Anthology

It’s been said the sins of the father are cast upon the son, but in the case of singer/ songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, the songs of the son are cast upon the mother.

How so?

Well, Hawkins is currently working on “Winter’s Dead,” a musical with her manager and life partner Gigi Gaston as well as actress Kristen Chenoweth and Broadway legend Thomas Meehan (“Annie,” “The Producers” and “Hairspray”).

According to Hawkins, who is performing May 19 at Anthology, one day, when she was working on a song for one of the characters – a French man – she overhead her 17-month-old son Dashiell singing on the stairs.

“The lyrics were just ‘Yeah yeah, wo wo wo,” but the melody was so simple and beautiful and creative that I just had to steal it from him,” she said. “But it’s OK, because he’ll eventually get all the royalties,” she said.

Although Hawkins believes Dashiell’s ditty could be “the greatest hit song ever,” her version won’t be.

“It could be a huge pop hit, but I didn’t do it that way, because I wasn’t writing a pop song, I was writing a musical.”

Hawkins, who is best known for her 1990s hits, “Damn! I Wish I Was Your Lover,” and “As I Lay Me Down,” admits that writing a musical is daunting and freeing at the same time because the format requires her to write from the standpoint of another character – something unusual for this very personal artist.

“Getting in character is harder for me, but, then again, the songs invent the character,” she said. “The songs tell the inner life so my collaborators might say, ‘We need a slightly humorous, upbeat song here,’ it’s my job to figure out their inner life and help them have more depth.”

Writing a musical and dealing with motherhood aren’t the only new things in Hawkins’ life: so is multi-tasking.

In between the musical, dealing with son Dashiell and concert appearances, Hawkins is also finishing up “Dream Street And Chance,” her first album in four years. It’s requiring her to stretch her brain in different directions.

“I hate multi-tasking, but I am getting used to it,” she laughed. “Still, I don’t understand why all new moms don’t have nannies. It’s great to get away from being a mother and be an artist. I get to do that between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. I’m lucky that way.”

No word on when “Dream Street And Chance” will be released, but she is releasing a new single, “The Land, The Sea And The Sky” on iTunes, with all proceed going to the Waterkeeper Alliance, a charity working to clean up the Gulf Oil spill.

There will also be single CDs available for $3 at the Anthology show, with all proceeds of CD sales and part of ticket sales also going to the gulf coast waterkeepers.

By David Moye

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WHAT: Sophie B. Hawkins
WHEN: Wednesday, May 15th, 2010, 7:30pm
TICKETS: $10 – $44 BUY TICKETS
MORE INFO: Artist Profile