Creating their own waves
by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Aug 06, 1998)-- In the wake of the success of Lilith Fair, the all-female, traveling concert tour founded by Sarah McLachlan last year that continues to draw record-breaking crowds this summer, the record industry is swarming over new female artists in search of the next Paula Cole or Sheryl Crow.

It's a double-edged sword for the recipients of all this new attention. On the one hand, after years during which the unwritten rule was that record labels or concerts bills only had room for one token female artist, things have loosened up substantially. Lilith Fair put the nail in that coffin by attracting thousands more fans to its shows than the testosterone-heavy Lollapalooza lineup last summer, which was left so limp at the box office that this year no one wanted to be associated with it. Hence, it folded.

On the other hand, female artists risk falling prey to the heightened expectations such success brings about, and the inevitable commercial pressures that come to bear whenever the music industry smells dollars to be made. For proof of that, just look at how the record business pretty much destroyed whatever was creative or original about so-called grunge music by flooding the market with corporately manufactured, pseudo-grunge groups, or " scrunge" bands, as the alternative press took to calling them.

So what's a girl to do?

In the case of Eden White and Ivy Markaity, two up-and-coming, female pop-rock singer-songwriters who fall comfortably within the contemporary, Lilith Fair-style umbrella, taking advantage of the newfound interest in female artists without, in turn, letting themselves be taken advantage of is a careful balancing act.

"This whole women's movement is incredible, and women are getting the recognition they deserve," said White in a recent phone interview from her apartment in New York. "But I want to be recognized for more than being a woman. I want to be known for being a great talent, hopefully."

White, the winner of this summer's Lilith Fair Acoustic Talent Search in New York, kicks off the National Music Foundation's New Artist Series Friday night, Aug. 7, at 9, at the organization's newly renovated Centre Stage in Lenox. Markaity follows in the series, on Friday, Aug. 14, also at 9. In addition to music, the shows which are being priced at only $5 in order to encourage audiences to take a chance on these lesser-known artists will feature a full bar, snack menu, and club seating. Call 637-4718 for more info.

Markaity echoes White's concerns. Also speaking by phone from New York, she said recently, "I'm really happy this is a trend now. I hope it stays that way. I don't think we're going anywhere. And I hope it's not like, 'Oh, OK, it's totally saturated now and everyone is over women.' I hope it's not a trend is what I'm saying."

In any event, neither White nor Markaity could be accused of trend-hopping. Both of them got their start in music long before anyone had ever heard of Sarah McLachlan. Markaity claims to have been writing songs since she was in elementary school, and White first gained recognition as a musician in high school when, in addition to performing in musicals, she was called upon to contribute her talents as a rehearsal pianist.

In White's case, the Cape Cod-native pursued her interest in music at Tufts University, where she directed Jackson Jills, the school's award-winning a capella group. Forsaking plans to go to medical school, she moved to New York in 1993, and began performing in clubs and garnering a reputation for her vibrant live performances, which she attributes to her early experiences watching performers like Billy Joel and Elton John.

"Growing up on Cape Cod, I never had the opportunity to listen to artists in coffeehouses," said White www.edenwhite.com . "I didn't have those role models."

Last spring, when a friend tried to persuade her to audition for Lilith Fair, White was unsure whether her effusive, piano-based persona was right for the event, which favors laid-back, guitar-strumming hippie-chicks.

In the end, White threw caution to the wind, and after making the initial cut, was chosen out of 20 finalists to join McLachlan in a pre-tour concert at Bryant Park in New York and at the Lilith date at Jones Beach on Long Island a few weeks ago.

"It was the most incredible experience of my life in terms of performing," said White. "I was up there holding hands with Sarah McLachlan and Tracy Bonham and singing in front of 18,000 people with them. But what was amazing to see was that they were singing because they love it, and it just happens to be in front of more people."

White said the experience opened doors for her that had previously been shut. For one, her self-released CD, "This Is the Way," is about to be licensed by an independent record label. Also, she was profiled in Billboard, the trade bible of the music industry.

Still, she said, she doesn't want to ride a wave only to be hooked by the undertow. "I want it to be about talent," she said. "I want to be a career artist, and I want to keep coming out with song after song after song, and writing and playing and performing and sharing and getting it out there. That's where I'm coming from."

Markaity, a veteran of several bands and the downtown New York club scene, has also released her own CD, "World's Not Big Enough," which has been picked up by the National Record Company www.nationalrecords.com . Like White, she takes the long view on women-in-rock.

"We've always been here," she said. "But I think this is the first time that people aren't going, 'Oh, we already have a girl band' or 'We already have a girl singer.' Things have changed a lot in the last twenty years."

If you would like to purchase Ivy Markity's latest CD "World's Not Big Enough" on-line, please click on the SoundStone logo to the right.