Eve’s Plum: November 1995

One of America’s publicists that Gianni doesn’t know hooked me up with a phoner. I had the opportunity to speak with Colleen

Fitzpatrick, Eve’s Plum’s vocalist. Eve’s Plum recently released their second CD titled Cherry Alive and they are visiting town as part of Ray Gun magazine’s first ever concert tour. Cherry Alive was produced by Fred Maher, a drummer who has worked with everyone from Lou Reed and Material to Bill Laswell, that would also be Material wouldn’t it? He has also produced CDs by Matthew Sweet as well as a Belly single. 

Fitzpatrick called me from a tour bus parked in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Maher tour was on its second date and she reported that things are going well so far. Her press materials have her working as a dancer and actress before she joined the band. She studied ballet at NYU. I asked her what kind of dancing she did. She said that she’d done stage dancing, jazz dancing, and some dancing in videos back when that was popular. She couldn’t remember what videos she’d done, but she did remember one she didn’t do. She was called to dance in a Pat Benatar video, but was unable to make the photo shoot due to a prior commitment. It’s too bad because we could have had a new pop singer as the dancer in an old pop singer’s videos.

Next I asked about the songs. Who writes the songs? The press release gives the impression that Fitzpatrick does all the writing and it isn’t true. She does write most of the lyrics, but the songs are either co-written by guitarist Michael Kotch and Fitzpatrick or they are written as band songs. The songs are good, risking some criticism from all the strange little subcultures that read this rag, I’ll say that Eve’s Plum has some excellent pop songs. Nothing alternative about it, nothing cutting edge, nothing hard or industrial, it’s simply pop music. I guess I should slam it, but I fall for a pop band fronted by a girl every now and again.

The next question I asked was about their song on the Spirit of ‘73: Rock for Choice compilation—a benefit album for Rock for Choice. The project was in the works for about three years according to Fitzpatrick. For reasons I don’t understand and she didn’t know, the album was politically controversial. Record labels didn’t want to touch it. I asked about the man factor, but Fitzpatrick didn’t have information. She did say that a woman was responsible for finally completing the album. Eve’s Plum was excited about recording a song from the seventies. Remember Fitzpatrick is a dancer and they cover a disco song on Spirit of ‘73. She and the rest of the band were supporters of the cause. 

The next question was about any weird encounters with audience members she’s experienced. She does write some songs dealing with sex in a blatant fashion and she is quite lovely. The basis for this question was the recent Heather Nova concert. If you were one of the psychos staring at Nova, get over it and find yourself a girlfriend. Fitzpatrick reports that she’s had none of the weirdoes chasing her. She said her band is a boy/girl band and that Heather Nova “must be a sex symbol.” 

Finally, I was curious about how Eve’s Plum hooked up with My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Traci Lords (who will skip Salt Lake—you figure out why), and Big Stick for the Ray Gun tour. At first glance, a band playing pop-rock doesn’t seem to fit with the others. 

Fitzpatrick: “The bands asked us, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult did.”

SLUG: “How is Ray Gun supporting the tour?”

Fitzpatrick: “You know, that’s the big business end of it. To tell you the truth I have no idea.” She asked the other people on the bus, presumably constituents of the other bands on the tour and here is the definitive answer, “I see a line of dumbstruck faces, no one knows.” 

This next might seem like a strange question to ask, but I’ve talked to enough bands to know that life on the road is different depending on the mode of transportation. 

SLUG: “Are you touring in a bus or a van?”

Fitzpatrick: “We’re touring on the My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult crew, they have a tour bus, and we’re crashing on their bus.” 

SLUG: “How do you usually tour?” 

Fitzpatrick: “We tour in a Volkswagen, a Bug, we tour in a Beetle all across the country. No, we tour in a van, a boring, awful, big, tiny, cramped van. Actually, this is exciting because we have never been on a bus. We’ve only slept on the bus two nights and the first night was a little rough. Last night I fell asleep and I was out the entire night. So I think that I’m already getting used to it.” 

They will have come and gone before this issue of SLUG is printed. I’m sure Fitzpatrick and the boys will leave a few surprised faces in an audience there for the sights and sounds of a Kult performance. Maybe their live show will convince a few to purchase Cherry Alive. I’m sorry I didn’t ask the same questions as a truck driving hack, but the SLUG boss doesn’t pass out a form telling us what questions to ask. I think it’s all about freedom. “How did Eve’s Plum come together?” —Willem The Foe

Read more from the SLUG archives here:
Mark Lanegan: August 1995
Headshake: October 1995