Chicago's Anne Heaton to play Bluebird Tuesday

A Chicago native, Anne Heaton says she has been singing since she was born. \n"My mom says I was always humming," she says. \nA precocious child, she asked for piano lessons at the age of three. Her mom complied with the tot's strange request. Heaton took classical piano lessons from then until she went to college, where she traded the piano lessons for singing in a rock band. \nBeginning at Notre Dame, her alma mater, and continuing after she moved to New York in 1996, she exposed herself to different styles of piano music -- even going so far as to take a class in Latin music at a local New York community college. She eventually settled on a sparser approach. \n"I don't like my piano music to be busy," Heaton says. "It stays simple, but it says a lot." Although it would be hard to pinpoint a specific genre for Heaton's music, it's comprised of funky beats and double-take lyrics. \n"I would like to say that my music is like Peter Gabriel's," she says, "but that could just be because I love it. He has a very simple, spiritual song structure and just a luscious sound." \nHeaton cites the Indigo Girls, Fine Young Cannibals, U2, Sinead O'Conner and Debussy as other musical influences. Yet, she says a lot of her music comes not from a specific artist or group, but from all she's learned and gained through her experience singing in a rock band, playing for Latin bands and singing in a gospel choir in Harlem. \n"I really like the blues and jazz in terms of the beat," she says. "I try to put a little of that improvisational style into my music." \nHeaton has often been lauded by critics as a thought-provoking and inspirational lyricist.\n"I like to question assumptions and look at things in an entirely new way. I like to turn things on their head," she says. \nOne example is "Underdog," a new song she's writing. According to Heaton, the underdog tends to get attention because of their victim status, and as a result some people end up as career underdogs. In the song she tries to show a different view of the underdogs -- that maybe they stay "the little people" on purpose. \nHer approach to modern music is refreshingly honest. Without trying to find a false cause, she simply states, "It's important to comment on what's going on in the world, but I think in order to be a healthy member of society it's more important just to have music that heals you than music that says something political. A lot of my songs are about conflict resolution." \nWith her song, "Take Your Desire," Heaton approaches the conflict between jealousy and freedom. These are two feelings that are not necessarily ordinary opposites, but in the style of Alanis Morisette's "Hand in My Pocket," Heaton has turned things on their head and resolved a personal conflict through her composition. \n"For me the music is very healing," she says. "I try to make sense out of past experiences, and I hope that somehow it's healing for other people as well." \nRight now, Heaton fills her days with touring. She and Edie Carie are currently opening for Melissa Ferrick on Ferrick's tour. Heaton says that touring is fun, and the chance to work with Carie and Ferrick is a blast, but she adds that sometimes she goes into survival mode. \n"Being alone can be good, because it clears your mind, but at the stage I'm at, you're still doing everything -- all your booking and putting things together," she says. "It can get exhausting, but it's worth it because it's so fun." \nHeaton's not the only one enjoying herself on these tours. Audiences nationwide are beginning to show their appreciation for her rich lyrics and upfront approach to music. In an age in which musicians are created by studios, Heaton asks listeners to do more than stare at a pair of fake breasts and tight pants. She gives them instead a chance to reflect, to heal and to remember. \nHer original approach to song structure and accompaniment keeps audiences interested, and the multi-hued texture of her music tingles on your tong like a packet of pop-rocks. She is sweet with a spark. A well-trained and talented musician, Heaton not only sings well, but has a voice. \nHeaton will be opening for Melissa Ferrick at 9 p.m. on Oct. 15 at Bluebird Nightclub.