Hometown: Chicago via Winnetka, IL (born New Haven, CT)
Debut: 1993

Personnel:
Liz Phair -vocals, guitars, piano
Brad Wood -guitars, drums, bass, organ, synth, percussion
Casey Rice -guitar, percussion
John Casey Awsumb -harmonica
Tony Marlotti -bass

Notes:
Liz Phair started making her four-track cassette tapes while at Oberlin College in the early '90s under the name Girlysound. On her first Matador album, Exile In Guyville, she took on the Rolling Stones and all the guys in the Wicker Park, Chicago rock scene, emerging victorious on the cover of Rolling Stone under the banner "A Star is Born." Exile was a critical success, ranking among the top albums of 1993 in every major music publication. Heralding a different kind of sex-positive woman's rock music, Liz Phair released her sophmore effort, Whip Smart, which took the woman once best known for singing "I want to be your blowjob queen" in a droning round into the Billboard Top 30. "Supernova" became a good old-fashioned hit, and Whip-Smart soon became the biggest selling album in Matador history, though it was received with less enthusiasm than the debut. In the four years Phair's fans waited for the release of Whitechocolatespaceegg, their heroine scrapped recording sessions with R.E.M. producer Scott Litt, got married, and had a son. Despite her well-documented bouts of stage fright, Phair packed her suitcase and joined the Lilith Fair in 1998 and again in 1999, as well as headlining her own three-month jaunt, later -- somewhat ironically -- opening for Alanis Morissette. Phair's next album is scheduled for a 2000 release.

Links:
Liz Phair Mothership
We Love Liz Phair

The Slick Divide: pics, news, lyrics and more

Some bands use lo-fi as an attitude; Liz Phair uses it as a weapon. Exile In Guyville conceives lo-fidelity not in terms of fuzzy four-track sound or studied slackerdom, but as a way to arrange songs that simply, effectively convey their mistress's message. Opener "6'1"," "Fuck and Run" and "Divorce Song" are all bitter, funny and painful songs cut only by barely-amplified electric guitar and the simplest drum patterns Phair and Brad Wood could devise. At first Phair's flat vocals sound bitchy and barbed, but there's a sadness in the lyrics that redeems her every time. "Divorce Song" is particularly pointed: "And the license said/You had to stick around until I was dead/But if you're tired of looking at my face/I guess I already am."

The spare arrangements thrust Phair's words into the spotlight, but they also lend every bit of musical flash, no matter how modest, an exotic flavor. The big harmonies (Phair and herself, inevitably) on "Never Said" and the quasi-rounds of the legendary "Flower" and "Johnny Sunshine" sound almost choral, and occasional snatches of bright, bluesy lead guitar and harmonica manage to tear away from the framework of the songs.

Sure, the bottomless strumming that forms that framework can get dry in patches. But she's handy with light and shade, and the brilliance of Phair's best ideas shines through.

If you like Liz Phair, check out:
Liz Phair Whip-Smart
Liz Phair Whitechocolatespaceegg
Liz Phair Juvenilia
Hole Live Through This
Elvis Costello My Aim Is True
The Rolling Stones Exile On Main Street

psst...you might wanna check out our indie rock abode for more features on (guess what) indie rock bands.