Sophie B. Hawkins: A Bundle of Contradictions

Singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins’ speaking voice grabs your attention immediately. In stark contrast to her airy, tender and girlish singing, she talks in deep, almost gruff tones, punctuated by a thick, New York accent and words that seem to fall out in cascades of thought, as if her tongue has a hard time keeping up with her brain.

When the contrast was pointed out to her in a recent phone interview, Hawkins sighed. She’s heard it before, as she’s heard numerous others’ conclusions regarding her personality and music. They all sound to her as if they’re referring to a stranger.

Hawkins, who performs Sunday at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, considers herself “a very private person” whom few really know. She’s a bundle of contradictions, refusing to divulge her age but referring to it frequently as a frame of reference for her outlook on life. She eschews most pop music yet makes a living performing it, and she comes off as jaded and naive at once.

Hawkins grew up on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and was a music fan from the time she was small. Even her earliest influences seem inherently at odds with one another.

“I grew up listening to Beethoven and old jazz singers like Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Anita O’Day,” she said. “But those were like the only women I listened to--I hated women pop singers. I have different orientations; I go further back than even most of the musicians I work with.

“I didn’t like the [jazz] fusion thing; I liked Coltrane and Miles Davis,” she continued. “Then, as far as songwriters, I love Bob Dylan, and I love David Bowie a lot--he was really a huge influence on me. But the first time I heard Marlene Dietrich was when I first realized that I was supposed to be a singer--isn’t that weird?”

Equally weird is how little any of those influences is apparent in her own work.

By high school, Hawkins was serious about being a performer. She studied drums, percussion and jazz at the Manhattan School of Music and took early gigs at New York clubs such as CBGB’s and the Bitter End.

Signed to Columbia Records in 1992, Hawkins delivered her deeply personal ’92 debut, “Tongues and Tales.” It received much critical acclaim and yielded a Top 5 single with “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover.”

Two years later, she released “Whaler,” a slicker, poppier and more polished effort that was widely viewed as a sophomore disappointment.

She was stung by harsh reviews but maintained a firm belief in herself that eventually paid off. “Whaler” didn’t really begin to sell until a year after its release and, belatedly, went on to become a hit on the strength of the single “As I Lay Me Down.”

“I begged [Columbia] to put me on the road a year ago,” Hawkins said. “I played every radio station, truck stop, whistle stop, mall . . . every single place that I could--just myself and piano. It paid off, because nine months later [‘Whaler’] became a huge hit. It was a real quality album that took a long time to take off.

“Most people depend on a lot of other people,” she said. “Very few artists are as independent as I am mentally, physically, spiritually and technically. I sit in my home studio and record things by myself. I don’t need to get anybody’s approval or validation.

“I know what’s going to be true, and, more than that, I know what’s not going to be true. . . . I always stress the quality of my work, the quality of the songs. I put the pressure on myself more than anyone else.”

Hawkins’ essential self-reliance is the reason for the long stretches between albums. She’s a perfectionist who won’t release an album until she’s absolutely certain it’s fully realized.

“I’m always working on a new album, because I’m always writing, and I’m always in and out of my home studio,” she said. “I have 20 or 30 songs for my new album written and recorded, and, after this tour, I’ll record the songs I wrote on tour. Then I’ll see, probably by August, what are the 10 or 12 songs I really think ought to be the theme of the next album, then I’ll hear how I want to get it out to the public.”

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Hawkins says her next album will be a more stripped-down affair than “Whaler.”

“I’ve written all the new songs on guitar, and all the old ones were written on keyboards or drums,” she said. “It’ll be very different in it’s musical orientation. I’ve gotten really sick of synthesizers. It will be more [rootsy], and there will be more and longer stories on this album. I think it’ll bring the first and second albums together but go even further.”

Hawkins has spent less than a month at home since the release of “Whaler,” honing her skills and confidence as a performer on tour. She used to think of herself as a creature of the studio and dreaded playing concerts, but months on the road have changed that.

“I’ve felt really good onstage for the last year and a half in every aspect of it--singing, musicianship, performing,” she said. “It’s taken me a long time to deal with the pressures of being a live performer, but I’ve finally come into myself.”

* Sophie B. Hawkins and Billy Mann play Sunday at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. 8 p.m. $26.50-$28.50. (714) 957-0600.