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Not exactly the first genre that comes to mind when associating the Toronto-based chanteuse, known more for her jazz stylings that suit her mysterious, sultry vocals.
"It's really a fun band," says Cole from her Toronto home about her country-rock garage side project, Half Jaw. "The premise of this band is that everybody has to already be a really great high-calibre musician, but nobody is allowed to play what they normally know how to.
Drummer
"One of my favourite drummers in the world is playing bass, and my brother, who's a great piano player, is on slide guitar. And I'm the drummer as well as the bandleader, but I don't do any singing."
Cole is happy to report she isn't abandoning her day job -- interpreting jazz-pop favourites -- as she gears up for a National Arts Centre performance tonight.
"I'm not looking for a record contract with this other band," the 37-year-old says with a laugh. "It's nice to have something that is really just for me.
"(Half Jaw) is just me having fun -- I could suck for the rest of my life and nobody would care except me."
The fun outlets -- a new-found passion for playing drums, plus a couple of acting credits -- offset Cole's hectic touring schedule in support of her eighth CD, Romantically Helpless. Her latest whirlwind jaunts across parts of Canada, then a brief visit to Germany, then back to Canada again, don't allow much in the way of down time. But Cole admits she wouldn't have it any other way.
"I don't think I could do this unless I love it so much," Cole says. "Really, live music is my favourite thing, the reason I got into this business. I grew up as a live artist from the time the Holly Cole Trio started (in the early '90s), that's what motivated me."
Romantically Helpless marks a return to Cole's jazzier side, a marriage of Tin Pan Alley classics (Come Fly With Me, Don't Fence Me In and That Old Black Magic) with more contemporary fare from Randy Newman (Ghosts, Same Girl) and Paul Simon (One Trick Pony). The album also includes a softer rendition of Make It Go Away, the Laura Harding-Aaron Davis number previously included on Dark Dear Heart.
"That song had evolved so much over the course of time that it became to mean something different for me, in terms of mood and in terms of content," Cole says. "And there's a broad spectrum of emotion on the album.
"Over the two years it took to make this, a lot of stuff can happen to you. I can hear a song and go, 'Oh, that must have been when that happened.' That's one of the great things I love about this album."