| "Most
of the things I've written have been
drawn from some emotional upheaval, a
reaction to something and stemming from
the inner turmoil which occupies the
majority of my waking hours."
And she looks so calm and
sweet! None Hendryx was born in Trenton,
New Jersey a region described by urban
anthropologists as 'a ghetto' and by Nona
as "quite a nice place".
Her father had "a
drink problem which led to a lack of
emotional stability in the house"
and there is a twinkle in her eye
indicating understatement when she
describes herself as having been "a
mischievous youth".
Indeed, she only began
singing because a friend asked her to and
"I would do anything."
In the grand tradition of girl groups
(this was the mid-Sixties) Patti Labelle
& the Bluebells suddenly and
unexpectedly found fame, firstly on the
East Coast and then, in the Seventies as
Labelle, on the international stage.
Labelle trounced musical
and gender barriers, winning plaudits for
their "outrageous" stage
clothes and Nona's "politically
conscious" lyrics. Nona remembers:
"Through our own personalities, the
most important thing we did was to change
how black female groups were seen, what
they wore, how they performed and what
they could sing about. But a lot of
people only saw the space outfits and the
hit single ('Lady Marmalade' in 1975). On
the level of how we were feeling and what
I was writing we weren't
successful."
They split towards the end
of the decade and Nona discovered the
art/punk/funk mixture which was bubbling
up in the Manhattan clubs. "Seeing
Defunkt I felt the energy there, that's
what attracts me to music and people. I
liked what they were saying and the fact
that people were dancing to lyrics about
an experience rather than just 'get
off your booty'."
She formed the short-lived
Zero Cool to play electric punk/funk
("it took a while for my ears to
adjust"), worked with Talking Heads,
wailed across the classic groove of
Material's "Burstin' Out" and
rapidly gathered a c.v. to shame the most
determined NY name dropper.
Her "Nona" LP of
fast year was disappointing but it has
been superseded by the infinitely more
vital "The Art Of Defense".
Firmer, beatier and linked by a running
theme: "It's talking about how
people have separated themselves not only
from each other but from themselves.
Rather than just being something to dance
to I want it to ... I dunno ... cause
people to think."
From feet to head. Via
inner turmoil.
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