personality. I was outwardly really, really quiet, but had all this stuff inside. It's a constant struggle to be brave enough to do it because of course you feel stupid like, 'Maybe I should just work in a bank like other people.' I think the thing (Cookie, Emily and the little boy) all have in common is that they're all watchers. They're just on the rim, looking in."
Watch Sarah Slean and her ensemble battle in out onstage April 27 at Trinity, St. Paul's Centre (427 Bloor St. W) in Toronto.
|