Indigo Girl to Bring New Punk Sound to Cat's Cradle

When Indigo Girl Amy Ray wakes up in the morning, the first thing she thinks about isn't being a role model for millions but feeding her cats.

She's housed as many as 10 stray cats at once, one of many quirks that sets her apart from most rock stars.

"I don't feel famous," she says. But she is famous -- just ask the devoted and drunken fans who requested her autograph on their bare butts at a concert.

When people hear the name Amy Ray, The Indigo Girls immediately come to mind, but that might change. She has set harmonizing aside for now and picked up an electric guitar and a punk band.

Thursday night, Cat's Cradle will witness her metamorphosis firsthand. Having played in Chapel Hill on several occasions since 1985, she looks forward to the performance.

"I grew up playing in Chapel Hill -- great scene," Ray said.

Now touring with Durham's The Butchies and bringing rock from her new album Stag to the people, Ray is exploring a more "sweaty and organic" music style.

Although setting up all her equipment can be tiring, Ray said she enjoys the younger crowds and smaller rock clubs -- a truly raw experience.

A few years after the Indigo Girls signed with Epic Records, Ray created her own independent label, Daemon Records, to help young musicians build names for themselves.

"I didn't want to let go of the independent community," she said.

Disliking "the struggle over art as a commodity," Ray believes creativity is lost thanks to big-name labels in "the bastardizing machine" -- her alias for the music industry.

She did not expect to produce her own album through Daemon -- but songs she wrote that did not fit the Indigo mold began to accumulate. That pile of songs became Stag.

A forceful and poignant collection of mostly punk songs, Stag was written in collaboration with various artists who inspired Ray, including The Butchies and Rock*A*Teens.

The album deals mainly with the imposed standards of gender, problems Ray has with the music business and her own shortcomings.

She said she often notices weaknesses in other people that she later recognizes as her own. In addition to her humility, Ray also knows how to laugh at herself.

"Once when I was opening for Neil Young, I ran out on the stage trying to look cool and fell down the stairs," she recalled. She also remembers hitting herself in the face with the microphone.

Even though she has a sense of humor, Ray is serious about female activism.

In the song "Lucy Stoners (Don't Need Boners)," Ray indicts Rolling Stone Editor-in-Chief Jan Wenner for his unequal treatment of male and female rock stars and praises Lucy Stoner, the first married female to retain her last name.

Emily Saliers, the other half of The Indigo Girls, playfully disapproved when she heard that tune, but Ray said Saliers has been really supportive of Stag and eventually might do her own solo record.

In addition to breaking off from the Indigo Girls, Ray also has split recently from her girlfriend of five years.

"We had a great relationship, and I learned so much," she said. "But there is something to be said for being alone." Ray enjoys the extra time to fix up her house, get back in touch with friends who she "let slide" and pursue her music.

Ray might not be single for long though, already having received a letter from a 93-year-old woman attempting to fix her up with her granddaughter.

Ray found the gesture endearing but also said she is "starting to enjoy being single."

Although she has established herself as a rocker, Ray shows no intention of turning in her Indigo Girl uniform.

The band has one more album to deliver in its record deal with Epic, but for now, Ray continues to explore her punk side.

Tickets for Ray's transformation at the Cradle are $8. Doors open at 8 p.m.

The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.