About Me
CAGED HEAT leader Jill "Chilly" Kurtz may seem an odd match for the Hi-n-Dry crew, since she’s never been closely associated with the Morphine circle or its boho-jazz leanings — her image is more that of a backstreet rock-and-roller. Yet the release of Caged Heat’s homonymous second album ends a long period of limbo for the band she’s steered for the past six years.Kurtz herself has been visible around town, and with her dirty-blond hair, copious tattoos, and piercing stare, she’s easy to spot in a crowd. As a skilled guitar/harmonica player drawn to both blues and garage rock, she’s plugged into some different situations: doing Little Walter covers with guitarist Asa Brebner; briefly assuming the lead-guitar role with garage faves Triple Thick; leading different line-ups of Caged Heat that have veered between her two musical bases, equal parts Nuggets and Fat Possum.Yet it’s taken her till now to follow up the first Caged Heat album, which was released back in 1988. "God, I can’t believe it’s been that long." The reasons range from the break-up of the first Caged Heat line-up just after the debut was released to personal problems. (She lost her father last year.) "Some of those guys had a more metal past and didn’t understand the blues side of things. People say we’re hard to define, but rock and roll with a blues tinge is the sound I’ve always strived for. After this time, I wasn’t sure about keeping the name, but I figured Caged Heat deserved a good record."It’s also a more polished disc, and there’s no shame in that. Although the recording is largely live-in-studio, the arrangements are more fleshed out to allow for some twang and more melody. Along with the current core of Caged Heat — ace guitarist Allen Devine, drummer/singer Bo Barringer, and bassist Paul Myers — the disc includes Hi-n-Dry regulars Colley on sax, Jimmy Ryan on mandolin, and Andrew Mazzone producing plus Asa Brebner and, yes, Juliana Hatfield doing some harmonies. Given Hatfield’s sensitive/wounded persona, it’s hard to think of two local female rockers with a more different image. "You might not expect it, but I really look up to her and think she’s amazing," Kurtz says. "I thought she was a great bass player in the Lemonheads. We met because we live near each other and got to be friends, and I played harmonica on her album. So yeah, it’s a strange mix, but I love playing with her."Under Mazzone’s guidance, the new disc focuses on Caged Heat’s Stonesy rock side, and Kurtz’s still-growly vocals sound more assured than they did on the debut. She’s also gotten mighty gutsy with her songwriting, turning in a set of confessional-sounding songs about bad habits and relationships. "Everything I write is somewhat confessional, but it’s more about how I’m feeling at that moment — when I write songs, I always try to tap into the bad stuff." She didn’t write the closing "Animal," a Subhumans cover, but its lyric (which brings One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest to mind) proves an appropriate jumping-off point for some bluesy riffing and grisly harmonica. "Jennifer" concerns a past relationship that may or may not be romantic ("That one’s personal, so I’d rather let it be mysterious"); "You’re Dead" sounds like a cautionary anti-drug song. "God, no, I’d never write an anti-drug song," she maintains. "I guess it could be taken that way. But it’s about a guy I knew who I thought was not living up to his potential; someone who was an alcoholic. So yeah, maybe I’ve written an anti-alcohol song, though that might be a little hypocritical."Having started on the next Caged Heat album, she’s now done something even more shocking: she’s written a couple of happy-sounding numbers. "But I don’t know how many more of those I can come up with, because I’m such a miserable person." BRETT MILANO
