'Essence' shared tonight

In the past, Lucinda Williams would spend years perfecting the lyrics, rhythms and melodies of her songs before she stepped into the studio to record them, as the uncompromising singer-songwriter would settle for nothing less than perfection. But her latest album, Essence, was written at Williams' kitchen table during a short, intense six-week burst of creativity and has been praised just as highly as her earlier works that took three times as long to complete.\nAt 8 p.m. today, Williams brings her essence to Axis Nightclub, 419 N. Walnut St. Tickets are $23.\nProfessor Glenn Gass, who teaches two courses in the history of rock and roll, admitted he's a big fan of the Grammy award-winning musician. He said as an avid listener of Williams' music, he hears a strong world view in her lyrics that she colors with layers of Americana, but cannot be classified in any one genre. \n"Lucinda was roots rock before roots rock was cool, or Americana or whatever tag -- she's not country, she's not folk, she's not rock -- but she mixes them easily," Gass said. "She's got such a great voice, and puts it out in this off-hand conversational way. There's an intimacy to her … There's a humanity to her music. It's a great antidote to Britney Spears and 'NSync. She's the essence of rock and roll -- you count on one hand the number of people who are as vital as she is. And now is the perfect time to see her. Right now is her moment."\nThat may be true, but Williams has been having "moments" for more than 20 years. Born in 1953 in Louisiana to artistic parents (her father was poet Miller Williams and her mother was a pianist), she grew up listening to Bob Dylan and Loretta Lynn. At 17, she dropped out of school to pursue her music and in 1979 released her first album. She has since been awarded two Grammys, the most recent for her fifth album, 1998's Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Essence is her first release since that success. To top it all off, in the summer Time Magazine named Williams "America's Best Songwriter."\nJim Ziegler, program director of WTTS 92.3 and an afternoon DJ, said the station has been trying to give Essence more radio play than Williams has received in the past. Not only is Ziegler a fan, but he also thinks like Gass -- he revels in Williams' unique sound that is rare in today's mainstream music world.\n"She certainly sings from the heart, and her music has a very passionate side to it, and it's very alluring," Ziegler said. "From a lyrical standpoint, her songs have a lot of meaning, and I think when you listen to Lucinda Williams, you get a real window into what she's all about, which is something that you don't necessarily see with every artist on the radio these days."\nTo help promote the show, Ziegler said WTTS will raffle an autographed guitar -- everyone who goes to the show will get a free raffle ticket and there will be a drawing at end of the show.\n"I went to her concert Sunday night in Indianapolis and I had a chance to spend some time with her after the show," Ziegler said. "She's really down to earth. We obviously talked about her and her new album, but we also spent some time talking about how the terrorist attacks have affected the concert scene … She's just like everyone else. And even though she's won two Grammys and has some phenomenal music, she's still a real person. I think that it was enlightening to talk to her about everything else that's going on outside of music."\nDave Kubiak, owner of Axis and Bluebird, said he's thrilled about what's going on inside Williams' music, as he said he thinks there are very few people who can write and sing music as well as she does.\n"Lucinda is considered one of the best songwriters in America," Kubiak said. "Anytime you can get a person on that level, you seize that opportunity."\nProfessor Gass hopes to be able to seize the opportunity, as he has not seen Williams recently, but he may have a class conflict.\n"Currently, from what I've heard now, she's a real dynamic performer," Gass said. "She's found her confidence, and I think that's the whole point of Essence. I think she's really got a swagger right now, instead of that crippling self-doubt that used to color her songs, and I can't think of a more perfect time to be seeing her. It's nice that a show like this is coming to town. We need more of this"