i & r
Making
a name for herself
Palo Alto
Weekly
11.20.98
Hot newcomer Imogen Heap brings her catchy single,
"Come Here Boy," to
Cubberley Community Center on Wednesday
by Jim Harrington
She's 6 feet tall and carries a long mane of red hair. Her features are very well
pronounced; her nose and lips would make Barbra Streisand and Mick Jagger envious. Her
singing is a breathy combination of Alanis Morissette and Sarah McLachlan.
But it's neither her divine looks nor her diverse vocal talent that is likely to strike
you first.
It's her name: Imogen Heap.
Imogen, she explains, is Celtic. It's not a family name; it doesn't have a special
meaning. It's just something her parents thought would go well with the surname. A name
beginning with the letter "I" also avoided the risks of teasing by grade-school
humorists who'd combine her first initial with her last name.
"'C' for Caroline would be 'Cheap.' 'S' for Sharon would be
'Sheep,' the 20-year-old performer explained. "Heap is
the unfortunate part of (the name). It probably just means a pile or a stack of hay."
Once you get past the name, it's all roses--as locals will discover when the vocalist
performs a solo show at Cubberley Community Center on Wednesday. It's an excellent double
bill, opened by the Stanford product, The Girl & I.
Like contemporaries Fiona Apple and Tori Amos, Heap writes "little,"
introspective songs that tug on the heart while inducing the body to sway. The
multi-instrumentalist's debut, iMEGAPHONE, is an accomplished work for
one so young--simple and moving, theatrical and striking. The beautiful single,
"Come
Here Boy," has struck a note in this Lilith-Faired age and is the main
reason the vocalist is finding a growing audience.
"That's the hit, man," Heap says with a laugh. "That's the one that's going to make me money--they say."
Still, those who move beyond the catchy single will not be disappointed.
Heap grew up in a lush, green and private part of Essex County in England. She was drawn
to music early on, perhaps because of the lack of other readily available options.
"We were kind of in the country and very secluded,"
Heap said during a recent phone interview from Los Angeles. "That's
where I started playing piano."
The talented youngster studied at a performing arts school until she was discovered by a
talent scout at age 17. A publishing deal and recording contract soon followed. Now she
has the Geffen-affiliated Almo Sounds label distributing
her record in the states, and she's on the road reaching for that elusive next level.
Needless to say, the last 2 1/2 years have been a whirl for Heap.
"It's gone so quickly because it's been so packed with really
great things to do," she said.
Already, Heap is thinking about the next album. Using i Megaphone's
sparse and precious end track, "Sleep," as a bridge, Heap says
her sophomore release will be a much freer work with more of a live feel. She says it will
move farther away from technical tricks like sampling toward a more real, performance
sound.
In the meantime, she's thinking about such things as concert T-shirts and what she should
put on the shirt to make fans want to fork out their hard-earned cash. Now safe from
grammar school pranksters, she's even considering slogans that play off her unusual last
name.
"You can have a heap of love or you can have a heap of
(expletive). You can have all these different heaps on the T-shirt," the
singer offers.
Umm, well . . .
"You wouldn't buy that, would you?" Heap says. "No? Neither would I."
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