It's deeply aggravating to know that you've written something--or, in this case, a couple of somethings--and not be able to find it. I know I've mentioned Diane Izzo, the Oak Park-born singer/songwriter who passed away after a long battle with brain cancer on Friday at the age of 43.
I could have sworn that I wrote a post some time ago in which I mentioned that her only officially released CD, One, was one of my all-time favorite albums. Or maybe I was thinking about what I wrote on Amazon.com over 10 years ago:
Diane Izzo's "One" hardly sounds like a debut album. Her lyrics are generally dark, disturbing & complex--that could describe a LOT of albums from a LOT of artists out there these days. What sets Izzo apart from the crowd is her strong, odd vocal style: she can break a one-syllable word into three or four parts and can shift from a conspiratorial whisper to a filling-rattling wail with grace and ease. (I'm told that this album doesn't even do her voice justice--that it's even more amazing in person.) In particular, "Wicked Spell" shakes with lingering childhood rage and confusion, while "Venice" comes off giddy and joyful despite contemplations of wild youth, lost love and impending mortality. Couple the lyrics with the vocals, and you get a musical experience that remains embedded in the ears for days afterwards. Any fan of PJ Harvey or Tom Waits would be well advised to give Diane Izzo's "One" a listen (or two or three or...)--you won't regret it.
I also "know" that I wrote a poem about seeing her at Taste of Chicago with Doctor G on a July afternoon that felt like some enormous toddler was holding a magnifying glass to fry masses of ants in Grant Park. (In this scenario, we were the ants.) Diane was playing her usual enthusiastic set when, in the middle of a song, her amp went out. She and her bandmates noodled with it for a few minutes until, obviously frustrated, Diane just kicked the damn thing and, remarkably enough, got it working again. She picked up right where she'd left off, in the middle of that same song.
After the set, I bought my CD up to her and asked for an autograph. She seemed modestly confused or, perhaps, surprised by this. Maybe she didn't get asked for autographs very often, or maybe, given the heat, she just wanted to get off stage and get a drink of water. Whatever the case, she nonetheless graciously signed the CD and said that she was playing at the Double Door in a coupe of weeks.
"I know," I replied. "I already have my tickets."
And so I did.
The Double Door show was much more fun--no equipment problems, no blazing sun--and even though she wasn't the featured act or even the opening one (it was, as I remember, a showcase for several performers/bands. I've always liked the Double Door--it's an intimate venue that's featured many indie groups as well as well-established "big" acts like Cheap Trick and the Rolling Stones--and it was lovely to see and hear without the substantial risk of heat stroke.
Unfortunately, One didn't do all that well, and Diane pretty much disappeared--or so it seemed from my vantage point. In 2008, I found her again on MySpace and sent her a friend request. She not only approved it almost immediately, but also sent a message asking "How are things in Chicago these days?" (She now lived in New Mexico.) I replied that things were, you know, about what she remembered (it was spring, and it was snowing), and I mentioned the fact that One was one of my all-time favorite albums and that she'd signed it for me at Taste of Chicago.
Her reply to my reply: "Hey thanks mentioning One...it's been a long while, but was what it was...at the time. Yeah, I remember that hot day all too well..no water served by the Taste, only tequila = a harsh day in the summer heat!
"Hope that your doing well in CH., miss the solid big shoulders once in a while. NM is slowly warming up to springtime, but prefer the trade off of a expanding urban skyline for wide open big sky & stars."
Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot wrote a very nice piece for today's edition, and Jim DeRogatis, Kot's partner on WBEZ's "Sound Opinions," also wrote some kind words as well as reposting his profile of Diane from The Chicago Sun-Times back in 1998. I still have that article, neatly folded and tucked into the CD case of One. It was that article that made me listen to Diane Izzo in the first place. So credit where it's due--thanks, Jim.
And thanks, Diane, for the amazing music. I know you recorded many other songs, and I understand that a lot of those songs will be released in the near future, as well as a movie you were working on.
I just wish you were here to hear that music with us.
3 comments:
Thank you for sharing this memory with us. I can't imagine the world without her. Aside from her incredible talent, she was a very uniquely special, and loving person who touched lives where ever she went. I will be thankful every day that I had the chance to know her!
loved ur article. The 1st time I ever saw or heard of miss Izzo was at the Boarders on Mich. Ave. in 1999.. I was drawn that evening to the sounds of hypnotic vocals and a guitar sound that let me to the 2nd. floor as if she were the pied piper... I listened to her entire set that nite.. I remember thinking how much I admired her and how brave I thought she was for doing the one thing I've always wanted but could never get the courage to do, peform in front of a crowd. I was 19.
She was the inspiration for buying my guitar. She started playing when she was 21.
She helped me realize that its never to late to create and find your voice..
I think back on that night at the Boarders in 1999 and how I wanted to go up to her and tell how great I thought she was, but I chickened out. I felt at the time that she was so cool and relaxed with herself, and it intimidated me.
You always think you will have time, to do the things and meet the people and say the words you always wanted to. But you can't take for granted those brief moments in life when you can connect and open yourself up to somone who inspires you.
I recently survived my own cancer scare. I had to have a major operation and had to give up apart of my future that I didn't even know I wanted. there is a reason why I survived, I know this. I just hope I have to courage to learn from this and to live a trully authentic and creative life.
I know Diane's music will be come to aide me as it always has,to ignite me, calm me, and release joy as I belt out her lyrics in my car. Now more than before I know I'll feel her words and music.
Thank You, Diane Izzo.
I was unfamiliar with Diane Izzo before reading this post and the two lovely comments that accompany it. I'd like to hear her music.
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