Briefly, Cal Power

NAME AND OCCUPATION: Chan (pronounced "Shawn") Marshall, singersongwriter who performs under the name Cat Power, AGE: 29. PROVENANCE: Atlanta, ACHIEVED INDIE-ICON STATUS WITH: Her spare, emotionally charged albums, Myra Lee, What Would the Community Think, Moon Pix, and The Covers Record, her aptly titled album of cover songs released earlier this year, with homages to artists such as the Rolling Stones, the Velvet Underground, and Bob Dylan. ON THE ORIGIN OF HER NOM DE GUERRE: "In 1991, I started playing with these guy friends of mine in Atlanta, and one of them called me up and said, We need a name for the band.' There was this guy standing at the bar where I was working, and he was wearing a Cat Diesel Power hat. So I just said, 'Cat Power,' and hung up." IS THERE ANY TRUTH TO THE DUBIOUS ACCOLADE THAT YOU'RE "HUGE IN FRANCE"? "Oh yeah, they love me there. I can't even hail a fucking cab without someone asking for me to sign their stomach. No, it's really not true. It was just sensationalized hype." YOU'VE ALSO BEEN CHARACTERIZED AS A RATHER MELANCHOLY SORT: "People always say I'm so sad, but it's not sadness, it's just release, in a way. For The Covers Record, those songs to me were all about love. They're just very sweet songs. I wanted to change the name of it to The Lovers Record."so WILL YOUR NEXT RECORD HAVE MORE OF A MEL TORME VIBE? "It's going to be more, J don't want to say rock, but something more fun. I wish I could do a rap record, but I can't rap. Wouldn't that be funny?"

JOHN GILLIES

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