No, it's not a re-enactment of a 70s cop show. Or some daffy, artsy lady getting up and reciting some strange monolog. This gal is a talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who heads an excellent, eclectic band.
She just happens to be known as Joan As Police Woman.
Got a problem with that?
Find out what's happening in Viennawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Go to Jammin' Java on Wednesday and let her frisk your heart with her sharply-serrated, deeply-emotional tunes.
You'll surrender.
Find out what's happening in Viennawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"The name was a bit of a joke, but it stuck," said Joan Wasser, recently, in a voice filled with enough of a hard-boiled edge to make you think you better show some respect when you interview her. "When I struck out on my own, I was known as other people's accompanist. Which was a little worrisome. I didn't want people to think I was going to torment them, by playing solo violin all night, or something."
Thus came that hip, Angie Dickinson-esque sobriquet.
"I thought it had a cool, 70s vibe. Reeking of polyester and guns," Joan said. "People who knew the reference really liked it right off. And those who didn't? Well, it's really grown on them."
You don't have to wait for Joan's new album, "The Deep Field" to grow on you, however.
It's a typically smart, musical, gorgeous, unsettling disc, made by the girl who was once best-known as a side-woman for folks like Rufus Wainwright and Antony And The Johnsons. Songs like "Magic" and "Nervous," continue the lady's lethal blend of funky, keyboard-driven grooves, mixed with dark, worrisome insights about life. Meaning, both Joan's inner demons and what's going on in these United States.
Sometimes, it's like listening to a really dry, super-skeptical Stevie Wonder. Joan's lyrics may keep you up nights, but at least you'll feel like dancing if you can't sleep.
Part of this funkiness may have sprung from her trip to Africa.
"Damon Albarn (the brilliant leader of Blur and Gorillaz), took a bunch of us there last year, as part of his musical/goodwill program. It's where I taped the voices you hear at the beginning of 'Nervous.' I think some of the rhythmic stuff I heard over there may have infiltrated the grooves on the record, as well," she said.
And she makes it clear, regarding my question about drum machines and other modern record-making traits, that there isn't the slightest touch of trickery happening on this album.
"That's Parker Kindred on the drums!" Joan said, as if it were a point of honor. "There are no drum machines being used here. I just want everyone to know. We used Moog bass and things like that on the album, but it's all real people playing on 'The Deep Field.'"
And Officer Joan also plans to promote this record the old-fashioned way: by touring, touring, touring.
"We'll be doing a bunch of U.S. dates in May, then it's off to Australia, for a while, then back here. Nobody seems to really buy records anymore. And we only get sporadic airplay," she said. But luckily, there are a whole lot of places, all over the world, where people will come out to see me and the band play. Thank God for that. It's how I make my living."
Still, with a fine new album under her belt and a growing critical reputation, Joan As Police Woman, knows she's one pretty lucky cop.
"For a while, when people saw the name, they figured this was a burlesque show or something. But touring makes everyone realize this is a legitimate musical experience. The people who come to see me, get it. So, I just have to go out and prove it. Until I've won everybody over."
Joan As Police Woman will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Jammin' Java. Tickets are $15. For more information call 703-255-1566
